I signed up for a paid Wired subscription - because they’re doing some good reporting lately - and to my surprise, they sent me a sheet of laptop stickers.

I cannot personally imagine any circumstance where I’d put one of these stickers on my laptop, but the thought was nice.

I remember watching the funeral of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 2000, and seeing his son Justin, aged 28, speak an eloquent eulogy. At the time we didn’t know a whole lot about him. He was teaching secondary school in Vancouver, and this eulogy seemed like our first chance to get to know this guy.

I’m sure I was not the only person who thought - this guy is good, he might have a career in politics.

I particularly like the story he tells at the 6:00 mark, of his dad taking him to the Parliamentary cafeteria, when Justin was in grade 3. Justin remembers telling a childish joke about one of the other politicians that was there, and his dad insisted that that was inappropriate and took him to meet this other politician, and explained that differing opinions don’t mean a lack of respect for the others, that mere tolerance is not enough, and we need genuine respect for each human being. (He doesn’t say who it was, but I suspect it was former Prime Minister Joe Clark.)

And he did have a good career in politics. With challenges at the end, with a lot of angry Canadians making unwarranted personal attacks, but I think history will look kindly on his career as Prime Minister. It might take a few years for some to calm down, though.

And he may have hung on too long.

But … he’s been particularly good the past few weeks, responding to US trade sabre-rattling. It seems that once you announce you aren’t running again, once you don’t need to worry about re-election, you’re empowered to say what we all need to hear.

Yesterday, Mark Carney was elected as the new Liberal leader to succeed Justin Trudeau. I wish him well. I hope he can embody the dignity, compassion and toughness that both Prime Ministers Trudeau showed Canada when we needed it.

We went to a fun CFL Fans Fight Cancer gathering at the Left Field Brewery in Toronto’s Liberty Village last night, and joined CFL fans across the country in raising money a great cause and generally counting down the days until the season kicks off (note: home opener, Saturday June 14, Argos vs. Calgary!)

There was a lot I liked - a great cause, great friends, great food, and the pub’s QR-code-based ordering and payment system actually worked promptly - but I was really happy to see these signs on the rest rooms.

This is how it should be, everywhere, and it’s a shame there need to be signs.

Everyone Who Identifies As A Man And/Or Non-Binary Person May Use This Space

(Of course there was a corresponding sign on the W room door too.)

This Is An All Inclusive Restroom

This sign was inside.

The sign says -

Please trust that everyone knows which restroom is appropriate for them.

Choosing to use a restroom that is the most comfortable and appropriate for you is not a privilege, it is a right. Harassment and gender policing (scrutinizing, assuming, judging or categorizing another person's gender) of any kind will not be tolerated.

At Left Field, we are proud to offer a space where community, family and friends can gather to responsibly enjoy fresh, locally made craft beer and food together and be free from discrimination or harassment of any kind. Harassment includes offensive comments or attitudes related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, differing abilities, physical appearances, body size, race, religion; deliberate intimidation, following and unwanted sexual attention.

At any point during your visit, if you are made to feel unsafe, uncomfortable or in danger or if you witness someone else who may be in need of assistance, please discreetly alert one of our team members and we will make it our top priority to help without question or judgement.

We welcome you to inform us of any past instances of feeling unsafe in the brewery and to provide us with any suggestions of how we can become a more inclusive space by emailing mandie@leftfieldbrewery.ca. All communication of this nature will be treated confidentially.

Nothing is more important to us than the safety and comfort of our team members and valued guests. We believe that beer is a space that is for everyone and we will take all necessary actions to uphold this policy.

Cheers!

Team Left Field

SAFE AT HOME.

Well done, Left Field Brewery. We’ll be back!

Much thoughtful analysis has been written about yesterday’s Ontario provincial election, but you probably won’t get THIS anywhere else.

There were 769 candidates in 124 ridings, from ABDULSALAM, BAHIRA to ZUBERI, MUSTAFA, from Ajax to York-Simcoe. I salute them all. It takes a lot these days to put yourself out there. Thank you.

Most Votes Mike Schreiner, Green Party, Guelph 34,238
Fewest Votes: Jim Torma, Populist Ontario, Niagara West 71
Most Votes by Non-Winner Andrea Grebenc, Liberal, Burlington 24,078 (Lost by 40 votes.)

Most Common First Name: David 13
What About Steve, Stephen Stephanie, Steven Etc, What If You Added All Those Up: OK sure, 22

Most Common Last Name: (tie) SMITH and QURESHI

• Smith: Nori, Graydon, Dave, David, Laura
• Qureshi: Sarah, Sameer, Mansoor, Haseeb, Faiz

Shortest Riding Name: Ajax
Longest Riding Name: Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes

Most Candidates: (tie) 9 in each of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, Mississauga East—Cooksville, Sarnia—Lambton

Fewest Candidates: 3, Eglinton-Lawrence

Longest Candidate Name: PROTOPAPA, LAYLA MARIE-ANGELA (New Blue Party, Hamilton Mountain)
Shortest Candidate Name: (tie)

• FOX, RON (Liberal, Brantford—Brant)
• GAO, JAN (PC, Ottawa South)
• HSU, TED (Liberal, Kingston and the Islands)
• LIU, SUE (PC, Don valley North)

Party that came last in total votes, the Electoral Reform Party (with two candidates, in Waterloo, and Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas), total votes 240. I hope that’s not as symbolic as it sounds.

By winning the ridings of Kiiwetinoong, Mushkegowuk-James Bay, Thunder Bay-Superior North, Timiskaming-Cochrane and Nickel Belt, as shown here, the NDP won roughly 66% of the area of Ontario.

Get all the numbers here from Elections Ontario.