The South Bayview Bulldog

Speakers at SERRA seminar Paul Hancock (left) and Terry Mills

There was a standing-room-only turnout Wednesday night for the South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association (SERRA) seminar. The speakers were focussed on problems related to renovations by homeowners especially as they relate to the law and planning. Two volunteers, recognized in their fields, enlightened those present on such matters as “adverse possession” and the black art of long-game resistance to a neighbor who is out of control. They were lawyer Paul Hancock and Professional Planner Terry Mills. The entertaining technique of the speakers if not the technicality of every topic seemed to please those who filled the main floor meeting room at Greenwood College School..The seminar was designed to empower residents on how legal and planning systems work. SERRA reminded members of its annual meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 6.30 at Manor Road United Church.  Adverse possession by the way seems to be a kind of squatter’s rights which might prevail in bad situations. May none of us ever deal with it nor stoop to it.

More than 2400 women and girls will play competitive hockey this weekend in the largest tournament of its kind in the world. It’s the Toronto Leaside Wildcats 37th Annual March Break Madness Tournament. Once again this huge happening will hear the shout of a generation of women who know how to compete. A breakaway on goal of their own making will do fine thanks.

140 TEAMS

And so as many as 140 teams will battle it out at 17 area arenas for gold with 450 coaches urging them on. It all takes place starting Friday Two days hence, games will begin at 9 a.m. at Leaside Memorial Gardens Arena and continue throughout the weekend. The final championship game will be held at Leaside Gardens Arena at 5 p.m. on Sunday March 13th. Athletes will compete at all ages and all skill levels, from Novice DS (Development Stream, ages 7-8) to Senior A (21 and over). The final schedule can be found here.

AUCTIONS, BARBECUE

While this  goes on, the Wildcats of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League, the Juniors, will be busy too down in London trying to button down their PWHL playoff spot. Still to meet, the thousands of moms, dads, brothers and sisters who will crowd the arenas. There will be more than 200 items at silent auction including a signed Team Canada jersey, Leafs, Rock, Raptors and Jays tickets, gift certificates, gourmet baskets and more. Funds raised will support certification, training, equipment and program development for the more than 1600 Wildcats’ players. The tournament will be hosting a fundraising BBQ all three days at Leaside Gardens
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Leaside United Church will hold a Be Smart Online event on Sunday April 3, 2016 at Leaside United Church from 7 to -9 p.m. for parents and youth. The message is positive about navigating social media responsibly and safely  All are welcome.

The prime minister and his family arrived in Washington Wednesday afternoon in preparation for tomorrow’s state dinner with President Obama. The rush, with Mrs. Trudeau and the children running across the tarmac, is interesting as Canadian officials hustle the Trudeaus into cars. One Canadian government source likened the demand for tickets to Thursday evening’s state dinner to Game 7 of a Stanley Cup final between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadians.

Imperial Oil has sold 279 Esso stations to Couche-Tard (Night Owl) the Quebec giant that has been running Esso’s On the Run convenience stores for many years.Couche-Tard is among the largest convenience store and gas bar operator in the world, having many stations in  Europe under different names. An important part of the deal will be the addition of Tim Horton kiosks or full-service cafes in as many as 229 locations mostly in Ontario. The seller and buyer say consumers will not notice much difference. Canadian Business 

A Halton trash collector has been fired for loading up his truck with snow, evidently in an effort make the truck heavier for the pay-by-weight process used in Halton. The video was captured by Milton resident Anna O’Sullivan Tuesday morning and posted online. She said she did not realize the driver was doing anything wrong. But the snow had the potential to increase the money made by the employer Miller Waste Systems

Let’s see if anything sticks as executive committee reviews whittled down SmartTrack plan. CBC

The South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association will hold a two-hour seminar this evening at Greenwood College School on the challenges and solutions related to renovations. It begins at 6.45 p.m. at the school which is at 445 Mt. Pleasant Rd. at Davisville  Ave. Details.

George Martin has died in the United Kingdon at age 90. He is widely-credited with giving the recordings of the Beatles, especially the early ones, the infectious musicality which vaulted the group to world-wide fame.

Jeanne Sauve

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is said by Canadian Press to be a man looking for a woman to be featured on a new bank note starting in 2018. Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau are marking International Women’s Day by announcing the search for a new face for the currency. The bank is asking the public to nominate women deserving of the recognition. Submissions can be made on the bank’s website between now and April 15. Following the practice with men, nominees will have to have been deceased for at least 25 years The custom tends to blunt political considerations and permit an assessment of the candidate’s entire life. The nominee must be a Canadian woman who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, achievement or distinction in any field, benefiting the people of Canada, or in the service of Canada. Jeanne Sauve (1922-1993) was a dignified and effective governor general and might make a nationally acceptable choice.

Josh Mtlow

Josh Matlow (Ward 22) has commented on the dismissal  of a City employee who claimed to be on jury duty for 44 days even though the jury was not sitting and the employee should have been at work. Because employees get paid while on jury duty the taxpayer forked out $11,000 for nothing. Matlow told the City’s audit committee that people “people can disappear around here and there’s no accountability for where they went and when they’re coming back.”  The 44 days worth of paid hooky were reported in the auditor’s report along with another case in which a worker was terminated for having falsified time logs, resulting in more than 800 hours of time theft at a cost of around $40,000.

THESE ARE THE ONES WE KNOW ABOUT

The cases raise the quality of reasonable supervision in City offices. They also bring to mind the special psychology related to the use of OPM (other people’s money) by both the honest and the not so honest. It is a little-discussed reality that is deeply rooted in human nature. These cases were identified somehow but not before the money was gone and the nature of “accountability”  reasonably remains an issue for the Councillor.  .

The Fraser Institute, a Conservative think tank, says it sees no end to Ontario’s growing debt and it estimates that nine cents of every tax dollar collected goes to pay interest on the $300 billion owing. Fraser says that between 2003/04 and 2015/16. Ontario’s debt level increased more than any other province. Per capita debt has now reached about $21,000 for every man, woman and child.