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Gallery: David Miller, Jully Black and others share the one thing you should know before you die at the Top Ten Event

(Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Here’s the concept: nine notable Torontonians (chef David Rocco couldn’t make it)—or honorary Torontonians for the night—each get 10 minutes to share the one thing they think everybody should know before they die. Last Thursday, former Toronto mayor David Miller, singer Jully Black, TIFF CEO Piers Handling and others showed up at the Winter Garden Theatre to offer their collected wisdom at Stuart Knight’s second annual Top Ten Event in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. We showed up to receive said wisdom (and, of course, to fraternize with the bold-faced names at the exclusive after-party—Sandra Shamas now wants to be our Facebook friend. Just sayin’.). Find out what each speaker thought you should know, after the jump »

The Informer

City Sindex

May 14, 2012 | 4:27 pm

1 Comment

QUOTED: Giorgio Mammoliti explains how to have sex with 150 men at once

(Image: Christopher Drost)

—Outspoken and often idiotic councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, airing his grievances with the Toronto Police Service’s recent decision to put a hold on john sweeps. The cop shop is putting a temporary stop to the long-standing sting operations in light of the court ruling in March that declared Canada’s prostitution laws unconstitutional. Police spokesperson Mark Pugash says the force is against using resources to arrest johns when there’s so much uncertainty surrounding prostitution laws. Mammoliti, on the other hand, says the laws should be enforced as long as they still exist—if only to save people from sloppy seconds. [Toronto Sun]

The Informer

Opine for Business

May 14, 2012 | 9:45 am

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The beef between Magna’s brass and investors is alive and well (even sans Frank Stronach)

In Frank Stronach’s absence at the annual meeting of Magna International in Toronto on Thursday, CEO Don Walker took up the mantle as the company’s token antagonist to shareholders. The company brass and institutional investors have been locked in a decades-long battle over the automotive part giant’s management, and Stronach has always been at the heart of the discordant relationship. With Stronach missing in action for the first time since the company started having annual meetings 50 years ago, it fell to Walker to castigate shareholders for criticizing Magna management over a misguided sale of land to Stronach and former co–CEO Siegfried Wolf in 2011. Heated rhetoric notwithstanding, corporate governance is a hot-button issue at Magna—one that could see Stronach, and his mammoth paychecks, turfed from his directorship. [Globe and Mail]

The Informer

To Market, To Market

May 11, 2012 | 4:17 pm

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A Toronto MPP is one step closer to creating a tribunal to protect condo owners

(Image: Abebenjoe)

Trinity-Spadina MPP Rosario Marchese might finally be able to push his pet legislation project through the provincial assembly. The NDPer’s proposal to create a condo review board—a tribunal that would resolve disputes among owners, condo boards, property managers and developers—passed second reading in the house yesterday and will go to a legislative committee for public hearings. Sure, Marchese has been here before—he’s tried (unsuccessfully) on three previous occasions to reform the Condominium Act—but with a minority government running Queen’s Park, he believes this time round his private member’s bill actually has a chance (all previous attempts were quashed by the then-majority Liberal government). More to the point, with more than one million condo owners in Ontario and the province’s largest city in the midst of a condo-building bonanza, the number of condo-owning voters is becoming more and more significant. [Toronto Star]

The Informer

Sun Spots

May 9, 2012 | 4:12 pm

1 Comment

Sun News Network doesn’t have an audience and is losing a lot of money (but, hey, it’s happy!)

With news of Quebecor’s windfall first-quarter profits also comes news that Sun News Network, Quebecor’s year-old news channel, isn’t doing so hot. In the first quarter, the network’s owners were forced to dump $3 million more into the floundering operation after sinking $6 million into the same outfit last year. Despite the clear signs that Sun News is failing—it isn’t attracting viewers and its financial losses are accelerating—Quebecor’s chief financial officer noted to the Globe and Mail that “the programming guys are happy” and that the company is pleased with the content it has created. Well, at least somebody likes it. [Globe and Mail]

The Dish

Bottoms Up

May 8, 2012 | 5:12 pm

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Police charge that guy who (allegedly) ripped off the LCBO—(allegedly) big time

On Monday, the Ontario Provincial Police charged former LCBO employee and noted (alleged) scammer Francois Agostini with a litany of offences: breach of trust, fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents, two counts of falsifying books, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and money laundering. The story goes that from 2005 to 2011, Agostini (allegedly) exploited a liquor board program that provides booze to diplomats without tax or duty at a savings of up to 40 per cent. Agostini’s scheme, according to the LCBO’s affidavit, allowed him to make off with somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1.6 million by conjuring fake sales for imaginary diplomats. The LCBO has since followed up with a $2-million lawsuit against Agostini (and the bouncy castle operator he was in cahoots with). The obvious losers in all this, of course, were the LCBO and the suckers who shell out for its overpriced booze. The winners, on the other hand, were clearly diplomats—real or imagined. [Toronto Star]

The Informer

Tech Wars

May 8, 2012 | 1:45 pm

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RIM finally gets a new marketing chief—which can only be a good thing, right?

