To One & All

TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

MERRY CHRISTMAS

And MICHELE MANDEL Is Not To Be Forgotten

When it comes to handing our gifts (lumps of coal) to non-politicos.....

Our grown-up Christmas list
In this, the season of giving, it's time to play Santa for those naughty and nice
By MICHELE MANDEL

In the spirit of the holiday, we thought we'd use this space to offer a few gifts to those in need.

We know many who have been naughty this year, some who have been nice. Some have been all sugar and some have been nothing but spice. So bear with us as we play Santa Claus -- which, for a Jewish girl, is a real treat.

To Britney Spears, we offer some underwear, Nicorette gum and a manual on how to bring up baby. We applaud you for finally Fed-Exing that freeloader, we truly do, but your weeks of partying should now be done. You're a mom, for goodness sake. Put on some panties -- ditto your train wreck gal pals Paris and Lindsay -- and get out the Dr. Spock.

To Stephen Harper, we present a sense of humour. Man, that guy is too serious. Our favourite was his appearance in that snug-fitting pastel blue number during the APEC summit in Vietnam -- surely that was reason enough for a self-deprecating chuckle. But even when he's trying to smile, his eyes refuse to co-operate. Yes, our prime minister has the weight of the world on his shoulders -- and who knows when that election will be called -- but it would be nice if he lightened up a little. May we suggest a polar bear skinny dip with Rick Mercer?

To Michael "Kramer" Richards -- he of the n-word rant -- we bequeath a white Christmas. And to his racist partner-in-arms, Mel Gibson, a great big bottle of Manischewitz wine and a gefilte fish chaser. L'chaim.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Sue-Ann's Hannakah Gifts

And I would add a special gift for all the left wing councillors and their social in-activist buddies.........a copy of How To Be A Victim.

What would Christmas be without a few special gifts from Sue-Ann, the Hanukkah fairy, for some of those who purport to run City Hall
By SUE-ANN LEVY

Folks, it's mere hours before jolly old Saint Nick comes down the chimney once again this year! And we suppose even Toronto's city councillors deserve a visit from the big guy -- even though they already handed themselves an early Christmas gift in the form of their fat 8.9% pay hike, which kicks in next week.

But what would Christmas be without a few special gifts for some of those who purport to run City Hall. So in the interests of political correctness, the Hanukkah fairy -- me -- has decided to hand out a few tokens to councillors who've really, really earned them. For the record, these gifts are being provided from the heart, not out of a $53,100 office budget:

- Mayor David Miller: For the mayor who has everything but money to implement his socialist pet projects, His Blondness gets an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood to appear on the popular new game show, "Deal or No Deal." But instead of host Howie Mandel, the mayor will be treated to a segment featuring Dalton McGuinty with all of the premier's cabinet (I shudder at the thought) posing as the comely assistants holding up the cases full of money.

- Sandra Bussin: To the new speaker of this session, we bequeath 44 copies of the "Emily Post Book of Etiquette for Teenagers" to give to her brood on council, plus a gavel and if that doesn't work, a dinner bell to get their attention. The thought of food always does grab their attention. A crown, scepter (which she can use to swat those who don't listen) and a velvet cloak will also be in the queenly Bussin's goody bag to enhance her image

Giving never ends..........

City Of Toronto - An Enigma

Michelle and Lisa and Dorothy

and then we have

Dodge City

Merry Christmas

A Christmas Gift For Anonymous

FRANK RICH DECLARES IRAQ 'BOX OFFICE POISON!'
by Ann Coulter
December 20, 2006

Last year, Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, wrote to the head of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, telling him to "be ready starting now" for America to run from Iraq, reminding him how America cut and ran from Vietnam and the "aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam, and how they ran and left their agents."

Alas, Zarqawi never got to implement his Iraq takeover plan because the same troops that are allegedly losing the war right now killed him in June.

But al-Qaida in America isn't ready to quit, yet!

