The South Bayview Bulldog

CTV News says it has been told by many sources that General Motors is planning to close all operations in Oshawa eliminating thousands of high-paying jobs. There are some 2,500 union positions and about 300 salaried employees in the Oshawa area. GM employs many more in Ingersoll, Markham and St. Catharines. It’s unclear if those positions are affected. GM once employed 40,000 workers at Oshawa in a history going back a century to the time of the Canadian-made McLaughlin motor car. GM bought out McLaughlin owners in 1918. The end of the auto industry in Oshawa may be seen as an ultimate consequence of globalization. Canada and its consumers were once an important market for US automakers. It paid them to build cars here. But the industrialization of more populous countries combined with the decline of US manufacturing has apparently driven GM to leave Oshawa. .

The Beaches Santa Claus Parade wound from Victoria Park Ave. over to its destination at Main St. and Swanwick Ave. Sunday afternoon. The Toronto Sun video summary above is a lot of fun. One toddler avows she has been bad because she wouldn’t sleep. She’s forgiven. Mayor Tory joined in, limping along in an air cast boot for an unspecified injury to his right foot or ankle. There is a 24 minute video posted below by Act Naturally.

Santa greets east enders

Bands

Kids dressed like presents

Mayor in air cast boot

Dancers

The release of the 2018 map showing homicides in the City is no cause of celebration, to be sure. There have been 91 such violent deaths with just a month left to the end of the year.  The City News story breaks it out, including irregular occurrences like the Yonge St. and Danforth Ave. episodes. But when the map is enlarged to focus on South Bayview, there is not a single such death to be seen in Davisville, Leaside, Lawrence Park, Rosedale, Moore Park or Deer Park. Homicide Map of Toronto

Watch for a possible agreement between the UK and the EU Sunday over Brexit. The breakthrough (if it is) was a deal Saturday between the London and Madrid over Gibralter, where as we know, everyone wants to remain part of the UK. Then there is talk of a US-Mexico deal wto keep tbe migrant caravan in Mexico. Maybe.

No winning ticket was sold for the $16 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw. However, the guaranteed $1 million prize was claimed by a ticket holder in British Columbia. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Nov. 28 will be approximately $20 million.

1927 Chevrolet/Ken Merryman, Jerry Eliason and Cris Kohl

Manasoo had iron in its stern/Ken Merryman, Jerry Eliason and Cris Kohl

Newly-released video of the discovery of a Georgian Bay steamship has been given a soundtrack recorded by the last survivor of the 1928 sinking. The voice of Dr. Art Middlebro of Owen Sound is heard in a 1982 interview. The late Dr. Middlebro was one of only five crew who survived the sinking, which occurred just off Griffith Island on the shore of the Bruce Peninsula. The wreck of the Manasoo was found in June some 90 years after it foundered in terrible weather. The shipwreck hunters were researcher Cris Kohl and a crew of US hunters, experienced Great Lakes underwater sleuths. They found the Manasoo 60 metres underwater just off of the island. The spectacular footage of the wreck of the Manasoo was shot by Ken Merryman. The wreck contains a 1927 Chevrolet coupe and other fascinating artifacts of the time. The discoverers say that the frigid waters of Georgian Bay dramatically decreased decomposition and helped to preserve the Manasoo and its contents in “excellent condition” after it sank on September 15, 1928. CTV

Anthony Reagan has published a film with interviews from the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame induction night of women hockey players from 1974. It is both touching and funny. “We didn’t know what we were doing” “What’s off side?” “We did it to see if we could do it.” Much credit belongs to these 70s girls who thereby advanced the skills, knowledge and social lives of Canadian women everywhere. Thanks ladies.

No winning ticket was sold for the $60 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw. However, there were also 20 Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each up for grabs and two of them were claimed by ticket holders in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Nov. 30 will remain at approximately $60 million, but the number of Maxmillions prizes offered will increase to 35.

Raj Grewal

Elected in Brampton in 2015

Brampton-area Liberal MP Raj Grewal has quit the Commons because is his gambling addiction, The Prime Minister’s Office said Friday. Mr. Grewal was elected to represent Brampton East in 2015. He is said to have informed the PMO that he is undergoing “serious personal challenges and receiving treatment from a health professional related to a gambling problem that led him to incur serious personal debts.” the office said. Grewal was a financial advisor before his election and is a member of the bar in Ontario. He is  registered with the Law Society as Rajvinder Singh Grewal

City News has a nice summary of Christmas holiday things happening this weekend. Take a look and find one you like. Then, the doubtful practice of funding enormous media corporations because the Internet has (ahem) disrupted them. Below that, the postal union CUPW, just can’t bear the idea of its members going back to work with all the outrageous (but vague) injustices grinding down women, men and horses. Finally, it may be Black Friday to many but to others it is a curious spasm of hysteria.