A young Stephen Harper was a skinny kid whose classmates at Richview Collegiate Institute never imagined he would someday end up as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada.

Harper was born to a well-to-do family in Leaside and attended Northlea Public School, John G. Althouse Middle School and then Richview Collegiate, on Islington Ave., which helped form his political beliefs.

He is believed to be the only prime minister to have grown up in the Etobicoke area.

A good runner, he graduated from high school in 1978, and was a member of Richview’s team on Reach for the Top, a televised academic quiz show for bright high school students.

Years later he did attend the 30th reunion of fellow students at Richview, and attended a party at the Crooked Cue, a pool hall near Bloor St. W. and Royal York Rd.

Many who attended the reunion for graduates of ’78 said they could hardly remember the skinny teenager who grew up to become Prime Minister.

Harper was the first of three sons of Margaret and Joseph Harris Harper, an accountant at Imperial Oil, a great job even by today’s standards.

He studied at the University of Toronto Trinity College before moving to Edmonton, where he worked in the mail room at Imperial Oil. He later went to the University of Calgary to earn a master’s degree in economics in 1991.

A trained economist, Harper is reported to be the first prime minister to have an economics degree.

He became involved in politics as a member of his high school’s Young Liberals Club.  He later changed his political allegiance because he disagreed with the National Energy Program (NEP) of Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government.

He became chief aide to Progressive Conservative MP Jim Hawkes in 1985, but later became disillusioned with the party and the government of Brian Mulroney.

He was then recommended by the University of Calgary’s economist Bob Mansell to Preston Manning, the founder and leader of the right wing Reform Party of Canada.

Manning invited him to participate in the party, and Harper gave a speech at Reform’s 1987 founding convention in Winnipeg.

Harper ran for the House of Commons in the 1988 federal election, and lost by a wide margin to Hawkes, his former boss. After Reform candidate Deborah Gray was elected as the party’s first MP in a 1989 by-election, Harper became Grey’s executive assistant, and was her chief adviser and speechwriter until 1993.

Harper stood for office again in the 1993 federal election, and defeated Hawkes in a significant Reform breakthrough in Western Canada.

He served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2015. Harper won three mandates during his nearly decade long tenure. He was the first prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, serving as the party’s first leader from 2004 to 2015.

Harper was respected on the international stage and at home as well. He came to the attention of Time Magazine, who named him as Canada’s Newsmaker of the Year in 2006.

In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism by B’nai B’rith International. He is the first Canadian to be awarded this medal.

In 2011, Harper was honoured by Alberta’s Blood Tribe. He was made Honorary Chief of the Kainai Nation during a ceremony, in which they recognized him for making an official apology on behalf of the Government of Canada or the residential school abuse.

And in 2012, Harper received the World Statesman of the Year award, offered through a U.S. group of faith representatives.

This valiant Canadian veteran helped changed the outcome of the WWII.

It was 13 years last October since the death of Second World War veteran Charley Fox who is best known for shooting legendary German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and taking him out of the war.

Fox, who was born in Guelph n 1920, was a fighter pilot in an all-Canadian squadron of Spitfires that attacked a large formation of German Focke-Wulfs and Messerschmitts. The Canadians shot down two enemy planes and damaged several others before the Germans disengaged and withdrew.

Fox it is reported had been in the thick of the fight, “badly damaging at least one of the enemy aircraft himself and assisting others of his squadron to rout the enemy.”

Fox had struck a serious blow to Nazi Germany. In a strafing attack, he had wounded Rommel, known as the Desert Fox because of his campaigns in North Africa. Rommel was one of the senior German commanders, who was considered Germany’s most capable general.

Fox enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in March 1940. He earned his wings and his officer’s commission in July 1941 at Dunnville, Ont., graduating near the top of his class.

He worked at first training pilots for two years in Dunnville, where he married his high school sweetheart, Helen Doughty. By the time Fox shipped out for England in 1943, they were expecting their first child.

Fox was serving with 412 Fighter Squadron, patrolling the skies over England, the Channel, and the North Sea. On one occasion he was in the officers’ mess at an airbase when it came under attack by German bombers.

In the spring of 1944, Fox took part in operations over France in preparation for the Allied invasion of Hitler’s “Fortress Europe.” On D-Day, he flew three patrols over the French coast.

Once the Allies had secured a foothold in Normandy and established airbases, fighter squadrons were sent up to clear the Luftwaffe from the sky and seek “targets of opportunity.”

They would attack trains, military convoys and artillery emplacements. Many Canadian pilots considered strafing men on the ground repugnant, but a German officer’s staff car was fair game.

Rommel travelled in an open military staff car and used country roads as much as possible to avoid detection.

