The South Etobicoke News

Serving Humber * Mimico * Lakeshore Village * Long Branch * Alderwood

Police Week brings communities closer

by

Working closer with communities during Police Week

National Police Week runs until Saturday as officers across the country focus on safety and helping their communities which are coping with the outbreak of COVID-19.

This year Police Week runs from May 10 to 16, with the theme; Leading the Way to Safer Communities, which focuses on the many ways that our police members help promote the safety and well-being of everyone in our communities.

Police Week began in 1970 as a way for police to connect with their communities and increase awareness about the services they provide. Community policing is at the heart of the week, and the week provides an opportunity for police and community members to get to know each other.

Also taking place is Canada Road Safety Week, which runs from May 18 to May 18, in which officers focus on the “Big 4” contributors to collisions that often cause injury to people and includes; speeding, aggressive driving, distracted and impaired driving.

Minutes after Road Safety Week was kicked off a driver was arrested by traffic officers racing down the Queen Elizabeth Way at 170 kmh. A learner was also arrested earlier this month for travelling at 308 kmh on the same road using his father’s car.

Police Service dog Reilly found a loaded gun

by

A salute to members of the Toronto Police Service Canine Unit who also place their lives in danger every day.

Toronto Police Service Dog Aleksa is being credited with tracking down and leading to the arrest of an armed robbery suspect.

Aleksa, with her handler and members of the Emergency Task Force, were investigating the robbery in the north Etobicoke area on Monday night when the alleged robber took off.

The man was tracked down by the canine and held at bay until officers arrived.

“This is a great example of teamwork and a job well done,” police said on Twitter.

Another service dog Reilly was saluted by police for helping to find a loaded gun, police say.

Police say Reilly was searching for a car that was involved in a crime. Inside, officers found a loaded firearm concealed in a hidden compartment.

That find could have saved the life of an officer, or citizen, according to police.

And in Halifax, service dog Jynx, is hailed for finding a missing three-year-old girl who wandered off in an area with thick brush, downed logs and a steep hillside.

“In my mind it was so thick and so hard to navigate through that I was ready to pretty much determine that no human would go through there,” Jynx’s handler, Const. Dan Berube told the CBC.

The Toronto Police Dog Services was formed in 1989. The unit consists of 21 handlers and several dozen dogs. Most teams are comprised of one handler and one general purpose police dog.

The unit is responsible for hundreds of arrests and the laying of hundreds of criminal charges. They have also located thousands of dollars of property and pieces of crucial evidence including numerous firearms and other dangerous weapons.

Shop Local and support our small businesses

by

We are all being encouraged to step up our efforts to support our local businesses and shop locally.

Many small businesses owners in the community are breathing easier today that they can finally reopen their doors and offer their goods or services.

Many mom-and-pop businesses in Mimico, New Toronto, Long Branch, Alderwood, The Kingsway, Eatonville, Islington – City Centre West, Queensway Humber Bay and across Ontario are slowly reopening after shutting down for weeks, or in some cases more than a month, due to the spread of COVID-19.

Thousands of workers for the first time are returning to work in a bid by the Ontario government to reopen the economy and put the pandemic behind us.

“I never thought this day would come,” says an Alderwood store worker. “We haven’t worked in weeks and are behind in all our bills.”

All retail stores with a street entrance can begin offering curbside pickup and delivery, in addition to garden centres, hardware stores and safety supply stores, officials say.

Some residential construction projects have also been given the green light to continue while observing health guidelines.

And more enjoyable for many are the 500 Ontario parks and conservation areas which are open for day-use only, with no camping at this time. The remaining 115 parks will be open at the end of the week.

And it must be summer since the LCBO is extending its hours of business this week.

Officials are warning small businesses to utilize online payments like credit, debit or e-transfer; banning their customers from using their own containers, reusable bags or boxes; minimize the amount of time to receive the customer and complete the curbside transaction; control the loading of product into a customer’s vehicle where possible and pick up from trunk by customer and establish a clear designated pickup area and boundary.

 

Canada’s first airport was in Long Branch

by

Our community’s proud ties to aviation dates back more than 100-years when the first airport and flying school in Canada was built in Long Branch.

In May 1915 Curtiss Aeroplanes and Motors Company of Toronto chose Long Branch to open Canada’s first airfield and flying school to train airmen for service in World War I.

Famed aviator John A.D. McCurdy was in charge of the Long Branch Aerodrome, which was a muddy field with a small metal hangar to park three planes and a barn house. There was a grass and dirt strip for landing.

McCurdy had gained fame in 1909 for being the first person in the British Empire to fly his plane the “Silver Dart” from Baddeck, Nova Scotia.

It wasn’t long before aircraft such as the Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” became a common sight over Long Branch.

In January 1917, the newly designated Royal Flying Corps Canada, opened a Cadet Ground Training School at the airport, which also provided instruction on flying boats at nearby Hanlan’s Point on Toronto Islands, the first seaplane base in Canada.

Both the school and the aerodrome closed in 1919 following WW1.

The aerodrome in WW11 served initially as Non-Permanent Active Militia‘s No 21 Training Centre and then as an army small arms training centre. After the war, the Lakeview Armoury was established on the site, but was demolished in the 1950s.

