Tories committed to voting down today’s budget

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This is budget day and the proceedings from the Legislature can be seen live by clicking the link at the left at 4 p.m. The Premier has defied convention a bit by sharing some of the details: There will be a $260-million investment in home care, a 15 per cent cut to auto insurance rates, new funding for northern roads and bridges and some sort of social assistance reform. The Conservatives however are unimpressed. Leader Tim Hudak says the party will vote against the budget for certain.

Loblaws commits to making factories secure

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Loblaws has committed to a policy of verifying the structural safety of buildings where its goods are produced in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Galen G. Weston, executive chairman of Loblaws, said he has been  appalled by the silence of the garment industry to the collapse of a factory in that country last month.  Mr.Weston said that  Loblaws will take the lead to try to secure the structural integrity of factories.   This will involve having Loblaws personnel on the ground as monitors. Mr.Weston spoke at the Mattamy Athletic Centre and was accompanied by Joe Mimrand, the creator of the Joe Fresh brand owned by Loblaws. At the news conference, one reporter questioned whether there was anything that foreign companies could do because the Bangladeshi government is so untrustworthy. Mr Mimrand noted that a major reason that Joe Fresh is manufactured in Bangladesh is the reciprocity treaty the country has with Canada and Ottawa’s encouragement of firms to take advantage of this for the purpose of helping the Bangladesh economy.  

Tenants given eviction notices at Talbot units

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Tenants of the Kelvingrove and Glen-Leven rental apartments on Bayview Ave. report that they have all received eviction notices, ordering them out of their units by September 1, 2013. There are some 140 units in the buildings. Owner of the historic apartments, ADMNS Kelvingrove Investment Corporation is part of a Manitoba pension fund, They say they intend to renovate the apartment units and to do so the buildings must be vacant. The tenants have been told they will receive a total of three months free rent if they agree with the terms of departure. The notices were served  Monday April 29, 2013 and the nature of a tenants rights in this situation is unclear. Margaret Randall, of Leacrest Road, said that documents tendered to her mother, a resident of the apartment for a year, suggest that she can return to her apartment in a year, or more, quite likely at higher rent. The Kelvingrove, Glen-Leven and related properties were the subject of an intense battle between the owner and the Leaside Property Owners Association. The LOPA said the buildings were historic and part of the community’s heritage. The simple red brick buildings between 1351 and 1365 Bayview on the east side were built by Howard Talbot, who served as Mayor of Leaside from 1938 to 1947.  It seems certain that as the details of the eviction are revealed and opposition is formed, there will be much to tell on this matter. 

New Boston suspects car had “Terrorista #1” plate

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Two suspects taken into custody Wednesday in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings drove a car with “Terrorista #1″ license plates. Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev were reportedly arrested Wednesday, along with one other person, for allegedly making false statements and obstructing justice during the federal investigation into Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Tazhayakov and Kadrbayev, who are reportedly in FBI custody, drove around in a black BMW with “Terrorista #1” license plates and were also photographed with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Times Square. Daily Caller.

Wynne faces intense questions with stony denials

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Don Valley West voters saw their MPP, Premier Kathleen Wynne, under intense pressure today as she testified for some 90 minutes before the Legislature’s Justice Committee. The Premier revealed her dogged capacity to take tough questions from well-prepared opponents. The grilling Ms Wynne got from PC questioners Vic Fidelli and  Lisa MacLeod brought tempers to a boil. The PCs and NDP essentially accuse the Premier of lying about not knowing the true cost of cancelling a gas energy plant in Oakville. It seems to be an open question in media commentary tonight as to whether Ms. Wynne, tough as she was, can credibly claim not to have known the enormous burden of the plant cancellations. Hours before Ms Wynne’s appearance, Ontario Power Authority (OPA) chief executive Colin Andersen revealed the shocking dollar figure for scrapping Oakville was $310 million, on top of $275 million for Mississauga. Asked who knew these figures, Mr. Anderson said simply, “Everybody, including the minister.”  Testimony in its entirety. 

Blackberry boss predicts the end of the tablet

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Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins says his company is focussed on “crazy multi-taskers”. For him at least, that translates into a future where the tablet (and laptop) won’t be very useful. In this linked story from Bloomberg he questions the future of the tablet. Hard to believe but that’s what the man said. Heins concedes you may want a big screen “in your workspace”. Time will tell if this is merely all strategic wishful thinking. Bloomberg

Man grabbed girl’s wrist at Eg and Laird

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The Toronto Police Service has sent out an alert about a man who tried to force a 15 year old girl to go with him. It happened today (Monday, April 29, 2013) in the Eglinton Avenue East/Laird Drive area. The police report says, “It is reported that: − on Monday, April 29, 2013, at 12:30 p.m., a man approached a 15−year−old girl and asked for directions − the man then asked the girl to come with him and took hold of her wrist − a woman witnessed what was happening and intervened − the man continued walking eastbound along Eglinton Avenue East The man is described as having a light−brown complexion, in his 50s, 5’5″−5’6″, with a heavy build and bald. He was wearing a black jacket with dark jeans.” Readers of the South Bayview Bulldog will recall another incident which occurred near Overlea and Don Mills Road some five or six days ago.

Toronto Police Service is on the lookout for a man who was making a nuisance of himself by insisting on walking home with a ten-year-old girl near Don Mills Road and Overlea Boulevard last week. The girl was crossing the soccer field of Gateway Public School alone around 4:15 p.m. when a man approached and pulled on her shirt sleeve. He was persistent that he should walk her home. The girl ran towards the school and the man left the area. He is described as dark in complexion, 30 to 40 years old, 5’ 8” tall with a medium build. He had short black hair, a moustache, and was wearing a dark blue zip-up hoodie, white T-shirt, light blue track pants and black shoes. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-5400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.

Puckheads act like hockey pucks to win tickets

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Call it Puckhead Frenzy, or Blue and White Delirium.  Yes, these are somewhat unkind descriptions but for good or ill they fit the punchy fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs who painted their faces, played Simon Says and jumped up and down  trying to win a pair of free tickets to the Maple Leafs’ first post-season game in almost a decade. Fevered young Leafs fans stormed the  Air Canada Centre to see if they could possibly cop playoff tickets for the first-round series that begins on Wednesday. The Leafs are going up against the Boston Bruins, with the first two games of the best-of-seven series in the U.S. The next two games are at the AC Centre. Tickets to the series sold out in minutes. That’s why fans showed up to the all-day event at the arena, which was hosted by former Leaf Wendel Clark. This fellow (inset) stood out for sheer Puckhead enthusiasm but sadly he didn’t win. There’s no justice.