Torstar publisher of the Toronto Star stock price plunges to all time low

Torstar stock price reached an all time low of 85 cents today before closing at 97 cents on heavy volume of 223,095. The stock was trading north of $30 in 2004. Apparently potential subscribers and investors have no desire for far left "news".

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Toronto "Moronto" Poor city planning

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House at 226 Beta St. Etobicoke, in the area of Evans Ave. and Brown’s Line engulfed in flames after arson threats

Toronto fire is investigating after an Etobicoke home was engulfed in flames less than a week after police received a call for signs of arson at the address.

Fire crews responded to 226 Beta St., in the area of Evans Ave. and Brown’s Line, at around 3:20 a.m. on Wednesday.

“The flames were through the roof, going at least 30 or 40 feet high,” said Toronto fire Capt. Michael Westwood. “They began to burn the houses on either side because they were so scalding, there was so much heat.”

Toronto police Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook said they received multiple calls of flames seen at the home as well as trees ablaze in the yard.

A 97-year-old woman was also rescued by Toronto fire from her home next door. Toronto Paramedics said she was treated on-scene with oxygen.

The fire, Westwood said, was a two-alarm fire, requiring 12 fire trucks and 45 firefighters. Firefighters were able to get the fire under control, but in the process, the house’s walls collapsed and its roof came down, he said.

“It’s just a shell left now,” said Westwood said, who called the house, which was under construction, “gutted.”

The fire, which caused substantial damage to the basement and second floor, was burning so hot that it began melting parts of the home, he said.

Toronto police evacuated neighbouring homes, said Douglas-Cook, adding the fire caused moderate damage at 224 and 228 Beta St.

Wires were down in the area. Streets were closed, and the TTC sent buses for residents to shelter in until it was safe for them to return to their homes.

Police received a report of arson at 226 Beta St. only six days earlier, on Oct. 25, Douglas-Cook said. A caller, who said they were the homeowner, said, “I can smell gas” and what appeared to be scorch marks on the floor, she said.

While the house wasn’t fully engulfed in flames, the homeowner said he saw evidence of a fire in the basement and signs that someone had possibly been there. There was no significant damage, just “scorch marks in the basement, at different parts of the basement,” and noticeable attempts of arson, Douglas-Cook said.

“It’s obviously unusual for this to happen days apart,” she said.

There are currently no possible suspects or motives, she said.

Renovations started at the house, a bungalow built during the 1950s, a year and a half ago.

“There are multiple ways a fire can start,” said Westwood. “It’s important for everybody to have working fire alarms and carbon monoxide alarms to have that early protection and warning to get out.” 
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Torstar publisher of Toronto Star loss widens to $18.8 million as revenue falls 13%

TORONTO — Torstar Corp. reported a loss of $18.8 million in its third quarter as its revenue fell by 13 per cent.

The publisher of the Toronto Star newspaper says the loss amounted to 23 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30.

The result compared with a loss of $6.6 million or eight cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue totalled $126.4 million, down from $145.9 million.

On an adjusted basis, Torstar says it lost 22 cents per share in the quarter compared with an adjusted loss of eight cents per share in the third quarter of 2017.

Analysts on average had expected a loss of eight cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

Torstar chief executive John Boynton, who joined the company in March 2017, has undertaken a number of initiatives including the rebranding of its free daily newspapers in various cities under the Star Metro banner and the introduction of a paywall at the flagship Toronto Star.

The paywall limits the number of full articles available to view without a subscription.

Besides the Toronto Star newspaper and its affiliated website, Torstar owns daily and community newspapers throughout Ontario, a 56.4 per cent interest in VerticalScope and minority interests in a number of other companies.

Torstar holds an investment in The Canadian Press as part of a joint agreement with a subsidiary of the Globe and Mail and the parent company of Montreal’s La Presse.
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Toronto TAXI drivers want a taxpayer bailout

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Toronto refugee hotel outrage spent on wrong target

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column on conditions at a Radisson Hotel in Scarborough that is housing refugees.

I quoted a number of online posts from TripAdvisor from people claiming to have been guests at the hotel and who variously described it as an “absolute zoo,” a “madhouse,” “dangerous,” dirty, noisy and full of loitering refugees.

One post I quoted was by a guest who claimed Toronto Animal Services needed to be called to the hotel because “some goats were being slaughtered” in public bathrooms.

Those columns provoked online outrage, particularly from progressive shills determined to conflate reporting on what amounts to the abandonment of refugees we’ve accepted into our country with racism and anti-Islamic sentiment.

This is par for the course for the hectoring, far left ideologues who live in the toxic and hysterical Twitterverse, and the far left echo-chamber digital media outlets who fuel the mob’s half-baked conspiracy theories.

The majority of online outrage asserted the TripAdvisor posts on conditions at the hotel were false, fake, invented and then more disturbingly, linked the column I wrote directly to what appeared to be a subsequent attempted arson at the hotel.

To set the record straight, here’s what was actually reported and what I’ve subsequently found.

Before I wrote the Oct. 3 column, I contacted the Radisson about the negative posts. The hotel refused to confirm or deny general allegations about conditions at the hotel, the specific claim about goats being slaughtered or even to confirm or deny refugees were at the hotel.

In a follow-up piece, I contacted the city for comment and spokesman Natasha Hinds-Fitzsimmons also declined to address the allegations, saying:  “To respect the privacy of the individuals, we are not naming the specific hotels.”

Let’s address both allegations, first that guests found the hotel chaotic.

One TripAdvisor post among those broadly dismissed as fake or untrue was written by an Ottawa woman using the name CanadianSHE. She insists conditions at the hotel did reflect what others had written and that her comments were anything but fake.

Nor were they inspired by anti-refugee sentiment. It turns out CanadianSHE has personally sponsored four refugee families.

Her stay at the Radisson, she suggested, “gave her a sense of what it was like” to be living in a refugee camp in Turkey, as one of her sponsored families had done.

“I will never choose Radisson based on this experience,” CanadianSHE told me in a recent interview, also noting her post was pulled by TripAdvisor after the hotel complained she was commenting about “irrelevant things.”

CanadianSHE’s issue wasn’t with the refugees themselves, and neither is mine. It’s the conditions our government is housing them in.

Of course, she was frustrated with the hotel.

The woman, who asked that I not use her real name because she doesn’t want to become a target of online hatred, told me this past week that the Radisson was indeed full of refugees when she stayed there in June while in Toronto for a family wedding–and she was not apprised of that beforehand.

Suggestions made in other posts that the hotel seemed more like a badly run refugee camp than a hotel were accurate, she insisted.

CanadianSHE said there were “almost constant” throngs of people milling about in the lobby and it was certainly noisy and chaotic.

One time during her two-day stay, she was in an elevator which opened to a toddler standing there “with no one else around,” she said.

According to Shelter Support and Housing spokesman Pat Anderson, 577 refugees have been staying at the Radisson in 146 rooms for the past several months, which certainly seems unacceptably crowded for people forced to live interminably in a hotel.

I contacted a number of TripAdvisor posters who complained about conditions at the hotel but unless posters check their accounts they don’t get those messages, and I’ve received no replies.

Meanwhile, the focal point of online outrage over my coverage has been largely on the “goat” post, not only suggesting it was fake but broadly and objectionably characterizing the claims as bigoted, racist and intended to foment hate toward refugees.

Turns out, given CanadianSHE’s experience, the latter suggestion is largely true.

And adverse reviews continue to grow on TripAdvisor.

There’s a difference between unconfirmed and fake posts or claims, and a difference between wrong and fake information in stories.

However, the post I quoted where a guest claimed animal services needed to be called to the hotel because “some goats were being slaughtered” in public bathrooms appears false based on follow-up with animal services and city officials.

On that score, I got it wrong and am happy to set the record straight.

Last week I contacted COSTI spokesman, Mario Calla, whose agency is being paid by the city to help settle the refugees.

It took several days for Calla to responded by e-mail following repeated efforts to talk with him about conditions at the hotel.

Asked how he knows that the reviews on TripAdvisor are fake, Calla said: “It’s fair for people to debate immigration policy but it’s not acceptable to misrepresent and to be malicious.”

Pressed further, Calla insisted there has been “serious misrepresentation of the refugee claimants and the hotel” and “anyone walking into the hotel will know it does not resemble a refugee camp.”

So the objection seems to be over how one describes chaos, whether they are sensitive or politically correct enough.

