One of Canada’s largest trade and industry lobbies has endorsed the federal government’s plan to reduce tariffs on imports. On Thursday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty introduced the new federal budget. It outlined a number of Conservative initiatives, including the removal of tariffs on manufactured imports. Jeff Brownlee, a public relations officer with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters association, [...] Continue Reading

Amidst three days of war between Ontario’s 18-best high school basketball teams, it becomes easy to forget what it takes to put on an event of this magnitude. Convener of the 2010 OFSAA basketball tournament Michael Kennelley, with help from volunteer coordinator Teena McNee, assembled a team of 40 high schools students from the Durham region [...] Continue Reading

December is one of the holiest months of the year, with both Hanukkah and Christmas observed. And while these religious celebrations occur independently of each other, the origins of the faiths they represent are remarkably linked. Risa Levitt Kohn is a professor of religious studies at San Diego State University and guest curator of the Dead [...] Continue Reading

The chair of a new TTC advisory panel says that responsibility for better customer service rests with both TTC managers and workers. During a public meeting at City Hall on Feb. 17, Adam Giambrone, TTC chair, and Joe Mihevc, the vice-chair, introduced Stephen O’Brien, 44, as head of the new TTC Customer Service Advisory Panel. The [...] Continue Reading

Mississauga Member of Parliament Bob Dechert believes his constituency office was a target of an alleged arsonist who attempted to set it on fire two weeks ago. On Feb. 3 a fire was set outside the Mississauga-Erindale MP’s office, causing $5 million in damages to the building. The building was evacuated immediately and there were no [...] Continue Reading

As Toronto’s annual auto show rolled into town, Toyota service representatives took to the front lines this week ready to field backlash from customers over a recent spate of recalls. But in place of the expected anger and concern, most visitors to the Japanese car marker’s exhibit seemed more interested in shopping, with many people eager [...] Continue Reading

Charlotte Frisby wants to live where the green grass grows: in Markham. Seven generations of Frisbys have farmed the parcel of land on which she now lives, but she worries that legacy will end with her. “My father and other loved ones were born and died on this land doing what they loved and (what) they took [...] Continue Reading

Eighteen months after the Ontario Ministry of Education took control of the Toronto District Catholic School Board (TCDSB), many in the Catholic community await the restoration of the board’s autonomy. A public meeting took place on Feb. 8 at St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School for a strategic review of five Catholic high schools in the east [...] Continue Reading

Parking at Yorkdale Mall on a Saturday afternoon can be a stressful experience, but with new technology, it may get a little easier. There are now digitalized parking counters set up at each lot to tell customers how many free spaces there are, and when the lots are full. Robert Horst, property manager of Yorkdale [...] Continue Reading

After a recession that has left many jobless in the province, Ontario colleges are finding themselves overrun with applicants. The province reports that the number of mature student applicants in particular is up by 20 per cent. The resulting crush in Ontario college classrooms could get a lot worse than it already is. Centennial College is one [...] Continue Reading