Courtesy of airport.ca

It seems that anything to do with the Toronto Island Airport is contentious, and the proposed pedestrian tunnel is sadly no different. Like it or not the wheels have been set in motion and it looks as though this is one battle that Mayor Miller will lose. Last week the CEO of the port authority requested $19 million from the federal government’s stimulus fund to finance the project. The total amount to build the tunnel is $38 million. The feds have been asked for half. The other half will come from the provincial government - $12 million, and the port authority - $7 million.

The pedestrian tunnel could encourage more traffic, resulting in more daily flights and increased revenues. It would be eight metres wide, four metres high, and have moving sidewalks for passengers. Engineers have estimated that the tunnel would take one year to build. An environmental assessment will probably take about 4 months and it should prove that a tunnel would reduce carbon emissions. Potential contractors will be submitted bids within 3 weeks.

Of course Mayor opposes the tunnel. He opposes anything that makes sense. The good news is that the port authority would not need signoff from the city to build the tunnel because it’s permitted under the existing three-government agreement that governs the airport. In July Pollara Strategic Insights conducted a poll for the port authority. It showed that 62% of respondents supported the construction of an airport island tunnel which I’m sure is much higher than the Mayor’s approval rating – particularly after his bungling of the city workers’ strike.

Courtesy of Facebook

There are currently approximately 12 million Canadian members of Facebook and Canada’s privacy commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, is concerned about the lack of control that users have over their personal information. These are Ms Stoddart’s concerns:

1. There are not enough safeguards in place to prevent 950,000 third-party developers around the world from getting unauthorized access to your personal information.
2. Facebook does not ensure that you give meaningful consent before disclosing your personal information to the developers.
3. Even though you have deactivated your account, Facebook keeps your information indefinitely.
4. The profiles of deceased users remain on Facebook. They say that this is done for memorial purposes, but no where is this made clear.
5. Facebook allows you to provide personal information about non-users without their consent and Facebook keeps the addresses indefinitely.

If Facebook does not comply and take measures to rectify these issues within 45 days the privacy commissioner has the option of pursuing legal action against Facebook. David Fewer, acting director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, first brought the complaint against Facebook in May 2008. Once the Facebook issue is resolved Mr. Fewer will be going after other social networking sites to bring them in line with the changes that Facebook will hopefully be making.

The Internet has grown so quickly that the law hasn’t been able to keep up with it, particularly in areas of privacy and the protection of personal information. Most people who join social networking sites never give the issues of privacy a second thought. Maybe it’s time that we did.

Courtesy of cleanbreak.ca

Surprising and violent, four suspected tornadoes unleashed their wrath upon the unsuspecting communities of southern Ontario on Thursday. I say “suspected tornadoes” because according to Environment Canada data from the storms must first be collected and analyzed before they are officially categorized as tornadoes. There is a remote possibility that they could have been funnel clouds. The cause of the storm activity is most likely the recent hot and humid air in the region.

The tornadoes touched down in Durham and Vaughn. Both of these communities were very hard hit and have declared a state of emergency. In Woodbridge and Maple 120 homes had to be evacuated after sustaining serious damage and there is a possibility that several of these homes will have to be completely demolished. Evacuation centres have been established at two community centres and the Red Cross is on site to provide assistance. From there the storm cells moved eastward placing Toronto, Hamilton, Peterborough, and dozens of other towns and cities under tornado warnings. As the storm approached Kingston, it was downgraded to severe thunderstorm warnings, but the risk of tornadoes no longer existed.

Immediately following the storm there were 69,000 Hydro One customers without power. As work to restore power continues there still remain 20,000 customers without power.

With all of the modern technology available why can’t we forecast tornadoes or funnel clouds? Thursday’s forecast called for thunderstorms in the morning, which never happened and clearing in the afternoon, with a chance of more thunderstorms in the evening. There was no mention of the possibility of severe weather and no warnings or alerts were posted. How does a tornado just appear out of the blue?

Courtesy of schools.tdsb.on.ca

According to the Toronto District School Board last year 92 of 533 public schools in Toronto had an enrollment of less than 60%, and the attrition is continuing. The TDSB loses about 4,000 each year. Add this to the fact that the TDSB is hard up for cash and there seems to be no alternative to closing schools. It is estimated that closing 25 – 30 schools would save between $10 million and $15 million per year.

In order to deal with this issue trustees have voted to close Scarborough’s Timothy Eaton Business and Technical Institute in September. It is also reported that Grade 9 has been cancelled at West Toronto Collegiate because of too few students. Instead of massive school closures Josh Matlow, trustee for St. Paul’s, will be presenting a motion at the August 26^th school board meeting, requesting that the board consider closing 10 of its undersubscribed schools this year and 10 more the year after.