At about 9 a.m. on July 17, Rommel was in his car on a country road near Caen, according to reports. With him were his driver, two other officers and a guard. Suddenly they were under attack by Allied fighter planes. The driver raced toward a place where they could pull over and take cover. Before he could reach it, a Spitfire strafed the car.

The driver lost control and the car went into a ditch. The only casualties were the driver, who soon died; and Rommel, who had serious head injuries and was taken out of action.

One day earlier, the British Special Air Service had decided to send a commando team behind German lines to assassinate or kidnap Rommel. Three days after the strafing, German military conspirators tried to kill Hitler with a bomb. Rommel was eventually implicated in the plot, and committed suicide with poison on Oct. 14. The Nazi government told the German people he had died from his wounds.

Everyone then was boasting of shooting Rommel. The Americans said one of their pilots had strafed Rommel’s car. A South African flying for the Royal Air Force also claimed the honour. Two other Canadian pilots thought they’d had Rommel in their gunsights.

It took many years before historians ruled “Charlie Fox is probably the guy that fired at Rommel’s car.” The Guelph flyer was deemed to be in the air at the right time and place to have attacked Rommel’s car.

 

 

Chatham’s Walter Chant Floody was a fighter pilot and prisoner of war in the Second World War who was instrumental in the Hollywood movie ‘The Great Escape’ for his cave-digging skills.

Floody, who died in September 1989 at the age of 71, played the fictional ‘Tunnel King,’ Danny Velinski, played by Charles Bronson in the blockbuster movie.

The pilot acted as the technical adviser of the 1963 award-winning feature film.

He at one time worked in a mine in Timmins as a mucker, shovelling the rock and mud into carts to be hauled up to the surface.

Floody was living in Toronto when he applied to join the military. In 1940 he was sent to an air station in Manitoba and became an operational pilot with No. 401 Squadron.

His Spitfire was shot down in October 1941 over France and two German soldiers were waiting for him on the ground.

He was imprisoned at the prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III  at Sagan, now Zagan, Poland. There, he joined the “X-Organization”, headed by Roger Bushell codenamed “Big-X”), who put Floody in charge of digging tunnels and their camouflage for the upcoming escape attempts.

By March 1944, suspicious German guards found the tell-tale sign of sand being dropped by one of the ‘penguins’ out of the bottom of his pant legs and immediately rounded up Floody and 19 others and transferred them to another camp in Belaria.

The escape of 76 men went ahead on the moonless night of March 1944. Eventually the Germans caught all but three prisoners, and to make an example of them to all the other prisoners, Hitler ordered the execution of 50 of the recaptured Allied officers under the pretext that they were shot while attempting escape.

Floody at the end of the war gave evidence about conditions in prisoner of war camps at the Nuremberg Trials.

He was made a Member of the British Empire in September 1946 by King George VI two days after his first son, Brian, was born.

The veteran was asked to work as a technical adviser in the high-profile 1962 film based on a book by Paul Brickhill, an Australian flyer and writer who, like Floody, had spent time at Stalag Luft III.

Returning to civilian life, Floody became a businessman and co-founder of the Royal Canadian Air Force Prisoners of War Association.

The film starred top actors as Steve McQueen, James Garner, James Coburn and Charles Bronson among others.

 

 

 

The friendly staff at Delicia bakery were voted to have the best decorated Christmas tree this year by the Lakeshore Village Business Improvement Area (BIA).

A trophy for best Christmas tree was presented to Delicia’s Viviana Ruben By BIA chair Chris Korwin Kuczynski on December 4.

“It feels good to win this nice award,” Ruben said. “It took us almost three hours to decorate our tree.”

The staff at the 2864 Lake Shore Blvd. W., store were happy with to win the award.

“We are 100 per cent happy,” she said. “We will put in on a shelf inside the store.”

The second place winner for having the second-best decorated tree went to Pharmasave, Lake Shore Village Pharmacy, near Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Fourth Street.

“It feels great to win for second place tree,” said store official Christopher. “We are new here and have been getting a great welcome from area residents.”

Christopher said it took store staff about six hours to decorate their tree.

Third place went to the popular Village Vinyl Music Emporium and Café, at 2925 Lake Shore Blvd. W.,

“We didn’t expect to win this award,’ said owner Keith Pope. “We are honoured to have placed third in the best decorated Christmas tree contest.”

The winners get to keep their nice looking awards and bragging rights.

Korwin-Kuczynski said the competition was tough this year for the judges and more than 30 businesses entered the contest.

 

More than 1,500 people have voted in an online survey to save a row of 12 healthy trees on Dwight Avenue from being cut down to install a sidewalk.