Research in Motion announced this morning that it has hired Kristian Tear, formerly of Sony Mobile Communications, as its new chief operating officer and Frank Boulben, former executive vice-president for strategy, marketing and sales at the troubled U.S. wireless Internet company LightSquared, to take over the BlackBerry maker’s hopeless marketing program. Boulben assumes the role of chief marketing officer (a position that has been vacant since Keith Pardy left the company over a year ago) and will be charged with fulfilling new CEO Thorsten Heins’ mandate to drastically improve the company and its products’ image in the marketplace. Naturally, given the year RIM has been having, Boulben’s position will be nothing if not challenging. But he shouldn’t have any problems pleasing his new boss in the short term—the company’s recent marketing attempts have been, well, really bad. [Globe and Mail]

The Informer

The Sporting Life

May 7, 2012 | 4:08 pm

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The economy wins! The Toronto Blue Jays win!! Everybody wins!!!

(Image: Joel Dinda)

Apparently, more bums in ballpark seats are a strong indicator of a growing economy. Canadian Business is reporting on a fun (albeit random) bit of economics put forward by analysts at the New York–based tech firm ConvergEX Group. The argument goes that the number of people who buy tickets to Major League Baseball games in any given season parallels consumer confidence. (Rocket science alert: people buy more stuff, like baseball tickets, when they have more money and feel good about spending it.) While the theory is obviously more than a little facile, it’s proving true as far as the Toronto Blue Jays are concerned—Canada’s economic health is quickly improving (good!) and so too is Blue Jays attendance this season (also good!). Of course, though a stronger economy may mean more Torontonians are getting their baseball on, we can think of another reason for locals to flock to the Rogers Centre—winning. Something the boys in blue have been doing a lot of lately. [Canadian Business]

The Hype

Cinemania

May 7, 2012 | 3:35 pm

1 Comment

Who needs Ryan Gosling when we’ve got Gordon Pinsent?

(Image: John Sciull/ WireImage/ Getty Images)

That’s right, Goz. We’ve spent more time pining for you than we’d like to admit—but there’s a new man in our lives (at least for the moment). Allow us to gush over Gordon Pinsent—actor, musician, legend. The 81-year-old Canadian stage and screen icon recently charmed us with an interview in the weekend edition of the Globe and Mail. In it, the Newfoundland-born actor who has called Toronto home for more than two decades spoke of his upcoming album with Travis Good of The Sadies and Blue Rodeo’s ~~Jim Cuddy~~Greg Keelor (triple old-guy swoon!), 72-hour hangovers and the food at The Drake (his words: “The Drake is a damn fine place”). He also waxed nostalgic about the precious moments he and his late wife, universally beloved actress Charmion King, spent simply taking in the ever-changing city. Bless. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »

The Informer

To Market, To Market

May 4, 2012 | 1:48 pm

1 Comment

Detached home sales soar as condos continue to take over the real estate market

(Image: Jeremy Burgin)

While developers build ever more condominium towers across the city, the classic object of any potential homeowner’s yearning—the detached home—is surging in value at a pace that far exceeds that of the ubiquitous apartment unit. Detached homes have become a “precious” commodity (realtor Richard Silver’s words) as the condo craze has rapidly increased the skyward share of Toronto’s housing stock. According to Moneyville.ca, demand for detached homes is so strong that sales jumped 22 per cent across the GTA last month, which, in turn, pushed the average price of all homes up to $517,556 (an 8.5 per cent increase over April 2011). Of course, none of this is much of a surprise—10 years ago one condo was built for every three houses and today there are three condos for every house. Demand meet supply. Supply, demand. The only question left to be answered is whether or not this red-hot housing market can last. [Moneyville]

The Informer

Opine for Business

May 3, 2012 | 4:47 pm

Comments

Rogers Media’s new digital strategy involves shutting down eight of its websites

(Image: screenshot from sweetspot.ca)

Something interesting is afoot at Rogers. In recent weeks, the media giant undertook large-scale layoffs across the country as part of a “cost management strategy,” chief executive Nadir Mohamed issued a warning to investors to temper growth expectations and the company sent shockwaves through the country’s media and advertising industries by joining forces with Shaw and the CBC in a bid to streamline ads sales on its websites. Then, the latest twist: Rogers Media announced it plans to close eight websites—including SweetSpot.ca and CanadianParents.com. What’s interesting about the recent news is that chief digital officer Jason Tafler says that the cuts are coming despite loyal followings and solid ad sales on the soon-to-be shuttered sites. He went on to suggest that the company’s new digital strategy is focused on developing “multiplatform integration and growth opportunities for our premium brands.” Business-speak, we suspect, for more sports, sports, sports. [Huffington Post Canada]

