Conrad Black owes the Canadian government taxes on $5.1 million of income and taxable benefits from 2002, according to a ruling by the Tax Court of Canada CBC
Blasted again, Ford admits drinking “a little bit”
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A new video of Mayor Ford recorded at a restaurant on Rexdale Blvd last night (Monday, January 20, 2014) has been posted to YouTube. Make what you will of it, assuming that you still care about Rob Ford in the slightest. You can hear him slur the police chief. There are vulgarisms and the use of Jamaican patois, according to some. Ford says “No, no, no but I’m a straight-up guy” when someone with him says he should be prime minister. His brother Doug Ford insisted the video was not shot yesterday because the mayor had not had a drink since November. However, about 4.30 p.m. at City Hall, Mayor Ford admitted that he was at the restaurant, that he was indeed drinking “a little bit” and saying it was on his own time. At City Hall this video has been like a blood transfusion to a CP24 suffering the news anaemia of a day which it is too cold for anything but traffic accidents. A number of councillors said they did not wish to be “distracted” again by the mayor’s behaviour but they were available to talk about the issue again for quite a long time and thereby propelled the story. One distressed member lamented to reporters that council was going to be distracted “this winter” Some may say the dramatic distraction is more like politicking. Stephen LeDrew comments that this video has potential to destroy Mr. Ford’s comeback attempt. The previously hapless mayor was beginning to look respectable again after his energetic performance during the ice storm. Now he just looks hapless.
Reader has no confidence in LRT information
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Reader gjp19 has commented on the LRT construction post –Ed: Having attended plenty of LRT meetings in recent months, my main question to the representatives from Metrolinx was what measures would be put in place to lessen the traffic chaos to residents near the construction as well as to drivers. I was told many times all that information would be shared in late Winter/Spring as construction would most likely not start until the Fall of 2014. I am so glad that the representatives at the meetings were up to date on one of the largest construction projects in Toronto. But hey, I did in fact receive an email telling me when construction would start a week before it looks to commence. No wonder Torontonians have zero faith in that we can manage projects on a large scale (Pan Am, Olympic bid, the Gardiner Expressway, etc) – gjp19
Vortex this, you insufferable polar mass
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There’s a cold alert, as if you needed to be told. For weather, South Bayview is like the south side of Mars today. Well, you can always duck into Chai or Second Cup, unlike Mars. An Arctic air mass (the hated Polar Vortex) has settled over southern Ontario, plunging much of the region into a deep freeze that is bringing wind chills as low as -35. Environment Canada is encouraging people to limit their exposure to the cold and bundle up when they head outdoors. (Well yeahhh!). In Toronto, the temperature dropped to -20 C with a frigid wind chill of -30 overnight, creating dangerous conditions for homeless people who spent the night on the street. So that’s the sorry weather word. Do you want to know about the frozen streetcars? Well here it is because we have some space to fill. The cold weather is causing problems again for the TTC’s fleet of aging streetcars. Customers can expect longer than normal wait times on all streetcar routes due to weather-related equipment problems. Shuttle buses have been brought in to supplement streetcar service.Moms-to-be closing early on January 23, 2014
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Moms-to-be-and-more will close an hour early at 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2014. The store will be the site of filming which is being done there. Moms-to-be-and-more will re-open at the regular opening time of 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2014.
Fire at Pickering water treatment plant
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A dark plume of smoke rose up from the Pickering water treatment plant this morning (Tuesday, January 20, 2014). Firefighters were fighting a fire at the plant and by 11 a.m. appeared to be beaten down. The Dufferin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant is located on McKay Road near Squires Beach Road, south of Highway 401. Durham police say an explosion occurred inside one of the buildings but no one suffered any injuries and everyone is accounted for.
Truck piles into many cars at Bellamy and KR
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There is a terrible tangle of cars along with a huge 18-wheeler transport truck piled up on Kingston Rd. near the corner of Bellamy Rd. at mid-morning (Tuesday, January 20, 2014) Video shown at CP24 shows EMS personnel using heavy rescue equipment. As many as five people are injured. Occupants of the vehicles which have been released from wreckage are being loaded onto ambulances. Police advise drivers to stay away from the area.