New York Times theater critic Frank Rich made headlines on the Drudge Report last week by announcing: "We have lost in Iraq." Of course, Rich was saying we had lost in Iraq more than six months before we went into Iraq.

In August 2002, he wrote that Bush did not have the support of the American people for war in Iraq and without that he would "mimic another hubristic Texan president who took a backdoor route into pre-emptive warfare."

In April 2003, one month after we invaded, Rich said the looting of Iraqi museums by Iraqis showed "our worst instincts at the very dawn of our grandiose project to bring democratic values to the Middle East."

About six months into the war he wrote a column about Iraq titled: "Why Are We Back in Vietnam?" You can imagine how writing those words must have brought back memories of Frank Rich's own valiant service in Vietnam.

More

And a personal note from Ann

It Is A Real Concern But......

When I ready something like; "One program that could offer some help is the Federal Provincial Affordable Housing Program, which involves matching federal-provincial funds and contains an allowance to bump up people's incomes and get them into private housing. The program has money for 1,800 families in Toronto, and 400 of those will come from the Housing Connections waiting list."

I have to ask why only 400 if there is money allocated for 1800? Also I have to wonder how many generations are being raised in current housing projects and how many people in "transitional housing" have joined the rest of us in coping with rising taxes, utility bills, etc.

The wait for space that lasts for years

Right to housing goes unanswered as number seeking assisted units stays stuck above 67,000

Jim Byers
Toronto Star

The list of people waiting to get into subsidized housing in Toronto has the names of enough people to fill the Rogers Centre, city officials said yesterday.

As Torontonians settle in for the Christmas holidays, the general manager of the city's Housing Connections program said yesterday that tens of thousands of less fortunate residents are living in damp basements and rooming houses or in temporary shelters.

In some cases, they end up homeless, lying on cold and barren streets at night.

"Most people don't realize how many people can't afford housing in Toronto, and most people don't realize how long the wait list is for subsidized housing," said Michelle Haney-Kileeg.

"Many people will spend this holiday season in deplorable situations with little hope for improvement in the near future."

Haney-Kileeg said there are 67,335 people on the waiting list for city housing.

That's easily more than enough to fill the Rogers Centre to the roof or pack the Air Canada Centre for more than three nights.

Considering the majority of applications are filed by single mothers with dependant children, the number of people who desperately need housing is actually much higher, she said.

"The demand doesn't seem to waver," Haney-Kileeg told the Star.

"We've been in the 60,000 range for the waiting list for more than six years."

more......

The PM Puts Things In Perspective

For rabid fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs.........

Long before Leafs, T.O. had a team to call its own
Stephen Harper
Toronto Star

Although the Maple Leafs have the night off, next Thursday marks a milestone in Toronto's professional hockey history.

On Dec. 28, 1906 – 100 years ago – a team of paid players skated onto Toronto ice for the first time.

The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the "Toronto Professionals" or more simply the "Torontos," didn't even belong to a league. But the players proposed to suit up in their white sweaters with the big purple "T" for exhibition matches against the best clubs in Canada and the United States.

It is hard to fully comprehend today the controversy that such a band of entrepreneurs would generate. "If we Britons are as great as the glory of our Empire," thundered John Ross Robertson, president of the Ontario Hockey Association, "then the flag of amateurism will be as safe from harm as the Union Jack in the hands of your fathers and mine!"

Robertson was no small opponent. Owner and publisher of the Toronto Telegram, philanthropist, member of Parliament, his views represented the powerful social and newspaper elite that controlled sports, particularly hockey, in Ontario's capital city. In the eyes of such gentlemen, a man paid for playing hockey was a deviant from polite society, disreputable to a fine sport if not outrightly disloyal to the country itself.

Robertson was so opposed to professionalism in hockey that he had instituted a lifetime ban for its practice. Through the OHA's connections, the ban would not just be from hockey, but from any sanctioned athletic activity.

