Archive for the 'news' Category

February Beer Events in Toronto

contact September 1st, 2010

beer
Hart House Beer Academy with Mirella Amato – Hart House presents an evening of Craft Beer Tasting with Mirella Amato, tour guide for the Beer Lover’s Tour Company and host of the beer segments on legourmet.tv. – on Thursday, February 21, 2008 from 7pm to 10pm in the Music Room. Featuring yummilicious pub food and samplings of 9 specialty craft beers – Hart House, Music Room, 7 Hart House Circle, $45 – call 416.978.8849 to reserve

Gouden Carolus Dinner – Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23, 2008 – This event is a 3-course Belgian menu fixe ($40) menu with your choice of Gouden Carolus, Gouden Carolus Tripel or Gouden Carolus Ambrio. The Abbot On The Hill, Abbot on the Hill, 1276 Yonge Street, call 416.920.9074 to reserve

Thankfully This Guy Doesn’t Live in Toronto

contact August 31st, 2010

MONCTON, New Brunswick, Feb. 6 (UPI) — It may be the Year of the Rat in China but every year is the year of the rat for one Canadian man who purposely has 87 of them in his home.

Clark Graham, who lives in the Moncton area, takes in abandoned pet rats as part of his Angel’s Heart Rat Rescue adoption program, Canwest News Service reported. He’s been at it for five years now, charging those who want to adopt a rat $10 to $15.

“I look for people who do not want them for food for their snake,” he told Canwest in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Rats get a bad rap as disease-spreading vermin but Graham finds them friendly and loyal.

“They love the company of people,” Graham said. “They crave it. I walk into a room and they all jump up and want me to come see them.”

Toronto Teen Wins $1.4 Million

contact August 28th, 2010

WATERLOO, Ontario, Feb. 4 (UPI) — An 18-year-old Canadian man with just six months background playing poker has earned $1.4 million in a German tournament.

Mike McDonald of Waterloo, Ontario, northwest of Toronto, is too young to legally play in most Canadian provinces and the United States, but since turning 18 in September, has racked up some impressive wins in London, Prague, Macau and Aruba, his mother told the Waterloo Record.

Saturday night was the biggest win for McDonald, who saw through repeated bluffs by German poker veteran Andreas Gulunay in Dortmund, the report said.

Speaking to the newspaper by telephone, the teenager said he’ll continue playing until he’s had enough.

“I see these guys who are playing 60 hours a week when they’re old, and none of them seem very happy,” McDonald said. “I don’t want to make this my long-term career … I might like to go back to school and get a real job.”

He said he’d also like to buy a used car, although he hasn’t got his drivers license yet, the report said.

The Dirt on Toronto: Garbage Facts

contact August 27th, 2010

From toronto.ca:
dump

General

From January to August 2007, on average, 74 truck loads per day of solid waste (approximately 441,363 tonnes) went to Michigan landfill…down from 142 daily truck loads in 2003. This includes waste the City collects from residents, ICI (Industrial, Commercial, Institutional), ABC&Ds (Agency, Boards, Commissions, Divisions) and schools.

Toronto sent approximately 696,327 tonnes of waste to Michigan landfill in 2006.

Toronto’s waste disposal contract with the Carlton Farms Landfill in Michigan expires at the end of 2010.

Effective April 2, 2007, the City of Toronto became official owners of the Green Lane Landfill Site located in Southwold Township in the County of Elgin, southwest of the City of London, about 200 km from downtown Toronto. The Site features the latest technology including onsite treatment of leachate and a methane gas collection and flaring systems.

As of mid-April 2007 through to the end of August 2007, Toronto sent on average, three loads per day of solid waste to Green Lane Landfill, an amount equal to approximately 11,735 tonnes.

Green Bin organics are collected once a week and recyclables and residual waste are collected on alternating weeks.

Solid Waste Management Services has the following facilities

-seven Transfer Stations
-one Organic Processing Facility
-six HHW depots (Household Hazardous Waste)
-wo MRFs (Material Recovery Facility for sorting recyclables)
-three Maintenance Yards
-one Landfill (Green Lane Landfill Site)

Current waste diversion statistics

In 2006, 42% of Toronto’s residential waste was diverted thanks to the Blue/Grey box, Green Bin and Yard Waste composting programs. This means 375,621 tonnes of garbage was kept off Michigan trucks.

