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Morning Brew: Bailao to fight impaired driving charge, benefit cheat cabbies, new study pods land at the TRL, a Don Jail toilet explosion, and an apocalyptic heart PSA

Posted by Chris Bateman / October 18, 2012

18 Comments

toronto gardiner expresswayIn an emotional press conference yesterday, city councillor Ana Bailao said she intends to plead not guilty to charges of impaired driving. Her voice quivering, the Ward 18 Davenport representative told reporters the court case won't affect her ability to serve her constituents. Shortly after she finished several other councillors publicly addd their support. Do you think members of council should be standing behind Bailao? A MADD executive doesn't think so.

A report headed to city hall's audit committee suggests several hundred taxi drivers could be playing the welfare system by claiming zero income while holding a valid business license. While there are those with legitimate reasons for their claims, councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, a member of the committee, told the National Post cheaters are working the system to a tune of $20 million.

For anyone that wants to read in a transparent sealed capsule, five new study pods are coming to the Toronto Reference Library in the next two weeks with another 10 on the way. For inspiration, visit the centre's new Idea Gardens.

In other TRL news, they've got binders full of women too.

It was a pretty crappy day for inmates at the Don Jail. An out-of-service toilet erupted in a fury of poop yesterday and flooded a 50-bed section of the prison at Broadview and Gerrard. In places the raw sewage was up to five centimetres deep, contaminating eating surfaces and several beds in its path.

Finally, here's a terrifying PSA from the Heart and Stroke Foundation promoting their attempt to break the world record for the largest CPR training session at Canada's Wonderland next Thursday.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Photo: "Untitled" by krygene in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Discussion

18 Comments

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Me / October 18, 2012 at 08:52 am
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Considering many "impaired" charges are a joke (like the ridiculous .05-.08 money maker.), good for her. half the people who attack her have probably been in a position to get charged themselves many times without even realising how little you need these days to get charged.
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Brendan / October 18, 2012 at 08:56 am
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Need to avoid the smells of indigents and snores of snoozy ragamuffins while you cram for your bio finals at the TRL? Then study inside one of our new bus shelters! Get our library's legendary homeless experience without the sensory distraction.
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Stephanie / October 18, 2012 at 08:56 am
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Ugh. Still with the $20 million in cheaters thing. A business license is just that: a license to operate a business. It's not a license to print money or to be healthy and currently able or to have a healthy, able family so you can work the long hours it takes to pull more than the low-income cut-off out of that license, after expenses. The idea that anywhere even close to that $20 million is cheating is ridiculous. Other councillors have pointed that out to Minnan-Wong but he's the one who keeps getting the press, as if what he's reading into the report is true.
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Sober / October 18, 2012 at 09:02 am
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"me" your quite right the 0.05-0.08 is a joke! The tolerance level should be ZERO! You're probably right with regards to those making comments that they too have been in a similar situation before. I have lost a grandfather, a cousin and several friends over the years from drinking and driving related car crashes. I choose not to drink and drive even though the law always me to. There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever to drinking and driving! If she is found guilty she
she deserves all the penalties coming to her plus a whole lot more!

Then to have a Mayor say "oh she just had a bad night" is this guy for real??? Quality leadership!
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the lemur / October 18, 2012 at 09:24 am
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'Anyone that's wants'?!

Anyone who wants.
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john replying to a comment from Me / October 18, 2012 at 09:48 am
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doesn't .05-.08 get you a 24hr roadside suspension, but no fine or anything else? that was my understanding, unless the rules have changed.
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Rob / October 18, 2012 at 10:01 am
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By my calculations, 4.5% of Toronto City Council has been charged with impaired driving. Wonder how this compares to the municipal average? Any guesses? Could our elected officials be "over represented" in terms of a propensity of drunk driving? LOL
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Kyle / October 18, 2012 at 10:07 am
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The 0.05% to 0.08% impairment can get you a 1, 3, 7 or 30 day suspension depending. Any infraction will result in huge insurance increases though so it is pretty similar to a few thousand dollar fine. Compounded by the fact that half a glass of wine is more than enough to put someone who has a low body weight into the intoxicated category it is a pretty huge problem.