And a professional was not merely someone who accepted pay for play in some form. It included anyone who ever played with or against a professional. So serious was the charge of being professional that the accused was required to prove his innocence. To be found to be guilty of professionalism meant exclusion from virtually all sporting fraternities for life.

more.......

You Had Three Years Mayor....

And you did dick all to get costs under control. You didn't reduce staff, you didn't get rid of redundant properties or staff, you didn't hold the line on wage increases, you didn't seriously look at contracting out, etc. Basically you did not show you are fiscally responsible so why should anyone give you more money to piss down the drain?

December 23, 2006
Mayor in clash for cash
By ZEN RURYK, CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

What do Toronto residents have in common with Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper?

Mayor David Miller wants to hit them all up for cash.

What differs, however, is the 2007 property tax hike that the city undoubtedly ends up inflicting on homeowners will likely be fairly modest -- probably about 3%.

He is seeking another $450 million annually to help his financially troubled government make ends meet.

In an end-of-year interview, Miller acknowledged that securing a new financial deal for the city is the one thing he hopes to make the most progress in the coming 12 months.

'SET UP TO FAIL'

It will be a make-or-break year to convince the senior levels of government to provide the city one cent of the GST or PST that's collected in Toronto, he said.

"Ultimately, Toronto -- structurally -- is set up to fail," said Miller in his second-floor City Hall office. "You can't have a government, whose expenses grow when the price of oil grows and the economy grows -- and its revenues don't. You can't. So, now is the time to fix that."

Keys to candy store......

What Level Of Gun Crime IS Acceptable?

Zero would be wonderful but that is a pollyanna objective but one that many think they can reach by blaming society as a whole for the problem and that more $$$, more basketball courts, etc. will solve the problem but it is not working. Quicker trials, harsher mandatory consecutive sentences and hard time might be the answer. Our present system is not working:

Alarmingly, one of every seven arrests our police make today is for someone violating bail conditions.

That indicates our "catch and release" criminal justice system must be overhauled. Prime Minister Stephen Harper must fulfil his election promise to crack down on gun crime and soft-hearted Liberal, Bloc and NDP MPs must get their heads out of the sand and stop obstructing needed reforms.

EDITORIAL: Don't let up on gun crime

By SUN MEDIA

The good news as we enter the final week of the holiday season and 2006, is that gun crime is down in Toronto.

The bad news is that the one-year anniversary of the Boxing Day shooting on Yonge St., which took the life of Jane Creba and wounded six others, is fast approaching.

That gun crime is down from the record mayhem of a year ago brings no comfort for those who lost loved ones. We all know, the police most of all, that at any moment, good news about crime stats can turn into bad news overnight. That said, gun violence is down in every major category from last year's record pace.

As of yesterday, there were 27 gun-related murders in Toronto this year compared to 50 at this time a year ago. Shootings are down from 239 to 199. There have been 277 victims, down from 323.

Total homicides are down as well -- 65 this year compared to 77 last year, although Police Chief Bill Blair is concerned about a spike in domestic murders.

more

I Pose The Question: Why Isn’t the Whole Left Neoconservative?

It is a valid question especially when you consider the state into which the world has fallen under the left wing in North America, Britian, etc. coupled with the socialist claptrap and demonic rule of countries under the communist banner. We might have been farther ahead if we had aped the antics of The Marx Bros. rather than Karl.

Why Isn’t the Whole Left Neoconservative?
Filed under: Dissecting Leftism — John @ 8:57 pm

James Lewis wonders why all old leftists haven’t become neo-cons.

Now that neocons are being slow-roasted in effigy all over the world, this may be the right time to ask the question: Why isn’t the whole Left neoconservative? Remember that neocons like Norman Podhoretz and Daniel P. Moynihan were former left-wingers who saw the light — which only seems like common sense, after witnessing Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, the Kims (Dad and Junior), and the whole mass-murdering gang of cutthroats.After the Soviet Union crashed and no one could possibly ignore the bloody mess the Left kept making over seventy long years. So why didn’t all the decent Leftists just read their Milton Friedman and grow up?

