Help Generations help kids generationsfoundation.com 514-933-8585 OCTOBER2011 www.theseniortimes.com VOL.XXVIN O 1 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION From Senior Times typesetterp. 3 to NDP leadership hopeful 24 hours Scattered pictures of the way we were and are p. 33, 42 Reflections after 25 years of bringing you the issues p. 34 Weather permitting Airport reservations guaranteed Special Attention to the Elderly Anniversary wishes from our readers Pick-Up & Delivery p. 36 [email protected] www.atlastaxi.qc.ca Remembering the passionate people of the Times p. 44 APPRECIATION Print lives, thanks to you — our loyal, informed readers Many of us grew up with a favoured newspaper, media at a time of multiple choices at newsstands plies her vast experience and sensitivity to a range radio station or TV network as our news and and on the Internet: Credibility and integrity; a of seniors’ issues. FlavourGuy Barry Lazar’s unique information sources, but that world has gone the variety of subjects and voices; strong, well-argued take on food comes wrapped in an entertaining way of the dinosaur. opinion; and a set of values that coincides with story. Word Nerd Howard Richler is unfailingly With the Internet chock-full of news/commen- those of readers. thought-provoking and funny as he examines the tary/satire, we are lost in a maze of information With The Senior Times, the big heart and caring quirks of the English language. overload. In that respect, it’s not what we read, but outlook that went into the first publication re- Readers eagerly await more inside stories from what we don’t read that can determine how well mains at the core of its choices in stories, photos the newest writers, veteran music critic Juan Ro- informed we are. In the maze, many media outlets and personnel and extends to the advertisers, driguez and Harry Rolnick with his the view from are dying; others are on life support or struggling without whom there would be no Senior Times. the East Village of life in New York City. The list is to stay afloat as profitable enterprises. All are The same holds true for our directories of much- long, the subject matter necessary and useful, from changing, but only some will survive. needed social, community and health services, legal issues with Joyce Blond Frank to investment As The Senior Times celebrates its 25th anniver- published in English and French, and presence on ideas with Ivan Cons and Deborah Leahy, shop- sary, loyal readers and a growing coterie of new the Web, at theseniortimes.com. ping hints from Sandra Phillips and novel getaway ones may well ask how it is that publisher Barbara The audience awaits the package: Feature articles ideas from Roads Scholar Mark Medicoff. Moser was able to undertake this venture and keep and photos about some of this town’s personali- When good people do good things for humanity, it going and expanding it on several fronts ties that are often overlooked by other media and The Senior Times takes note. We cull the myriad of through the ups and downs of recession and the columnists who cover a wide range of interests. cultural events and highlight those we believe you gloom and doom of the 1995 referendum. Neil McKenty’s commentaries reflect his lifelong will enjoy. Our writers review restaurants that The answer is the same that is sustaining other commitment to social justice. Bonnie Sandler ap- offer value for our hard-earned cash. The paper supports politicians who have a progressive out- look when it comes to providing services for the sick, the elderly, veterans and the poor. Members of The Senior Times family share their travels with readers, and welcome contributions from writers and friends who are making the most of their lives. Your stories matter and give the paper a family aesthetic. The paper believes in human dignity and respect for all and tries to reflect these values in our pages. The staff is proud of its record and looks forward to the next-quarter century with optimism and energy. urgently needed call! Thank you, dear readers, advertisers, sales staff urgently needed call! and writers, contributors all to The Senior Times call us family. — Irwin Block urgently needed call! We buy gold! Broken & Unwanted jewellery! We pay top $$$! 8k - 24k Bijouterie 514-695-6527 3705 St. Charles Jewellery Kirkland Congratulations to The Senior Times on 25 years of publishing! Félicitations au journal The Senior Times Canada pour 25 ans de publication! Francis Scarpaleggia Hon. Stéphane Dion Hon. Irwin Cotler Marc Garneau M.P. P.C., M.P. P.C., O.C., M.P. M.P. Lac-Saint-Louis Saint-Laurent–Cartierville Mount Royal Westmount–Ville-Marie 514-695-6661 514-335-6655 514-283-0171 514-283-2013 www.scarpaleggia.ca www.stephanedion.liberal.ca www.irwincotler.ca www.marcgarneau.ca 2 October 2011 www.theseniortimes.com THE SENIOR TIMES Serendipity, and a stint with e Times, are part of the climb to the Topp Irwin Block Ottawa and after a year and a half transferred to Special to The Senior Times then NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin’s office. When the NDP lost seats and its parliamentary When Brian Topp graduated from university in status in 1993, Topp was out of work. The national 1983, the Longueuil native decided to parlay his party’s communications director, who was recently acquired knowledge into a career. Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow’s chief of Except it wasn’t the history and political science staff, offered him a job as director of research there. courses he studied that ignited his entrepreneurial As part of his job, Topp claims some of the credit spark, but the skills he picked up as a senior editor for negotiating a deal with the provincial Liberals at the McGill Daily. to form a coalition after the NDP was reduced to The writing, editing and publishing experience Photo: Irwin Block a minority in the 1999 election. he acquired at the paper led Topp and some uni- Brian Topp says he could form a government by applying When Romanow retired from politics, Topp versity friends to start Open City, considered Mon- some of the demonic energy of publisher Barbara Moser. moved back to Eastern Canada, working for the treal’s first alternative weekly. The phrase came up again when we concluded Credit Union Central of Canada in Ottawa, then That experience morphed into a graphic design our brief conversation with a question on whether to Toronto as a senior vice-president involved in company Topp founded, possibly the city’s first Topp, who has never run for public office, really planning, marketing and legal affairs. venture in desktop publishing on Mac computers. believes he can catapult the NDP into forming a Banking was fun for a while, but Topp says he was And one of his first customers happened to be a future federal government. more in his element when he later went to work for publication just starting out. It was called The Sen- He replied: “By applying some of the demonic the 20,000-member Alliance of Canadian Cinema, ior Times, started 25 years ago by publisher Bar- energy of a Barbara Moser to this project, I know Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) at its head bara Moser. we can do it because we do it in a growing num- office in Toronto, where he is today executive di- Topp, 51 and a front-runner to succeed Jack Lay- ber of provinces across Canada and if you look rector of the union in Ontario, its largest branch. ton as leader of the New Democratic Party, re- around the world—France, Great Britain, Ger- His connection with former NDP leader Jack flected on those groundbreaking days in Montreal many, Italy—people are used to social democratic Layton goes back to 2003, when Topp worked on publishing history and how he got from there to governments. The world is not destroyed by vol- the successful campaign to elect David Miller as here, vying to be leader of the opposition. canoes when social democrats are elected.” mayor of Toronto. “Barbara started it from scratch with a small sales But enough about Moser, what about Topp? “I knew that David was a big admirer of Tommy team and a group of columnists and writers. Every- Serendipity came to play again when Topp’s crew Douglas and got his daughter, Shirley Douglas, to one who was working with me at the time could began publishing the Lemon Aid guide for car- endorse Miller’s campaign.” not get over the demonic energy she brought to the buyers for consumer advocate Phil Edmunston. This came to the attention of Layton who, im- launch of that paper. She saw a niche that was When Edmunston won a byelection in Chambly pressed with Topp’s background, got him to “run the going to work, a smart play initially, and she pur- in 1988, Topp, who had joined the NDP,agreed to campaign war room” in the 2004 federal election. sued it with tremendous determination.” work for him as legislative assistant. 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