Profile reveals Jim Flaherty’s close family ties

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Among the reflections being published on the life of Jim Flaherty is a profile of his close relationship with his wife and children. She is Christine Elliott, deputy leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. They have 23-year-old triplet sons, Quinn, John and Galen. The couple are said to have been partners in every sense of the word, according to the story published today in the Hamilton Spectator and sourced through TorStar. Elsewhere, a remarkable gesture of respect for the late finance minister as the elite of global finance paused during a gathering of the G-20 members in Washington to pay tribute to  Mr. Flaherty. The body opened its doors to a private dinner so the media might hear the remarks of those who spoke about their colleague. It was the first time in nearly a decade such an event was attended by a Canadian finance minister other than Flaherty. The new minister, Joe Oliver, said his predecessor would be remembered as a great Canadian statesman for his influence on policy, and also for his role among decision-makers who steered the world through the post-2007 financial crisis. “I also want to say how much I appreciated Jim’s personal kindness and assistance when I was a candidate, and later a cabinet colleague,” Oliver said. Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, now chairman of the Bank of England, spoke of the valuable guidance he had received. Photos by Bernard Weil, Toronto Star: top, Jim Flaherty and Christine Elliott, with sons Quinn (l), John (2nd rt) and Galen (r).  Spectator  

Bright and mild weekend for South Bayview

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South Bayview and all of Toronto is looking forward to a bright and mild weekend. Click the weather icon above for the details. A reminder that the Toronto 10K run will clog streets Sunday morning. 

“Tears in the air” among MPs mourning Flaherty

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CTV has produced a selection of comment and tweets from members of parliament on the passing of Jim Flaherty. The cause of his death has not been released but many are saying they believe Mr. Flaherty died of a heart attack.  CTV

Stephen Colbert confirmed to replace Letterman

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A new triumvirate of late show laugh-masters is formed as CBS announces a five-year deal with Stephen Colbert to take the prime late-night slot being vacated by David Letterman   Left to right: Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel. The New York Times say that Colbert will essentially change his act for CBS. He will be,  in one way, an all-new talent for CBS because he will drop the broadly satirical blowhard conservative character he has played for nine years, and instead perform as himself. Mr. Colbert became the immediate front-runner for the position both because of an increasing recognition of his talent — his show won two Emmy Awards last year — and because he clearly wanted the job. His representation had ensured that he would be available to CBS by syncing his recent contracts with Mr. Letterman’s.  CBC Twitter

Better make me safe or I’ll sue you big time

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Annie Malik, 19, says she feels betrayed by York University because of the shooting on March 6, 2014 at York. Maybe, but the $20 million lawsuit she and seven other students have launched against the school over this incident has the smell of mindless greed on it. We’re sorry for Ms Malik’s trauma and her injuries, but the idea that a university could hire enough security guards — 10? 40? 300? 1000? —  to make sure no one ever gets hurt by a random shooting incident is stupid.  Sean Tepper, Toronto Star

CBC to eliminate 657 jobs in next two years

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The CBC will eliminate 657 jobs over the next two years. It will cease bidding on big league sports rights and figure out generally how to do with less money.  Marc Weisblott 

Leaside Garden Society meets Thursday night

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Leaside Garden Society meets tonight (Thursday, April 10, 2014) at the Leaside Library on McRae Drive. Master Gardner Cathy Park will discuss Balcony Gardening. Ms. Park has been a Master Gardener for 14 years and a member of Leaside Garden Society since she moved to the neighbourhood 20 years ago. Her interests are in shade plants and environmentally-friendly garden practices and, recently, garden tours to far off places. Refreshments are available prior to the meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

Prince George takes engagement “in his crawl”

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Time for the next batch of pictures from New Zealand where royal reporters are saying Prince George took his first major royal engagement entirely in his stride. Or as Gordon  Rayner of the The Telegraph said, in his crawl. The occasion was a meeting of the prince with ten other babies at what Rayner called the world’s most exclusive playgroup. George is now fully mobile, a feat which at eight months apparently beats his father by a month.  The playgroup was organised by The Royal New Zealand Plunket Society, or Plunket for short, which provides free parental support services to more than nine in ten babies there. In years to come the future king will look back on this joyous event as the moment his life’s work began. George’s mom, the duchess, was wearing a Tory Burch dress. She carried carried Prince George on her hip as she chatted and giggled with other parents about their shared experiences of bringing up babies. And where fashion-watchers are usually obsessed with the Duchess’s outfit, it was Prince George’s smart navy blue dungarees that were attracting more interest on Twitter. The Prince wore a £75 pair of “sailboat smocked dungarees” by the British designer Rachel Riley over a white Milo Body by Chelsea Clothing Company and navy Alex Pre-Walkers shoes by Early Days. The babies chosen as George’s playmates were politically-correct. They included the daughter of two gay fathers and children of Maori, Samoan, Polish and Oriental descent. All were born within days of Prince George, but most were dwarfed by him, apart from Levi Birch, known as “superman” because of his strength and size. Rayner reports that Prince George had no fear in pulling himself up towards the other children – and stealing their toys.  Telegraph