That’s what the so-called neocons did, and more power to them. I take it as obvious that they were correct and morally decent, in learning to see how wrong they had been. They grew up. My question is: What happened to all the others?

Or to ask it a different way: Why is it that in Britain, of all countries, a BBC4 survey showed that the greatest philosopher of all time is considered to be … Karl Marx? A hate-filled parasitical scribbler who spent his life in the British Museum, stoking the fires that killed 100 million people in the 20th century? What is wrong with British education that the plain facts do not shout out for themselves?

The fact that the Left never, ever learns gives the lie to all its high-falutin’ claims of “idealism,” “progressivism,” and superior morality. There is one and only one reason the Left isn’t blamed for its misdeeds: It still controls the organs of propaganda, following der Übermenschlicher Karl. Thus some 90 percent of our media functionairies are left wingers. A predominant percentage of professors and teachers are, too.

To hold on to their beliefs leftists must shut down any competing ideas, which is precisely what they do. Just take your favorite leftist friends, and tell them some obvious fact they don’t want to hear. You can see it working right in front of your eyes: They just won’t hear it. Like the stone idols of the Bible, they have eyes, but cannot see; ears, but cannot hear. (Ps. 115) As long as they control the dominant media, our society will keep teetering at the brink of destruction.

More

The Reality of Xmas

It takes a good man to withstand the demands.........but wait until next year.

One On One Is A Solution

Governments at all levels pour millions and millions into the homeless problem and it would be interesting so see how much goes for administration and how much actually goes to helping individuals and families. In the City of Toronto something like $16-32K is allocated per homeless person and it makes you wonder how that money is spent. Bottom line is evident....most people are concerned but only a few are actually doing anything concrete.

Donors get web wish lists from homeless

Needy receive practical gifts in Vancouver and Calgary

JANE ARMSTRONG and DAWN WALTON

Globe and Mail Update

VANCOUVER, CALGARY — The simply written, personal biographies hint at the terrible loneliness and longing that visit the homeless each Christmas.

Heartbreaking, too, are the humble requests penned by those who live and sleep on the streets of two of Canada's most prosperous cities.

Dwayne A., a 49-year-old Vancouver roofer, wants bus tickets and gloves. Jerome L., 50, a transplanted Newfoundlander living in Calgary, is a would-be poet who wants a dictionary. Kari H., a 38-year-old widow who has battled drugs, wishes "my kids and family would talk to me again."

Their stories and Christmas wishes can be found on two websites set up in Vancouver and Calgary, which provide homeless men and women the opportunity to make a Christmas wish list.

Donors can scroll through the profiles, then purchase a gift for a specific person rather than hand over cash or a cheque to a faceless bureaucracy. The homeless, in turn, get a present they specifically requested.

The sites (http://www.homelessvancouver.com and http://www.homelesspartners.com) have touched a chord with residents in both cities: Last year in Vancouver, where the Web wish list originated, donors showered shelters with more than 2,000 requested presents. In Calgary, the earmarked gifts are piling up in shelters.

"Most people want to do something for the homeless," said Rich Duimstra, who manages the Vancouver website. "Or rather, most people think something should be done for the homeless. When people see that they are real people. When people make that connection, then they really do want to help.

"We're not giving loose change. We're giving practical gifts."

One on one.......

The Better Way....Some Shortcomings

The Star

The Sun

Mayor Miller's Promise Of Full Disclosure Is A Joke

Either the mayor really is not in the loop or he is lying. He promised full disclosure but.........

Secrecy still taints landfill purchase TheStar.com - opinion - Secrecy still taints landfill purchase

Toronto Star

Mayor David Miller endured much criticism – some of it unfair – when Toronto City Council voted hastily in September to buy a sprawling St. Thomas landfill site to be used to dump Toronto garbage starting in 2010.

