WE really need to get rid of this guy

spaminator

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Oct 26, 2009
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Former mayor facing sentencing for sex assaults given time to find lawyer
Trevor Birtch was granted an adjournment of his sentencing hearing for convictions stemming from his second sexual assault trial

Author of the article:Jane Sims
Published Aug 15, 2025 • 4 minute read

Trevor Birtch’s complicated personal life has evolved into a tangled web of legal delays, adjournments, mistrials and unexpected twists through the criminal justice system.


The disgraced former mayor of Woodstock was back in a London courtroom Friday afternoon on his own where he was granted an adjournment of his sentencing hearing for convictions stemming from his second sexual assault trial that began almost a year ago.


Birtch, 50, was given more time by Superior Court Justice Spencer Nicholson to continue his search for a new defence lawyer after James Battin, his counsel for his four criminal cases, was ordered disbarred by the Law Society of Ontario in May over legal aid payment issues.

The need for a defence lawyer is urgent in the case, especially after assistant Crown attorney Kristina Mildred indicated to Nicholson that she would be seeking a prison term for the two sexual assault convictions.


“Given that we are seeking a significant penitentiary term in this matter, and I appreciate the events have unfolded in an unexpected way for Mr. Birtch, we have absolutely no issue with the request for an adjournment today,” she said.

But that’s just one of his cases. A flow chart is almost necessary to track and understand Birtch’s long and complex trek through the courts.

Birtch was first charged in February 2022 when he was still mayor of Woodstock and after ending a relationship with a 45-year-old woman that began in April 2020 and ended in December 2021.

His trial into those matters was the first to heard last year and ended with Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie convicting him of one count of assault and one count of sexual assault.


The woman told the court about Birtch trying to force her into performing a specific sex act when they were on a Valentine’s Day getaway to a London hotel in 2021. The assault conviction was related to a drive in the country and beach day when the woman was pushed out of the car after refusing sexual activity with Birtch.

He was charged again with more sexual assault counts in the spring of 2022 involving a 39-year-old woman who had a history of addiction and health issues – and was also part of Birtch’s bizarre and violent personal life starting in 2017 until 2021.

Those charges were tried last fall and ended with Nicholson’s decision in January where he convicted Birtch of two counts of sexual assault and called Birtch “an obvious liar.”


The victim testified that she had several unwanted sexual encounters with Birtch, often when both of them had consumed large quantities of drugs and alcohol supplied by Birtch. It was during her testimony that she said Birtch would snort cocaine while off-camera during online city council meetings.

Birtch claimed that the coin bags of white powder were crushed-up over-the-counter pain medication for a bum shoulder. Nicholson found the explanation “totally unbelievable” and also flatly rejected Birtch’s suggestion that all the charges were part of a female-led conspiracy to humiliate him.

However, after the second trial, Birtch sought and was granted a mistrial by Carnegie in December on the first set of convictions because potential evidence for that case from a key witness at the second trial emerged during her testimony and was not disclosed by the Crown for the first trial.


After all of those charges were laid, Birtch sought re-election in the fall of 2022 and was pummelled at the polls.

But before the sexual assault cases ever made it to court, there were more charges on October 30, 2023, when Birtch was charged with impaired driving after he was in a two-vehicle crash west of Woodstock. Birtch pleaded guilty in Woodstock in February to having more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood and was dealt a 90-day conditional sentence, a year of probation and a 12-month driving suspension.

An hour before the crash, Birtch was in London, where he was charged with two counts of assault and one count of unlawful entry involving yet another woman. Birtch was arrested after an alleged confrontation at a London home where the woman was staying where a witness testified he saw Birtch slap her in the face, then have a tussle with the witness when he told Birtch to leave.


An Ontario Court of Justice trial in London on those matters began in February, but was adjourned at the request of the defence, once the Crown closed its case after one witness. The woman was expected to be called to testify by the defence at a later date.

Three months later, Battin was disbarred and Justice Jason Miller later declared a mistrial on those matters in June. Birtch was in the Ontario Court on Thursday where the case was put over to Sept. 4 to give him more time to find a defence lawyer.

And that was the same predicament on Friday when Birtch was in front of Nicholson without a lawyer.

There was yet another twist. Before her judicial appointment was announced earlier this week, Superior Court Justice Jennifer Moser, who is slated to be sworn-in at the end of the month, was the prosecutor for the case and was required to turn over the sentencing to Mildred.


