Results tagged “airports”

It turns out that technology once only dreamed about in the back of comic books is now a reality: T-ray scanners may soon be deployed at an airport near you, and they know what you look like naked. Transport Canada is now reviewing a six-month trial of the security scanners, which are currently only voluntary and are used only when someone has set off the metal detector. The subject's body is scattered with terahertz radiation, which—unlike X-rays—are believed to be harmless to human tissue. A technician reviews the scanner results in a windowless room, and the resulting images are anonymous, incredibly unflattering, and decidedly unerotic. Images can't be stored, faces are obscured, and cameras aren't allowed in the viewing room. Still, opponents say that peering at nude bodies is even too extreme for already-excessive security theatre, and may even run afoul of child porn laws. According to a spokesperson from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, however, 95% of travellers in the Kelowna, B.C., trial preferred it. If approved by Transport Canada and the Canadian privacy commissioner, the high-tech peepshow could be coming to Toronto airports soon.

Federal Liberal leader Stéphane Dion hints that Canadians may be ready for a federal election this fall. Still, Dion is hoping to receive a signed, notarized affidavit from every single Canadian of voting age assuring him that they are absolutely, 100 percent cool with having an election; otherwise it's off.

While we're on the subject of TTC maps (as we often are), we might as well include the most wildly ambitious one of all. Reader Ryan Felix sent us his subway map, which he describes as a "fantasy map of the TTC" in 2050. Felix says it was "created in hope to influence people to become pro-transit, and to give a vision that Toronto can have a world-class transit system."

City backs away from plan to buy its own sidewalk food carts. And to think, it only took about ten thousand "what the hell is the city doing buying food carts, just let people buy their own damn food carts" comments and articles for the City to get the message! Toronto is getting more responsive every day, it really is.

Some Canadian cattle will now be allowed into the United States following a 4-year ban in the wake of several cases of "mad cow" disease. American Homeland Security regulations will still require that any bovines wishing to cross the border carry a valid passport.

Pearson Airport reduces landing fees. The move was cheered by airlines, who can now drop their prices accordingly. Oh, wait, they won't do that, they'll only drop their prices by maybe about ten percent of what they could with the savings, and pocket the rest. Capitalism works!

Employees of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission, which now oversees the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation, will not be permitted to buy lottery tickets in Ontario. A representative of the affected staffers complained, "why do you think we wanted to work here in the first place?" before shotgunning a 40-ouncer of Absolut and collapsing to the ground.

One of the pillars of the TTC's plan to trim its budget is to cut some twenty-one "poor performing" bus routes. But what, exactly, is a "poor performing" route? As it turns out, transit whiz Steve Munro claims, it sure isn't what the TTC says it is: "in a flat fare system," he writes, "it is impossible to allocate fare revenue in any way that makes sense and produces meaningful comparisons between routes."

Toronto had a violent weekend with nine people shot and four of them killed, including an 11-year-old boy at a birthday party. Two more people were stabbed. Cue relatives wailing, Police Chief Bill Blair saying "this is unacceptable," and headlines like "Saturday Night Bloodbath." We’ve seen all this before. Solutions, anyone?

Every weekday, we pick an image from the Torontoist Flickr Pool and feature it here on the site. It's our way to give the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve!

Torontoist has seen its fair share of Google Maps mashups. For geography nerds like us, maps are always fun to play around with, but most of the mashups we've seen so far have not been particularly useful. That is, unless you're dying to know where they keep all the Timmy's or bust all the grow-ops.

Ever since the creation of the Greater Toronto Transit Authority (GTTA) last year we have been eagerly awaiting some information about what it is they actually do and/or when/where they will actually do that thing. So, last week when Dalton McGuinty announced that (if re-elected) he would invest $17.5 billion in transit programs to be administered by the GTTA we decided it was time to do some serious research (i.e. Google them). Alas, we found naught but for the homepage of GO Transit.

Nine months into their existence, Porter Airlines chugs along, still under the radar of most. As the Toronto Star recently reported, the young airline is still struggling to find a steady stream of regular business customers. With traffic on the 401 at an all-time high, getting to Pearson during rush hours can potentially take as long as a flight to Montreal. On a weekend getaway, the give-or-take ten hours spent traveling to La Belle Province and back are costly. And with flights available for not much more than a regular fare round-trip on VIA to Montreal, it made sense to give Porter a shot.

New Brunswick native Mary Martell knew something was weird when the baggage scanners at Saint John Airport asked why she had packed a turkey in her suitcase. On her way through to YYZ for a business trip, Martell had no fowl to declare, so airport officials curiously sent her luggage through without much further scrutiny, despite seeing a tiny skeleton on the x-ray screen.

