PIZZA MAKER Adrian Stolaj with a beautiful portrait of himself painted by a thankful Alderwood man whose wallet he found and returned. Photos by Tom Godfrey.

A Long Branch pizza maker is making another area resident feel a whole lot better today with a kind deed.

Adrian Stolaj, of Adriano’s Pizza, at Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Twenty Seventh Street, was walking to work earlier this month when he found a thick wallet lying on the roadway near his restaurant.

He picked up the wallet and took it with him to the pizza shop.

“It was a thick wallet with many things packed in it,” Stolaj recalls. “There was a lot of paper and it was bulging.”

He looked at the driver’s license and was able to find the owner of the prized wallet, who lived several kilos away on Brown’s Line, in Alderwood.

The wallet was returned to the owner later that day by Stolaj’s wife, Viola.

“The guy (owner) was very happy,” he says. “I said “that I saved his life,’ since all his documents were in his wallet.”

The wallet it seems had fallen out of his pocket while he was cycling in the area earlier.

The owner, an artist, decided that he would do something special for the honest Stolaj, who went out of his way to reunite him with his wallet.

“He came here for two days and made sketches of me busy at work,” Stolaj says. “Then he came back and brought me this beautiful portrait.”

“I love it. The guy is a good painter,” he says with pride. “I have the portrait in a special place in the restaurant.”

It is the second time that he has found a wallet near his store.

Stolaj is well-known in the Long Branch area for helping out by donating food for community groups, various charities and the homeless.

There are a number of homeless men that he regularly feeds when they stop by.

The shop can be reached at adrianos-pizza.com or dial 416-792-4074.

POLICE TEAMS are targeting those taking part in large gatherings. Police file photo.

A most-recent stay-at-home order is expected to end May 8. TPS photo.

A team of Toronto Police officers from 22 Division and 15 other Divisions are targeting those attending large gatherings to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The officers have been busy and in the first five days laying more than 160 Emergency Management and Civil Protection (EMCPA) charges.

The teams, from all 16 police divisions, were assembled on April 22 as part of a plan to support the latest provincial Stay-At-Home orders to slow the spread of the virus.

Toronto Police statistics show that officers attended more than 210 gatherings in response to calls from the public about noisy parties and gatherings, with more than half of the gatherings held indoors.
In addition to the EMCPA charges, officers laid eight criminal charges for offences including obstructing a police officer and assault.

Police said most calls occurred in the downtown including one at a condo in the King Street West and Portland Street area, where they were met with a large number of people inside the property. Ten of the occupants did not live at the address. The homeowner and ten guests were all charged under the EMCPA.
“At a time when positive case counts continue to rise and hospital ICU admissions are at their highest, it’s extremely disappointing to see people having parties and gatherings and putting themselves, their families, healthcare workers and First Responders at increased risk,” said Chief James Ramer.
He said his officers are working with Toronto Public Health and the City’s Bylaw enforcement officers at the Municipal Licensing and Standards Unit.

The Ontario government on April 16 announced additional restrictions and a two-week extension of the provincial lockdown and stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the virus.

The order requires people to remain at home except for specified purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, health care services, outdoor exercise, or work that cannot be done remotely.

Ramer warned earlier there is no change to police powers and Toronto Police will not be conducting random stops of people or cars.
Staff Supt. Randy Carter said his teams will focus on large gatherings that fail to comply with the emergency orders, with a particular focus on indoor gatherings such as parties at short-term rentals or at bars and restaurants.

“Everyone must do their part to protect our health and safety, and for police that means continuing to enforce equitably and effectively,” Carter said.
The provincial stay- at-home order is supposed to end around May 8.

A CITY Report says more people at home due to the virus leads for more fireworks.

PEOPLE are fascinated by fireworks in the warmth of summertime.

There were many complaints from residents of Humber Bay Shores and other areas of South Etobicoke last year due to noisy fireworks being set alit at all time of the night.

Now, a city report into the use of fireworks agree there was  a ‘noticeable increase’ in the unpermitted use of fireworks and emergency incidents from fireworks since more people are at home due to COVID.

A staff review of fireworks was undertaken earlier this year and the results was released on April 19. It found what we all suspected, people have time on their hands.

“Staff believe this is due to factors related to the pandemic, including more residents staying home in the city, cancellation of other events and City and community fireworks display,” according to the report that was presented to an Economic and Community Development Committee.

“Staff anticipate similar conditions during the 2021 warm-weather season.”

They said it also had to do with the “redeployment of enforcement resources to enforce public health measures and provincial emergency orders.”

The report found a large number people in a survey were concerned about fireworks noise, and impacts of fireworks use on pets, wildlife, the environment and those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Many of those who took part in a survey supported enhanced education and enforcement to ensure individuals follow existing regulations.

An action plan has been created to support compliant fireworks use and sale and reduce nuisance impacts of unpermitted fireworks use. It will include public education and outreach initiatives, including data-driven enforcement in some areas.

City staff will review current fireworks-related set fines and apply to the Province of Ontario to increase fine amounts, as needed.

