Some South Etobicoke groups have banded together to try and get the City to crackdown on those who ignore rules on the use of fireworks and inflict damage to wildlife, pets and people with challenges.

The city promised action at an Economic and Community Development Committee meeting last April, the groups claim, adding they warned the committee that fireworks violations ‘were escalating at an alarming rate threatening our peace and well-being without any response from the city.’

The groups said ‘it was chaos’ last Victoria Day long weekend with more than 100 separate incidents of fireworks each night. The fire display in the Humber Bay Shores area began around 9 p.m. and continued late into the night.

Hundreds of complaints have been filed by residents outraged that pets, wildlife and people are being affected.

Fireworks discharged in Colonel Samuel Smith Park sparked fires leaving five distinct burns areas in the grasses home to nesting swallows, a designated Environmentally Significant.

The grass was set alit by those lighting fireworks; falling ashes are believed to have caused the fires.

“Boxes were found among the debris indicating that some of these fireworks were

designed to shoot 40 to 60 metres (130 – 190’) high,” they wrote. “This was absolute chaos and we are, to be blunt, furious.”

The group, which represents Friends of Sam Smith Park, Friends of Humber Bay Park, Etobicoke Fireworks Remediation Committee and Citizens Concerned about the Future of Etobicoke Waterfront (CCFEW), have been working to improve area parks for many years.

They are calling for a meeting with Mayor John Tory before Labour Day, the next long weekend for fireworks; for more police patrol parks, to shut parking lots on weekends and ban the sale of fireworks.

Bill Zufelt, Chair of the History and Cultural Committee Long Branch, said he’s ‘angry and beyond words.’

“As an avid naturalist and environmentalist the growing behavior and disregard for all living things, by the pandemic of human selfishness and stupidity is utterly appalling,” Zufelt steamed.

Sam Smith park is listed as the Number 3 Bird Hotspot in Toronto with some 268 species, according to e-bird, an online bird database. Tommy Thompson Park and the Toronto Islands are Numbers 1 and 2 for birdwatching in Toronto.

“That is a testament to diversity and quality of the habitats found at this city park,” according to a CCFEW statement.

“The diversity and quality of habitats has earned the park a reputation as one of the premier birding locations in the city,” the group said on its website.

Residents have complained about the hundreds of people who flock to area parks to drink alcohol and light bonfires without wearing masks or social distancing.

Videos show mountains of trash the visitors left behind for others to clean up.

“Wildlife trauma are being dismissed while the non-interventionist aim of the fireworks industry is covered with platitudes and impotent promises,” the groups wrote. “We need an assurance this issue will be prioritized and responded to effectively.”

 

A hard-working and well-liked local barber has raised more than $7,500 on Go Fund Me so he and another hard-hit New Toronto businesses can stay afloat.

Andy Dinner, of Your Neighbourhood Barbershop, at 2858 Lake Shore Blvd. W., set out on May 20 to raise $4,000 to try and cover his shop’s rent and expenses for two months.

The fundraising campaign in about four hours raised $7,300 and rising from a stream of donations made by community residents and businesses, who are supporting our small businesses.

“It (campaign) is gaining some serious traction,” Dinner said on social media. “We do not want an extra dime over that initial $4,000.”

He has raised the goal to $10,000 and said “every dollar extra over the original $4,000 will be split to other Lakeshore businesses.”

Some other local businesses which are also struggling will receive part of the donations, he said.

“We will not bite off more than we can chew. This isn’t about that,” Dinner explained. “We are using this momentum and exposure to help our struggling neighbours.”

He never expected to be shut so long in lock downs and emergency orders in the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

“Working for 88 days and then being forced to close for 180 days and counting, with no end date in sight was simply unimaginable,” he noted.

Dinner wrote that his shop is new and did not qualify for government grants or benefits.

“We did not expect the Ford government to fail so miserably at how they are dealing with the pandemic,” he stressed. “We did not expect our industry to be disrespected and neglected in such a blatantly offensive manner.”

“We feel like this is an attack and we are offended.”

He said ‘we are about to pay our seventh straight month of rent with no income.’

“I spent my entire life savings opening up this shop and then it has been months of paying rent and hydro for this shop that I can’t work out of,” Dinner said. “My savings are tapped, I have nothing left.”

Residents love the shop, which has won A LAMP Medal of Merit and Etobicoke GEM award for Best New Business.

Thomas Bates said he donated because “Andy is a remarkable young man and needs our support in these trying times. Every little bit helps. Let’s help someone that is known for helping others.”

Owen Newell dug into his wallet because Dinner is an “entrepreneur with good business savvy.”

“Small business is so important,” Erin Krausz wrote on a Go Fund Me page. “Thanks for being such a great part of the neighbourhood.”

“Andy is the most friendly and warm welcoming person on Lakeshore and doesn’t deserve to give up his dream,” said donor Ethan Cochrane.

Thomas McAuliffe donated and wrote “from your neighbours in Alderwood.”

 

 

Toronto City Councillors have had it with noisy hot rods and muscle cars and are exploring state-of-the-art ‘noise-capturing technology’ to target and ticket those hopped-up vehicles creating loud noise on our streets.

There have been many complaints from Humber Bay Shores, and other neighbourhoods, about loud vehicles racing around the area late at night waking up residents.

City councillors are looking towards technology being used in Edmonton to crackdown on the din.

Toronto City Council have requested General Manager Chris Murray contact the City of Edmonton about their Vehicle Noise Enforcement Program, to see if it will work here.

Murray will report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee later this year on acquiring the noise-fighting technology for a similar pilot project in Toronto.

The General Manager is to work with Transportation Services, 311 Toronto, Licensing and Standards and Toronto Police to ‘identify areas across the city where chronic complaints of excessive vehicle noise have been reported.”

Edmonton City Council in 2017 began work on identifying excessive noise locations in about 40 areas of the city. The noise monitoring equipment was installed in nine locations, based on existing infrastructure required for installation and high complaint volumes.

‘Noise-capturing technology’ is being used in different parts of the city that triggers when noise levels exceeded 95 decibels,” according to an Edmonton report. “The technology takes a picture of the vehicle in question for the purposes of mailing a warning or issuing a ticket to repeat noise offenders.”

The ticket is automatically mailed to the offender, much like a traffic camera ticket for speeding.

The equipment records noise 24 hours a day. Events exceeding the threshold were recorded and data was sent to officers for review.

“The equipment is capable of detecting and recording audio levels and video images when specific noise levels were exceeded,” according to the report.

Edmonton City officials said the technology led to officers issuing 138 violation tickets in 2020, 131 warnings for noise-related matters and an additional 109 notices to repair vehicle defects.

Throughout the duration of the pilot program, peace officers monitored more than 40 locations for excessive vehicle noise based on complaint information. In total, three static and one mobile system were used for the pilot program and were rotated through the locations.

Peace officers were deployed to these locations to verify the information obtained from the equipment, identify offending vehicles in real-time, disrupt driver behaviour and take any necessary enforcement action.

“Vehicles with modified or after-market exhaust systems and widened exhaust outlets are both sought and targeted for enforcement under the Traffic Safety Act.”

Results were mixed over the course of the pilot; a single noise incident resulted in enforcement action being taken, utilizing a combination of the enforcement officer’s observation along with video and audio recording of the infraction.

 

 

A brazen and international scheme to defraud the federal government out of a ‘significant amount of money’ has been foiled by the RCMP.

After a lengthy investigation, the Mounties on May 10 arrested a Mississauga man who was charged with three fraud-related offences for allegedly impersonating an elected official last spring.

The man claimed to be from a large and powerful West African human rights, equality and justice advocacy group that was established in 2000.

“We believe in the agency of people and that citizen participation is the cornerstone of democracy,” according to the group’s website.

The National Division RCMP’S Cybercrime Investigative Team launched a probe in April 2020.

The investigation began “after an unknown individual contacted an employee of a federal government department and requested the transfer of a significant amount of money”

“This type of scam is often referred to as Business Email Compromise (BEC), and in this instance, no transfer of funds took place thanks to the vigilance of public service staff,” according to the RCMP.

“In this instance, the assistance of public service staff and Postal Inspectors from Canada Post contributed to the RCMP’s ability to identify and arrest a suspect,” said Insp. Alexandre Beaulieu, Officer in Charge of the RCMP Cybercrime Investigative Team for National Division.

Kenneth Kenzo Alaye Achu, 27, of Mississauga, has been charged with fraud, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. He is before the courts.

BEC, also known as CEO impersonation, is defined as “a form of phishing attack where a cybercriminal impersonates an executive and attempts to get an employee, customer, or vendor to transfer funds or sensitive information to the phisher.”

This threat is designed to trick the victim into thinking they received an email from what appears to be a trusted individual such as an organization leader like the CEO or CFO asking for some sort of money or classified employee information.

The charity group at the centre of this scam claims to work in 10 countries in Africa with offices in Dakar, Abuja and Freetown.