Canada creates 21,600 jobs in November

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Canada created a surprisingly buoyant 21,600 jobs in November. It’s true many of the jobs were part-time positions. This may have something to do with the practice of big companies, like Dollarama for example, employing people in a “full-time part-time” fashion.  Workers have a steady job work but the employer doesn’t have to pay the benefits stipulated for full-time workers.  The unemployment rate however continued to sit at 6.9 per cent for the third straight month. The jump in employment was almost twice the 12,000 positions that economists had expected. They still say the economy is fragile.

Many Americans can’t find Canada on a map

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It’s sometimes said that the media hates its readers, and that it wants readers to hate themselves too. Who knows, but the poll by a company called Pollara showing that Rob Ford is better known in the U.S. than David Cameron, prime minister of the United Kingdom, seems a little too easy. It just another way of saying all hope is lost. Those who take it as evidence of the end of Canada’s reputation abroad should remember that Jay Leno can’t find anyone outside his studio most nights who knows that you travel north to Canada, not south. Other programs have found that ordinary Americans can’t name the vice president. Why would anyone think that a poll like this means anything? 

Harper, Wynne discuss Ontario’s Ring of Fire

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Leaside’s own Premier,  Kathleen Wynne, was in Ottawa Thursday where she had a “productive meeting” with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The agenda appears to have been mainly about a remote mining district of Northern Ontario known as the Ring of Fire. Why Ring of Fire? Because Richard Nemis, a Sudbury lawyer who has promoted the area through its discovery period is a huge fan of Johnny Cash. The Ring of Fire’s enormous riches were revealed during  airborne helicopter magnetic and electromagnetic  surveys in the early years of the 21st century. That’s merely seven or eight years ago. It is said a proposed mining project could yield $60 billion in revenues. Others predict the coming together of Manitoba Hydro resources, which are very close to this part of Ontario, with chrome, nickel and iron ores could create the largest source of stainless steel in the world. There are also huge deposits of copper. You get the idea. So the Premier was talking to Mr. Harper about how to develop this area, and just how to pay for it. One little understood aspect of this valuable public asset is that there is no road or railway to the area. There will be a bit of money required to set the Ring of Fire aflame. Despite it’s name, the pattern of magnetic discoveries looks more like a crescent than a ring. But then, who knows what patterns might emerge when we get on the ground?  The feds are on a stringent program to balance the budget. 

Builder is busy at home and on the job site

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Vince Le Donne

Vince Le Donne wants to build homes in Leaside. And building them he is. The young father of two lives on Leacrest Road with his wife and kids while he builds a new home for his family on Airdrie Road near Hanna Rd. Even here, Vince is making friends with neighbors and potential customers who may some day need his services. “It’s so important for me to learn about the community and meet people here,” Vince says of his adopted community. With his company, Ivy Glen Homes, building two more homes on Sutherland Drive, Vince acknowledges that his preferred business is to contract with residents. They may wish to bump up or enlarge a present Leaside home, or perhaps replace it altogether. But like all businessmen, Vince is ready to do the job that needs doing. One of his Sutherland projects, 472, is being built for a client, but over at 302, he will sell the finished product himself. There’s no other place like Leaside  for this booming activity, and Vince knows just what a good place he has picked. Vince Le Donne is a home-grown builder, learning his trade at Humber College and then earning a degree is architectural technology at Ryerson.  He spent five years working for another Leaside building firm making drawings of projects in the office, before striking out on his own a couple of years ago. All of this plus the blessing and responsibility of a 4-year daughter and a one year old son. It keeps Vince Le Donne busy at home and on the job site.

Thieves return statue to College St. church

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Thieves have had a change of heart after stealing a statue from outside of the Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields (Anglican) on College Street. The status, known as “Whatsoever You Do”, by the artist Timothy Schmalz, was taken off of a plinth outside the church sometime around November 30, 2013. On Wednesday, December 4, 2013, it was discovered that the statue had been returned by unknown persons to the church premises. The statue was accompanied by as note: “I’m sorry, it seemed like a good idea at the time, ” the scribbled message said. The sculpture is one of the most popular and commonly displayed pieces of art in churches. It embodies the lesson of Matthew (25.40): “Whatsoever you do for one of my least brothers or sisters, you do for me.” 

Mt. Sinai to double the size of emergency dept.

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Mount Sinai Hospital has announced that Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz, archetypal philanthropic power couple, will donate $15 million to re-build and expand the emergency department that is already named after them. That’s because Reisman and Schwartz were the hospital’s patrons in its previous renewal some 20 years ago. The two live in the heart of west Rosedale and are known for the retail presence that is Indigo and for Onex Corporation, the fabulously well-financed private equity and investment firm. Mount Sinai said today the project will will double the size of its emergency department, transforming it to serve an aging demographic with chronic illness and complex needs. The hospital aims to become the first North American facility to support research into the fast-growing specialty of emergency medicine to find solutions to long wait times and system bottlenecks. Such a worthy goal. 

Outlook for stranded whales in Florida “not good”

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Wildlife officials fighting to save some 41 stranded pilot whales say they are not optimistic about getting the great mammals back out to sea. Dozens of short-finned pilots are stranded in shallow water off Florida Everglades National Park. It is a phenomenon of nature that baffles scientists. The grim assessment came as the number of dead whales climbed to 10, including four euthanized by wildlife officials after being found in “poor condition.” An attempt earlier in the day to herd the whales out of the park’s remote Highland Beach failed. Rescuers have been using five boats to create a blockade of sorts between the whales and the beach as part of the effort to keep them from beaching and simultaneously encouraging them to make their way back to the Gulf of Mexico

Executive reps vote solidly to delay jet decision

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Toronto’s executive committee has voted to defer any decision on the proposed Porter Airlines expansion of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The motion to defer the item until January passed 11-2. Mayor Rob Ford and Peter Milczyn (Ward 5) voted against the deferral.  Deputy mayor Norm Kelly said waiting a month would allow staff more time to get more information so that the committee and council can make the decision. The vote sets out the stark difference between what councillors are hearing from their constituents and a recent poll that said the public favours the jets. Outside executive, a fractious scrum involving Porter airlines CEO Robert DeLuce.  Representatives of No Jets Toronto were present.  Here is the vote break-down:
Defer 11: Gary Crawford, Vincent Crisanti, Frank Di Giorgio, Norman Kelly (Chair), Peter Leon, Giorgio Mammoliti, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Cesar Palacio, Anthony Perruzza, David Shiner, Michael Thompson
Proceed  2 :  Rob Ford, Peter Milczyn
Absent  0.

Andy Elder’s Grilltime has new local condiments

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Manning and Elder
Among the food vendors at Wednesday night’s Winter Wonders fundraiser at All-Canada Self Storage was Andy Elder, owner-operator of the Grilltime specialty meat shop. With him at his sales table was a supplier to his shop, Christine Manning. Ms. Manning is an enterprising businesswoman and cook from Scarborough. A few years ago she decided to apply her knowledge and cooking skills to creating a line of jams, condiments and pickled preserves  She called her company — wait for it — Manning Canning. We like it too. While Christine offered samples (and sold jars) of her delectables, Andy served up thinly sliced tenderloin on crostinis. Manning Canning has one of the finest zucchini relishes we’ve tasted. Christine’s preserves are available at only about a dozen or so shops in Toronto so far.