The Toronto Police Services Board is undergoing its budget process for 2024 and is seeking more funds to better serve the city.

The Board’s Budget Committee at its meeting on December 12 will be asking for $2,355,300 more for next year, which is a $178,500 increase over 2023.

If the request is approved by the Board it then goes to City Council later this month for consideration.

Toronto Police is one of the largest expenditure for the city. The force in 2023 had a budget of $1.16 billion.

The Board said the funds are required for collective agreements, salary and benefits and non-salary expenditures.

“The proposed budget recognizes that the Board’s work and the work of its professional staff occurs in the country’s largest municipality,” according to the Board 2024 Operating Budget Request.

It said the Board was given approval to add three staff members in 2023 and some of the budget increase is partially due to the cost of the new hires.

The Board is a seven-member civilian body that governs and oversees the Toronto Police Service. They ensure services are delivered in partnership with communities and keep the city the safest place to be.

The Board also creates opportunities for members of the public, government bodies and stakeholder groups to engage and provide their perspectives and input in policing issues.

Its members are working with police on the implementation of 81 recommendations on comprehensive policing reform and implementing a report on missing person investigations.

They also work with the Board’s Anti-Racism Advisory Panel and Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Panel to improve guidelines.

Members work with Neighbourhood Community Officers in west-end Divisions like 22, 12, 13 and 23 and the Service’s Community Partnerships and Engagement Unit.

“The Board must continue its high degree of engagement with diverse communities on significant policing and police governance and oversight issues,” the request state. “Continue to improve public transparency and accessibility to its work and governance processes.”

A priority in 2024 is to work collaboratively with the Ontario Human Rights Commission on the inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police.

“Enhanced outreach and engagement of diverse communities, including Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities across Toronto,” the request said.

Some funds will be used to provide a honouraria for community members on the Board’s Advisory Panels and for American Sign Language (A.S.L.) translation services at its public meetings.

A significant portion of the non-salary costs are allotted for arbitrations and grievances. The 2023 budget included a $424,800 contribution to a Legal Reserve for the costs of independent legal advice.

The increased staffing of the Board office, according to the Request, will have a positive impact for Indigenous peoples, immigrants, refugees and undocumented individuals, women, 2SLGBTQ+, persons with disabilities, racialized groups, Black, vulnerable youth and vulnerable seniors.

They “will be positively impacted by the additional focus that can be brought to bear by professional staff on matters of relevance to these groups and communities,” according to the request by Board executive director Dubi Kanengisser.

The Toronto Police Service is the fourth largest municipal police service in North America with over 5500 officers and 2200 civilian support staff.

The newest mural in the community based on the life and habitat of New Toronto has been unveiled after two months of work.

A number of community residents cheered on December as the work was unveiled.

Artist Margaret Cresswell said the large artwork is based on the New Toronto community.

“I received my inspiration from the observation deck at Samuel Smith Park,” Cresswell said at the December 9 unveiling. “It is all about the neighbourhood.”

The work includes residents’ pet dogs, a skunk, blue jay, seagulls, ducks, oriole birds and a butterfly. More pets from the community will be added to the mural.

The eye-catching landscape mural is located at Ninth Street at Lake Shore Blvd. W. It takes up almost the entire side of a building.

Cresswell said the butterfly is in memory of her mom who passed away in October.

“The butterfly is the spirit of a person that is visiting,” she said. “It is in memory of my mom.”

Cresswell has been painting murals from about 20 years and has created more than 40 of them across the city.

Lake Shore Village Business Improvement Area (BIA) sponsored the artwork, along with the City of Toronto.

BIA chair Chris Korwin-Kuczynski described the work as fantastic.

“It is a nice addition to the neighbourhood,” he said. “It is a great piece of art that looks exactly like Sam Smith Park and you can walk right into it.”’

The community is rich with street art as a nearby mural in Mimico Village called Tangled Geese was days ago chosen as best mural in the City by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA).

 

 

 

 

 

They are working to keep the city safer.

More than 60 students from across the City graduated in a Toronto Police after-school program after 17 weeks of hard work.

The students were part of a 2023 Fall Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI) to learn more about policing and the work police officers do.

The graduation of 63 students, aged 15 to 18, took place on December 9 at the Toronto Police College, on Birmingham Street, in New Toronto.

Attending the event were Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue, MPP Christine Hogarth, Michael Parsa, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services and Police Services Board Member Nadine Spencer.

“These students worked at various Divisions where they gained job experiences and life skills through their interactions with police officers and community members,” police said in a release.

The initiative is part of the Government of Ontario’s Youth Opportunities Strategy to build stronger communities by establishing and expanding community programs that help youth achieve a brighter future.

