Wind Mobile will take the name Freedom Mobile, the company says. It has been newly acquired by Shaw Communications. Freedom Mobile said existing accounts, which number more than a million, will be seamlessly transitioned to the new brand.

 

The trial of Liberal backroom operators Pat Sorbara Gerry Lougheed in Sudbury heard a jolting remark from a Crown Lawyer today when he said Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault “sought certain benefits” to run in a provincial byelection. The remark stunned the court. Later reporters peppered Crown Vern Brewer with questions. He suggested that Thibeault was not charged because: “The section makes it an offence to offer, not necessarily to receive (a bribe).” The “benefits” were not described. Sorbara and Lougheed are charged with offering such a bribe. .Mr. Thibeault’s lawyer was enraged by the interpretation of events and said the Crown was sullying Thibeault’s reputation. The comments were wrong he said.  The charges against Sorbara and Gerry Lougheed stem from allegations the pair offered a would-be candidate a job or appointment to get him to step aside in a 2015 byelection in Sudbury for Thibeault, the premier’s preferred candidate Thibeault, was then the New Democrat MP for Sudbury.

Mayor John Tory has said that it’s time to again examine privatized garbage collection east of Yonge Street. He made such privatization a plank in his election campaign in 2014 but soon after the vote said he had reasons not to proceed. The media has played all this with a straight face  — as it should — but the reasons offered for not proceeding in the first place seem feeble. The story goes that a delay was called because the city was about to start negotiating a new contract with its unionized outside workers. A deal was signed earlier this year and the mayor now says that contract gives the city updated numbers to work with and see if the private sector can deliver a comparable service, but at a lower cost.

HUH?

Rob Ford concluded that west side privatization saved ten or eleven million dollars a year when CUPE employees were making less than they are today. That saving has never been effectively refuted. There seems no question that privatization will save the City money — and it would have done so two years ago. Cynical ratepayers will recall that Mr. Ford also pledged to privatize the east side collection. But he argued that it could only be done after the 2014 election. Is there a pattern emerging here? Mr. Tory should be concerned that taxpayers may reasonably decide they are being manipulated for the purposes of his re-election.

People headed into Service Ontario in the Dawsco Plaza at 939 Eglinton East may find a private guard writing a ticket for their car if they parked in front of Select Sandwich right next door. A visit to Service Ontario can be short or long. But the guards are authorized to issue tickets payable to the City and they were called there in at least one recent case by the sandwich house. The Dawsco Plaza has lots of parking but each business has its name on two or three spots — “Reserved for Select Sandwich” — etc. It’s not clear that Service Ontario has any spots but if does, as soon as those one or two spaces are filled — there is no parking for the rest of the taxpaying mob required to visit SO  So much for free parking.

Canadian Press says that CSIS, the Canadian anti-espionage agency, is out to steal whatever it can from among Canada’s most valuable secrets.  The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is making frank statements in briefing notes prepared for service director Michel Coulombe, CP says. “Russia and China, in particular, continue to target Canada’s classified information and advanced technology, as well as government officials and systems,” CSIS quoted as saying.

 

The Leaside Volleyball Club 17U girls have won gold in their class at the Girls Provincial Cup this weekend.

Crowded downtown streets turned dangerous Sunday when a car apparently leaped a curb and struck a woman pushing a stroller with a child. She was seriously injured and is in hospital where doctors say she will recover. The infant was not seriously hurt. All this occurred at Bay and Cumberland Streets as the Santa Claus Parade was just getting underway a block away.

Thanks to Scot Mills @GraffitiBMXCop and Laura Howells @LauraHowellsNL for tweets on today’s Santa Claus Parade.

Santa tells crowd he's been doing this parade for 112 years. pic.twitter.com/8HXB15tqGk

— Laura Howells (@LauraHowellsNL) November 20, 2016

Welcome band from Attica New York to 2016 Toronto Santa Claus Parade #TOsanta pic.twitter.com/WDpj8Zk3Ol

— Scott Mills 🇨🇦 (@GraffitiBMXCop) November 20, 2016

[Video] Toronto Police Pipe Band and Chief's Ceremonial Unit #TOSanta pic.twitter.com/UrZJ0qn8zP

— Scott Mills 🇨🇦 (@GraffitiBMXCop) November 20, 2016

Phillippines Heritage Band #TOSanta pic.twitter.com/xoveO9I8ss

— Scott Mills 🇨🇦 (@GraffitiBMXCop) November 20, 2016

Letters for Santa…Express post to the North Pole #TOSanta pic.twitter.com/30a05s3zSb

— Scott Mills 🇨🇦 (@GraffitiBMXCop) November 20, 2016

COLLISION:
Bay St + Cumberland St
-Woman with baby stroller struck
-Car jumped the curb
-Woman on ground, child ok
#2061497
^dh

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) November 20, 2016

Was a real honor to be inducted into my hometown Sports Hall of Fame @Leaside_Hall this weekend in Toronto! Thank You! pic.twitter.com/ES8KgHmNkk

— Mike Bradwell (@bwelltweets) November 19, 2016

Leaside Junior Wildcats defeated the Ottawa Lady Sens 2-0 at Leaside Arena Saturday night. goals came from Samantha Jones (unassisted) at 14.06 of the second and Kristin Dellas Rovere with help from Mary Bowal and Marley Van Den Oetelaar at 15.28 of the third. Shanna Dolighan got the shutout for Leaside. On Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats defeated Aurora Panthers 3-1 also at Leaside Arena.

Angela Hennessey on the Post City site has waxed sorrowfully about the disappearing neighborhood plaza and strip malls along Eglinton Ave. and elsewhere. It is a theme known to the pages of The South Bayview Bulldog as well. The east side of Leaside seems alien without the “No Name Plaza” on the southwest corner of Laird and Eglinton.  Ms Hennessey speaks with a couple of well-known businessmen Richard Byford of Bonnie Byford Real Estate on Bayview Ave. and Malcolm Firkser, owner of the much-admired Home Hardware at Sunnybrook Plaza. It is a frequent guessing game for those who patronize this store where they might find it in a future time, or anything like a substitute. The coming re-development of the plaza is discussed in the Post article and indeed it appears, as reported in The Bulldog, that finishing touches are being applied to an agreement between RioCan, the City and the Leaside Property Owners Association. A more complete idea of what is to be done may come at the LPOA meeting this Tuesday, November 22, 2016. LPOA agenda to discuss Sunnybrook Plaza, Eglinton zoning. Post City