What looked like a sure bet came to a grinding halt once the leaders of the Big Three Automakers - Richard Wagoner of General Motors, Alan Mulally of Ford and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler - breezed into Washington on their private jets. The cost of flying commercial from Detroit - Washington return is approximately $600 as opposed to flying in a private jet which could amount to over $20,000 each way for the same flight. These overpaid, incompetent executives have effectively driven (pun intended) the auto industry into the ground. They are asking for $25 billion in bailout money NOW in order to stay afloat, bringing the total that they are asking from the U.S. to $50 billion (Congress had already approved $25 billion for the production of fuel-efficient vehicles). General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are seeking $3.5 billion from Canada.

What is their pitch? Where is the plan for the long-term success of these companies? The sad reality is that they have no plan to turn around these white elephants. As is evidenced by the use of their private jets to come to the meeting, the Big Three leaders have no plans to curb their spending any time soon. It might have been a prudent measure to unload the private jets and to fly commercial considering their respective companies are on the brink of disaster. They take no responsibility for leading their companies to ruin. They are threatening Armageddon if the auto industry is allowed to collapse. With no plan to spend the money wisely, why should anyone give them the money? It would only delay the outcome, not change it.

Michael Moore, the famous Flint Michigan native and film maker, was recently on Larry King and his comments were among the best that I’ve heard. He did not believe that the money should just be doled out, but that Congress should demand change for the money. “President-Elect Obama has to say to them, yes, we’re going to use this money to save these jobs, but we’re not going to build these gas-guzzling, unsafe vehicles any longer,” Moore said. “We’re going to put the companies into some sort of receivership and we, the government, are going to hold the reins on these companies. They’re to build mass transit. They’re to build hybrid cars. They’re to build cars that use little or no gasoline.” He said global warming requires the nation and the world to use less oil. “There’s got to be a plan set out to find other ways to transport ourselves in other ways than using fossil fuels,” he said.

Congress will be back in session on December 2nd when they are prepared to hear actual plans by the Big Three. On this point Canada is in total agreement - without a plan for long-term viability, kiss the money good-bye. Are you for or against the bailout?

It works on television with shows like “America’s Most Wanted”. Tips from these types of shows have brought many criminals to justice. Toronto Police Services have taken advantage of the information age and launched a Homicide Squad website in order to seek the public’s assistance in solving open murder cases. This is an issue that affects all of us in Toronto no matter which neighbourhood we live in because we don’t live in isolation. Even if you live in what you believe is a safe area, you don’t stay holed up in your little enclave. You get out and about and participate in work, events, and activities all over the city. Let us not forget the tragic shooting death of Jane Creba outside the Eaton Centre in broad daylight on Boxing Day. How many Torontonians don’t visit the Eaton Centre at some point during the year?

We should all at least have a look at the website. It is user friendly and organized in a simple and rational way. You never know what may jog a memory that could be helpful in solving a crime. There is a section for Unsolved Current Investigations, Unsolved Cold Cases dating back to 1973, and our own Most Wanted List. It would probably serve us all well to have a look at the dangerous criminals on the loose in the event that we have a chance encounter with any of them.

To familiarize yourself with the different Police Divisions, their locations, and who is patrolling in your neighbourhood there is a complete list and Division Map.  Torontonians concerned about crime in their neighbourhoods can now sign up for updates from the police about what is happening across Toronto. Sign up here.

If you had a family member who was a victim of homicide, Toronto Police Services - Victim Service has prepared a guide
to provide you with information about the investigative process and to help you to identify available resources.

We all need to get involved and do our part to make Toronto as safe as possible. And, one of our responsibilities as residents is to come forward with any information that we may have that could be helpful to the police in solving any crime - especially a homicide.