Birtch told Nicholson that he has had “a couple of consultations with different lawyers. But the summer scheduling issues, the size of the file and “the size of the retainers required” have pushed him to seek out “a few more.”

Any lawyer he has spoken to so far asked for a two- to three-month adjournment to review the case.

Nicholson said it was “a very unique situation” and agreed that the case go over to Sept. 19 for an update about Birtch’s search for a defence lawyer.

jsims@postmedia.com
 

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On whether she will run again, Mayor Chow's answer is 'I don't know'
Will Olivia Chow's ambiguity on her political future make her a lame duck mayor when it comes to dealing with Toronto's major challenges?


Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Published Aug 22, 2025 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 3 minute read

Mayor Olivia Chow sported a Maple Leafs sweater in an X posting that appeared in her account on May 4, 2024
Mayor Olivia Chow sports a Maple Leafs sweater in an X posting on her account on May 4, 2024.
Just a little more than year out, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has revealed she’s not sure if she will seek re-election.


Her uncertainty on whether to seek another term had light shined on it Friday morning while she was appearing on Newstalk 1010


Saying there is a “shadow electoral campaign” that ”has already started” while noting several people have indicated their intentions to put their names on a ballot, morning host John Moore put a point-blank question to 68-year-old Chow.

“Are you running?”

Chow attempted to dodge the question.

“I am running the City of Toronto right now,” she said. “I am not doing anything else.”

Moore came back at her and asked her again.

“Are you going to be a candidate in the upcoming cycle,” he asked.

Replied Chow: ”I don’t know.”



So with those three words, the future leadership of Toronto, at a time when there are so many key issues from refugees to traffic to crime to cost of living in play, is up in the air.

Chow tried to deflect all of this with her next comment.

“We are talking about October next year. We are not even in October this year. So (I’m) not thinking about it at this point.”

Mayor Olivia Chow at an executive committee meeting.
Mayor Olivia Chow joins members of Toronto city council at an executive committee meeting on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Council passed a bubble-zone bylaw on Thursday, May 22, 2025, that will be welcomed by the Jewish community.
Is the Toronto public expected to believe the mayor is not “thinking about” whether or not she will seek re-election? Is her being unsure whether or not to take her record to the public something that could put the city in a position of weakness, in that the federal and provincial governments know they have a person in that seat who may not even be there next year?

Chow was sworn in as mayor two years ago on July 12, 2023 after a byelection that opened up the position when then-Mayor John Tory resigned, soon after winning his third term, in response to the discovery of him having had a relationship with a female staffer.


Is it only fair to let Chow decide when she announces her intentions? After all, top potential opponents like a comeback-seeking Tory or Councillor Brad Bradford have not yet declared themselves.

One thing that’s different here is usually a year out will indicate whether or not an incumbent will seek another term. Challengers don’t have the same responsibility and are afforded more time. Chow has not responded to questions from the Toronto Sun to clarify just what she meant by her wishy-washy approach to Moore’s appropriate probing.



The mayor did tell Moore “there are a lot of challenges that we have — whether it’s building housing people can afford, helping some renters, because half of the city of Toronto are renters, so we cannot ignore their needs.”

She also was strong in her words toward Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal Liberal government to “pay up” when it comes to funding for refugees — who Chow rightfully pointed out Toronto is “sheltering” at great expense but not getting full compensation in return.

Combination photo of Olivia Chow, John Tory and Brad Bradford.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, left, and Councillor Brad Bradford, right, are playing coy about the upcoming mayoral campaign, while former mayor John Tory may be mulling a comeback. Photo by Toronto Sun files
On Friday, Chow attended an emotional vigil held in response to the horrendous shooting murder of eight-year-old JahVai Roy, at which she talked about holding on to one’s “anger” about what happened and looking for ways to curb gun smuggling from the United States.


The mayor was certainly on the job this week. But will she be the one to tackle these challenges a year from now? If not, when will she let Torontonians know?

Will other levels of government take her hesitancy to reveal her plans as weakness and a void in power, thus creating a lame duck effect? And who will step up and try to take her spot?

Time will tell.

