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Morning Brew: Rob Ford still writing lobbyists for cash, Prince Philip is coming, blood clinic wants your plasma, school bus drama, and man stabbed at Davisville station

Posted by Chris Bateman / February 28, 2013

30 Comments

toronto school busesRob Ford is still writing to lobbyists asking for donations to his football foundation, according to the Toronto Star. Integrity commissioner Janet Leiper ruled soliciting money in this way violates the council code of conduct's "improper use of influence" rules and led to Ford's recent conflict of interest trial. One lobbyist says he received a letter just days after the mayor won his appeal in late January. Ford is currently at Disney World in Florida. Will he ever learn his lesson?

Prince Philip will visit Toronto in April to present a new regimental colour to the Third Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment who are normally based in Petawawa. The Duke of Edinburgh doesn't have plans to do much else while he's here.

How much do you value your plasma? A Toronto company is hoping to be the first in Ontario to pay people for the straw-colored liquid that holds cells within the blood. A clinic in Winnipeg is the only other company to pay for blood. The going price is $20 for a donation. Would you be interested?

In perhaps the least dramatic moment during yesterday's slush storm, a group of school kids were trapped on a bus for a few minutes after a television wire fell on the hood. The bus was a block away from Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School, its destination. The kids were 50 minutes late for class.

Clowns, magicians, and shopping mall Santas will need a license to operate in Brampton soon. The city is introducing a new bylaw that requires all children's entertainers to undergo a background check. Is this something that other cities should embrace?

Police are searching for a suspect after a man was stabbed on board a TTC train at Davisville station last night. Witnesses say a man was walking through the train harassing riders; when confronted he lashed out with a knife. The man is expected to recover from his injuries.

IN BRIEF:

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: "End of School" by picturenarrative/blogTO Flickr pool.

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steve / February 28, 2013 at 08:18 am
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Wasn't the issue that Rob Ford used city letter head? Charitable fund can't possibly be against the rules
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Justin Flontek / February 28, 2013 at 08:29 am
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rob ford is never going to learn his lesson. He's just going to keep on breaking the rules. In the end, he'll have spent more time in court, coaching football and on vacation than he will have spent doing his job. Yet he still gets paid!
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Dan Mc / February 28, 2013 at 08:47 am
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>Straw-colored

So, white-coloured*?
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Joe Public replying to a comment from steve / February 28, 2013 at 08:52 am
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The issue was the letterhead.
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Craig replying to a comment from Joe Public / February 28, 2013 at 09:00 am
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He also sent the letter to registered lobbyists. It has the appearance of saying "if you want to do business with the city you need to donate to my charity". I doubt that is the case, but it has the appearance of that.
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iSkyscraper / February 28, 2013 at 09:12 am
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That subway incident is disturbing. Toronto's subway has always been exceptionally safe. Many American cities, even those with good subways, have long regarded mass transit as something for second-class citizens and the poor. It is important for Toronto's success that the TTC be seen as something that all people use and not just those who have no other option. Stabbing strangers on board trains in tony North Toronto is not the way to maintain this facade. Let's hope an arrest is made quickly and that the system comes down on this thug like a ton of bricks.
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DL replying to a comment from steve / February 28, 2013 at 09:18 am
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Exactly. There is no rule against asking money from people for a charitable donation. It’s just bad reporting.
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DL replying to a comment from Craig / February 28, 2013 at 09:21 am
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Doesn't matter what it "has the appearance of". The media is making a mockery of themselves by slanting their reporting using accusatory language based that isn't based on fact. It’s like saying a politician is favouring the private sector because he keeps in contact with a friend he has that works for a company he/she worked for ten years ago. It’s misleading, but it serves the publication’s purpose so in their eyes it’s okay.
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the lemur replying to a comment from Dan Mc / February 28, 2013 at 09:36 am
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Have you ever seen straw?
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Jed replying to a comment from Joe Public / February 28, 2013 at 09:41 am
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this issue is/was not just the letterhead, it's that the mayor is soliciting donations from people who have an interest in doing business with the city. It's called optics.
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Dan Mc replying to a comment from the lemur / February 28, 2013 at 09:49 am
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Ohhhh, straw. I was thinking of A straw. Drinking straw. Confusing.
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Aaron / February 28, 2013 at 09:50 am
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The issue is influence peddling. Let's not be naive. Those lobbyists are not giving money out of the kindness of their hearts. They are buying influence with the mayor, and the mayor is soliciting it.
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ROFL / February 28, 2013 at 10:32 am
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I want the star continue it's witch hunt, the more they do it the more popular Ford gets. As long as Ford does not spend a dollar of the tax payers money on that football team. I could careless how he gets donations.

And city’s integrity commissioner isn't going to do nothing, her name is pretty much mud now and her word is unreliable.
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steve replying to a comment from ROFL / February 28, 2013 at 11:10 am
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A double negative, is that not the first thing you learn not to do in grade school English?

I hope your not being a hypocrite with your support of Ford and his crusade to stop collecting taxes from tax payers. That you are setting an example of not using any publicly funded services.

What do you find so repugnant about having an integrity commissioner? Should an elected official not have to answer to the people that elected him, by being accountable and follow due process?
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Alex / February 28, 2013 at 11:16 am
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Oh man, Ford is just so ridiculously corrupt. After he won his appeal I immediately thought that whichever casino company gave the most money to his charity would win the contract, and looks like it's coming true. Can we please have the next election soon so we can boot him out?
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Jill replying to a comment from steve / February 28, 2013 at 11:21 am
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Not if the city’s integrity commissioner is bias which she clearly is. She only goes after people that lean right. Sooner she is replaced the better, clearly she is not fit for the job.
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marmar / February 28, 2013 at 11:25 am
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'isn't going to do nothing,'

hilarious! typical education level of a ford supporter.

did you graduate from high school little guy?
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Typical replying to a comment from marmar / February 28, 2013 at 11:38 am
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Typical down town elitist attitude.
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Rob replying to a comment from Typical / February 28, 2013 at 11:45 am
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If you hate "down town" so much, ask your local Councillor to kick the tires on de-amalgamation.

Oh wait, you won't do that because without "down town" subsiding your job-less, amenities-less, crime and poverty infested and hopeless neighbourhood would become the new Detroit.

So, carry on, mumble something about Starbucks, and continue voting for the Conservative rich men children who run these declining areas with an iron fist because they hate "down town" too. Maybe one day where you live can be Oshawa too.
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the lemur replying to a comment from Jill / February 28, 2013 at 12:07 pm
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The word is 'biased'. Having a bias = being biased. Why is it that the people who complain the most about other people's supposed biases cannot ever spell the word?
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AV / February 28, 2013 at 12:16 pm
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Seems like one person, an ardent Ford supporter (or paid Ford astroturfer), is coming up with different names for each reply. How think do you dumb we are?
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Etobicoke replying to a comment from Rob / February 28, 2013 at 12:38 pm
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Yes please de-amalgamation roight away. Etobicoke's budget every year was in the black, we didn't even know what the word debt was until we were forced together with you people. We were doing very well on our own, Holyday was a great fiscal mayor, keep Etobicoke in fine shape. Sooner we are seperated from you people the better.
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bwoo-hoo ha-HA replying to a comment from AV / February 28, 2013 at 12:40 pm
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AV's mom told me to say hi to everyone from my hot tub!
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TDotRome / February 28, 2013 at 12:42 pm
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I can't believe how hung up some of you are on the lettterhead stuff. Who cares? Do you not think that there is a problem with a solitacian from a registered lobbyist?

Let me spell it out for ya......said lobbyist chooses not to support the charity, which is their perrogative. They lobbies the City for said procedural changes. The lobby is denied. How can the lobbyist know if it's because his lack of charity support, or not? Get it?
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Rob replying to a comment from Etobicoke / February 28, 2013 at 12:55 pm
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LOL. Poorest wards in the city are in Etobicoke. You apparently also didn't know what income was either and still don't, judging by the lack of opportunity in that miserable parasitic burb.
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Joe Public replying to a comment from TDotRome / February 28, 2013 at 01:22 pm
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I would actually be open to your argument if the people making it actually had the perspective to start with say the J Smarts Charity and the Ornge Scandal worth hundreds of MILLIONS instead of Ford and his penny ante $3K Football program...
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Rob is the new MAN! replying to a comment from Rob / February 28, 2013 at 03:52 pm
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Right on, Rob! Never a simpler, more perfect encapsulation of the eunuche losers that are our crybaby suburbanite tag-a-longs.

Persoally, I can't wait when we put our foots on their necks in the next election and hold them down int he mud for the next two or three terms.

Hahahahaha!
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Alex replying to a comment from Joe Public / February 28, 2013 at 04:03 pm
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What? Those are completely unrelated. That's like saying you don't want to arrest someone for theft because their neighbour committed murder. The ORNGE scandal is being prosecuted, and hopefully those people are brought to justice or fired (is Matthews still health minister? If so, no way she is winning the next election). We should be prosecuting anyone who shows corruption at any level of government, and people should not vote for that person the next time around. Unfortunately voters tend to have short memories and/or be idiots. Or we have no good options and have to just pick the best of a bad bunch.
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Me / February 28, 2013 at 04:03 pm
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Straws suck.
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The Real Bwoo-Hoo ha-HA replying to a comment from bwoo-hoo ha-HA / February 28, 2013 at 04:25 pm
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ZOMG...this is the first time I've ever had someone use my screen name in order to post something slanderous.

I must have really burned your ass about something in that last post, huh? Looks good on ya, loser....feel the BURRRRN!

What's it like to have a life so small that you have to track down my last post, find my exact screen name, and then post as me. If you had kids, wonder what they'd think of you. Assuming, of course, you at one point left your mommy's basement long enough to talk to a real live woman.
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