Kathleen Wynne’s last-chance open letter. The premier slammed Kevin O’Leary for some of his recent comments on Ontario's economy, and O’Leary slammed back. While he’s not completely following the Donald Trump blueprint, the new politician is inspired by the idea of picking fellow business executives to manage things.

“Actually, we’re getting along quite well with these guys.” An anonymous senior government official told the Globe and Mail that all looks peachy ahead of a meeting between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump—but it won’t be in Ottawa, to head off the massive protests that would inevitably result. As the new White House messaging reality comes into focus, observers are starting to shift from comparing Trump to Rob Ford to comparing Trump to Stephen Harper.

Holt Renfrew put inauguration wear in a Bloor Street window. The store made a point of showing off that it stocks the $3,600 (U.S.) Gucci wool a-line coat sported by Kellyanne Conway during the Friday inauguration. In case there was any doubt as to Holts' intent, the coat was positioned next to an approximation of what Melania Trump was wearing. And so, cue that outrage:

Doug Saunders wins the first Canadian hot-take contest of the Trump presidency. With every pundit trying to say something unique about the inauguration, the Globe and Mail columnist broke on through: “If you thought you’d never see anything on TV as frightening as 9/11, this was it,” tweeted Saunders. “But the consequences of this are far more damaging.” Backlash churned into clickbait.


Today's edition of 12­:­36 is brought to you by Greg Cassidy. Greg loves tigers. Greg is thinking of bringing two big tigers to Toronto. Greg is looking for books on tigers, and needs a big cat cage for when the tigers finally arrive. Greg sometimes has wild dreams about tigers. (Greg is a very interesting guy.)


Toronto Sun plays nice with bike-riding pinkos. Bitching about city cyclists is a perennial staple of the tabloid, but Lorrie Goldstein just wrote a puff piece on Fix Coffee + Bikes, a new shop located at Gladstone and Queen. Lest you think this means everything has gone totally topsy-turvy, though, Goldstein discloses that the store's owner, former Metrolinx transit planner Fred Sztabinski, also happens to be his cousin.

Wasaga Beach can't get its head out of the sand. Woes around Georgian Bay are expected to continue into this summer, despite a Toronto marketing push that has involved beer, bikini models, a 1975 Volkswagen bus and a Jimmy Buffett knock-off theme song. Political infighting has prevented a street mall destroyed by fire a decade ago from being rebuilt. “We’re the only town in Ontario with a main street with nothing on it,” local councillor Ron Ego laments to the Toronto Star.

Torstar woes probed by the Globe. The lack of enthusiasm for Star Touch set the stage for a long look at how time might be running out at One Yonge Street. Nonetheless, a delayed search for a new CEO is afoot—even though it’s unlikely that the hire will be a media revolutionary.

Word of the moment

STABBED, PISTOL-WHIPPED, PEPPER SPRAYED

Toronto Police superintendent Bryce Evans offered this inventory of things that have happened to staff at marijuana dispensaries.




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