Miller came under attack in part because details of the purchase were kept hidden from the public. In fact, secrecy was necessary to protect the owners of the Green Lane Landfill site, the McCaig family of St. Thomas, while the city's lawyers, accountants and environmental experts poked through the company's confidential files, scanning for possible problems that could negate the yet-unsigned deal.

At the time, Miller repeatedly said details would be made available once this 90-day "due diligence" process was done, and assuming the deal didn't fall through. He was specifically quoted in the Star declaring: "All of the information will be made public once the due diligence is completed."

A deal was finally signed earlier this week, at the very end of the 90-day period set aside for due diligence. And it has now been revealed that the landfill site will cost Toronto $220 million.

However, contrary to Miller's earlier assurances, all the information on this massive purchase has still not been made public. In particular, city officials are refusing to disclose how much money Toronto might earn by allowing other communities to dump their garbage at the Green Lane site. Miller has been intentionally vague. "It is possible we will make money," he recently said, "and it is unlikely we will lose money."

That's a far cry from the full disclosure Miller had earlier promised.

What remains secret is not a trivial matter. The city will be forced to borrow money to finance this megadeal. At the same time, it is difficult to judge the full merits of the purchase without any real accounting of how much money Toronto is likely to earn, or if there is any financial gain to be had at all. Critics are right to seek such information.

Details, details, details........

Thank You For Taking The Time Magoogle!

Too many times we don't show the respect for cultural icons that bring joy and smiles to the world.


Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Thank You!
So long...

Nobody has made me laugh harder than Tom & Jerry. I loved Scooby Doo, Dick Dastardly and the Wacky Races, The Flintstones, and Tiny Toon Adventures will forever be one of my favorites.

Joseph Barbera passed away of natural causes at 91 years old. If laughter is the best medicine, he should have lived another 90 years based on his concoctions. He and William Hanna changed the world. And made mine a helluva lot better than it would have been had they never appeared on it.

Mr. Barbera, Mr. Hanna, thank you both. Rest in Peace.

The End

#120, posted: 2 days ago by Ig

Same Old, Same Old At Toronto City Hall

Miller opts to bypass brickworks TheStar.com - News - Miller opts to bypass brickworks

Toronto Star
letter on hiringsAfter a hiring scandal shook City Hall a couple of years ago, councillors were told they shouldn't be writing letters of reference for people seeking city jobs. The new Councillor Code of Conduct prohibits such activities. Most councillors thought that made sense given the hiring issues. in mild weatherThe polar bears might not have liked the warm weather we've had of late, but it seems to have helped the Toronto Zoo. A report to the zoo's board says attendance through November was 5 per cent higher than budgeted, with 1,196,567 visitors. Attendance last month alone was 30,976 – the highest November results since 2001. With only a little time remaining in the year, zoo officials said they'll exceed the 1.2 million mark in attendance for the 11th time in the facility's 32-year history and the fourth time in the past five years.

Mayor David Miller was slated to attend an 11 a.m. briefing yesterday to announce federal funding for the Toronto brickworks on Bayview Ave. That was cancelled, however, so the mayor could brief the media at City Hall about the city's purchase of the Green Lane landfill site near London.

A cynic would suggest the mayor didn't want to have his picture taken with a trio of high-powered Tories who had flown in from Ottawa for the brickworks session. Miller said he couldn't go because he had to talk about the garbage deal. A cynic also would suggest the mayor could have talked about Green Lane at 10 a.m or noon or 1 p.m. – and attended the brickworks meeting.

"If you're trying to build a good relationship with the federal government, you send a representative," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East). "Part of trying to arrange this New Deal initiative (to gain better funding for the city) is to try and have good relations with the federal government."

It could be said that your mayor is more at home with garbage than redevelopement of areas other than those inhabitated by waterfront condo owners and island squatters.