They don’t care about the conditions those who come to our country looking for refuge are forced to endure.

They don’t care about the cost to taxpayers.

They’ve made no complaint about the fact the refugees are living in cramped conditions in a hotel stuck in an industrial park.

They don’t care that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threw open the doors of the country to desperate people and then basically abandoned them.

They are happy to use refugees as political pawns, to shout racism and bigotry at any criticism because that furthers their divisive political ideology or their ability to fill their pockets by wringing grants out of government.

It’s a point I summed up in an Oct. 14 tweet, responding to Twitter trolls on this issue: “So Trudeau’s sycophant is just fine with the warehousing of illegal immigrants in hotels, dorms and emergency shelters at Toronto taxpayer expense it seems.”

The efforts to silence me by characterizing what I wrote as “racist,” or suggest I’m an “Islamophobe” are contemptible and offensive.

As are contemptible suggestions linking my column to what appears to be an attempted arson or running pictures of me alongside the alleged arsonist, claiming both are one and the same.

The police have said they have no evidence linking a gas can that was on fire in a hotel hallway with the refugees staying there.

They may make that determination in time, or dismiss it, but the lack of fact, evidence or information didn’t stop the twitter mob from making a categorical link between the column and the fire.

Of course they didn’t implicate their own tweets or coverage.

I not only did due diligence on the Radisson stories but I’ve been advocating for the underdog — the homeless, social housing tenants, the socially isolated, seniors and anyone else without a voice — for most of my entire 30-year career.

More importantly than anything I fear that the refugees have just been dumped in the hotel, left to bide their time as federal government officials scramble to find them permanent housing, without proper outreach or ongoing attempts to connect them to services that will help them integrate them into the community.

That’s the point we should all be most concerned about.
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Toronto's Deadliest Year: More blood spilled in 2018 than ever before

It’s a record that has stood for more than a quarter of a century — a mark Torontonians hoped would never be surpassed.

But sadly there are 90 reasons we should all be concerned now that 2018 has become the most violent year the city has ever endured.

Back in 1991 when there were 89 murders — a huge jump from the 55 a year earlier — Toronto was plagued by a crack cocaine epidemic that led to drug dealers and desperate addicts being stabbed to death and gunned down at an alarming rate.

A spike in gun and gang violence gripped the city again in 2005, dubbed The Year of the Gun after a record high 52 of the 80 murder victims were killed by firearms.

The high homicide rate continued for the next several years — the worst being 2007 when there were 86 murders, 44 by guns — but Toronto Police cracked down hard on street gangs and murders fell to numbers not seen in decades.

Between 2011 and 2015 killings hovered between 51 and 59.

However, as cops began to be vilified and their ability to police proactively was handcuffed by politicians overreacting to complaints from small but vocal groups such as Black Lives Matter, the gun and gang problem resurfaced with a vengeance.

Shootings more than doubled in recent years, and understaffing within the police service becoming ever more apparent, so it was only a matter of time until bodies began to drop at record rates.

This year began typically enough with 14 homicides through the first three months, the first involving a senior citizen killed in Etobicoke just days into 2018.

Barbara Kovic, 76, was slain in her home on Farley Cr., near Martin Grove Rd. and The Westway and her elderly husband, Ante “Tony” Kovic, 81 — who suffers from dementia — was charged with the second-degree murder.

It was the first of seven domestic murders to date — killings allegedly committed by spouses, sons, a grandson and most recently — and perhaps most disturbingly – a young father.

Three-week-old Isabelle, affectionately known as “Izzy,” was rushed to hospital Oct. 18 from her Scarborough apartment. The newborn became the youngest homicide victim so far in 2018 when she was taken off life-support three days later.

Her father, Matthew Bouffard, 29, was arrested for aggravated assault but it’s expected that charge will be upgraded to second-degree murder.

The number of murders nearly doubled in April when 13 people were killed — 10 run down by a van in North York as they walked along a Yonge St. sidewalk.

That horrific attack claimed the lives of Hun Kim, 22, So He Chung, 22, Geraldine Brady, 83, Min Chul Kang, 45, Anne Marie D’Amico, 30, Munir Abdo Habib Najjar, 85, Dorothy Marie Sewell, 80, Andrea Bradden, 33, Beutis Renuka Amarasingha, 45, and Mary Elizabeth Forsyth, who at 94 is the eldest homicide victim so far this year.

Alex Minassian, 25, faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder for the deadly attack.

The sudden spike in homicides — bringing the total for the first four months of the year to 23, an average of nearly six per month — was chalked up by police as an anomaly because of the van attack.

But since then another 67 body bags have been filled, mostly by victims of suspected gang-related shootings. That’s an average of more than 11 per month since May, making it undeniable that Toronto has a major problem.

Gunmen have opened fire at will — often in broad daylight and in areas teeming with people.

Israel Zion Edwards, 18, was gunned down in a crowded Yonge-Dundas Square in May.

A shootout in the Entertainment District in June killed Jahvante Smart, 21, aka Smoke Dawg — a rapper with ties to Drake and Regent Park’s Halal Gang — and Ernest Modekwe, 28, aka Koba Prime or Kosi.

But the bullets often missed their mark and innocent bystanders were caught in the crossfire.

Ruma Amar, 29, was outside a North York bowling alley when she was killed by a stray bullet in March. And Jenas Akousa Nyarko, 31, was simply arriving at her Lawrence Heights home after attending a funeral when she was killed in a drive-by.

Even children playing in a park aren’t safe as we saw in June when two young sisters were injured by gunfire in Scarborough.

Also in June, police understaffing came under fire when cops took two hours to respond to 911 calls for an assault in progress in Parkdale that ultimately ended with Joseph Perron, 50, beaten to death.

In July, police Chief Mark Saunders and Mayor John Tory finally acknowledged the gun and gang violence was spiralling out of control. They initiated a gun violence reduction strategy that included deploying an extra 200 officers on Toronto streets during peak hours for the remainder of the summer beginning July 20.

But during the eight-week effort, which carried a $3 million price tag and forced frontline cops already complaining about being burned-out to work more overtime, homicides actually rose considerably.

Just two days into the initiative on July 22, gunman Faisal Hussain, 29, went on a shooting rampage in Greektown.

Reese Fallon, 18, and Julianna Kozis, 10, were killed and 13 people wounded before the shooter turned his gun on himself.

There have been numerous other high-profile murders that made headlines in 2018.

Rhoderie Estrada, 41, a mother of three, was found slain May 26 in a bedroom of her home on Torrens Ave., in East York, and it’s believed her killers entered the house through a window.

Two strangers — Yostin Francisco Murillo, 22, and David Beak, 23 — were later arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

On May 28, tech entrepreneur Matthew Staikos, 37, was executed by an unknown gunman on Bay St. near Yorkville Ave.

Yasuke Hayahara, 73, was deliberately pushed off a subway platform at Yonge-Bloor TTC station and killed by a train on June 18. John Reszetnik, 53, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Michael Lewis, 30 was gunned down Sept. 2 in Coronation Park, near Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave., at a vigil for Kamal Hercules, who was shot dead in 2009. Andrew Douglas, 25, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

And on Sept. 8, Rocco Scavetta, 65, was shot to death at his Toronto Weston Flea Market while attempting to stop a robbery. A boy, 16, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

With 90 murders so far and two months remaining in 2018, the city is on pace for about 110 homicides, which would smash the 1989 record.

Toronto is also poised to set a new record high for gun murders, currently at 44, and the 19 stabbing deaths so far are more than the city has seen in over a decade.

HOW THEY DIED

SHOT: 45 (may break record of 52 set in 2005)

STABBED: 19 (most in more than a decade)

OTHER: 24



TORONTO MURDERS BY THE NUMBERS:

1990: 55

1991: 89 (record high)

1992: 65

1993: 59

1994: 66

1995: 60

1996: 58

1997: 61

1998: 56

1999: 49

2000: 61

2001: 61

2002: 62

2003: 67

2004: 64 (27 by gun)

2005: 80 (52 by gun) (Year of the Gun)

2006: 70 (43 by gun)

2007: 86 (44 by gun)

2008: 70 (37 by gun)

2009: 62 (37 by gun)

2010: 65 (32 by gun)

2011: 51 (28 by gun)

2012: 57 (33 by gun)

2013: 57 (22 by gun)

2014: 58 (27 by gun)

2015: 59 (27 by gun)

2016: 75 (41 by gun)

2017: 65 (39 by gun)

2018: 88 (45 by gun as of Oct. 24)



MONTHLY DEATH TOLL

JAN.: 5

FEB.: 3

MAR.: 6

APRIL: 13 (10 in van attack)

MAY: 10

JUNE: 13

JULY: 9

AUG.: 12

SEPT.: 10

OCT.: 7


MURDERS BY POLICE DIVISION

11 Division: 3

12 Division: 3

13 Division: 1 (safest)

14 Division: 4

22 Division: 7

23 Division: 10 (deadliest not including van attack)

31 Division: 6

32 Division: 14 (deadliest including van attack)

33 Division: 3

41 Division: 8

42 Division: 5

43 Division: 3

51 Division: 6

52 Division: 4

53 Division: 2

54 Division: 6

55 Division: 3

2018 MURDER VICTIMS

1) JAN. 3: Barbara Kovic, 76, was found slain in her Etobicoke home. Her husband, Ante “Tony” Kovic, 81, is charged with the second-degree murder.

2) JAN. 9: Shaquille Wallace, 22, was shot to death at a TCH lowrise in Etobicoke. No arrests have been made.

3 & 4) JAN. 19: Terrel King Carr, 24, and Nasurdin Nasir, 26, were killed and two other men wounded when a car was shot up in Etobicoke. Ubaid Said, 21, is wanted for two counts each of second-degree murder and attempted murder.

5) JAN. 29: Simon Zerezghi, 25, was stabbed to death on Yonge St., south of Wellesley St., and a second person was injured in a swarming. Colin Defreitas, 25, and Craig James, 32, are charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

6) FEB. 11: Isahaq Omar, 36, was shot and tossed from an SUV in a North York neighbourhood near Bayview and Finch Aves. No arrests.

7) FEB. 15: Anik Stewart, 21, was shot dead outside a Scarborough bar. Aruran Suthakaran, 21, is charged with second-degree murder.

8) FEB. 27: Terence Coughlin, 59, was assaulted and killed near Bathurst St. and St. Clair Ave. W. Curtis Ashley Wheatley, 35, is charged with first-degree murder.

9) MARCH 3: Shaun Kinghorn, 44, was shot dead on Jane St., north of Finch Ave. W., after leaving a Chinese restaurant. No arrests.

10) MARCH 6: Essozinam Assali, 27, was stabbed to death in her apartment near Don Mills Rd. and Hwy. 401. Her boyfriend, Onaseta Oribhabor, 30, was also found dead in the apartment in what was ruled a murder-suicide.

11) MARCH 10: Dwayne Anthony Vidal, 31, was ambushed and shot in the back as he arrived home to his Rexdale townhouse. No arrests.

12) MARCH 16: Nnamdi Ogba, 26, was shot dead walking to his parked car on Scarlettwood Ct. in Etobicoke. Abdullahi Mohamed, 22, Abdirahman Islow, 27, and Trevaughan Miller, 19, are charged with first-degree murder.

13 & 14) MARCH 17: Ruma Amar, 29, and Thanh Tien Ngo, 31, were shot to death at a North York bowling alley. No arrests.

15) APRIL 6: Bryan Thomas, 32, was shot dead on Terraview Blvd. in Scarborough. No arrests.

16) APRIL 10: Fesal Mohammad-Sobir, 26, was stabbed to death at an East York convenience store. Ahilan Chandrasekaramoorthy, 30, is charged with first-degree murder.

17) APRIL 21: Joel Newby, 23, was stabbed to death at a highrise in Scarborough. Joshua Isiah Bewley, 27, is charged with first-degree murder.

18 to 27) APRIL 23: Ji Hun Kim, 22, So He Chung, 22, Geraldine Brady, 83, Min Chul Kang, 45, Anne Marie D’Amico, 30, Mary Elizabeth Forsyth, 94, Munir Abdo Habib Najjar, 85, Dorothy Marie Sewell, 80, Andrea Bradden, 33, Beutis Renuka Amarasingha, 45, were all killed when a van deliberately drove along a sidewalk in North York. Alex Minassian, 25, faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.

28) MAY 6: Robert Joseph Walker, 48, was stabbed to death at an apartment building in the Beaches. No arrests.

29) MAY 5: Christopher Reid, 38, was found fatally shot in his car in Etobicoke. No arrests.

30) MAY 20: Mohammed Sahil Gharda, 17, was shot dead and another man injured while in a vehicle in Scarborough. No arrests.

31) MAY 20: Jaiden Jackson, 28, left Drake’s restaurant Pick 6ix and was chased by two men on foot and one in a car who gunned him down on an underground parking garage ramp off Wellington St. W. near Yonge St. No arrests.

32) MAY 23: Abbegail Judith Elliott, 21, was stabbed to death in highrise in the Annex. David Oregon Castro, 25, and Sarai Lopez Iglesias, 26, are charged with first-degree murder.

33) MAY 26: Rhoderie Estrada, 41, a mother of three, was found dead from a head injury in a bedroom of her East York home. Yostin Francisco Murillo, 22, and David Beak, 23, are charged with first-degree murder.

34) MAY 25: David William Long, 55, was stabbed to death in an apartment building in the Upper Beaches. Tiek Anthony Za Kydd, 21, and Noah Hurlock, 19, are charged with first-degree murder.

35) MAY 28: Suthesan Venojan, 21, was ambushed and shot dead behind Lester B. Pearson Collegiate in Malvern. No arrests.

36) MAY 28: Matthew Staikos, 37, was gunned down execution-style on Bay St. near Yorkville Ave. No arrests.

37) MAY 30: Israel Zion Edwards, 18, was gunned down in Dundas Square. No arrests.

38) JUNE 5: Rodney Marshall Rizun, 45, was found shot to death in an Etobicoke townhouse. No arrests.

39) JUNE 9: Aaron Rankine-Wright, 19, was stabbed to death in little Portugal. Two boys, 17 and 13, are charged with first-degree murder. A man in his 20s still sought.

40) JUNE 12: Victoria Selby-Readman, 28, was slain in a Trinity-Bellwoods apartment. Richard Gordon Issac, 41, is charged with second-degree murder.

41) JUNE 14: Joseph Perron, 50, was beaten to death in Parkdale. Raymond Moore, 42, is charged with second-degree murder.

42) JUNE 16: Paul Spilchen, 29, was stabbed to death out front of a Scarborough bar. Michael David MacKinnon, 42, is charged with second-degree murder.

43) JUNE 18: Yasuke Hayahara, 73, was deliberately pushed off a subway platform at Yonge-Bloor TTC station and killed by a train. John Reszetnik, 53, is charged with first-degree murder.

44) JUNE 23: Winston Freckleton, 56, was stabbed to death at a Rexdale plaza. Joseph Roy Whittick, 30, is charged with first-degree murder.

45 & 46) JUNE 24: Patrick McKenna, 20 and Dalbert Allison, 40, were gunned down in a Rexdale residence. No arrests.

47) JUNE 24: Jenas Akousa Nyarko, 31, arrived home from a funeral when she was gunned down in an apparently random drive-by in Lawrence Heights. No arrests.

48) JUNE 25: Brent Young, 41, was shot to death in an apartment near Dundas and Sherbourne Sts. Warren Farrell, 26, and Mark Thompson, 39, are charged with first-degree murder.

49 & 50) JUNE 30: Jahvante Smart, 21, aka Smoke Dawg, and Ernest Modekwe, 28, aka Koba Prime or Kosi, were killed and a woman was wounded during a shootout in the Entertainment District. No arrests.

51) JULY 1: Matthew Lidster, 29, was stabbed to death in a fight after exiting a TTC bus at Danforth and Greenwood Aves. Paul Napolitano, 19, is charged with second-degree murder.

52) JULY 1: Marcel Teme, 19, was killed and three men injured in a shooting near College St. and Augusta Ave. No arrests.

53) JULY 8: Karim Hirani, 25, was gunned down on Driftwood Ave., north of Jane St. and Finch Ave. W. No arrests.

54) JULY 9: Jibri Husani James, 39, was shot to death on Shoreham Ct., north of Jane St. and Finch Ave. W. No arrests.

55) JULY 5: Carolyn Campbell, 52, was found dead in her Scarborough apartment. Her common-law husband, Josiph Cardle, 44, is charged with second-degree murder.