We’ve barely recovered from the scandal of rats and cockroaches in Chinatown that we now discover that Toronto has a bedbug problem that has reached epic proportions in apartment buildings, hotels, and student residences. Anyone can get bedbugs. They hide in bed frames, chairs, sofas, and electronics. It doesn’t mean that you are dirty. One of the reasons that we are having such a hard time controlling bedbugs is that we no longer use toxic chemicals to eradicate them. Another is the increase in international travel. They are an unfortunate gift brought in by travelers.

Over 1,400 hundred calls this year have been received by Toronto Public Health about bedbugs. If you are concerned about bedbugs contact Toronto Public Health. You can check for bedbugs by putting out glue boards or sticky tape to catch them.

What should you do if you have bedbugs? Here are some useful ideas from Toronto Public Health:

•    Hire a professional pest control services company
•    Carefully check the areas that bedbugs hide, particularly the crevices and folds in mattresses, chairs, sofas
•    Vacuum the areas daily and empty the contents of your vacuum immediately
•    Wash all your linens in the hottest water possible and place them in a hot dryer for 20 minutes
•    Keep a plastic cover on your pillows and mattresses
•    Seal cracks and crevices between baseboards, on wood bed frames, floors and walls with caulking
•    Repair or remove peeling wallpaper
•    Tighten loose light switch covers
•    Seal any openings where pipes, wires or other utilities come into your home

Whether we like it or not there is one justice system for the rich and famous and another justice system for the rest of us. There is a case that just occurred in Toronto that is not to be believed. It is a stain on our justice system.

On May 16, 2006 Suzanne Mizuno was the passenger in a car driven by her brother Jamie Mizuno. They were on their way to a family dinner. They were on Huntington Road, south of Major MacKenzie Drive when a Nissan Maxima traveling southbound swerved into the oncoming lane and impacted Jamie Mizuno’s Honda Civic. It all happened in a split second. Jamie Mizuno tried to avoid the vehicle but the Maxima slammed into the passenger side of the Honda Civic. Suzanne Mizuno was pronounced dead at the scene. Her brother and the driver of the Maxima were treated for minor injuries.

The driver of the Maxima was David Clark, one of Canada’s top jockeys. According to court testimony, Clark had a blood-alcohol level over the legal level of .08. York police breathalyzer technicians estimated his blood alcohol level was between .120 and .170 at the time of the crash. In April, 2007 David Clark pleaded guilty to both impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm.

Any sane person would expect that the court would throw the book at David Clark. Don’t we read every day in the newspapers about how the police and the courts are getting tough on drunk drivers? Murder is murder whether your weapon of choice is a gun or a motor vehicle. David Clark was sentenced to two years less a day of house arrest after pleading guilty to drunk driving in a car crash that killed Suzanne Mizuno and injured her brother Jamie. And, get this – David Clark can leave his home to work. He’s not discovering the cure for cancer, he just rides horses! His license was taken away at the time of the crash and he is prohibited from driving for 3 years. After David Clark serves his term of house arrest he will be placed on 2 years probation and have to do 240 hours of community service. David Clark may now face disciplinary action from the Ontario Racing Commission, the governing body that licenses jockeys. They were waiting for the court to rule on the case before taking any action.

Where is the justice? Why does the court care that David Clark is a famous Canadian jockey? He’s a garden variety drunk driver who committed murder and he is not spending one night behind bars. Shop lifters do more time. Where is the justice for Suzanne Mizuno and her family?

This is the 18th year that Maclean’s has published its Canadian university rankings. The universities are ranked in 3 categories:
•    undergraduate institutions - schools with few graduate programs
•    comprehensive institutions - schools with a significant amount of research activity, undergraduate and graduate programs
•    medical-doctoral institutions - universities with a broad range of PhD programs, research and medical schools.

The data used by Maclean’s is publicly available from the schools and third-party sources including Statistics Canada and other agencies. The six broad indicators were:

1.    student award winners and class size
2.    caliber of faculty
3.    research money and other resources
4.    student assistance and scholarships
5.    library resources
6.    reputation

Based on their findings these are the results.

UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS:

1.    Mount Allison in Sackville, NB
2.    University of Northern British Columbia
3.    Acadia in Wolfville, NS
4.    St. Francis Xavier in Antigonish, NS
5.    Wilfrid Laurier in Waterloo, ON
6.    Trent University in Peterborough, ON

COMPREHENSIVE INSTITUTIONS:

1.    Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and University of Victoria
3.    Waterloo
4.    University of Guelph
5.    Memorial University in St. John’s, NL and University of New Brunswick

MEDICAL-DOCTORAL INSTITUTIONS:

1.    McGill University in Montreal
2.    University of Toronto
3.    Queen’s University in Kingston
4.    University of Alberta
5.    McMaster University in Hamilton

The survey also found that there is an increasing interest by the institutions on improving their undergraduate programs. There is a decline in youth population in certain provinces, most notably in the Maritimes and this is impacting enrolment numbers. Canada many have to start actively looking to attract greater numbers of foreign students.

Images courtesy Flickr.com

Toronto-based Rethink Breast Cancer is organizing this historic event in order to raise awareness about breast cancer globally. Unlike other breast cancer organizations, the group is focused on reaching out to young people who are affected by breast cancer or concerned about it. This festival will feature films, individual stories and discussions about the issues surrounding the disease. After some films there will be either a panel discussion or a question and answer session with the director.

Renée Zellweger is one of the executive producers of the film that was chosen to open the festival – Living Proof. This important film is the true story of Dr. Dennis Slamon, the UCLA doctor who helped to develop the breast cancer drug, Herceptin. The star studded cast includes Harry Connick Jr., Angie Harmon, Bernadette Peters, Amanda Bynes, and Swoosie Kurtz. This is the complete list of films. Film makers from around the world have entered the Breast Fest Film Festival short film competition. These are the submitted films. In their own unique voices they share their stories. The winner of the Breast Fest Film Festival short film competition will be announced, screened and presented the Amazing Grace award, named after Canadian filmmaker Grace Cianciotta on Saturday, November 22nd.

The Breast Fest is taking place at the Royal Ontario Museum Theatre located at 100 Queen’s Park. Buy your tickets online. Opening night tickets are only $25.00 each and include access to the opening night party. All other films are $10.00. If you would like to make a donation to this worthy cause, please click here.

Just when you thought that credit card interest was as high as it could possibly be, it is going to go up! Shades of Shylock!

•    Bank of Nova Scotia – as of May 2008, the interest-free grace period for new purchases was reduced from 26 to 21 days.
•    The Toronto Dominion Bank - if you have a TD Visa and make a payment 30 days beyond the payment due date, the interest rate will be 24.75%.
•    Canadian Tire Corporation - is lowering credit limits for some inactive customers’ credit cards
•    Bank of Montreal – no changes to MasterCard this year
•    Royal Bank of Canada – no changes to Visa cards this year

These changes will affect many Canadians. There are currently about 64.1 million Visa and MasterCard cards in circulation in Canada, according to the Canadian Bankers Association. The Bank of Canada warns that any significant rise in interest rates could seriously impact the number of personal bankruptcies. A Credit Canada survey showed that:

•    30% of people from Ontario have 4 or more credit cards
•    40% of Canadians do not pay their credit card off in full each month
•    26% of Canadians do not consider the consequences of a rising interest rate when borrowing money
•    28% of Canadians do not know the interest rate on their credit cards
•    55% of Canadians have monthly expenses that exceed their monthly income at least once a year

The major injustice in all of this is that large corporations are getting tons of governmental assistance or in some cases, bailouts. But what of the individual who is drowning in debt? Instead of some relief, these bloated banks and financial instruments are putting the knife in and twisting it by raising interest rates and charging for services like ATM fees.

The City of Toronto has recently created a newsletter called Our Toronto which will be mailed to every household in the city. You should have received it by now or will be receiving it any day now. This comic book size publication will be published up to four times a year at a cost of $800,000. Mayor Miller insists that this is good value and that it will keep us in touch with our government. Others have said that it is no more than propaganda.

