When you try using the coronavirus to go viral
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A wannabe rapper from Toronto figured he could get publicity by telling fellow travellers to Jamaica that he “just came back from Hunan [sic] province, the capital of the coronavirus.” Well, attention came for James Potok, because WestJet turned the plane back. Charged with mischief and breach of recognizance, he then got the publicity.
A masked bash in Kingston
The legacy of infamous costume parties at Queen’s University continued at a bash where students wore surgical masks and decorated walls with biohazard signs. Social media photos prompted a student politician to apologize for participating, which was followed by a statement from the school’s principal encouraging “dignity and respect.”
“I would respond to that by asking the honourable member across the way if it is an area of work that she has considered.” Conservative MP Arnold Viersen apologized for what he said to NDP MP Laurel Collins while debating his motion to condemn a day parole decision that allegedly led to the murder of sex worker Marylène Levesque.
Condos giveth and taketh away
The eternal wonder about a potential Toronto real estate crash perks up with every cancelled condo project, most recently one called East Junction Condos. But a chance to win prizes for multi-million mortgages at King Toronto remains eagerly promoted:
Airbnb shooting death evidence points to two murders and a suicide. Toronto police released more details about the young male casualties amidst a party in a downtown condo. One of the dead was Tyronne Noseworthy, a 19-year-old who collaborated on a popular rap track with Keeshawn Brown, who was recently shot dead in Surrey, B.C.
Not stopping at the border
While the future of Canadian broadcast policy is being aggressively pondered, public broadcasting in Western New York goes all in with acknowledging its support from another country. Buffalo Toronto Public Media encompasses all of its radio and TV:
Jessica Allen puts her trolling followers on blast. Nearly three months after The Social co-host apologized for her own remarks about hockey in the wake of Don Cherry’s dismissal, the #FireJessAllen hashtag remains active. It fired back up in response to CTV parting ways with W5 reporter Peter Akman after his face mask joke on Twitter.
Finally, a message from Madge
Madonna has been getting more attention for cancelling tour dates than fulfilling them. But she knows from 30 years ago that you can always get press in Canada for poking at the staid ways of the country. Especially when you call it too boring to relocate to:
