The price of allegedly taking rapid test cash
Unifor’s chief left the stage fast
Jerry Dias announced that he’s entering rehab just before it came to light that his sudden retirement from helming Canada’s largest private sector union accompanied allegations that he took $50,000 from a supplier of COVID-19 rapid test kits. Giving half of it to a Unifor employee led to a complaint that Dias breached the constitution of the union.
The scent of burning orange
“Worldwide Coalition Against Islam” was the Facebook group in which Paul Miller was shown as a member. But the ousted Ontario NDP MPP maintains he’s not on social media—and now he plans to run as an independent candidate in Hamilton. Meanwhile, recent federal dealings have led to chatter of a Liberal-NDP deal on the provincial level.
Jonah Keri was sentenced to 21 months for domestic abuse. The former baseball writer for Montreal had the Crown suggest at least a year in jail after he pled guilty to charges pressed by a woman he was married to for one year. After his arrests in 2019, other allegations surfaced about Keri’s history of bad behaviour.
Gambling bets grow like weed
The imminent sports betting expansion in Ontario is bringing out announcements like the Ottawa Redblacks making a deal with PointsBet Canada. Proline is also pushing its parlay expansion at retail, but there are 14 online operations ready to roll. Waiting for its iGaming licence is the NorthStar Bets sportsbook tethered to this newspaper:
Peter Goddard dead at 78. A classical music student who ended up writing about pop and rock, he spent much of his career at the Toronto Star, to which he continued to contribute. Goddard also wrote a bunch of quickie biographies, but more recently a book about Glenn Gould, and his memoir, Private Rock ’n’ Roll, was set for publication in 2023.
Finally, it’s all been done before
Barenaked Ladies started as a two-piece act in Toronto in 1988. And they became a two-piece act again for at least one night in 2022, as half the band sat out a show “due to health issues.” The concert at the O2 Ritz Manchester was part of a delayed U.K. tour, with Ed Robertson and Tyler Stewart working the venue just like a couple of street buskers: