Toronto lawyer Clay Ruby says he will seek leave to appeal today’s decision restoring Mayor to office to the Supreme Court of Canada. Seeking leave to appeal means that Mr. Ruby. and his client Paul Magder, will have to persuade the Supreme Court that this case is of sufficient importance and interest, having not just a local impact but implications for broader law, that they should be granted the opportunity to appeal it. They have no automatic right of appeal.
Mayor Ford wins his appeal to remain in office
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A three-judge panel of Ontario Divisional Court has granted the appeal of Mayor Rob Ford of the lower court judgement which had ordered him from office. Thus Mayor Ford is restored to the office of chief magistrate and will serve out his term to the next election. The court found that Judge Hackland erred in his original decision and that decision is dismissed The 15-page decision, with no dissent, indicates that there was no conflict of interest because the mayor had no pecuniary interest in the outcome of the council decision. The judges in the appeal were Regional Senior Justice Edward Then, Justice Lynne Leitch, and Justice Katherine Swinton. CBC
Mammoliti unable to prove criminal conspiracy
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Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7 York West) has made statements which suggest a criminal conspiracy intended to discredit him and others. It appears however that so far, at least, Mr Mammoliti has the most feeble of cases to support such a concern. He says “when I can prove it, I’ll be going to the police.” There may well be many people interested in discrediting the city councillor. He has clearly identified political opponents who play hardball — maybe even a little dirty. The issue however is whether anyone is committing a crime. Mr. Mammoliti refers to phone tapping and people following him. But he is unable to prove it. Tapping phones is clearly illegal. Surveillance is frequently ripe for prosecution as harassment. His opponents at City Hall are laughing at Mr. Mammoliti. This sadly is what you get for raising such concerns without any proof.
Toddler cheats death twice on busy highway
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Heart-stopping images from a video which shows a two-year-old Russian girl flung from the back window of her parents car and into the path of several oncoming trucks. Top left, the child is seen sitting on the highway as the trucks head towards her. Below, her father scrambles out of his wrecked car to grab the toddler. The narrow escape happened Sunday evening in Moscow and shows just how dangerous driving conditions can be in Russia. So dangerous, in fact, that motorists are using dashboard cameras to capture any incident for insurance purposes. As a result, more and more footage of shocking traffic incidents, such as this, are emerging from the country. Video is here. German cars have more engine trouble: Study
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Are some German-made cars more prone to engine problems? A study from a U.K. warranty service provider claims German powerhouses Audi, BMW and Volkswagen all finished in the bottom 10 of 36 European-market brands. Honda was shown to be among the most reliable. Auto Express.
Kindle Paperwhite reader to be sold in Canada
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Amazon has launched its line of Kindle Paperwhite ereaders in Canada. But the company’s Kindle Fire tablets will still not be available in this country. Whether this is because of an overstock of Paperwhites or a production issue with the Fire wasn’t revealed. The Paerwhite will be available in Canadian dollars at stores like Staples, The Source and Shoppers Drug Mart.
Plan to demolish 308 Rose Park Drive
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Neighbors in the vicinity of 308 Rose Park Drive in Moore Park have received notices of an application to demolish the original stone tudor-style home and construct two town houses. The plan as set out so for calls for each home to have a single car garage. Realty records indicate that sale of the home is conditional on approval of the plan and the price agreed upon has not been published because of that. The home was listed for $2,495,000 in September. It sits on a lot that is 68 feet wide. No 308 Rose Park dates from the 1920s and is one of only a few architect designed homes on the street, all on the north side.
Metro, Mac’s and Rexall-Pharma Plus
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Metro, the gigantic grocery store chain with serious acreage at the northwest corner of Eglinton Ave. E. and Bayivew Ave., has just sold half of its 22 per cent ownership in the Couche Tard convenience store empire, also out of Montreal. You know Couche Tard (it means Night Owl) by its most famous Ontario name, Mac’s. Around here, Metro and Mac’s (in the Sunnybrook Plaza) look at each other across Bayview Ave. Now analysts at Credit Suisse say it might be a good idea if Metro took some of the after-tax $416 million it will get from the Couche Tard sale and buy the Rexall-Pharma Plus group in Canada. There is a Pharma Plus outlet in the Sunnybrook Plaza as well and another down by the Loblaw on Moore Ave near Bayview and on Mt. Pleasant north of Soudan. It all makes interesting reading in the Financial Post.
“Out-for-evening” break-in on Glencairn Ave.
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Toronto Police Service report: A resident of Glencairn Avenue reports that on January 21, 2013 between 1700 hours and 2315 hours, entry was gained into the premises by forcing a door. Removed was a MacBook, a camera and a quantity of jewellery.
Public, TTC showing good sense on stroller issue
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Until groups of mothers start conspiring to clog the TTC with convoys of baby strollers everyone should really stand down on this issue. We call it an issue but it seems like a rather petty, mean-minded complaint. To be sure, from time to time, some riders will be inconvenienced by strollers. Fortunately, TTC boss Andy Byford is a source of good judgment here. Operators should use their discretion and so should passengers. It isn’t an abuse of the TTC for a woman to take her child and stroller on a bus or streetcar. It seems most people agree. What a complaining lot some have become.
Spoken like a lady running for mayor
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| Karen Stintz |
Spoken like a woman who could well be running for mayor. Karen Stintz (Toronto Ward 16) took a few pokes at Mayor Ford tonight during a “political panel discussion” of murky purpose down in Little Italy. It was organized by George Smithrman, known to all, and who tonight had to insist he (at least) is not running for mayor. Ms Stintz, known around here as the Lady from Lawrence Park, (and TTC chair) said Ford required a “stronger” agenda for the second half of his term. Ms Stintz credited Ford with achieving much of his 2010 goals and demonstrating “real leadership” on fiscal responsibility. But she said he had also created what she called noisy issues that had been detrimental. Spoken like a lady running for mayor.
Downtown Toronto population mushrooming
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| Francis Fong |
A report from TD Economics says the growth trend in the suburbs over downtown Toronto has achieved a “substantial turning point”. It has been occurring over a period of perhaps five years in which younger adults have opted for downtown life over less expensive and more spacious properties in the suburbs. The author of the report, Francis Fong, notes that the pace of population growth has tripled since the previous three census periods and — for the first time in decades — outpaced the suburbs. Fong is quoted by CTV as saying: “I feel like we’ve hit critical mass and now we’re sort of on our way to becoming a city like New York or London. “We’re on our way; we’re not there yet.”