The South Bayview Bulldog

Stephen Harper got back into the Toronto subway game today with a brief visit here for a meeting with Mayor Ford minutes from the government jet’s berth at Toronto Airport. Mr. Harper promised to support the construction of an extension to the Danforth  line all the way to Scarborough. The prime minister met with the mayor in a Mississauga hotel room. Only cameras, no reporters, were permitted into the room and remarkably there was no one present from the provincial government. The Finance Minister, Mr Flaherty, was there.The PM made it clear there will be collaboration between all levels of government to pay for the extension. “Mr. Flaherty and I, subject of course to the normal approval process, have set aside funds to ensure the financing of Toronto’s plan for the Scarborough subway extension,” Harper said as he met with Ford at a hotel near Pearson Airport. “I think this is good news for Toronto commuters who obviously continue to face the challenges of gridlock.” The amount and source of the money is unstated, but there is of course only one real source of the funds, Mr. and Mrs. Canada. There is said to be news opportunity Monday morning in Scarborough at which Mr. Flaherty may talk more specifically about how much money is available from the federal government. 

Angela Merkel won an overwhelming endorsement from German voters, putting the country’s first female chancellor on course for the biggest election tally since Helmut Kohl’s post-reunification victory of 1990. Bloomberg

At the link below is a great column for any parent whose kid plays minor hockey. It’s by Steve Simmons of  the Toronto Sun and as he tells it here the column was written some time ago. You may have read it already. Simmons likes to re-publish it every year because his recollections remind him that when he gets behind the bench of his minor league squad each season the young heroes on the ice are just kids. He tells a poignant and funny story of a boy who was too embarrassed to tell his parents or Simmons himself that he was frightened and sometime hurt by the crazy dogpile antics of his own teammates each time they won a game. Above, we see just such a frenzy as joyous players treat their goalie like a beanbag. Simmons was finally able to get this secret out of the lad and restore his ace goalie to the lineup. Clearly, the kid was no cream puff. He faced down searing shots on goal but his own teammates scared him. That’s actually all too human. Steve Simmons 

First Capital Realty has received a Gold Maple Leaf Award for Design and Development Excellence at the meeting of the  International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC). The award recognizes the design of Leaside Village shopping centre on Laird Drive and the public spirited work of restoring the railway maintenance building which now houses Longo’s (inset top). The Canadian convention was held this week at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. First Capital is a large international real estate investment trust (REIT) which has made purchases locally such as the former CIBC building at 180 Laird  Interestingly the former bank  remains vacant seven months after it was purchased. Although a modest structure by the standard of 1930s bank buildings, 180 Laird does have a well-preserved coat of arms of the bank’s builder, the Imperial Bank of Canada, over the front door (inset). The building stayed in the bank’s family until this year’s sale even after the Imperial merged with the Bank of Commerce in 1960 to create the CIBC. Some think First Capital’s interest in the building is as a foothold looking toward the redevelopment of the west side of Laird Drive south of McRae Drive. First Capital are also the owners of Hazelton Lanes in Yorkville.