Some 150 Canadian soldiers, including immigration and mental health officials, are in Poland today to help select and work with Ukrainian refugees bound for Canada.

The Canadian government have promised to accept an undetermined amount of Ukrainian refugees for resettlement in Canada.

Members of Toronto’s Ukrainian community are applauding the move to help some of the 2.5 million refugees who have fled to Poland to escape Russian bombings that have levelled huge sections Ukraine.

The soldiers, many who have roots in Ukraine, left Canada for Poland on April 15 and are expected to remain there for about three months. The troops are deployed to reception centres “to assist with the immediate care and processing of refugees.”

Personnel will be providing general aid, spiritual services, and basic medical care, with the help of Ukrainian-speaking military personnel.

There are some 100,000 Ukrainian children and 15,000 refugees enrolled in Polish schools due to the war.

Those accepted for Canada will be able to leave in weeks and can study and work here as security checks are conducted.

Defence Minister Anita Anand said some soldiers will help a Polish-led humanitarian task force that will include officials from allied countries “to synchronize efforts from more than 100 multinational humanitarian agencies to ensure that Ukrainians fleeing the war receive the best support possible.”

Military personnel will help IRCC “by acting as a liaison” with the Polish military, as Canada works to resettle thousands of Ukrainians to Canada.

“Canadians and our Canadian Armed Forces will continue to step up in the face of the unspeakable acts of violence,” Anand said.

Some politicians are calling on Canada to allow visa-free travel for those seeking refuge.

IRCC will speedily implement for the refugees a special family reunification sponsorship pathway for permanent residence and will work with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

And work permits will be issued to Ukrainian visitors, workers and students who are currently in Canada and cannot safely go home. The department will also waive the costs for all the paperwork involved.

The IRCC has increased operational readiness in Europe, including relocating staff and moving additional supplies and equipment, such as mobile biometric collection kits, in anticipation of an increased volume of requests.

Since January 1, 2022, over 6,100 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada.

Since the war began, Canada has sent millions in aid to Ukraine, including military equipment. As part of $8 billion in new national defence spending promised in the 2022 federal budget, the Canadian government has earmarked an additional $500 million to be used for military aid to Ukraine.

A huge mega-warehouse or ‘shipping terminal’ that is being constructed on Thirtieth Street in Long Branch is turning to be quite an head-turner for residents and motorists.

The one-storey warehouse, which runs from the train tracks north to Horner Avenue behind a row of homes on the east side of Thirtieth Street, is one of four such facilities coming to the community.

A group called No Trucking Terminals have started a petition and filed a law suit against one company behind three ‘terminals’ being built on the former Campbell’s Soup property, at 60 Birmingham Avenue.

The legal action is set for a hearing in September.

Alex Ladouceur, a founder of No Trucking Terminals, said the terminals will lead to traffic gridlock and increased commuting times to access major highways; noise, dust and air pollution.

No Trucking Terminals is trying to shut down the projects.

Another New Toronto resident was granted $100,000 for area beautification after she appealed to a city committee, and an agreement was reached with the developer.

Documents show a 398,000 square foot industrial space, made up of three one-storey industrial buildings that will have 86 loading docks, is being built on the Campbell’s site.

Many Long Branch residents say they were not aware of the warehouse that is under construction on Thirtieth Street, as others call it an eyesore.

The group said similar shipping centres are planned for 260 Eighth Street and 450 Evans Avenue.

No Trucking Terminals can be reached at 647-787-8624 or sign a petition at www.noshippingterminals@gmail.com

 

Canada’s first lady of blues is being honoured with a special commemorative stamp from Canada Post.

The late Toronto resident Salome Bey will join world-renowned pianist Oscar Peterson, Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy Sainte-Marie and others whose lives have been celebrated by the national postal service.

Other Canadian artists previously honoured with commemorative stamps include Rush, Leonard Cohen, Stan Rogers, Paul Anka, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray, the Guess Who, the Tragically Hip and Beau Dommage.

Bey was born in Newark, N.J., before moving to a music-rich Toronto in the 1960s.

She was a singer-songwriter, composer, producer, director and actor, a Grammy nominee, a Dora Award winner and an honorary member of the Order of Canada.

Canada Post will be revealing the stamp in a ceremony at Meridian Hall on April 21.

Special guests will include Bey’s daughters, SATE and TuKu.

The stamp will coincide with a reissue of Bey’s self-titled debut album, initially released in 1970 via Quality Records.

Bey loved Toronto and together with her husband ran a successful soul food restaurant on King St. E. for many years.

Bey early on distinguished herself as a multi-talented actress, playwright and director of musicals who opened doors for other Black artists in Canadian theatre.

The mother of two was an outspoken advocate of gender equality and a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.

Bey died on Aug. 8, 2020, in Toronto. She was 86.

 

 

 

Toronto Police have kicked off a ‘Speed Kills’ traffic safety campaign that will see officers from across the city stop issuing warnings, but give tickets instead for motorists to slow down.

“Speed Kills is a zero tolerance campaign,” said Supt. Scott Baptist, of the force’s Traffic Services. “There will be no warnings and officers will be issuing tickets.”

Baptist said the safety campaign will run from April 11 to April 17 and involve officers from all divisions.

“The campaign is aimed at slowing drivers down through enforcement,” Baptist said. “Our message is quite simple in that ‘speed kills.”

He said 85 per cent of those charged for speeding are young males.

A media conference was held in the parking lot of the Royal Canadian Legion, at 1395 Lake Shore Blvd. W., a few kilometres east of last month’s fatal crash in Mimico in which three people were killed by a motorist who was banned from driving anywhere in Canada.

The March 31 crash involved a speeding Cadillac SUV that ran a red light at Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Superior Avenue killing mom Kelly Hamilton, 43, and Ken Arkwell, 75, who loved life.

The vehicle’s driver Omar Downey, 36, also died in the crash.

The violent crash shook the Mimico community, where the two long-time residents were well-known.

More than $26,000 have been raised in a Go Fund Me campaign to help with the funeral service of Hamilton and to raise her children.

 

 

 

Police are searching for a man who approached a 14-year-old girl and placed his arms around her inside the Royal York subway station.

Police said the man began “talking to the girl while escorting her in his direction.”

The teen had to pulled away from the suspect by an alert TTC rider who observed what was taking place.

“The girl asked the man to let her go,” officers said in a news release. “A citizen observed the interaction and intervened by pulling the girl away from the man.”

Detectives said the incident occurred on April 5 around 1:30 p.m. inside the station.

The suspect is described white, medium build, clean shaven, short white hair, wearing black baseball cap with a design/sticker on top of the brim.

He was wearing black pants, black hoodie, black puffer vest, black Puma shoes with white Puma stripe logo, carrying a blue duffle/messenger bag with black strap.

There has been a number of incidents in the last few months in which young girls have been approached by ‘suspicious’ men.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2200, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

 

 

A Mississauga man is behind bars for allegedly using three aliases to pose as online lovers to defraud elderly women searching for company on the web.

Police said a probe was launched in January 2019 after an Oakville woman was scammed of about $70.000 by an online Romeo.

“The suspect would initiate and maintain contact with his victims through email and text, establish trust through this remote relationship and convince them to transfer funds,” according to Halton Regional Police Service Fraud Unit.

Police said the investigation revealed the names of other women who were scammed nationwide.

“Following a lengthy investigation, and the identification of several other victims across the country, the suspect was identified,” Halton police said.

“The suspect used a number of aliases and targeted older adult victims across Canada, with reported losses totaling approximately $370,000,” police allege.

Fraud Unit officers issued a warrant on March 17 and searched a Mississauga apartment.

Toju Ariri, 34, of Mississauga, is charged with six counts of fraud over $5,000 and is scheduled to appear in court at a later date.

Police allege the suspect was operating under different names; including Dante Leonardo, Sean Bruno and Jason Roberto.

Officers allege fake images were used in creating dating profiles accompanying the aliases.

Some of the images were released by police. They photos were blurred because they are not of the accused.

The false photos were obtained online and the people are not involved with the scams in any way shape or form, according to police.

For more information, call the Halton Regional Police Service Fraud Unit at 905-825-4747 ext. 8741.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. “See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or visit www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.

 

Peel Regional Police are sad but happy.

Last week one of the force’s most successful crime-fighting canine, Police Service Dog (PSD) Nitro, took his last sniff of crime, helped with another arrest and is now barking in the sunset.

The force’s K9 Unit said PSD Nitro retired as he approached 10 years of hectic police service and keeping the peace.

PSD Nitro, and his handler, identified as Const. Arnem, have been on the beat chasing criminals and shop-lifters since 2014.

Peel police said the two attended some 2,500 calls and made more than 380 arrests together.

Nitro can now go on to have a regular life like other dogs this summer.

He is expected to be awarded his badge.

 

It is being called the Humber Bay pizza delivery heist.

Toronto Police are still searching for two suspects and a vehicle that were involved in the robbery of a large sum of cash from a condo at Humber Bay Shores.