“Incidents and service requests related to fireworks appear localized in a small number of wards bordering Lake Ontario,” according to the report, which was prepared by Municipal Licensing and Standards Committee (MLS) and Toronto Fire Service (TFS). “Based on these findings, staff do not recommend bylaw changes at this time.”

Both groups will continue to monitor fireworks incidents and complaints during the warm-weather season and the COVID-19 recovery period.

A review of the incident reports found that the vast majority of the calls were for unpermitted discharge in parks, open spaces, or schools, indicating that further education around where and how fireworks can be discharged on the designated dates is needed.

The report stems from an October 2020 City Council directive, requesting MLS and Toronto Fire undertake a review of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 466, Fireworks.

Fireworks on private property may only be used without a permit on Victoria Day and Canada Day. To use fireworks on private property any other day of the year, residents must have a permit from TFS. Discharging or igniting fireworks in a city park by members of the public is also prohibited. The sale of fireworks in Toronto requires a vendor permit issued by MLS.

EACH police division will have a dedicated team of officers to check for large gatherings. TPS photo.

TORONTO Police Chief James Ramer said his officers will not be randomly stopping residents to ask why they are outside or if they are essential workers.

A dedicated team of officers from 22 Division and across the city are stepping up efforts to crack down on those attending large gatherings to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Toronto Police Chief James Ramer said teams from all 16 Divisions are working with Toronto Public Health and the City’s Bylaw enforcement officers at the Municipal Licensing and Standards Unit.

“We are at a critical stage of this pandemic,” Ramer said in a release. “I again urge all Torontonians to please comply with the stay-at-home order.”

The Ontario government on April 16 announced additional restrictions and a two-week extension of the provincial lockdown and stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the virus.

The order requires everyone to remain at home except for specified purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for outdoor exercise, or for work that cannot be done remotely.
The force will enforce the order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act and the Reopening Ontario Act.

“COVID-19 is now a matter of public health and public safety,” according to the Chief. “Let’s work together to stop the rapid growth in cases and relieve the pressure on our health care system.”

Ramer said officers may exercise their discretion in every situation and where there is evidence of non-compliance, they will issue tickets and summonses for individuals and businesses.

He warned there is no change to police powers and Toronto Police will not be conducting random stops of people or cars.
In addition, individuals are not compelled to explain why they are out of their residence, nor is being outside evidence of a failure to comply with the emergency order.
Workers are also not required to have proof from their employer that they are traveling to or from their workplace.
“When an officer has reason to suspect that an individual may be participating in a prohibited gathering, they are permitted to ask the person to identify themselves in order to issue a ticket or summons,” he said.

If a person refuses to identify themselves for this purpose, they can be arrested and in some cases can be charged with obstructing a police officer.

“The teams will be coordinated from a central command allowing them to be deployed across divisional boundaries if required,” according to the release.
Staff Supt. Randy Carter said his teams will focus on large gatherings that fail to comply with the emergency orders, with a particular focus on indoor gatherings such as parties at short-term rentals or at bars and restaurants.

“Everyone must do their part to protect our health and safety, and for police that means continuing to enforce equitably and effectively,” Carter said.
The enforcement strategy comes days after Premier Doug Ford faced intense criticism for shutting parks and granting police services temporary powers to randomly stop people who were driving and require them to produce identification, similar to the now-ended practice of carding in the Black community.

FORMER Conservative MP Wajid Khan with then Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Archive photo.

SOME people protest the arrest of the two men. Courtesy photo.

A co-accused in a fraud case involving a former Mississauga-Streetsville Conservative MP has been found guilty of three counts of fraud.

Nadeem Imtiaz Ahmed, 51, and former MP Wajid Ali Khan, 71, were arrested by the RCMP in March 2018 in what was described as a ‘$1.1 million international investment fraud.’

The Mississauga men were accused in Project Alcazar of borrowing large sums of money from ‘personal contacts’ in Canada, according to an RCMP release.

Ahmed was found guilty of three charges under the Criminal Code, following a three-year investigation into foreign real estate investment fraud.

The Ontario Supreme Court of Justice in a decision on April 21 found Ahmed guilty of two counts of fraud and one count of uttering a forged document.

He is slated to return to court on June 4 to set a date for sentencing.

Khan faces seven charges, including three counts of fraud, three counts of false pretense and one of uttering a forged document.

His case is still before the courts.

The RCMP National Division Sensitive and International Investigative Section received complaints in January 2015 and began a probe.  The Section focuses on “criminal activity that poses a threat to Canada’s government institutions, public officials, the integrity of the Crown, or that imperils Canada’s political, economic and social integrity,” according to the RCMP.

Khan made headlines in 2007 when he left the Liberal Party and crossed the floor to join the Conservatives, then left politics for good in 2009. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and again in 2006 as a Liberal.

He crossed the floor so he could continue acting as a special adviser to then-prime minister Stephen Harper on the Middle East and Central Asia.

Khan was at one time a prominent voice in the GTA’s Pakistani and Muslim communities. He was one of the first MPs of Muslim descent elected to the House.

Khan served as an officer and a pilot in the Pakistan Air Force from 1966 to 1973. He took part in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 as a Shenyang J-6 fighter pilot.

He moved to Canada in 1974.