The South Bayview Bulldog

Gerald Butts, principal secretary to the Prime Minister, has resigned over accusations that it was he who applied pressure to then Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to help the Montreal engineering firm SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal case on corruption charges. But in quitting his office, Butts adamantly denies that he did any such thing. His resignation statement says the decision was taken because the allegation is distracting from the “vital work”  Justin Trudeau is doing. Butts is described as the most powerful person in Ottawa except for the PM himself. The two have been close friends since university.  “I categorically deny the accusation that I or anyone else in his office pressured Ms. Wilson-Raybould .At all times, I and those around me acted with integrity and singular focus on the best interests of all Canadians,” Butts said.

• Gerald Butts resigns as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s principal secretary
• Are these the ‘answers’ of a Prime Minister who’s done nothing wrong?

Truck convoys from the east and west will meet outside Ottawa later today or tomorrow and then head to Parliament Hill to protest federal petroleum policy They wish to cure the paralysis on pipeline construction, boost the economy and free Canadians from the need for foreign oil. CBC’s Olivia Stefanovich is the reporter.

Summerhill Market stores at 446 Summerhill Ave. and 1054 Mt. Pleasant Rd. are open Family Day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Large grocery stores like Loblaws, Metro, Sobey’s and Longo’s are closed as are banks, liquor and beer stores and the libraries. Better call to see about restaurants. They present a very mixed pattern.

A cold Monday will keep new Family Day snow in place. Two to five cm fell on Toronto. There will be a significant warming towards midweek for those who would like to see some of it melt.

Leaside Jr. Wildcats won a chippy, penalty-filled game against the Bluewater Hawks at their Millwood Rd. home Sunday afternoon. The game featured 19 penalties including shared calls for double minor (head contact) roughing after the whistle and unsportsmanlike conduct (twice). Parents and relatives saw daughters in a large second-inning tussle by the Leaside net. The game was won by the last goal scored at 12.13 in the second period. Lilie Lacey tucked it past the Hawks goaler for the Cats with help from Maddie Briggs to make 4-3. The third period was scoreless despite a furious six on four attack by the Hawks in the closing moments.

PENALTY-FEST I

Leaside won another penalty-filled rock ’em sock ’em game Saturday against Barrie Jr. Sharks at East Bayfield Community Centre. The Provincial Women’s Hocky League boxscore shows 12 penalties, seven assessed to Barrie and five to Leaside. The game was won 4-3 just 29 seconds into overtime by Captain Marley Van Den Oetelaar. Both teams were shorthanded. Leaside entered the third period trailing 0-3  Quite a comeback. See PWHL boxscore of this curious game here.

A distinguished Canadian cartoonist, Michael de Adder of the Chronicle Herald, has promised he will “strive to do better” in the face of social media criticism of his portrayal of Jody Wilson-Raybould tied in a chair subject to a beating by Justin Trudeau. It was just too close to home for many in this day and age of intense concern about violence toward women. “Cartoonists sometimes have unanticipated secondary interpretations in cartoons that they don’t intend,” wrote Michael de Adder in a series of tweets on Saturday night.

• ‘No question’ Jody Wilson-Raybould will tell the truth about why she quit, says her father
• Trudeau goes on the attack after former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s shock resignation
• Jody Wilson-Raybould became thorn in Liberals’ side before SNC-Lavalin case

House explosion reported in Calgary; multiple homes catch fire – https://t.co/C1EqQQReEf pic.twitter.com/yoy1dv1nE3

— CTV Regina (@ctvregina) February 17, 2019

Emergency crews are working to determine if anyone was injured in a possible explosion during a two-alarm blaze on Sunday morning. Dozens of 911 calls around 4:20 a.m. Mountain Time reported “a loud bang” in the 300 block of Douglas Glen Close of the fire department said in a statement. One caller said they heard “a loud sound, glass shattering and then flames visible from the second floor of the single-family home.” When fire crews arrived they found a home fully engulfed in flames with fire spreading to the neighbouring residences.

Jussie Smollett

Joe Schlesinger

Theodore McCarrick

Police are leaking revelations that Empire star Jussie Smollett (left) paid two men he knew to stage an attack on him, including the use of a noose around his neck. Smollett plays Jamal Lyon on the prime time soap opera about a hip hop music business. It is wildly popular with millennial viewers. At centre is CBC correspondent Joe Schlesinger who died Thursday after a distinguished career as a foreign correspondent. Mr. Schlesinger arrived in Canada penniless after WWII as one of a handful of Jewish orphans brought here from Germany. He was 90. At right, the Pope has defrocked a once-renowned US Cardinal, Theodore McCarrick. McCarrick was accused, among other things of soliciting sex from the confessional. Many Catholics are pleased at the seriousness with which such offenses are now being treated.

No winning ticket was sold for the $5 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw. However, the guaranteed $1 million prize went to a ticket holder in Ontario. There were also 25 guaranteed prizes of $100,000 each. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Feb. 20 will be approximately $7 million.

See later post

Alberta missionaries react with joy at sight of choppers/CBC

Tourists board helicopter early Saturday/CBC

Nurses happy to be heading home/CBC

Helicopters apparently paid for by GoFundMe donations have lifted some 150 Canadian tourists, missionaries and nurses from a distant locale in Haiti to the main airport in Port Au Prince, the capital. Rioting, looting and associated violence has made it too dangerous to travel the roads in the poverty-stricken land. According to Global News, the GoFundMe campaign was started on Friday, with a goal of $9,000. It is said to have exceeded that goal, hitting more than $16,000 as of Friday night. Some 113 Canadian tourists are said to be safe back home. They landed Saturday night on an Air Transat flight along with a few people from other airlines at Trudeau airport just after 9 p.m.

BILLY BISHOP OPEN AGAIN AFTER CRASH

Billy Bishop Airport is open again Sunday after a brief closure Saturday when a small plane flipped over on landing. The pilot is said to be recovering from minor injuries. Police and emergency crews responded to the island airport around 5:30 p.m.

Toronto Police will not be enforcing these on-street parking bylaws on Monday, Family Day.

Pay-and-Display/Metered Areas
Rush-Hour Routes
Posted signs indicating Monday to Friday regulations

All other areas and parking offences will continue to be enforced.