In 2006, multi-unit dwellings (apartments and condos) recycled only 13% of their garbage. The City, looking to improve that statistic, is launching a new volume-based rate structure in 2008 to enhance recycling rates. The results from piloting various waste diversion programs in select multi-unit buildings will be used to implement new programs.

In 2007, Toronto City Council approved the “Getting to 70% waste diversion from landfill plan”, which lays out the plan to increase waste diversion to 70% by 2010 and the funding model by which this goal can be achieved.

Environmental benefits of achieving 70% diversion from landfill

By achieving 70 % diversion, Solid Waste will reduce its GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by an additional 25 per cent, which is equal to taking over 100,000 cars off the road.

With 70 % diversion, Toronto will recycle 240,000 tonnes of paper annually, to save 4.5 million trees a year.

Diverting 70% of its waste means Toronto will recycle enough Blue Box materials to save 900 million kWh (kilowatt hours) of energy annually, which is enough to supply all the electrical needs for 170,000 homes.

Green Bin Organics collection

The Green Bin Program, which collects and processes household organic waste so it can be turned into finished compost, is now available to all 510,000 single-family households across Toronto.

With city-wide single-family household participation, approximately 100,000 tonnes of waste is diverted from landfill annually (resulting in 2,750 fewer trucks to Michigan each year).

It is estimated that each single-family home on the Green Bin Program contributes more than 200 kilograms of organic waste annually to the program.

30% of all residential garbage is “wet” waste or organic waste.

The Green Bin Program has a 90% participation rate.

Blue/Grey Box Combined

In 2006, Toronto recycled 163,385 tonnes of residential blue/grey box recyclables (resulting in 4,805 fewer trucks to Michigan).

In 2005, the Program expanded to include tubs and lids (e.g., margarine containers and yogurt tubs) and in 2006, cardboard cans (refrigerated dough, frozen juice, chip, nut, powder drink mix and powdered cleanser containers – minus peal-off seal or pull-off strip) were added to the Blue Box Program.

Toronto residents now combine Blue Box and Grey Box recyclables together in one container for more efficient collection and processing (effective Spring 2005).

Recycling not only saves money, it helps saves electricity via energy savings

75% less energy and 50% less water is used to make paper from recycled paper versus raw wood fibre.

Recycling one tonne of old newspapers saves 19 trees (Toronto typically recycles 100,000 tonnes of newspapers annually giving more than two million trees a tomorrow).

30% less energy is used to make glass from recycled crushed glass (cullet) versus new resources.

A 74% energy reduction is achieved by reusing steel cans and every tonne of recycled steel cans saves 1.36 tonnes of iron ore.

When scrap iron is used instead of iron ore to make steel, mining wastes are reduced by 97%, air pollution effluents by 80% and water pollution by 76%.

A 33% energy reduction is seen when new products are made from recyclable plastics.

95% less energy is used to make new aluminum cans out of old ones. Recycling just one pop can saves enough energy to power a television for three hours. Throwing away a single aluminum can is like pouring out six ounces of gasoline.

[source]

Dr. Horror, the Kidney Harvester Lives in Toronto! EEEEEE!

contact August 26th, 2010

From the star:

“While police forces around the world search for the Indian doctor who scammed hundreds out of their kidneys, his wife and children remain barricaded behind security doors at their Brampton home.

Interpol, the international police organization, last week issued a rarely used “red notice” warrant for Dr. Amit Kumar requesting his arrest anywhere on the planet.

Kumar, dubbed “Dr. Horror” by the Indian media where his story has led to nationwide revulsion, is alleged to be the kingpin of an underground kidney trafficking ring. Indian police believe the ring illegally harvested kidneys from as many as 500 unsuspecting Indians.

Most of the kidneys came from Indian labourers or farmers who say they were either duped, or forced at gunpoint, to give up a kidney.

The organs were then transplanted into wealthy clients, Indian or foreigners, in well-equipped underground clinics in residential areas.

It is illegal in India to sell a kidney; the Interpol warrant charges Kumar with “crimes against life and health” and being part of a criminal enterprise.