56) JULY 21: Kerry Romain, 47, was found suffering from fatal trauma to his chest on a sidewalk on Eastern Ave., east of Broadview Ave. Roger Foreshaw, 45, is charged with second-degree murder.

57 & 58) JULY 22: Reese Fallon, 18, and Julianna Kozis, 10, were killed and 13 others wounded when gunman Faisal Hussain, 29, went on a shooting spree on Danforth Ave. in Greektown and then killed himself.

59) JULY 25: Kevin Boakye, 24, was gunned down in his vehicle while stopped at a red light near Islington and Finch Aves. No arrests.

60) AUG. 15: Andre Pheonix, 33, was gunned down in a Rexdale parking lot. No arrests.

61) AUG. 18: Elena Marcucci, 84, was stabbed to death in her home near Kipling Ave. and Dixon Rd. Her grandson, Michael Colastosti, 31, is charged with second-degree murder.

62) AUG. 18: Jack Meldrum, 15, was killed and two others wounded in a stabbing at a south Etobicoke condo. A boy, 15, faces second-degree murder charges.

64) AUG. 19: Jesse Graham-Richter, 22, was ambushed and shot to death at an apartment building near Adelaide and Parliament Sts. No arrests.

65) AUG. 22: Jermaine George Titus, 32, was killed while driving on Jane St. near Weston Rd. when a gunman opened fire from another vehicle. Shamoi Palmer, 23, is charged with first-degree murder.

66) AUG. 14: Joey Stele, 48, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in south Etobicoke. Constantinos Hondrocostas, 40, is charged with manslaughter and other related offences.

67) AUG. 24: Kafi Abshir, 30, was fatally stabbed in an apartment building near Weston Rd. and Lawrence Ave. W. A boy, 17, is charged with first-degree murder.

68) AUG. 24: Cecil Graham, 49, was killed in an altercation in Scarborough. Garfield Chambers, 43, is charged with second-degree murder.

69) AUG. 29: Kristopher Quiroz-Brown, 19, died in hospital from injuries suffered when he and two others were stabbed at a south Etobicoke condo on Aug. 18. A boy, 15, faces second-degree murder charges.

70) AUG. 29: Colleen Maxwell, 73 was found dead in her Regent Park apartment. Her son, Matthew Kirk Maxwell, 37, is charged with second-degree murder.

71) AUG. 31: Alpha Conteh, 24 was shot dead in Scarborough. No arrests.

72) SEPT. 2: Rudolph Augustus Tyrell, 30, was killed and another man injured in a shooting in Scarborough. No arrests.

73) SEPT. 2: Michael Lewis, 30 was gunned down in Coronation Park during a vigil for 2009 murder victim Kamal Hercules. Andrew Douglas, 25, is charged with first-degree murder.

74) SEPT. 8: Rocco Scavetta, 65, was shot to death while trying to stop a robbery at his Toronto Weston Flea Market. A boy, 16, is charged with second-degree murder.

75) SEPT. 8: Chad Day, 42, was found dead outside a Parkdale building. It’s believed he was involved in an altercation on a balcony and fell to his death. Lee Newelln, 30, and Christopher Small, 28, are charged with second-degree murder.

76) SEPT. 11: Ameer Saib, 50, was stabbed to death at an Etobicoke apartment building. His son, Noah Saib, 20, is charged with second-degree murder.

77) SEPT. 14: A boy, 16, was shot dead at a Scarborough apartment building. No arrests.

78) SEPT. 18: Jago Anderson, 19, was shot to death behind a Scarborough strip mall. No arrests.

79) SEPT. 19: Nader Fadael, 45, was killed by a man armed with a machete. Sepehr Yeganehfathollah, 25, is wanted for first-degree murder.

80) SEPT. 24: Paul ‘Boulos’ Rizk, 27, was gunned down outside the Parkway Forest Community Centre. No arrests.

81) SEPT. 25: Mackai Bishop Jackson, 15, was shot to death in a Regent Park apartment building. No arrests.

82) OCT. 2: Dwayne McMillan, 44, was shot dead at an industrial plaza on Keele St. south of Steeles Ave. W. No arrests.

83) OCT. 3: Elliott Reid-Doyle, 18, was gunned down at a Scarborough plaza. Amal Jones, 19, is charged with second-degree murder.

84) OCT. 5: Clark Sissons, 67, was found dead in an alley near Eastern and Broadview Aves. No arrests.

85) OCT. 11: Roy Zamora, 26, was found shot to to death in his car near Keele St. and Wilson Ave. No arrests.

86) OCT. 20: Stephen Louis MacDonald, 28, was stabbed to death at Kennedy subway station. Mohammad Raswoli, 20, is charged with second-degree murder.

87) Oct. 21: A three-week-old baby girl, Isabelle, died in hospital three days after she was put on life-support. Her father, Matthew Bouffard, 29, was arrested for aggravated assault but it is expected the charge will be upgraded to second-degree murder.

88) OCT. 21: Edward “Ted” Sharron, 58, died in hospital from injuries suffered when he was beaten during an Oct. 12 robbery near Church and Dundas Sts. Jason Hadfield, 34, faces second-degree murder.
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Remember Rebecca Eckler of the National Post and Leah McLaren from the Globe and Mail?

20 Years: The National Post’s supporters, detractors, insiders on the paper’s founding and its impact.

The newspaper wars weren’t all about politics. The Post hired Rebecca Eckler as its young, bad-girl columnist; the Globe followed suit with Leah McLaren. Both wrote without apparent boundaries, digging into their personal lives for revelatory columns. In an email conversation, the two writers look back on those years.

RE: Honestly? I can’t believe it’s been 20 years! In some ways, it seems like eons ago. In other ways, it seems like yesterday.

LM: I started at the Globe the same summer the Post launched and one of my first memories is of the party we threw because we were “going colour” to keep up with the competition. It was highly controversial at the time. When I started we didn’t have Google. We didn’t use email either. Instead we had this inter-office messaging system called ATEX. It was the same system they used in Bridget Jones’s Diary.

RE: There were no internet trolls, there was no such word as branding, and there was no such word as influencers. In a way, we were branding how we wrote; we paved the way for other writers or bloggers (another word that wasn’t in our vocabularies) to be personal writers, to share their stories. Basically anyone can write now and have an audience.

LM: I do think it was the advent of the internet and social media — rather than us — that paved the way for bloggers and influencers.

I’m so much in awe of the way young female journalists today are able to hone their voices and control their own platforms. We were very much at the mercy of the organizations we worked for.

RE: I don’t really regret any of the personal stories I wrote (Well, maybe the wet T-shirt one.) But I loved how I could write about how single women went to Loblaws to buy rotisserie chickens and that would be their meal for the week. People loved that story! About roasted chickens! I think that it resonated with people because it was true. Single women were buying up the rotisserie chickens.

LM: I remember the chicken column — it was classic. I also remember the one where you were pregnant and couldn’t sleep and your fiancé was snoring so loud you wanted to smash his head in with an alarm clock.

RE: Oh my god! My pregnancy. When the Post put on the front page that I was pregnant, I was shocked! I still am. I also remember that a lot of readers cancelled their subscriptions because of that. They didn’t like that I wasn’t married and was pregnant.

LM: It’s because of the Globe that I ended up in London. I was breaking up with my boyfriend and I went to the Editor-in-Chief and said “I want to quit my job and go travelling.” I was 25 and I’d never been anywhere. And he said, “Where do you want to go?” I said, “Maybe London?” So off I went. Then the union objected because the position hadn’t been posted and the editor got in tons of trouble but it was too late, I was already over there. Something like that would never, ever happen today.

RE: I had sort of the same experience when I wanted to be in New York. I told Ken Whyte, who was and still is my mentor, best boss ever, that I wanted to go and he said ‘No,’ but in the same breath said, ‘But if you hopped on a plane, I can’t really stop you.” That would never happen either these days.

The Post had a lot of money to throw around back then. I remember when one of George Bush’s daughters got drunk at a bar in Austin on Jell-O shots, said ‘I want to go to Austin and go to the bar and do Jell-O shots.’ They said ‘Go!” I literally flew to Austin just to do Jell-O shots at the same bar. It was like an alcohol field trip, but I was getting paid to do it.

LM: The expense accounts at the Post were legendary. I remember you did a story on what it was like to stay in the rock star suite at the Four Seasons for a weekend and you threw a 48-hour party, which was nuts.

