Ontario Transportation Minister Glen Murray is wishing he put a few more marks on his new subway map. The plan unveiled to media on Wednesday showed just two stops en route to Scarborough, one at Lawrence and one at the end of the track, but the finished product could have "3 or 4 stops." "We have some room to play with," he told the CBC.
Meanwhile, the opening of the line may be at least ten years away and it could be five years before construction begins, according to a report seen by the Toronto Star. SRT riders would spend four years on shuttle buses and subway riders would have to get off at Warden while the line is built. Can the extension survive given Toronto's history on subways?
A Toronto-based Tory MPP will stop claiming a $20,000 allowance for having a second home in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Tim Hudak says. Peter Shurman, the PC representative for Thornhill and the party's finance critic, billed taxpayers $20,719 last year, the maximum permitted, under an allowance that compensates MPPs who live more than 50 kms away from Queen's Park. Shurman said he couldn't afford both homes on his $112,500 annual salary. Yikes.
Improper refrigeration caused the benign maple bacon jam that topped the CNE's cronut burgers to turn into raging, stomach-churning hulk, according to Toronto Public Health. An investigation in to Le Dolci, the Dundas West bakery that produced the topping, and Epic Burgers and Waffles found faults with both companies.
Watch out: the celebrities are about. TIFF rolled in to town last night, and the chance to spot someone familiar from the movies is at an all time high in Toronto. The CBC has a photo gallery of faces from the red carpet, including Benedict Cumberbatch and David Cronenberg.
Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot has spoken out against the potential loss of the Sam the Record Man signs. In an open letter, Lightfoot calls the signs "a reminder of the huge role Sam Sniderman and his store played in the cultural life of Toronto." He thinks the signs should be "preserved and remounted" in the interests of history. Do you agree?
Finally, if you've ever wanted to wake up to a classic Rob Ford rallying cry (and who hasn't,) now's your chance. Newstalk 1010 has made an MP3 of Ford cheering "subways, subways, subways, Scarborough, Scarborough Scarborough" available for download. Creative uses welcome.
IN BRIEF:
- $40M meth lab bust one of largest in Ontario history [CBC]
- Sexual assault reported at York campus [CBC]
- Man in mobility scooter dies after collision in northeast Toronto [CBC]
- Green Mountain Coffee lays off 120 in Toronto [CBC]
- Building permit delays blamed on staff shortage [Toronto Star]
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: Jonathan Castellino/blogTO Flickr pool.