Canadians are reacting after an independent member of Parliament was kicked out of the Ontario Legislature for wearing a keffiyeh.  During a session at Queen’s Park on Thursday, MPP for Hamilton Centre Sarah Jama was asked to leave the house because she was wearing a keffiyeh.  A keffiyeh is a black and white checkered scarf traditionally worn across much of the Middle East and has come to symbolize solidarity with Palestinians.  Jama, who was a former NDP MPP until she was removed from the party back in October over her comments on the Israel-Gaza war, was asked to leave the ch ..read more

Tim Hortons is giving Canadians a real treat this summer to celebrate its 60th anniversary! The coffee and donut chain has just announced a new, limited-time musical called The Last Timbit. The production is about a group of strangers from different walks of life who wait out a snowstorm in a Tim Hortons restaurant. The story is inspired by a blizzard in Sarnia, Ont., in 2010, where dozens of people were stranded at a Tims for almost 24 hours.  The musical is being produced by Michael Rubinoff, known for his 2013 musical “Come From Away,” where he won an Olivier Award and received a Tony ..read more

The 2024 Hot Docs Film Festival is in full effect with a catalogue of 168 documentaries from 64 countries and 83 international premieres and we’ve got the scoop on the most highly recommended films to watch.  This year, Dawn Porter’s Luther: Never Too Much is the opening night screening for the 31st edition of the festival. The Hot Docs festival is running from April 25 through May 5.  To help narrow down the list, Now Toronto collaborated with Hot Docs directors Heather Haynes and Kristin Boivin to create a guide for festival attendees who don’t know where to start. Our categories i ..read more

The City of Toronto has made more changes to dealing with dangerous dogs and it seems some Torontonians are still doubtful on how effective they will be.  City of Toronto taking actions to address dangerous dog behaviour. Read the news release: https://t.co/1ZUg9Ft5NE pic.twitter.com/ijDs0iFx4M — City of Toronto (@cityoftoronto) April 24, 2024 These new changes come after the initial recommendations made in March, including a dog registry with the ward number, dog’s name, breed, and colour, as well as the date of the dangerous act that can be easily searched by the public.  Start ..read more

A road safety advocacy group is applauding the Ontario government for keeping stunt driving penalties at 150 km/h, as speed limits will be raised on select highways this summer.  On Wednesday, the Doug Ford government announced it will be increasing the speed limit from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on 10 sections of provincial highways in northern and southern Ontario.  The announcement builds on the “safe and successful increase” to six sections of provincial highways in 2022 as part of a two-year pilot project, according to a press release.  “Most of Ontario’s highways were originally ..read more

Nearly 80 per cent of Canadian parents believe it’s their responsibility to help pay for their children’s post-secondary education, and 57 per cent would go into debt to do so, according to a new report.  Canadian education savings and planning company Embark conducted a new survey of over 1,000 parents in Canada regarding their stance on providing monetary support for their children’s post-secondary education.  The results found that many are cutting out day-to-day necessities in order to make ends meet and help pay for their child’s education. In fact, 43 per cent are already plann ..read more

Many Canadians say they don’t agree with Mississauga getting its own NHL team after a mayoral candidate proposed the idea earlier this week.  On Monday, Peter McCallion, son of former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, said if elected, he will pledge an NHL team bid for the city.  Hazel McCallion is known as the longest-serving mayor of Mississauga, she served from 1978 to 2014. Last year, she died at the age of 101.  READ MORE: Former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion dies at 101 Peter McCallion says the city, which has a population of nearly 718,000, is ready and able to suppo ..read more

A Japanese resident has shared a brutal and honest Q&A about his experience living in Canada and many Canadians are agreeing with their point of view.  Last week, X user @ong777777 tweeted an FAQ list and answered questions about their Canadian experience. The FAQ appears to be a guide for Japanese people considering the move to Canada. The original tweet was in Japanese, however, Rutgers University–Camden Assistant Professor of History Nick Kapur translated the information. A Japanese person living in Canada has created this handy "Living in Canada FAQ" Here's my quick translatio ..read more

More than $31 million of taxpayer’s money has been spent on paid suspension leave for Toronto officers between January 2013 and April 2024, according to reports. The data comes as new legislation allows police chiefs to suspend officers without pay. CBC data reveals that over the 11-year period, 119 Toronto police officers were suspended 130 times, some on multiple occasions, and that all were paid fully for the duration of their suspensions.  “As of April 9, at least 31 Toronto police officers are still suspended, 69 went back to work, 12 resigned, five were fired, and three retired,” CB ..read more

Toronto’s police chief says the Ontario Provincial Police will be able to conduct an unbiased independent review of officer testimonies following the Umar Zameer trial. During an unrelated police conference on Tuesday, Chief Myron Demkiw was asked about his call on the OPP to conduct an independent review in response to the judge’s “adverse comments” during the trial.  Demkiw says the police service has safeguards in place to ensure that the OPP can conduct a review without bias. “I have full confidence that we have police investigators in many organizations that can proceed through these ..read more