The Toronto Police Hate Crime Unit has been beefed up from six to 20 officers and eight Special Constables to deal with a rise of anti-semitism in the wake of the Israeli-Hamas war.

The force has  created an online application form that is monitored 24-hours where residents can alert police to hate-motivated graffiti.

“Officers can attend, gather evidence and arrange for the hate-motivated graffiti to be removed as quickly as possible,” Chief Myron Demkiw said at a news conference on October 8.

The form is available on the Toronto Police website.

Police have noted that there has been a significant rise in hate crime incidents of about 132 per cent since the war began on October 7.

Toronto police received 237 hate crime reports from January 1 to October 7, up from the 192 incidents reported in the same period last year.

During the first days of the war police saw an additional 14 hate crime reports. In comparison, police only saw five incidents over the same period last year and just one in 2021.

“A hate-motivated crime not only victimizes individuals, but also entire communities,” said Chief Demkiw. “We urge Torontonians to report these incidents to police so we can investigate and hold people to account who commit these crimes.“

He said the number of reports involving hate-motivated graffiti, which falls under the offence of mischief, has seen the largest increase.

Police warn victims of hate crime to stay calm, keep all relevant material, record all information regarding the incident and call police immediately by phone, online or by going to your local police station.

The Unit is part of Intelligence Services and was established in 1993 to provide support to frontline officers and investigative units throughout the city.

The Unit monitors hate-motivated crime for the purpose of aiding and identifying crimes and criminals and to assist with sentencing at the end of the judicial process.

The new online form provides Toronto residents with another convenient way file a report.

In addition residents can contact 416-808-2222, or  Crime Stoppers if they prefer to remain anonymous.

A construction firm is in the process of being hired to build the new Etobicoke Civic Centre, which city officials say will be ‘the jewel of Etobicoke Centre.’

A contract to build the centre was slated to be issued in October and if all goes well officials said the state-of-the-art buildings will be completed by August 2027, with staff moving in by December.

The new Etobicoke Civic Centre (ECC) will be located at 3755 Bloor Street W., in the newly redeveloped Etobicoke Civic Centre Precinct, which was formerly the Westwood Theatre Land.

Once completed the ECC will have a community recreation centre with municipal offices, market office space, an outdoor civic square, a community recreation centre, a medical clinic, a childcare centre, a café, a public art gallery and a new Toronto Public Library district branch.

The recreation centre is proposed to have a gymnasium, aquatic centre, multi-purpose rooms and fitness rooms, according to plans.

The civic square is slated to have various types of landscaping like large erratic (boulders) landscape elements, including a water feature, garden area, event plaza, a sacred fire vessel and outdoor seating areas.

“The varying heights of the building structure allow the rooftops to be accessible and used as playgrounds and breakout spaces,” according to planners. “The gymnasium, pool, library and main entrance are located towards the Civic Square animating the facade and creating a backdrop that provides animation throughout the day.”

Council Chamber will be located on the first floor directly above the main entrance and will be highly visible from the Civic Square. The second level of the building will house a child centre outdoor playground and a wedding chapel roof terrace.

“The new ECC will contribute positively to the area and be the jewel of the Etobicoke Centre,” city officials said, adding a number of city services will be housed there.

The tallest portions of the four buildings are located along Bloor Street West, with a 16 storey building that descends to one that is 12 storeys, and others nine storey and six storeys.

It will have 427 parking spots in two floors of underground parking. The ground floor bike storage area will have 72 short-term and 67 long-term bicycle parking spaces, and a bicycle repair area.

“The new Etobicoke Civic Centre is a landmark project that represent architectural design excellence in the Etobicoke Centre,” according to a city report. “The current design was selected through an international design competition and provides for new jobs within underutilized lands on a site that is designated for growth.”

The Six Points area was originally a web of roads until the city began work on a new intersection in 2017. This work cost $77 million and involved the demolition of bridges and creation of regular intersections between Kipling Avenue, Bloor Street W., and Dundas Street West.

Removal of the bridges unlocked new City-owned land for future development and created further opportunities for the evolution of Etobicoke Centre as a vibrant mixed-use transit-oriented community

Some $526 million has been allocated by the city for the ECC construction.

 

Good news for Humber College students.

Ongoing plans to relocate the University of Guelph-Humber (UoGH) north campus to Brampton have been nixed.

Talks have been underway to locate the campus at a yet-to-be-constructed Centre for Innovation in the City of Brampton.

The site was described as ‘an iconic gateway building that will offer a new central library, collaborative space for post-secondary institutions and office space.’

Humber shared the news with Mayor Patrick Brown and members of members of Brampton City Council last October 6. The letter has since been posted on the school’s website.

The college has a large presence in South Etobicoke with a campus in the Kipling Avenue and Lake Shore Blvd. W. area and its north campus in Rexdale. It has about 8,000 students at the lakefront campus and 4,200 students attending the North Campus.

The students are crucial for the local economy since they rent living spaces, shop and eat at restaurants in the area.

They also love classes near the lake with lots of space.

“The high-tech classrooms are combined with beautiful lakefront views and historic buildings,” Humber said on its website. “Not just the architecture of the building but the education facilities of Humber College Lakeshore are excellent.”

The school cited unresolved “space constraint issues” as the main reason why the college is pulling out of the project.

The school said time is critical since the Brampton school has not even been built and Humber is heavily recruiting students.

“This uncertainty creates a challenge when building a robust student recruitment plan,” Humber officials said. “Timing is critical for us, as we are entering a new recruitment cycle.”

They said students, and those who are considering attending the university in the fall, as well as employees, must have certainty about where they will study and work in the coming years.

Many students welcomed the news claiming Brampton is too far and lacked proper public transit for students in the Toronto area who do not drive.

The City of Brampton is currently in discussions with Toronto Metropolitan University to construct a medical school and cybersecurity research/innovation centre in the city and are exploring options to expand Algoma University’s Brampton campus.

An Etobicoke senior has launched a Go Fund Me page to help her 101-year-old sister Phyllis Robson remain in her assisted living home.

Gwen Rawlinson, 82, said her older sister Phyllis’ health is ‘very fragile’ and will run out of money by the end of December to stay in her Orillia home.

“I am worried the stress of the move will kill her,” Rawlinson wrote on a Go Fund Me page. “She has done well on her own but never expected to live to 101.”

She said Phyllis ‘means to pass peacefully in the place where she feels safe at home.’

Phyllis has made friends and is quite happy at the retirement and assisted living home Paradise Shores, in Orillia, ‘where she feels loved and cared for.’

“It is my greatest wish for her to be able to maintain this sense of security until she passes,” Rawlinson said. “The staff is extraordinary, genuinely loves Phyllis, and are heartbroken at the thoughts of her moving as well. “

She said the home has only six patients who have ‘gone above and beyond for her.’

Rawlinson wrote her sister is $2000 short of the funds needed per month to stay there. More than 130 people have donated almost $15,000 of a goal of $24,000 to help her.

”At 80 pounds, she is very frail and has not been able to walk independently for years plus she is deaf and has a myriad of age-related conditions,” her loving sister pleaded. “Her health has been deteriorating quickly over the past few months.”

She has doubts that Phyllis will survive a move.

“It breaks my heart to think of her having to go through the major upheaval of a move and likely passing away due to the stress instead of peacefully at her current home,” Rawlinson wrote.

She and Phyllis are the only two alive of 10 siblings. Phyllis is the second oldest and Rawlinson is the youngest of the siblings, who were raised on a farm in Oro-Medente.

Phyllis helped to raise the younger siblings when they were growing up. Her husband, daughter and grandson have predeceased her.

Phyllis’ birthday was last month.

Anyone who can help is asked to donate to keep Phyllis in her home on Go Fund Me.

Ontario’s annual Crime Prevention Week takes place from November 5 to 11 and police are warning residents of some classic e-mail and phone scams that some residents are falling for.

This year’s weeklong promotion theme is Awareness, Engagement and Prevention, which is supported by the Ministry of the Solicitor General and police services across Ontario.

Police are warning South Etobicoke residents to be wary of the never ending e-mail and phone scams that are making the rounds again these days.

Residents are contacted out of the blue by an online scammer in the inheritance scam, in which the thief poses as a lawyer or bank official claiming that you have been left a large inheritance from a distant relative.

The e-mail letter uses official-type language and is written on letterhead or may contain logos. Police said to look out for spelling mistakes or bad grammar.

The receiver is asked to provide bank account documents and copies of identity documents as verification.
If you respond, the scammer may request that you to pay a series of fees; like a Customs fee, charges or taxes to release the inheritance money. Fees may be small amounts initially, but you will be asked to make more and larger payments.
Police said to ignore the letters and do not send your personal information to anyone.

In a private data scam, the extortionists claim they have planted malware in your computer system and have all your personal information and can spy on what you are doing through your computer camera.

The scammers claim to have your password, personal bank accounts and video of the user ‘satisfying yourself.’

They threaten to post your information and alleged incriminating video on social media, the dark web and send it to those on your contact list.

The scammers warn the only way they can be stopped is if the user send them $1,800 in bitcoin payments.

They provide a bitcoin account number, which is part of the fraud, and warn they will give you two days to pay up or they will post or circulate your data.

The online extortionists claim if you pay all the information will be removed and ‘you can life your live in peace as before.’

In the lottery fraud, a telephone caller will claim that you won a large sum in a foreign lottery and have to pay a Customs fee to have the money sent to you.

Do not respond, police warn, since the scammer will take your funds and disappear.

Police said you can report the scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by calling 1-888-495-8501.

One of Toronto’s oldest buildings that was built in 1843 and deemed a heritage property is being proposed to be converted into a nine-storey seniors home.

The building at 4946 and another at 4941 Dundas Street W., and 4-16 Burnhamthorpe Road, were approved for redevelopment by the city’s Heritage Planning and Urban Planners and sent to City Council to consider.

The ancient building at 4946 Dundas Street W., which was most recently a Fox and Fiddle Restaurant, started off as Islington Methodist Church built in the mid-19th century, and later the first Etobicoke Township Hall.

City Planners said the building is composed of three parts. In the front, a 1946 Georgian Revival addition facing Dundas Street West; a central segment comprising the original Methodist Church built in 1843 and to the rear is another addition built in 1946.

Planners approved the development of the nine-storey seniors home providing the older facade of the building was kept intact.

The complex in 1979 was designated a historical landmark as the first municipal hall for the Township of Etobicoke and ‘for its contextual value within the streetscape its architectural design value.’

The proposed seniors home would include 199 residence rental suites, 29 memory care suites, 90 assisted living suites, 80 independent living suites and retail stores.

The former Etobicoke Township Hall building will be incorporated into the development and used for restaurant purposes on the ground floor with a private dining and amenity space on the upper floor.

City staff said the land west the building containing the Islington Pioneer Cemetery was donated to the Methodist church by the Wilcox family in the 1840s and the cemetery contains the remains of the Village’s prominent early settlers who contributed to the development of Islington Village.

“The remnants of this Pre-Confederation building is one of oldest buildings in Toronto,” City staff said. “In 1888, the Township of Etobicoke purchased the site for use as the first township offices and the building saw the addition of a stone foundation, buttresses, and the bricking of the outside walls.”

The Senior Manager of Heritage Planning said the developers had to present a plan on how they will protect and enhance the history of the building.

“The proposed conservation strategy has been designed to conserve the cultural heritage values, attributes and character of the heritage property,” the manager said.

It is not known when City Council will consider the development.

 

 

Some Etobicoke residents believe our Coat of Arms has run its course and it’s time it should be retired.

There has been much discussion going on for five years that the Etobicoke Coat of Arms features anti-Indigenous stereotypes and should be scrapped.

Some are upset the depictions includes an Indigenous figure kneeling above a banner that reads “tradition,” facing a European explorer above the word “progress.”

The Indigenous hunter’s days may be numbered.

Councillor Stephen Holyday, who represents Ward 2, is bringing a motion on November 8 before Etobicoke York Community Council, calling for a pause until a review is conducted.

Holyday, who represents Etobicoke Centre, plans to call for a staff report on the origins and meaning of the Coat of Arms by the end of the year.

“There’s deeper meaning here,” Holyday told CBC Toronto. “And the meaning that I don’t want to lose is an earnest effort by the city of Etobicoke back in 1977 to recognize the Indigenous history on this land.”

Holyday said he has researched the origins of the Coat of Arms and he’s come to the conclusion that it represents the peaceful co-existence of Indigenous people and Europeans in Etobicoke.

The city acknowledges the harm and pain this imagery may have caused to staff and Indigenous community members.

Concerns were raised by city staff and members of the public about the outdated, stereotypical imagery of an Indigenous person that can be considered cultural appropriation,” city spokesperson Russell Baker told CBC Toronto.

“Engagement with several city divisions, including the Indigenous Affairs Office and People & Equity…determined that the Coat of Arms does not reflect the city’s values of reconciliation and inclusion.”

The Coat of Arms is displayed prominently at Etobicoke Civic Centre, above a chamber room and on some of its stationery.

It is also displayed at the Kipling Subway station and other venues.

The controversy began in 2019 when several members of the community suggested to city staff and politicians that the Indigenous figure was drawn in a way that could be considered a racist caricature, according to Holyday, chair of the Etobicoke York Community Council.

The issue wasn’t pursued by staff or politicians then, he said. But recently there have been renewed complaints from staff at the Etobicoke Civic Centre and members of the public that prompted staff to re-examine the issue, he said.

A City Manager said the Coat of Arms were removed from two prominent spots in the centre of the council chamber at the civic centre and from a window above the door to an adjacent meeting room.

“Removing the Coat of Arms from this location will contribute to creating a safe and inclusive space for members of the public and city employees, which is a top priority,” one city beaureaucrat said.

The matter was brought to the front burner by Chief Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation in 2019 who called the imagery disturbing and has been calling for a public discussion on its use.

A plan to demolish five homes near The Queensway to construct a 28-storey condo tower is being considered by Etobicoke York Community council.

The homes at 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 Zorra Street, which runs off The Queensway between Islington and Kipling Avenues, are slated to be flattened, according to a proposal.

An application been filed before council seeking permission to go ahead with the construction.

This application will be considered by the community council on November 13, and by City Council on December 13, subject to the actions of the Etobicoke York Community Council.

The highrise is proposed to include 319 residential units, 184 parking spaces and 248 bicycle parking spaces contained within four underground parking levels.

City planners authorized the City Solicitor to make stylistic and technical changes to the draft Zoning By-law Amendment as may be required.

City staff said before the application can proceed but the applicant has to complete an air quality study, noise and vibration impact study to the satisfaction of the Chief Planners.

The plan has sparked a lot of conversation on social media.

“The scale is perfect for the area but the design of the tower is forgettable, and that almost blank wall on the east side of the podium is a mistake waiting to happen,” wrote one resident.

“It’s going to be one ugly vista welcome to Toronto driving across the Gardiner from the west at this rate with the design proposals we’re seeing from them,” another man said.

Be careful and alert when driving at this time of the year.

Motor vehicle collisions usually increase in the month following the start of Daylight Savings Time on November 5, with police responding to more than 70 per cent more pedestrian-involved collisions.

Toronto Police are warning that as the clocks turn back, road users will encounter diminished visibility due to the reduction in daylight hours.

“Year-to-date, 32 people have been killed on Toronto’s roads, 20 of whom were pedestrians,” police said in a release. “Of those, 65 per cent were under 65-years-old.”

Officers said many of the pedestrian deaths happened on arterial roads, which are wide signalized streets that carry heavy traffic volume.

When visibility is reduced, motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and all other road users are asked to consider these safety tips.

Police are asking motorists to remain vigilant of their surroundings and be aware of other road users, use extra caution at crosswalks and turning in signalized and non-signalized intersections.

Officers said motorists should drive within the speed limit and adjust according to the conditions, ensure vehicles are in good working order and remember to activate the full lighting system

Lastly they said to plan ahead and give themselves extra time to travel to and from destinations.

They are also reminding motorists that officers will be out in full force this Christmas season to nab drivers who have been drinking to taking drugs.