Toronto Life

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Laughing Matters Our February cover story was an oral history of Second City Toronto, marking the comedy troupe’s 50th anniversary. Several members of the original cast—including Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas—waxed hilarious about the early years. For SCTV fans, it was a fun-filled nostalgia fest. “These daring young comics had nothing to lose, and look what they, and we, have gained! Who can forget those SCTV characters such as Lola Heatherton, Sammy Maudlin, Bobby Bittman, the Schmenge brothers, John Candy’s ‘fireside chats,’ and many more. It’s wonderful to see such great talents be recognized and rewarded.” —Bruce Philp, Toronto “I enjoyed the article about the genesis of SCTV’s success and how the company branched out from Chicago to Toronto. However, you failed to mention the years the original cast worked…

Dry Season Ours, for better or worse, is a city that likes its drink. Slog through the weekly grind, big presentation or TTC commute and there she is, arms wide, saying, Good job. Over the decades, alcohol has liberated the creative souls of our rock stars, artists and stand-up comedians. It has given a shy young person the nerve to approach that certain someone who might go on to become a lifelong partner. It has turned countless ho-hum nights out into something unforgettable. It’s a huge part of journalism too. Drinks with colleagues, drinks with writers, drinks with sources. File a big story? A round of paper planes. And, in this city, there’s no shortage of places to go. There are 4,327 liquor-licensed establishments in the GTA, which averages out to one…

“I’ve discovered over a dozen dinosaurs. I don’t even know the exact number”—David Evans, p. 20 THE BIG PICTURE The Doctor Will See You Now Private health care, public funds: What could go wrong? Even before Covid, Ontario’s health care system was in trouble. The pandemic made everything worse, resulting in a surgical backlog of 206,000 patients. The province’s proposed solution—allowing for-profit clinics to conduct procedures like cataract surgery, hip replacements and CT scans on OHIP’s dime—has plenty of critics. Such a move, they say, will incentivize doctors and nurses to leave an already stretched public system. More ominously, it will place patient care in the hands of profit-motivated shareholders. One thing all sides can agree on is that the system requires huge structural improvements in the years to come. Meanwhile, for hundreds of…

The ROM’s new exhibit, T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, just opened. What is it about this particular dinosaur that people love so much? T. Rex remains the largest carnivore ever to walk the earth. It’s the king of the monsters, and it actually lived. This amazing animal adapted to various environments and sea levels over time, before being lost to extinction. The exhibit is fascinating because, if we look at the effects that those changes had on T. Rex, we can maybe predict how things like climate change will affect us going forward and gain perspective on our current extinction crisis. The show is part of a travelling exhibit from the American Museum of Natural History. Did your team at the ROM add anything for its Toronto stop? We’re showing an almost-complete skull…

EGO BOOST EGO BRUISE Ryan Reynolds surprises a class of Seneca journalism students in person, cracking wise while reading off a prompter for a mock news segment. Reynolds later thanks the school via Twitter, saying he wishes such a program existed when he was young. Jeopardy! category “Worst Case Ontario” stumps the field on a recent episode. On topics ranging from geography to sports, contestants fail to get a single question right. Statistics Canada reports that 36 per cent of Toronto condo units are owned by investors, putting the city on a similar trajectory as New York, London and Shanghai. The Peel District School Board becomes the first in Canada to adopt an anti-Islamophobia strategy. Muslim students make up the board’s largest religious group. Indigo recalls more than 21,000 products—including its Beary Best Polar Bear mug—for…