God save the Queen’s song (we mean it, man)
A monarchist ode grows in Ontario
Ontario government house leader Paul Calandra considers it a show of respect for the Queen of Canada, but a group of Indigenous MPPs consider the singing of “God Save the Queen” an ode to colonialism—a position backed by NDP leader Andrea Horwath. There’s no evidence of the song being formally sung before at Queen’s Park.
Who made this Oost sign?
A rally outside the weekend Ontario PC convention in Niagara Falls was followed by condemnation for a placard calling MPP Sam Oosterhoff “a problem an abortion could have solved.” Despite claims that a teachers’ union member held it up, a non-teacher claimed to have produced it himself for $20.
An anarchist group organized a rail blockade near Hamilton. GO Train service was suspended due to protesters claiming solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs. Meanwhile, the rail disruptions by the Mohawks of Tyendinaga led to the arrest of 10 demonstrators near Belleville. (Via Rail is gradually resuming service wherever it can.)
Metrolinx money for something
A new advertising campaign by Ontario’s transit agency tries to relate its growing pains to an awkward teenage phase in asking the public for patience. But there’s less tolerance for Metrolinx after it was announced that its major Toronto project won’t be ready until “well into 2022,” to the chagrin of all the businesses along Eglinton:
Royal LePage report sees a surge in Toronto luxury condo prices. A revival of foreign buyers is cited among the reasons. And yet, Toronto-based Cresford Developments is experiencing “a cash crisis,” according to a wrongful dismissal claim from its former president. (Cresford says the issue is being exaggerated.)
One year of legal budtending
Cannabis storefronts don’t get opening-day lineups—let alone news media attention—like they used to when they opened in Ontario last April. The Hunny Pot, which was widely covered as Toronto’s first such retailer, is refuting an allegation that it sold product contaminated by flooding, which is just one of the claims made in this story:
A second class action is filed against producers of Canadian reality TV. Insight Productions denies the claims made in a $35-million lawsuit in Ontario over allegedly unpaid wages, initiated by a former staffer on American Beauty Star. The same plaintiff was named in a similar lawsuit against Property Brothers producers Cineflix Media.
Finally, patron of Ontario Place
Bernie Sanders has brought some Canadian content to the U.S. presidential race by talking about medicare, compared to rival Democratic hopeful Amy Klobuchar getting praised for cross-border literacy, or Pete Buttigieg being asked about bread prices. But there’s video from 1988 of Sanders praising a Toronto park as a lovely initiative:
