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Morning Brew: By-election scheduled for Jack Layton's former riding, Stintz to call special city council meeting, Spadina's moving sidewalks, the weekend roundup

Posted by Brianne Hogan / February 6, 2012

21 Comments

TorontoA by-election in the former riding of late NDP Jack Layton is scheduled for March 12, Prime Minster Stephen Harper confirmed yesterday. The NDP chose law professor Craig Scott as the party's nominee to run in the Toronto-Danforth riding, while the Conservatives recently chose communications consultant Andrew Keyes as theirs. The Liberals have not yet chosen a candidate. Whoever wins will no doubt have some large shoes to fill.

Remember those moving walkways at Spadina station? They were removed - or forced into "retirement" - back in 2003, but OpenFile has a nice nostalgic piece on the unique walkways that made you feel like you were at an airport and coming from a far more exotic place than the Bloor-Danforth line.

Some big transit news this morning: TTC chair Karen Stintz is set to file a petition with the city clerk's office today, demanding a special council to confirm its commitment to David Miller's 2009 Transit City plan (though it would be referred to by a different name). We'll have more on this shortly.

Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? Chances are, you did. Maybe you were one of the 1,500 people who took in the game at Sound Academy, one of the biggest Super Bowl parties held in Canada. More than 30 TVs and 4 big screens were set up inside and there were also some Buffalo Bills cheerleaders on hand, too.

From the weekend:

Photo by Benson Kua in the blogTO Flickr pool

Discussion

21 Comments

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MrPotato / February 6, 2012 at 09:18 am
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Dont kill RoFo's gravy train to happy town!
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Stintz nation / February 6, 2012 at 09:19 am
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Finally some respect for the taxpayer! Go stintz go!
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Shrimp / February 6, 2012 at 09:20 am
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Big shoes to fill? HOw so? Layton did NOTHING for or in the riding while he was in power and only was elected in 2004 because Dennis Mills upset the Riding's gay population.

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home / February 6, 2012 at 09:27 am
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Andrew Keyes lives in my building.

Something to think about.
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Lanternbell replying to a comment from Shrimp / February 6, 2012 at 09:28 am
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He definitely did do things in the riding. He was always at the Canada Day celebration in Riverdale Park every year and my mum and I have personally seen him (as well as Peter Tabuns and Paula Fletcher) at various charity events (Riverdale Share Christmas Choral Performance (whatever the proper name is), Annual Charity auction for the South Riverdale Child-Parent Centre) and in the past, he has organized community Christmas parties (advertised via telephone) at an acquaintance's house on Riverdale.
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waitsformark / February 6, 2012 at 09:31 am
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waits for mark to post about how butt hurt he is about common sense returning to city council!
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Shrimp replying to a comment from Lanternbell / February 6, 2012 at 09:35 am
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Other than the photo-ops, give me a list of things he did for the riding.

GO!
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Off topic but... / February 6, 2012 at 09:36 am
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Why do all the girls in these American Apparel ads look like they just walked off the set of "That 70s Show"?
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Mg replying to a comment from Shrimp / February 6, 2012 at 10:22 am
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MPs are elected to represent a riding's interest and opinions at the federal level, not for pork-barelling. Getting things done at the local level is the municipal councillor's job.
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Shrimp replying to a comment from Mg / February 6, 2012 at 10:38 am
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Ah, okay... So it's an MP's responsibility to attend 3 parties a year and that's it? Sign me up!
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Mark / February 6, 2012 at 10:53 am
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If the council votes to screw up transit in this city they have the democratic right to do so. They are wrong and this will make travelling in this city far more of a pain in the ass but the council can vote for their plans if they want. Ford's subway or underground LRT plan makes the most sense for the most users but common sense and sensible planning is not a character trait shared my most of the left leaning morons on council.
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shoulder replying to a comment from Mark / February 6, 2012 at 11:34 am
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need a shoulder to cry on?
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Mark / February 6, 2012 at 11:39 am
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Don't come crying to me in 4 years if Ford's plan is thwarted and there is endless gridlock on eglinton and you can't move in this city. We all know the best plan is subways and underground LRT. But the left loves wasting money so they will try and fuck up eglinton like they fucked up St. Clair. Equal misery all over the city.
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ST FU replying to a comment from Mark / February 6, 2012 at 12:01 pm
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St. Clair's 'fuckup' cost taxpayers less than Ford's grand Subway vision.

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lrt replying to a comment from Mark / February 6, 2012 at 01:07 pm
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no but i will be flying past you on a lrt, while your fool ass is stuck in a traffic jam in your car hahahahahha
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boris moris replying to a comment from Mark / February 6, 2012 at 01:22 pm
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BTW, Mark...what ratio of laxative to bourbon are you giving Blob and Rug and is it true what they say about the rate shit travels through a goose?
Oh yeah...who changes their diapers...you or Jay?
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Mark / February 6, 2012 at 07:11 pm
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Stop being an idiot, stupid. Want to know why Rob Ford is right? Here's what he said about Eglington East this week. Just try and argue with this master of transit planning. You communists stopped our government funded Ferris Wheel but you'll never stop us from spending all those extra billions of dollars on Shepherd and Eglington! You're two steps left of Joe Stalin. Anyway, here's what the smartest man in history (smarter than Jesus even) (Rob Ford!!!) said this week that is the smartest-sounding thing ever:

"I did what the taxpayers want. They want subways. That’s it. They don’t want streetcars. I was out in Scarborough over the weekend. People came up to me and said they want subways. That’s it. It’s the taxpayers. The taxpayers want, I was elected on subways. They want subways. I was out on Saturday, people want subways. That’s it. It’s all subways. It’s all about subways. All about subways. So, it’s the taxpayers that elected me to get the subways in and that’s what we’re going to do. It’s like winning an election. So if they voted me in, that means I don’t win an election? It doesn’t make sense."
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boris moris / February 6, 2012 at 07:48 pm
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Blob Ford is like a pinata...everybody likes to come over and take a whack. They see his impossibly obese, neckless head seemingly glued with red corn starch to his overinflated torso and they automatically assume it's a dead, bloated, beached whale and their first reaction is to look around for a pointed stick to deflate this absurd blob of felonious flotsam. When they realise it's the mayor they decide to humour the blob in case it explodes within splatter range.

I'll let you get back to adoring the big guy, Mark. BTW...do wear a rubber when you're checking the mayor's alcohol and saturated fat levels? Play safe guys.
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belvedere / February 6, 2012 at 08:52 pm
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stintz and the city shd throw fat robbie under any passing bus, to coin a phrase. but god the repair bill for the bus would be enormous.
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boris moris replying to a comment from belvedere / February 6, 2012 at 10:37 pm
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What kind of nut are you, Belvedere? You had the gall to write: "stintz and the city shd throw fat robbie under any passing bus, to coin a phrase. but god the repair bill for the bus would be enormous."

Why on earth would you attempt to fix a totally destroyed bus? I smell a dirty big gravy train and I think it just soiled itself from getting run over by a piece of expensive, tax funded, equipment. You, sir, should offer to hose down the mayor.
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Yes...the gall replying to a comment from boris moris / February 6, 2012 at 10:46 pm
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"I smell a dirty big gravy train and I think it just soiled itself from getting run over by a piece of expensive, tax funded, equipment. You, sir, should offer to hose down the mayor."


I concur. Show some respect for the mayor. Morbidly obese, paranoid drunks who struggle not to be recidivist, laughing stock grade pathological liars have feelings too.
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