Long-time South Etobicoke resident Steve McNeil is taking to the ice again in less than a week for his ninth annual skate to raise funds for the Alzheimer Society in memory of his mom.

McNeil will be hitting the ice on December 15 to skate for 19 hours and 26 minutes at Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery & Distillery, on Niagara on the Lake, to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s.

The fundraising effort is called Team 1926Skate and people can join him by clicking on his website www.1926Skate.com, where they can donate.

McNeil, 59, a mailman and recreational hockey referee, started his skate as a tribute to his mother, who died of the disease. She was born on December 15, 1926.

He is known to many in the community since he delivered their mail for years.

He says his 19-plus-hour effort is just one day in his life, but caregivers for people living with dementia spend that much time each day looking after their loved ones.

“COVID-19 has been devastating for seniors and their families,’ McNeil says. “More and more families are going to need the assistance that their local Alzheimer Societies can provide. That’s why this fundraising skate is so important.”

In the past two years McNeil has done his marathon skate 18 times in cities across Canada. The virus  has made it impossible for him to do that again this year. The Toronto marathons in the past have taken place on the ice at Nathan Phillips Square.

He is seeking to make December 15 National 1926 Skate Day for Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer Societies offer programs and support services for people living with dementia and their care partners. The funds raised through National 1926 Skate Day and Team 1926 Skate will help local Alzheimer Societies continue to provide virtual social and recreational programming to those who need help most.

Donations can be made through local Alzheimer Societies. People are asked to donate online $19.26, or more, to the website, or simply lace up their skates and come out to support National 1926 Skate Day.

Hello Readers: In the past I have addressed this column to ordinary people, but in this article I am focusing on businesses.

This epidemic has caused a significant upheaval and in lots of ways has forced one to rethink the business model as to how one delivers the products and services offered.

This rethink should look at all aspects of your business model. Let us start up by looking at all cash outflows. It is the expense necessary to maintain and enhance your business.

Can some capital expenditures be deferred to some future date without sacrificing the busi-
ness?

Does your business have on-line presence? Online buying; online banking? Inventory levels are they inline with the peaks and valleys of your business? Are you availing
yourself to the discounts without compromising cash flow?

Is your floor space too big or too small? If you have a website is it working for you and are you soliciting reviews from your customers or clients. Are you active on social media?

Get professional help if needed. Evaluate on your business on an ongoing basis.

Now let me focus on the various programs that are offered by the various levels of government to help during this epidemic.

To avail these programs one needs to have online account with Canada Revenue Agency.

The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy or CER, is retroactive from September 27 and available until December.

Depending on the revenue decline, the subsidy ranges from 20% to 65% covering commercial rent, commercial property taxes, property insurance and commercial mortgage interest.

The CRA website has a worksheet with all the details. This replaces the expired CECRA, whose net cost to the business was 25%.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, or CEWS, is effective from March 15 to December 19, with a deadline of application on January 31, 2021. This program provides employers with 75% of the employees’ renumeration and requires a 15% to 30% year-over-year revenue reduc-
tion.

Under Canada Emergency Business Account, or CEBA, businesses can apply for a loan for $40,000 and an additional $20,000 through your bank. If the $40,000 is paid by De-
cember 31, the remaining $20,000 is forgiven

In addition there is the Ontario Government/ Municipality which announced a Property Tax and Energy Cost Rebate Grants in the 2020 Budget along with a PPE grant up to $1,000 with certain businesses with 2 to nine employees. Details are
available on the Government of
Ontario web page.

The City of Toronto has a Digital Transformation Grant of $2,500 available through Digital Main Street to establish or enhance your company’s online presence.

Rattan Gandhi is owner of Quick Refund Tax, 133 Sixth St. His opinions stem from 15 years of experience in helping clients in the tax area. If you have ques-
tions, he can be reached at 905- 616-5253 or rattangandhi@gmail.com.

Police are warning local car dealerships to be aware of theft rings in which members use the ruse of taking a test drive to steal upscale vehicles.

Police say they are probing more cases in which thieves are using fraudulent identification and the current COVJD-19 precautions to secure unescorted test drives to steal a vehicle.

Members of Halton Regional Police say expensive cars are selected and “this time primarily Mercedes products were targeted.”

“When the test drive was escorted by a sales representative,” police said in a release. “A staged collision was orchestrated in order to complete the theft.”

Two men have been charged by police and face a list of auto theft offences.

Azad Sandhu, 18, of Brampton, is charged with three counts of theft of motor vehicle and possession of a counterfeit mark, false identity documents.

Steven Singh, 20, of Mississauga, is charged with eight counts of theft of motor vehicle, eight counts of utter forged documents and more.

A Toronto home was searched and police found a Mercedes stolen from Hamilton, stolen Ontario dealer plates and fraudulent Ontario and Quebec Driver’s Licences.

A third man was charged in connection with those seizures.

Detectives warn that there are a number of measures the dealerships can take to reduce having a vehicle stolen in an alleged test drive.

If a person provides you with a contact phone number, police say to call it before they leave the lot to verify that it is valid.

If an individual requests a test drive, charge a security deposit to their credit card before they leave the lot.

Consider asking for suitable collateral before handing over vehicle keys to a patron and be aware of someone who arrives on foot or is dropped off for a test drive, with no other means of leaving.

The investigation was conducted by Halton Regional Police (HRPS) Oakville Criminal Investigations Bureau in collaboration with the Peel Regional Police and Hamilton Police Service.

 

 

Macho is an ailing Boxer that is like a child to its owners and in need of medical help.

A Go Fund Me campaign was launched on December 3 to help Macho, who according to his Etobicoke organizer, has been diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, or Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a genetic disease that Boxers can develop.

So far more than $2,940 has been raised from dog lovers online to meet a $3,000 goal.

Campaign organizer Erik Napoles says ARVC affects the heart muscle and caused replacement of the normal heart muscle with fatty and fibrous tissue.

“This change cause electrical instability in the heart muscle resulting in arrhythmias,” Napoles writes. “An arrhythmia is an irregular heart rhythm which can lead to episodes of sudden fainting or worse, sudden death.”

He says fluid was drained by a vet from his pet’s abdomen and Macho lost weight.

“He went into the appointment weighing 99-pounds and came out weighing 88-pounds,” according to a post on social media. “He has an appointment with an emergency cardiologist on December 7 to assess him and provide proper treatment.”

He says Macho is his life.

“He is our child and never has been a dog or a pet,” Napoles insists. “He has always been healthy so I have no doubt this will be nothing but an inconvenience.”

He says it will be an expensive road ahead to cover regular checkups to ensure ‘his heart is OK.’

The funds raised will go towards Macho’s treatments and medicine and other needs.

He was able to raise almost $3,000 in three days.

“Fur babies are still our babies, sending love,” wrote Sydney Campbell-Balagus as she made a donation to help Macho.

“Sending all of the positivity to you guys, and cuddles for sweet Macho!” says Amelia Clark as she dipped into her purse to make a donation to save Macho’s life.