Bardish Chagger, the daughter of immigrants who once studied to be a nurse at the University of Waterloo, has been named government house leader in the Commons. She already holds the portfolio of the Small Business Ministry. Chagger replaces Dominic LeBlanc who in turn was given the job when Hunter Tootoo resigned to seek treatment for alcoholism. LeBlanc’s tenure is said to have been marked by clashes with opposition members. Some think that Ms. Chagger can calm things down. Her new job will see her shepherding the government’s agenda through the Commons. It is said to be a daunting challenge for a rookie MP who only entered the Commons last fall.

 

This Sunday (August 21, 2016) the first of two Open Streets events will close Bloor Street and Yonge Street to cars and trucks between 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Traffic will be permitted to cross at 11 specific points on Bloor Street and six specific points on Yonge Street, under police direction. All other streets will be closed to vehicle traffic.

During the closure, traffic may cross Bloor Street at:
– Dufferin Street
– Ossington Avenue
– Grace Street/Christie Street
– Bathurst Street
– Spadina Avenue
– Avenue Road
– Bay Street
– Church Street
– Ted Rogers Way
– Sherbourne Street
– Parliament Street

During the closure, traffic may cross Yonge Street at:
– Wellesley Street
– Carleton Street/College Street
– Gerrard Street
– Dundas Street
– Shuter Street
– Queen Street

Yes, pets (leashed) are absolutely welcome at #OpenStreetsTO! The more the furrier! pic.twitter.com/KrRPRq3Pxx

— Open Streets TO (@OpenStreetsTO) August 3, 2016

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are to ask the Bundestag to ban the face veil in schools, universities and while driving a vehicle. Government ministers are also making statements of disapproval of all such dress as opposed to “our open society.” The plans recall the debate in Canada where the former prime minister said the niqab was “anti-women” and Mr. Trudeau described it as a matter of personal taste.

Canadian retail sales posted a surprise decline and inflation slowed, signs of fading consumer spending that had been propping up the economy. Retail sales fell 0.1 percent in June compared with economist forecasts for a gain of 0.5 percent, Statistics Canada said Friday from Ottawa. In a separate report, the agency said annual inflation slowed to 1.3 percent in July, from 1.5 percent the prior month. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast annual inflation of 1.4 percent. Slack in the world’s 11th largest economy has kept inflation below the central bank’s 2 percent target for almost two years, and the decline in retail sales fuels worries that consumer fatigue may have added to the economy’s woes in the second quarter — Bloomberg 

There’s been a nice touch added to the discovery of a litter of baby rabbits which was discovered in the Fort York National Historic Site’s garden in July. The program director for Fort York, Melissa Beynon, told the CBC that she knew that the find had occurred on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter, author of the Peter Rabbit fables. “I made the connection of our discovery to the Beatrix Potter anniversary immediately,” said Beynon,. “And the gardeners were absolutely delighted to hear the connection.”

There is probably little sympathy around for Aaron Driver, the 24-year-old misfit who seemed determined to hurt people in the name of his religion. But whether it was religion or merely his twisted ego that animated young Driver, it seems that the RCMP used extra-legal gunfire to finish him off after he was immobilized by an explosion. This is what taxi driver Terry Duffield says in a powerful account of his unwilling involvement in the end of Mr. Driver. Duffield has told Postmedia in a compelling interview that he was unwittingly ensnared in the takedown of Driver by police. He is upset that he was never warned. But it is astonishing to hear what happened after Driver was lying on the ground somewhere near Mr. Duffield.  “As I was laying there, that’s when I heard one officer yell, ‘he’s still twitching’. And at that point I heard four or five more shots. Then it was complete silence.” The question must be asked, what legal duty did the police have to Driver, terrorist or otherwise, to do more than kill him when he was incapacitated.

The 1950 cornerstone and time capsule from the addition to Manor Road United Church will be removed at 2 p.m. Friday (August 19, 2016) as the building, known widely as the gymnasium, is about to be demolished. It will make way for City parkland following a deal which parishioners hope will make the church self-sufficient for years to come. A small ceremony is expected as the stone is removed but no one is sure if its contents will be visible at that time. It may be sealed and require further work to reveal what’s inside. Jill Strapp of the MRU invited church members to attend but the mid-summer timing may work against a large crowd. She forwarded parts of documents from November 19, 1950, the day the stone was consecrated.

It is the oldest failure of democracy there is. That would be the way politicians spend OPM — Other Peoples’ Money. Thursday Ottawa was in an uproar after the Conservatives revealed that Health  Minister Jane Phillpot was spending money on limousines and tips as if she were Warren Buffett. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling for the prime minister to “send a clear message” about getting value for money. On Wednesday, the minister’s office acknowledged spending $1,994 for car service on July 12, when the minister spoke at the Assembly of First Nations annual meeting in Niagara Falls and another $3,815 for 20 trips to Toronto’s Pearson airport for flights to Ottawa on ministerial business. Phillpot has promised to pay back the money personally.

#53Division residents of Rosedale & Leaside – Pay special attention to recent break ins. Report suspicious activity! https://t.co/Vj2bmVMmKJ

— Alex Li (@AlexLiComms) August 18, 2016

McDonald’s in the U.S. and Canada has withdrawn the kid-friendly fitness trackers it was putting in its Happy Meal boxes because a few parents have complained about minor burns or rashes caused by the devices. The only evidence that can be shown are pictures from Casey Collyar of Arkansas showing her son with what appears to be an irritation or burn where he wore the tracker. Anyway the trackers are gone. Too bad because it seems like a nice idea.  The trackers counted steps and lighted up based on how quickly or slowly the wearer was moving. The company didn’t specify how many reports it received or if it would recall the trackers, as it did with 2.3 million Hello Kitty whistles after two children coughed up pieces — with Consumerist 

A 90-year-old Quebec man, Laval Boulanger, has jumped out of a plane fulfilling a life-long ambition and he seems to have enjoyed it. The CBC information says he took a serious fall as a teen when working in the shipyards in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec and that the accident somehow inspired his desire to make such a jump.