Sip and Spill Blog: 2022-05-15

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On a routine patrol along a stretch of Highway 2 north of Calgary on Wednesday, Sgt. Darrin Turnbull with Alberta RCMP Traffic issues a ticket to one driver for speeding and to another for distracted driving.

As Canada Road Safety Week kicks off — a national campaign put on by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police — Turnbull said officers across the province are hoping to see ticket numbers, dangerous driving behaviours and collisions drop.

The campaign, which aims to raise awareness about safe driving measures, runs from May 17 to May 23 and encompasses Victoria Day long weekend.

The long weekend is usually a time when RCMP see an increased number of collisions on Alberta highways, said Turnbull.

"We would love to report that…there were no fatal crashes this long weekend, that nobody died," he said.

"We're hopeful that's what's going to happen."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-rcmp-drive-safe-sober-long-weekend-victoria-day-1.6458798

J.Cole the North Carolina rapper has signed to play professional basketball in Canada.

https://www.xxlmag.com/j-cole-play-canadian-basketball-league/

Continue Being Awesome

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The TDSB is projecting a deficit of $52.2 million for the 2022-23 school year, primarily due to pandemic-related costs and declining enrollment. The deficit also includes the TDSB’s annual structural deficit.

Chair of the Toronto District School Board, Alexander Brown, is asking provincial parties to prioritize students and reimburse pandemic-related costs ahead of the June 2 election.
I'm specifically asking for a commitment to reimburse all pandemic-related expenses incurred by the school boards over the past two years, to fully fund the TDSB’s pandemic recovery plan and to reinstate the enrollment stabilization funding, provide additional funding to cover cost increases related to employee benefits, utilities and other inflationary cost increases that are not currently funded by the ministry,” Brown said.

“We would have to find the $52 million in our budget as with the money that the province gives us, which means that we'd have to look at the programming, we may have to shift where we put resources to move it into the pot to pay for, to cover the $52 million. We may see decreases in staff. We're always worried that programming may be affected by this,” he said.

Earlier this week, the TDSB updated its three-year projection and recovery plan to cover the deficit by paying an estimated $12 million in the first year and $12 million in each of the following years.

Over the past two years, Brown said he has sent numerous letters to Education Minister Stephen Lecce that outline deficit concerns and request additional funding.

Brown also noted that the current Ford government doesn’t have “a good record so far” with funding for the TDSB as the government slashed almost $70 million of the board’s funding in the first year Ford came into office in 2018.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/tdsb-chair-calls-on-provincial-parties-to-prioritize-young-people-reimburse-pandemic-related-costs-1.5909305

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Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner carjacked at gunpoint outside Toronto movie theatre

A day after Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner was robbed of his Range Rover at gunpoint outside an Etobicoke movie theatre, Toronto police said they have already seen more carjackings so far this year than they did in all of 2021.

“It just seems that this is a crime of opportunity, and the end game is profit,” Insp. Richard Harris of the holdup squad told reporters outside Toronto Police Headquarters Tuesday. “So whether it's a new trend that is believed to be something that's gonna make quick money, I'm gonna say and suggest that they stop. We will not stop.”

Harris said that so far this year Toronto police have responded to 60 carjackings, with the thieves usually targeting high-value vehicles. He said that compares to 59 carjackings in all of 2021.

Marner was in his Range Rover in the area of Islington Avenue and the Queensway around 7:45 p.m. on Monday when he was carjacked.

Police said three suspects, two armed with guns and another with a knife, approached a vehicle in the area of Cineplex Cinemas Queensway.

The victims complied with the demands and the suspects then sped off in the vehicle.

No one was physically injured in the encounter.

Police did not officially confirm that Marner was the victim in the incident, saying only that a man and a woman in their 20s were robbed at gunpoint for their Land Rover.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/maple-leafs-star-mitch-marner-carjacked-at-gunpoint-outside-toronto-movie-theatre-1.5906544