RE: I remember being at a party and some guy saying, “You wrote the story on getting a bikini wax!” And he kept staring at that, um, area. I told him, ‘No, Leah Mclaren wrote that.” He didn’t believe me, no matter how many times I told him it wasn’t me.

LM: It was definitely you who wrote the bikini wax column. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

RE: The parties aside, I don’t think people realize how hard it is to write in that personal, conversational style, as if you were talking to a friend. That’s how I always wrote. I just wrote like I was talking to a friend. It really is harder than it seems.

LM: I have slightly more complicated feelings about that era. People like to put female writers in boxes and there’s often a sense that you can’t be funny and personal as well serious and thoughtful. I now often advise young female journalists to think twice before taking on assignments that feel weirdly sexualized or exploitative. The fact is, editors just don’t give those kind of assignments to young men. The one thing I really regret about my early career is that I was much too eager to please.

RE: Back then, every newspaper had a 20-something writing about their lives, like Carrie Bradshaw. If I heard one more time that ‘People love to hate you,” or about “navel gazing,” I would implode. Now there are a million writers on the internet who are navel gazing and no one seems to have much of a problem with it.

Rebecca Eckler is the executive editor of SavvyMom. Her memoir, Blissfully Blended Bullshit, will be published this spring.

Leah McLaren is a journalist, author and scriptwriter who lives in London.

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16 and 19 year-olds arrested in shooting murder of Dwayne McMillan near York University

Two people — a 19-year-old and 16-year-old — were arrested Thursday in connection with a deadly shooting earlier this month in the city’s north.

Juts after 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, police and emergency crews were dispatched for reports of a shooting at an industrial plaza at 4801 Keele St. near Steeles Ave., just east of York University.

Once on scene, paramedics found 44-year-old Dwayne McMillan — suffering gunshot wounds and without vital signs.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Thursday, police announced the arrest of 19-year-old Jahnoye Carpenter of Toronto, as well as a 16-year-old male who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Both are charged with second-degree murder and arson, and will appear in Finch Ave. court Friday morning.

McMillan’s murder was Toronto’s 82nd of 2018.
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Warren Kinsella and wife vs the publishers of Your Ward News

There came a time when, at last, Chris Murphy almost lost it.

He’s a court-appointed lawyer representing LeRoy St. Germaine, the publisher of Your Ward News (YWN), a newsletter that hails from the east end of Toronto.

St. Germaine, 76, is one of two men charged with uttering death threats against sophisticated political operatives Warren and Lisa Kinsella.

The other is James Sears, the editor-in-chief of YWN.

Murphy was cross-examining Ms. Kinsella, who like her husband, plainly had little patience for it or the process. Murphy was questioning her in particular about a piece she wrote in December of 2016, in which she raged against the newsletter and accused Sears of “rape advocacy” in a recent piece he’d written.

Murphy was attempting to make the point that the battle between the Kinsellas and Sears and St. Germaine was, as he said at one point, “a bare knuckles fight between these two political groups.”

Ms. Kinsella refused to give an inch, and when Murphy dared suggest that the offending Sears piece may have been satirical — and since it made an unfathomable link between rape and jury nullification that surely was at least a possibility — she bristled.

“Look,” Murphy said, “I’m not here to stick up for this (meaning the particular piece or the paper) …

Ms. Kinsella sniffed, “Sounds like it.”

It was the lowest of blows, that old business of confusing the client — and all his alleged sins — with his lawyer.

It happened most recently earlier this year when lawyer John Norris, who for a time represented Omar Khadr, was appointed as a judge of the Federal Court of Canada. The appointment was much criticized, including by a Conservative MP named Shannon Stubbs as an “utter embarrassment,” and then that criticism denounced, correctly, by many who pointed out that the lawyer merely defends a client and is not some manifestation of him.

In fact, the day before, when Warren Kinsella — himself a lawyer and thus someone who should know better — testified, he was asked about the time he did the same thing.

He described a distinguished lawyer, who had dared represent the newsletter and Sears and St. Germaine in another proceeding, as “the Nazis’ lawyer,” the offensive suggestion that he wouldn’t have been representing them if he didn’t share their beliefs.

Murphy might have told the Kinsellas — but didn’t — that he was asked by the court to represent St. Germaine, as indeed was George Gray, who represents Sears, for Legal Aid rates. In other words, while it’s always a grotesque mistake to assume that the lawyer is indivisible from his client, it’s particularly unfair when a judge has in fact asked him to do the court a favour. Kinsella denied trying to demean the lawyer.

It was a telling moment, because the Kinsellas appear to share the view that by fighting to shut down the YWN newsletter — in a variety of ways — they are doing noble work that must not be called into question or doubted in any manner.

    I don’t think it’s a call to action when you compare it to what was written about us

For instance, Mr. Kinsella on Oct. 19, 2015, tweeted a link to a blog that not only ran a picture of Sears, and his dog, but also his home address, a picture of his car and its licence plate. The blogger wrote that since Sears “seems to think he can sexually harass people and promote all kinds of racist Nazi bullshit with little consequence … here’s his home address and some personal info for anyone who’s interested.”

Mr. Kinsella denied knowing what the blog actually said, but eventually acknowledged he’d sent the tweet.

Ms. Kinsella, for her part, engaged in protracted hair-splitting; her husband didn’t actually write the tweet himself, and several times attempted to correct Murphy for having the temerity to question her about this. “I came here to speak about the threat that was made against us,” she said once.

And while she insisted that Sears’ alleged threat against them was “a call to action,” she denied that what her husband had tweeted was similarly a call to action. “No,” she said, after a long pause, “I don’t think it’s a call to action when you compare it to what was written about us.”

The comparison, then, between the two.

Interestingly, as Sears wrote he suspected the complaint had been made by someone affiliated with or inspired by the Kinsellas.

Ms. Kinsella said Wednesday that she was told the complaint had been made by Richard Warman, an Ottawa lawyer who has made his bones as a regular complainant about hate crimes at the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Warman, Ms. Kinsella allowed, was an original supporter of the Kinsellas’ anti-YWN group called STAMP (Standing Together Against Mailing Prejudice), which successfully fought to see Canada Post ordered to stop delivering the paper.

What Sears wrote was that he’d not disclosed the CAS complaint against him before because “there was the chance that some hothead … would lose it and do something illegal, like bludgeon the Kinsellas to death … I chose to turn the other cheek and let enough time pass for (those) people to react with cool heads.”

Now that, Ms. Kinsella said, was a call to action, a threat to “me, my husband, our six children and my grandchild.”

What her husband tweeted, complete with the blogger’s information about where Sears lives and what he drives, however, was not.

What’s sauce for the goose, you see, isn’t sauce for the gander, not when you’re doing God’s work.

The trial before Ontario Court Judge Dan Moore is expected to conclude Thursday.
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8-year-old boy nearly struck by gunfire in Toronto’s west end near Martingrove and Finch Ave West

Toronto police say it’s a miracle an eight-year-old boy wasn’t killed by gunfire in the city’s west end Saturday night.

Police said the incident took place in front of a home on Jamestown Crescent, near Martin Grove Road and Finch Avenue West, just after 9:30 p.m.

The boy was out playing with his friends when he left the group to go buy candy and found himself in the middle of gunfire.

“I was going to go buy something for my friend and then a car came and I heard a loud bang so I got scared,” the boy told Global News.

“At first I thought it was a firework but I saw the guy and he was holding it differently so I knew it was a gun. And then I got more scared and so I hid.”

Supt. Ron Taverner told Global News a SUV drove down Jamestown Crescent as the boy was crossing the street. He said two males got out of the vehicle, both armed with guns, and started shooting at another person who had just crossed the before the child.

Taverner told reporters at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that it is still unclear whether the individual was an intended target or just a random passerby.

    “A total disregard for life. Out there shooting a firearm there in the direction of a young boy,” he said, adding the child was not the intended target.

READ MORE: Police investigating after stolen car found in water at Bluffer’s Park

There were no reports of injuries.

“It’s a miracle that this young boy wasn’t struck and we’re so thankful for that,” Taverner said.

    “It’s very outrageous that this has taken place in our community — that people have a total disregard for human life, for children playing in an area.”

The boy’s mother, who didn’t want to be identified due to safety concerns, told Global News that she hears gunshots regularly in the neighbourhood.

“I definitely want to get out of here … six years now but it’s only getting worse,” she said. “It’s just getting too close to my house. My kids are not safe. I am not safe.”

