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Newsstand: April 1, 2015
No April Fools' joke this morning, just the news—which, let’s face it, can kind of seem like a bad joke most days: the TTC is investigating a violent altercation involving two transit officers, Mayor John Tory thinks city councillors spend too much time sweating the small stuff, a TCDSB nominee gets bounced from joining the Board of Health, and York University students head back to class.
The Toronto Transit Commission is investigating an incident caught on camera last month where TTC transit officers are shown punching two men who were resisting arrest. The two men allegedly skipped paying their fares and were detained by the TTC officers. The video shows one man begin to resist arrest, as a second launches into a tirade of punches against the officer attempting to arrest them. Things quickly escalate when a second TTC officer becomes involved in the fracas and delivers several punches while trying to assist in arresting the men. The TTC is expected to make a statement today about the altercation, but spokesperson Jessica Martin has confirmed that both men who were detained by the transit officers were subsequently arrested by police.
Mayor John Tory let his frustration spill out at City Hall on Tuesday over city council’s tendency to engage in lengthy debates about minor issues. When council shot down a request to bundle approval of a report on TTC procurement methods with a bigger motion to approve a budget increase of $150 million for the Spadina subway project, Mayor Tory scoffed at the idea that the two items should be considered separately. He continued to vent his frustration that councillors also spend too much time repeating themselves and allowing inappropriate debates to take place. In the end, council voted in favour of the budget increase for the Spadina subway extension, which also approved giving the TTC a green light to transfer control of the project to Bechtel Corp. in a sole-source contract that will see them manage construction of the project through to a 2017 completion date.
City council also voted on Tuesday to send the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s nominee to the board of health packing after her past voting record on a range of topics put her qualifications into question. Angela Kennedy would have been the first representative from the Catholic school board appointed to the health board in 13 years, but her past record of voting against gay-straight clubs in schools, HPV vaccinations for young girls, and her stance against abortion led Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul’s West) to introduce a motion to have her appointment replaced by Chris Glover of the public school board. Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale–High Park) said that Kennedy was the wrong fit for the board because her views contradicted the board of health’s obligation to deliver programs such as safer-sex education, which are legally mandated. Mayor John Tory said that, while he opposed Kennedy’s views, he supported her appointment on advisement by the Civic Appointments Committee. Kennedy says that she is looking into filing a human-rights complaint.
Good news for York University students who hope to salvage the remainder of their school year. The union that represents striking grad students and teaching assistants says that it voted on Tuesday to ratify a three-year offer from the university. This means that classes, labs, and tutorials will resume today, and convocation will go forward as scheduled in June.