LOCAL
Ontario is going ahead with its own vision for a shortened Scarborough subway, ignoring the wishes of Toronto City Council. Minister of Transportation blasted Rob Ford, saying, “the mayor has been mayor now for almost a full term, and he hasn’t delivered five cents for a subway yet,” before putting a dime on the podium, saying it was more than Ford has contributed. Ford nonetheless claimed the announcement as a personal victory. [Globe and Mail]
In the wake of tragedy, a Toronto city councilor wants to ban heavy trucks from school zones when students arrive and leave school. The demand to improve road safety comes during the mourning of Violet Liang, who was killed on her way to school Tuesday. [Globe and Mail]
Constable Tony Vella is eyeing the seat on council left vacant by Doug Holyday’s move to Queen’s Park. Vella has served as Police spokesman for years. [Globe and Mail]
NATIONAL
A witness testified that the federal government’s multi-billion dollar infrastructure program has been profitable for a few Quebec companies involved in illegal collusion. The potential implications of the testimony were clear: tax payers from coast to coast saw their money gobbled up in collusion schemes. [National Post]
Those behind Canada’s Own the Podium program have discussed increasing funding for the Winter Olympics at the expense of Summer Olympic funding. Own the Podium funds programs providing Canadian athletes with coaching, training, and medical support. [CBC]
A former Leon’s employee is alleging racial discrimination after a he says a statue was lynched in effigy at a store in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. The black statue was hanged around the neck with tape, its eyes painted white in what a human rights lawyer called “blackface style.” [CBC]
INTERNATIONAL
In the lead up to the G20, Obama challenged Congress and the international community to respond forcefully to the use of chemical weapons in Syria. “I didn’t set a red line, the world set a red line,” Obama said, referring to 100 years of revulsion and international pacts after 100,000 were killed by chemical weapons during the First World War. [Globe and Mail]
Estimates of Canadians jihadi fighters in Syria range from a couple dozen to as many as 100. A mother, who for safety remained anonymous, asked: “How do you sit there and admit to somebody, my son has gone off to war where I don’t know if he’s a terrorist or not?” [CBC]
Congressional Democrats, torn over involving the U.S. in another complicated Middle Eastern war, are emerging as a barrier to President Obama’s plan to strike Syria. Many of the President’s core supporters, including African-Americans and members of the Democratic Party’s liberal wing who voted repeatedly against wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are expressing deep reservations. [New York Times]
____
For more, follow us on Twitter @TorontoStandard and subscribe to our newsletter.
