Newsstand: March 18, 2013

Could this be our last week of frosty temperatures before spring really kicks in? Here's hoping! In the news: Toronto won't get a special deal for casino funding; a longtime TDSB trustee is seriously hurt in a house fire; and physical activity is hard to come by for kids in Toronto elementary schools.

By Terri Coles • Illustration by Brett Lamb

The province decided that Toronto will not get what appeared to other cities to be a sweetened deal for a casino. The same funding formula for casinos has to be used across the province. A government official told the Globe and Mail that Premier Kathleen Wynne will not approve special terms for Toronto if city council approves the construction of a casino here. “All municipalities will be treated fairly so they can all share in the benefits,” the unnamed official said. Other cities spoke out in protest after the Globe reported last week that Toronto could receive higher hosting fees for a casino.

Toronto District School Board trustee Irene Atkinson is in critical condition after a fire at her home on Saturday night. CPR was performed at the scene of the fire at Atkinson’s home in High Park, where a kitchen fire broke out around 7 p.m. Atkinson is the longtime TDSB trustee for Parkdale-High Park. Here’s hoping she makes a speedy and full recovery.

There are physical education teachers in fewer than half of the elementary schools in Ontario, according to a survey reached today by advocacy group People for Education. The survey found that only 45 per cent of the elementary schools in the province had a specialised teacher for health and gym, and most of those educators were part time. Fewer than half of the students in the Toronto District School Board were getting daily physical activity, the survey found, and none were getting the 20 minutes of daily activity for students in Grades 1 to 8 that the province mandates.