Postmedia posts first-quarter net earnings of $52.8 million amid pandemic headwinds

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. continued to feel the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in its fiscal first quarter, but nonetheless posted net earnings of $52.8 million for the three months ended Nov. 30, 2020, up from a loss of $3 million in the same period a year earlier.

The swing was largely due to a number of items unique to the quarter, including a non-cash settlement gain related to employee benefit plans of $63.1 million, and gains on derivative financial instruments and foreign exchange.

Revenue in the quarter declined by 25.4 per cent to $116.9 million, as advertisers responded to government-mandated shutdowns to try to control the spread of COVID-19.

“With the effects of the global pandemic continuing to weigh on our communities and our people, our focus remains on the safety of our teams, preserving liquidity, constraining costs, maximizing revenue and pursuing government support,” said Andrew MacLeod, president and chief executive of Postmedia.

Postmedia, which publishes a chain of newspapers across Canada including the National Post, posted a 26.3 per cent decline in total operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization, impairment and restructuring) for the first quarter compared to a year earlier. This was the result of lower compensation expense and newspaper circulation volumes as well as the implementation of various cost-reduction initiatives, the company said.

The decrease in operating expenses included a compensation expense recovery of $6.6 million related to Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. This was partially offset by a decrease in compensation recovery related to journalism tax credits of $0.9 million.

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Woman unresponsive, man seriously injured after double stabbing near Christie Pits Park in Toronto

A woman is without vital signs and a man has been rushed to hospital following a double stabbing in the Bloorcourt Village area.

Toronto Police were called to the area of Bloor Street West and Shaw Street, west of Christie Pits Park, just after 5 p.m.

According to Toronto police, the two were fighting at a business in the area.

Officers responding to the scene found the woman without vital signs and the man suffering from serious injuries.

Toronto Paramedic Services said the male victim was being rushed to a trauma centre, but is expected to survive.

One man is in custody, police said.

No further details have been released so far.

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Peel Police Crack Down On New Money So Sick Gang

Peel Region police announced 88 arrests for offences including murder in an operation against a street gang “linked to some of the most thoughtless violence our community has suffered for the last several years.”

The operation, dubbed Project Siphon, began in September 2019 and ended with the laying of more than 800 charges and seizure of 34 firearms.

“This project has included multiple homicides where bullets flew with shocking disregard for anyone, including innocent children who have been caught in the crossfire,” Peel Region police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said at an online news conference Wednesday.

Some of the guns seized were modified to be fully automatic, high-capacity magazines.

Also seized were street drugs including cocaine and fentanyl with a value of almost $2 million and $1 million in Canadian currency, police said.

The operation centred on an organization called the New Money So Sick Gang, which police allege ran an illegal marijuana delivery service out of Mississauga and Brampton and protected its turf with murder.

The charges include murder, human trafficking and money laundering.

Det. Sgt. Chad Lines said that the gang is Peel-based, with reach into other communities.

“The gang conflict is constant,” Lines said.

The news conference was told the gang was tied to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Jonathan Davis on Sept. 14, 2019.

Davis, a Grade 12 student at Lincoln M. Alexander Secondary School, was outside a housing complex on Darcel Avenue, when an estimated 142 bullets were fired from seven guns in an ambush.

“Jonathan was not involved with any gang crime and was an innocent victim who had found himself caught in the middle of the gunfire,” Supt. Martin Ottaway said. “We believe that New Money So Sick Gang members attended the apartment building to retaliate in an ongoing gang conflict.”

Five others, including a 13-year-old girl, were injured.

The rival gang was shooting a rap video at the time of the gunfire, police said.

“Two vehicles drove into the apartment complex and seven suspects exited the vehicles armed with firearms,” Supt. Martin Ottaway said. “The suspects opened fire.”

Jahvon Valdez, 21, of Brampton, and Safeer Ahmad, 19, of Mississauga, have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Davis’s death.

Police also connected the gang to the Oct. 22, 2019 shooting death of 28-year-old Giovanni Delahaye, who was killed while inside a car stopped at a red light near Hwy. 410 and Derry Road East in Mississauga.

