The money goes to set up five health, life and dental trusts that will consolidate more than 1,000 current benefit plans. The government believes it will eventually recover the set-up costs — $175 million to establish the trusts and $125 million to consolidate the plans — due to “long-term efficiencies” and “improved purchasing power.”  Canadian Press 

Now French’s says it will bottle some of its ketchup in Canada as the ultimate trick of one-upmanship on rival Heinz. Canadian bottling of Leamington-grown tomatoes would make French’s a 100 percent Canadian product. Loblaws recent clanger of removing French’s ketchup revealed the potent appeal of Canadian-grown food to Canuck consumers. French’s, a British firm, says it is getting ready to announce plans for bottling here soon with an unnamed partner.

 

Liberal backbencher Bas Balkissoon has abruptly resigned his Scarborough seat in the Legislature without explanation. Premier Wynne’s office announced Balkissoon‘s decision also without reason. A statement said there will be no further comment other than to thank Mr. Balkisson for his public service. He was first elected to the Legislature in 2005 and served as parliamentary assistant to several ministers but was never promoted to the Liberal cabinet. The 63-year-old MPP was born in Trinidad and Tobago. He served as a Toronto city councillor before his election to the riding of Scarborough-Rouge River. The government has six months to call a byelection to replace Balkissoon.

Tuesday evening saw a large crowd on hand in the William Lea Room at Leaside Gardens to hear a lecture by the eminent astronomer Dr. Bryan Gaensler on The World Records of the Universe. Dr. Gaensler is Director of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics and attendees were familiar with his work. Many were alumni and colleagues from the University of Toronto.

A group of students from Crescent School at 2365 Bayview Ave. are stranded in Brussels because of the terrorist attacks there today. The circumstances which have left the kids camping in a convention centre are a fluke. They were making a stopover at Brussels on their return to Toronto from an Outreach trip to India. As they were landing, the explosions occurred. The plane was permitted down but after that, all bets were off. All nine students, who range from grade nine to 12, and two supervising teachers have all been confirmed safe.

Authorities locked down the Belgian capital on Tuesday after explosions rocked the Brussels airport and subway system, killing as many as 36 people with 170 injured, many are in critical condition. The second explosion was at the Maelbeek metro station near the EU parliament. Late reports speak of a  police action to perhaps apprehend associates of the suicide bombers. CBC

European stocks fell and investors rushed for the safety of gold and government bonds on Tuesday, after the explosions at Brussels airport. Travel sector stocks including airlines and hotels fell the most, pulling the broader indices down from multi-week highs as reports on the scale of the carnage in the capital of the European Union.

TRUDEAU DEPLORES ATTACK

Justin Trudeua issued a statement saying he deplores the terrorist bombings in Brussels today and said Canada stands with Belgium and the EU. Air traffic in and out of Brussels is paralyzed with many flgths cancelled.

An outbreak of painful skin sores, rashes and lesions among children on the remote Northern Ontario Kashechewan First Nation reserve has caused authorities to organize a mass airlift of kids out of the community tomorrow (Tuesday). There is no specific diagnosis of the condition but the federal health minister Jane Philpott says it appears the cause is an infection of some type. She said it is not caused by unclean drinking water as some have said. The issue came to a head over the weekend with pictures on social media showing dreadfully afflicted children. A team of physicians is on its way to do door-to-door inspections. Hygiene conditions are not known. Kashechewan First Nation is a Cree First Nation band government located near James Bay. It is incredibly remote. The community is located on the northern shore of the Albany River nearly a 1,000 km from Toronto. Kashechewan First Nation is one of two communities that were established from Old Fort Albany (now the Fort Albany 67 Indian Reserve) in the 1950s.  Shocking pictures on Twitter

Citizens braved cold Lake Ontario water in an unsuccessful effort to rescue a woman in a submerged car at the mouth of the Credit River in Mississauga Monday afternoon. In time, Peel Regional Paramedic Services finally were able to remove the lone occupant of the vehicle and take her to Trillium Health Centre. Her vital signs were absent. Police received a call at around 4:15 p.m. about a vehicle that went into the Credit River near Stavebank and Lakeshore Roads in Port Credit. They say they aren’t sure how the car got into the water. It appears the vehicle may have been submerged for two hours before the body of the woman was removed.

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The large new mansion going up at 240 Rose Park at the corner of Welland Ave is certainly imposing. It’s high roof line seems to say how different is Moore Park from Leaside (for example) where just an inch or two this way or that is cause for a protest from the Leaside Property Owners Association.  In Moore Park with the Moore Park Residents Association, not so much.Of course they are very different communities. Moore Park is older and grew in an eclectic way.  Leaside was more carefully planned and many seem to cling to the 1930s streetscapes. No scandal brewing it seems at 240 Rose Park.

Rob Ford’s chief of staff Dan Jacobs says the former mayor is in palliative care at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Mr. Jacobs insists that this decision is simply to make the Ward 2 Councillor comfortable and is not end-of-life care. Ford is fighting a rare form of soft tissue cancer. He re-started chemotherapy in November after doctors discovered two new cancerous tumours on his bladder. It was learned in recent weeks that this treatment was not successful. Mr. Ford has been in hospital for the past three weeks as doctors work to decide whether the 46-year-old is healthy enough to undergo more treatment.

The people have spoken and it seems they are full of Boaty McBoatface. That’s the hilarious name chosen in an Internet contest organized to name a new polar research vessel in the United Kingdon. The man in charge of the Natural Environment Research Council, which has responsibility for choosing a name, has taken it as a joke and says it is just like the British to offer a silly name. In fact, says Lord West, a former First Sea Lord, he is proud of it. But, he says, it is more likely that Boaty (as she will forever be known) will be called something dreary like Polar Explorer.  In online voting, Boaty McBoatface is currently leading with more than 27,000 votes, while the second place pick trails with around 3,000. The names Pingu, Usain Boat and It’s Bloody Cold Here have also been put forward.

Members of the nine-member Leaside United Church team now in Honduras are sending photos of their growing friendships with the Honduran children of El Hogar — The home — a residence and learning charity supported by Leaside parishioners.