News
Just two days after his son was elected leader of the Federal New Democratic Party, Canadian politician, diplomat and journalist Stephen Lewis has passed away at the age of 88. Lewis was an NDP Member of the Ontario Legislature from 1963 to 1978. Lewis led the party for 8 of those years during which the NDP eclipsed the Liberals and became the official opposition for the first time in 1975. After leaving politics Lewis was named ambassador to the United Nations by Brian Mulroney and then worked in various senior roles for the UN. In 2005 Time Magazine named Lewis one of the most influential people in the world. Lewis had been battling cancer for the past 8 years.
Following last night’s tumultuous school board meeting, two board officials have weighed in on the bussing issue. Trustee Ernie Parsons filed a notice of motion last month to overturn the bussing contracts awarded to Tri-Board Transporation because Tri-Board was not a local company. That motion was ruled out of order by Chair Kari Kamp after guidance from board staff and did not come to a vote last night. Director of Education Katherine MacIver and Superintendent of Business Services Bryce Wilson said today that their report advised against the motion in part because terminating the Tri-board contract after a legal tender process would likely lead to liability issues. They also said board staff believed that divesting the Tri-Board contract and finding a replacement would be costly, time consuming and could not be completed before the start of school next fall. Bryce and MacIver said the procurement process that selected Tri-board was not only fair and legally binding, it followed the provincial guidelines under the Buy Ontario Act including complying with provincial rules on which companies qualify as local sourcing. Trustee Parsons has now filed a motion to have the Province assume control of the school board.
A flood watch has been issued for the lower Trent River watershed. Spring run off and rain are expected to lead to high water levels, unsafe banks and flooding of low lying areas. Recreational users and homeowners are advised to use caution around waterways and be aware of potential flooding. The Lower Trent includes the area from Lake Ontario to Rice Lake and from Grafton to Quinte West.
Some good news. Canada’s economy grew modestly in January with GDP expanding 0.1 % according to Statistics Canada earlier today. Manufacturing shrank but mining, oil and gas, and construction all increased. January’s growth follows a gain of 0.2% in December which experts say means the economy is in better shape than previously thought. On the other hand, economists are cautioning that the shock of the Iran was has yet to impact the numbers and we could still see a contraction as higher crude oil prices hit.
And you can add another name to the a long list of expensive themed events that failed to live up to their hype. The Barbie Dream Fest in Fort Lauderdale Florida this past weekend was billed as a major Barbie convention and was even backed by Mattel Corporation. However, the event had barely started before attendees were expressing their outrage a the lack of vendors and merchandise, the tacky exhibits and the misleading promotional information. Attendees paid up to $1,000 for the event and photos posted on the internet show a mostly empty convention hall with a few low tech displays and almost no exhibitors. The convention was organized by a company called Mischief Management who were licensed by Mattel. Mattel has since said the event failed to meet their standards for a fan experience and they are working with Mischief Management to refund attendees.
Sports
Team Canada is anxiously awaiting the outcome of today’s playoff match between Italy and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Canadians will face the winner of today’s game in the first game of the World Cup. Italy is favoured but has missed qualifying for the past two World Cups and performed poorly in the European Championship. Today’s match got underway in Bosnia at 2:45 this afternoon.
After showing General Manager Brad Treliving the door earlier today the Leafs will be idle tonight but four Canadian teams are in action. Montreal is in Tampa for a 7 pm face-off with the Lightning. The Ottawa Senators are also in Florida to face the Panthers starting at 7 pm in Fort Lauderdale. The Winnipeg Jets travel to the windy city to face the Chicago Blackhawks at 8:30 and the Edmonton Oilers are at home to the Seattle Kraken. The Oilers and Kraken get underway at 9.
The Blue Jays will be looking to return to the form that swept the Athletics when they face the Colorado Rockies in the second game of their series tonight. The Rockies routed the Jays 14 to 5 last night injuring Jays starter Cody Ponce in the process. First pitch goes out at 7:07 in Toronto.
And in NBA action, the Toronto Raptors are on the road to play the Conference Leading Detroit Pistons tonight. Tip off for that game is at 8 pm.
