Agnes Macphail

Geoff Kettel has sent mail to his many contacts reminding them that nominations for the Agnes Macphail Award are open for 2016. Agnes Macphail was Canada’s first woman Member of Parliament (elected in 1921) and later served in the Ontario Legislature for the riding of York East, which included Leaside. For a number years, Ms. Macphail lived at the corner of Millwood Road and Donegall Drive. The award in her name is given annually to a resident of the former Borough of East York  who best embodies similar volunteer spirit in the field of social justice. The former Borough of  East York includes East York, Leaside, Thorncliffe Park, Governor’s Bridge, and Bennington Heights. The deadline for nominations is midnight on Thursday January 28, 2016. The award will be presented on Agnes Macphail’s birthday, Thursday March 24, 2016. The Awards Ceremony and celebration will be held at the East York Civic Centre starting at 7 p.m.

Police have arrested Rohinie Bisesar, the woman wanted for a stabbing in the City’s underground PATH shopping lanes last Friday. Previous post 

Just to give you a smile, the epic leap to beer sales in Ontario grocery stores has leaped right over South Bayview. The CP24 store list is here but will be of slight interest to most people. In fact, the status quo seems fine here in both Don Valley West (Her Premiership’s riding) and the adjoining neighborhoods in all directions. It seems Leaside, Davisville Village, Moore Park, Lawrence Park and other nice places will carry on somehow. There’s always the Beer Store.

HISTORICAL NOTES

Ms. Wynne is said to have made history by buying a six pack at an event in the Loblaws on Leslie Street near the Lakeshore Tuesday morning. No such thing has happened since the end of prohibition in Ontario (1925). Maybe not even then.  It may add context that it was once a concern that Ontarians might buy groceries in a grocery store — at least with a credit card. In the early days of such things (when Visa  was called Chargex) the Ontario Government refused to permit grocery stores (Dominion, Loblaws, A&P) to accept credit cards for grocery purchases. It was suggested that feckless card holders would over-buy on things like tomatoes and baloney.

New Zealand will vote on whether to change its flag in March after a run-off competition produced an official contender. It has a blue and black background with a white fern and the traditional four red stars representing the Southern Cross. Opinion seems to be widely divided in the island nation with as many as 49 percent of the electorate coming out to vote on which contender would be the final choice against the current New Zealand flag. The issue for a sizeable number of New Zealanders is the inclusion of the United Kingdom’s Union Jack in the dominant upper left hand corner. It has been the flag since colonial beginnings and throughout New Zealand’s self-governing lifetime. Turnout was around 1.5 million. Many people are unhappy about the cost of the project, some NZ$26 million (about $24 million Canadian). The election will no doubt be watched by the many New Zealand expatriates living in Toronto.

Bamboo Bay Arts and Crafts School for Children is holding a free ornament crafting session this Saturday, December 19, 2015, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The event coincides with the BIA Christmas Shopping period. Owner Carrie Laureola will offer free coffee, tea and treats from COBs Bread. Bamboo Bay is located upstairs at the northeast corner of Bayview Ave and Millwood Rd. (416) 901-1255

A man who calls himself “just a middle-aged guy from New Jersey” has taken to giving away $100 gift cards from Toys R Us in recent Christmases. He calls it Project Veronica after his unidentified inspiration for this kindness. His reason for doing it is explained in the report. But the insight into the poverty of the mothers with children here is quite moving.

With the expectation that the new government in Ottawa will fulfill a promise made during the campaign to legalize marijuana in Canada, Premier Wynne (Don Valley West) was speaking about just how that might be done.

WHERE WILL IT BE SMOKED?

Many issues solely within the authority of the Ontario government remain undiscussed so far. The province would have the right to make it illegal to smoke marijuana anywhere except your basement if it so wished. The odd decision (now withdrawn) to permit medical marijuana smokers to light up anywhere is a startling reminder however that we may yet see marijuana in places hardly imagined.

Police now have a name and are asking the public to be on the lookout for Rohinie Bisesar, 40. She is accused of the unprovoked stabbing of a woman in a drugstore on the City’s underground PATH system Friday afternoon. Very little more is being said except that Ms Bisesar is considered dangerous and should not be approached. She is known to frequent the financial district. Previous post.

GRADUATE OF YORK BUSINESS

The CBC quotes Joanne Rider of York University as saying: “I can confirm that Rohinie Bisesar received a Bachelor of Administrative Studies degree in 2004 and a Masters of Business Administration degree in 2007,” said Joanne Rider, a York University spokesperson, in a statement. “We are not able to provide further comment.” A LinkedIn profile that appears to belong to Bisesar says she held several positions as an employee at York University between 1999-2007, including as systems administrator, technical information analyst, web communications coordinator and chair of the Schulich Women in Leadership club.The LinkedIn profile also lists Bisesar as chair of a sub-committee for Women in Capital Markets, a networking association, between 2011-2013.  “She was superb both for the outstanding quality of her work and for her warmth and interpersonal skills,” said a former colleague and a York University associate professor, Georges Monette, in a recommendation on her profile.