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Newsstand: October 30, 2014
Halloween is tomorrow―this means only one more day of having to suffer through that annoying Village People–themed Value Village radio commercial. We may not have costumes, but we sure do have some news for you: The provincial government aims to cap executive salaries at public sector agencies, a Trailer Park Boys actress accuses Jian Ghomeshi of sexual violence, paramedics concerned over lack of Ebola preparedness training are ordered back to work, and a woman is seriously injured after falling onto the 401.
The provincial government is looking to put a lid on executive salaries across a broad swath of the public sector, including several agencies where hefty bonuses and severance packages have recently led to intense criticism. Second reading of the proposed legislation began yesterday. If eventually passed, it would see limits put on executive compensations at eHealth, the LCBO, Local Health Integration Networks, Metrolinx, and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., and Ornge. Hospitals, universities, and utilities throughout the province would also be included. In an effort to increase transparency, the bill would create compensation frameworks specific to each sector, which would include bonus, salary, and severance package structures.
A new report from the Toronto Star snowballs accusations of sexual violence against former CBC radio personality Jian Ghomeshi. It introduces accounts from four new women, including the first incident reported by a woman willing to be publicly identified. Trailer Park Boys actress Lucy DeCoutere alleges that while on a date in 2003, Ghomeshi choked her to the point where she could not breathe, and slapped the side of her head forcefully. DeCoutere claims Ghomeshi did not ask for consent, saying, “He did not ask if I was into it. It was never a question. It was shocking to me.” Ghomeshi has yet to respond to the new claims, which bring the total number of women who accuse Ghomeshi of sexual violence to eight.
As many as 10 Toronto Paramedic Services employees have been ordered back to work by the Ministry of Labour after submitting refusal to work papers with their union on Monday, citing concerns over Ebola preparedness. The labour ministry says that Toronto paramedics were supposed to be fully trained on Ebola preparedness procedures by October 23, but according to their union, only one-third of them had received training as of October 27. It will take approximately three more weeks to fully train all remaining paramedics in what is called “tailgate sessions,” a less-fun-than-it-sounds method where a supervisor squeezes in training with an on-duty crew in between calls.
A woman was airlifted to a Toronto hospital with serious injuries after she fell from an overpass onto the 401 near Port Hope. It is believed that she was taking photographs when she fell onto the highway. Thankfully, she was not struck be any vehicles, and motorists immediately stopped to help her.