What if food banks closed?

Harry Shannon About 10 days ago, workers with a courier company held a food drive. They dropped off good-size bags at people's homes. Everyone was asked to put non-perishable foods in the bags, which the workers collected. (The company is called Purolator. I don't think it's a smart idea to include 'lator' in your name if you are competing to d…

Exclusive: Courthouse mystery solved!

Slabs on side of new building are part of government’s radical new policy on crime Harry Shannon People passing by the new Toronto Courthouse in downtown Toronto have been puzzled by the slabs extending from the east side of the building (shown in the photo). ProbablyMaybe can now reveal their purpose. They are an integral part of …

I’m Not a Customer

Harry Shannon Here's my letter that appeared in the Hamilton Spectator recently. It's self-explanatory - no background info needed. Not a Customer I called Premier Doug Ford’s office to give my opinion on some of his policies. Before I spoke to a human, a recorded message told me I would be forwarded to a ‘Customer Service Representat…

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is not up to the task

Harry Shannon Background: This letter to the Toronto Star followed their editorial outlining some of the problems with how Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been handling the pandemic. I thought the analogy with sports players would resonate with Ford himself, as well as others. The letter was published in the January 22 edition of the paper. Re…

Time for a Wealth Tax

Harry Shannon This was written as a letter to the Toronto Star. It wasn’t published, but you can read it here. Re Covid-19 costs. Time’s up: help cities, Editorial, July 16 The COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc with people’s finances, and governments have had to go into huge deficits to mitigate the impact on people who have lost t…

Are you a swinger?

Harry Shannon I was listening to CBC radio this morning. A reporter was talking about the popularity of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and said that a year ago Ford’s approval rating was -49% [if I remember correctly]. Today, his rating is +39%. The reporter continued, saying that this represented an 88% swing. This, of course, is wrong. To un…

News Flash! Province to remove number ‘13’ from crossing countdowns.

Harry Shannon Premier Doug Ford today announced what he called ‘a new world-leading safety measure.’  In a first, Ontario will in future not allow the number ‘13’ on traffic signals.  Currently, when traffic lights show pedestrians how long they have before the lights will change, ‘13’ appears if the countdown is longer th…

My latest letter to the Toronto Star

It wasn't published, but you can read it here! Background to the letter.  The Ontario Premier Doug Ford shuffled the provincial cabinet after barely a year in power.  Actually, not just a shuffle, but also an increase in the number of ministers. For more on the class sizes, click here Re Radical Reboot, June 21I assume it’s just a coi…