MB Toronto
Morning Brew: Mayor David Miller's announcement, whites to become visible minority, Leslieville joker strikes again, police radio communication encryption, Loblaw going solar, pepper-spray at school
Mayor David Miller has something important to say at 9:30am today. Speculation abounds, as Torontonians wonder if he plans to re-enter the mayoral race, bow out of office early, take another job, or if he's ill or has a bunch of young girlfriends to reveal. We'll let you know what the deal is as soon as he has his press conference.
We all know that Toronto is a diverse, multicultural hotbed - so much so that by 2031 it's predicted that whites will be a new visible minority. At that time, one in four GTA residents will be South Asian, and 63% of all GTA residents will be from a visible minority community. This is a pretty amazing revelation, and speaks volumes about our city's incredibly powerful abilities to embrace and intermingle the world's cultures.
The Leslieville joker has struck again. An unknown "artist" has, for the second time, painted over the face of Alexander Muir (the Scottish-born musician) that graces the neighbouhood's iconic mural, turning the stoic face into a far more sinister Batman character. The most recent "edit" isn't as elaborate as the first (which is depicted in the above photo, taken by blogTO reader Bryson Gilbert in April of 2009).
Loblaw stores across Ontario are going to be among the first to invest in solar panel technology and take advantage of the provincial government's new feed-in-tariff (FIT) renewable energy program. It's a small step, but a positive one. I like to imagine that one day we'll be buying bananas grown in greenhouses attached to our grocery stores.
Someone squeezed off a cloud of pepper-spray in Westview Centennial Secondary School at Finch & Highway 400, prompting evacuation and requiring some airing out of the building. It's not clear whether this was in self-defense, or someone was being a goof and fooling around with the stuff.
Toronto will soon be implementing an encrypted police radio system, at a cost of $35 million, which will put the public in the dark and unable to tap into police communications. The move is prompted by security concerns, and will have impact on tow truck companies and the media, both who use the radio waves to learn about traffic accidents and track down breaking news stories.
Photo: "Why so serious, Alexander Muir?" by Bryson Gilbert, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
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I wish there was a way to mandate these guys, maybe an organization that oversees them, their licensing and their practices, to avoid having these douchebags force someone to make a decision minutes after an accident has happened and a million things are going through your mind.
As for being a visible minority, I hope affirmative action will help us white people get jobs.
The wording in that race study is weird. If you are a visible minority, born in Toronto, and you have children with someone of any race (including white), won't that child be born a visible minority? They just make it sound like the visible minories are taking over or aomething. Like they are foreigners. I dunno, I'm bothered by its' "othering" implications. Canadians are Canadians; we all have different faces and we simply can't change that no matter how many generations you've been in Canada.
Another thing: Most of my friends are 2nd generation Canadian, meaning their parents are immigrants. However, the ones whose parents are from Poland, Sweden, Germany, and Brussels NEVER get asked by strangers where they are "from". It's always the guy with the Guyanese parents. People always ask him where he's "from". Food for thought I guess.
But does that make sense? Are so-called visible minorities a homogeneous group? What does a Chinese person have in common with a Jamaican person, or a Tamil person or a Mexican person? They're all different groups. It's absolutely racist to lump them all together as some sort of Borg force subjecting white people to minority status.
Not really. I think it is a fair assumption that many visible minorities are potentially born elsewhere since our immigration policies only changed in the 70's. I was born in scotland while my girlfriend of guyanese ancestory was born in canada. Our families moved here in the same year but because of our one year age difference it worked out that i am the immigrant. When people are surprised by this neither of us consider it inappropriate.
The DK ruined this mural and then the Oscars, and now, this mural again. *sigh*
First, we've seen it before, and it was painted over once already.
Second, It's not even that funny... and this person is likely just copying (poorly) the previous tag.
Third, I'm sure that when it gets painted over again this time, if BlogTO and other news outlets stop posting a picture of this alteration then there is a chance I won't have to see this again when I walk for my coffee in the morning.
I mean really, this is a mural. Re-doing the red mouth on this artwork with something like this after it has already been fixed once just discourages other stores and buildings from commissioning murals... and then what do we have, blank walls everywhere with teenagers names scrawled on them. Oh yeah, that'll look way better.
