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All stories relating to licences

Jesse Brown: how big wireless companies, the banks, and even the actors’ union are keeping our mobile bills the highest in the world

By Jesse Brown | Illustration by Jack Dylan

Give Us Your Money Getting gouged by cellphone providers is such a routine part of life in Canada that it barely seems worth complaining about. Yet we complain all the time. We trade tales of shocking bills and awful customer service at every opportunity. We complain to friends and we complain to strangers. I complain professionally. To be a technology journalist in Canada is to constantly feed the nation’s seething consumer outrage.

Yes, Canadians pay higher monthly wireless bills than citizens of any other country, according to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Yes, our data roaming fees are higher than those in any other country, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Yes, a cartel of three carriers—Bell, Rogers and Telus—still controls 95 per cent of our market, despite the emergence of budget providers Wind, Public and Mobilicity. And yes, text message fees in Canada are ridiculously marked up, by as much as 4,900 per cent, according to academic estimates. Each story solidifies our right to kvetch. We truly are the most screwed-over cellphone users in the world.

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The Informer

Quibbling Rivalries

May 12, 2011 | 1:09 pm

4 Comments

Could the solution to the city’s taxi trouble be worse than the original problem?

Did somebody call a cab? (Image: Danielle Scott)

Toronto cabbies don’t have it easy—and not just because so many of them are wildly overqualified for their current jobs. While the city’s separate-and-unequal licensing system allows some drivers to sell, bequeath or rent out their licences, countless others can’t. Likewise, cabbies who hold the Ambassador licences brought in 13 years back cannot lend their cars out if they get sick and have to give their licence back to the city if and when they’re unable to drive. So, once again, the head of Toronto’s taxi-licensing committee is looking for a fix. The only question is what exactly that fix will be—and if it’ll make the situation better or worse.

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The Dish

Bottoms Up

March 9, 2011 | 5:24 pm

1 Comment

Want to celebrate Kate and Will’s impending nuptials in style? Go ask the attorney general

Ontario’s arbiter of fun, Chis Bentley (Image: ontla.on.ca)

Bring on the (tentative) mimosas: Attorney General Chris Bentley has said that the provincial government would consider any requests to extend bar hours for Prince William and Kate Middleton’s April 29 nuptials. Extended drinking time is sometimes granted for special events—certain Toronto establishments are open until 4 a.m. during TIFF and North By Northeast, and bar hours were extended province-wide to begin sales of alcohol at 10 a.m. for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, we’re curious just how early Bentley would be willing to go, considering the wedding ceremony itself is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. in London, which would be 6 a.m. Toronto time.

• A T.O. toast to royal wedding? [Toronto Sun]

The Informer

The New Normal

January 13, 2011 | 12:50 pm

2 Comments

Toronto looking at ending failed pet-licensing program

A Toronto pet licence application: dogs cost $60 (unaltered) or $25 (sterilized); cats cost $50 (unaltered) or $15 (sterilized). Seniors get a 50 per cent discount.

Here’s a new entry in the “good in theory, not in practice” file. Toronto brought in a pet-licensing system to help control the animal population—and yes, the animal population, especially cats, is out of control. The problem is that due to lack of enforcement and really, really low participation from the public (90 per cent of pet owners couldn’t be bothered), the system is basically worse than useless. It offends pet owners, who feel like they’re being asked to license their kids, and it doesn’t bring in any money. So the city is doing the sensible thing and looking at ditching the system.

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 3, 2010 | 11:38 am

3 Comments

Where to get a TIFF drink: the film festival’s 44 spots with 4 a.m. licences

The arrival of TIFF always demands answers to three crucial questions: which celebs are coming to town, what are the best flicks to see, and where can we get inebriated at ungodly hours of the night? The first two we’ve taken care of here and here, and now we have the nearly complete list of venues with extended hours for TIFF. The news is good: last year, around 25 bars and restaurants were approved for extended hours; this year, about 44 will be serving late. The selection is more varied, and with spots like Gabby’s and Hey Lucy on the list, it’s decidedly more casual. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario tells us that the list could expand as more venues get last-minute approval. Here, the 44 bars officially licensed to stay open until 4 a.m. »

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The Dish

Bottoms Up

June 28, 2010 | 11:17 am

1 Comment

Pride: a complete list of bars serving until 4 a.m.

Woody's will be serving late (Image: Neal Jennings)

Of all the fun associated with Pride—the parade, the wild outfits, the half-naked people littering the streets—call us jaded, but our favourite part is getting our drink on until 4 a.m. Like in recent years, most of the festivities will be split between Church Street and Parkdale, but this year, Queen West will be a whole lot quieter as homo hipster hot spot Wrongbar (and host of such major Pride events as Big Primpin’ and the Will Munro memorial Vazaleen) was denied a late licence—surprising news, as it was allowed to stay open late two weekends ago for NXNE. Here, the bars officially licensed to stay open until 4 a.m., from Thursday July 1 through to Sunday July 4:

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The Dish

Opening

May 4, 2010 | 1:58 pm

1 Comment

Just Opened: OurHouse, a bar with one of the last licences on Ossington

OurHouse: in the middle of Oz strip

One of the most valuable slips of paper in the city is a liquor licence for premises on Ossington Avenue, and Anthony Siniscalco has one. The young business owner snagged one of the last permits before the city brought in a year-long moratorium on new Ossington bars last May, and he’s used it to open OurHouse.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

October 30, 2009 | 10:52 am

7 Comments

Ici Bistro gets its liquor licence; Joe Pantalone calls it the “beauty of democracy”

After winning over Annex residents and fighting a protracted battle with various bureaucracies, chef J.P. Challet and his partners are being granted a liquor licence for their latest restaurant, Ici Bistro. The news came down late yesterday and can be taken as a victory for cooler minds. The licence itself has a few provisos—15, to be precise—that include a ban on video arcades and loud music. But perhaps the key condition of the licence is that it cannot be handed down to any new business on that property without another hearing with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission. This should be good news to deputy mayor Joe Pantalone, who opposed boozing at the bistro out of fear that a yet-unheard-of sleaze spot might one day move in, peddle hooch to local teens and tear the community asunder.

