M is for Action.

Yes, you read that right. (Ok, March is for Action!) This March, let M stand for ‘make
things happen’.

As the weather warms up and the days get longer, you’ll notice that the birds and the
bees AND the squirrel activities are well underway. They are making things happen. It’s time for you to do the same.

Let’s make things happen!

Too often we wait for approval or an invite or a date on the calendar to tell us what to
do. ‘Oh, it’s spring, March 20th, time to get ready to garden…’ I say: sit down right
now (well after you finish reading this column) and make a list of five things
you’ve been putting off that you wish to make happen this year. What? It’s not the
new year you say? Well it doesn’t matter does it? I say M is for action and making
things happen because you decide what happens in your life.

It’s easy to forget in our days full of habits and repeating errands. But you are making
choices all the time.à Daily, I know that you choose the clothes
you wear and the food you eat. You choose how much you eat and you choose
who you talk to. You choose what time you go to sleep and you choose what time
you get up. But, Monika, I have to go to bed because of work, you say. Sure. Yet,
you know very well that you always have one to two or even more extra hours at the
end of the day that you fill up with activities other than work. What are they?
Are you studying? Are you watching your favourite show? Are you reading? Are you
taking care of a family member? There is no right or wrong answer here.

The point is you are choosing how much time each activity takes up in your life.
Some people value having an hour-long family dinner. Others may prefer a quick
bite and then a game of chess or bocce ball. How about you?
Your day is full of making choices and when you are presented with the idea of
planning something bigger and better in your life…I have a feeling that you all of a
sudden decide that someone else has to make that decision for you. That someone
else is in charge.

But it’s hard, you say. Yes, I agree with you. It is hard.
Making choices, making things happen in our life is
an important decision. You are in control. So, believe
me when I say: you can decide to do something on
your forgotten list this year.
Start the new year off (I mean March) on the right
foot. Make a list of those five things that you’ve been putting off and put the rough
outline in your calendar and your to-do list. Take six to seven days to review it
daily. Your mind loves a good puzzle. Your mind is exceptional at solving
problems. Allow your mind to see this list as a new challenge.

Why? Well for starters, our confidence grows with every new task we accomplish.
Our belief and our faith in ourselves also grow with every new skill and experience
we have. When life gets tough, the more skills and experiences we have, the easier
and faster we can recover. That’s the ultimate sign of natural health. If you have
a desire to grow bigger and better in your life, in your body, in your mind, choose
now, choose this year to make some changes. You can do this by adding into
your day one new task or lesson that you will accomplish. And get it done. Tell me
what you have chosen.

What you will notice after a few days, maybe a couple of weeks is that you have
grown tremendously. And since spring is around the corner, you are right right ‘on
time’ with the pace of mother nature. My wish for you is to bloom and expand. I
wish for you to thoroughly enjoy your life. This is possible when we take on new
skills, new life lessons, new tasks with an open mind, a willing heart and a bold first step forward AND grow this spring.
Nature takes away any faculty that is not used.
– William R. Inge

Monika Meulman,
Founder & Owner
The Healing Muse Apothecary
416-347-5449
2859 Lake Shore Blvd. W.,
Inspired Living
@healingmuse
www.healingmuse.com

Ret. Judge Lloyd Budzinski

Who knows the difference between tyranny and freedom?

The answer: UKRAINIANS. Hundreds of thousands are being displaced, threatened and
their government close to over throw. Close your eyes for a moment and think, imagine, feel
the emotions of a mother in the dark, clutching her child tightly, as bombs drop around you,
alone with no hope in hell because a despot threatens the World with a nuclear catastrophe.
It is just you, alone, listening to the tanks of an invading army to take away your freedoms.
This is not a flashback to the thirties with brown shirts coming to knock on your door. it’s
now, it’s today.

I seem to be getting angry these days. The isolation has exposed the grumpy guy’s split
personality. In my personal life I have biases like yours. As a Judge, I wear objectivity robes
and special glasses that filter out personal beliefs. They allow me to recognize bias and work
to suppress them. You need to know that I returned the equipment when I retired. Originally,
I intended to write about growing up in Long Branch, my parent’s fish and chips store, the
thriving lakeshore communities with five movie theatres, and so on. I started to, but I became
so disturbed with disrespect and misrepresentation of our Charter by some protesters
demanding its protection while ignoring what it says, calling Trudeau a tyrant, a dictator,
comparing him to Putin. They know not what these words mean. Ask any Ukrainian. They
know! I felt compelled to clarify the debate.

Let’s talk rights and our privileges. In Canada, we have a Charter. We have elections. We
can choose the party and their policies. The NDP and Liberals formed a majority supporting
‘mandates.’ We have an opposition. If they gain sufficient Parliamentary support, they can
call an election or form a new government. To avoid chaos and provide certainty, we have
elections but only at certain intervals or conditions–non confidence votes. The Emergency
Act was a non-confidence type of vote which was passed by a majority. If one feels their
rights are breached, we have the Charter. The Charter guarantees your rights and freedoms
SUBJECTED to such unreasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified
in a free and democratic society. The spirit is Canadian, one of compromise and
accommodation. If you see yourself a victim you use our independent Courts for redress.
They are very pro-Charter, Harper thought too much so.

I sympathize with the followers, not their leaders. They were like the Russian soldiers. They
thought their cause was to free the Ukrainians from an oppressive government. They were
offering a Russian autocracy, In Canada they chanted “I am fighting for your freedom”. But
what were their leaders offering. Read the Manifesto. It was similar to Putin’s claim —
telling me our system of Justice is wrong. It was like Trump telling Vice-President Pence,
in our case the Governor General, how to take over my Parliament.

The followers employed ‘willful blindness,’ the source of the millions of dollars donated. Significant amounts came
from United States and White Nationalists whose goal is to ignite a supremacists’s revolution.
They ignore the words of our Charter and the idea of accommodation. They manipulated
information by showing the jumpy castles and treats while ignoring the slogans, swearing,
name calling, T-shirt slogans, Confederate and Nazi symbols They were caught up in the
party but ignored their need to role model; to use the moment as a teaching event. How
many took their children to the Supreme Court building and explain this is how we settle
disputes in Canada? Did they say to the young ones, you can’t get your way by holding your
breath, that we should compromise and share? Did they tell the children that the bad symbols
were not Canada’s friends.

The protesters forgot that in Canada there are more peaceful alternatives. In the Ukraine
there is no such choice. The best the protesters offered was an autocracy, a rule by a few,
according to the Manifesto. Some threatened to do or die. Their philosophy would be Their
Rights, not yours. I think our Charter is better. The solution sounded very similar to what
the Russians were offering – my way or else.

I linked the Ukrainians to the protests because I think there is a mutual solution – a
compromise. It benefits us all. The Truckers have collected millions of frozen dollars. Some
came from simple honest sympathizers and much from the extreme right. Truckers, show
good faith, take several million and hire a team of lawyers. Use the Courts to balance our
Freedoms. Donate the remainder of the monies and help real Freedom Fighters, fighting for
their lives.

Judge Lloyd Budzinski retired after 28 years and was a former Crown Attorney, Defence Counsel
and Ontario’s Assistant Deputy Minister of Criminal Law. He was Chief Prosecutor in the trial of
ex-RCMP officer Patrick Michael Kelly, found guilty of murder for throwing his wife from a 17th
floor balcony in March 1981. He can be reached at lbudzinski@talkjustice.info

By Patricia DeGuire

Chief Commissioner

Ontario Human Rights Commission

Every day is International Women’s Day, but today, at the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), we pause to honour the achievements women have made towards gender equality in the workplace and towards a more equitable society.

Today we celebrate how far we have come, but we know that more and greater change is possible – and needed. For example, gender equity has not yet been achieved in the boardroom, in C-suites and in compensation. According to the Osler report on  2021 Diversity and Leadership at Canadian public companies, while women are being recruited onto company boards at a steady pace, women are making very little progress at the executive officer level. For Indigenous women, Black women, women from other racialized groups and women with disabilities, the situation is even more disappointing.

Women have contributed significantly to all aspects of our social and economic society, including in science, technology, engineering and math. While some of us may never have our names etched into our history books, all of us are worthy of recognition. We are mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. We are neighbours and colleagues. We are leaders making an impact internationally and in our local communities – such is the case for the remarkable Black women the OHRC featured on our social media channels during Black History Month.

Women deserve a gender-equal world, free from bias, stereotypes and discrimination. And we should lift as we climb up this precipitous and arduous mountain – or as we aim to shatter the glass ceiling. In doing so, we are creating a critical mass. And that, too, is our duty.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated disparities for women, and especially women in the work force. It has negatively affected their health, social and economic well-being, resulting in resilience fatigue and a “she-cession” that is still prevalent, especially among women in the 55+ age-bracket. Among the women bearing the fiercest brunt of the pandemic are women with intersecting Code-protected identities, such as our Black, other racialized, Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ sisters. The disproportionate impact these women experience is well-documented, including in the OHRC’s Policy statement on human rights in COVID-19 recovery planning.

On International Women’s Day, let us keep women, and other vulnerable groups, at the forefront of our collective consciousness. Anything short of equipping them with the tools they need to not just survive, but thrive, would be an abdication of our collective responsibility.

MAN ACCUSED of spraying TTC users with unknown substance believed to be bear spray. Police photo.

A man has been arrested with bear spray and an airsoft pistol after eight TTC users were allegedly sprayed with an unknown substance in brazen assaults.

The suspect is accused of assault after police alleged he sprayed at least eight people at different times on TTC property with an unknown substance.

Police said the suspect was arrested at the Finch subway station on March 5 at 6:48 p.m. by Special Constables from the Toronto Transit Commission.

Police allege between October 16, 2021, and March 5, 2022, a man assaulted people on eight occasions on TTC property by spraying them with a substance.

“The man had a baton, bear spray and an airsoft pistol in his possession when arrested,” police said in a release.