Other shootings police connected to the gang this year include:

On Aug. 3, 25-year-old Abdifatah Salah was shot dead at a Mississauga townhouse complex on Huntington Ridge Drive, near Mavis Road and Eglinton Avenue West.
“Investigation has revealed that the victim was a frequent customer of Sickspensary, which is an illegal mobile cannabis operation, operating in the region of Peel by New Money So Sick gang members,” Ottaway said.

“It is the investigators’ belief that the victim’s association with Sickspensary was a factor in his murder.”

On the afternoon of Aug. 31, members of the gang went to a Brampton cemetery in the Bovaird Drive and Chinguacousy Road area to celebrate a birthday when a shooting broke out.
Some 70 shots were fired and at least three people were injured in that attack.

On Oct. 29, at the intersection of Larkin Avenue and Ballard Drive, two men wearing balaclavas opened fire at a car and then fled in a black Lexus SUV with tinted windows and silver rims. There were no reported injuries.
The same vehicle was used in the fatal shootings of Davis and Delahaye, police said.

Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said that social development initiatives are also needed to combat gang violence. He also noted that 90 per cent of firearms seized come from outside of the country.

“It’s a complex issue with a lot of different layers,” Milinovich said. “ . . . Enforcement isn’t enough.”
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Suspect wanted in connection with sexual assault at Islington Subway Station in Toronto

Toronto police are looking for a suspect in connection with a sexual assault at Islington Subway Station earlier this month.

On Nov. 9, a woman was on the escalator at Islington Subway Station when she was approached from behind by an unknown man at around 6:20 p.m.

Then the man sexually assaulted her, police say.

The man fled the station and was last seen going east.

He is described as 25 to 30 years old, standing between 5’7” and 5’9” tall, with a dark complexion and frizzy hair tied in a bun.

He was last seen wearing black shoes, tan coloured pants, a grey t-shirt, a black zip-up hoodie, a black backpack and a blue surgical mask.

Police have released security images of the suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

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16-year-old charged with attempted murder in connection with April shooting in Etobicoke

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder in connection with an April shooting of a 22-year-old man in Etobicoke.

The shooting occurred near Dixon Road and Dixington Crescent in the early morning of April 17, 2020.

Around 1:03 a.m., police responded to a shooting in the area of Dixington Parkette. Toronto police allege a group of people piled into a white vehicle, with the 16-year-old boy in the driver’s seat.

A short time later, the same vehicle was seen arriving near the Driftwood Parkette area, a 20-minute drive away, police said in a release.

“Multiple rounds were fired into a parking lot,” the release said.

The group then returned to the Dixington Parkette area, where police allege the 16-year-old driver shot the 22-year-old man multiple times while standing outside of the vehicle.

The suspects had fled by the time first responders arrived. The victim was rushed to hospital.

Const. David Hopkinson, media officer with Toronto Police, confirmed the man survived his injuries.

On Monday, Toronto Police’s Gun and Gang Task Force – Centralized Shooting Response Team arrested the 16-year-old, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

He has been charged with six offences, including attempted murder and careless use of a firearm.

He appeared in court Tuesday morning.

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Mob connection to Jammar Allison murder on June 1, 2018

Windermere Basin Park sits under the Burlington Skyway, a quiet refuge amid the calamity and blur of traffic bound for Toronto and Niagara.

Besides dog walkers, locals and birdwatchers, it is largely unknown.

It is where the remains of murder victim Jammar Allison, 26, were found.

Allison vanished from the parking lot of Rexdale Blvd. eatery Da House of Jerk on June 1, 2018 when he was violently abducted by three men.

At the time of his disappearance, an underworld war was raging in southern Ontario with a bloody back and forth that may have only ended with Mob boss Pat Musitano getting whacked last summer.

Why dump Allison’s body in the weeds of the park?

“Who knows why? It’s out of the way and a lot of my fellow officers didn’t know where it was either,” Hamilton Police Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk told the Toronto Sun.

Filled with tall grass, it is “secluded” and whoever left Allison’s body would “have to have knowledge of the park,” Bereziuk said.

In recent years, traditional organized crime have outsourced their killing to street gangs. Clean hands are happy hands.

With the city’s long history of underworld intrigue, that begs the question: Was Allison dumped in Hamilton for a reason? Like a frisky cat dumping a bird at his owner’s feet to show what a good boy he is?

“That theory is as good as the next,” Bereziuk said. “Certainly, right now there’s nothing definitive.”

