Comments

1. This particular dog is owned by a vet working at Toronto Animal Services, who would be required to put the dog down if court-ordered. Wanna bet the dog is "snuck outta town"? That's a category they call "Missing" in their stats!

   posted to Local News: Court Battle Over Dog's Life After Child is Mauled
2. So what? Shouldn't the mayor be allowed to make appointments, let alone suggest candidates? What's the point of electing some one who can have no influence on the direction of city services?

   posted to Local News: Ombudsman Finds Candiate List
3. Not surprising. I went to a public consultation by another city service. What a farce! They only invited "friends" of the service, to avoid negative comments. They pat themselves on the back. I was invited by mistake and was referred to as a "rogue" by the manager of the service, for my comments.
   
   There is simply very little common sense at City Hall! So sad!

   posted to Local News: CIty Ombudsman Blasts TTC
4. I am pro-choice. For those who are anti-choice...sure...let's discuss when life begins. I will concede your point that life begins at conception. Now what? Is an abortion then murder? If so, what about the sperm donor's participation in the conception. Should we as a society keep a DNA bank of every male in our society, so we can find the guilty party that was half the cause of an unwanted pregnancy. Pro-lifers only want to punish the woman!
   
   Will you ban the use of IUDs as birth control? After all, it doesn't necessarily prevent conception, rather it creates a hostile environment for implementation, and therefore you might call it an abortion at point zero.
   
   How will you determine if a woman had a natural miscarriage, as opposed to forcing one to end the unwanted pregnancy?
   
   If you want to reopen the debate, please approach it with some thoughful answers to these questions and many others.
   
   Thanks!

   posted to Local News: *UPDATE* VIDEO: Tories Claim They're Not Looking To Re-Open Abortion Debate
5. New laws will be meaningless as long as enforcement remains with the OSPCA. The OSPCA is a charity. They will not charge a donor with animal abuse. The OSPCA kills healthy treatable animals every day, which any sane person would consider abuse. As for Marineland, Mr.Holer, the owner, donated an entire wing to the Niagara Humane Society, an associate of the OSPCA. He bought their silence!!!
   
   Furthermore, on June 3, 2011 Dalton McGuinty’s Minister of Community and Correctional Services, same minister as today's story, announced the creation of an Animal Welfare Task Force in response to the Meek-LeSage Review, which found no ringworm at the OSPCA, and therefore unnecessary killing of animals at the shelter. Fourteen months later, Newmarket-Aurora MPP Frank Klees still can’t find any trace of it, and the OSPCA keeps killing. The situation with the OSPCA should be considered another scandal with our provincial government. Where is the accountability?
   
   Check out www.ospcatruth.com for the goings on at the OSPCA.

   posted to Local News: VIDEO: More Expected From Animal Welfare Announcement
6. Folks, this is not good news. The OSPCA kills animals it finds in distress. It even kills healthy animals when it comes to cats and dogs.
   
   Please write your MPP to pass animal welfare laws. Our laws are from the 19th century and animals are considered proeprty. It really bothers me that stories like this are released to the public, but everyone ignores the killing of healthy and treatable animals. Toronto Animal Services killed 67% of stray cats in 2011; 46% of dogs. As a former volunteer, I cuddled a little white cat with a cople of calico spots, named Marble. She developed an eye infection while in an adoption centre. When returned to the shelter for treatment, the head vet chose her as one of the cats she wanted killed in a mass culling. The staff fought the order, calling the vet names, and one of the staff actually snuck her out of the area and hid her in another enclosure with healthy cats. Marble was adopted 2 weeks after her date with death. But Elonzo, Harold, Miley and Clover were not so lucky. They were killed that day. This is how our city handles cats and dogs in Toronto. You don't need to go all the way to Niagara Falls to find cruelty to animals.
   
   I think that the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association needs to step up and show leadership in the animal welfare cause. The OSPCA does not have public backing based on the atrocities they have committed. Neither do municipal animal services. It's time for the OVMA. How can they license vets that kill healthy or treatable pets? I think most people would agree that killing an animal that is not suffering from an untreatable illness is cruel! Seeing a frightened animal for a couple of minutes and deciding whether the animal is adoptable in that short period of time is unprofessional. Killing scared, yet healthy animals, cannot be called humane.
   
   It's time for everyone in Ontario to realize that no-kill is possible. England has a 7% kill-rate, which is within the 10% considered no-kill. Very sick animals will always need to be euthanized. Statistically, this is less than 10%. There are many cities that are no-kill. San Fransisco, Reno, Austin, NYC, etc are no-kill. Calgary is no-kill. The province of Nova Scotia through their SPCA are no-kill.
   
   We CAN do this! Contact the mayor of your city about your municipal shelter. Contact your MPP about the lack of animal welfare laws and the direction of the OSPCA.
   
   Only you can help the animals in Ontario!

   posted to Local News: Animal Advocate Groups Announce Plans to Inspect Marineland
7. @DelroseS I work in an office building where we have the same issue in both the men's and women's washroom. It isn't about cabbies, but people from countries who don't know how to use North American style facilities. The women are not allowed to "touch" themselves even through toilet paper, so they bring in bottles of water to splash themselves, and all over the floor. we regularly receive emails about the feces on the wall in the men's room. I'm glad someone has broken through the political correctness B.S. and taken a stand on this!

   posted to Local News: Cab Drivers Fuming After Being Denied Access to Washrooms at Island Airport
8. People already "live" at Ontario Place. It's called a marina. expand the marina if you like, but not condos!!!!!!!!!

   posted to Local News: VIDEO: Tory Reveals Ontario Place Recommendations
9. I am disappointed and disgusted by this report. I loved the Ontario Place of the 70s. It was built to suit the provincial motto "Yours to discover". It should be revived as a discovery zone for arts, sports and culture. I love the idae of the Cinephere becoming a Planetarium. I love the idea of integrating water activities or summer and ice activiteis for winter. Sink some ships and allow for scuba diving. Make kayaking, canoing, dragon boating accessible for public use. How about a fishing pond for urabn kids to learn to fish. How about many types of sports activities, indoor and outdoor beach volleyball, etc. How about recreating Survivor challenges for regualar people to try. This would bring in tourists. Instead Mr. Tory's short-sightedness comes across yet again. Super rich people will buy up these condos he is proposing in turn the area into an elistist enclave. I fear it will turn into Ward's island or like some of the beaches in the north where beach front property owners bar people from using the lakes. A really sad day for Ontario Place in my opinion. RIP Ontario Place

   posted to Local News: VIDEO: Tory Reveals Ontario Place Recommendations
10. @Rick Rick, I think you are a bit confused. A welfare recipient uses the welfare money to pay rent anywhere they choose. Toronto Community Housing is assigned to welfare recipeints and low income people, with rent geared to income. A welfare recipient will pay less rent (almost nothing) in TCHC. So evicting a TCHC resident is not taking them off welfare. Evicted people will need to pay market rents instead.

    posted to Local News: Councillor Wants to Evict Criminals From TCHC Buildings