FRED GARDINER (above) fought long and hard to get the Expressway up and running. More than 140,000 vehicles use the roadway on some days. The Globe and Mail photo.

By DAVE KOSONIC

Frederick G. Gardiner was dubbed ‘Big Daddy’ by many and he is likely best remembered for being the driving force behind Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, which most motorists take for granted today.

Born in Toronto on Arthur Street in 1895, that later became a section of Dundas Street. He attended elementary and high school in Parkdale and graduated from the University of Toronto and then Osgoode Hall Law School.

He established a legal practice in 1920.

Gardiner entered the political arena in 1936 as deputy reeve of the Village of Forest Hill. In 1939 he was elected Forest Hill reeve, a position which he held until 1949.

Gardiner’s big political leap occurred in 1953 when Ontario Premier Leslie Frost named him as the first chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto.

He spearheaded the amalgamation of services which included the Toronto Transit Commission, Metropolitan Toronto Police Department and the Metropolitan Roads Department.

That department began his vision around 1947 for the Cross Waterfront Expressway, which was later re-named the Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, usually known as the Gardiner or the Expressway.

Big Daddy remained Metro chairman until 1981.

During a 1964 interview about the Expressway Gardiner he stated: “I used to lie in bed dreaming in Technicolor thinking it was too big. Now I know it isn’t. Maybe in 20 years people will be cursing at me for making it too small”.

The Expressway was opened in 1956 and about 140,000 vehicles use the roadway on busy days, City statistics show.

The Expressway was and still is controversial. Some Toronto officials were angered that Big Daddy had created a giant roadway barrier between downtown Toronto and the Lake Ontario waterfront. They wanted it to be demolished and go to a future underground version.

Others with political clout thought that the Gardiner was a great idea and regretted that it wasn’t joined to a so-called Scarborough Expressway.

The City of Toronto awarded a $248 million contract to the Aecon Group Inc. in 2018 which includes restoration and rehabilitation to the Gardiner targeted to be completed next year. That includes major structural work on a 1.1 kilometre section between Jarvis and Cherry Streets. The Expressway would run through a large section of South Etobicoke.

Little is known about Big Daddy’s personal life but I know that he had a granddaughter who thought the world of him. During my previous career as an elementary school teacher in the GTA his granddaughter approached me in class one day and informed me that her grandfather was Fred Gardner and that he was a very important man in Toronto.

He passed away due to a stroke in 1983 at age 83. Gardiner rests at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

HAVEN ON THE Queensway needs help in a clothing drive.

BOTTLE Drive to help Daily Bread Food Bank on February 28. For more contact Jenna-Marie Donnelly by email at donnellyjennamarie@gmail.com

CHECK out this event if looking for a job with the Toronto Police Service.

EVENT in the Jamaican community to honour first Black Toronto Police Supt. Stacy Clarke.

Are you a senior who is having problems keeping up with gigabytes, bandwidths and Wi Fi technology.

No need to despair.

The Toronto Public Library (TPL) has help for you to keep up with the latest technology.

The TPL Senior Tech Help team is providing free help for you on whether you should get a smart phone, tablet, laptop or the good old desktop computer.

They are offering one-on-one phone help, detailed help sessions or a variety of classes or workshops.

Get help e-connecting with your friends and family, or to borrow e-books, audiobooks or accessing newspapers or magazines online.

There are tips on Internet security, shopping safely online and accessing health and support services.

Library officials say there is no reason to leave home this winter, since they will help you obtain a digital library card with one call. You can start surfing today.

Phone the Toronto Public Library at 416-393-6225 or e-mail techhelp@tpl.ca

Service available until March 12 and the hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily from Monday to Friday.

Happy surfing and shopping.

FIRST BLACK Toronto Police Superintendent Stacy Clarke. Photo courtesy CityNews.

Stacy Clarke was told a long-time ago when considering policing as a career to ‘be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

She worked for 22 years at the Toronto Police Service, before now joining its senior ranks as an Superintendent, one of a handful of Black women to hold such a position in Canada.

Clarke, a mom of two teens, is the first to admit that it was not an easy task to get this far.

“I’ve spent the last few hours reflecting on the hill I’ve climbed but also on those who have paved the way for me. I am humbled and filled with pride,” she said in a Tweet soon after her appointment.

She thanked Chief James Ramer and the force’s Command for the opportunities “to continue serving our communities and leading our members.”

It was a long journey. She spent her early career years working in the Community Response Unit, Youth Bureau and Intelligence. She served in the Homicide and Divisional Policing Support Units before moving to the Toronto Police College in 2008.

She was promoted to sergeant in 2010 and assigned to 13 Division and transferred to 22 Division in 2012 to work in the Primary Response Unit and Detective Office.

