TTC employees have been warned that Mayor Rob Ford might be making some surprise visits to subway stations and work sites to ensure that no one is sleeping on the job. Yes, really. Apparently, an unnamed source complained to the City about on-shift snoozing, which the Toronto Sun reports led the TTC to deliver this phone message to its fare collectors: "Somebody within the organization, an employee has gone to the mayor's office stating that employees are sleeping on the job.... Bottom line is we've already been through this, we have all learned our lesson, so let's collectors not be the poster children with respect to sleeping on the job. Everybody be alert and we have nothing to worry about."

The mayor's office, for its part, did not acknowledge receiving a complaint or confirm that any visits to the TTC would be made. But, wow, the very fact that such a message has been made public is probably not a step in the right direction for our beleaguered fare collectors. Doesn't the warning just recapitulate what should be, I don't know, common sense?