Former politician and community activist Jean Augustine is turning 87 in a few months and has no plans of slowing down.

More than 100 area residents showed up on June 15 to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of the Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women’s Empowerment which has helped hundreds of young girls aged from seven to 17 succeed in life.

Augustine founded the Portland Street Centre in 2014 to provide a space where girls and young women ‘could receive support and create a brighter future for themselves.’

The Bell Telephone Historical Garden Courtyard, on Birmingham Street, was filled with some of the girls and their parents who celebrated the anniversary with games, food, music and fun.

“Our work is only possible thanks to the individuals, organizations and companies that believe in empowering girls and young women,” Augustine said to loud cheers.

She told the crowd she was turning 87 in September and a large party is being organized.

“As we reflect on our 10^th Anniversary we reflect on the incredible girls and young women who have passed through the Centre,” Augustine said.

She promised ‘to continue fostering the confidence and potential of girls and young women for years to come.’

The hundreds of girls and young women are taught financial literacy, STEM programs, self-improvement and about non-traditional jobs.

Augustine was presented with an anniversary plaque by MP James Maloney for her hard work and decades of service.

Maloney said he has known Augustine for decades and she is his mentor.

“Nobody here is more of a VIP than Jean,” he said after a cake-cutting ceremony. “The federal government will always be a partner with the Jean Augustine Centre.”

Jenae, 15, attended the Centre for two years and said it helped her in school and in life.

“They have extremely helpful programs and it gave me more confidence as I grow older,” Jenae said.

Augustine was a Catholic School Board principal of three schools in Etobicoke before running for politics.

The former teacher was an MP for the federal riding of Etobicoke Lakeshore from 1993 to 2006 having won the seat twice. She was the Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Jean Chretien from 1994 to 1996.

She also served as the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Woman in Cabinet and was the first Black woman to hold a Cabinet position.

Augustine was elected Assistant Deputy Speaker by her fellow parliamentarians in 2004 and will be remembered for spearheading the introduction of Black History Month in Canada.

She also served with the National Black Coalition of Canada, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and was the National President of the Congress of Black Women in Canada.

She was appointed as Chair of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority and was Ontario’s first Fairness Commissioner.

The former politician also sat on many boards including York University’s Board of Governors, the Hospital for Sick Children the Stephen Lewis Foundation  and Toronto’s Harbourfront Corporation.

A reunion was held as members of the Alderwood Collegiate Institute Auggies senior football team celebrated their 1963 city-wide championship victory.

About 17 players, all in their late 70s and 80s, of the now-gone Alderwood Collegiate Institute, on Valermo Drive, marked the 61^st anniversary of their Toronto District Intercollegiate Athletic Association football championship led by Coach by Carl Yamikoff, 92, and the late Richard Howe.

The June 10 reunion was held at the Village of Humber Heights Retirement Home, on Lawrence Avenue West, where Yamikoff and his wife, Beatrice, are both residents. He became a high school teacher, Department Head, Vice-principal, Principal and Superintendent of the Etobicoke Board of Education, now the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

“It was a great event to see the coach and other players,” said David Grainger, 79, who was then 17 and played as a flanker and defensive half-back for the Auggies. “We have been having a reunion for years and have lost a few players over time.”

It was the “most outstanding” team in all of his years of coaching many sports at several high schools as a teacher and administrator in the Etobicoke Board of Education,” Yakimoff told his surviving players.

Grainger said the team played with determination and in the spirit of their motto “All for One and One for All,” despite opposition from many directions.

“The players were striving to improve the “good,” then the “better,” in each of them to become the “best” team on the field,” he recalled.

Late coach Howe said at the time “football is a team game and this group of young men played as a real team”

Grainger said the Auggies played in the 1963 finals against Mississauga’s Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School and won the championship 13 to 7 in a tough game that went to double overtime at Varsity Stadium in Toronto.

“The Auggies ended a very hard fought tight game by winning in the final seconds of the second overtime sudden death period with a touch down,” he recalled.

A former 40-year teacher, Grainger said it was one of the biggest victories for Alderwood Collegiate in its 28-year history.

“It was the Super Bowl for Toronto and area high school students,” he recalled.

The 1,000-student school was built in 1955 and shut in 1983 due to declining enrolment.

The property was sold to a developer by the Etobicoke Board of Education, and demolished in 2014 and is now a townhouse complex.

Grainger said the school produced exceptional athletes, many who went on to play for the National Lacrosse League, the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts and National Hockey League (NHL) teams as St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars and Edmonton Oilers.

