Toronto Life – December 2018

photographs: blair by

cp images;

bailey, ujiri by

getty images;

kriss by

dave gillespie

76 toronto life December 2018

bill

blair

Member of Parliament

ToronTo’s former top cop graduated from narc to stoner hero

when he pulled off legalization without inciting a nationwide rash of

blazed tomfoolery. But by October 17, Blair was on to bigger things. As

Trudeau’s minister of border security and organized crime reduction,

he has a sprawling portfolio with a massive to-do list. He’s already

begun consultations on handgun and assault weapons bans and conver-

sations with Homeland Security about improving the Safe Third Country

agreement. Up NexT: Cracking down on gang activity and curbing cross-

border opioid smuggling.

21

with the departure of Piers Han-

dling, Bailey retains his artistic director title

but also becomes co-head alongside newcomer

Joana Vicente. It’s the best of both worlds: he

remains the face of the festival without assuming

the administrative baggage and can instead focus

on his first love: film (he took 14 scouting trips

across four continents this year). The 2018 fest

attracted 600,000 attendees, added $190 million

to the local economy and screened 147 world

premieres—including The Hate U Give, If Beale Street

Could Talk and Gloria Bell—plus directorial debuts

from Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) and Jonah

Hill (Mid90s). friends in high places: Spike Lee,

Guillermo del Toro and Paul Thomas Anderson.

c a m e r o n

bailey

Artistic director and co-head,

22 Toronto International Film Festival

some of our most famous chefs seem to spend

more time sweating on Iron Chef, posting Insta-

gram selfies and hosting European food tours

than they do in their own restaurants. Kriss isn’t

like that. He’s always in the kitchen at Alo,

obsessing over his exquisite, seasonal set menus

and the choreography of his kitchen team. He’s

revered by chefs as much for the brilliance of his

plates as for his ability to keep such lofty stan-

dards, three years running. His two new, more

relaxed spin-offs, Aloette and Alobar, rank

among our best restaurants. friends in high places:

Daniel Boulud, his mentor and former boss, often

visits Kriss when he’s in town, sometimes co-

hosting special collaborative lunches.

24

Patrick Kriss

Chef and Co-owner,

alo

heading into the summer, the Raps were

in crisis. Absent major changes, the team was

headed for another great season followed by an

early playoff exit. Ujiri took action, swapping

hometown star DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio

for the mercurial, uber-talented Kawhi Leonard

and the underrated guard Danny Green. Many

fans were outraged. Drake wrote a lament for his

departed Rap; Kyle Lowry avoided the press.

But nothing heals wounds like winning, and the

team, newly constructed, is better than ever. If

the decision pans out, he deserves to be knighted.

friends in high places: Barack Obama visited his

basketball camp in Kenya this past summer.

23

Masai Ujiri

President,

toronto raPtors

The FIFT

y Mos

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In

F

luen

TIA

l 2018

INFLUENTIALS_SEND.indd 76 18-10-31 10:38 AM