But one thing that is clear is Toronto’s current mayor is not being clear on whether she wants the job when this term runs out next October.

jwarmington@postmedia.com
 

Dixie Cup

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On whether she will run again, Mayor Chow's answer is 'I don't know'
Will Olivia Chow's ambiguity on her political future make her a lame duck mayor when it comes to dealing with Toronto's major challenges?


Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Published Aug 22, 2025 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 3 minute read

Mayor Olivia Chow sported a Maple Leafs sweater in an X posting that appeared in her account on May 4, 2024
Mayor Olivia Chow sports a Maple Leafs sweater in an X posting on her account on May 4, 2024.
Just a little more than year out, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has revealed she’s not sure if she will seek re-election.


Her uncertainty on whether to seek another term had light shined on it Friday morning while she was appearing on Newstalk 1010


Saying there is a “shadow electoral campaign” that ”has already started” while noting several people have indicated their intentions to put their names on a ballot, morning host John Moore put a point-blank question to 68-year-old Chow.

“Are you running?”

Chow attempted to dodge the question.

“I am running the City of Toronto right now,” she said. “I am not doing anything else.”

Moore came back at her and asked her again.

“Are you going to be a candidate in the upcoming cycle,” he asked.

Replied Chow: ”I don’t know.”



So with those three words, the future leadership of Toronto, at a time when there are so many key issues from refugees to traffic to crime to cost of living in play, is up in the air.

Chow tried to deflect all of this with her next comment.

“We are talking about October next year. We are not even in October this year. So (I’m) not thinking about it at this point.”

Mayor Olivia Chow at an executive committee meeting.
Mayor Olivia Chow joins members of Toronto city council at an executive committee meeting on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Council passed a bubble-zone bylaw on Thursday, May 22, 2025, that will be welcomed by the Jewish community.
Is the Toronto public expected to believe the mayor is not “thinking about” whether or not she will seek re-election? Is her being unsure whether or not to take her record to the public something that could put the city in a position of weakness, in that the federal and provincial governments know they have a person in that seat who may not even be there next year?

Chow was sworn in as mayor two years ago on July 12, 2023 after a byelection that opened up the position when then-Mayor John Tory resigned, soon after winning his third term, in response to the discovery of him having had a relationship with a female staffer.


Is it only fair to let Chow decide when she announces her intentions? After all, top potential opponents like a comeback-seeking Tory or Councillor Brad Bradford have not yet declared themselves.

One thing that’s different here is usually a year out will indicate whether or not an incumbent will seek another term. Challengers don’t have the same responsibility and are afforded more time. Chow has not responded to questions from the Toronto Sun to clarify just what she meant by her wishy-washy approach to Moore’s appropriate probing.



The mayor did tell Moore “there are a lot of challenges that we have — whether it’s building housing people can afford, helping some renters, because half of the city of Toronto are renters, so we cannot ignore their needs.”

She also was strong in her words toward Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal Liberal government to “pay up” when it comes to funding for refugees — who Chow rightfully pointed out Toronto is “sheltering” at great expense but not getting full compensation in return.

Combination photo of Olivia Chow, John Tory and Brad Bradford.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, left, and Councillor Brad Bradford, right, are playing coy about the upcoming mayoral campaign, while former mayor John Tory may be mulling a comeback. Photo by Toronto Sun files
On Friday, Chow attended an emotional vigil held in response to the horrendous shooting murder of eight-year-old JahVai Roy, at which she talked about holding on to one’s “anger” about what happened and looking for ways to curb gun smuggling from the United States.


The mayor was certainly on the job this week. But will she be the one to tackle these challenges a year from now? If not, when will she let Torontonians know?

Will other levels of government take her hesitancy to reveal her plans as weakness and a void in power, thus creating a lame duck effect? And who will step up and try to take her spot?

Time will tell.

But one thing that is clear is Toronto’s current mayor is not being clear on whether she wants the job when this term runs out next October.

jwarmington@postmedia.com
She should simply retire.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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Councillor Moise puts own name all over ward’s sidewalks
Councillor Chris Moise has his name all over downtown thanks to a bike-centred decal campaign – and some of his constituents aren’t pleased.

Author of the article:Justin Holmes
Published Aug 30, 2025 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 3 minute read

Chris Moise installs a decal on the sidewalk
Councillor Chris Moise installs a “walk your bike” decal on a sidewalk in his Toronto Centre ward. Photo by threads.com/chrismoiseto
Councillor Chris Moise has his name all over downtown as part of a decal campaign — and some of his constituents aren’t pleased.


Moise and his team recently installed large white stickers, roughly the size of a pizza, on sidewalks in his Toronto Centre ward. The decals, which urge Torontonians to “please walk your bike or scooter,” also feature logos for Moise and the City of Toronto.


It’s not clear if the use of logos is acceptable under city hall’s rules, and it didn’t go unnoticed by the Torontonians who complained over social media that Moise’s name is on the decals.

Perhaps the most notable critic was Moise’s constituent George Smitherman, who tagged his councillor and Mayor Olivia Chow in a Facebook post that slammed the “slippery stickers” as “shameless personal self-promotion with city resources in city spaces.”

Chris Moise bike decal up close
Smitherman told the Toronto Sun he wasn’t trying to insert himself back into politics, as he finds his latest gig in health-care recruitment very rewarding — he was just using social media like anyone else.


“That was really on my nerves,” Smitherman said. “Some time ago, I would’ve just eaten that up and ignored it, or what have you, and, you know, now I can spend a couple minutes and let anyone that wants to know my POV about it.”

“I know Chris very well,” Smitherman added. “I’ve known him for a long time.” Still, he said, Moise didn’t reach out and they’ve yet to speak since he made the post.

As a former deputy premier under the Liberals and runner-up for Toronto mayor in the election that crowned Rob Ford, Smitherman has a long political memory. He recalled a “giant kerfuffle” years back when a group stencilled a sidewalk with temporary paint that could only wash away with the next rain.

“I was astonished” Moise’s decals “could be adorned with the name of a local politician,” Smitherman said. “I was gobsmacked by it, to use a word people like to throw in there. It really shocked me.”


George Smitherman
George Smitherman poses for a photo in 2018. Photo by Jack Boland/Toronto Sun files
In an email on Wednesday afternoon, Moise’s office said it would respond to the Sun’s questions about the decal campaign in a statement, but by Saturday evening it had yet to send one.

The website torontocentreprojects.ca, which is operated by Moise, says his office planned to install 100 of the 46-cm vinyl sidewalk decals to encourage people “to walk their bikes and scooters in busy pedestrian areas.” Residents were asked to suggest spots for the decals, and the website says a “pilot feedback survey” will run until November.

In a brief statement, city hall told the Sun the decal initiative “is led by Councillor Moise,” and councillors “are required to comply with city policies regarding name and logo usage.”

Municipal policy says the city logo, “as an official mark, may only be used to specifically identify officially endorsed city business.” Meanwhile, one of the restrictions for election signs is that they cannot include the city’s logo.


Moise’s website only says the stickers were “printed by the City of Toronto.”

Smitherman said he had assumed the stickers were part of a city initiative. After being told by the Sun that the idea came from Moise’s office, he said: “Honestly, that’s very interesting.”

He added that he fears city bureaucrats may be “far too deferential to the local politician” on an issue like this, which was one reason why he tagged Chow.



Smitherman insisted he doesn’t disagree with the core message of the campaign — to “prioritize safety and build a more considerate community,” as Moise put it in a Facebook post. (In a reply related to that Facebook post, Moise said he’d ultimately prefer to put down bike lanes rather than decals.)


Smitherman said he’s a cyclist and he’s certainly noticed a “lack of decorum” lately. He suggested the rise of battery-powered bikes and scooters, and the ubiquity of bicycle-delivered fast food, have made Toronto streets a bit more crowded and at times less friendly.

“It’s all form of mayhem, and there’s so much risk when you have people using the same space but travelling at different speeds,” he said.

But his “bigger issue,” Smitherman said, “just is about where is the line drawn when a locally elected politician is leveraging the city logo and resource to build their profile. The incumbents in our model have enough advantages to begin with without actually commandeering the use of city territory.”

jholmes@postmedia.com
moise-decal-web-e1756590053898[1].jpg1756645593316.png
 

spaminator

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Oct 26, 2009
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Tiny B.C. town on edge because of one man who 'terrorized the whole community'
A father and son in Masset, a remote community in Haida Gwaii, say they recently detained an axe-wielding man until police arrived. The suspect was taken into custody but later released on conditions.

