Results tagged “theontario”

City councillor, unintentional humourist, and Torontoist favourite Councillor Rob Ford has grabbed himself some headlines again. He refuses to apologize for his comments on Wednesday, "the Oriental people, they're slowly taking over...they're hard, hard workers," because his sweeping generalization was intended as "a compliment." However, a spokesperson for the Canadian Council of Lazy Asians has said that the remarks were "deeply offensive."

Photo by David Topping. A mysterious bag discovered in an alleyway beside the Royal Ontario Museum at about 7:00 p.m. tonight has shut down all traffic––pedestrian and vehicular––on Bloor between St. George and University and on Queen's Park southbound from Bloor and Harbord. UPDATE (10:45 p.m.): CTV is now saying that police have found "what appears to be a pipe bomb," and that the building was (half-)evacuated (contrary to what we were originally told)....

Police had to quell trouble at the One Bloor condo site yesterday, as queue-jumpers moved in on agents and spotholders who had been standing in line for as long as a week. Although the interlopers were ultimately forced to the back of the line, many of those waiting were still too late to buy a unit in the development. One dissatisfied linestander said, "When do I get my iPhone?"

The Ontario Coalition For Social Justice and Make Poverty History believe there need not always be dissonance when electioneering and rock n' roll meet. This Monday's Vote Out Poverty gala at Massey Hall promises to be a "coming together of people from all walks of life and political allegiances gathering for an evening of entertainment united by a desire to reduce poverty in Ontario, Canada and the world," and will feature a multi-partisan mashup of songsters and speakers. Mary Walsh is hosting, Stephen Lewis is keynoting, George Stromboloupoulos is Stromboloupoulizing, and Susan Aglukark, The Nylons, The Hidden Cameras, and Blackie And The Rodeo Kings are folking and/or rocking.

The Ontario government will spend around $27 billion on nuclear power between now and 2025 in a bid to keep the lights on in the province. If history is any indicator, the nuke plans will be characterized by inefficiencies, unanticipated delays,and massive cost overruns, but will at least ensure that future generations have access to a secure supply of radioactive waste.

Proving that New Democrats actually are allowed to have a sense of humour, former provincial cabinet minister and federal candidate Marilyn Churley commented on the dearth of women in the Ontario legislature by suggesting that there were not enough Janes and too many Dicks in provincial politics. You go, girl.

The crime rate in Canada dropped 3% last year, hitting its lowest overall rate in 25 years, with the GTA one of the least criminally inclined of Canadian cities. Politicians and police agencies will want to take credit for the decline, but the explanation can more likely be found in recent census data which noted the accelerating codgerization of Canadian society.

Airy, high ceilings. Store shapes and frontages that smashed the standard box shape.

Ottawa denies entrance to Nelson Mandela's wife. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was supposed to give a speech at a fundraiser gala last night, but was told that she was denied a visa because she had been previously convicted of kidnapping and fraud. The fact that she was allowed in the United States three weeks ago means nothing. Come on, the U.S. never lets anyone in!

Three years ago, Frank Warren printed 3000 postcards inviting people to share a secret with him. Long since he stopped handing these first postcards out at subway stations and art galleries, he continues to receive secrets from around the world. Each week, Warren posts some of these on PostSecret, the largest advertisement-free blog on the internet. He has also published three books compiling some of these secrets: PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives, My Secret (secrets from teenagers and college students), and The Secret Lives of Men and Women.

Toronto's overwhelming reception of Al Gore yesterday prompted David Miller to toughen his stance on climate change. Mayor Miller promised an aggressive change in policy on pollution, transit and construction, which will be formally proposed in late March.

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford dead at 93. Not really much to say here: he was by all accounts an extremely decent man who served honorably. (Unless you are of the belief that all politicians are by their very nature forked-tongue devils, which is not the most uncommon belief out there.) I suppose Chevy Chase has one less go-to joke in his arsenal, though, which makes this an extremely sad day for Chevy Chase.

The motion to reopen Parliamentary debate on same-sex marriage was thrown to the curb, kicked a few times, then repeatedly stabbed with a rusty knife. Charles McVety, head of the Canadian Family Coalition, says his group will not give up the fight against same-sex marriage because "the people of Canada are not going to let this go." (Of course, a solid majority of the people of Canada same-sex marriage, and a bunch more do not actually give a damn if gays get married or not, so he is not actually accurate on this last point because we're apparently quite happy to let it go. Also, he is a douchebag.)

When the feds handed out $37 million for improving security on transit systems nationwide yesterday, Go Transit received $5.3 million, $4.3 million went to Union Station, but the TTC received only $1.46 Million, just shy of the $17 million it asked for. "It's like handing a bum a dime and saying, `Go buy a cup of coffee,'" said Howard Moscoe, distractedly pushing a rusty shopping cart full of discount surveillance cameras.

In Rome, at least 1 person has died, and 10 more have been seriously injured in a subway collision involving two trains. It has been over 10 years since the Russel Hill incident here in Toronto.

Jane Pitfield got herself some media attention by calling Mayor Miller a liar. "He hasn't been truthful with the taxpayer, and there have been many people who unfortunately have been lied to by David Miller, and I'm one of them," she was quoted at a press conference. The Mayor's team calls the attack a desperate ploy. No word on whether pants were on fire. She also called the mayor "soft on crime."

Hello, class! Ron isn't here today. I will be your substitute Ron.

Three hit and runs in Etobicoke over the weekend has killed one and injured five others. Two of the hit and runs were possibly sparked by earlier disputes.

City election officials are having a hard time figuring out whether lots of people on the voting list are actually eligible to vote. This may have a direct affect on municipal campaign financing.

Toronto had eight shootings over the weekend. Eight. Two of them were fatal. The Star focuses in on the night-time shooting outside a 7-11 at College and Spadina. The Sun gives a rundown of the gun violence in the GTA this weekend.

City council is debating a Sunday noise ban today but only in low-density residential neighbourhoods. Howard Moscoe, pointed out that this idea is discriminatory, "More than half the people in the city live in highrise buildings. People who have condos deserve as much right to noise protection as people wealthy enough to own a single-family home," he said to the Star. Howard we agree with you on this one.

Sorry for that headline. These stray microwaves could be an answer to looming the energy crisis in Toronto. Instead of throwing out microwaves and air conditioners, as Mayor Miller might suggest with his preference for conservation, the Ontario government will be building a gas-fired power plant along Toronto's waterfront property. This of course comes after The Ontario Power Authority rejected a proposal for a 550-megawatt gas-fired plant on the site of the old Hearn station on the waterfront. And what of the recent discussions on nuclear energy? The discussions on nuclear energy, as it stands, is that public discussions are scheduled. With loads of opposition to nuclear power, the three-year plan to phase out coal-burning plants, and now a decision on a new plant (against city council wishes, no less), Premier McGuinty is under significant pressure to act. Was the blackout that bad?

The Ontario government has a new message for the province's unfrozen raw fish: You can swim, but you can't hide! Starting Jan. 1, 2005, Ontario will take a swipe at the illness known as anisakiasis by banning unfrozen raw fish in restaurants. Unfrozen raw fish (street name: "sushi") can very rarely carry a parasitic roundworm that burrows into the stomach or intestine. The Ontario crackdown on unfrozen raw fish will force the sushi chefs to freeze the fish at -20 C for at least seven days. In preparation for the ban, Toronto's sushi restaurants are planning to serve unfrozen raw pit bulls instead.