Police operations has flashed a tweet that a utility pole is down with a bus stuck at wires at the northbound . Bayview ramp from Lawrence Ave E.

Dr. Bradley Lands surveys 105 lbs. of candy he netted with his innovative candy buy back scheme. He accepted cast off Halloween candy from South Bayview kids and their parents at a $5 a lb. and then matched it with $5 of his own. The proceeds go to the playground renovation project at Trace Manes Park in memory of Georgia Walsh. Dr. Lands is on Bayview Ave. in his own practice, Midtown Orthodontics. Candy buy back to aid Trace Manes project  What the new splashpad might look like

Kraft Heinz will close its plant in St. Marys by 2017 as part of a wider contraction.  Kraft recently merged with Heinz. About 200 will lose their jobs at St. Marys, a town of about 6,500 south of Stratford.

The former Postal Station R at 2 Laird has now been demolished. The work began a few days ago. It will be the site of the much disputed Upper House condominium. The red brick post office building (inset) served for 50 years as Postal Station R. The developer purchased it for $3,050,000 in 2011. The land was purchased by the federal government in 1959 for $115,000.

It had to happen. The apparent non-stop frenzy of condo development in Toronto continues to inspire names the builders hope will engender a pride and affection among prospective buyers. So it is that the new condominium at 1401 O’Connor Drive will be named The Lanes, Residences at O’Connor Bowl. It seems at least as sensible a name in this upright working class neighborhood as The Art Shoppe Condos and Lofts, a Yonge Street address where it will cost a bit more than “the 200’s” advertised by The Lanes. Beloved O’Connor Bowl to close for good this week

The first definitive government statement based on the accumulating evidence comes from the U.S.

Torstar today announced it will cut its dividend in half after revenue fell and losses mounted in the third quarter on weaker print advertising. The publisher of the Toronto Star and other daily and community papers in Ontario reported a loss of $164.3 million for the quarter or $2.05 per share.

 

University Rosedale MP Chrystia Freeland has been appointed Minister of International Trade in the new Trudeau cabinet. St. Paul’s member Carolyn Bennett was appointed Minister of Northern and Indiginous Affairs. She was not expected to be in cabinet. Toronto-Centre MP Bill Morneau is the new Finance MInister.

NO BILL BLAIR, ADAM VAUGHAN

Surprising in their absence from cabinet are Bill Blair and Adam Vaughan. The anti-police tweets were giddy with pleasure at Blair’s deletion, comparing him to Julian Fantino. It is a shot that would hurt a sensitive man. Trudeau has an excess of riches which may account for the absence of Mr. Vaughan. But then, Blair and Vaughan or both men as well. Don’t forget the cabinet had to be exactly 15 women and 15 women.

OLD FACES TOO

Veteran MPs like Stephane Dion, Ralph Goodale, Marc Garneau, Scott Brison, Dominic LeBlanc, Kirsty Duncan, Lawrence MacAulay and John McCallum are all in the new cabinet.

Justin Trudeau is officially sworn in as prime minister today and Canada gets a look at his cabinet. Always a spectacle, this important rite in our democracy will be no different.  As a way of doing things differently, not just from the Conservatives but from every government before in modern times, the PM-to-be and his appointees will arrive at Rideau Hall in a bus.  The team is expected to  debark at the gates to the estate around 9:45 a.m. where a crowd is expected to meet them.  Trudeau and his ministers in waiting will then make their way up the tree-lined path to the Governor General’s official residence, where the swearing-in will occur. Just who is in the cabinet will be revealed by who is on the bus. It will a bit like watching for your relatives at the airport.

TALKING TOUGH TO PUTIN

The National Post talks today about what it says will be a big test for Mr. Trudeau — the Putin Test. It is a subject that was on the minds of many sobersided voters. How would a young, inexperienced — not to say superficial — prime minister deal with the slippery boss of Russia? The Post notes that Trudeau has accused Putin of “being dangerous” in eastern Europe, “irresponsible and harmful” in the Middle East, and “unduly provocative” in the Arctic. He has also called Putin a “bully,” and said: “If I have the opportunity in the coming months to meet with Vladimir Putin, I will tell him all this directly to his face because we need to ensure that Canada continues to stand strongly for peace and justice in the world.”

 

In Edmonton, Alexis (Lexi) Shymanski is seen (right) as she solemnly ponders the medal for bravery she has just received from the Royal Canadian Humane Association. It’s a lot for a girl to take in. But this girl has more than it takes to keep her head. On June 8 she clambered up a rugged 12-metre embankment in the Rocky Mountain foothills in her bare feet to flag down help from a passing motorist. Her mom had fallen asleep at the wheel and was unconscious in their SUV along with her baby brother Peter, ten weeks. We see Lexi  with her mother Angela in hospital (left).  Angela was in serious condition. She suffered a broken back and extensive internal injuries. Alexis woke to her baby brother crying and tried to wake her mother. She undid her car seat’s five-point harness, which she had done only twice, pushed the airbag away, kicked the jammed door open and climbed out of the badly damaged vehicle. As luck would have it, she was able to flag down a passing car with a family from Alaska who weren’t able to get through to 911. Another passing car, with Lise Lord and Richard Nowicki inside, turned around and went back to help. They were able to contact 911. Nowicki, a retired paramedic, and the unidentified Alaskan dad got the baby out of the car. Nowicki stayed with Angela Shymanski, recognizing she had a back injury.