This program gives young people a paid opportunity to develop job skills while fostering positive partnerships with the Toronto Police Service, better connecting our organization to the people we serve, police said.

Youth who reside in a Neighbourhood Improvement Area in Toronto, are employed throughout the year, working alongside police officers and civilian staff in a wide range of roles. The program is offered full-time in the summer and after-school during the rest of the year.

The young people represented 31 neighbourhoods throughout the city namely: Mount Olive-Silverstone- Jamestown; Elms-Old Rexdale; York University Heights; Black Creek; Regent Park; Flemingdon Park; South Parkdale; Crescent Town; Thistletown-Beaumond Heights; Rustic; Glenfield-Jane Heights; Thorncliffe Park and Weston-Pallam Park.

 

Aicraft noise from planes using Toronto Pearson International Airport has left
many South Etobicoke residents sleepless and agitated for years and now
there may be relief to help curb the din.
Residents of Alderwood, Long Branch, New Toronto and Markland Woods who live under the flight paths have long complained to the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) about loud and low-flying jets coming and going from Pearson.

Pearson officials last June issued an apology for the noise and claimed it was due to a $30 million rehabilitation of “Canada’s busiest runways,” which include Runway 05
for departures and Runway 23 for arrivals.

“Last night an airplane came over top and scared the living daylights out of me,” Alderwood resident Ruthmary James told airport officials then.
To curb the problem for residents, the federal government last June tabled Bill-C52: An Act to enact the Air Transportation Accountability Act and amend the Canada Marine Act.

The Bill, which is working its way through Parliament, will lead
to more transparency and accountability from airports, including the creation of noise
committees. C-52 will legislate airport operators to establish and oversee a noise
management committee to address questions and concerns from the public regarding the din of aircraft.

The Bill will set out notice and consultation requirements related to aircraft
noise, establish a complaint process and impose fines up to $5,000 against airlines for breaking he law.

The committees would hold meetings four times yearly and publish when and where there will be runway work and more noise from aircraft.

The weather is getting colder and police are warning residents of conmen trying to defraud homeowners in snow removal scams that target many seniors.

Toronto Police say the suspects use social media to advertise their snow removal service.

They then get citizens to pay in advance for the service and never return to remove the snow when it falls.

“Be wary of snow removal companies asking for full payment prior to any snow removal being done,” police warn. “Avoid impulse decisions to hire a snow removal company.  Do your research either online, through references or word of mouth.”

And always select a reputable company and obtain a detailed written contract, officers said.

Several people in the area last year lost between $200 and $400 each to a suspect running the ruse after the first blast of winter weather.

And the owners of a snow removal company several years ago were arrested and charged with nearly 70 fraud-related offences after several unsuspecting customers paid for services that were never delivered.

Police allege a company called Snow Easy Plowing advertised on promotional sites, such as Living Social and Groupon, snow-removal services at a deeply discounted rate.

Many people signed up for the service and, following the first big snowfall, customers did not receive the service they paid for, police said, adding no one showed up to do their walkways and driveways.

If you are a victim of fraud, report the incident to your local police at online reporting system  www.tps.ca or to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s by phone at 1-888-495-8501.

Mimico has a prize winning mural.

A much-talked-about mural of two geese in Mimico Village has won the top prize of all murals across the city.

The mural called ‘Tangled Geese’ by artist Kayla Buium, which graces the side of 394 Royal York Road, has won the TABIA City of Toronto Mural Award.

A framed print was awarded to the Mimico Village Business Improvement Association (BIA) which sponsored the mural that depicted a black and white geese in flight.

A presentation was made at a Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) gala dinner on December 5 at the Palais Royale Ballroom, at 1601 Lake Shore Blvd. W.

The mural was selected from a number or street art submitted from 84 BIAs across the city.

The artwork was launched with a catchy light show that made the geese look animated as if they were in flight. People loved the show.

“It feels great to win,” said Montreal artist Buium. “It feels pretty good to be recognized for my work by the City of Toronto.”

She thanked projection artist Nathan Bruce for putting together the light show.

“The honour will look good on my resume,” Buium said. “I was surprised to hear the news that I had won.”

TABIA executive director John Kiru said the caliber of competition was very good and The Tangled Geese mural stood out.

“The diversity of a black and white geese was outstanding,” Kiru said. “For many people it represented a number of things.”

He said 30 awards were handed out to Toronto BIAs at the event. This was the only one won in South Etobicoke.

“The work touched upon a number of societal issues,” Kiru said. “It is a very beautiful piece that showed an environmental side.”

