The South Bayview Bulldog

The Supreme Court Friday stuck down parts of the Criminal Code which require a “surcharge” or fee against petty thieves and criminals as recompense to society for the burden of dealing with them. The decision was seven to two. The majority decision was written by Justice Sandra J Martin and the minority dissent by Justice Suzanne Cote. Justice Malcolm Rowe agreed with her. The surcharge has been in effect since the 1980s and its end comes about because Justice Martin and her six colleagues have redefined the meaning of cruel and unusual punishment. Judges Cote and Rowe say the surcharge is the cost of committing crime. They find it a long way from anything like cruel and unusual punishment as it has been known in Canada.

MIKE DUFFY DENIED RIGHT TO SUE SENATE

An Ontario Superior Court judge has dismissed Mike Duffy’s multi-millon-dollar lawsuit against the Senate of Canada, arguing the Red Chamber and its members are protected by parliamentary privilege, making them immune from this sort of judicial scrutiny. The decision is a blow to Duffy — who still represents P.E.I. in the Senate — as he has sought some financial compensation for his bruising, years-long battle to clear his name following accusations of improper spending. “Allowing a court to revisit the Senate’s decisions at issue here would interfere with the Senate’s ability to function as an independent legislative body, equal to other branches of government,” Justice Sally Gomery wrote in her decision published Friday — CBC

MARKETS DOWN, DOWN ON J AND J TALCUM ADMISSION

Stocks tell dramatically again Friday in the US (Down  off 500) and in Canada (TSX off 155) on fears of weakness as the trade dispute between the US and China staggers forward. Johnson and Johnson took a body slam as it admitted that it knew its talcum powder contained asbestos at some point.  .

This is Bessborough Dr traffic when Bayview is closed

The usual but worse

The traffic congestion aptly described as the five-year-once-in-a-lifetime-nightmare that is the LRT construction seemed to out-do itself Friday afternoon. For reasons generally known but specifically unclear, there was almost no movement north on Bayview Ave from Millwood Rd. heading toward 4 p.m. One motorist timed his trip from Millwood to Parkhurst at 25 minutes. Side roads on both the west and east sides of Bayview were backed up and in many cases locked at the corners by drivers determined to hold their position in the line. Banff, Roehampton, Broadway, Bessborough, Glenvale and the others were full of stopped vehicles.

Kate, Louis, Charlotte, George and William

Prince Louis makes an appearance to much fan flutter on William and Kate’s 2018 Christmas card. Not too many of these printed best wishes will be landing in South Bayview but never mind. All the children look very sweet. Other cards released Friday are here.

A large coyote which lives in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery near Bayview Ave. has been recorded by a Leaside jogger and video posted at Leaside Community. There is a long thread of comment touching on raccoons, dogs and coyote beauty. It is believed there may be as many as 3,000 coyote in Toronto. They seem generally indifferent or fearful of people but have been known to kill small dogs.

In Mt. Pleasant Cemetery/Claire Venramin Facebook

Wheel club

Wheel boot

South Bayview neighborhoods have seen a nearly 100 percent increase in car thefts in 2018 over the previous year as crooks employ electronic over-rides on door locks. These include fob cloning or relay theft on vehicles with what is known as on board diagnostic (OBD) overwriting. The statistic was released Thursday at a police news conference which can be seen here. In policing terms, these crimes occur in 53 and 13 Divisions. Urgent advice on stopping such theft include some obvious and some more sophisticated precautions. Recommendations include shutting off the motor, parking in well-lit areas and/or a garage, and not leaving keys in the vehicle. Also:

– Steering Wheel Club
– Wheel Boot/Chock
– OBD (On Board Diagnostic) Port Lock
– Aftermarket Ignition Kill Switch
– Intelligent radio-frequency identification (RFID) car immobilizer
– Aftermarket Alarm System
– Place keys in Faraday bag
– Park In Your Garage

Stock markets in Toronto and New York spun wildly up and then plunged Thursday, apparently related to the uncertainty of what China and the US will do to each other. Writer William Watt of MarketWatch said: “Another rally, another close well off the highs.” In Manhattan, the Dow composite gave up more than 300 points while the TSX finished down 32 after posting a nice gain earlier in the day.

Authorities in the US state of Missouri say they have traced an emailed bomb threat to Russia. It was one of dozens, possibly hundreds, of bomb threats made to an array of public services and businesses across Canada and the US Thursday. All appear to have been baseless. The threats were made by email and included a demand for payment in bitcoin. Some of the emails had the subject line: “Think Twice.” The sender claimed to have had an associate plant a small bomb in the recipient’s building and that the only way to stop him from setting it off was by making an online payment of $20,000 in bitcoin. Police in the US said the emailed threat to a school in Troy, Missouri, about 55 miles from St. Louis, was sent from Russia. In Toronto there were threats made to TTC subway stations. In Toronto, police won’t name the targets until the matter if fully investigated. Instances were reported in Winnipeg, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver as well as some US cities. New York City was hit with several threats.The Palm Beach County, Florida, sheriff’s office and the Boise, Idaho, police said they had no reason to believe that threats made to locations in those areas were credible.

Service has fully resumed on the TTC in Toronto after reports of bomb threats at King Subway station. pic.twitter.com/TDv5ifMO4H

— Simon Dingley@CBC (@SimonDingleyTV) December 13, 2018

Stanley Kutcher

Rick Snyder

Suganthan Kayilasanthan

Faces for Thursday begins with Stanley Kutcher (left) eminent mental health expert from Nova Scotia whose own state of mind must be pretty good because he has just been appointed to the Canadian Senate. By the way, Senator Kutcher is a former candidate for the Liberal Party. This is what the prime minister promised never to do. The Senate was going to be independent. Uh-huh. At centre is outgoing Republican Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan  He has signed Hail Mary legislation Wednesday to keep Canadian oil and gas running through a tunnel to his state. The line is owned by Enbridge and is part of the Canadian economy. Incoming Democrats say they want to shut it down. Maybe they’ll buy their oil from Saudi Arabia. And at right is naughty Toronto physician Suganthan Kayilasanthan. He has just had his license to practice in Ontario revoked by the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Seems Dr. Kayilasanthan had intercourse and oral sex with one of his patients. He also gave her excuse slips to avoid examinations she was scheduled to take so she could hang out with him.

• Supreme Court’s opinion on Senate shows status quo is with us forever
• Can Stephen Harper win Canada by killing off the Senate?

The Chinese must smile at their own malarkey when they issue bulletins that two Canadian men have been detained in China on suspicion of “endangering national security.”  That would be Canadian men from Canada, population possibly 35 million. The Canadians in question are entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig.  Spavor runs a cultural exchange organization that helps people travel to North Korea. The apprehension of the two  seems clearly related to the pending US extradition case of Meng Wanzhou, of the electronics giant Huawei, who is currently on bail in Vancouver.