. . . at Queen's Park, across Ontario and elsewhere.

* Toronto, the fastest growing condo market in North America and, will be the host city Friday for the biggest gathering of the condo industry in Canada.

Minister of Consumer Services Margarett Best is the featured guest speaker at the Association of Condo Managers of Ontario and the Canadian Condominium Institute (Toronto) annual conference at the Toronto Congress Centre.

Known affectionately in the condo industry as “Condomania,” it is the largest conference of its kind in Canada and will attract more than 1000 condominium directors, managers and other condo professionals for two days of education, training and networking.

Best will be updating conference participants on the latest developments around public engagement of her ministry’s ongoing review of the Condominium Act.

* London Mayor Joe Fontana asked been asked by several local groups to “reconsider” his attendance at their events. For instance, the mayor will be replaced by Councillor Paul Van Meerbergen at the city's annual business integrity awards on Nov. 7

Fontana is being investigated by the RCMP over allegations that federal government cheques were used to pay for his so's wedding reception in 2005.

* University of Guelph professor Ed McBean has been working for the past nine years on perfecting what he says is a simple way to provide clean water to residents in the developing world – a $6 clay pot that is capable of filtering out 99.9 per cent of harmful water-borne pathogens.

* The Town of Tillsonburg has cut ties with its technology provider INS Consulting. In-house staff have taken over the town’s computer system, a consulting firm has been called in and the municipal website has been shut down to deal with a security issue.

* Thousands of broodmares may have been sold to slaughterhouses for their meat since the end of the Slots-At-Racetracks Program was announced, a Windsor-area vet is charging.

Veterinarian Mark Biederman said many clients have sold-off their mares and business at his clinic is down 50 per cent.

* November is Women Abuse Prevention Month in Ontario and Family Violence Prevention Month in other parts of the province.

Minister responsible for women's issues Laurel Broten released a statement Thursday, celebrating the government's strides since its 2004 Domestic Violence Action Plan was enacted.

"It is every woman's fundamental right to live free from violence," Broten said. "Yet, violence against women and girls remains a serious issue that cuts across socio-economic and ethnic groups in every region and every country."

"We know that there is always more work to be done," she said. "Together we can end the abuse of women."

Tweet of the Day

@jjfantauzzi Good way for provincial NDP to win votes in TO may be propose loosening Queen's Park's authority over city transit projects. #TOpoli #onpoli

- Self-described “student of politics” Joe Fantauzzi proposes a suggestion for Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats regarding urban transit.

@robsalerno Hey Kathleen Wynne, wanna make a bunch of downtown Toronto Liberals happy? #TOpoli #ONpoli

- Freelance writer Rob Salerno encourages Municipal Affairs and Housing minister Kathleen Wynne to take action on turning the derelict space at 11 Wellesley St. West in Toronto into greenspace.

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