The Mimico Village BIA was incorporated in 1997 and has been involved in a variety of streetscape initiatives and community events such as their Annual Tulip Festival held on the last Tuesday of May, dubbed “Tulip Tuesday,” to celebrate the arts and culture in the community.

It is located on Royal York Road between Newcastle and Evans Avenue. The quaint neighbourhood of shops and services caters to the local community and surrounding neighbourhoods.

A plan to make New Toronto a Night Time Economy area in which clubs will remain open for longer hours is getting closer to becoming a reality.

The motion was approved by a Planning and Housing Committee meeting on November 29 and will now be considered by City Council on December 13 and 14.

Residents from Long Branch and the Dundas Strip, where the changes will take effect, are concerned about increased noise, crime and drunken behavior from the late night clubs.

A staffer from Ward 3 Councillor Amber Morley’s office said the proposed changes are the result of the Night Economy Review.

Morley’s Chief of Staff Lisa Brody Hoffman wrote the City initiative will support and enhance the Night Economy in Toronto by modernizing the city’s zoning, licensing and regulation for businesses such as restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues operating at night.

Hoffman wrote in an e-mail the by-laws regulating this industry create confusion for both businesses and by-law enforcement.

“The existing by-laws are a patchwork assembly from pre-amalgamation municipalities,” Hoffman said. “Many of the bylaws for modernization are out of date, originally put in place in the 1980s or earlier.”

The new framework proposes licensing and zoning regulations that are clear, standardized, enforceable, and better reflect the nightlife in Toronto, she said.

The changes reflect feedback from restaurants and bars, Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), artists and producers, music venues, residents’ associations, and residents who took part in consultations that has been underway since 2018.

“The most frequent concerns we have heard from residents are about the changes which will allow nightclubs to open outside of downtown Toronto, and how that may affect their neighbourhood,” she said.

If approved, nightclubs will be allowed in mixed-use residential areas and only be permitted in non-residential buildings. If a building contains a single residential unit, a nightclub cannot operate there.

The clubs must be located on the ground level; located within 6.1 meters of a residential zoned area and will be restricted in size. To prevent bunching, a maximum of only one nightclub is allowed in a building and a strip mall cannot contain multiple venues licensed as nightclubs.

A licensing requirement that requires the submission and compliance with a “Level 2 Noise Control Plan” will involve review by sound engineers and City staff.

“Much of Lakeshore Boulevard would not be eligible as they are storefronts with residential buildings on top,” she wrote.

Hoffman said venues will be approved to be open until the standard 2 a.m. and require a special permit to remain open until 4 a.m.

“A different permit application must be submitted, reviewed, and approved for each instance where a venue stays open later than the standard 2 a.m. close time,” Hoffman said.

If the item is approved by City Council later this month, City staff will host in-person and virtual Town Hall meetings in January 2024, and the by-laws will take effect by January 1, 2025.

Seven people have been arrested in an inside Service Ontario ring of auto thieves which has been dismantled by Toronto Police.

Police alleged thieves were conspiring with employees at Service Ontario who helped them steal high-end vehicles in the Toronto area.

They “were trafficking in vehicle data taken from the Ministry of Transportation database,” police said of the December 6 takedown.

Some 25 search warrants were executed and investigators seized about $1.5 million dollars in proceeds of crime, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and several luxury vehicles.

Detectives alleged the Service Ontario employees would provide the suspects with vehicle and driver information, including addresses.

“The accused would then steal the vehicles,” police alleged in a release. “Employees at Service Ontario would also provide the accused with fraudulent vehicle registrations and vehicle identification numbers (VIN).”

The investigation, which was dubbed Project Safari, began in February 2023 by officers from 53 Division Major Crime Unit.

The probe centered the thefts of high-end vehicles from the Greater Toronto area. Some 3,000 vehicles were stolen in South Etobicoke in the last year alone.

Most of the expensive vehicles are sent abroad for resale or have their VINs changed and resold here or used to commit crimes.

Investigators said they located and recovered several stolen and re-vined vehicles in addition to equipment, tools and electronics utilized by the accused to facilitate the theft of motor vehicles.

The search warrants revealed that the amount of people who had their data trafficked by the accused numbered in the hundreds.

Police said some of the vehicles were stolen from the driveways of city residents.

Detectives are again warning residents to remove FOBs from their vehicle and place in a Faraday pouch, lock their car doors and windows, park indoors or in a well-lit area, install motion sensor lights or security cameras and cover your VIN numbers.

Charged with about 30 offences in relation to car thefts are; Keerthan Mangaleswaran, 29,  Gobi Yogarajah, 25, both of Toronto, Kajan Jokanajakam, 32, of Oshawa, Milosha Ariyaratnam, 29, of Toronto, Howard Lee, 22, of Markham, Doneika Jackson, 38, of Toronto, and Andrea Fernandes, 30, of Vaughn.

