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Newsstand: February 18, 2011
Illustration by Jeremy Kai/Torontoist.
It’s Friday, ‘ave some fish ‘n’ chips, guv’nor! Today, cop apologizes for slut comment, legal changes will let you bring down perps without fear, union head surprisingly doesn’t think much of privately funded subways.
The police officer who told a group of Osgoode Hall students that women could avoid rape by not dressing like “sluts” has apologized for his comment. In a written apology that was possibly not authored by the TPS public relations department, Constable Michael Sanguinetti said his remark at the safety forum was “poorly thought out and did not reflect the commitment of the Toronto Police Service to the victims of sexual assaults.” Police sensitivity training is also being revised to ensure officers know it is unacceptable to suggest that women are inviting sexual assault by dressing like “sluts”, with “skanks” or “ho-bags” being the preferred substitutes.
Prime Minister Harper turned up at David Chen’s Lucky Moose Food Mart yesterday to announce changes to the Criminal Code that will make it easier for people to make citizen’s arrests without facing legal consequences. The amendments will allow people to make a citizen’s arrest within a “reasonable period” after a crime was committed, rather than only while the crime is taking place as now. David Chen, the Chinatown grocer who achieved fame after being arrested following a citizen’s arrest on a serial shoplifter, said he was happy with the changes. Superheroes will continue to operate in a grey area between citizens and law enforcement, unless public opinion against them is stirred up by an irascible newspaper editor.
Mayor Rob Ford may have dismissed brother Doug’s comments that Toronto’s mayor needs more power, but the province says they’re willing to consider the possibility if anyone asks them. A spokesperson for the provincial minister of municipal affairs told the Globe that, if requested, the minister would be prepared to have a discussion on “the best way forward.” Today’s theme-related question: if Rob Ford could have one superpower, what do you think it should be? We’re voting invisibility or Hulkism.
The President of CUPE Ontario is warning that Mayor Ford’s plan to fund subways through private partnerships will wind up costing the taxpayers. Fred Hahn asked the province to stop such partnerships, saying that corporations will bail out after they’ve made their money and leave government with a hefty tab to pay off. When discussing this story, earn cool points by using the term “P3” to refer to public-private partnerships.
Don’t forget that we’re headed into the Family Day long weekend. Because it’s a provincial holiday and not a federal one, most stores will be closed on Monday, but there will be mail service and other federal stuff happening.