news
Newsstand: June 11, 2010
lllustration by Clayton Hanmer/Torontoist.
So much for this cornucopia of multiculturalism. Toronto usually pats itself on the back for its diversity, but a Ryerson study, released Thursday, found that visible minorities are still under-represented in the workforce, especially in the private sector. Non-white people are scarce in powerful positions and hard to find represented in mainstream media, the study says. Not only that, but the city is actually worse off than it was two decades ago when it comes to integrating immigrants. According to a report by the Board of Trade, today’s immigrants are earning less than those of the 1980s, and not harnessing their skills is costing the region more than two billion dollars a year.
If you’re planning to visit any patients at the hospital, make sure to burn your clothes after, otherwise you may be getting visitors of your own. Bedbugs have taken up residence on the main floor of the Etobicoke General site of the William Osler Health Centre. The bugs have made a come-back across the city since 2004. The hospital is dealing with the infestation and says the bloodsuckers are not a health risk, but many won’t let it go that easily, Toronto Star columnist Joe Fiorito included. After the itchiness, the gross-out factor, the fumigation, the washing of all clothing, and the fear they’ll return, the main health concern will be keeping your sanity.
Hoorah! for the environment…sort of. Due to a motion passed Wednesday, TTC buses may no longer be allowed to idle for more than one minute. Buses used to be allowed three minutes of idling within an hour, and fifteen minutes of idling at stopovers and layovers, but an amendment to the 1996 bylaw could change that. That sounds like a good idea, except diesel buses need to cool down for three minutes before the engine can be turned off, and shutting the diesel guzzlers on and off all day as they wait for passengers might actually send more crap matter into the air than idling.
And speaking of transit, a TTC union boss has been arrested for—wait for it—thieving copper wire. After a tip from TTC constables, police searched Mike Santos’s home in Vaughan and found a “quantity” of the shiny metal. Santos was charged with possession and theft, both of over five thousand dollars.
A Miss Universe hopeful upset students and a fellow contestant while speaking at a high school in Oshawa about body image. Tiffany Munro likely meant to encourage students not to succumb to the pressures of over dieting, but instead offended all who were present by saying that pageant organizers didn’t want contestants to look “like some little African child with the ribs going on.” A fellow contestant, originally from Africa, had just finished talking about her time at a Rwandan refugee camp. Judges say they look for beauty AND brains in these things, but Tiffany may have missed the memo. The Miss Universe Canada pageant wraps up on Monday.
Happy weekend!