Toronto stores stocking up on plywood boards
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John Tory was informed by police about social media messages foreshadowing riots in Toronto, but the mayor is hopeful that those posting them will stay in their basements. Nonetheless, the messages coincided with boarding more store windows than when downtown retailers added plywood two months ago. But the measures haven’t extended to wrapping it in razor wire.
From shirtless to speechless
A pregnant pause from Justin Trudeau supplied international headlines reminiscent of a more innocent time. But the PM has domestic critics wondering why he’s not doing more work beyond the platitudes. Doug Ford found no cause to pause after being asked if he thought racism in Canada could be compared with racism in the U.S.
“Before you declare Canada is not a racist country, do your homework.” Vanmala Subramaniam offered a rebuttal to the Rex Murphy column published on their shared pages of the National Post. The baton was then passed to Stockwell Day, who equated racist comments with being teased for wearing glasses, on the CBC News Network.
Getting in Zuckerberg’s face
Facebook Canada is partially funding a new journalist-entrepreneur network called Indiegraf while giving out other journalism grants, including $75,000 to the Globe and Mail. But the social network declined to comment when asked about the latest Friends of Canadian Broadcasting campaign to hold Silicon Valley to greater account:
“Their background has raised questions, but I believe what they are telling me.” John Honderich, the outgoing chair of Torstar, admits that its impending buyers can’t be forced to keep its political slant intact. After the deal was announced, it was revealed its debt has financing from the same source as Postmedia.
Finally, receipts from a Blackout
The Weeknd shared evidence that he donated $500,000 across three organizations following George Floyd’s death—five times what Drake did to answer a challenge by Mustafa the Poet to the “Toronto Kings.” But this subsequent call for multinational music monoliths to do more still hasn’t received a six-figure reaction:
