The Audit A penny-bypenny reckoning of the month in money

An appraisal of the month in money

$100

Price of a top-tier ticket to the Munk Debate on the rise of populism featuring Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon, which was widely protested, resulting in 12 arrests.

$800

Monthly commuting cost for residents who live on the outskirts of the GTA and work downtown, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The new study concluded that gas prices and traffic headaches aren’t worth cheaper suburban housing.

$7,600

Amount stolen from taxi passengers by a debit scam in which drivers pulled some sleight-of-hand shenanigans to pocket ATM cards, then used them to withdraw cash and make purchases.

$60,000

Value of a load of avocados stolen from a tractor-trailer in Oakville. The suspect, a 27-year-old man from Brampton, has since been arrested.

$106,700

Estimated cost of Doug Ford’s new “Open for Business” signs at the Ontario–U.S. border. His big reveal was received with an eruption of Twitter hate.

$174,000

Hotel bills racked up by Melania Trump during a trip to Toronto for last year’s Invictus Games, according to new spending data from the U.S. Department of State. Her schedule included several hotel visits, but she didn’t spend the night.

$471,544

Estimated value of a Whitby home accidentally blown up by a middle-age man, who was apparently using an assortment of chemicals to extract oil from marijuana at the time of the explosion.

$26,000,000

Amount spent by the TTC in an attempt to repair 30 rickety streetcars after Bombardier missed its deadline to provide the city with shiny new models. Toronto is expected to have 204 modern cars on its tracks by the end of 2019.