Officers said the SUV seen in the video is described as a white late-model Toyota Rav 4 with a sunroof.

Police said the search continues for the two suspects seen in the video. One of the suspects is described as having a medium build. He was wearing dark pants and a dark hoodie at the time of the incident. There is no description for the second shooter.

Meanwhile, Taverner said he spoke with the young boy and his mother, who he said are both shaken up.

“You can imagine how traumatic the experience has been,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

To date in 2018, there have been more than 330 shootings across the GTA.

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Toronto Mayor John Tory says he wants to focus on affordable housing as a top priority

Toronto Mayor John Tory says he wants to focus on affordable housing as a top priority for the first 100 days of his second term.

“My commitment to meeting and beating the target that we did set, 40,000 units over 12 years, will not waver and there is no time to lose in getting on with that because the clock is now ticking,” Tory said during a news conference at city hall on Wednesday.

Tory said he has met with city staff following his election victory on Monday and 10 new sites of surplus city-owned land have been identified as locations for additional affordable housing units to be built.

“It is time to get on with building and I want to build as much affordable housing as possible and to do it as quickly as possible,” Tory said.

Tory said the city’s chief transformation office will deliver a report within the next 30 days on how to cut red tape and streamline the process to speed up construction.

“My expectation is that we will be able to use that report as the basis of streamlining a process that has become, in many cases, too cumbersome and too slow,” Tory said.

“I want to know how we can fast-track the approval of purpose-built rental housing generally and affordable rental housing in particular and my hope is that the report will provide a roadmap for us to get to that point.”

Tory said he also wants the federal and provincial governments to come forward with surplus land in Toronto to increase the supply of affordable housing.

“The province has in the recent past, at my request, made surplus land available for affordable housing. I thank them for that but I want them to keep going,” Tory said.

“The sites that have been made available have been very helpful to us and will be significant sites for significant amounts of affordable and other kinds of housing.”

Tory defeated former chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat and 33 other mayoral candidates by securing 63.5 per cent of the vote in Monday’s municipal election.

Tory is the 65th mayor of Toronto. His second term officially starts on Dec. 1.
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Toronto 2018 Election Results

The 2018 municipal election is over, and with it comes a brand new 25-seat council, down from 47 thanks to the province's controversial cuts. 
Here are the results for every ward, plus the winner of the shiny mayor's seat, in Toronto's 2018 municipal election.

Mayoral Race

It seems this time the polls were right, as John Tory was able to hang on to his mayoral seat. He defeated Jennifer Keesmaat, who ran a fierce campaign against her old boss.

Tory beat Keesmaat in every single Toronto ward.

Tory took about 63 per cent of the vote, while Keesmaat took a fair 23 per cent. The two had battled passionately throughout the campaign, but the incumbency of Tory remained as he dusts off his old seat. 

Ward 1 – Etobicoke North

This race has probably made incumbent Vincent Crisanti a little bitter. He is a loyal Doug Ford ally, losing his post as deputy mayor after backing the Premier's mayoral campaign, and he lost the race last night to Ford's nephew, Michael Ford. 

Ward 2 – Etobicoke Centre

One of the many wards with two incumbents facing off, this race went to fiscal conservative Stephen Holyday over colleague John Campbell. 

Ward 3 – Etobicoke-Lakeshore

It seems corruption investigations and union-busting allegations can't keep Mark Grimes down, as voters in this ward decided to hand him another term, turning away challengers Pamela Gough and Amber Morley.

Ward 4 – Parkdale-High Park

No surprises here as Gord Perks resumes his seat in a ward that has long favoured him. Those who watch closely did not see this race going any other way.

Ward 5 – York-South Weston

This was a close race―and one to watch. Incumbents Frances Nunziata and Frank Di Giorgio were head-to-head in the polls, followed very closely by progressive challenger Chiara Padovani. Ol' Nunzie took this one, so you'll be seeing her as council's no-nonsense speaker for another term.

Ward 6 – York Centre

With another incumbent versus incumbent race in this ward, it was one where someone had to pack up their city hall office. The person packing this time is Maria Augimeri, who was narrowly defeated by James Pasternak.

Ward 7 – Humber River-Black Creek

Probably one of the most exciting races to watch, a four-way battle between Giorgio Mammoliti, Anthony Perruzza, Tiffany Ford, and Deanne Sgro saw Perruzza take it home. This means, however, that Mammo is finally off council (a celebration for many).

Ward 8 – Eglinton-Lawrence

Josh Colle, the previous incumbent in this ward, quit politics recently. His father, Mike Colle, easily defeated second incumbent Christin Carmichael Greb and lawyer Dyanoosh Youssefi. 

Ward 9 – Davenport

It was an easy and breezy win for Ana Bailao after her former colleague, Cesar Palacio, dropped out of the race. Taking home the largest share of any ward, Bailao won with a whopping 83 per cent. 

Ward 10 – Spadina-Fort York

Joe Cressy, long-time city council fave, was able to easily carry his ward to another term. He unsurprisingly defeated Al Carbone, the man who created the giant ice sculpture middle finger to protest the King Street pilot.

Ward 11 – University-Rosedale

Another unsurprising result in this ward as Mike Layton won his third term on council. His landslide victory saw a 70 per cent share of the votes, leaving opponents in the dust.

Ward 12 – Toronto-St. Paul’s 

Many considered this the race to watch, as two titans on city hall, Joe Mihevc and Josh Matlow, went head to head. At the close, Matlow was able to pull ahead and secure his spot, leaving long-time councillor Mihevc behind.

Ward 13 – Toronto Centre

One of the least surprising results took place in this downtown ward, where Kristyn Wong-Tam easily defeated challenger George Smitherman and incumbent Lucy Troisi. 

Ward 14 – Toronto-Danforth

A heartbreaking race for many, this ward saw long-time friends and council faves Paula Fletcher and Mary Fragedakis struggle to campaign against each other. In the end, Fletcher took the seat, continuing her 15-year run on council for another term.

Ward 15 – Don Valley West 

Another of the races with two incumbents, this one went to Jaye Robinson. She's been on council since 2014, and swept into victory over her former colleague, Jon Burnside.

Ward 16 – Don Valley East 

Denzil Minnan-Wong returned to this race after a failed bid as MPP in the provincial election. He took this council seat with an easy 46 per cent of the vote. 

Ward 17 – Don Valley North

This race saw former city councillor Shelley Carroll jump back in to municipal politics after an unsuccessful run for Liberal MPP. She coasted back into her old seat last night.

Ward 18 – Willowdale

Incumbent John Filion backed out of this race and endorsed Lily Cheng, but jumped back in and defeated her once the council cuts by Doug Ford were announced. This will continue his long career on council, being elected first in 1991.

Ward 19 – Beaches-East York

Two incumbents, Janet Davis and Mary Margaret-McMahon, stepped down to leave this as an open race. Facing off against Matthew Kellway, a former NDP MP, Brad Bradford used his mayoral endorsement to take home the win.

Ward 20 – Scarborough Southwest

The race in this ward was an absolute nail-biter. Gary Crawford and Michelle Holland-Berardinetti were elected at the same time eight years ago, and faced off against each other this time. It came down to less than one per cent of the vote, but Crawford was able to cinch a victory.

Ward 21 – Scarborough Centre

Quickly grabbing a fifth term in this ward is Michael Thompson, who easily won after fellow councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker pulled out of the race. 

Ward 22 – Scarborough-Agincourt

This race was one to watch, as incumbent Jim Karygiannis took on 6ix Dad and Toronto's most famous councillor, Norm Kelly. In the end, Karygiannis took the seat. 

Ward 23 – Scarborough North

In this open race with no incumbent, several names battled it out. The victor was Cynthia Lai, a community activist, who narrowly defeated her group of challengers. 

Ward 24 – Scarborough-Guildwood

Paul Ainslie, the incumbent, swept back into his seat with an easy victory over his opponents. 

Ward 25 – Scarborough-Rouge Park 

This race is one of only four with a new face. Jennifer McKelvie, an environmental scientist, narrowly defeated incumbent Neethan Shan by only 154 votes, taking home this Scarborough ward. For full results on every race, including school trustees and more, visit the Toronto Elections website.


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Matthew Bouffard 29, of Toronto charged in death of three-week-old girl

Aggravated assault charges laid against a 29-year-old Toronto man will likely be upgraded to murder after a baby girl rushed to hospital last week died of her injuries.