If we were to somehow test everyone who is about to drive each time they got in a car I'm sure this ridiculous law would disappear after half the province accidentally got their license suspended in the span of a month.
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Chris replying to a comment from Me / October 18, 2012 at 10:16 am
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"without even realising how little you need these days to get charged."

Wow. You're an ignorant dolt aren't you?

You do realize that the .08 limit for impaired driving has been in place for well over 25 years, don't you? It's hardly a recent phenomenon. Not to mention, blowing over .05 has been an offence for almost as long - the only difference is that the penalties have become more severe in recent years, as they should.

In other words, what it takes to get charged is pretty much the same as its been for over 20 years, and in the Councillor's case, since before she was in high school - in other words, for her entire life as a licensed driver, the "impaired" limits are the same as they've been.

If anything, our limits are higher than they should be, because they lead people to believe that they can drink and "guess" their level of sobriety before deciding to drive, which is also dangerous.

As for the "show of support" by her fellow councillors - I see that as nothing more than staying on the good side of a centrist swing vote on Council - its political posturing.

That said, it's kind of funny that the only thing seems to unite right and left on council is one of their colleagues getting busted for DUI.


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boohoo / October 18, 2012 at 10:33 am
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Why the f*ck am I supposed to feel sorry for someone who was driving without her lights on at 1:47 AM AND was found to have a not insignificant amount of alcohol in her bloodstream?

On with the case.
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Jane / October 18, 2012 at 11:05 am
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It's disgusting that city councillors supported Bailao's denial of the impaired driving charge at that farce of a press conference. She blew over, how is that not-guilty? How can elected officials support such dodgy criminal behaviour?!

Btw drunk-driver Anna Bailao voted to scrap the Jarvis bike lane. She's garbage.
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Joe / October 18, 2012 at 11:09 am
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Sure, some of us might have gone driving after having one drink, but we were still sober enough to remember to turn the car lights on at night, and not drive so erratically to attract the police attention. Plus she didn't even stop when first asked to pull over. Bailao seemed like an interesting rookie councillor at first, but she's quickly turning into a right-wing disaster for Davenport - can't wait to vote for someone else next election!
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AV / October 18, 2012 at 01:26 pm
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Doug Ford said it was okay to drink and drive, surely he could not be wrong.
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Eddy / October 18, 2012 at 02:19 pm
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Thank Drunk-driver Anna Bailao for voting to scrap the Jarvis bike lanes. She also thinks it's ok to be imparied and drive at 1:47 am with your lights off (saving energy) She had a bad night after going to Ford's Art Ball you would to.
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James / October 18, 2012 at 02:26 pm
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Too bad there weren't any bikers in the Harbord bike lane at that time.
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the lemur replying to a comment from James / October 18, 2012 at 03:29 pm
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She was driving north on Bathurst at the time.

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Alex / October 18, 2012 at 03:59 pm
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This reminds me of those terrible X-Copper commercials, and the lawyer ones about "sometimes good people make mistakes". If you were actually a good person you'd own up to your mistake and pay the penalty, not try to weasel out of it.

Anyone who drives impaired in any way deserves to get busted. When an impaired driver crashes and only hurts themselves I never feel sorry, it's life teaching them a lesson.
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Alex replying to a comment from boohoo / October 19, 2012 at 05:17 pm
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I agree. Any responsible adult that made the choice to consume alcohol can make a choice to get home safely without endangering others. And her lights off? That sounded to me like she knew she'd be better off not driving and tried to literally hide the fact that she was driving. The cop had every right to pull her over and she should suffer the consequences of her poor judgment skills.

On this note, I once tried to ride home on my bike after 2 glasses of wine. There was just no way I'd make it without seriously injuring myself. In the end, I walked home. lol If I couldn't function on a bike, imagine me driving a car? If alcohol is involved in your plans and you plan on driving, maybe plan on staying home instead. The law should actually have zero tolerance for inebriation.
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