Results tagged “jacklayton”

Well, look who's offering candy to babies now. Stephen Harper ditches the friendly blue sweater in favour of something a little spookier in this politically themed Halloween montage in Little India. On Woodfield Road, the resident artist's lawn arrangement is placed perfectly for tonight's festivities—the city will be closing down a portion of the road tonight from 6–9 p.m., where a fire eater will be taking the place of cars. And while the performer is busy chomping on flames and captivating the eyes of kids, well, here's hoping the politicians don't pop out and try to eat the children.

UNDEAD: Just when we thought it was safe to walk the streets again, hordes of zombies rise from the dead for the 2009 Toronto Zombie Walk. Would-be corpses do the zombie shuffle from the pit of Trinity-Bellwoods park, east along Dundas, through Kensington Market, and up through the bowels of the Annex to Bloor and Bathurst streets. The Bloor Cinema hosts an accompanying "Cinema of the Dead" double bill (Zombie and Night of the Comet) following the brains-seeking mob's arrival, while Sneaky Dee’s hosts the Official Toronto Zombie Walk After Party, starring The Rock Ons. Trinity-Bellwoods Park, Saturday 3 p.m., FREE; Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor Street West), Saturday 7 p.m., $16 (zombies) or $20 (living).

In a recent article, we described Canadian democracy as "drunken" and "staggering," eliciting the image of a bumbling, well-intentioned dullard saddled with an affliction that, for better or worse, is an effect of his or her environment or circumstances but manifest as failure for reasons entirely their own. Today, with news from Ottawa that two opposition parties are going to supportively wedge themselves under Harper's armpits for a while, we—like others with a shamelessly professed anti-Harper bias—stand by it.

Cue the trumpets, unfurl the banners, make with the fanfare, and let fly with a triumphant shout of "Sweet merciful crap, here we go again."

On the second-last Sunday in May, Jack Layton and Olivia Chow picked up some cans of spray paint and some acrylic paint, strolled into a laneway in the Annex, and spent the day marking their territory—on the big aqua wall of their own home, previously littered with tags.

There's more than enough trash-talking to go with the tulips this spring on Parliament Hill, with some distinctly unflowery themes (Fiscal mismanagement! Attack ads! Election threats! Secret tapes!) echoing through the air.

COMEDY: After NDP Leader Jack Layton speaks at the Ontario NDP leadership debate this afternoon, he'll shake up the comedy scene on the improv stage. As a guest star on the talk show Monkey Toast, Layton follows the likes of Mayor David Miller, Canadian Idol's Jake Gold, and Royal Canadian Air Farce’s Don Ferguson, whose interviews have all served as comedy fodder for the show in the past. BNN’s Kim Parlee and comedian Ron Sparks will also be guest starring tonight. Don’t miss it. Gladstone Hotel Ballroom (1214 Queen Street West), 8 p.m., pay-what-you-can.

With the national economy struggling under the weight of a global economic crisis, Governor General Michaëlle Jean yesterday delivered a throne speech that was both incredibly brief (the English version contains just 750 words) and, due to the intense Ottawa cold, surrounded by hardly any of the usual vice-regal pomp and circumstance. Which was probably just as well, given that yesterday's speech was really just the pre-game show for today's main event, the federal budget.

Two months ago, Michael Ignatieff joined Twitter. Under his biography, he clearly stated his objective: Michael Ignatieff for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Over five weeks, he updated fifteen times ("Is energized by the crowd last night – what a great way to start a week. Off to Ottawa today," he wrote on November 24) and accumulated 754 followers.

                     

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2008--the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months, with one hero and one villain selected by each participating staff member. On Christmas Day: the heroes. On Boxing Day: the villains. And next week, cast your vote to determine the Superhero and Supervillain of the year.

                

It's been a tumultuous month so far in Canadian politics, with an unlikely centre-left coalition seeking to oust the newly re-elected Conservatives from power in Ottawa. But although Prime Minister Stephen Harper put the kibosh on the opposition's attempt to boot him from office before year's end, Saturday's duelling noontime pro- and anti-coalition rallies in Toronto went on as planned, showing just how much this unusual crisis has shaken residents across the political spectrum.

Photo by jcbear2.

One hundred and forty-two minutes: That's how long it took Prime Minister Stephen Harper to emerge from Rideau Hall this morning to announce that Governor General Michaëlle Jean had granted his request to prorogue, or suspend, Parliament until Jan. 26. The first item on the agenda upon the resumption of Parliament will be the presentation of a federal budget. In comments to reporters, the prime minister pledged to try to address the opposition parties' concerns with respect to stimulus for the beleaguered economy. Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe all say that the possibility of a Liberal-NDP coalition is still in the cards. Click here to discuss Harper's prorogation move and Canada's continuing political drama.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will speak to the nation tonight at 7 p.m. in a televised address that could spell out his plan to stave off defeat at the hands of an unprecedented Liberal-NDP coalition. The address comes in the middle of a public relations blitz from both sides of the political battle, featuring websites, newspaper editorials, and attack ads. Protests are also being organized across the country, including duelling rallies in Toronto planned for Saturday, December 6 at noon, with coalition supporters meeting at Nathan Phillips Square and the anti-coalition side gathering at Queen's Park. Get your placards ready! Click here to discuss the coalition crisis and wildly speculate on Harper's last-ditch plans.