The surviving players have been calling for a marker, plaque or even benches to be installed on a park at the housing complex to remember their school and the athletes and professionals it produced.

“Today you would never know Alderwood Collegiate stood on that site due to the housing,” he said. “It is a shame and the school and students should be remembered somehow.”

Grainger said a submission was made for the team to be inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame with no luck.

He players are hoping for a memorial before they all pass on and so much history is forgotten.

More than 4,200 homes, including affordable housing, are being built or will soon be built in South Etobicoke in the next couple of years, according to City officials.

The homes are being built on City-owned lands, or property being expropriated by the City as part of a CreateTO housing program.

A CreateTO report was issued to City officials that looked into the delivery of 65,000 new affordable housing to address Toronto’s deepening housing and homelessness crisis.

Construction has begun at 5207 Dundas Street West, in the Bloor Street West and Kipling Area, near a new Etobicoke Civic Centre.

Some 2,781 residential homes, of which 904 will be affordable housing, are being built in five blocks of the Bloor and Kipling area, where for former Westwood Theatre stood, according to the report.

The homes, which are expected to be completed by 2027, will be ‘situated within a complete community that will also include the new Etobicoke Civic Centre and new City parks,’ according to Housing Now.

Some 725 new residential homes, including 218 affordable housing will be built on the 5207 Dundas Street W. site, according to the City.

City officials are also working on expropriating part of the Hydro Corridor just north of Bloor Street West and Islington Avenue area to build another 1,453 homes, which will include almost 500 affordable rental units.

City staff are expected to reach an agreement with Hydro for the purchase of the land in July.

The lands will be used to build a new public road for the community that is planned for the Bloor and Islington TTC bus terminal area, which is being redeveloped into condos and townhomes.

“Safe, secure, affordable housing is an important social determinant of health,” according to the City report. “It improves the social and economic status of individuals, families and communities.”

City officials said good quality, affordable housing is the cornerstone of vibrant, healthy neighbourhoods and supports the environmental and economic health of the city, region and country.

Housing officials said they have designated three sites in the City for priority housing, four other sites are being secured for housing and seven have been zoned for housing and are being tracked by staff, according to the report.

It said four sites are in the final stages of being obtained for housing and one site has hit the market.

The report said new affordable housing will increase the opportunity for marginalized individuals, including Indigenous Peoples, Black people, people of colour, seniors, women, and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community to access safe, healthy and adequate homes.

Toronto Police say they have witnessed rats in Coronation Park on a visit following complaints of an encampment there by members of the Judson Street Community.

Const. James Karpik, of 22 Division Neighbourhood Community Officer Team, in an email to a City of Toronto official and a resident, said he inspected the park on May 12 following complaints and saw rats in the encampment area.

“I have also observed several rats in the immediate area due to food laying in the open,” Karpik said in his correspondence.

He said the area was cleaned up several weeks ago and is now littered again with suitcases, clothing and other types of garbage.

“I have also seen evidence of several small Sumach trees that have been cut down and their wood used for a camp fire,” the officer wrote.

Karpik asked City officials for a cleanup crew ‘to return for a quick clean-up as it would be greatly appreciated.’

Residents in the Judson Street Community area have been seeking help unsuccessfully from City officials, including Mayor Olivia Chow and Councillor and Deputy Mayor Amber Morley, to help control the rat infestation issue.

Taneisha Thompson, of Morley’s office, in an email said they have informed the City’s encampment team about the new garbage in the park but was not sure when it will be cleaned up.

She said staff from the Parks and Forestry Department will be inspecting Coronation Park for rat holes and investigate pest control measures.

“With encampments and tents set up across the city, resources are prioritized by the encampment team based on need,” Thompson told residents.

She said ‘If a location does not have a portable washroom placed by the City, local resources where individuals can access public facilities are shared.

Thompson was not sure when something can be done to control curt the rats, which are now multiplying and invading the yards of area residents.

Residents have sent out photos of rats seen on their property. They fear the critters will spread a disease to people or their pets..

They said the rats feed on the leftovers from a number of homeless people living in tents in the park.

Area resident Dan Irwin said he had not seen a rat in the area until now and he has been living there for 39 years.

Irwin said he recently watched as ‘at least 5 baby rats frolicked in my backyard.’ He said it’s the most he has seen and the critters are multiplying.

A number of other residents have written to City officials to voice their concerns about a rat infestation problem in the community sparked by the park encampment.

 

June is Thyroid Disease Awareness Month and you are encouraged to get checked for the disease, according to the Thyroid Foundation of Canada (TFC).