“If he has done what police say he did, I hope he gets punished severely,” a Brampton neighbour told the Star.

Neighbours said Kumar, his wife Poonam Ameet, and their two boys, 5 and 4, moved into the area last …”

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Sad News: Environment Canada scientists told to toe the line

contact August 24th, 2010

From the national post:

Environment Canada has “muzzled” its scientists, ordering them to refer all media queries to Ottawa where communications officers will help them respond with “approved lines.”

The new policy, which went into force in recent weeks and sent a chill through the department research divisions, is designed to control the department’s media message and ensure there are no “surprises” for Environment Minister John Baird and senior management when they open the newspaper or turn on the television, according to documents obtained by Canwest News Service.

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Ex Canada official: Nuclear Reactor was unsafe!

contact August 22nd, 2010

From USAToday:

The fired head of Canada’s Nuclear Safety Commission on Tuesday defended a decision to keep a reactor shut down for nearly a month, creating a critical shortage of radioactive isotopes used to diagnose cancer patients, and causing delays to thousands of cancer patients around the world.
Former commission president Linda Keen said the agency was following the law when it refused to approve the restart of the reactor in Chalk River, Ontario. When the government ordered operations to resume last month, the risk of a nuclear accident was 1,000 times greater than acceptable, she said.

“Ignoring safety requirements is simply not an option,” Keen said. “Safe enough is not good enough.”

The reactor supplies half the world’s radioactive isotopes. Thousands of patients around the globe faced delays in crucial medical tests because of the shutdown.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last month there was no risk of a meltdown with the start-up, and his government blamed Keen for refusing to quickly resolve the impasse.

The 50-year-old reactor was shut down Nov. 18 for maintenance. It was scheduled to resume operations on Nov. 23, but the commission ordered an indefinite stoppage after discovering the reactor had been running without the emergency power system connected to two cooling pumps.

The Canadian government scrambled to pass legislation allowing the company to bypass the nuclear safety watchdog. The reactor reopened on Dec. 16…

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Canadian No Longer Has To Pay More For AppleCare

contact August 20th, 2010

From Consumerist:

Zachariah no longer has to wonder about why AppleCare costs more in Canada ($199) than in the US ($169), he found a deal at L.A. Computer Company where he could get it for $119. They emailed him the agreement number, he registered the number online at Apple, and received his official AppleCare Protection Plan Certificate in the mail. So what’s the solution to the mystery of why there was a pricing disparity even though there’s parity between the dollar and the loony? We don’t know for sure, but we’re placing our money on that the prices were figured out when the dollar was worth more and they just haven’t been readjusted since.

Part 1 of the story: Canadian wonders why he has to pay more for AppleCare

Puppy’s death prompts rabies scare

contact August 18th, 2010

From UPI:

The recent rabies death of a puppy has led to a major scare in Toronto, where at least 20 people have since been vaccinated against the disease.

Toronto Public Health Spokeswoman Susan Sperling said that since a puppy purchased at a flea market died of rabies, local health officials have been inundated with calls from concerned citizens, The Globe and Mail in Toronto reported Saturday.

“We’ve had 500 calls to date, but no human cases so far. We’ve also managed to recover some of the other puppies,” Sperling said.

The border collie puppy died at the Toronto Humane Society last week, prompting health officials to recommend that anyone who came in contact with the animal to call for a medical assessment.

The Canadian newspaper said the dog’s former owner will likely not face charges in Toronto due to the fact the vendor operates outside the Ontario city and a lack of provincial regulations regarding dog sales or breeding.

Cattle Call to Star as Maria in `Sound of Music’

contact August 17th, 2010

From AP:

The Canadian airwaves will soon be alive with “The Sound of Music” when a TV reality show begins auditions to cast the role of Maria in an upcoming Toronto production of the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is producing its own version of the hit BBC series “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?,” which garnered the 2007 International Emmy Award for best non-scripted entertainment program.

Auditions began Friday in Toronto to start a seven-city, cross-country audition tour, from Vancouver, British Columbia, to St. John’s, Newfoundland, that will run through Feb. 9.

About 200 hopefuls will be invited for callbacks in Toronto, and about 50 finalists will attend the “Maria School” for further training.