The soccer-loving Allison, a young father, wasn’t exactly squeaky clean.

He had been arrested in a massive March 2017 crack cocaine bust in Thunder Bay but Toronto detectives pooh-poohed any connection to his kidnapping 15 months later.

In addition, at the time of his death, he had been trying to get an apparel business off the ground.

“Was it over his new business? Was it over drugs? Or was it something else?” Beruziuk said.

That “something else” may have been an underworld settling of accounts. At this point, it isn’t clear if Allison had even the most remote connection to gangland machinations.

But Bereziuk conceded, it remains a possibility.

Police have identified the remains of murder victim Jammar Allison.

From southern Ontario to Mexico, scores of bodies have hit the pavement in connection to the fight for the rich rackets here.

Of the trio suspected of killing Mob scion Angelo “Big Ang” Musitano in 2017, only one is believed to be still alive.

At least 10 Mob-connected people were slain in the ensuing bloodshed, including at least one innocent woman, which the Mob does not take kindly to. No civilians in the  morgue, please.

Allison’s remains began turning up with a single bone discovered by a citizen walking in the park in October 2019. A year later, more remains were found in another area of the park.

After the first find, boffins at the Centre of Forensic Sciences couldn’t identify the unfortunate victim. Recent testing confirmed the remains were those of Allison.

His three kidnappers, who fled in a black Dodge Caravan, were only described as Black.

A van suspected in the June 1, 2018 abduction of Jammar Allison at Humberwood and Rexdale Blvds.
For decades, traditional organized crime has loomed like a dark spectre over Hamilton. Some of that reputation has been deserved, much of it hasn’t.

But it is what it is.

There has been no shortage of jokes about how many bodies wearing cement shoes are in the bottom of Hamilton Harbour.

That’s local lore. The mysterious murder of Jammar Allison is here, right now and quite possibly the latest salvo in an endless drama.

And bloodshed is always the star.

Hamilton Police are urging anyone with information to call 905-546-2288 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

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Man dead, woman in custody in Rouge Highlands Dr. Scarborough stabbing

Toronto Police homicide detectives are investigating an apparent stabbing in the city’s east end.

Shortly before midnight Monday, police say a seriously injured woman was located near Port Union Rd. and Fanfare Ave., just south of Hwy. 401 in Scarborough.

Emergency crews were called, and a critically injured man without vital signs was found nearby.

Resuscitation efforts were performed, but the man died at the scene.

The woman was taken to hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

A home on Rouge Highlands Dr. was cordoned off by yellow police tape Monday mornig and drops of blood was still visible on the road.

Const. Caroline de Kloet said the incident began with an altercation between the man and woman.

The woman was taken into custody by police, de Kloet said, adding no other suspects are outstanding.

Charges are pending, and the investigation continues.

Anyone with information is asked to call police or make an anonymous tip via Crime Stoppers.
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Dante Andreatta, 12, died after he was fatally wounded when caught in a hail of bullets while walking with his mom on a North York street.

Tragically, Dante Sebastian Andreatta was stolen from his family at the age of 12.

Yet, in death, he helped save the lives of nine other children.

Murdered on his way home from a store with his mom, his slaying is one of the most egregious acts in Toronto’s history.

There’s nothing that can make it right for his family. The only potential positive that could ever possibly come out of this is he helped other children.

“It’s with heavy hearts that we mourn a life that was taken too soon, but one that has not left in vain,” said family friend Margarita Segura. “Dante’s kindness and generosity will live on through nine lives that were saved because of his organ donation.”

Jahwayne Smart, 25, and Rashawn Chambers, 24, each face many charges, including first-degree murder, for their alleged roles in the shooting which took the boy’s life.

The innocent child was fatally wounded when caught in a hail of bullets while walking with his mother in the Jane St.-Finch Ave. area.

This never should have happened to a “beautiful” boy or a city tired of being outraged about the evil that not only lurks here but does so with near impunity.

Here’s yet another murdered child.

“He was the sweetest boy, and would play for hours with our children who are younger than him,” said Segura. “He was a beautiful soul and our hearts are broken.”

Two GoFundMe campaigns set up as a result of the shooting had raised about $35,000 as of Monday night.