 

A proposal to build a 26 storey condo tower on the site of a Hindu temple in New Toronto is raising eyebrows from residents.

The proposed development at 210 Islington Avenue and 99 Birmingham Street will take up two lots that is bounded by Islington Avenue to the east, and Birmingham Street to the north and Eighth Street to the west.

The tower will contain 352 dwelling units with stores on the ground floor. It features a three level underground parking for 147 vehicles.

A zoning by-law amendment has been filed for the construction of the building and the application is going through the hearing process.

The site has been the site of the Sidh Shakti Babaji Mandir temple for many years. The temple will be demolished to construct the building.

“The proposed development will intensify an underutilized site that is close to a wide variety of services, facilities, amenities, and transit,” according to the proposal. “It will contribute to the vibrancy and mix of land uses in Toronto’s New Toronto neighbourhood.”

The proposal said the site is located near the Waterfront LRT, which is being planned by the City of Toronto, the TTC and Waterfront Toronto, which will introduce higher-order transit along Lake Shore Blvd. between Long Branch and the Leslie Barns Maintenance and Storage Facility to the east.

It said the site is well served by nearby cycling infrastructure which includes cycle tracks along Birmingham Street with connections to other cycling routes across Toronto

The plan calls for 265 bicycle parking spaces including 20 publicly accessible bicycle parking spaces, five  short-term spots  and 240 residential bicycle parking spaces.

The proposal said community and commercial services are in the immediate vicinity of the site, including grocery stores, restaurants, entertainment, schools, parks, and childcare facilities.

It will ‘reduce vehicle-dependence for daily activities and mitigating congestion of the surrounding road network.’

“The proposed development is compatible with the surrounding Employment Areas and does not introduce adverse impacts to the transportation network nor to the long term viability of these lands for continued employment uses,” according to the proposal.

It said 10 new street trees will be planted along with a mix of attractive paving, benches and a ‘retail spill-out area’ fronting Islington Avenue.

And the plan stated the design will contribute to the local skyline visible across the New Toronto Neighbourhood.

By Michael Greenberg – Daily Bread Food Bank

One in ten Torontonians now rely on food banks especially at this time of the year, which is twice as many as the year prior.

For many of us, the soaring cost of food over the last few years has meant finding ways to stretch grocery budgets or simply going without.

Food Services Manager Michael Greenberg oversees Daily Bread Food Bank staff and volunteers as they prepare close to 220,000 meals annually for our 207 member agencies.

Finding ways to keep the cost per meal low is a key job part of his job – you could say he’s an expert!

Here are his top five tips to trim your grocery budget without sacrificing nutritional value:

1. A smaller price tag doesn’t always equal bigger savings:

When it comes to meat, considering the yield can be a game-changer. While extra lean ground beef may seem pricier upfront compared to higher fat options like medium ground beef, it’s important to consider how much of that fat will be rendered during the cooking process. In the end, you are left with far more on your plate when you choose lower fat options, ultimately saving you money in the long run. The same holds true for pricier air-chilled chicken versus water chilled chicken.

2. Buy produce in season:

If you have storage room, a simple solution to cutting down on the cost of produce is to buy fruits and vegetables in bulk during peak seasons when prices are lower. You can preserve produce by freezing or canning to enjoy affordable, nutrient dense produce during the off-season when prices are at their highest.

3. Process it yourself:

Look for ways to shed some of the processing costs by doing it yourself.  Opting for whole, unprocessed foods can be a wallet-friendly choice. For instance, the cost per pound of a whole chicken is generally lower than boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Similarly, purchasing a block of cheese and shredding it at home is often more economical than buying pre-shredded alternatives.

4. Brand name versus no-name:

A simple switch to quality no-name brands can make a significant difference in lowering costs without compromising nutrition. Look for manufacturers that package both brand name and no-name products as they are often the same product with a different label, so you get the same quality without the hefty price tag. A brand name can of diced tomatoes might cost $2.47, while the same product with a no-name label can run as low as $1.77.

5. Simplicity is key:

Embrace the beauty of simple meals. Not only are they often quicker to prepare, but they can also be more cost-effective. Focus on staple ingredients and explore recipes that make the most of what’s in your pantry, reducing the need for frequent and expensive grocery trips.

With inflation having such an impact on grocery prices in recent years, it’s important to look for ways to cut costs to help ensure you and your family can continue to meet your nutritional needs. We hope you find these tips helpful.

If you or someone you know needs emergency access to food, please visit dailybread.ca to find a food bank location nearest you.