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Weekend Newsstand: October 1, 2011
Saturday morning. It’s grey, it’s cold, it’s October. Happy weekend to you. In the news: safe injection sites get legal right of way, the TTC might get a little more talkative, and budget cuts, City services, and politics, glorious politics.
Safe injection sites may be coming to a city near you. With the ruling that Vancouver’s controversial Insite clinic can stay open, experts say that this opens the door for similar clinics in other cities, such as Toronto. Harm reduction advocates and public health workers have long pushed for clinics of this kind in order to provide a safe place for drug users, as they are said to decrease the risk of overdose or needle contamination. Mayor Ford, a known adversary of such sites, is not likely to let this happen without a fight. Stay tuned.
Think there’s was no way your fellow commuters could find new ways to annoy you while riding The Rocket? Would you change your mind if you knew loud, TMI phone conversations could be in your future? By the end of this year the TTC is expected to award a contract to a wireless provider to set up cell reception in TTC stations. Get ready to learn even more about the private lives of your fellow Torontonians.
Budget cuts, shmudget cuts. Who wants to give up money when they can ask for more? Certainly not Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, who has come out swinging against the City’s proposed cost-cutting. Instead of adhering to the across-the-board decreases, Toronto’s main cop is asking for an additional 1.5 per cent—to the tune of $14.5 million. This should be fun.
But all is not unwell in the world of Rob Ford. Soothing the Mayor’s frayed, budget-obsessed, City-funding-hating nerves are the five bids that have come in from four private garbage collecting companies (one company, Waste Management of Canada, appears to be hedging their bets and has provided two). Bids range from $17.5 million to $25.6 million, which is nearly $5 million less than the $30.7 million the City spends now. Council will vote on the contracts on October 24.
Another Saturday, another prediction of a minority government. The race for Ontario is tighter still with the Grits and the Tories neck-and-neck, and the NDPs not far behind, according to polls, polls, and more polls. The election is next Thursday—don’t forget to educate yourself and vote!