The Small Arms Limited, a large munitions factory, was constructed on the property in the 1940s to support WW11. In addition to an 81,000 square foot factory there was a water tower, several administration buildings and outbuildings. The plant was staffed mostly by women during World War II.

A plaque bearing some of the history of the aerodrome is located along the Waterfront Trail pathway.

It wasn’t until May 1914 when the first passenger airplane flight was made out of Toronto. It took about 31-minutes and 17-seconds to make the flight to Hamilton, which then was about two hours by steamboat, an hour by motorcycle or 51 minutes by express train.

The Aerodrome was actually located in Mississauga at the site of the now-gone Ontario Power Generation’s Lakeview Generating Station. It was one of several in the Toronto area, including three near Downsview.

Money advisor de Goey helps others get rich

by

Mimico financial advisor, broadcaster and author John de Goey is a passionate advocate for investor rights and putting clients first.

The well-respected full-time portfolio manager with Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc., has released his latest book called STANDUP to the Financial Services Industry, which is on sale at all major stores.

“Canadian investors are at risk and they don’t even know it,” de Goey writes. “Their well-intended advisors often give poor advice based on traditional approaches that are demonstrably wrong.”

He notes the “fundamental problem is advisor bias, and no one talks about it because virtually everyone is oblivious to it, including advisors themselves.”

“STANDUP empowers Canadian investors to demand accountability from an industry that has refused to acknowledge its own shortcomings and helps them invest wisely and successfully,” according to the best-selling author.

De Goey released his first 2003 book, The Professional Financial Advisor, which was later updated and re-released in 2006, 2012 and 2016.

The wealth advisor loves the community and settled here more than 20-years ago after moving from his native Point Pelee, near Leamington.

“I moved to Toronto to find work and I bought my first home here and have stayed since,” he says. “I like the lake and people in the community.”

He has been twice named one of Canada’s Top 50 advisors and in 2017 was presented with the Donald J. Johnston Award from the Financial Planning Standards Council for his lifetime dedication to the advancement of the profession.

De Goey is known for being an authority on professional, transparent and evidence-based financial advice. He frequently appears on TV and has written for Advisor’s Edge Report, Canadian MoneySaver, MoneySense, The Globe and Mail and The National Post.

He will be speaking about his book on October 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Humber Bay Library, at 200 Park Lawn Ave. Please note that those who bring a copy of this story from the South Etobicoke News will receive a free copy of his book, STANDUP to the Financial Services Industry.

He can be reached at  416-369-1502 or by email at  John.DeGoey@wprivate.ca.

 

MPP Braithwaite still loved by the community

by

Ontario’s first Black MPP, the late Leonard Braithwaite proudly represented Etobicoke for 12-years and was so well-loved for his unselfish service that he is still talked about by residents today.

Braithwaite, or Lenny as he was affectionately called, represented the riding of Etobicoke while serving as a Liberal member of the Ontario legislature from 1963 to 1975. He was re-elected in 1967 and 1971 and served as a Liberal critic for labour and welfare.

The popular lawyer and Air Force veteran died in his beloved Etobicoke on March 2012. He was 88.

He captured a seat on his first run in 1963 by just 443 votes prompting a headline in the Toronto Daily Star that read: “Wins Etobicoke: Braithwaite Ontario’s First Negro MPP.”

Braithwaite is best known for his 1964 maiden speech to the Legislature in which he spoke passionately about the racial segregation that was taking place in some Ontario schools.

It seems incredible now, but Ontario in 1964 still had a law on its books mandating so-called “black schools,” which segregated students by colour.

Braithwaite would rarely back down in his many fights for the rights of visible minorities and gender equality.

Lenny was a graduate from the University of Toronto, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School, graduating in 1952, and graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1958.

He was the first Black lawyer elected as a member of the Governing Council of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

The veteran would never forget about the racism that he faced at the time, during which he was armed with a first-rate education and spotless war record but could not find a job. It was back in the days when your photo had to be attached to a resume.

He was finally given a job working on the night shift at a chocolate factory after the plant’s foremen decided he could not turn away a war veteran.

Through the years he established a small law practice that he operated for many years.

Following his defeat in 1975, he returned to municipal politics, winning a spot on Etobicoke’s Board of Control.

Lenny managed to gain local fame by helping to erect the first sound barriers to absorb traffic noise between homes and highways in the Etobicoke area.

Undertaker A.W.’s zoo was a hit in Mimico

by

Our community has always been brimming with colourful residents including millionaire undertaker Arthur William Miles, who operated a full-fledge public zoo on the grounds of his Mimico estate.

Miles, or A.W. as he was called, founded the A.W. Miles Company, Undertakers, in 1900, and earned his fortune after introducing the country’s first motorized hearse and funeral home chapel. He also had the city’s first ambulance.

He was the Undertaker of many of Canada’s top politicians and citizens including Prime Minister Mackenzie King, Sir William Muluck, Sir Joseph Flavelle, Sir Henry Pellatt and Sir William Hearst.

