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Newsstand: October 14, 2010
Illustration by Matt Daley/Torontoist.
Thoughts for a Thursday: Rossi’s out of the race, Smitherman and Ford are neck and neck (actually, only one of these men really has a neck, but we’ll let the metaphor stand), employers are charged in Christmas Eve migrant worker deaths, and niqabs are allowed in court.
We could have sworn that just the other day we were waxing Newsstand-ily about how Rocco Rossi was going to insist on staying on the ballot for mayor despite urging from his big-name supporters to drop out. Another day, another tune, and last night, after moths of turning up single-digits in the polls, Rossi announced his departure from the mayoral race, saying that the campaign has devolved into a question of Ford vs. Not-Ford. He is not throwing his support behind anyone.
The latest swab of polling has done its work, and the numbers from Ipsos-Reid have Smitherman and Ford in a dead heat, with Smitherman grabbing 31% and Ford 30% of the four hundred Toronto residents polled over the Thanksgiving weekend. Among those who say they will definitely be voting, those numbers go up to 38% for Smitherman and 32% for Ford. There were a bunch of questions about trust, and we’re not so good at math, but we’re pretty sure the results came up with a distinct lack of trust for everyone. The point of this poll, it seems, was to show that the race has come down to Ford vs. Not Ford. We think we’ve heard that somewhere before. Oh, and because it is still OK to talk about other candidates: Joe Pantalone’s share of the poll pie was 11%.
Feeling ambivalent about how the mayoral race is looking? Not sure if you’re going to vote? Give urban afficionado Shawn Micallef’s urge to vote and defence of strategic voting a read.
Last Christmas Eve, four migrant workers fell to their deaths and one was severely injured when a scaffold broke beneath their feet as they repaired concrete balconies on a Rexdale apartment. Three men from Metron Construction—Vadim Kazenelson, Joel Swartz, and Benny Saigh—have now been charged with counts of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm. It is believed that this is the first Ontario prosecution under a six-year-old provision of the criminal code designed to penalize unsafe employers.
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a decision ruling that a woman identified as N.S. will not be required to remove the niqab covering her face in order to testify in court unless the fairness of the trial is compromised. In 2007, N.S. accused her cousin and uncle of repeated sexual abuse, and at a preliminary inquiry a lower court ordered that she remove the veil over her face. Supporters of the Court of Appeal ruling say that forcing N.S. to uncover her face will deter other women with similar coverings from accessing the justice system. Detractors point to the precedent set for appearing in court with one’s identity concealed.
You know who everyone who’s ever needed to issue a formal apology should take a page from? The Toronto FC. The floundering footballers didn’t make the playoffs again, and apparently their changes to their season seat package sucked, and they just came out and said point blank, “We are sorry.” No contraction to reduce the gravitas or anything. They are also soliciting feedback from supporters to find out how they can change. They must have someone really good working on their PR.