The quality of education should be of paramount importance. Today’s Parent magazine has compiled a list of the best elementary and middle schools across Canada. The criteria was based on factors including community commitment, serving special needs, quality of teachers, clubs, programs, and the cool factor. Here is the list of the top schools in Ontario. Only one is in Toronto. Let’s hope that it’s not slated for closure.

• Cedarvale Community School (Toronto, 220 students, JK-6)
• St. John Bosco Catholic School (Brockville, 380 students, JK-6)
• Briargreen Public School (Nepean, 330 students, JK-6)
• Pioneer Park Public School (Kitchener, 316 students, JK-6)
• Castlefrank Elementary School (Kanata, 315 students, JK-8)
• Guardian Angels Catholic Elementary School (Waterdown, 500 students, JK-8)

Courtesy of bbs.stardestroyer.net

According to Environment Canada lightning kills about seven people and seriously injures 60 to 70 people in Canada each year. The majority of these tragedies happen in the afternoon and early evening during the summer when people are caught outdoors. If you are inadvertently caught outdoors there are ways to protect yourself from lightning strikes.

• You may have a built-in warning system for lightning. If you feel a tingling sensation, your hair stands on end, or you smell sulfur, lightning might be about to strike.
• If possible go into a protected building, a car with a hardtop, a tunnel, subway, cave, or a ditch.
• You should not be higher than your surroundings. Try to go to an area of lower elevation. If you are in an open space crouch down and cover your ears. Don’t lie down or place your hands on the ground because a lightning strike could electrify the ground that you are lying on.
• Stay away from trees.
• Don’t use your umbrella. Put it down and walk away.
• Leave wet areas, pools, lakes, and beaches immediately.
• Avoid metal objects – scooters, bicycles, motorcycles, golf carts, fences, poles, power lines.
• If you are with a group, spread out.

We all feel safe from lightening strikes at home and frequently watch storms from our balconies or windows. But, are we really safe? What should you do if you are indoors during a lightening storm?

• Stay away from doors and windows.
• Don’t use the phone, except during an emergency.
• Don’t use electrical appliances.
• Don’t unplug any electronic equipment or electrical appliances during a storm.
• Refrain from touching sinks, faucets, baths, and showers – any wet places.

Courtesy of repairpal.com

There are vast differences in the outcome of public sector and private sector strikes. The union is omnipotent within the public sector but becoming impotent in the private sector. The tragedy is that unions have not come to grips with this new reality and as a result they irreparably damaging the lives of the rank and file in the private sector. Such is the sad case of the employees at the Lever Brothers soap factory.

In 2002 Unilever sold the Lever Brothers soap factory to Korex Don Valley. With the purchase Korex inherited the best paid workers in the soap manufacturing business at $25/hour with benefits. This is indeed an incredible wage for unskilled labour. The reality was that the company was no longer financially viable. When the contracts were renegotiated the workers agreed to a five-year wage freeze, cuts to disability benefits and the loss of their defined-benefit pensions in exchange for job security. When that contract expired in June 2007 Korex wanted more concessions. In June 2008, 160 workers went on strike to protest a new contract that they said wiped out seniority rights. The factory continued to run at a reduced rate until May 2009. Korex Don Valley has now filed for bankruptcy. The remaining 110 workers who are members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada local 132-0 now have no jobs and very poor prospects.

According to Korex the strike went on far too long and as a result they lost their consumers. The union has only one job – to represent the rank and file. Why would they have encouraged prolonged strike action with a company who was not on solid footing financially? If these unfortunate and ill-advised workers had it all to do over again I’d be willing to bet that they would be happy to accept Korex’s concessions and continue working. Who is going to hold the union responsible for the livelihoods of these 110 people, many of who have worked 30 years or more at this same factory?

Courtesy of earneasily.org

Everything gets recycled these days including scams. An old Internet scam has resurfaced in Toronto. The scam is very simple to perpetrate. A scam artist hacks into a private email account and changes the password rendering the account inaccessible to the owner. Pretending to be the legitimate owner of the email account the scam artist blasts out an email to everyone in the address book of the email account owner saying that they are stranded somewhere overseas and need money to get home. They request that you send the funds via Western Union. About a year ago I received an email from an acquaintance telling me that he was stranded somewhere in the UK and had no money. I immediately deleted it. What amazes me is how many people get taken and actually send money. Does common sense fly out the window when someone sends an email asking for funds?

Think about it, if you had a friend who was traveling overseas and legitimately found themselves stranded without funds, would they send you what amounts to a form email and ask you to send funds via Western Union? No, of course they wouldn’t. In the first place they would call you collect and tell you the story about how they arrived at this most unfortunate situation. If you agreed to send funds they would ask how you were sending them and you would make the arrangements to send the money. Or, you would simply contact who ever needed to be paid – airline, hotel, etc – and arrange to make payment by credit card.