Ford once again attacks our ding-dong trolleys

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It’s a funny thing how our goofy mayor has a way of stating issues that are burning just under the surface of public discourse. That would be Rob Ford and the ding-dong trolleys of Toronto. At Jaye Robinson’s Ward 25 Transit Town Hall in  February the well-dressed Lawrence Park crowd had more than one cranky word to say about “19th century technology” embodied in our a streetcars. TTC chief general manager Andy Byford dodged the topic by saying he got streetcars as a fait accomplis (our words) when he stepped off the plane from Australia. It didn’t take much to read his mind. Now Ford is back on the topic.  “I won’t be buying anymore streetcars as long as I’m mayor and I’m planning to be mayor for a long time, much to your chagrin, .” he told reporters.  Ford blamed streetcars for “causing congestion in this city” and argued that buses would be a better alternative. Before Ford swept into office, council agreed to a $1.2-billion deal to buy 204 new streetcars. They are expected to start hitting the streets this August and a new garage is being built on Leslie St. to house the vehicles. The new fleet is expected to last as long as 35 years.  TTC officials say the capacity of one new streetcar equals that of three 12-metre buses. They also sit in the middle of the street and block traffic.

#Leaside High kids give blood at Northlea clinic

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The Northlea Elementary and Middle School blood donor wrapped at 8 p.m. Wednesday night after a busy day that saw the eight donor beds mostly occupied all day long. Some 126 people came out to donate, but after the rigorous testing required, the number who actually gave blood was 96. That’s a solid figure and just about met the clinic’s average of 100 based on past events. Traffic was steady in the gymnasium with regulars like Bob Moenk and MaryJane McIntyre (inset top) and some wonderful young donors from Leaside High School. Inset centre are (front l to r) Ashlyn, Ashley and Grace. At rear l to r, Ben and Russell. These great kids showed up right after classes ended and their mere presence gave everybody a boost. The idea to  give blood came from Grace. Dare we say she was born to be a leader of men? In any case, every single donor honoured the legacy of Northlea students Emmy Duff and Noah Wolfe (inset bottom). Emmy was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1996 and a second time in November 2002. It was shocking news but there was even worse to come. The Leaside community reeled when one of Emmy’s schoolmates, Noah, was diagnosed with the same disease within a week of Emmy’s second diagnosis. The Northlea blood clinic was born out of the desperation of those difficult days and has gone on to become a signal event for the Canadian Blood Services.

Pink Day grips hearts and minds of Leaside High students

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Kyle Woolacott

From slashes of pink makeup across their cheeks to elaborate crusader-type costumes, students in South Bayview observed International Day of Pink with an admirable enthusiasm for their cause. Most schools had events to pursue the curbing of bullying and discrimination in schools and communities. At Leaside High School, former Ontario Health Minister and one-time candidate for mayor George Smitherman addressed an assembly.  In the audience was an eminent advocate of tolerance named Kyle Woolacott (inset).  Kyle is pictured as he dropped into Loblaws to check his schedule after school.  “Everybody was wearing pink. I just sort of over did it,” the young cashier chuckled. Not at all Kyle. You make Loblaws proud. The pink initiative was led by Jer’s Vision, a Canadian organization that provides anti-bullying and anti-discrimination programming, and it encourages everyone to wear pink. Students from Northern Secondary School were honoured to hear directly from Jeremy Dias, Executive Director of Jer’s Vision. He spoke to students about his personal story and the importance of intolerance for bullying or homophobic behaviour in our schools, in our community or in our country. Photo: Kyle Woolacott celebrates Day of Pink. 

Chip truck for Leaside and other dog owners

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A useful news release comes from Toronto Animal Services this morning that its so-called chip truck (for dogs) will officially kick off a third season on April 12 at Pet Social Stay and Play Centre, 5 Bruyeres Mews. This location is out in New Toronto and not so convenient to South Bayview.  The chip truck, sponsored by PetSecure, is a low-cost, mobile microchip clinic for dogs and cat owners. The chip truck offers a microchip and a pet licence for $25 for cats and $35 for dogs. If your pet has a current City of Toronto licence, the cost of your microchip is $10 with proof of licence. Appointments are not required. To use the chip truck, dogs must be on a leash and cats must be properly contained in a carrier. Pet owners are asked to bring a piece of photo identification with their address. More information is available here.