On an unseasonably warm Saturday morning in a busy Starbucks on Victoria Park and the 401, in comes David Soknacki. A well-versed man in both business and politics who has no problem in speaking his mind about former competitors, transit, and his views on how the political world works.
“As a municipal politician, we work to find commonality,” he said. “The difficulty in the political world, of course, is separating the froth from the substance.”
Being a first year student in the Journalism program at Humber, there is a compulsory course I am taking this semester called Foundations of Newsgathering. In this course, the class is required to do assignments where we go into the field and write about stories in four categories: crime, courts, city council meetings, and the community. Having already finished the crime assignment, the class now has to sit in on a court case of our choosing and take notes on what we heard and saw.
Osgoode Hall at 130 Queen Street West in Toronto
So, I decided to go to Osgoode Hall, where the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Divisional Court of the Supreme Court of Justice, and the Law Society of Upper Canada all reside.
When I first walked into the building, I didn’t quite know where to go, but a security guard checked me in and let me into the courthouse. After passing security, I felt like a fish out of water. With all the lawyers in their polished black robes walking around and so many foreign corridors to go into it, the courthouse was just overwhelming. After a couple minutes of going into wrong rooms and wandering around, I finally found the notice board that listed all the cases for the week, what courtroom they were in, and a map of the entire building (which I had to consult a couple times throughout the day). (more…)
With over 100 art projects, Nuit Blanche hit Toronto with full force this past weekend! Running from sunset on Saturday to sunrise on Sunday, the elaborate outdoor exhibit featured 67 independent projects produced by Toronto’s art community and three curated exhibitions featuring 44 projects. Being this event’s eighth year in a row running, more than a million people attended this excellent display of art year after year.
This photoessay will highlight just a small percent of projects that were featured in Nuit Blanche 2013. To anyone who is intrigued in these unique pieces of art, I strongly recommend attending Nuit Blanche 2014 for a eye-opening experience!
From the Exhibition, “Off to a flying start”
Forever Bicycles by Ai Weiwei
This 3D sculpture of 3,144 bicycles creates an amazing labyrinth-like effect.
shannon writes... 