Trump-inspired strategy seems to be going great for Doug Ford. There's no need for campaign spending if the Toronto Sun prints the would-be mayoral candidate's alternative facts, while the Toronto Star churns out columns condemning his existence. Just share it on social media, with reminders of who DoFo's brother was. Meanwhile, Vincent Crisanti, a generally no-profile councillor, was talking lots about John Tory demoting him as deputy mayor for speaking at Ford Fest. And Giorgio Mammoliti sure ain't going to be left out of this party:
Uber's lobbying success may now accelerate its end. Toronto made "ride-sharing" legal last summer. Now comes the informed speculation that Lyft is looking to enter Canada—in Toronto and also Vancouver, where Uber remains barred, although similar services have slipped through the cracks. Concurrently, there are reports that Google parent company Alphabet will soon give Lyft a billion bucks.
Finn the dog is barking up the wrong ballot. St. John's now has an Australian cattle dog running for mayor, although it's unclear how he'd follow through on a victory. Turns out, Newfoundland provincial law demands every candidate be able to vote for themselves, although federal rules also illuminate the fact that not every adult born in Canada was always technically defined as a "person" worthy of a vote:
The newspaper lobby is now annoyed with new funding for television newcasts. News Media Canada's latest rant is about rule changes that give telecoms permission to use CRTC-mandated funds once used for community cable stations for commercial broadcast operations, instead. Meanwhile, newspaper people who want government funding for print-based operations are once again raising the spectre of Fake News.
The stealth Estonian history of Toronto architecture gets explored more. Amidst the frat houses facing a crackdown and Margaret Atwood's least-favourite development proposal are modernist high-rises designed by Uno Prii. The work of other Estonian immigrant architects can be seen across the city, and the Globe's Dave LeBlanc has catalogued some of it. The occasion for all the fuss is an exhibit inside the Tartu College residence at 310 Bloor West—a building co-designed by Elmar Tampõld housing the Museum of Estonians Abroad.
Presto's new infrastructure can help with your slicing and dicing. Sightings of Presto machines mounted on cutting boards at TTC stations riled 'em up on Reddit. The move was explained as a temporary measure while the TTC transitions to paddle-style fare gates. (The installation process will temporarily close eight downtown stations this fall.) But the image, combined with Soviet-style serial numbers above each reader, is still worth a smirk:
Jim Carrey's existential weirdness can only help in his next role. The funnyman generated chatter about himself with a bizarre New York Fashion Week interview prior to touching down for TIFF, in which he tried to deflect a question about a wrongful death lawsuit filed against him by the parents of his ex-girlfriend Cathriona White. "Depression only happens when you don't accept what it is," Carrey told The Hollywood Reporter. A forthcoming Showtime series, Kidding, will star him as a kiddie TV show host whose surreal world gradually unravels.
CATALYST CANADA
This non-profit pushing for the advancement of women in the workplace replaced the male chair of its advisory board with another man.