“My nephew Dante was an innocent victim on gun violence (Nov. 7),” said Brampton resident Flavia Andreatta in a message for a GoFundMe campaign she said she put together for her brother Sebastian, the boy’s father. “Dante was my nephew only 12 years old. On Saturday, Nov. 7 he and his mother were caught in a crossfire while grocery shopping in North York. Unfortunately, after being in critical condition fighting for his life he sadly passed away four days later.”

Dante was just a terrific kid who was adored by his family.

“Dante enjoyed soccer, swimming, bike riding with his friends/cousins, loved his classmates and with his organ donation, he has given the blessings for those children/teens to carry on living life to the fullest,” said Segura.


Toronto Police said two gunmen were allegedly shooting into a car with five passengers in the parking lot of 25 Stong Crt. Rounds were errantly fired across the street — at least one of which struck the boy in the neck.

Others went into townhouse units on the other side of Jane St. A police officer performed CPR on the boy and doctors at Sick Kids Hospital worked around the clock to try to save him.

The damage was just too severe.

“May I say that your love and support has been felt during this difficult time,” said Flavia. “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, please keep our family in your prayers. All proceeds will go towards funeral expenses.”

It’s pretty sick this happened in our city but it is not the first time.

If you hear a politician spouting the line about Toronto and the GTA being “safe,” feel free to share this list of murder victims who died because they had the misfortune to be standing where a gunman’s bullet happened to fly: Vivi Leimonis, Jane Creba, Chantal Dunn, Breanna Davy, Shyanne Charles, Joshua Yassay, Kesean Williams (Brampton), St. Aubyn Rodney, Tyson Bailey, Jarvis Montague, Ephraim Brown, Ariela Navarro-Fenoy, Bailey Zaveda, John O’Keefe, Lecent Ross, Naveed Shahnawaz, Dameion McFarland, Lecent Ross, Ruma Amar, Naveed Shahnawaz, Dameion McFarland, Shawn McLean, Jonathan Rodriguez Sanchez, Candice Rochelle Bobb and unborn baby Kyrie.

Now, sadly, add the name of 12-year-old Dante Sebastian Andreatta to that disturbing list.

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Dante Andreatta, 12-year-old killed by stray bullet in North York shooting, donates organs

A 12-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet during a shooting in North York donated his organs to others in need, a family friend who started an online fundraiser for the boy's family says.

Dante Sebastian Andreatta was grocery shopping with his mother in the Jane and Finch area when he was shot in the mid-afternoon on Nov. 7. He died in hospital four days later.

"It's with heavy hearts that we mourn a life that was taken too soon, but one that has not left in vain. Dante's kindness and generosity will live on through NINE lives that were saved because of his organ donation," said Margarita Segura in an update on the GoFundMe page she first established last week.

According to Segura, Andreatta enjoyed soccer, swimming and bike riding with his friends and cousins.

"He will be missed deeply, and remembered fiercely as the beautiful, loving, enthusiastic, active and engaging boy that he was," Segura added.

Two men face a slew of charges in connection to the fatal shooting, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault.

In addition to Andreatta, three other people were struck by the gunfire, including a 17-year-old. All three have since been released from hospital. 

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Toronto Police arrest 3 teens in bakery shooting that injured 6

Two 16-year-old boys and an 18-year-old man are facing a slew of charges in connection to a brazen drive-by shooting at a Toronto bakery that injured six people last September.

Emergency crews were called to the scene at Eglinton and Oakwood avenues, west of Allen Road, around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, September 2, 2020.

According to police, a black vehicle drove past a 24-hour bakery and someone in the vehicle began firing numerous shots.

At the time, Toronto Police Superintendent Shaun Narine said the 24-hour bakery was open and filled with customers, adding that investigators were treating it as a “gang-related and targeted event.”

Narine said a group of people had gathered under the front alcove of the bakery to take shelter from heavy rain at the time of the shooting. He stressed that it is “not a gang-related location” and that some of the people gathered in the crowd were believed to be innocent bystanders.

The six victims ranged in age from 30 to 69 years old. Luckily, none of their injuries were life-threatening.

Illia Ayo, 18, of London, is facing numerous charges, including aggravated assault, discharge firearm recklessly and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Two 16-year-old boys, who can’t be named, are facing similar charges.

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