Etobicoke’s Kat Ostroumova, one of Canada’s top fitness trainer 2024, suffers from a thyroid condition and said up to 50 per cent of people are unaware of the condition and are undiagnosed.

Ostroumova has used her challenges to start her own business, KAT International Fitness, to transform her life along with many others who are trying to deal with the disease.

There are an estimated 200 million people in the world who have some form of thyroid condition and studies indicate in Canada one in three people suffer from the condition, according to the TFC.

“If left untreated, hypothyroidism can lead to serious heart, bone and other health complications,” according to the organization.

The TFC said more than 12 percent of Canadian women will develop a thyroid condition in their lifetime and women are five to eight times more likely than men to experience thyroid conditions.

Signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism includes dry skin, goiter, depression, fatigue, sensitivity to cold and weak slow heartbeat. It also includes weight loss, anxiety, rapid forceful heartbeat, tremor and eye changes.

The TFC is a non-profit registered volunteer organization which was founded in 1980 by Diana Meltzer Abramsky in Kingston, Ontario.

The group offers a dedicated toll-free telephone line manned by volunteers, fundraising for thyroid research and sharing important medical information on its website.

The thyroid is a tiny, butterfly-shaped gland, that plays a huge role in your body by influencing the functions of many of the body’s most important organs, including the heart, brain, liver, kidneys and skin.

During Thyroid Awareness Month you are urged to learn more about the disease and support those affected by it.

You can help by volunteering to help others or by simply becoming a member of TFC.  For further information contact 1-800-267-8822; visit https://thyroid.ca or email info@throid.ca

Residents along Royal York Road believe this automated speed enforcement ticketing camera was deliberately pushed over by a disgruntled motorist.

The heavy camera box, which weighs hundreds of pounds, was shoved to the ground on June 10 on Royal York Road, just north of The Queensway, near the Etobicoke School of the Arts.

The sign alerting motorists of the camera system is high and partially hidden from view by trees.

There has been a rash of traffic ticket cameras vandalized , sprayed with paint or tipped over in Toronto and Peel Region in the last year.

One speed camera in Bloor West Village was spray painted on 31 different occasions over the span of just a few months last year.

Another located near an elementary school in Toronto’s east end was tipped over 19 times, temporarily knocking it out of service for multiple days on at least three of those occasions.

A third camera, in Scarborough’s Highland Creek neighbourhood, was moved by vandals despite its weight. It was out of service for eight days as a result.

Toronto Police said there were 555 incidents of speed camera vandalism reported between June 2022 and May 2023.

Last year there were more than of 172 reports of vandalism in Peel Region to its automated speed enforcement camera units.

The City said speeding is a serious problem on its roads and the cameras help to “make our streets safer for everyone by encouraging drivers to slow down and obey the speed limit.”

A man who admitted to setting on fire caregiver Nyima Dolma by dousing her with lighter fluid at the Kipling Subway Station two years ago has been found not criminally responsible.

Dolma, 28, suffered burns to 60 per cent of her body after being doused with lighter fluid and set on fire in June 2022 at the station. She died in hospital 18 days later.

Nyima was born in Tibet and was accepted in Canada with her family from India several years ago. They had been living in the Mundgod region in India, in an area known as a ‘Tibetan refugee establishment.’

Her dad, Tsering Pasang, had arrived in Toronto earlier and held three jobs as he awaited his wife and two daughters to join him for a new life in Canada.

Tserinmg couldn’t handle the sad news and committed suicide after hearing the shocking news of his daughter’s death in her new country.

“My sister was on her way to work as a professional caregiver when she was attacked by a stranger who threw lighter fluid on her and set her on fire,” according to her sister back then.

Tenzin Norbu, 33, of Toronto, was charged with first-degree murder in the shocking death of the “friendly and loving” Dolma.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell ruled on June 11 that Norbu was not criminally responsible for Dolma’s death due to a “long-standing” psychotic state which rendered him incapable of fully understanding what he’d done.

Court heard that the two were strangers when Norbu approached her on the Kipling bus on June 17 and asked her if she was Tibetan. When she replied “yes” Norbu pulled out a jar of lighter fluid and poured it on Dolma before igniting it.

A medical expert testified that Norbu had schizophrenia and was incapable of knowing that his action were morally wrong and had delusions that the Tibetan community hated him.

He also abused alcohol and cannabis which exacerbated his symptoms and likely suffered from the disorder for many years.

Norbu, a newcomer to Canada, will be remanded to the Ontario Review Board for an initial disposition hearing in about 45 days.

