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Newsstand: January 27, 2015
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops in 1945, a day we would be remiss to forget. In the news: a new policy aims to protect the human rights of transgender prison inmates, new parking rules for out-of-province vehicles, new carpool lane rules during the Pan Am Games, and Paul Beeston will retire from the Blue Jays at the end of the 2015 season.
A revised provincial policy will now ensure that transgender prison inmates are housed based on how they self-identify their gender, not on their physical traits. Yasir Naqvi, the minister of community safety and correctional services, made the announcement in Toronto on Monday afternoon, calling the revised policy the “most comprehensive policy in Canada for respecting the human rights–related needs of trans individuals in correctional institutions.” Two new steps in the policy will see integration with the general prison population now take place wherever possible, and ensure that prisoners will be referred to by their preferred pronouns in both verbal and written communication. The new policy also includes an option for transgender inmates to be frisked by a male or female guard, whereas before a choice was only given for strip searches.
In his latest move since declaring war on gridlock, Mayor John Tory takes aim at drivers with out-of-province license plates who make a habit of parking illegally. New measures will allow parking enforcement to tow vehicles licensed outside of Ontario with three or more unpaid tickets in a 120-day period. While the City has no means to collect fines from out-of-province drivers on unpaid parking tickets, Mayor Tory hopes that the $200 fee and general inconvenience of being towed will act as a deterrent for those repeat offenders who flout parking restrictions. These new rules are expected to net the City up to $2 million in fine revenue from the 100,000-plus traffic tickets issued to drivers from outside of Ontario each year. The crackdown will begin next month.
Commuters can thank the Pan Am Games for a temporary rewrite to the rules of using higher-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) lanes this summer. Between June 29 and August 18, drivers must be accompanied by two passengers to use all HOV lanes across the region, as opposed to the usual one-passenger requirement. Games officials, athletes, and media will also have access to the lanes, regardless of vehicle occupancy. While the rules may change, the penalties will remain the same: anyone caught using the lanes improperly will face a $110 fine and three demerit points.
Finally, after some speculation it has been confirmed that Paul Beeston will stay on as president of the Toronto Blue Jays. According to team owner Rogers Communications, Beeston has signed a contract extension that will keep him with the Jays until he retires at the end of this season. The first employee ever hired by the Blue Jays, Beeston has been with the baseball club since 1976.