The South Bayview Bulldog

Lorne Gunter writes in the Toronto Sun that it is okay if Sophie Gregoire Trudeau is unable to fill every single undertaking of whim and whimsy sent to her by Canadians. To the extent that such things have a state requirement attached to them, she can send the extras to her husband. She has an assistant and that should be enough. Keep in mind that the prime minister’s wife is not burdened by the host of tasks that face most ladies of the house. She doesn’t have to shop for groceries or check with Justin to see if the gas bill was paid. Really. This is Canada, not the Kingdom of Ruritania. Dare we whisper that Laureen Harper seemed to manage.

On Thursday, members of the Saskatoon Police Service bike unit helped a family of ducks navigate downtown to safely reach the South Saskatchewan River. Ducks are courageous but they don’t get it. Many people will recall the outstanding efforts made by Leaside residents to rescue a similarly imperiled family of roadway ducks in 2011.

DUCK FAMILY ON HANNA RD.

Premier Wynne will begin a week-long trade mission Sunday to the Middle East with a focus on the life sciences and research sectors. She will travel with a large body of civil servants and 130 business, academic and research representatives to Israel and the West Bank. Wynne told a pre-mission reception for the delegates that Ontario and Israel share many of the same priorities, namely developing “strong, competitive business environments that support innovation and growth.” The delegation is set to travel with the premier to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, then on May 19th Wynne and other delegates will go to Ramallah in the West Bank and to Haifa on the Mediterranean shore the following day. The premier’s officer says two-way trade between Ontario and Israel last year was valued at more than 900 million dollars. Delegates include Jewish-focused businesses and organizations looking to strengthen existing ties to Israel, and universities and research institutes. BlackBerry, Roots Canada, IBM Canada, Scotiabank, Thomson Reuters and the Toronto Stock Exchange also are part of the trade mission.

Councillor Burnside (Ward 26) was busy filling pails and buckets for constituents at his annual Compost Day at the Leaside Gardens Arena parking lot Saturday. It was pretty good compost according to the Bulldog which sniffed around and found the garden additive rich and, ah, aromatic. There may be some there Sunday for late comers. It’s down by the tracks. Help yourself.

Thanks for the compost @jon_burnside, it'll be great for plants from the Leaside Garden sale this morning! pic.twitter.com/WkpeTFFZh9

— Rob Oliphant (@Rob_Oliphant) May 14, 2016

https://twitter.com/jon_burnside/status/731171257257971712

Like many events Saturday, the concert in Davisville Park by Sharon and Bram caught a nice break in the weather when the rain stopped just about 1 p.m. The well-attended concert and sing-along was organized by Josh Matlow (Ward 22) and Mayor Tory was present as well. Carolyn Benntt, MP for St Paul’s, was present.  The occasion marked a remembrance for many of the late Lois Ada (Goldberg) Lilienstein. Sharon and Bram continue their musical career as a duo and were joined at the park by a children’s ensemble for some numbers as seen in the photo. South Bayview Bulldog.

The service for 38-year-old firefighter Sara Rosen will be held Monday morning at 10 a.m. at Benjamin Park Memorial Chapel on 2401 Steeles Avenue West at Alness Street in North York. The fire chief is expected to speak at the service and those who served with Rosen will form an honour guard at the ceremony. Ms. Rosen died Thursday in a  fall from the Niagara Escapment while mountain biking near Milton.

A drone hobbyist, Bruno Kataoka, has captured scenes of a pod of false killer whales chasing a shark, tiring it out and then going in for the kill. Kataoka has filmed what experts believe to be four false killer whales, members of the dolphin family, expertly hunting the shark off Cronulla beach south of Sydney. The dolphins, which grow between three and five metres long, were hunting a juvenile shark in a life and death battle. After a desperate chase the leader of the pod can be seen attacking the shark, and dragging it down.

Rare scenes captured off Cronulla show sharks being hunted by whales. @AdeneCassidy7 #7News https://t.co/wv7z7BWglR

— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) May 10, 2016

Police will conduct a Helmets on Kids campaign today (Saturday, May 14, 2016) at East York Town Centre on Overlea Boulevard. It begins at 9 a.m. Toronto Police 53 Division and Torkin Manes Group will be holding the event geared towards bicycle safety  Torkin Manes Group will be handing out bicycle helmets.  For information, please contact Yale Hertzman at 416-863-1220, extension 200.

The Saturday weather will be wet but the rain is expected to slacken off a bit in the afternoon. We may see the sun break through later in the day. It is cooler than normal and Saturday overnight might see just three degrees Celsius. Brave marchers trekked to Rosedale Park on Schofield Ave. from their marshalling point in Moore Park at Welland and Moore Aves. it was a parade of umbrellas. Jump to it for this major Spring weekend 

17-year-old youth has died in Brampton following a parking lot shooting Friday night about 9 p.m.  It happened outside a bar on Lisa Street near Dixie Road and Queen Street in Brampton.

General Lori Robinson

U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson became the military’s first female combatant commander as she assumed responsibility for U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense in a ceremony Friday in Colorado. Robinson replaced outgoing Adm. William Gortney to lead the two commands. North American Aerospace Defense, or NORAD, is a joint U.S.-Canada operation tasked with detecting and tracking potential missile threats. U.S. Northern Command is responsible for the defense of the continental United States, but its area of operation also includes Mexico, Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and parts of the Caribbean.