Just before 11 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, emergency crews were called to an apartment at 263 Pharmacy Ave. in Scarborough.

One there, paramedics encountered a three-week-old girl suffering from what’s described as obvious signs of trauma and immediately called for police.

The infant was rushed to hospital where she was placed on life support.

Despite the best efforts of medical staff, she died on Sunday.

Twenty-nine year-old Matthew Bouffard was charged at the time with aggravated assault, but police say those charges will be re-examined following an autopsy scheduled for Monday morning.


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Toronto TTC ridership numbers dropping by millions: Report

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Toronto Elections, York Center Elaine Russo signs taken down near Maria Augimeri campaign offices

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Shitty TV "News" is Fake News : YouTube video fires back at Giorgio Mammoliti

This is what happens when you tell the truth and the Fake News outlets come after you

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Edward Shannon, 57 of Toronto died after assault in area of Church Street and Dundas Avenue on Oct. 12

A man who fell and struck his head after allegedly being punched by a stranger downtown has died of his injuries in hospital.

The assault happened in the area of Church Street and Dundas Avenue on Oct. 12, Toronto police said.

Edward Shannon, a 57-year-old Toronto man, was standing on the corner at around 6:15 p.m. when he was approached and punched in the face by a stranger, Toronto police said.

Shannon man fell to the ground and struck his head.

He was rushed to hospital, where he eventually died of his injuries on Sunday, police said.

An autopsy is set to be conducted on Sunday to determine the exact cause of death.

Jason Hadfield, 34, has been charged with aggravated assault and robbery in connection with the case.

Police said those charges could be upgraded pending the outcome of the autopsy.


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Man critically injured after shooting in Scarborough

A man in his 20s was rushed to hospital in very serious condition this morning after a shooting in Scarborough.

It happened near Nugget Avenue and McCowan Road.

Toronto Paramedics say the victim was rushed to a trauma centre for treatment.

Police have not released any information on possible suspects.
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Stephen Louis MacDonald 28, of Toronto stabbed to death at Kennedy Station, arrested Mohammad Raswoli, 20, of Toronto

Toronto police say a suspect has been arrested after another man was fatally stabbed inside Kennedy subway station late Saturday afternoon.

Police and paramedics said emergency crews were called to the station, near Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue East, just before 6 p.m. with reports of a fight involving two people.

During the altercation, the male victim was stabbed. Paramedics rushed the patient to hospital where he later died of his injuries.

Police later identified the victim as 28-year-old Stephen Louis MacDonald of Toronto.

    Man with no vital signs after being stabbed in the chest at TTC Kennedy Station on Eglinton Av E. The station is now closed, crowds of people trying to board buses. Victim transported by emergency run. #Toronto pic.twitter.com/9J674dp6em

    — Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) October 20, 2018

Police said the suspect was found in the TTC station’s parking lot and arrested.

The homicide squad was called in to take over the investigation.

Several bus routes were diverted to Warden station. Line 3 subway service was suspended entirely and Line 2 service to Kennedy station from Warden station was also suspended. Shuttle buses were ordered to service all stations between Warden and Scarborough Centre.

    Update: male victim has been pronounced deceased at hospital. Homicide has now taken carriage of the investigation. ^gl

    — Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) October 20, 2018

    Shuttle buses are operating both ways between Warden and Scarborough Centre. Buses are stopping at Kennedy Station via Passenger Pick up and Drop off.

    — TTC Service Alerts (@TTCnotices) October 20, 2018

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Toronto Mayoral candidate Saron Gebresellassi received a list of debate organizers from Mayor John Tory’s campaign

Mayoral candidate Saron Gebresellassi received a list of debate organizers from Mayor John Tory’s campaign, according to a Facebook post published Saturday by prominent social justice activist Desmond Cole.

The list, which Cole characterized as “material support,” may have helped Gebresellassi raise her public profile, but it also could have made it easier for Tory to avoid a one-on-one debate with his closest polling challenger, Jennifer Keesmaat.

Cole published the post on social media two days before the municipal vote “out of fear Saron would continue to keep her actions from the community.”

In the post, Cole alleges Gebresellassi told him she accepted a list of contacts for the organizers of the mayoral debates.

“Saron has yet to explain why she privately accepted this support, not just from any candidate, but from the incumbent mayor whose ethics and integrity she has repeatedly questioned during this election,” Cole wrote.

Gebresellassi denied receiving the list in a video published to Facebook and Twitter on Sunday.

“Facts first: I did not receive an email list of organizers of debates from John Tory’s camp. I got into mayoral debates entirely on my own merits and hard work,” she said on Facebook. “We are succeeding and that’s scary to some people.”

Tory’s campaign issued a statement Sunday that confirmed they had been in touch with Gebresellassi’s campaign, but did not address whether a list of debate organizers was provided.

“In every election, campaigns talk to one another. Our campaign was in touch with several mayoral candidates and their campaign teams about debates and other issues,” wrote Tory spokesperson Keerthana Kamalavasan. “Again, this is common practice. To portray it any other way is simply dishonest.”

The issue first came to light during Tory’s appearance on AM 640’s Morning Show last Tueday. Co-host Supriya Dwivedi asked Tory about a text that a producer from Global News received from Gebresellassi before the Oct. 1 televised mayoral debate.

“Sounds great. Toronto will love this. Good move on Tory’s part to have me bring in plot twists,” read the text from Gebresellassi, apparently sent in error because it was almost immediately followed by a second text, which read: “Wrong receipient. See you tomorrow.”

Tory responded by saying he wanted multiple candidates to participate in the debates.

“I put out a statement from day one of the debates that I would want to have other people included in the debates — I didn’t say who it should be — it was up to you, frankly, the organizers,” he said. “We had the same kind of communication with Knia Singh, with Sarah Climenhaga, just to say we are hoping there will be a diversity of candidates included in the debates.”

Co-host Mike Stafford asked Tory: “Would you say, Mayor, she was referencing the fact that you did not want just a one-on-one debate with Ms. Keesmaat?”

“I don’t think she was saying that at all,” Tory responded. “I don’t know what the text was in reference to, and it certainly wasn’t anything that I was involved in personally.

Gebresellassi told the Star the text was a tongue-in-cheek joke with her sister.

Cole did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. 
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Rent in Toronto, How Expensive is it?

Toronto was just ranked the most expensive city in Canada to rent.

Rentals.ca has just released a report that shows, with an average of $1,902 per month for a one bedroom, Toronto is hella pricey. The price indicates a 2.8 per cent increase month-over-month.

Coming in at second place is Richmond Hill, where a one bedroom clocks in around $1,796 a month. Vancouver was third ($1,760), Etobicoke fourth ($1,620), and Mississauga in fifth ($1,587).

Unsurprisingly, after seeing the top five, Ontario was ranked the most expensive province as well―about $1,889 on average.

Continuing the list of unsurprising findings, downtown was the area of Toronto with the most expensive rent by postal code, specifically around the Entertainment District, King West, and the waterfront.

The study examined 9,000 active listings on rentals.ca, and looked at both one bedrooms and two bedrooms.

If you're looking to rent in the city, all I have to say is "good luck and godspeed, friend." 

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Ontario Court "Declines" Faith Goldy v. Media

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David Weaver of Nelson B.C. swam in Ripley's Aquarium shark tank, wanted by Toronto Police

A man who skinny-dipped in the shark tank at Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is wanted for assaulting a man at Medieval Times earlier in the same night, police say.

At around 8 p.m. on Friday, a 34-year-old man was randomly assaulted outside of Medieval Times, near Dufferin St. and Saskatchewan Rd. Employees at the venue had apparently asked the suspect to leave for being disruptive, Toronto police Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook.

The suspect later returned and smashed two glass doors, she said. Afterwards, outside the venue, the man allegedly approached the victim who was smoking a cigarette and assaulted him.

She said the victim and suspect had no prior contact.

“The victim was seriously injured enough to be taken to hospital,” Douglas-Cook said, adding that he had black eyes and a broken tooth.

The suspect fled the area after the assault.

Later that same evening around 10:30 p.m., police said they received a call about a man who dropped his drawers and jumped into a tank full of sharks at Ripley’s Aquarium.

“Further investigation revealed the man involved in both incidents was the same person,” Toronto police said in a press release.

On Monday night, Douglas-Cook said police were able to identify the man with help from the public as David Weaver, 37, from Nelson, B.C.

