The South Bayview Bulldog

The Toronto Auditor General has revealed that a stunning 600 TTC employees may have participated in an orthotics racket run by a North York businessman. The scheme involved a diagnoses that required certain services which were non-existent which we then charged to a TTC insurance program. The racket was only discovered last year by a tip from an unknown source. So far, as reported here earlier, 12 TTC employees have been fired. The racket may have cost the City more than $5 million. TTC spokesman Brad Ross told CBC News that nine non-union employees and three unionized workers have been let go. Ross added the that even though they’re being investigated, not all of the 600 employees did anything wrong. In her annual report on fraud at the City of Toronto that was released on Friday, Auditor General Beverly Romeo-Beehler revealed that the TTC is continuing to investigate 600 other TTC employees who submitted claims to the company in question  TTC employees get the boot in orthotics  scandal

For those who just can’t get enough of our handsome new prime minister, here he is visiting the Quebec plant of Unbisoft, a French video game develeoper. (Have we got this thing targeted on Millennial City or what)

The windows are papered over and the “for lease” signs are down at 1661 Bayview Ave. It is usually a sign that the place has been taken. This is the premises beside the now vacant Brick store where the pop-up shoe store “Stop N Shop” resided for a while after Gen-Cor Furniture Limited washed out. This is also the former location of Vescada hair salon now across the street under the new name of P and P Hair.

People who make Starbuck their life have got to be careful. Oh sure, The Bulldog loves the green lady’s espresso but the idea of worrying about a rewards program that wouldn’t clear enough cash for a car wash seems silly. Nonetheless, thousands, possibly millions of Starbucks patrons are up in arms over changes that would make people spend more. It was last Monday that Starbucks said it will now require those in the plan to spend a dollar per point. The new system incentivizes (if that’s the word) higher spending and larger orders. Previously, customers earned one point, or “star” as they are called in the Starbucks system, per visit or transaction, and received a free food or drink item per 12 visits, no matter how much they spent. So if you ordered a $2 coffee every day, you could earn a reward after spending about $24. People, get a life.

Seniors complain that the proposed changes to the Ontario Drug Benefit program will increase the annual deductible for seniors who are above the qualifying income threshold by $70, to $170, and increases the co-payment, or fee paid per prescription, by $1.

Outside workers of CUPE Local 416 have ratified a new contract with the City that gives them a five percent increase over four years. Seems okay. They number 5,400, and importantly, they do garbage removal.  Workers in Local 79 are still engaged in a so-called work-to–rule although this action seems to have as many forms as the Toronto Star has stories. It is not fully clear what is required but it is apparently not money. Tim Maguire, the president of the local, talks of  his members not being asked to do things that are not in  their job descriptions but there are no examples of that so far that would shock anyone. Some suspect it is an attempt to define jobs so narrowly that the City would have to add to the 23,000 (!) inside workers it already employs. As Mayor Tory has put it succinctly: “These are good jobs”.  CBC

PC Decadent chocolate chip cookies, No Name products and other Loblaws foods are selling well at Shoppers Drug Mart. Shoppers sold more than a quarter of a billion dollars of house-branded food in its drugstores stores across Canada last year. And Galen Weston, executive chairman and president, has told analysts that Loblaws will speed up the click-and-collect program it first began testing in the GTA 14 months ago. The online purchase and pickup scheme has been working well at stores like Loblaws on Redway Road. It is now in place at 39 stores and will increase to an unspecified number. Finally, Sears will turn over eight stores across Canada including three stores in the GTA to its competitor Leons. Sears has not been making money in these premises. The stores are in Mississauga, Brampton and Etobicoke.

Ontario is planning to introduce tuition fee grants for families earning less than $50,000 a year, according to budget proposals tabled in the Legislature Thursday. The Liberals project a budget deficit for one more year and then say they will balance the  budget by 2017-18.  By the numbers, Ontario proposes to run a deficit of C$5.7 billion ($4.21 billion) in fiscal 2015-16 and smaller-than-expected C$4.3 billion in 2016-2017. In 2017-18 Finance Minister Charles Sousa says, the government will balance the books. In this regard, the government has been helped by lower oil costs to perk up the province’s manufacturing base. As well, the lower dollar has increased exports. The smaller deficit and higher spending on education and infrastructure will be paid for by economic growth, the government said, and future spending will come from tax increases most of which are a function of so-called cap  and trade.carbon pricing. By any name, it is all increased taxes on gasoline and natural gas, the most widely used household heating fuel in Ontario. There will also be increases to the price of wine and cigarettes. It’s a budget for Ontario, just not Toronto.

Long-time barber Leonardo Morra has died at the age of 79.  Mr. Morra is well-remembered from his years running LeMan’s Barber Shop in the Sunnybrook Plaza. His death occurred Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at the age of 79.  Mr. Morra’s obituary recalls that he is survived by his wife Guerina Morra and his only daughter Antonella Morra. He was grandfather of Aria Mozzone and A.J. Morra. He lost his 15-year battle with cancer and died peacefully at Village of Humber Heights. There will be two viewings at DeMarco Funeral Home at 3725 Keele St. on Friday, February 26, 2–4 p.m. and 7–9 p.m. The funeral will take place on Saturday, February. 27 at St. Charles Catholic Church at 811 Lawrence Ave. West (at Dufferin Road) at 10 a.m. with burial following at Highland Cemetery, 33 Memory Garden Lane, in Willowdale. For further information, email toni_to_tiger@hotmail.com.

CBC

CTV Toronto says that Zuraidah Alman has been named anchor of CTV News at 11.30. She has been CTV team since 2008 as a reporter and fill-in anchor. Alman’s broadcast experience spans almost two decades. Prior to joining the CTV News Toronto team, Alman worked for Global TV, anchoring the morning and noon news, and reporting for the supper hour broadcast. She has also worked as a reporter for Citytv and anchor for CP24. Alman has covered Toronto headlines including The Toronto Blue Jays 2015 playoff run, Canada’s largest mass shooting on Danzig St. in downtown Toronto, and the massive Toronto ice storm and subsequent blackout of 2013.