The board will determine the hospital in which he will be detained and what privileges, if any, he will have. He cannot be released unconditionally until the board concludes he is no longer a significant threat to safety of the public.

Dolma comes from a loving family and hundreds from the Tibetan community attended a memorial service for her at the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, on Titan Road. A Go Fund Me page raised more than $20,000 to help with her funeral services.

 

 

Some eagle-eyed Mimico residents say the Black bull figure that stood outside Royal York Meat Market on Royal York Road has hit the hay.

The large bull, which has graced the meat store for years, was quietly removed earlier this month.

The meat store at 329 Royal York Road, near Hay Avenue, is reported to have been sold and is being refurnished as a restaurant.

The market has been popular with regulars for decades as it prided itself on selling fresh meats at a good price.

“Our meats are prepared daily and our produce section is constantly being added to,” according to its advertising.

The family business was voted one of the best meat shops in South Etobicoke at one time.

Angry residents of the Judson Street area have complained to City officials of a rat infestation problem they say is caused from food and other garbage from a homeless encampment.

They said homeless people living at Coronation Park, in the Judson Street and Royal York Road area, are responsible for mountains of food and other refuse at the park, which the vermins thrive on.

“I have been here for more than 30-years and we have never had rats,” complained Dan Irwin. “The rats are expanding their territory as the garbage dump expands.”

Irwin has seen several of the critters running around his yard and some residents have resorted to traps to control the infestation.

He told fellow residents by e-mail that he has notified Toronto Public Health, Mayor Olivia Chow and Councillor Amber Morley of the infestation and has not heard back.

“I should have mentioned and emphasized Bubonic Plague coming to Mimico,” Irwin wrote. “The City should be involved, it is a result of their negligence.”

Residents said City crews cleaned up the park in early June and took out piles of garbage, but the squatters were allowed to remain until officials can find them housing.

Long-time resident George Marnica, of Harold Street, described the situation as a rat-a-palooza.

“This is ridiculous and potentially a health risk for all,” Marnica said. “I just had a rat stroll through my backyard on a leisurely walk.”

He said ‘we are being turned into a Third World country and cities.’

Claudette Piscione said the rat situation will only get worse as the summer begins.

“Amber (Morley) we voted you in now we need you to step up for our community this needs to be dealt with immediately,” Piscione wrote.

Local businessman Hubert Walsh said the mountains of garbage from some of the homeless are unbearable.

“The garbage build up is almost double to what was there last week,” Walsh said. “Unbelievable how much garbage this guy (homeless) is surrounding his tent with.”

There were three tents pitched up along a fence of the park in recent days.

Residents said some of the homeless make their way into a seniors residence next door to use the washroom and sleep in vacant apartments.

Construction is underway on a new 56-unit housing development for the deafblind in New Toronto.

The upcoming Canadian Helen Keller Centre (CHKC) with six floors is being built at 150 Eighth Street, on the site of a former Royal Canadian Legion hall, which has been demolished.

Heavy equipment is digging up the site in preparation for a 6,500 square feet state-of-the-art training centre where deafblind people can learn essential life skills to aid their independence.

Every June is National Deafblind Awareness Month and the CHKC estimates more than one per cent of Canada’s population or about 466,420 people are deafblind. In Ontario, an estimated 211,250 people are deafblind.

“The new housing development will help reduce CHKC’s waitlist and give more people with a combination of hearing and vision loss access to an independent life,” the organization said. “People with other disabilities will use any remaining units.”

The building will include communication systems such as American Sign Language (ASL) and tactile ASL to braille and print-on-palm.

There will be training in home management skills such as cleaning, laundry, and home safety, organization and maintenance.

Residents can learn about cooking, safe food handling/storage, personal grooming, money management and technology, including computer skills, Apple and Android devices and deafblind-friendly apps.

“CHKC is unique because we have a 16-unit affordable housing building where deafblind consumers live independently in their own apartments,” said executive director Jennifer Robbins. “For over 30 years, these residents have received support from intervenors, who become the eyes and ears of people with vision and hearing loss.”

The Centre has secured $32 million of the $38 million needed to complete the project. They plan to  raise the remaining amount from donors and sponsors.

“Our entire team, which includes members of the deafblind community and independent committee members, is working passionately to help more people with dual sensory loss access an independent life,” Robbins said.

She said they are experienced housing provider for those who are deafblind and know what is needed to create independence and community under the same roof.

The City and province are funding seven new affordable and supportive housing developments that will provide 260 units for the deafblind and others.