The annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) has begun at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People this Sunday. And you may be sure that it is nothing at all like the first day of Parliament in Ottawa. There will be no opposition motions of non-confidence, no tricky questions for the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition — what on earth is that? The People’s Congress (so-called) is appointed by the inside power-brokers of the Politburo of the Communist Party. They giveth and taketh away membership in the Congress. It has no authority whatsoever in law. But it is necessary because the oligarchy that rules China understands it is a good idea to listen to ordinary people. It remains true however, 2017 and all that notwithstanding, that ordinary citizens of China don’t get to vote for dogcatcher. Thought you might like to know.

Woman on way to station for help

Staff O’Toole “Push!”

Police from nearby 55 Division knew what to do when they looked through the window of a stopped taxi at Coxwell Ave and Dundas Street to see a baby being born. “I just walked up to the passenger side and looked in the back window and sure enough there was a woman lying on the back seat,” PC Colin McLaughlin told the CBC. Right behind him was Staff Sergeant Kim O’Toole,  a 22-year veteran of the TPS with a long list of academic and administrative distinctions to her name (bio). Seeing the baby’s head, O’Toole told the woman to push some more. That was all it took. The baby came out and within a second or two was wailing. It began when a call came in to 55 division that an expectant woman was on her way to the station at 101 Coxwell for help.. The two officers went outside and saw the stopped taxi.

Michelle Holland Ward 35

More than $250 million

Kristin Wong-Tam Ward 27

Michelle Holland (Ward 35) has done a service to ordinary taxpayers by taking issue with the vague nature of money collected by the City from developers and just how it is spent. It appears these enormous wallops of cash, currently amounting to more than a quarter of a billion dollars, are stashed in piggy banks within the wards where development has occurred. As the linked story by Sue-Anne Levy of the Sun makes clear, some wards have millions of dollars to spend, others have none. Holland’s Scarborough ward couldn’t generate a penny’s-worth of such Section 37 and Section 45 dollars. Kristin Wong-Tam’s glass-tower wonderland known as Ward 27 has nearly $64 million on hand. It makes no sense but as is often the case, human nature is at its worst when it comes to sharing. The case may be made that dense wards with intense commercial activity have special problems. But it cannot mean that the larger community is deprived of benefit from what is, in the end, just another form of taxation. Toronto Sun

Tao at 220 Laird

Nicholas Mitchell in Xi’an

Leasider Nicholas Mitchell has written on the Chit Chat Facebook Page about the new Chinese restaurant at 220 Laird Drive, the premises occupied for so long by Leonard’s. It is called Tao and specializes in Northern Chinese Cuisine. The owner was out Saturday night when The Bulldog dropped in but staff say that while the emphasis is on northern recipes there are dishes for other tastes as well. They recommend the Peking Duck. Spicy fare in Szechuan style is also to be had.  Mr. Mitchell is a seasoned China hand as well from the signature photo on his own Facebook page which shows him in front of the Terra Cotta Army warriors at the splendid historic site in the northern City of Xi’an.

Reuters John Tilak

His story

Not for sale says mayor

Mayor Tory has emphatically denied a  Reuters story published Saturday that says he is involved in negotiations about a possible sale of Toronto Hydro to Hydro One for a mix of cash and stock in the newly privatized company. The Reuters account was written by veteran news service reporter John Tilak reported Saturday that Hydro One was in talks to buy the city’s public hydro utility for as much as $3 billion, divided into cash and stock in the provincial power distributor, which was itself partially sold in Nov. 2015. The mayor wrote mail to set his denial on the record. “In recent months, I clearly indicated that I would not be supporting any proposal to sell Toronto Hydro. Rather, I indicated my support for additional City investment in a Toronto Hydro that remained in public hands,” Tory said..

Twin boys were struck by a van on Sheppard Ave west of Jane Street Saturday morning sending both to hospital. One lad is said to have life-threatening injuries. The two, aged nine, were crossing the street on their own when the accident occurred. The vehicle was driven by a woman, 20, who has given her account to police.

https://twitter.com/katie_wittmann/status/838060542724083714

Loving the thought leadership this morning. Wish everyone spoke so freely + aspirationally at #TOCouncil. #TOcore pic.twitter.com/llruf05VAc

— Kristyn Wong-Tam 🇨🇦 (@kristynwongtam) March 4, 2017

This event is occupying many Saturday at Ryerson. From the tweets, the atmosphere seems somewhat rarefied. But good luck to these thinkers today.

St. Francis High School in Mountain View, California parlayed a $15,000 investment into a windfall of at least $24 million in the Snapchat IPO. This thanks to a unique venture capital fund set up by the school’s investment-savvy parents. Upper right, a Pennsylvania woman has had a 180-lb. ovarian cyst removed after years of wondering why she was gaining weight. Lower right, human remains have been found in the sewers of a former church-run home for unmarried mothers in Ireland. The discovery is in the town of Tuam in western Ireland and the bodies are said to range from newborns to toddlers. And in London, Uber is fighting a court decision upholding a Transport Department order requiring Uber to prove that its drivers can speak English. At last notice, carefree Toronto took the position that it didn’t matter.

Came into contact with train

A young man has been gravely hurt when he somehow came into contact with a speeding train entering Bloor Station on the Yonge line Friday night. The man was on the southbound platform and perhaps glanced off the train, a frightening prospect that most commuters will easily be able to imagine. He fell to the platform surface. Paramedics told CP24  they were called to the Line 1 station at 9:48 p.m. for a report of a man injured by a moving train. Police said there was no indication that the incident was suspicious in nature which suggests the man was not pushed.

The Leaside Junior Wildcats were eliminated from further play in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League playoffs last night in Stoney Creek where the game ended in a shootout. The sudden-death solution to a tie always ends in a 2-1 outcome for one team or the other  The tough Sabre squad prevailed at their home arena near Hamilton. Leaside stood ninth, Stoney Creek eighth in the 20-team PWHL rankings going into the best of five preliminary series last weekend. The Leaside women played with great heart but were taken down three games to none by Stoney Creek.

OAKVILLE POWERHOUSE

As the playoffs enter the quarter finals it seems likely that the Oakville Hornets with a stunning record of 31-3-4 will be taking home the league trophy when it’s all over.

Sun tweeted gag shot

Elected to community group at 17

Tireless volunteer, advocate

It was a remarkable turnout for Justin Van Dette Thursday. He’s a young man (one source says he was 17 in 1996) who has built a large community of loyalty and affection for his tireless commitment to East York and the good works that are done there. This night it was the AIDS Committee of Toronto which benefited. Notables like Premier Wynne, PC leader Patrick Brown and Mayor Tory joined “roasters” including Mel Lastman, Don Cherry, Brian Burke, Gail Nyberg, Bill Saundercook, George Smitherman, Anthony Farnell, Ken Reid, Tyler Currie and yet more friends of Van Dette at EG3 at 77 Peter Street. It was said that at least 170 people had committed to the event. Like many men of accomplishment and promise Van Dette is a low-key personality with a mannerly style. So East York. Day to day he can be found working on Community Relations at the Michael Garron (Toronto East General) Hospital. His politics are conservative but his social style is distinctly unaligned. In an amusing column Friday Joe Warmington of the Toronto Sun suggested that Van Dette is known among his intimates as The Shaker. This may be. Although we are not told the principal talent of this distinction it seems likely to be similar to that of a rainmaker.