Another weekend of trade shows is upon us. The belle of the ball this year is the Green Living Show, but there are two other significant expos for which you should make room in your schedule: the Good Food Festival and the Yoga Show.

Every weekday, Torontoist is facing off local memes and blog drama in a tournament-style ladder and you, the reader, decide the outcome. View the full ladder here. Some highlights: ROM Crystal's sharp edges cut Miller's Hair (104 - 101): In the closest and most depressing match of the tournament so far, a napkin sketch gone wild shears the mayor's golden locks from atop his head. The late game upset may qualify for a recount on suspicions of steroid use, yes? Toronto Islands sink The Beaches (95 - 91): The ultimate NIMBY showdown sees the neighbourhood with an identity crisis get denied like a cross-harbour bridge. Today's matches, Region III + IV, 3rd Round:

The Annex vs. Island Airport
Leafs Fans vs. Bike Lanes
Taste of the Danforth vs. Turnitin.com
Nuit Blanche vs. Kensington Market
Congestion Charge vs. The Environment
Dufferin Grove vs. IllegalSigns.ca
Lower Bay vs. IKEA North York
Spadina North Station vs. 501 Queen Streetcar

Each weekday for the next two weeks, Torontoist is facing off local memes and blog drama in a tournament-style ladder and you, the reader, decide the outcome. View the full ladder here. Some highlights from Saturday's matches: 416 trounces 905 (95-12): In perhaps the most dramatic victory of the evening, the Toronto area code showed up the surrounding suburbs in a true show of telecommunications muscle. Miller's Hair buries Zombie Walks (59-47): The closest match, with the mayor's seemingly flawless haircut against the undead, Miller's golden wave came out on top. Only time will tell whether it can compete against the major league Layton's mustache. Today's matches, Region II, 1st Round:

The Annex vs. Skunks
Island Airport vs. Belinda Stronach
Leafs Fans vs. The Club District
Rob Ford vs. Bike Lanes
Street Meat vs. Taste of the Danforth
Turnitin.com vs. Jane Pitfield
Nuit Blanche vs. TIFF
Crack vs. Kensington Market

There was an unexpected windfall for Green P as a major dump of snow, along with high winds and freezing rain, turned much of the GTA into a parking lot during the evening commute yesterday. Apart from the traffic mayhem, fallen trees and power outages have also been a problem throughout the city. It sure looks pretty, though.

At 9:30 PM last night, Pearson Airport's drab but functional Terminal 2 saw its final departure take off for the United States. In April the process of tearing down the building will begin, first with its concrete crushed to be used as the sub-base for a strip of new tarmac. The closing of Terminal 2 and it's Mayan temple-like parking garage marks the end of Pearson Airport's lengthy and expensive Airport Development Plan (or ADP). At 4.5 billion dollars, it is the single most expensive project in Canada's history and is largely to blame for Toronto's dubious honour of having the highest airport landing fee in the world. The airport has already recently seen the demolition of the old Terminal 1, the construction of its big and fancy successor, and the installation of the LINK Interterminal Shuttle connecting Terminals 1 and 3.

Torontonians were once again woefully unprepared for the first major snowfall of the season. 500 traffic accidents in one day, people. Do we really want everybody else making fun of us again, like that time Mel Lastman called in the Army to help out after a snowfall? It's Just because we've had a freakishly warm winter thus far is no excuse for complacency!

Who likes lists? Everybody! As we creep up on the new year, we thought we'd reflect on a few of our more popular (and our more controversial) posts of the past twelve months. Thanks to our revamped Favourites page, it's a little easier. If nothing else, this post will give you some reading material to glance over while you're busy getting spiffy for this fine evening.

Earlier this week, Torontoist received word of an alarming recent event at Pearson airport. It centers around an Austrian Airlines flight to Vienna, departing from Toronto on Monday night. During takeoff, the cockpit reported a problem concerning the plane's fuel filter. Alerting Pearson traffic control of the issue, the plane circled over Lake Ontario, dumped its fuel, and landed.

It's the story that keeps on giving, folks - the Island Airport!

Watching the battle between the city and the Toronto Port Authority is like being stuck in a bad horror flick. Just when you think the stake has been driven into the necrotic heart of the Island Airport expansion plans, the undead issue rises from the grave to terrorize citizens yet again.

The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp. is still in turmoil. The Corp. has been without a board chair since the summer. What's worse, Queen's Park, Ottawa and the City couldn't decide who should be appointed to the chair. What's worse Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has been meddling in the affairs of the TWRC.

Sure, we all know John Travolta's in town after the notorious man-kissing episode at Hamilton Airport two weeks ago.

Maybe they're just tired of Howard Moscoe but the TTC committee unanimously voted to approve the Bombardier deal. The $499 million deal still has to go through council where we're sure there'll be an acrominous but ultimately futile debate.