A member of Professional Standards, she then worked on the Police and Community Review (PACER) project, which explored how the force could improve the public’s trust and safety while providing a bias-free service.

She received a promotion to staff sergeant in 2016 and headed the Learning Development and Standards Section at the Police College prior to achieving her senior ranking.

Proud of her Jamaican roots, she rose up the ranks in her work in implementing the province’s Street Check legislation, one of her many accomplishments as Master Trainer and Controller of Legislation.

She believes in advancing policing efforts to gain the trust of the community while pursuing effective policing. A believer in continuing education, Clarke has completed numerous leadership programs, including one with the FBI.

In 2018, Clarke was named a Civic Action Fellow and listed as one of the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women in that year.

The mother and community leader says she was taken back by the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, noting that all her work in trying to forge partnerships between police and the black community may have been lost.

Some 80 Mexican men and women were found living in ‘vermin infested’ sub-standard conditions, sleeping on mattresses on the floor by the RCMP and border agents after they searched seven homes in Hamilton.

The group of 80 were from Mexico and had entered Canada as visitors at Pearson International Airport and airports in Hamilton and Montreal.

Six people, who it is alleged operated the smuggling scheme, were arrested when the foreign nationals were found after warrants were executed on eight residences in Hamilton and Milton, on February 9 by the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The six were charged February 9 with a long list of human trafficking and immigration-related offences and are back before the courts in Hamilton on March 8.

“These searches revealed approximately 80 foreign nationals who were residing in sub-standard conditions, where many individuals slept on the floor on mattresses and the housing was infested with bed bugs, cockroaches and other vermin,” the RCMP said in a release.

It is not known if they had their travel documents or money taken away from them.

“The investigation uncovered a group of individuals exploiting foreign nationals, as well as manipulating our immigration systems and processes for gain and profit,” said RCMP Insp. Ann Koenig.

She said the foreign nationals “were illegally gaining employment in different lines of work in the Hamilton-Niagara Region” with the help of employment agencies, which were operated by the group bringing them into Canada.

“The foreign nationals were exploited by the group members and their respective companies,” police said.

Police have identified three companies that they claimed were involved with the operation.

Police said more than 16 police agencies were involved in the investigation, which began in 2018.

It is not known if the group may seek refugee status or return home after the court case is completed.

City of Toronto officials say plans for a shelter in New Toronto was halted because the site did not meet  building and environmental assessments after a comprehensive due diligence process.

“The decision not to proceed with the acquisition is a reflection of information gained during the City’s diligence review of the site, including building condition assessments and environmental assessments,” Kris Scheuer, the City’s Senior Communications Coordinator, wrote in an email to the South Etobicoke News to clarify why the project was nixed.

“It was determined that the City would not be able to proceed with the renovation and activation of the site within the Council approved budget and project timeline required for the acquisition,” Scheuer stated. “Please note that the early community engagement had no bearing on the decision to not move forward on the site.”

The New Toronto community is breathing a sigh of relief after the City said it will no longer purchase 2950 and 2970 Lake Shore Blvd. W. for use as a shelter.

Plans are now underway for a nine-storey apartment building to be constructed on the site.

POLICE are warning of the latest taxi driver scam targeting innocent people. File photo.

THIS honest cabbie helped to prevent an elderly passenger from being scammed.

Police are warning of this most recent taxi driver scam that is making the rounds by trying to take advantage of peoples’ fears of COVID-19.

Officers say in this scheme, a fake taxi is parked in a parking lot as one suspect poses as a driver and the other a customer.

“One of the suspects asks (a victim) for help paying for his taxi fare,” 22 Division officers posted online. “He tells the victim that the driver refuses to take cash due to COVID-19.”

Police said the victim is asked by the fake passenger if he can use his debit card to pay for the fare, in exchange for cash.

“The victim then inputs the PIN for their debit card and into the modified Point of Sale terminal,” police said. “The device records the card data and PIN.”

After the transaction is successful, the victim is given another bank card resembling their own card and accepts cash from one of the suspects before leaving,” officers explained.

Soon the victim’s bank account is cleaned out by the suspects who have access to his card.

Detectives believe there may be others operating similar scams and further victims.

Police are reminding the public to be vigilant when using any type of public transport that results in debit or credit card transactions.

Some tips include: do not leave your debit or credit card unattended inside a Point of Sale terminal anywhere or at any time, be aware of taxi numbers and company names when using their services, be aware of the driver’s identification that is displayed to the customer in the rear of the cab.

Residents are also warned not to make payments for an unknown person, using your personal card, in exchange for cash; inspect your card after each transaction and ensure it is your card and cover your fingers when entering your PIN.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-3200, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637). Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes or Google Play.