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Newsstand: December 31, 2014
As one year ends and another begins, only one question remains: does anyone actually know the words to “Auld Lang Syne”? In the news: a Toronto woman discovers dynamite in her home, a lot of Torontonians have the flu, and Bill Blair’s final year-end interview.
Toronto Police dispatched the bomb squad to a Sackville Street home on Tuesday afternoon where a woman discovered nine sticks of dynamite. While going through old boxes and contents left in the home by her parents, the woman found a bag she reportedly thought was filled with rolls of coins before realizing that it was actually dynamite, which police say is highly unsafe. The building and surrounding areas were evacuated while the chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear, and explosives response team removed the sticks from the home, with the intention of transporting them to the Leslie Street Spit for a controlled detonation.
If you get the feeling that everyone you talk to lately is sick, it is because they probably are. According to Public Health Toronto, the city is experiencing the worst flu season in years, with 152 lab-confirmed cases of influenza during the week of December 20. In total, there have been 456 reported cases of influenza in Toronto this year. Thankfully, cold and flu season typically reaches its apex around New Year, so the worst of it will be behind us in a few short weeks. Province-wide, influenza numbers are also up this year with 564 newly confirmed cases as of December 20, which is more than double the number reported this time last year. According to health officials, H3N2 has been the most dominant strain of the flu this year, and is not covered by this year’s flu shot. However, Dr. Doug Sider of Public Health Ontario says that this should not prevent people from getting the vaccine, since it is still considered effective against other strains of influenza.
In his final year-end interview, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair says that it came as no surprise to him when his request for a two-year contract extension was denied by the Toronto Police Services Board. Blair says that the working relationship between him and board chair Alok Mukherjee had deteriorated over the course of several years, causing a breakdown in communication. Whereas the two used to speak almost daily on policy issues, Blair says that Mukherjee was responsible for eventually ending their frequent communication. Blair also touched on the the highly controversial carding issue, which received increased attention this year when a report released in the fall showed that officers were ignoring new policies that aimed to limit their authority to question and document citizens. “It’s a very complex issue. There are a number of things that need to be balanced. There is the public interest in maintaining safe communities, and ensuring everyone’s treated properly and with respect,” says Blair. Blair was also defensive of the police budget, which rose to $1 billion during his tenure. Citing wage settlements as a key component of budget increases, Blair insists that he has done all that he can to curb spending and refuses to accept the criticism that his budget was not managed properly.