The South Bayview Bulldog

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has instructed his finance minister to enter negotiations with Kinder Morgan to “remove the uncertainty” hanging over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. Trudeau also says federal legislation is coming that will “reassert and reinforce” the fact that the federal government is well within its jurisdiction to approve the project and ensure it goes ahead. He’s offering few details, however, saying the negotiations will not take place in public. Maclean’s

The weather warning says that significant rainfall tonight. “Following an appreciable freezing rain event, a round of heavy rainfall is expected tonight. The rain may fall heavily at times with amounts likely in the 20 to 25 mm range. Some additional rainfall is likely into Monday, albeit lighter. Total rainfall amounts for Sunday night into Monday may be in the 25 to 35 mm range'”

It has truly been a lost weekend in many respects. Families and enterprising people will have found things to do but venturing out was probably not one of them. Here we see well-known and usually busy corners of South Bayview at about 11.30 Sunday morning. Many will wonder if the forecast rain (after the ice) and predicted high temperature of 1 degree C will be enough to let them sneak out for a few minutes later. The severity of the Sunday ice pellet fall does not seem as severe as that of  Saturday. But the accumulation is daunting..

At 10:45 a.m. ET, Toronto Mayor John Tory will provide an update on the city's plans to deal with fallout from this weekend's freezing rain storm. You can watch it live in the story below, in our live blog or on our Facebook page. https://t.co/IYTatfV7U8 pic.twitter.com/KyMxnbQg6q

— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) April 15, 2018

There was no winning ticket for the $20 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw.  The guaranteed $1 million prize was claimed by a ticket holder in Quebec. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Apr. 18 will be approximately $22 million.

Trudeau

Horgan

Notley

Prime Minister Trudeau will try to find a way to stop the NDP-Green government of BC from stalling, or even killing off, a vital economic project when he meets the Premiers of BC and Alberta Sunday in Ottawa. His options, beyond sweet talk, amount to bribing BC’s John Horgan somehow and/or enacting legislation that specifically requires BC to permit the construction of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline. Into this witches’ brew comes Quebec’s minister for Canadian affairs (they’re not really in Confederation you know) who warns there will be a punishment for his party in Quebec if provincial rights are trampled. Horgan’s position is exposed by a splinter Green Party faction which is propping up his minority government. For her part, Alberta Premier Notley says “don’t mess with Alberta.” Her most stunning weapon is proposed legislation to stop oil into BC, driving the cost of gasoline over the moon. Yow!

Handsome creature

Boston killer is a heart throb

50/50 at the airport

Left, is an Australian River Turtle (also known as a punk turtle). It is a handsome creature with the ability to breath through its genitals. What can we say. Sadly punk turtles are vanishing. Eurovision. Then, when killers (like Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev) become heart throbs. Sheila Isenberg thinks she knows why. Finally, this mild-mannered gent at Pearson Airport is taking the joys of travel in his stride. It’s 50/50 he shrugs that he, and thousands of others, will get to where they are going this weekend.

The Radford family of Hanna Rd has once again thrown open their tented backyard and invited the neighbors to watch Leaf playoff games with like-minded friends. It is a tradition that goes back more than a decade. It was started by Doug Radford, a Toronto paramedic, and from the post above is well supported by his now grown up daughter Jessica. City News did a feature last year when the Toronto playoff drought ended for a while. Post is from Leaside Community

Photo via @SonnySub

Photo via @SonnySub

Man taken to hospital in Hamiton when it by this sign/DR @Media371

Photo via @SonnySub

Weather Network

No mail

The Ides of April

Police say there have been as many as 550 crashes on roads in the GTA ny late Saturday. There is a widespread concern that another onslaught of freezing rain Sunday will trigger power outages in heavily treed neighborhoods of the City. The collapse of power lines in 2013 is much on the mind of Hydro officials and the public even though systems have been strengthened since then. Alectra Utilities reports that 14,000 customers in St. Catharines were temporarily off-grid. By late Saturday afternoon most had power restored. Nonetheless, weather warnings for Sunday have a doomsday quality to them.

Weekend from Hell

The weather is crummy but try to stay upbeat. Nitish Bissonauth has an interesting look inside the salty world of the streets department. Then, a local Fox News weather guy melts down because his colleagues are on him over the non-Spring of 2018. Staged we think but funny.

ADVISORY: Mount Pleasant Rd will be closed from Eglinton Ave to Roehampton Ave for construction. Closure expected to last until the end of the day. Please use an alternate route. #GO666356^adc

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) April 14, 2018

No winning ticket was sold for the $23 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw. That means the jackpot for the next draw on Apr. 20 will grow to approximately $33 million.