The unmasking has got a countdown in Ontario

A dozen covered days left to go

Toronto Sun @TheTorontoSun

BREAKING: Masks off March 21, all public orders gone April 27 bit.ly/35Cmpzu #onpoli #Ontario

Dr. Kieran Moore got to tell Ontario that March 21 is the date when mask mandates will lift in most public settings and schools—a cue for more political debates to ignite over whether that’s too soon, along with doctors voicing opposition. But the chief medical officer sounded relieved to end weekly briefings.

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Regret hanging over this story

Luke LeBrun @_llebrun

CTV’s settlement and statement here creates space for a lot of confusion. It’s not exactly clear which facts they admit were wrong or how central any of these are to the main allegations, which will apparently remain published as part of this settlement?

ctvnews.caPatrick Brown denies sexual misconduct allegations from two women, resigns as Ontario PC leaderPatrick Brown has resigned as Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader after serious allegations of sexual misconduct from two women who spoke to CTV News.

There’s now a disclaimer above a January 24, 2018, story about allegations denied by Patrick Brown, because his lawsuit over it has been settled with CTV News. But the expression of “regrets” for “factually incorrect” information that caused “harm” ends there. Brampton mayor Brown is reportedly about to announce his run for federal Conservative leader.

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Corus is giving an Alberta radio show to Jason Kenney. Alberta’s premier has accepted a June 2020 offer for AM airtime, which he’s accepted in the run-up to a leadership review. Talk stations owned by Corus recently dropped the branding of Global News Radio after a tumultuous couple years involving multiple host departures.

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Please don’t pan the red panda

A fresh Globe and Mail list of the 20 best Toronto movies ever made provided an instant top-10 status for Turning Red, the morning after the Pixar film got a local big-screen premiere before debuting on Disney Plus. It also received a one-and-a-half star review from CinemaBlend, which responded to the backlash by unpublishing its own staffer:

CinemaBlend @CinemaBlend

We failed to properly edit this review, and it never should have gone up. We have unpublished it and assigned to someone else. We have also added new levels of editorial oversight. Thank you to everyone who spoke up. - Mack Rawden, Editor-In-Chief

Sean O'Connell @Sean_OConnell

I'm genuinely sorry for my Turning Red review. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with criticism, no matter how harsh. It is clear that I didn't engage nearly enough with the movie, nor did I explain my point of view well, at all. I really appreciate your feedback.

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Vice might as well become the name of a vodka cooler. A commercial casting call suggests the media brand searching for revenue will try and find it at the liquor store. Other recent Vice castings in Toronto involve dark comedian docudrama based on their looking for lookalikes like Andrew “Dice” Clay, Nora Dunn, Artie Lange and Freddie Prinze.

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Finally, to Russia without fries

McDonald’s being among the big American brands pausing business in Russia has renewed the nostalgia for how it got there: George Cohon, the Canadian president of McD’s, made the deals in Moscow later chronicled in his memoir. McGlasnost was also newsworthy enough in 1990 for a Coke-sponsored documentary hosted by Christopher Plummer: