New Brunswick’s Liberal government has fallen after losing a confidence vote on its throne speech Friday. Premier Brian Gallant told the legislature he would be going to the lieutenant-governor to resign — and to suggest Tory Leader Blaine Higgs be given the opportunity to form government.

• New Brunswick’s Liberal government falls to Tories after throne speech defeated
• New Brunswick’s next premier is a fiscal hawk and former Irving Oil executive

Standard Time returns to Ontario at 2 a.m. Sunday bringing with it extra peril on darkened streets. As many as 17 pedestrians were hit by cars and other vehicles overnight Thursday/Friday with varying injuries. In one instance a man of 90 was walking on Annabelle Drive in Etobicoke at around 8:45 p.m. when he was struck.

MAKE A PLAN TO CROSS ROAD

Safety consultants urge pedestrians to concentrate on crossing streets and, in effect, make a plan about where, when and how to cross. Too often crossing the street is done impulsively and without regard to traffic, they say.

Hugh Heckman

Meghan Markle

The Hot One

Hugh Heckman, an-award winning news writer for CBS and other employers, was fired from the Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) for telling a male colleague that Meghan Markle was “not bad.” The men were assessing photos and Heckman says he barely mumbled the remark. But it was heard by at least two women working in the newsroom. They complained that Heckman had engaged in sexist conduct that tainted the workplace. He was fired two days later. In an action against PBS for unspecified damages, Heckman complains of a double standard because his female coworkers had been heard saying Justin Trudeau was “hot” without similar consequences. Heckman, 72, was working on a story about Prince Harry and his then fiancée on Nov. 25, 2017 according to his statement of claim. His lawyer, Jillian Weiss, says the firing does a disservice to complaints of workplace harassment. Daily Mail and National Post

A woman driver was fatally injured in a series of rear-end collisions at Avenue Rd and Lawrence Ave. Thursday over dinner  hour.  Authorities said a car failed to stop, struck  another and then both cars hit the rear of a TTC bus. The woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries and pronounced dead there.

The mystery deepens into the discovery of two sisters, citizens of Saudi Arabia, who were found taped together at the ankles and waist, dead in the Hudson River. At first authorities thought it might be an elaborate suicide pact. But now they say that theory doesn’t fit. The sisters had applied for asylum in the US and the Saudi consulate had ordered them to go home. Then, the Arizona woman who sat beside her wrecked car for six days before being found and rescued. Amazing. Below, Walmart tries to simulate Amazon’s cash-register-free store. We’ll see. And finally, the old story that men who wear boxer shorts are more potent (if you catch our meaning) is true.

Very active scene continuing on Highway 407 west of Dufferin St for tanker truck that rolled over & caught fire; other cars also involved. OPP report multiple fatalities. Several departments are assisting @VaughanFire. All lanes closed both east and westbound. #Vaughan pic.twitter.com/Yj1GYOTy1I

— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyCohnTV) October 31, 2018

The drivers of a tanker truck and another vehicle both died in a collision and the fire that followed on Hwy 407 between Dufferin and Bathurst St. in Vaughan Wednesday afternoon. York Region Police said the victims, a man 41 from Brampton, and a man 49 from Mississauga, were pronounced dead at the scene. The inferno was caused when a vehicle crossed over from the westbound to eastbound lanes and collided with vehicles heading eastbound,” according to police. Flames are estimated to have risen 2,000 feet.

Highway 407

In the US, thousands of people have signed a petition started by a business organization to move Halloween from October 31 to the last Saturday in October. The 31st is All Hallow’s Eve, the Christian ritual of remembering the dead. But the chance to ease the stress for families by moving Halloween to a Saturday has found favour. The Halloween & Costume Association has a business interest. They think a weekend Halloween would create more business.

Let me think about it

The enormous number of Indian citizens working in the CRA phone scam racket is revealed in this CBC report. Indian police have made raids in recent days but all sources agree that there are dozens of such criminal businesses still toiling away to rob Canadians of their money with threats and fabricated stories. The video shows crowds of young men rounded up from just a couple of such call centres. The actual number of people working in the racket seems beyond guessing.

Crowds of young men arrested in just two raids speak about the huge business this racket represents in India

A long thread of some 60 posts has formed at Leaside Community Wednesday morning about an instance of apparent bullying of a lower class boy from Leaside High School by what is called a group  of “5-7 Grade 12 male students.” One mother adds that there is “a bully (who) has bothered my son for years in grade 12 there.” It is said the police have been contacted.

Toronto firefighters are on the scene of a major house fire in the Brown’s Line and Evans Ave area. A witness tells NEWSTALK 1010 it was a home under construction. No injuries reported. Video credit: Michael Sannuto pic.twitter.com/S3KCzVGWvJ

— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) October 31, 2018

This inferno gutted a south Etobicoke home (Evans Ave. and Brown’s Line) and City News says the homeowner confirms it was hit by a less serious fire last week. Careless or criminal? Stay tuned. The blaze was at 226 Beta St.