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Newsstand: December 11, 2014
McDonald's is set to get rid of eight menu items. Does this mean that the Fillet-o-Fish has finally met its end? In the news: Gord Perks doesn’t think that TTC fare inspectors should carry batons, Scotiabank is accused of racial profiling, and Councillor Rob Ford is already eyeing a 2018 mayoral bid.
The Toronto Transit Commission is getting ready to bring 80 new fare inspectors on the job to help prevent fraud as more streetcars allow all-door boarding. Now its decision to equip them with handcuffs and collapsible batons is being scrutinized. TTC spokesperson Brad Ross explains that fare inspectors receive the same use-of-force training as the TTC special constables, who operate under an agreement with Toronto Police Services, although they are not given the same designation. This troubles critics, including City Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park), who wrote a letter to the TTC board to vent his concerns. Perks says that the TTC does not have the mandate to equip and train employees in the use of force, and that since fare inspectors are not designated as special constables, any investigations of misconduct would be left to the TTC and not the Toronto Police. According to Ross, fare inspectors have been carrying batons without incident since August.
A Toronto man has filed a $250,000 lawsuit against Scotiabank, his real estate broker, and Toronto Police after, he alleges, he was racially profiled while trying to make a deposit at his local branch. Frantz St-Fleur went to the Scotiabank located at Scarborough Town Centre last April to deposit a $9,000 refund on a condo deposit into his tax-free savings account. Within minutes of being questioned about the deposit by bank officials he was placed under arrest for trying to cash a fraudulent cheque. A few hours later, after he was taken to the 43 Division station and placed in a jail cell, police confirmed that the cheque was authentic, and he was let go. St-Fleur’s lawyer says that there was no reason to question the authenticity of the cheque. To make amends to St-Fleur for the incident, Scotiabank reportedly offered to reverse the charges on his account for a period of two years, which would have been equal to approximately $100. St-Fleur called the offer a “slap in the face” and says that his lawsuit is less about getting compensated for the incident and more about getting his story out into the open.
Here we go again. Former mayor and current city councillor Rob Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North) is already plotting his next mayoral bid in 2018. “If my health holds up, my name will be on the ballot. I’m plotting it out as we speak. I’m ready to go. I’ve just got to make sure my health is okay,” said Ford on Wednesday. Ford is set to begin his fifth round of chemotherapy next week to treat a rare form of cancer in his abdomen.