The 8-part TV series set to air this summer will follow the “Marias” as they go through auditions, training sessions and evaluations.

Canadian viewers will vote to determine their choice to play Maria von Trapp, the singing and dancing nun-turned-governess made famous by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film.

The winner will join the cast of a production of “The Sound of Music” premiering in October at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre, produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Ian and David Mirvish.

“I am delighted that `How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?’ is coming to Canada,” Lloyd Webber, the famed British composer and impresario, said in a CBC news release.

“It was an enormous success in the…

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Canadian Privacy Commissioner Rejects DRM

contact August 12th, 2010

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, published an open letter to Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Industry Minister Jim Prentice, who has been diligently committed to resurrecting his disaster of a copyright bill, which will import the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act to Canada. Essentially, the systems in question often spy on users and then report back with detailed, private information about your activities. Ms. Stoddart is very concerned with the prospect of changing Canadian law to make it illegal to tamper with this spyware. An excerpt is below:

…Canadians are making use of new information and communication technologies to obtain access to information, films, music and other content. While new technologies have generally widened individual access to copyrighted content, they also allow copyright holders the means to control use or reproduction and to manage authorized uses.

Technological protective measures can be embedded in various media to control copying and prevent copyright infringement, or they can be built into electronic devices to prevent the reading of unauthorized content. Digital rights management (DRM) is the general term for the varied technologies used to enforce pre-defined limitations on the use of digital content. These include any means by which publishers or manufacturers control use of data or hardware. My office has prepared an information sheet on DRM technology, a copy of which is enclosed for your information.

If DRM technologies only controlled copying and use of content, our Office would have few concerns. However, DRM technologies can also collect detailed personal information from users, who often do no more than access the content on a computer. This information is transmitted back to the copyright owner or content provider, without the consent or knowledge of the user. Although the means exist to circumvent these technologies and thus prevent the collection of this information, previous proposals to amend the Copyright Act contained anti-circumvention provisions.

Technologies that report back to a company about the use of a product reveal a great deal about an individual’s tastes and preferences. Indeed, such information can be extremely personal….” read the whole letter

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Guess Who’s in the Top 10 Happiest Countries in the World?

contact August 9th, 2010

No. 10: Canada
Population: 33 million
Life Expectancy: 80 years
GDP Per Capita: $34,000

Canada may sometimes feel overshadowed by its giant neighbor to the south, but a strong sense of national identity and abundant natural beauty help make the sprawling and sparsely populated country one of the world’s happiest. Canada also punches above its weight economically, with a huge $1.1 trillion GDP and per-capita that ranks among the world’s highest. It also has strong health care and a low crime rate.

Yay! We always knew Canada ruled.

See the other 9 happy countries

Canada puts U.S. on torture watch list

contact August 8th, 2010

From CTA:

Omar Khadr’s lawyers say they can’t understand why Canada is not doing more to help their client in light of new evidence that Ottawa has put the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on a watch list for torture.

Khadr — a Canadian citizen who was just 15-years-old when he was captured in Afghanistan more than five years ago and taken to Guantanamo — has claimed that he has been tortured at the prison. Now, CTV News has obtained documents that put Guantanamo Bay on a torture watch list.

Khadr’s U.S. military lawyer says the new documents contradict Harper’s assurances that his client is receiving fair treatment.

“Omar has certainly been abused, his rights have been violated under international law, and apparently the Canadian government has reason to believe that’s true, and yet, they’ve acted not at all to assist him,” William Kuebler told CTV News.

Khadr’s lawyers say suspicions of torture undermine claims that he can get a fair trial from the military commission in Guantanamo Bay. They want him sent back to Canada to face justice here. But the government has said he’s charged with serious crimes and they are waiting for the U.S. judicial process to play itself out.

Canada’s new focus on torture was ordered by the inquiry into Maher Arar’s nightmare in Syria. U.S. authorities sent Arar — a Canadian of Syrian ancestory — to Syria after he made a brief stopover in New York in 2002. They wrongly accused him of…

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How to Move to Canada

contact August 3rd, 2010

It’s no shocker that Americans are extremely disgusted by the U.S. government, and because of all of the lies, murders and secrets the government is responsible for, well, many American wanna get the heck outta Dodge. And fast. I don’t blame them. America is flawed. Very flawed, I hate to say, and I sympathize with Americans.