---

Ootes fires off letter on hiring

But Councillor Case Ootes (Ward 29, Broadview-Greenwood) noted the other day that the civic appointments committee considers and recommends to council who should be appointed to various agencies. In a letter to the mayor and other members of council, Ootes wrote that such a policy means the eight council members on the civic appointments committee have the right to name people to different groups, but that the other councillors have no such privileges.

---

Visitors flock to zoo in mild weather

The polar bears might not have liked the warm weather we've had of late, but it seems to have helped the Toronto Zoo. A report to the zoo's board says attendance through November was 5 per cent higher than budgeted, with 1,196,567 visitors. Attendance last month alone was 30,976 – the highest November results since 2001. With only a little time remaining in the year, zoo officials said they'll exceed the 1.2 million mark in attendance for the 11th time in the facility's 32-year history and the fourth time in the past five years.

You have to remember the other zoo, the one at Toronto City Hall, is not open yet.

---

The thoughts of Chairman Miller

Mayor David Miller frequently refers to his book of campaign pledges, talking about how city voters approved his mandate for this and that. At least one council member who has had run-ins with Miller in the past has taken to calling the campaign document "the mayor's Little Red Book," a nod to the philosophy of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Not nice.

Let's not forget that the Red Book was also a volume used by that golfer...what was his name? Oh yea! Cretein.

---

Committee in need of operating licence

Councillor Brian Ashton (Ward 36, Scarborough Southwest) is entertained at the idea of a Toronto licensing and standards committee that will be chaired by bombastic Howard Moscoe, a strong ally of Mayor David Miller, and include the emotional Rob Ford, a staunch Miller opponent. "It's the first committee in the history of Toronto that will require a licence to operate itself," Ashton said.

Nice to see at least one councillor has a sense of humor.

jim byers, paul moloney

A Message To Vinay Menon

Who, in an article in The Star, said; "Anyway, good luck OurChart.com. Now if somebody could just create an online social space for American-Born Canadian Heterosexual Males of South Asian Descent Who Are Nearly Legally Blind and Fathers of Twins!"

Surprise! Surprise Vinay! Somebody did and it is called blogging.

By the way Vinay's comment was in the article.....

It Is A F*&^ing Disgrace

We have people wanting funding for shootup sites for drug addicts. We supply cigarettes and booze to homeless people. We allow beggars to ply their trade with impunity? But we can't find it in our hearts to allow people, who as a rule have contributed much to our society, to die with a little dignity and a minor indulgence.

Dying smoker left out in the cold

No room under new rules for indoor smoking areas in hospitals

Jack Lakey
Toronto Star

As Suzanne Penny prepares for death, one of the few remaining pleasures in life is her cigarettes. They are the cause of the cancer that ravages her, but also a soothing source of comfort. They helped Penny cope with the terror of diagnosis, brain surgery, radiation treatment and knowing she will die soon, and likely alone.

Cigarettes will be her partner on this final journey; there isn't anyone else. They are her friends. To indulge her habit, Penny must leave the Salvation Army Grace Hospital, at Church and Bloor Sts. She bundles up, rides the elevator six floors down and pushes her walker out to the smoking area, near the parking lot and next to an industrial garbage dumpster.

It's the law. There is no protection from wind, rain or cold, only a bench and a receptacle for butts. "It is quite delightful when it's dark and raining," said 58-year-old Penny, a trace of sarcasm tingeing her prim English accent.

Penny and many others in hospitals, chronic care facilities, nursing homes and seniors residences are on the wrong side of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which bans smoking in workplaces and public places. It took effect June 1.

The legislation is intended to reduce workers' exposure to second-hand smoke and make it harder for people to light up. But it left no wiggle room for hospitals, some of which had an indoor smoking area for gravely ill people before, but are no longer allowed.

Major Dennis Brown, CEO of Grace Hospital, said he sympathizes with smokers and understands the hardships caused by the new rules, but can't help them.