A City of Toronto Infrastructure and Environment Committee on December 2 voted to adopt a staff recommendation to remove a dozen  Norway Maples from Dwight for a walkway.

Councillor Mark Grimes was noticeably absent from the meeting.

The trees scheduled for removal run along the fence of Second Street Junior Middle School and provide shade, exposure to nature, and separation from a busy street to the young children who play there, area residents said.

“These trees play a vital role in local ecosystems and water management, and help to mitigate climate change,” they argued.

The City of Toronto Transportation Services department scheduled installation this year of a sidewalk on the west side of Dwight Avenue between Birmingham Street and Maple Boulevard. The timing of the sidewalk installation was based on the opportunity for the work to be bundled with adjacent state-of-good-repair work on surrounding streets, which saves the city money.

However, the sidewalk installation plan included in the subcontracted work calls for the removal of 12 trees, most of which are large, healthy, mature trees.

“This is of special concern in this location, since new last mile logistics warehouses are being built directly adjacent to Second Street Junior Middle School, and can be expected to bring more traffic along Dwight Avenue,” officials heard.

City staff discard the option of narrowing the road because it is “beyond the scope of the existing contract” and further expenditure is not programmed in the near-term.

One year ago Mayor John Tory accepted the Champion of  Trees Award from the Arbor Day Foundation on behalf of the City of Toronto.

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee on December 2 will reaffirm Toronto’s longstanding target of 40 percent tree canover cover by 2050 to align with the City of Toronto’s Transform TO Net Zero Strategy. In the same meeting, it was proposed that the committee destroy an entire block of mature trees to install a sidewalk.

Seven of the trees to be removed are healthy, mature maples, which are located along an urban street from which they cannot spread to any forest or ravine.

The recommendation will be considered by Toronto City Council on 15 December before the trees can be removed.

 

Many Long Branch residents are stunned to learn that their favourite pizzeria has been destroyed by fire.

A fundraiser has been launched on Go Fund Me to help rebuild Adriano’s Pizza and Pasta, at 3329 Lake Shore Blvd. W. at Twenty-Seventh Street.

So far almost $3,000 has been raised by pizza lovers of a $7,500 goal that has been set.

Members of the community are saddened by the loss and are rallying online to help Adriano Stolay, the well-loved and respected owner of the parlour, get back on his feet.

Adriano, dubbed a “pizza maker with a heart of dough,” is very generous and is known to gladly feed with a slice those homeless, hungry or donate his tasty pies to area charities.

Organizers of the fundraiser, Jackie Goodman and Lisa Davis, said Adrian is “ensuring no one goes hungry because they can’t afford a slice, and offering lollipops to every child who enters his pizzeria, there isn’t a single person who walks out of Adriano’s without a smile on their face.”

“Adriano and his family need our help to get back to business,” they wrote. “Let’s show Adriano what he means to this community and show our appreciation for all that he has given to us.”

The family-owned and operated pizza parlour suffered major damage in what seems to have been a roof fire about 2 a.m. on December 2.

The business was closed and no one was there at that time. There were no reported injuries.

Toronto Fire arrived at the scene at 2:21 a.m. to put out the fire, which was upgraded to a two-alarmer after firefighters arrived.

“It was a bit of a stubborn fire. It took a little while to knock down,” a Platoon Chief said.

He said the fire was contained to the roof, but neighbouring buildings may have some smoke damage.

You can make a donation to help with the return of the parlour on Go Fund Me.

Pizza lovers took to social media to vent their frustration and loss of a good pizza place.

“Yes that is true Adriano has a heart of gold. This is heartbreaking, I’m hoping he can rebuild it fast,” wrote Monika Tabak.

“We just ordered from him last night,” Sue Clevely said. ‘Our go to pizza place. So sorry to hear.”

“We finally had Adriano’s amazing food just last week, and declared it our new go-to pizza,” noted  Carolyn Buchanan. “I hope the damage is not extensive and that he can reopen his wonderful business soon.”

 

Women are being warned of a night prowler lurking in the Mimico area.

Police have stepped up patrols in the area as they search for a brazen attacker.

A suspect is on the lam after he tried to grab a woman through her bathroom window in her home on December 1, police said.

Detectives in a release said they responded to a call for a break-and-enter in the Melrose Street and Grand Avenue area just after 12 a.m.

It is reported that “a man opened the window to a basement apartment,” according to police.

“He reached in and tried to grab a woman in the washroom taking a shower,” police said. “She screamed and he fled.”

The suspect is described as white and aged between 18 and 35 years old.

Investigators are aware of other suspicious behaviour including prowling by night in the area.
Police said officers continue to patrol the area and would encourage anyone who sees anything suspicious to report it to police.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1100, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637), or Leave A Tip on Facebook. Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes or Google Play.

