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Newsstand: December 19, 2014
Beware the Santabomb, 2014's answer to Snowmageddon. Buy your supplies now. In the news: a U of T graduate finds an innovative way to get her name out, Tory says no to new taxes, and police shoot a man at Agincourt Mall.
It’s a difficult market out there for graduates, and Xingyi Yan is no different. Yan finished her undergraduate commerce degree last summer, and has been searching for employment ever since. After sending hundreds of resumes and getting only a few interviews—and no jobs—Yan came up with the idea of heading to Bloor and Church Streets, strapping a whiteboard to herself reading “U of T GRAD FOR HIRE. TAKE MY RESUMÉ & GET A FREE XMAS GIFT,” and offering candy canes to people passing by. Yan wants to find a job in order to apply for permanent residency; she’s currently here from Shenyang, China, on a three-year work permit.
As a measure to fulfill the city’s budget obligations, City Council is looking into the feasibility of new taxes on “parking, alcohol, cigarettes and entertainment.” Mayor John Tory opposes the idea of raising any taxes above the rate of inflation. The city will need to find $333 million to offset “spending pressures,” according to city staff. The proposed “sin taxes,” however, might not be much of a boon. Some research into the matter shows that they would be expensive to implement and would only net about as much as they cost. And city budget chief Gary Crawford also doesn’t support the implementation of such taxes.
After an encounter with police outside the Agincourt Mall Walmart, a 40-year-old man is dealing with life-threatening injuries and the Special Investigations Unit is now investigating. Police were called to the Walmart to deal with the man, who was allegedly harming himself with a butcher knife. According to on-scene paramedics, the man suffered a gunshot to his abdomen. Walmart employees said the victim worked there, though the company has yet to confirm that information. While the facts are still being determined about this case, it would not be the first time Toronto police have injured or killed a mentally distressed person.