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Newsstand: January 16, 2015
As usual, this week's announcement of the Academy Awards nominations left plenty for everyone to be upset about. Seriously, though: did the Academy even watch Selma? In more local news, Leslie Roberts has resigned from Global, Barrie police arrested a man who asked for a ride while in possession of cocaine, emergency shelter rooms are being made available at motels, and the hearing continues for the highest-ranking police officer charged in relation to 2010's G20 protests.
Following a Toronto Star investigation that revealed he was the part owner of a local PR firm, Global TV anchor Leslie Roberts has resigned from the television network. As part owner of Buzz PR, Roberts had provided positive coverage to some of his company’s clients without informing Global about this potential conflict of interest.
Police in Barrie arrested a man who matched the description of a suspected drug dealer after the man approached officers and asked for a ride. The man gave a false name, according to the officers, but once his identity was uncovered they realized “he was breaching several conditions of previous releases,” and in arresting him for those breaches officers searched the man and found cocaine.
Just two weeks into the new year, four homeless men have already died in Toronto. In response to the need for more shelter space in the cold winter months, the city will open 90 new beds on or before Monday by renting rooms in motels. The new rooms, estimated to cost about $100,000 over the next two months, will be used for families and couples, and will free up existing, traditional shelter space for emergency accommodations. The city’s budget for the upcoming year is expected to provide funding for both 100 new shelter spaces and two new women’s drop-in centres. But as the Globe and Mail‘s Marcus Gee wrote earlier this week, not all of Toronto’s homeless population is concentrated in the downtown where they can easily access such centres and services. Providing adequate care to the homeless people spread out across the GTA will require even more thoughtful planning than properly taking care of those who are downtown and downtown-adjacent.
David (Mark) Fenton’s disciplinary tribunal hearing on charges of unlawful arrest and discreditable conduct has in connection with the June 2010 G8/G20 protests has revealed emails from high-ranking Toronto police officers who appear to have supported Fenton’s actions. The emails were revealed after Ontario Superior Court judge John Hamilton announced Toronto police chief Bill Blair wouldn’t be required to testify. In one email, former staff superintendent Jeff McGuire writes, “Mark. I get it and support what we were doing. This is a level beyond you and I.” Fenton is the most senior officer who has been charged in relation to police actions during the G20 protests.