Author of the article:J.J. Adams
Published Aug 31, 2025 • 4 minute read

A photo of the truck of Jordan Holt, which was allegedly smashed by an axe-wielding man in Masset, Haida Gwaii, last week.
A photo of the truck of Jordan Holt, which was allegedly smashed by an axe-wielding man in Masset, Haida Gwaii, last week. Photo by Lori Holt /Facebook
Haida Gwaii is an idyllic archipelago with lush rainforests, rugged terrain and wave-caressed beaches. It’s a paradise.


And for some, it’s been a hell.


On Thursday, Masset — a village nestled on the shore of a northern coast inlet — was abuzz with anger, fear and frustration after a man who has reportedly harassed, assaulted and threatened members of the community for years allegedly went after two people with an axe. He was subdued by Darin Swanson and his son, Jordan Holt, after they say he attacked them.

Postmedia is not identifying their attacker because no charges have been laid by the Crown, but the man has a lengthy list of charges dating back to 2009, according to online court records. Previous charges include assault, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, causing a disturbance and breaches of probation orders.

RCMP said this past week the alleged attacker is well-known to them, and they’ve recommended multiple charges to Crown counsel.


“He’s just terrorized the whole community,” said Swanson, a member of the Haida Gwaii hereditary chiefs council. “Everybody’s always on edge with this guy around.”

On Thursday, Jordan Holt was driving to the beach to watch the sunset when another vehicle pulled up beside him, the driver yelling at him to pull over. He stopped, thinking the driver needed assistance. Then the driver ran up and swung at him twice with a splitting maul — a top-heavy axe used to split firewood.

Holt said he was nicked on the hip by the first strike, and bent his thumb deflecting the next swing, which smashed into the drivers’ side window on the open door of his Ford Raptor F-150. Holt jumped back in his truck, and the driver yelled at him to get this truck out of his town, and used the maul on the passenger side window before fleeing.


Swanson said his son never had any previous personal interactions with the suspect. Holt called police, then Swanson. They both drove to the suspect’s property with the intention of blocking it off to keep him contained until police arrived.

“I know how long it’s going to take for the cops to come. It’s going to take them 15, 20 minutes. And a lot can happen in that time,” said Swanson, 60.

“I pulled up into the front of his house … and before I could even get my door open, he comes flying out of there with the axe again, and just hit the passenger side door where my son was sitting and just missed him by fractions of an inch. The handle of the splitting maul stopped it from going in further. Jordan didn’t even see it coming because it was kind of in his blind spot.


“It should be attempted murder. If you’d seen how that axe hit that truck … if he connected, that was it.”

They managed to avoid the next swings and tackle him to the ground, where they held him until police took him into custody.

“Even when the cops were putting him in the back of the car, he says, ‘Darin, I’m going to kill you and your family’ — right in front of the cop,” said Swanson. “He says, ‘I’m gonna be out tomorrow.’ He’s smart enough to know the law because he’s been around it long enough.”

From the RCMP release on the incident: “Police determined the man need treatment at the hospital, where he was released on strict conditions and will be required to attend court in October.”

Swanson was disconcerted when he heard that. His family is on “high alert.”


“(Jordan), he’s got a shotgun ready to go,” he said.

“That night, I went to bed with a pipe, a knife and bear spray by my bed. I went through the house, made sure all my windows were locked. I made sure all the doors were locked. … We just took all kinds of measures, and I couldn’t sleep until four in the morning, thinking, ‘Is this guy going to walk out of the hospital and burn my house down?’ ”

Swanson is growing frustrated with the lack of progression on the legal front, as are others in the community.

Victims in a separate alleged assault involving the suspect called police four times in recent weeks, Swanson said.

He said police told him that he and his son may have instigated the incident.

“They gaslight you. They make it your problem,” he said. “The cop even said, ‘Well, why the hell did your son get out of the truck?’ Because he thought somebody might have needed help. So it’s my son’s fault that he got attacked by an axe?


“The whole system sucks. … You’re on your own. Trust me, you are on your own.”

Without some kind of action, someone is going to be hurt or killed, Swanson predicted.

“It’s gone to a whole new level. It’s going to be him, or whoever,” he said. “His own safety is in jeopardy now. … I don’t know if (police are) scared of this guy or they’re just tired of him.

“That will be the conclusion of it. It’s him or it’s us. That’s what it’s going to come down to, and I’m going to protect my family.”

jadams@postmedia.com