 

The Ontario government is making the largest single hospital infrastructure investment in the province’s history by investing more than $1 billion dollars to renovate and expand the Mississauga Hospital and  Queensway Health Centre in South Etobicoke.

As Etobicoke and Peel continue to grow, and over the next 20 years, the demand for health care services offered by Trillium Health Partners is expected to increase by nearly seven fold.

The province said the investment will add more than 150 new beds and a new inpatient care tower to centralize continuing care and rehabilitation services for patients.

The money will be used to build a “new, state-of-the-art Mississauga Hospital” and expand Queensway Health Centre, according to the Ontario government.

“This is the single largest hospital infrastructure plan in Canadian history,” Premier Doug Ford said.

“Investments in Ontario’s health care reaffirms the government’s commitment to put people first,” said Christine Hogarth, MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore. “This unprecedented funding will support our communities by increasing health care capacity and addressing growth demands and future needs.”

The redevelopment of the Queensway Health Centre will help meet the health care needs of patients and families in Etobicoke-Lakeshore by reducing wait times and providing a safe and comfortable environment for patients to receive high-quality care, according to officials.

“We are working hard to ensure all Ontarians have access to the high-quality services and supports they need most in their daily lives,” said Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure.

Suma said to support growing demands on the health care system, Ontario is investing $30.2 billion over the next 10 years to build, expand and enhance hospitals.

The 2021 Budget outlined $1.8 billion in additional investments for hospitals in 2021-22, bringing the additional investment in hospitals since the start of the pandemic to more than $5.1 billion.

“The redevelopment and expansion projects at Trillium Health Partners (THP) will ensure we have the modern facilities and much-needed capacity to deliver high quality, exceptional care to this community for generations to come,” said Karli Farrow, President and CEO of Trillium.

THP is one of the largest community hospital systems in Canada, serving over 1.7 million patients yearly in Mississauga, West Toronto and surrounding communities across its three sites: Credit Valley Hospital, the Mississauga Hospital and the Queensway Health Centre.

 

 

After more than 37 years of feeding the community, the Dundas Street Grille may soon be gone.

The Dundas Street Grille, a popular restaurant known for its breakfasts, has been a mainstay of the neighbourhood around Kipling subway station since the mid-1980s.

The family-run eatery has been an Etobicoke landmark for generations.

Now there are plans to turn it into a 40-storey mixed use condo.

Documents filed by a developer show an Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment application to permit the redevelopment of the lands with a 40 storey high-rise mixed-use residential building, comprised of 475 residential units, at-grade commercial space and proposed parkland dedication area.

A lone single-family bungalow directly to the north at 28 Jopling Street South would also be demolished to make way for the new tower. A 340 square-metre park, buffering the enormous tower, is also proposed.

Designed by architects IBI Group for developer main+main, the new tower would soar almost 131 metres above Dundas Street West.

The building will feature a sloped roof terminating with a dramatic knife-edge point.

The condo will create 380 square metres of retail space on Dundas at the base of the development.

Parking is tight in the area and 177 parking spots are proposed for underground.

The matter is under consideration by Etobicoke York Community Council.

 

 

 

Some 205 Toronto Police officers and civilians have been sent home without pay for not being vaccinated or disclosing their status.

The 117 officers and 88 civilian staff were sent home on November 30 after being placed on an unpaid absence for being unvaccinated or not disclosing their vaccination status, according to police officials.

Chief James Ramer said almost 98% of the 7,415 Toronto Police Service members have disclosed their vaccination status and 98% are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Members are continuing to update their vaccination status every day,” Ramer said. “Our objective remains ensuring the health and safety of our members, our workplaces, and the public we serve.”

The chief said ‘if and when members are fully vaccinated and have disclosed their updated vaccination status, they will be able to return to work.’

“The Service is prioritizing frontline and priority response to ensure public safety is not impacted during this period,”’ he said. ”The Service is doing its part to protect the communities we serve and thank our members who have been vaccinated.”

The Service’s vaccination requirement was developed under the Board’s Occupational Health and Safety Policy and in consultation with the Board. Since its development, the Service has consulted with the Board on a regular basis on this important issue, providing the Board with timely updates and opportunity for meaningful dialogue.

The requirement is also consistent with the approach of the City of Toronto and its agencies, boards and commissions, and many public and private sector workplaces. It protects the health and safety of Service Members, as well as the members of the public with whom they interact on a regular basis and is consistent with Toronto Public Health advice.

The City of Toronto also has a separate vaccine mandate for its employees and has so far placed more than 500 individuals on unpaid leaves with the intention of terminating them with cause in the New Year should they remain non-compliant with the policy.