So. Many Americans are seeking a new place they can call home sweet home, and be proud of where they live. Howz about moving to Canada?????

This primer might be just for you. How to Move to Canada: A Primer for Americansmight be the ticket to your happiness.

Recently, 1.1 million Canadians voted Tommy Douglas, “the Sakatchewan premier who spearheaded Canada’s universal health care system” the “Greatest Canadian” of all time. This sort of mentality is what makes Canadian emigration more and more enticing to Americans out of step with their homeland’s priorities. In an easy-to-follow and comprehensive guide, How to Move to Canada: A Primer for Americansoffers a detailed action plan for Americans seriously thinking about making a permanent move to Canada. From the smallest details on what is necessary on the application to the rules regarding moving from Hawaii with a houseplant, the books covers details vital and otherwise, and lists websites and phone numbers for additional information. In addition to the hows, this helpful guide provides the whys from a Canadian perspective: apparently, skilled workers are needed, and as it currently stands 49 percent of Toronto residents were born outside Canada.

Brief overviews of each province and territory help readers find where they fit best. The writers play to the presumed liberal bias of their readers and provide information to that end (abortion: legal since 1988; the death penalty: abolished in 1976; same-sex marriage: legal since 2004;the firearm homicide rate: one-eighth the U.S.’s). As a lighter and less ideological companion to this useful but narrowly targeted book, readers should check out Will and Ian Ferguson’s comic work How to be Canadian.

Free WiFi at These Toronto Public Libraries

contact July 31st, 2010

wifi public libraries
When you’re traveling, the last place you’d think you’d visit would be the public library, but don’t knock it! You can find travel books and magazines there to peruse (and be up to date with current news by reading newspapers) but it’s also a great place to catch up on email or do work online, while you’re in our great Canadian city. So if your accommodations don’t, by chance, have any internet accessibility, here are the public library locations in Toronto where you can access the internet for free via Wifi:

Agincourt – 155 Bonis Ave. Toronto, Ont. M1T 3W6, T: 416-396-8943
Albion – 1515 Albion Rd.Toronto, ON,M9V 1B2 T:416-394-5170
Albert Campbell – 496 Birchmount Rd. Toronto, ON, M1K 1N8 T: 416-396-8890
Bridlewood – 2900 Warden Ave. Toronto, ON, M1W 2S8 T: 416-396-8960
Centennial – 578 Finch Ave. West Toronto, ON, M2R 1N7 T: 416-395-5490
Eatonville – 430 Burnhamthorpe Rd. Toronto, ON, M9B 2B1 T: 416-394-5270
Flemingdon Park – 29 St. Dennis Dr. Toronto, ON, M3C 3J3 T: 416-395-5820
Gerrard/Ashdale – 29 St. Dennis Dr. Toronto, ON, M3C 3J3 T: 416-395-5820
Lillian H. Smith – 239 College St. Toronto, ON, M5T 1R5 T: 416-393-7746
Mimico – 47 Station Rd. Toronto, ON, M8V 2R1 T: 416-394-5330
Morningside – 4279 Lawrence Ave. East Toronto, ON, M1E 2S8 T: 416-396-8881
North York Central Library – 5120 Yonge St. Toronto, ON, M2N 5N9 T: 416-395-5535
Parkdale – 1303 Queen St. West Toronto, ON, M6K 1L6 T: 416-393-7686
Parliament – 269 Gerrard St. East Toronto, ON, M5A 2G3 T: 416-393-7663
Richview – 1806 Islington Avenue Toronto, ON, M9P 3N3 T: 416-394-5120
Riverdale – 370 Broadview Ave. Toronto ON M4K 2M8 T: 416-393-7720
Toronto Reference Library – 789 Yonge St. Toronto, ON, M4W 2G8 T: 416-395-5577
Woodside Square – 1571 Sandhurst Circle Toronto, ON, M1V 1V2T: 416-396-8979
York Woods – 1785 Finch Ave. West Toronto, ON, M3N 1M6 T: 416-395-5980

For more information

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