He also arranged the 1914 mass funeral of 109 Torontonians on the Empress of Ireland that sank in the St. Lawrence River, in what is considered Canada’s worst maritime disaster, which took the lives of an entire Salvation Army Band.

A.W., an animal lover, is better known though for his “Miles Park” three-acre summer estate that was home of a busy zoo that took up most of Miles Rd., in Mimico.

He travelled the world collecting animals for his collection that contained a beloved elephant named “Tootsie,” two camels, two giraffes, about 40 donkeys, several monkeys, ostriches, and other exotic birds.

His workers erected a large wooden pier in Lake Ontario which held a number of swans.

The waterfront property also contained a dancing pavilion, picnic area, snack kiosk and baseball diamond, which was opened free to the public and popular with church and other groups.

A.W. also provided free lunches, ice cream, and transportation for Sunday school classes.

By 1930, A.W.’s zoo had become fairly large and widely known with thousands of people travelling to admire the colours of the peacock, ride the pet mules, play on the slides and swings and hold picnics.

Miles Park within years was circled by homes and neighbours began to complain of the foul odour from the zoo that led to Mimico Council passing a by-law prohibiting the keeping of animals in the township.

Despite appeals, A.W. in 1936 reluctantly moved all his animals to a 200-acre farm in Erindale. The Township then named Miles Rd. after him.

The popular undertaker passed away in June 1956 and his son, A.W. Miles Jr., became president of A.W.Miles Funeral Directors, which was purchased in 1981 by Humphrey Funeral Home.

 

 

Lower electricity rates until end of May

by

We have until the end of May enjoy lower electricity rates.

The Ontario government is extending emergency electricity rate relief to families, farms and small businesses until May 31, during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Customers who pay time-of-use electricity rates will continue to be billed at the lowest price, known as the off-peak price, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to the province.

This electricity rate relief, initially provided for a 45-day period starting in March, has been extended under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. The rate relief will be in place until the end of the month.

“Many people are struggling to pay the bills as they do the right thing by staying at home,” Premier Doug Ford said in a press release. “Although we are making progress in our fight against this COVID-19 outbreak, we are not out of the woods yet.”

He says the extension of this electricity rate relief will leave more money in people’s pockets until businesses can start to reopen and people can get back to work.

The province is also extending all emergency orders that were put in place to-date under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act until May 19, when there will be a review.

 

New Toronto Scottish Regiment mural coming to Sixth St.

by

A new mural to celebrate the Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’s Own), will soon be replacing a faded version that has been gracing a wall of a Sixth Street restaurant for seven years.

Lakeshore Village BIA chair Chris Korwin-Kuczynski says funds have been approved by the city for a new mural.

He says details are being worked out and he would like to see a new mural replace the older one by the end of the year.

The Sixth Street mural which celebrates the Toronto Scottish Regiment was installed in the summer of 2013 and was a joint project by the City of Toronto Mural Program, the Lakeshore Village BIA and the Toronto Scottish Regiment.

The design was submitted by a student in an Etobicoke school drawing contest.

The Regiment moved from the Fort York in 2009 to a new armory adjacent to the Toronto Police College on Birmingham St.

The Regiment, which was known as the 75th Battalion, lost more than 1,000 soldiers during its fighting in France from 1916 until armistice in 1918.

Some 242 battalion soldiers received decorations after the war. The regiment received 16 battle honours during WW1.

During WW11, the Toronto Scottish was the first Canadian unit to land in the United Kingdom after the declaration of war. Almost every peacetime soldier volunteered for active duty in the machine-gun unit.

Toronto Scottish was awarded 21 battle honours, 10 of which appear on their regimental colours, including Dieppe, Falaise, St.-Andre-sur-Orne and The Scheldt.

 

Celebrating VE Day and our freedoms

by

Marking an end of WW11.

Polish Consul General Krzysztof Grzelczyk and Chris Korwin-Kuczynski, of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 344 and Chair of the Lakeshore Village BIA, lay wreaths at a monument at Vimy Ridge Parkette, at 2546 Lake Shore Blvd. W., to mark Victory in Europe (VE Day).

The joyful day celebrates the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War 11 of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on May 8, 1945, which marks the 75th anniversary of our freedom.

More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in WW11 with 55,000 being wounded and more than 45,000 paying the ultimate price. Canadian soldiers participated with the Allied Forces in all of the major European theatres.

Jubilant Canadians joined people in the streets in an outpouring of emotion at the end of the bloody war. Thousands of Toronto residents danced in the streets as three Mosquito aircraft dropped tickertape overhead.

Most Canadian cities and towns held religious services of thanksgiving. Frustrations built up after years of wartime controls and rationing led to riots and looting in some places.

Grzelczyk says Canadian and Polish forces fought side-by-side among the Allies to defeat the Nazis.

“There is a long history between Canada and Poland,” he says. “This wreath is on behalf of the Polish government.”

Korwin-Kuczynski says; “this is a very important day since it celebrates an end to WW11.”

“Many vets saw service there and we appreciate those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

The invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, started the war in Europe, and the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany two days later.

Countries which made up the Allies included: U.S., Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa and Yugoslavia.