He is wanted for assault causing bodily harm and mischief interfering with property.

Security camera footage shows a man entering the aquarium in downtown Toronto shortly after 10 p.m. He bought a ticket before immediately taking off his clothes, climbing over the security barrier and jumping into the water, Ripley’s officials said in a statement.

“Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is co-operating with authorities and is willing to press all appropriate charges once the individual has been apprehended,” the statement read.

Videos captured by onlookers show the naked man swimming in the tank as sharks dart by in the water beneath him. As he was climbing out of the tank, in front of the security person who was waving him out, he took a backward dive off the rocks and into the water as people in the crowd cheered.

The skinny-dipper then hoisted himself out of the tank, hopped over the gate and headed into the crowd where a woman handed him what appears to be clothing.

“There were no injuries to the man, animals or patrons,” police said.

Employees brought towels to the man and told him to stay on-site until the police arrived, said Derek Marlow, who saw the stunt.

“Once he got his clothes back on, he and his girlfriend walked right out of the aquarium despite security staff yelling at him to wait for police and get back in this small holding room they wanted to keep him in,” Marlow told the Star.

His friends saw the man at Union Station later, Marlow said.

Police described Weaver as 35-40 years old, five-foot-ten and 220 pounds. He has a shaved head, a dark goatee, a tattoo on his lower leg and is missing a front tooth. He was last seen wearing a dark hoodie, dark jeans, a green teal T-shirt, and grey and white shoes.

Police say he may be be driving a green Dodge Caravan with the British Columbia license plate number PL120G.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5200 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
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Gabriela (Gabby) Skwarko of Toronto, Pro-abortion activist named ‘person of interest’ in assault on pro-life woman

Toronto cops are investigating the assault caught on video two weeks ago in which a pro-abort threw a metal dolly at a pro-life woman at Ryerson University.

In the video, Gabriela (Gabby) Skwarko is seen throwing the metal dolly, trying to yank a backpack off a woman, throwing her stainless-steel thermos to the ground, and then pushing her victim around.

Later in that video, she chest-bumps a pro-life man who has videotaped the incident.

Despite the video, though, no arrests had yet been made as of early Monday afternoon and Toronto police are not yet calling Skwarko a suspect. Police spokeswoman Katrina Arrogante identified Skwarko only as "a person of interest."

"At this stage, the detective is gathering and reviewing all of the relevant evidence, and we've been doing our best to cooperate and provide all of the requested materials as quickly as possible," said Blaise Alleyne, one of the two Toronto Against Abortion pro-lifers assaulted in this unprovoked, pro-abort attack.

"We expect charges will be laid," said Alleyne in an interview Monday.

In addition to the police investigation, Ryerson's student conduct office is undertaking its own inquiry into the incident. 

"Interim measures have been applied to Gabby under the (university's student conduct code), forbidding contact with me and requiring that she stay 100 metres away from me and any pro-life demonstration that I'm a part of while the student conduct office investigates the matter," said Alleyne.

The assault against Alleyne and Katie Somers, the woman wearing the backpack in the video, took place at Ryerson on Monday afternoon, October 1, according to the information on Toronto Against Abortion's YouTube page.

"(Skwarko) kicked the stack of signs I was holding and, with two hands, she shoved me," said Alleyne. "As she did, she brought the entire stack of signs down on Katie's leg."

It was the weight of that stack of signs that caused most of the injuries Somers suffered, said Alleyne.

Toronto Against Abortion has a strict policy of not responding to violence with violence. Alleyne thinks his attacker may have been trying to get him and other members of the pro-life organization to break with that policy.

"It was like she was trying to goad us into fighting somebody," he said. "We don't fight back. We de-escalate."

Skwarko is a member of the Ryerson Reproductive Justice Collective, an assistant at the university's office of social innovation, and was last year the faculty of arts director with its student union, said Alleyne.

Although her Facebook page has been taken down since the assault, Skwarko has previously identified her girlfriend as Emily Mae, another member of the Reproductive Justice Collective. In an ironic twist, Mae has previously warned other students on Facebook of the alleged threat she thinks is posed by pro-lifers on campus. That post has since been removed.

A member of Reproductive Justice Collective also attempted to block one of the cameras from filming the attack, said Alleyne.

The unprovoked assault has left members of the Toronto Against Abortion group, especially Somers, shaken but more determined than ever to continue their work.

"We will not be intimidated by pro-choice violence," said Alleyne. "All of Toronto Against Abortion's scheduled activism are moving forward as planned."

The attack against members of Toronto Against Abortion is just one in a string of recent incidents of pro-abort violence against pro-lifers.

In a video that has since gone viral, another pro-abort, Jordan Hunt, was seen earlier this month roundhouse-kicking pro-lifer Marie-Claire Bissonnette on a Toronto street corner in broad daylight, knocking her phone from her hands, and hitting her on the shoulder. According to Bissonnette, he then tore a Campaign Life ribbon from her jacket before running off.

Just prior to the attack, Hunt was seen talking and standing next to a woman holding a pro-abort sign that read, "My body, my choice." Around his neck on a chain, Hunt was seen in that video wearing an inverted pentagram, a symbol commonly associated with Satan.

In the wake of that September 30 attack, the 26-year-old lost his job at Noble Studio 101, a hair salon, and is facing eight counts of assault and seven counts of mischief under $5,000. He has been released on bail.

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Which Toronto GTA Neighbourhoods Still Have Affordable Detached Homes ?

Condos may be king as an affordable housing option for many in the Greater Toronto Area, but let's face it — for some, a detached home is the only choice. Some are lucky enough to climb the property ladder from a semi or townhouse; others are happy to move further out of the city in search of that white picket fence and backyard.

And despite what recent reports would have you believe, there are still some affordable neighbourhoods for single-family homes in the 416 and 905 areas.

"Affordable" being a relative word, of course, as compared to average prices. As of Sept. 30, 2018, the average price of a detached home in the GTA is $1.01 million — $1.34 million in the 416, and $905,722 in the 905, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).

Indeed, there's been no shortage of stories recently about the challenges of the GTA real estate — namely supply, pricing and affordability — on both the resale and new homes sides of the market.

And as the Oct. 22 Ontario municipal elections near, housing industry officials are drawing more and more attention to these issues.

"While higher borrowing costs and tougher mortgage qualification rules have kept sales levels off the record pace set in 2016, many households remain positive about home ownership as a quality long-term investment," Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura said Oct. 3 in releasing TREB's Market Watch Report for September. "As the GTA population continues to grow, the real challenge in the housing market will be supply rather than demand. The Toronto Real Estate Board is especially concerned with issues affecting housing supply as we move towards municipal elections across the region."

So, let's take a look at where some of these relative detached "bargains" are.

First, let's look at some of the hottest areas of the GTA in terms of price growth.

Double-digit price growth in just one quarter is fantastic if you currently own in any of these areas. But if you were hoping to buy there, your purchase price just got a lot more expensive — in a matter of months.

Now, let's take a look at some of the comparatively more affordable areas for detached homes in the GTA.

As you can see, some of the still-affordable areas for detached homes in the GTA — such as Brock (Durham Region) and Georgina — are also performing well in terms of price growth.

In short, Durham Region, Simcoe County and Dufferin County are hot.

In particular, Brock and Essa (Simcoe County), Burlington, Halton Hills, Brampton, Orangeville and Scugog are all showing promise in detached home price growth, according to ReMax Integra, Ontario-Atlantic Canada Region.

What makes these areas good potential buying opportunities for detached homes? First, the obvious — pricing. Slightly more than $550,000 in Oshawa, versus $1.5 million in the Beaches, or even the $905,722 average detached home price in the 905? Do the math.

And look at Brock, enjoying 15-per-cent price growth in just one quarter — yet the average price of a detached home is still a palatable $573,951.

Obviously, living in an area such as Durham Region and commuting to Toronto adds travel costs and time. But as these areas develop in terms of economic, job and wage growth and infrastructure expansion, it becomes possible to live and work there.

Oshawa, for example, is humming. Though dipping slightly from 3.2-per-cent GDP growth in the last two years, the city's economy is forecast to advance a still-healthy 2.6 per cent this year, according to the Conference Board of Canada. It's no coincidence, then, that Oshawa is also a hot bed for new home development at the moment — further driving price growth.

With mortgage industry experts expecting at least one more interest rate hike this year, buyers intent on snapping up detached home "bargains" in these areas... you're on the clock.
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