After a weekend of negotiation and conjecture, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton this afternoon signed an accord pledging to work together in a coalition government until June 30, 2011, should the Conservative government be defeated in a vote of non-confidence. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe also signed on, agreeing that his party will support the coalition until at least 2010. Under the accord, Stéphane Dion would be prime minister until the Liberal Party picks its new leader in May 2009; the new cabinet would consist of twenty-four members, including six New Democrats, with a Liberal finance minister. Click here to discuss the coalition deal and the unprecedented political drama engulfing the nation.

It was barely a month ago that the Harper Conservatives were returned to government with a strengthened minority and politicians of all stripes were pledging to work together to steer Canada through the global financial storm. But after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered an economic update yesterday that promised to end pay-equity programs, suspend federal employees' right to strike, and eliminate the subsidy for political parties (a move that would financially cripple the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc, but not the Conservatives), all three opposition leaders declared that either the Tories would have to blink or the government falls.

Photo by Jenna Marie Wakani from the NDP's Flickr photostream.

Photo of Stephen Harper voting today from the AP.

Photo by Gardinergirl from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

It's been a week and a half since the federal election was called and just five days remain before candidate nominations close. The races in most ridings are shaping up, but so far it looks like no candidates in Toronto–Danforth (including NDP leader Jack Layton) have managed to scrape together the 100 signatures required to submit their nomination papers. Who will be the first? It could be you.

ART: The ROM is launching a new series called "Out of the Vaults" today. The exhibition will display the ceremonial garb of Chief Sitting Bull, including his war shirt, moccasins, and iconic feathered war bonnet, all on display in the Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada. What's more, an original court gown of Marie Antoinette will be on display as part of the exhibition for two weeks starting October 11 in the Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles and Costume, before it gets loaned to the palace of Versailles. The Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen's Park), 10 a.m., $22 (included with admission).

Jack Layton may have still had a shitty week, but his Twitter never got hacked with messages about "poop time" or Olivia being a douche—Accordion Guy picked the screenshot of Layton's Twitter up from image dump site File Pile (the name Miss Fipi Lele, his "reliable source," is just a play on the site's name, which we didn't know at the time), and he was notified last night by the person who posted the image there that it was fake. We can still dream, though.

(UPDATE: It's a fake!) It's been a pretty shitty week for Jack Layton. First, he faced an enormous backlash from supporters and opponents alike after he threatened to back out of the leaders debates if Elizabeth May was allowed to participate in them, and, yesterday afternoon, his Twitter got into the hands of someone who made three quick entries: "Olivia's being a douche."; "Alright, poop time."; and "Okay, poop is coming out." The entries remained on his Twitter for at least fourteen hours, more than enough time to make the whole thing totally embarrassing.

TTC "U-pass" close to passing for students, possibly also hotel workers. If the scheme passes, the TTC will suddenly be crowded once again, rendering all those recent fleet upgrades essentially moot. Hooray for public transit!

The Tory minority government is double-dog-daring the Opposition to force an election over their crime bill. Prediction: Stéphane Dion will grumble and pretend he doesn't care, Jack Layton will howl impotently, and the Bloc will negotiate another billion dollars for folk-dancing in Rimouski. Stephen Harper is truly the alpha Parliamentarian in this bunch.

The Stephen Harper government unveiled its plan for the country in the Throne Speech last night, emphasizing the usual panoply of tax-cuttin', crime fightin', environment dismissin' Conservative virtues. Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe have already stated they will not support the government, while Liberal leader Stéphane Dion will decide whether to force an election after consulting with his caucus. Dion is envied by the other opposition leaders for his massive caucus.

I don't know, I only came close. I can at least tell you that practice has nothing to do with it. I'd practiced my speech a lot.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams addressed an enthusiastic crowd last night at the Hot House Cafe on Church Street, as part of what organizers billed as a "Summer Celebration" of the Irish peace process. Adams is on a speaking tour of North America to thank supporters of Friends of Sinn Fein, a non-profit fundraising group whose Canadian chapter, located in Toronto, was launched by Adams in 2001. Adams was one of the principle negotiators of the Good Friday Agreement, which saw the beginning of stabilized relations among Northern Ireland, Britain and the Irish Republic.

Canada's second-last WWI veteran dies at 106. Percy Dwight Wilson (pictured) lied about his age to enlist in the army at the age of fifteen. Is that not amazing? Torontoist thinks that's amazing!

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.