The Hype

The Velvet Rope

May 1, 2012 | 9:38 am

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Party Pages: local philanthropists don their dandiest cowboy duds for the Wellspring Henderson Hoedown

Should all Toronto’s ritzy charity galas require guests to wear goofy outfits? Probably not, but last Thursday’s Wellspring Henderson Hoedown had a Western theme, and the well-worn party cliche transformed what could have been just another stuffy fundraiser into a rollicking good time. Monied philanthropists came dressed in their best Western threads—for most, that meant blue jeans, a vintage plaid cowboy shirt and, of course, a big ol’ cowboy hat (though we did spot one woman packing a gun holster with pink cow splotches)—at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel for the 20th annual event to support Wellspring’s efforts to provide relief for individuals, family members and professional caregivers touched by cancer. Guests included a number of media personalities, including Wellspring chair and CBC anchor Nancy Wilson, TVO’s The Agenda’s Steve Paikin, Canada AM’s Beverly Thomson, the CBC’s Wendy Mesley and City TV’s Cynthia Mulligan. Also in attendance were Jim Treliving, chairman and owner of Boston Pizza and noted dragon on the Dragon’s Den, roaming comedian Ali Badshah, Olympic gold medallist Tessa Bonhomme and Blue Rodeo frontman Jim Cuddy, who provided entertainment—and a little romance—during the dinner portion of the evening.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hype

The Beat

April 27, 2012 | 3:30 pm

1 Comment

Eight and a Half play a private show for hipsters and real estate developers at a soon-to-be Ossington condo

Last night, a strange brew of Queen West hipsters and condo developers packed into the transitional space at 109 Ossington for an invitation-only concert from Eight and Half, a Can-con indie music super collaboration featuring Broken Social Scene drummer Justin Peroff and Dave Hamelin and Liam O’Neil of The Stills. While the concert, which was promoted as a “pop-up” (aren’t they all?), was ostensibly pretty much the most cartoonishly hipster event ever—exclusive affair (check), warehouse environs (check), on Ossington Avenue (check), cool new indie band (check)—the show was actually clever bait for a preview of a new condominium development from Reserve properties. The party on the ground floor, with drinks and canapes, served as a de facto showroom for the funky and surprisingly spacious suites (some of the fourth- and fifth-floor units even sport sizable terraces looking west and east), while the unfinished second floor held an intimate experience with Eight and a Half. True to form, no one was dancing (of course, no one was purchasing a pre-build condo either).

Check out our photo gallery from the exclusive performance »

The Hype

The Velvet Rope

April 26, 2012 | 3:02 pm

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Party Pages: Members of the TSO play a private show at a Distillery District warehouse

On Tuesday night we popped into Airship 37’s Hangar Space in the Distillery District to take in an intimate and exclusive performance by four members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Hosted by chichi social club The Society and The People Wine’s, a New Zealand winery launching its products in Canada, plenty of Toronto creative types showed up in their urban-chic finery to hear TSO musicians Peter Seminovs (violin), Sergei Nikonov (violin), Eric Nowlin (viola) and Igor Gefter (cello). The quartet performed a pair of pieces, Mozart’s “Divertimento No. 1” and Tchaikovsky’s “String Quartet No. 1,” for a mostly rapt audience (though the majority sat spellbound, a few attendees had apparently showed up for the abundant vino, and had to be shushed, rather aggressively, on a number of occasions). Admittedly, a high-concept notion of pairing melodic notes with tasting notes fell a bit flat, as the People Wine’s Anna Hine’s mid-performance comparisons between the music and the drink felt awkward and contrived. Overall, however, the night was a success: the wine proved aromatic, the music transcendent and the TSO members charming—Nowlin, who served as the de facto emcee, worked the crowd with surprising aplomb.

Click here to see a photo gallery of the scene at The Urban Symphony »

The Informer

My Name Is Lucre

April 24, 2012 | 4:21 pm

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Insurance brokers vs. banks: insurers call foul on RBC and BMO

Canada’s biggest banks seem to be the subject of a strange amount of scandal of late. This month alone, a massive lawsuit was leveled against Royal Bank of Canada, ex-RBC advisers admitted to forging client signatures and a former Bank of Montreal adviser was banned from working in securities. Now, there’s a spat with Canadian insurance brokers, who lodged a complaint with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (yes, it’s a real office) and alerted Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that RBC and BMO are openly disregarding rules against promoting insurance on their websites. (Under the Bank Act, banks are allowed to own separate insurance companies, but they’re prohibited from selling or marketing insurance.) Naturally, big insurance wants big banking as far away from its business as possible, and have lobbied hard to have rules in place to keep banking and insurance operations distinct. But large-scale financial institutions are still pushing hard into the territory—the insurance biz made up 10 per cent of RBC’s total profits in the three months ending January 31—and with big, big dollars at stake, we don’t expect them to stop. To the insurance brokers of Canada, we wish you luck. You’ll likely need it. [Globe and Mail]

All stories by Andrew Wallace

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