Delan Lewis, 24, of Toronto, is charged with three counts of carry concealed weapon.

He appeared at an Old City Hall Court on March 6.
Investigators believe there may be more victims.

POLICE search for motorist who hit a cyclist and took off.

Police are searching for a hit and run driver who hit a 64-year-old cyclist injuring her near Burnhamthorpe Road and Highway 427.

Detectives said the woman was cycling eastbound on Burnhamthorpe Road, approaching the on-ramp for Highway 427 north when she was hit.

“The driver of the vehicle did not stop and fled the scene,” police said. “The woman was transported to hospital with serious injuries.”

The vehicle is described as a dark-coloured Honda Accord or similar model. An image has been released.

Investigators are asking local residents, business, and drivers, who may have security or dash camera footage of the area or incident, to contact police.

This investigation is being conducted by members of Traffic Services.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1900, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).

POLICE hunt suspects who target Russian flags flying on vehicles.

Seems like some of the war has erupted over here in South Etobicoke.

Police say damages were inflicted to vehicles that were flying Russian flags at the Cineplex Theatre plaza and it may be a hate crime.

A sledgehammer was used to damage multiple vehicles in what is now being investigated as a hate crime, which took place in the Islington Avenue and The Queensway parking lot on March 5 at 10:27 p.m.

“The damaged vehicles had Russian flags displayed in their windshields,” officers of 22 Division said in a news release. “They damaged multiple parked vehicles, each using a sledgehammer.”

The assailants fled in a dark grey Acura, police said.

The two suspects are described as being in their late teens. One was wearing a grey sweater and the other a black sweater, according to police.

“After consultation with the Service’s specialized Hate Crime Unit, the investigation is being treated as a suspected hate motivated offence,” officers said.

Police allege a criminal offence was committed, such as assault or mischief, and it is believed to have been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate.

The officer-in-charge will consult with a Crown Attorney. If a person is charged and convicted of the offence, the Judge will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence, police said.

There has been a number of flag-defacing cases that has taken place in South Etobicoke since Russia invaded Ukraine. The most high profile case occurred at Future Bakery, where a pro-Ukrainian sign was defaced by those pro-Russian.

No charges has been laid in either incident..

EMAD with welcoming staff of Sav-On pharmacy at 880 Brown’s Line.

Good-natured pharmacist Emad Mankaruos is adding a range of health
services to help community residents with the expansion of his Alderwood
Medical Clinic.
His Sav-On Drug Mart, at 880 Brown’s Line, just south of Evans Avenue, has been serving the area, under three dif- ferent owners, for 65 years. He took over in 2003.
“We are the longest-serving pharmacy in the community,” Mankaruos says. “We are now expanding to better serve our clientele who love that we are in the area.”

THERE are four pharmacists in Emad’s family. Photos by Tom Godfrey.

He recently opened a ‘four-room mini-clinic’ and is making space available for a nutritionist, physiotherapist, chiropractor, op-
tometrist, hearing aid specialist, massage, medical spa and other specialists. Call him at a

phone number listed if you have working experience in any of the fields.
More than 500 patients weekly, mostly seniors, depend on the pharmacy for a range of services to maintain their health.
Mankaruos, who lives in Mississauga, loves his customers and they love him. “I love the people and area,” he insists. “The people are nice and I know many of the families.”

THE Pharmacist, or staff, is always there for customers.

The father of three has one daughter who is a pharmacist, and another interning to be- come one. His wife is also a pharmacist with her own store.

A pharmacist for 35 years, Mankaruos was trained back home in Egypt and in Saudi Arabia before moving to Canada on June 6, 1995.

“That was the happiest day in my life,” he says. “I chose Canada because
it is a land of opportunity. I am very grateful to God and Canada for my success.”

He studied pharmacy because ‘I love to help people relieve their pains and complaints.”

The store finances an internship program with students from a local high school and helps many local hockey teams and other charities.

Gifts to him from his many clients are proudly displayed on shelves along with his medicine. The store is busy and many patients and their families have been shopping there for decades. Many are from the Alderwood area.

The pharmacy was located at the Farm Boy mall across the street and relocated many years ago. It has many loyal customers whose families love the laid back service.

It takes about a dozen employees (photo-graphed above) to keep the clinic running smoothly and that their customers are well-
looked after.

Many long-time customers say they like the service and good-natured banter that takes place as they get served. The druggist says one of their doctors hasà been at the clinic for two decades. Sav-On Drug Mart can be reached at 647-FLU-4444 or visit www.savon.supplies

POLICE are searching for youths who took off after damaging vehicles.

You may want to check your car if parked in the Islington Ave. and The Queensway area.

Police were called to the parking lot of a bank and mall for reports of young people damaging vehicles.

Toronto Police said a ‘damage in progress’ call came in around 10:27 p.m. on March 2.

Police said there were “reports of kids striking cars with hammers.”

“Also damaging them with spray paint,” tweeted Toronto Police Operations Centre. “Have fled in a black or grey car.”

The vandals had fled the scene by the time police arrived.

It is not known how many cars were vandalized.