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Newsstand: May 3, 2011
Illustration by Sasha Plotnikova/Torontoist.
Tuesday arrives, heralding the end of the election and the beginning of a stable Canada. FINALLY. In the news, lots of election talk, especially from Toronto (formerly known as the fortress of the Liberal Party); the omnibus bylaw may get the axe; and the police union reach a tentative deal.
Feeling blue? So is the rest of the country, in one way or another, as Stephen Harper and his Conservatives finally nail down that majority government they’ve been aiming at. Voting in Toronto got off to a bit of a rocky start, with reports of misleading robocalls and mix-ups at seniors homes. But after the dust settled, the Tory majority rose up from the ashes of the Liberal party, with the Cons busting up the very! foundation! of the Grits’ fortress: Toronto. For those of you keeping score, all but one seat in the 905 are now held by Conservatives, and within the bastion of bastions, it’s nine seats to the Conservatives, the NDP upping their seats from two to eight, and the Liberals losing 15 Toronto MPs.
Hey, at least one Torontonian is pleased with the results. Oh, right, and Jack Layton too, who will be the leader of the Official Opposition.
In case you’re feeling like crawling back in time, you can always re-read our once-live blog of election night. Or move to Hamilton, where every incumbent was re-elected. And be sure to keep your internet dial tuned to us for local perspectives and analysis.
Some other stuff happened yesterday too.
Peter Milczyn (Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore), chair of the Planning and Growth Management committee, suggested scrapping the so-called omnibus bylaw. The city-wide bylaw covers a range of jurisdictions in an attempt to ease any post-amalgamation confusion. But the best the bit about building permits has done to unify the city is draw official complaints from over 700 residents, including budget chief Mike Del Grande (Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt), who filed appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board. The planning committee will officially decide what to do with the omnibus next week. But let it be known that if it is scrapped, all the OMB appeals will be erased (along with the $7 million already spent on the bylaw’s creation).
The Toronto Police Association, the union representing the Big Smoke’s boys and gals in blue, have come to a tentative agreement with the police services board. Further details of the deal will be released after union members get a peek at it later this week.
So go now, and nurse your hangovers from an evening of celebration and/or sorrow, but come back tomorrow when there will be talk of many more things beyond this election. We hope.