The magic of Presto is demystified. After two years of installing subway smartcard gates, the TTC has put it all on pause because of mechanical and software problems. At least advertisers still see the TTC as a viable vehicle, even if this promotion might confuse some drunken revellers forced to pay the rest of the way after stumbling into the subway:

Who wants to run against John Tory? Doug Ford’s leap to leader of the Ontario PCs left a mayoral election void no left-leaning city councillor seems eager to fill. Desmond Cole is still thinking about stepping in, having already been the subject of a draft campaign from unknown parties. But then there’s Giorgio Mammoliti, who tells the Toronto Sun his gut is telling him to take on Tory from the right. (Even though DoFo would gladly have Mammo at Queen’s Park, where he once sat with the NDP.)

“After much thought, I will not be running in the upcoming provincial election.” Patrick Brown was quick to spin a decision basically made for him by the Ontario PCs. Listen, it’s all for the best. Previously, the best hope for conservative shitposters was MPP Sam Oosterhoff. Instead, we’re entering a whole new world of surreal memes:

Competition Bureau turns its newspaper shutdown swap probe to Steeltown. Following a dramatic raid on Postmedia, competition cops hit up the Torstar-owned Hamilton Spectator. (Experts speculate that the gangbuster tactics are largely for show.) Meanwhile, the Toronto Star ran an unflattering file photo of heritage minister Mélanie Joly to highlight her insistence that Facebook and Google should be the ones subsidizing journalism.

The most murdery run-down house in Trinity-Bellwoods sold at a $74,000 discount. The house at 15 Rebecca Street, described by its agent as a “builder’s delight,” was originally listed at $679,000 in the hopes that a bidding war would drive its sale price to $900,000. That outcome failed to materialize after potential buyers got a look at the inside. A re-listing raised the asking price to $749,999—notably cheap for the neighbourhood. Viral attention for the horror-movie state of the interior might have helped with the sale. And now the buyers can brag about how their house was featured in the Globe and Mail:

What you can do on the cover of Canadian Art. Winnipeg artist Divya Mehra pays tribute to the Ottawa-shot 1980s show You Can’t Do That on Televisionof which Alanis Morissette was the most famous star—in what’s meant to be a representation of performative politics on social media. “The slime is the kids’-TV version of a ‘fake news’ retort,” says the magazine's editor-in chief, David Balzer. “The critic is made to feel juvenile for speaking up, but is ironically silenced by an actually juvenile, and notably public and atavistic form of humiliation.” Mehra uses an umbrella to shield herself from all the slime “dumped on her by white, male arms.”

“Why They Hate Margaret Atwood.” The lack of word count limits at Quillette allows Jonathan Kay to thoroughly explain how defending due process in sexual assault claims led the CanLit legend to be categorized by some as problematic. Atwood has been speaking lately to adoring Americans, who never seem to bring this backlash up.

Word of the moment

"WRONG JUSTIN"

Donald Trump revealed that his strategy in talking trade with Justin Trudeau involved making up a bunch of stuff.




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