At a time when the city should be cutting costs, they seem to be looking for ways to spend even more money. Many feel that Our Toronto has been created as an electioneering vehicle, giving the Mayor pages and pages in which to wax eloquent about his great plans for Toronto. Considering that Our Toronto includes a 2 page message from the mayor along with quotes on his positions on everything from handguns to transit, it’s not a difficult stretch to believe that this is newsletter will be used very effectively by Mayor Miller to push his own agenda.

Our Toronto is available online in 10 languages - Chinese, Tamil, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Urdu, Russian, Farsi and Korean – in addition to English and French in your choice of HTML or audio format and in English in Braille upon request.

The one positive aspect of the newsletter that cannot be disputed is that Our Toronto is environmentally friendly. It is printed on 100% recycled paper and uses vegetable inks. What do you think of Our Toronto – good idea, waste of money, propaganda rag?

Toronto has become downright evangelical about recycling. The latest is that they are now going to take on shops and restaurants that sell coffee in paper cups with plastic lids, and/or provide take-out food and drink containers, and plastic bags that are not part of a manufacturer’s packaging. The reason behind this plan is that the recyclers apparently don’t want paper and plastic mixed together. Needless to say this has created quite a response, most notably from Tim Horton’s. And, at for now it appears that Tim Horton’s has won – at least until April which is the deadline for the city and the coffee shops to work out a suitable compromise.

Tim Horton’s is disputing that their cups are not recyclable. In fact they are currently being recycled in Windsor and in Owen Sound, and they are being composted in Hamilton. So what’s the deal in Toronto? The irony is that a polystyrene foam cup with a plastic lid is considered recyclable because it’s entirely composed of petrochemicals. Any mixed-material container such as a paper cup and a plastic lid has been deemed non-recyclable whether or not they are actually recyclable. The recyclers and not the city seem to have the power here. Biodegradable plastic bags will also be banned because recyclers don’t want them.

What is wrong with this picture? Are we banning items to help the environment or to appease the recyclers? Clearly it appears that the City of Toronto has a clear mandate to appease the recyclers. As it stands now:

•    Immediately the sale of bottled water is banned at Toronto City Hall and the former local city halls.
•    As of December 2008 Toronto will start accepting plastic grocery bags and foam packaging in blue boxes.
•    As of December 31, 2009 non-recyclable bags will be banned.
•    As of December 31, 2011 the sale of bottled water will be banned at all other city facilities.

Needless to say the business reaction to these maneuvers has been extremely negative. The fight has barely begun and it should become very interesting. Stay tuned for the updates.

Image courtesy Flickr.com

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is taking place from November 7 - 17 at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place located at 100 Princes’ Blvd. It is the largest combined indoor agricultural fair and international equestrian competition in the world. From its humble beginnings on November 22, 1922 it has grown exponentially and this year over 326,000 visitors are expected to attend.

Bring the whole family and take in the rodeo, SuperDogs, horse shows, education programs, wine competition, apple competition, an unbelievable 8-horse Roman riding event, and more. One of the highlights of the fair is Christmas at the Royal which will take place on Sunday, November 16th. Christmas will be abound with everything that you would expect including a visit from Santa Claus. Eat, drink, and be merry with traditional holiday dishes and some Christmas cheer.

There is plenty of activity to keep the wee ones busy and happy. The Ag-tivity Centre has been created for children between the ages of 4 and 11 to amuse themselves with colouring, painting, and play. On Sunday, November 16th there will be gingerbread decorating, special prizes, and other special Christmas activities.

Buy your tickets online or in person.

Leave the car at home and take the TTC or GO Transit. If you are traveling by TTC take either the 511 Bathurst Streetcar from Bathurst Station or the 509 Harbourfront Streetcar from Union Station. If you are taking GO Transit, get off at Exhibition Station.

For more information contact the specific department of your interest directly.

Image courtesy Royalfair.org