Compelling, in-depth coverage of the people and stories behind the news and their opinions.
Behrouz Khamseh is nothing if not doggedly, admirably determined in his approach to the City of Toronto. Photo: YouTube This story was updated at 9am on August 4th with the information that Ontario’s Municipal Conflict of Interest Act was amended
Read More
The Dutch farmers have been told by their government that a “just transition” to Net Zero means driving them out of business. Farmers use fertilizer, which emits nitrogen. The government says those emissions will have to be reduced by up to 70 percent in just eight years – a demand so radical that most family farms will have to shut down.
Read More
Step into Chewzzit Music – situated in the Fantastic Flea Market, on the bottom floor of Dixie Outlet Mall, 1250 South Service Rd. in Mississauga – and you’ll find not only a broad range of vinyl, CD’s, cassettes, 8-tracks, 45’s, band T-shirts, posters, and patches and other rock paraphernalia – but the comical red-lipped Chewzzit logo, a disco ball, lava lamp, and free raisins and Tootsie Pops.
“(I’m) just having fun with it,” muses owner George Turanski.“(And especially since Covid), people want to come and socialize, and talk music. I even jam with some of my customers.” They also gravitate to his regular specials – currently including a big rack full of $1CD’s (with titles like The Wallflowers’ “Bringing Down The Horse”).
Read More
No Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard song about prison ever hit me as hard as staring at that structure: it was huge. Thinking about who was in there and why had a sobering effect.
Contained inside were those who for whatever reason stepped over society’s line of freedom and decency. Some by choice, some out of rage and some simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They deserve to be in there, some would say. “He’s innocent.” “He’s been set up.” Didn’t matter. They were in there, and I wasn’t.
A stone-cold box with small windows that looked out into fields of lush green corn stocks. A small window that afforded a view of a highway, people moving, life being lived as opposed to just existing.
Read MoreClick on these links to read Part One and Part Three of this series. *** by David Anderson As stated in part one of this series, a union’s purpose is to balance the needs and desires of the corporation and
Read MoreClick on these links to read Part One and Part Two of this series. *** by David Anderson Canada once understood what it meant to be fierce, to defend sacred boundaries. The good life and relative peace existing for generations
Read More
A 40 per cent increase in accidents and fake driving schools: could there be a connection?
During July’s “Operation Safe Driver” week, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shared an alarming graphic indicating that collisions involving commercial vehicles have increased by 40 per cent over this time last year.
“The collisions account for 22 per cent of OPP-investigated fatal roadway collisions and mark a 40 percent increase in transport truck-involved crashes over this time last year. Twenty-nine (29) of the collisions were fatal, resulting in 40 people being killed,” the accompanying OPP media release indicates. It cites careless and aggressive driving as the causes or contributing factors in the majority of the 4,274 collisions that have involved a large commercial motor vehicle this year.
Read More
Uber’s gleeful lawlessness is proving to be its Achilles heel. This was obvious to anyone with common sense while Toronto was re-writing its vehicle for hire by-law for Uber last year and SHOULD have been immediately apparent to the politicians we pay to make our laws. It was not.
On June 21, in an article entitled “Uber can’t be fixed; it’s time for regulators to shut it down,” Benjamin Edelman wrote in the Harvard Business Review: “The company’s cultural dysfunction, it seems to me, stems from the very nature of the company’s competitive advantage: Uber’s business model is predicated on lawbreaking. And having grown through intentional illegality, Uber can’t easily pivot toward following the rules.”
“Having built a corporate culture that celebrates breaking the law, it is surely no accident that Uber then faced scandal after scandal. How is an Uber manager to know which laws should be followed and which ignored?” Edelman asks.
Read More
Before Uber arrived in Toronto, the City had a viable social contract with the individuals willing to invest $60,000 or more in an Accessible van customized to transport passengers with wheelchairs and walkers.
Now, in 2022, the last fleet of Accessible vans purchased before Toronto shredded its social contract with Taxi drivers is aging out, and many of the owners have no plan to re-invest.
Read More