Police say on March 30 about 9:40 a.m. two men arrived at a condo building in the Park Lawn Road and Lake Shore Blvd. W. area.

They entered the property in an expensive green Land Rover Defender SUV, with no front licence plates, police said.

“Both suspects entered the lobby area and one suspect pretended to be a pizza delivery person,” according to a release from 22 Division. One “was granted access to a condo to deliver the pizz.”

“He entered a unit and removed a large quantity of cash from a safe,” detectives said.

The men left the address in the Land Rover.

Police have released sharp photos from security cameras of the suspects.

The driver is described as 5’10”, 190 lbs., clean shaven with black hair. He was wearing a black mask, red hooded sweater, grey sweat pants, white socks and sandals.

He was speaking on a cell phone, wore black gloves and holding a pizza box.
The passenger was described as 5’9″, 200 lbs., unshaven with black hair.

He was wearing a blue surgical mask, yellow hooded sweater, black sweat pants with a red stripe on the side, and black running shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2200, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

 

High school teacher Farheen Alim says she decided to run for the Ontario New Democrats after watching the Premier refuse to give paid sick days to parents of her students.

If elected on June 2 as MPP of Etobicoke Lakeshore, the English as a Second Language teacher hopes to secure more funding for Ontario schools and increase affordable housing.

Alim opened her constituency office in Mimico at 5491 Lake Shore Blvd. W. on April 9 and it was attended by supporters and well-wishers.

“As a school teacher I care about our schools and the future of our children,” Alim said. “I will an advocate for our public school system.”

She plans to provide “financial support to first-time home buyers and renters who need it the most.”

The party also plans to close loopholes driving renovations and strengthen rent control.

“Farheen is the only candidate in Etobicoke-Lakeshore positioned to stop the Conservatives,” one pamphlet boasted.

She faces an uphill fight against incumbent PC MPP Christine Hogarth, who has held the riding four years, and has good name recognition.

Hogarth is a valued member of the Doug Ford team.

Also running is Liberal Lee Fairclough, a 22-year Etobicoke resident, who was nominated as the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) candidate in the upcoming elections.

“As a Hospital President, Lee saw the Ford Conservative failures in health care firsthand, she’s running to make sure those mistakes never happen again,” said Ontario Liberal Leader, Steven Del Duca. Fairclough has served as President of St. Mary’s Hospital since January 2020, leading the hospital for the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She is an Adjunct Professor in Health Policy at the University of Toronto, where she earned her Master of Health Science in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

Fairclough started her career providing cancer treatment to patients at Princess Margaret Hospital as a Medical Radiation Technologist Therapist (MRT(T)).

“I am thrilled to be the Ontario Liberal Candidate for my home community in the next provincial election,” said Fairclough.

 

The life of iconic former teacher and politician Jean Augustine has now been documented in film.

There was a red carpet premiere at the Scotiabank Theatre on April 2 for the documentary ‘Steadfast: The Messenger and the Message,’ based on the life and exploits of Augustine.

The film by Fahim Hamid Ali tells the heartwarming story of the Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine, the first Black Canadian woman to serve as a federal Minister of the Crown and Member of Parliament.

She is noted for bringing forward a motion in Parliament to recognize February as Black History Month.

The House of Commons officially recognized February as Black History Month in Canada in December 1995.  Augustine introduced the motion that the House of Commons carried unanimously.

“We continue to use this opportunity to recognize and amplify the achievements and importance of Black Canadians and their communities,” according to a release.

Augustine has long ties to South Etobicoke and is founder of the Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women’s Empowerment, which runs many programs for teenage girls.

The former MP was born in Grenada and arrived in Canada in 1960 through an immigration program that brought 3,000 women from the Caribbean to Canada to work as domestics.

She later pursued a career in education, eventually becoming an elementary-school principal.

Augustine said people suggested she consider a career in politics but she was reluctant at first: ‘politics was often portrayed as a corrupt old-boys’ club, and as a Black woman, the idea of running seemed almost unimaginable to her and others then.

“We didn’t have people who were conscious of the fact that [Black women] needed to be there,” she said in an interview. “There were people in the community at the time saying, ‘What do you think you’re doing? Can you see anybody out there that looks like you?’ We did not, as a community, have the confidence that the system was ready for us.”

In 1993, Augustine made history as the first Black woman to be elected to Parliament. She served as an MP for Etobicoke Lakeshore for 13 years.

She was appointed as Ontario’s first-ever fairness commissioner in 2007 and held that role until retiring in 2015. Her career inspired Black women across the country to get involved in politics.