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Jan 24 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
#StarInvestigation: Metrolinx appointed a private consultant to an executive role at the transit agency and awarded his firm valuable government work while he was in the job, the Star has learned. torstar.co/RngU50HBgXA
Brian Guest, a director at the Boxfish Infrastructure Group consulting firm, held vice-president titles at Metrolinx between March 2018 - May 2020

Over that period, the public transit agency issued two contracts to Boxfish, one of which was sole-sourced
thestar.com/news/investiga…
Metrolinx refused to disclose how much taxpayer money it agreed to give to Boxfish through those deals.
thestar.com/news/investiga…
But according to two sources with knowledge of the arrangement, Guest’s company is currently set to earn between $20 million and $30 million from Metrolinx over a two-year period.
thestar.com/news/investiga…
Guest, who looks likely to be drawn into an inquiry about a burgeoning scandal involving Ottawa’s troubled LRT project, declined to comment, saying the terms of his engagement with Metrolinx didn’t allow him to speak publicly about his work there.
thestar.com/news/investiga…
The Ontario transit agency says there was no conflict of interest and the consultant had no influence over Metrolinx awarding contracts to his firm.

Read more of the #StarInvestigation ⬇️
thestar.com/news/investiga…

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More from @TorontoStar

Toronto Star Profile picture
Jan 25
#StarInvestigation: Ontario government will investigate controversial contracts Metrolinx gave to a consulting firm whose director was a VP at the transit agency thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
Meanwhile, the NDP says the public deserves answers about the “bizarre and disturbing arrangement” between Metrolinx and consultant Brian Guest.
thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
A Star investigation revealed details of two contracts consultant firm Boxfish Infrastructure Group won from Metrolinx in 2019 and 2020. At the time, Brian Guest, a director at Boxfish, was assigned to vice president roles at the publicly funded agency.
thestar.com/news/gta/2022/… Image
Read 4 tweets
Toronto Star Profile picture
Jan 25
#BREAKING: B.C. First Nation finds 93 potential burial sites at former residential school thestar.com/news/canada/20…
The Williams Lake First Nation says its investigation uncovered stories of torture, rape, forcible confinement and exposure to extreme conditions, among other abuses. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Chief Willie Sellars said religious officials, the federal government and RCMP misled the public about what was happening at the school. He accused authorities of engaging in the destruction of documents to cover up what was happening. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Read 7 tweets
Toronto Star Profile picture
Jan 25
Groceries are in tighter supply — and certainly more expensive — than they were before the pandemic. So what's causing the shortages?

Here are five myths debunked about empty shelves. Story by @jacoblorinc:
thestar.com/business/2022/…
1) Neither the trucker convoy nor the vaccine mandates are solely responsible for food disruptions; the sidelining of drivers isn't widespread enough to be primarily responsible. Still, some experts say the mandate could exacerbate an existing problem.
thestar.com/business/2022/… Image
2) A wide range of factors have contributed to food disruptions. Canadian grocery stores were facing supply constraints well before the trucker mandate, largely attributable to a mix of extreme weather, labour issues, COVID outbreaks and logistics.
thestar.com/business/2022/… Image
Read 6 tweets
Toronto Star Profile picture
Jan 25
Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young accused Spotify of spreading fake information about vaccines, citing the immensely popular “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
thestar.com/entertainment/…
In a now-deleted letter sent to his manager and the co-chairman and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. Records, Young threatened to pull his extensive catalog from Spotify in protest of the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on the platform.
thestar.com/entertainment/… Image
"I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them," Young wrote.
thestar.com/entertainment/…
Read 6 tweets
Toronto Star Profile picture
Jan 25
The hole Canada's Denis Shapovalov dug for himself with early erratic play in #AustralianOpen quarterfinal was too deep as he fell to Rafael Nadal seeking a record 21st major title.

@DamoSpin with the match analysis: thestar.com/sports/tennis/…
At the start, Shapovalov looked to be a thoroughly beaten player after losing the first two sets of the match against Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal.

He seemed out-of-sorts, serving poorly, volleying awkwardly, arguing with the chair umpire. thestar.com/sports/tennis/…
At one point, after more arguing between Shapovalov and the umpire, Nadal approached the net for a brief chat with Shapovalov, and seemed to be trying to calm the irritated Canadian.

Then, the game flipped.
thestar.com/sports/tennis/… Image
Read 7 tweets
Toronto Star Profile picture
Jan 25
Across Ontario, uncountable Whatsapp and Facebook groups sprouted in recent days, collections of parents contact-tracing on their own, as Ontario had given up on reporting COVID-19 outbreaks in schools to families this month. torstar.co/mIyj50HClHI
Efforts from these parent groups range from simple messages informing each other of their kids’ symptoms, to spreadsheets with rapid-test results, to full-on data visualizations.
thestar.com/news/gta/2022/… Image
“I feel like, as parents, any steps we can take to make school safer for kids, we want to take,” said Laura McIninch, who now runs a “makeshift” contact-tracing Whatsapp group.
thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
Read 5 tweets

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