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The Dish

Deathwatch

October 23, 2009 | 4:31 pm

18 Comments

Study of Ossington hip strip is bad news for new restaurant owners and patio lovers across Toronto

A dim view of Ossington (Photo by Jessica Darmanin)

Some have a rather dim view of Ossington (Photo by Jessica Darmanin)

When Toronto’s most notorious fuddy-duddy, Joe Pantalone, championed last May’s ban on new licences along lower Ossington, the city agreed to examine the strip in order to better plan its future. The results of the study were released last week, and—surprise, surprise—they suggest slowing growth. Among the recommendations made in the report: an ongoing ban on backyard patios, a size limit for restaurants and a regulation that would require every restaurant to provide parking spaces.

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The Dish

Opening

October 9, 2009 | 12:47 pm

6 Comments

Just opened: Buca

Rob Gentile hangs with his meats (Photo by Karon Liu)

The brains behind Brassaii, Jacobs and Co. and soon-to-be-opened The Saint are adding yet another restaurant to their empire, this one tucked away in the alley beside Cheval on the ritzy King Street strip. The week-old Buca is serving Italian fare by executive chef Rob Gentile, a former sous-chef at One, Bymark and North 44°.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

October 7, 2009 | 3:17 pm

3 Comments

Joe Pantalone maintains his tough—and lonely—stand against merlot

Joe Pantalone: city councillor, benevolent shepheard (Photo: joepantalone.org)

Joe Pantalone: city councillor, benevolent shepherd (Photo: joepantalone.org)

Being a city councillor is a tough job—just ask deputy mayor Joe Pantalone. Fresh from killing Ossington’s buzz, he now finds himself on an increasingly lonely crusade to deny a liquor license to J.P. Challet’s new Harbord Street bistro, Ici. Ostensibly, Pantalone wants to ensure a bad precedent isn’t set and that the license doesn’t stay with the venue if the restaurant closes, causing the whole street to descend into a crime-ridden hell (you know, again).

While 285 people signed a petition in support of the alcohol bid and have voiced their support to Pantalone’s office, the councillor isn’t swayed.

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Toronto International Film Festival 2009

September 3, 2009 | 11:51 am

4 Comments

Getting a TIFF drink: a complete list of establishments open until 4 a.m. during the film festival

Drake of dawn: the Queen Street hotel is one of many spots open until 4 a.m.

Stalking celebs at TIFF takes a lot out of us—and, we imagine, avoiding us takes a lot out of celebs. The best way to soothe those festival blues or celebrate festival triumphs is with a few cocktails around dawn. Luckily, more bars than ever are serving late this year.

Why so many licences this year? David Brown, bar manager at the Drake Hotel, posits a theory: “The economy is a little tight in general, regardless of what the Bank of Canada says. Giving licences earlier is a benefit to the city and businesses.” He notes that the crowd typically thins out a bit around 2 a.m., with a fresh round of TIFFers coming in around 2:30 a.m. Richard Lambert, owner of The Social, echoes Brown’s sentiment: “We will see a good turnover in the crowds, with a second wave coming around 1:30.”

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The Dish

Read All About It

August 6, 2009 | 10:24 am

Comments

Beer sales down, thief swipes grease, Frank Bruni passes fork to new critic

Hot commodity: vegetable oil makes a biofuel good enough to steal (Photo by schrislloyd)

• A man was arrested in Britain after allegedly stealing 8,200 gallons of vegetable oil from restaurants all over the city of York, including the chip stand and the Dairy Queen. The grease is a valuable biofuel that can power any car engine. We have to wonder if he’s a Simpsons fan. [Seacost]

• Sam Sifton will be replacing legendary New York Times food critic Frank Bruni. Sifton, who starts the job in October, established his gourmet cred through editing the Dining section, writing a food column for the New York Press and making meatloaf for Nora Ephron. Also changing at the Times is the tradition of concealing the appearance of food critics. The Observer illustrates this today by publishing an enormous photo of Mr. Sifton. [New York Observer]

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

February 4, 2009 | 3:11 pm

1 Comment

The patio season battleground is outside Future Bakery’s front door

Will the Future be tamer? (Photo by ShiftOperations)

Being knee-deep in winter, we are just starting to fantasize about Toronto’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it patio season. The time for debating patio season, however, is already upon us. Last Monday marked its start, with an Annex community meeting to discuss the patios at Future Bakery and The Labyrinth. The agenda of the meeting was not as ominous as predicted. Instead of angling to shut the patios down, the meeting focused on filling some licensing gaps as the patio licences are transferred to the establishments’ new owner, Sumit Kapur (including conditions on hours and noise levels).

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