"Why so serious?" Because re-runs are sooooo boring to watch.
Indeed, white "Canadians" whose families have been here a few generations usually have the more interesting mixed bag of ancestors. I am just Italian, for example... but I have a friend who's part Native, part Scottish, part Irish and part who knows...
As a white(ish) person of Italian background, I have also been told that when I answer the question "what are you" with Italian, that I'm offending Canada. I figure that, being in Canada, when asked that question, it's about my background. I didn't think that acknowledging one's background makes a person unpatriotic.
HOW is that a step forward? Greenhouses are incredibly resource intensive. Not to mention the effects on 3rd world banana farmers and their economies when we cut them out of our food supply system.
Sorry BlogTO, you messed up that one.
I am not being a jerk when I answer "Canadian" to the question "what are you?" What should I answer? "French" because 400+ years ago my family came from France?
I AM French Canadian, and my first language is french, as is my daughter's, but I'm CANADIAN.
Jerrold, Toronto doesn't set national immigration policy and so the fact that a large percentage of this city's population is made up of immigrants and that percentage is predicted to grow in future says a lot less about Toronto's "incredibly powerful abilities to embrace and intermingle the world's cultures" (as you put it) and a lot more about our national immigration policy and the predilection of immigrants to move to urban centres where they are more likely to find jobs, services and fellow immigrants.
The Federal Government recently tried to convict Winston Blackmore of Bountiful, BC, of polygamy, yet turn a blind eye to Muslim men bringing up to four wives into the country. Female genital mutilation, "honour" killings, multiple spouses and demands for Sharia law to be implemented here are all absolutely disgusting. I dare to suggest that these barbarians are not coming here to be "Canadians." They are coming here to change things.
Why do we claim to be against child abuse, yet turn a blind eye to 12 year old Muslim girls who are born in Canada, then shipped off to Pakistan to be forced into arranged marriages with adult men?
Why do we have "zero tolerance" policies about weapons on our public schools, yet allow Sikh children to carry the Kirpan?
Why do we even bother to have just TWO official languages, when you can take your driving test in 11 languages?
How long will it be before another Third World language such as Urdu is added to our "official" languages?
Why do we call immigrants "new Canadians" when we KNOW that a large portion of them are here for the econimic benefits and have no respect or loyalty for our country?
Just look at the Lebanses "Canadians." As soon as they got their Canadian passports they buggered off back to Lebanon. As soon as the shooting started between Israel and terrorists hiding out over the border with Lebanon, the so-called Lebanese "Canadians" loudly demanded that we evacuate them. When we did, they complained that we didn't act fast enough.
There are just too many "Canadians" of convenience. Toronto's very own Khadr family are typical of those who love our money but hate our culture (if we have a culture left).
How long will it be before visible minorities are in charge of our government agencies and start discriminating against the dwindling number of white Canadians, who will have no recourse?
Toronto will see more ethnic gangs and guns. The Jamaicans may well make up a minority group in Canada's biggest city, but they are responsible for
80% of the gun crime.
Here in Calgary its Asian gangs and guns. As a licenced PI and a former soldier, I am not allowed to carry a firearm to protect myself, even though I am trained and licenced. Yet ethnic gangs terrorize our cities with illegally owned guns. Gang shootouts on our streets and in public places such as bars and restaurants will only become considerably worse with our growing Third World population.
Who cares if white people are killed?
Things will not change under the Tories or the Liberals. We need a grass roots CANADIAN party that will stand up for Canada and its founding European peoples. Not pander to immigrants just for votes.
Brilliant system to kill off the people, tax them to death so they don't have kids, and then use those taxes to bring in more immigrants like myself.
If I knew this before I came here, I would not have come. I really don't feel like I'm in Canada, just little colonies of immigrants here and there, and the occasional Canadian.
Multiculturalism is a failure, I wanted to integrate into something and become a better person, but I look around and all the scum of the society I left behind got on the plane with me, to be received by open arms by liberals who also give them a pay check.
If you don't believe me, please come to Brampton, or worse, Scarborough.
Wake the #$%#$% up or the little European culture and values Canada had is going to go, and the pendulum will not swing back on this issue!
Anglo Indian immigrant.