Think before you do something that clearly doesn’t make sense. As long as people continue to use bad judgment, there will be scam artists standing ready to take their money.

Courtesy of chrisdavies.ca

Are you a tenant in Toronto who has just had it with taxes? According to the Federation of Metro Tenants, Toronto’s high property tax rates are pushing apartment renters past the poverty line. Toronto home owners are always complaining about their property taxes but the truth is that Toronto tenants are taxed at almost three times as much as residential homeowners. The reason for this is that apartment landlords are taxed as businesses and they in turn recoup the money from their tenants. This becomes a double whammy for tenants because they can’t deduct their rent from their income in spite of the fact that the rent that they pay in turn pays for the services – transit, fire, police - that their landlords are deducting. The Federation of Metro Tenants reports that tenants occupy approximately 9% of Toronto and pay 19% of the taxes. Where is the justice in that?

To add insult to injury as of July 1, 2010 people across Ontario will have to pay the 8% provincial sales tax (PST) when the province applies a harmonized sales tax on utilities among other things. This means that landlords will be paying 8% tax on electrical, plumbing, painting, landscaping, snow removal, etc. in addition to electricity and heating oil. Currently 20% of tenants pay their own utilities however in the buildings where landlords are paying the utilities you can be sure that they will be going after the tenants seeking increases in compensation.

What can you do? Contact your Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament.

Courtesy of pawlingcycle.com

Are you tired of bicycles not stopping at stop signs and red lights, going the wrong way on one-way streets, not signaling when turning, and riding on the sidewalk? If so you are not alone. Many cyclists seem to be under the mistaken impression that they can ride how ever and where ever the mood or the traffic takes them and pedestrians are paying the price. Just last Thursday a pedestrian passed away after a collision with a cyclist on a sidewalk. According to Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA) a bicycle is a vehicle and a cyclist has the same rights and responsibilities as a motorist.

The Toronto Highway Traffic Act has a very detailed list of bicycle violations and fines. Here are the ones that stand out for me.

• HTA 144/136 -Traffic signals and signs - stop for red lights and stop signs and comply with all other signs.
• HTA 153 - One ways streets - ride in the designated direction on one-way streets.
• HTA 142 - Signalling a turn - before turning, look behind you and signal your turn. Cyclists can use their right arm to signal a right turn.
• HTA 140/144(29) - Crosswalks - stop for pedestrians at crosswalks and walk your bike when crossing at a crosswalk.
• HTA 130 Careless driving.
• HTA 140 (1) (a) Fail to yield to pedestrian.
• HTA Improper right turn 141 (2)
• HTA Improper left turn 141 (6)

Should we blame cyclists or law enforcement? These violations and fines are on the books, so why aren’t they enforced? When as a society are we going to start treating bicycles like the vehicles that they are and hold the cyclists responsible for their safe operation? Perhaps we should have licensing criteria along the same lines as we do for cars and motorcycles.

Courtesy of tysonwilliams.com

The Canadian National Exhibition is known by several nicknames – the CNE and the EX – but by what ever name you call it, Torontonians come out in record numbers each and every year to attend the Grand Dame of attractions. The Ex has been around for over 130 years. In that time it has become the largest annual fair in Canada and the fourth largest in North America. Last year over 1.3 million attended. Once again the CNE returns to Exhibition Place, located at 100 Princes’ Boulevard, from August 21^st – September 7^th, marking the end of summer and Labour Day.

This year the Ex is featuring over 500 attractions, a large carnival midway, international entertainment, shopping, great food, and agricultural exhibits. The main attractions are just spectacular:

• Celebrate the Olympic Spirit: A Tribute to the Winter Games
• Movie Magic: Aerial Acrobatics & Ice Skating Show starring Elvis Stojko
• E - Evolution…Emergence…Energy: Nighttime Light Show
• Canadian International Air Show
• FLOWRIDER Mobile Wave
• Daily CNE Mardi Gras Parade
• President’s Choice SuperDogs Show
• The Original Wheel of Thrills

If you buy your tickets by August 21^st you can save up to 31%. You can purchase tickets online however you must have access to a printer to print out your barcoded ticket.

Leave the car at home and take the TTC or GO Transit. Take the subway to Union Station and then the #509 steetcar westbound to Exhibition Place. Or, take the subway to Dufferin Station and then the #29 bus south to Dufferin Gates. Or, take the subway to the Dundas West Station and then #193 Exhbition Rocket. Or take the Lakeshore GO Train to Exhibition Station.