Stephen Harper speech to Knesset is here
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LRT work starting any day at Eg at Brentcliffe
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| TBM (top) and finished tunnel |
As posted earlier, work is imminent on Eglinton Ave. E in connection with the construction of the Crosstown Eglinton LRT. Metrolinx says digging may start as early as this week to prepare for the large so-called launch shafts for tunnel boring machines (TBMs). The site will stretch east from Brentcliffe Road. It appears that the boring work done in 2014 will take place between Brentcliffe and the vicinity of Yonge Street. As construction approaches certain neighborhoods, more localized construction notices will be distributed. The two TBMs will begin tunnelling at the launch shaft east of Brentcliffe and work their way west towards Yonge. It appears the westward progress of the tunnels requires a large work zone east of Brentcliffe Road over to Leslie Street during this phase. Barriers and other protection measures will be used to separate the work zone safely from the public. Traffic lanes will be shifted to the north side of Eglinton Avenue between Brentcliffe Road and Leslie Street to allow construction crews to begin excavation of the shaft from the south side. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction along Eglinton Avenue East in the work zone east of Brentcliffe Road. A long-term closure of the pathway to Eglinton Ave. from Aerodrome Crescent is required. A short-term closure of the north side pedestrian walkway along Eglinton Avenue is required for approximately 4-6 weeks. The sidewalk on the south side of Eglinton will be open during this time. Subsequently, a long-term closure of the south side pedestrian walkway on Eglinton Avenue is required for the construction of the Tunnel Boring Machine launch pit. The sidewalk on the north side of Eglinton will be open for pedestrian use.Pedestrians are reminded to cross the streets at corners with traffic lights or stop signs. Crossing in the middle of a block can be dangerous. Please take care when travelling near construction areas and watch for additional signs directing pedestrians. Barriers will be used to separate the work zone from the traffic. Both eastbound and westbound TTC bus stops in the construction area may be relocated for the safety of the transit riders. With the Metrolinx new release.
Laugh Out Loud will support New Circles causes
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Charlene Kalia and other public spirited business people will host the Laugh Out Loud in Leaside Act 5 good-times event on Friday, February 28, 2014 It’s time now to start thinking about buying a ticket or table. This annual evening of fun, good food and comedy will benefit the New Circles charitable organization. The prominent board of directors of New Circles (names on the website) oversees and implements important community programs across Toronto. Best known of these may be the Clothing Program. But New Circles also offers unique services such as Seniors Mobile Mall and the Prom Boutique. The Mobile Mall takes useful selections of goods to seniors. Prom Boutique is a charming and community building concept by which graduating students in Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park and Victoria Village may select formal dresses, suits, accessories and shoes for their upcoming prom at no cost. Laugh Out Loud in Leaside will feature Yuk Yuk’s Comedy, Gourmet Food stations from Grilltime, wine tasting, oyster bar, a silent/live auction and more. Date, time and location: Friday, February 28, 2014; 7.30 p.m. in the William Lea Room of the Leaside Memorial Gardens. Tickets are $80. Contact Charlene by mail or by phone at (416) 925-9191. HMCS Toronto makes heroin seizure off Tanzania
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The RCN reports that the frigate HMCS Toronto has seized a large haul of heroin while on patrol in the Indian Ocean about 40 miles off the coast of Tanzania. These are pictures of Toronto preparing to board the drug vessel and sailors in required hazmat wear as they assess the seizure. They found 265 bags of heroin weighing in at more than 280 kilograms. The narcotics were catalogued and then disposed of. It’s the ninth time the frigate has intercepted drug shipments on the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, and the military says 8.5 tonnes of narcotics have been recovered so fa. HMCS Toronto is on patrol in the region as part of an international effort to curb terrorism and deter piracy on the high seas. Last month the frigate made what the military called the largest heroin seizure in the history of combined maritime forces operations when it recovered 538 kilograms of heroin after stopping a ship off the east coast of Africa.
We don’t yet know the definition of new rush hour
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| Set to change? |
A million questions would appear to await Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34) when he holds a news conference Tuesday to discuss the city’s new rush hour parking prohibitions. There has been seemingly no explanation thus far about plans to extend rush hour from the present 4 to 6 p.m. to a rather staggering 3 to 7 p.m. A similar extension is planned for the morning rush hour. Police have been unable to say just what the extension may mean. Will turn prohibitions like those in place at Welland and Moore Aves. be extended to reflect the new definition of rush hour? We do not know. But similar questions are likely to be asked all across the city as people wonder how much they will have to adjust, if at all, to changes in local no turn and no entry prohibitions. The extended rush hour may not impact local restrictions, but until we know — we don’t know.