Prime Minister Trudeau is meeting with Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at the North American Leaders’ Summit Wednesday in Ottawa. The three leaders are now known by the name of the 1986 movie The Three Amigos. Sometimes the slapstick conduct of Martin Short, Chevy Chase and Steve Martin seems to apply. But never mind. This time Canada got Mexico to open its market to Canadian beef and Mexico gets to send its citizens here without a visa. It is a decision that seems to have Immigration Canada bothered. IC recommended against lifting the visa restriction recalling masses of visitors who over-stayed and sometimes disappeared. Mr. Obama arrived Wednesday morning in Air Force One and many are saying, logically, it will be his last visit here. Too bad perhaps since he gets on so well with Mr. Trudeau. And then there is the vision of the next Three Amigos. Will it be Hillary Clinton (or Donald Trump) Justin Trudeau and an as-yet unnamed Mexican president? Among amigos, it’s all good.

MIXED AGENDA

The amigos assayed many topics, talking positively about clean air, LGBT rights and indigenous rights. all three warned of “demagogues” but none trumped the other to actually name the man to whom they were alluding. Prime MInister Trudeau appeared wearing a middle blue suit, red tie and what brown shoes. Maybe he needs a fashion consultant because he looked out of place beside the colour-co-ordinated Obama. Or maybe it doesn’t matter because it’s 2016. Does that line work with the phone bill?

The ABC residents association in Summerhill is gearing up for the Ontario Municipal Board hearing on Thursday, July 8, 2016 at 10:00 am at OMB offices downtown (16th Floor, 655 Bay Street, 16th Floor Toronto ON  M5G 1E5). The hearing will deal with the appeal of the owner of 67 Roxborough St. West for a variance to permit a parking pad on her front lawn. The request was previously turned down by Toronto Committee of Adjustment. ABC is asking that as many members as possible attend to show opposition to the parking pad idea. Councillor Wong-Tam, the City’s legal department and City planners will be opposing the request. Two residents of Roxborough St. West. Daniel Owen of 71 Roxborough St West and either Sean or Deborah Spokes of 60 Roxborough St West, will speak for residents opposed to the parking pad. ABC asks that if members cannot attend they send e-mail to ABC containing name and address and a statement giving consent and expressing support.

COMMENT ON THIS POST

Reader Linda McLean has written to say the property’s owner, Ms Ivey Bannock, really just wishes to restore a “driveway” which was there in a previous incarnation of the residence. Just where the driveway went is not clear but with the home in its present form the net effect of the proposal apparently seems like a parking pad to some. It is reported that there is a rear lane with a garage connected to the property. It is also said Ms. Ivey Bannock is expected to have neighbours who support the parking pad in attendance to speak at the hearing. The decision may have wide-ranging repercussions in other parts of the City. The house being renovated next door to 67 Rox seems to be holding a space for a front yard parking pad.  Roxborough parking pad appeal could set wide precedent 

The Beer Store permit pre-ordering and payment for beer with a new application called Beer Xpress. The launching of Beer Xpress will take place on Wednesday where details will be unveiled.

Police are reminding East York residents about closures on Cosburn Ave. between Cedarvale Ave.and Oak Park for Canada Day celebrations. This is for Friday, July 1, 2016. Stan Wadlow Park is at 373 Cedarvale Ave. Full closing for parade:

East York’s Canada Day
• Cosburn Avenue will be closed from Cedarvale Avenue to Oak Park Road.
• Virginia Avenue will be closed from Cedarvale Avenue to Cosburn Avenue.
• Gledhill Avenue will be closed from Holborne Avenue to Cosburn Avenue.
These closures will be in place Friday from 7 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.

Other Canada Day closures are noted here. 

Analysts say the terrible attack on Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport late Tuesday (June 28) is sign of a certain desperation among ISIL ranks as they face defeat in Irag and Syria. If so, the price of crushing these radical elements is high. As many as 36 people — mostly travellers — are dead and many more wounded in the suicide-bomber attack on the undefended departure area the airport. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım pointed to death-cult bombers of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. He said three attackers arrived in the airport in a taxi cab. They were equipped with automatic weapons. There is video of one suicide bomber running down a concourse. He is shot and falls down, his rifle skittering away from him. He is seen to roll on his side and begin working on the mechanism of the bomb strapped to his body. It takes him about 20 seconds before the bomb goes off. Video here discretion advised. All the attackers died.

Building on #fire in Scarborough – south of Comstock on west side of Warden Avenue. @ScarbTO @CityNews pic.twitter.com/AbBXeAX0Vl

— Kevin Edward Proulx (@kevineproulx) June 28, 2016

A stubborn fire in an electronics store containing a lot of old equipment has proven a challenge for firefighters Monday evening. The fire seemed manageable in the beginning but ultimately spread and forced TFS personnel away as walls began to fall. The fire broke out at the business on Warden Avenue near Upton Road at around 7:35 p.m. Fire officials said the building was old — maybe 50 years — and seemingly quite flammable. Apparently there have been no serious injuries.

The chorus of complaints from PC users over how pushy Microsoft has been with its Windows 10 upgrades reached a new level recently, after a woman won a $10,000 judgment against the company for an automatic installation gone wrong that she said seriously mucked up her computer. A California woman tells the Seattle Times that a few days after Windows 10 launched, her computer started trying to download and install the upgrade, despite the fact that she hadn’t authorized it do so. The result? Her computer, which she uses to run a travel-agency business, started acting up, crashing, running super slowly, and becoming unusable for days at a time. “I had never heard of Windows 10,” she told the Seattle Times. “Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to update.” She tried to reach out to the company, and when that failed, she took Microsoft to court in an attempt to get compensation for lost wages, and to cover the costs of a new computer. She won an initial judgment, which Microsoft appealed. The company then decided to drop its appeal last month —without admitting any wrongdoing — and agreed to pay her $10,000. A spokeswoman tells the Seattle Times Microsoft gave up on the appeal to avoid the expense of further litigation. Consumerist 

Rogers made it official Monday with word that Ron MacLean will host Hockey Night in Canada alongside veteran sports reporter David Amber. MacLean will host Game 1 on Saturday nights with Amber hosting Game 2. MacLean will continue to play straight man to Don Cherry in the first intermission of Game 1, an act they have shared for decades. Following his hosting duties on Saturday nights, MacLean will head out to 24 communities across the country to continue his Rogers Hometown Hockey on Sundays throughout the season. George Stroumboulopoulos will depart the company to explore new creative opportunities.

David Cameron has told the House of Commons in the United KIngdom there is no going backwards as he announced the creation of an “EU Unit” in the government which will forge plans to Britain exit. In Toronto and New York the unknowns associated with the Brexit outcome have driven markets down more than 200 points.

News Monday that about 120 new stations will be added to the Bike Share Toronto network over the next two weeks may be exciting news for Bike share users, and those who think they might like to use this system of rental bikes. It is said the additions will effectively double the size and scope of the system. There are now about 1,000 bikes spread across 80 stations but beginning today crews will be setting up 120 additional stations and adding 1,000 bikes.

CONVENIENCE, BUSINESS MODEL

The question asked about Bike Share is whether it works for anyone. The ownership of bicycles among people who are serious about cycling seems high.  But those who know and advocate bike sharing say it is really a way of expediting pedestrians. That’s fine, but what is the demand for this type of hybrid?  It doesn’t seem helpful for people riding to work unless the station is pretty handy both to home and work. Nice for tourists. Can we hear from Bike Share users about how they make the system for them?