“extremists”

Inflation is continuing to bite Canada’s restaurant industry, as sales have dipped across the country and consumers are facing higher menu prices.

Data from Statistics Canada released Monday showed that the prices for food purchased from restaurants increased by 5.1 per cent year over year in January, continuing a trend seen last year.

I don’t patronize establishments offering takeout that threaten me with the demand to tip just for the pleasure of placing my order at the cash.

I consider them likely to contaminate the food if a tip is refused.

In the 1930s, when Hitler was rising to power, there were some Germans who correctly foresaw that the end result would be catastrophe for Europe and for the German people, as well as for Jews and others. They attempted to persuade their fellow Germans to oppose the impending dictatorship — as history tragically shows, to no avail.

The startling news 50 years ago Sunday that Patty Hearst, granddaughter of media magnate William Randolph Hearst, had been kidnapped by a far-left terrorist organization was eclipsed only by the more shocking revelation two months later that she had “renounced” her “class privilege“ and joined the militant group.

Following her Feb. 4, 1974, kidnapping by the tiny, disorganized Symbionese Liberation Army, Hearst began to lose faith in her wealthy family’s ability to meet the SLA’s initial $4 million ransom demand ($25 million today), which continued to escalate. On April 3, she released a tape as “Tania,” the 11th member of the SLA.

January 31, 2024—Ottawa—With increasing global migration, Canada is experiencing a rise in the number of people claiming asylum. While housing and supports for asylum claimants are the responsibility of provinces and municipalities, the federal government recognizes the need for all orders of government to work together to address the rise in the number of people claiming asylum in Canada.

Today, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced an additional $362.4 million in funding for the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) as part of the 2023–2024 fiscal year. Through the IHAP, the Government of Canada provides funding to provincial and municipal governments, on a cost-sharing basis, to address extraordinary interim housing pressures resulting from increased volumes of asylum claimants.

Chow lowers budget tax hike to 9.5 per cent

The Star has learned that Mayor Olivia Chow plans to boost Torontonians’ property tax by a total of 9.5 per cent — down from the 10.5-per-cent hike earlier recommended by city staff.

Chow will make the announcement Thursday morning in Scarborough while unveiling the rest of her version of the city’s 2024 budget that will go to city council on Feb. 14, according to a source briefed on the plan.

The mayor’s proposed tax hike — eight per cent plus the 1.5 per cent city building fund dedicated to transit and housing — would be the highest in modern Toronto history, but would remain below the psychological double-digit increase that caused some shock when city staff first proposed it on Jan. 10.