"When it was legal for us to have a smoking room, we felt that it made sense for people in their final days to have an area where they could continue to smoke and not be faced with symptoms and cravings," said Brown.

Before the province's rules kicked in, the city's smoking bylaw called for a specially ventilated room. Brown says a bylaw inspector told the hospital a year ago its smoking room didn't comply and to stop using it within 30 days, or face large fines.

To a patient with a long-nourished nicotine habit, facing a life-threatening illness without cigarettes may seem like a good idea to non-smokers, but is out of the question to them.

Just stand near the doors of any hospital and observe the procession of patients with jackets over gowns, sometimes in wheelchairs or with intravenous carts in tow, puffing away.

In the daily emails and calls to The Fixer, we occasionally get one that jumps out from the usual fare of tripping hazards and burned-out streetlights.

Penny's began by saying: "I am dying in the palliative care unit at the Grace Hospital. I would like to do so with a reasonable amount of grace and dignity, but that has been taken from me. I am a smoker.

"Forbidding smoking can't – won't – stop me from smoking, but I must go outside to do it. It is a decision that seems sure to give me pneumonia.

"I cannot stop smoking. Someone else's decision gives me no dignity and no choices. I feel sad and angry. Where is the mercy? Where is the humanity? Where are the exceptions?"

Her plea is especially ironic, given that both the University of Toronto and York University recently created rooms for professors who smoke marijuana for medical reasons, but didn't want to sneak around outside to do it.

More

Breastfeeding In Public

I don't have a problem with a women breastfeeding in public and in fact it was only last week that I saw a women doing so in a Second Cup outlet in my local Home Depot. It is really a two way street; the woman should be as discreet as possible and she shouldn't chastise anyone who might appear to be ogling/leering. The argument in favor is that it is a natural part of parenting and it is possible that in the near future farting, taking a leak, etc. in public becomes acceptable behaviour in public.

Eateries welcome nursing mothers

Peel Region program aims to make new moms comfortable

Richard Brennan
Toronto Star

Peel Region restaurants are being encouraged to be "breastfeeding friendly" so new mothers don't feel uncomfortable nursing their babies in public.

"It is just such a natural way of feeding a baby and something that we promote in public health simply because it is the best for baby and the best for mom," Anne Fenwick, director of Peel Region's family health department, said yesterday.

Fenwick said while it doesn't happen very often, there are still restaurants that will ask a mother to breastfeed in the washroom so as not to offend patrons – or ask them to leave.

The restaurants, that participate in the initiative that began this week, are given a breastfeeding-friendly sticker to put on their front window.

Toronto Public Health has a similar program, as do other municipalities, such as Guelph.

Fenwick said too often nursing mothers feel they have to stay cooped up at home because they don't feel comfortable breastfeeding in public places, even though breastfeeding rights are protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

"Fenwick said with more than 14,000 births in Peel each year, "there are a lot of mothers looking for a comfortable place where they and their children can eat at the table."

But there still may be some reluctance with some restaurants.

"I don't know how our (patrons) would react to that. They are spending $200 on a bottle of wine," said Victor Tetrovski, manager of the Old Barber House, a restaurant in the former village of Streetsville in Mississauga.

"I have no problem with it but ... the people who come here might ...," he said.

Teresa Pitman, executive director of La Leche League Canada, a breastfeeding support group, said even so, the situation for nursing mothers has vastly improved over the past 15 years.

"(Mothers get hassled) a lot less than it used to be, but every now and then I will get a call or there will be something in the newspaper from a mother who has been asked to leave a restaurant or asked to go to the washroom ... but I wouldn't say that it happens a lot," she said.

Feeling at ease in a restaurant, Pitman said, is important for new mothers particularly because they are more likely "to feel a little anxious about feeding their babies out in public anyway.

"Even though they are entitled to they often feel a little bit worried about it. Certainly seeing these stickers and knowing that they feel welcome is really helpful to them."