(Don’t fear) the reaper that tests licence plates
Doug Ford playing his old cowbell
“You almost had to peel me off the roof,” said Doug Ford about learning how the new Ontario licence plates had visibility issues at night—apparently the same roof that he hit before. But while Queen’s Park finally admitted a problem, manufacturer 3M Canada is defending its products, which were tested through an established system.
Running down the rider fraud
The solution of how to stem losses from adults using child Presto cards might involve eliminating the requirement altogether. Regardless, the non-cash Toronto transit fare is going up by a dime on March 1, amidst the campaign to get every last rider to pay.
The Beer Store wonders if Ontario wants it to go out of business. A letter that the Toronto Star obtained from Brewers Retail president Ted Moroz revealed a $13.1 million cash shortage in 2019. Blame is placed on the increasing ability to buy beer from supermarkets, but the province also cooled its urgency to bring beer to corner stores.
A blockade breakdown game
United We Roll truckers planned a counter-protest in support of the oil and gas industry at a CN Rail blockade west of Edmonton, but it was cancelled after the demonstrators were dismantled. The gesture was hailed on the Twitter account of Conservative leadership hopeful Peter MacKay, but this boosting of vigilante justice didn’t last:
“The Wet’suwet’en people who want the protesters to stop.” CBC News covered a public meeting in Houston B.C., where pro-pipeline sentiments were expressed, in contrast to what’s been criticized as the dominant narrative. But now that the RCMP have offered to withdraw from Wet’suwet’en territory, an end to blockades may be near.
The gender-based turf wars
A petition calling on the Liberal government to publicly release the gender-based analysis of Bill C-16, which gave protection to gender identity and gender expression, found its championing Conservative MP in Derek Sloan. Meanwhile, the professor who railed against C-16 got a parliamentary salute while he’s recuperating in Russia:
Roger Ashby is back on 16 radio stations. While his exit from CHUM after a half-century included the promise of a digital return, The Roger Ashby Oldies Show is a more conventional syndicated offering via Bell Media, but it streams all week long.
Finally, the end of fun, wow!
Fantasy Island, the amusement park in Grand Island, New York, announced its permanent closure after 59 years. The roller-coaster history of the attraction was punctuated with an exclamation recalled by all who watched Buffalo TV in the 1970s. Jim Carrey had just recently given Fantasy Island a shout-out during a movie junket interview:
