The South Etobicoke News

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

Mimico group rallying against the Campbell’s Soup land development

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Many Mimico residents are now finding out and are hopping mad at the redevelopment of the historic Campbell’s Soup lands.

Residents are rallying against the redevelopment of the huge property claiming it will drastically increase noise, dust, truck traffic, affect their lifestyle and place area-residents and cyclists at risk.

A campaign has been launched by a group called Residents Before Developers, who are circulating online Mimico Development Alert notices, which are being sent to area politicians.

So far more than 400 of the letters have been signed by area residents to voice their concerns.

The plan “calls for the site to house three warehouses with 86 loading bays, comprising a ‘last mile distribution centre, which is essentially a hub from which large retailers fulfill online orders, operating 24-hours-daily, seven days a week,” the group warns.

They say the massive proposal is only subject to approval by City of Toronto planning staff.

“No public consultations will be held prior to a decision being made, despite significant public impact,” their letter states, adding that City councillors can request to “bump up” review of the project to Toronto City Council.

The redevelopment calls for four driveways accessing the site, including a new entrance on Dwight Ave., at Symons St.

Also proposed are 285 parking spaces and the widening of Dwight Ave., without consideration that Second Street School and LAMP are adjacent.

“Increased traffic poses significant increased risks for pedestrians and cyclists,” they noted. “Heavy trucks arriving and departing and idling all day and night also presents an air-quality concern.”

They claim the developer’s “transportation impact study” assumes there will be minimal impact on the community but their study was conducted last February when pedestrian and bicycle traffic was naturally low.

The matter is before City Council and the alert can be accessed at https://act.newmode.net/

The Campbell’s plant, on Birmingham St., operated from 1931 to 2018 and was at one time the area’s largest employer and vegetable purchaser.

Anguish and worry over proposed shelter in New Toronto

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Anxious New Toronto residents were monitoring a large downtown protest on Saturday against two temporary downtown shelters that residents want out of their area.

The demonstrations on August 15 in the affluent Midtown area come as tempers in New Toronto have heightened due to a proposed homeless shelter at 2950 and 2970 Lake Shore Blvd. W., at Eighth St.

Two websites have popped up for area residents to vote yes or no to the proposed 95-bed shelter. The issue has touched many and as of August 17 there were about 600 votes for the shelter and about 500 against.

Members of the community are awaiting the date for public consultations, which was promised by the City, and will be virtual or by conference call.

The matter will then be determined by Toronto City Council virtually at a meeting on September 30.

Residents against the shelter says the New Toronto area already houses 14 social service programs that will negatively impact community safety, due to the close proximity to eight schools and daycare centres.

Those for the shelter say it is better than having “tent cities” for the homeless in Etobicoke and want it supported by the City and social service agencies.

“Caring citizens of Etobicoke want shelters, instead of tents, for the health, wellness, and safety of both the homeless who need shelter, and the residents of the area,” they say.

“The proposed shelter would be a safe way to help individuals stay off the street, and work towards stability, sustainability and a hopeful future,” the petition states.

The vocal demonstrators on Saturday started protesting near Northern Secondary School at Mount Pleasant Rd. and Broadway Ave.

At issues are a temporary housing program recently opened at the Roehampton Hotel and there is an interim housing site located at 55/65 Broadway Ave., which is set to close at the end of the month.

Some residents are concerned about what they claim has been an increase in crime in the Yonge and Eglinton area since the shelters were created in late April, to provide more locations for clients to socially distance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also express fear since a City employee was stabbed at the Broadway site last week.

The City said it has added 33 new security cameras, enhanced 24/7 mobile patrols and four security guards at the Roehampton site.

Monika’s journey from street sign to top healer and gardener

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New Toronto’s Monika Meulman says a sign on a telephone pole 25-years ago changed her life forever.

She studied hard and passed the Reflexology course and today is one of the community’s top healer and gardener.

The owner of The Healing Muse Apothecary, at 2861 LakeShore Blvd. W., is skilled in the arts of aromatherapy, body reading, feng shui, intuitive healing, reflexology and reiki.

“All our products are plant based,” Meulman says of her store. “People know us in the community and we have our regular cutomers.”
Today she is catering to a young family who are purchasing Himalayan bath salts, which is mined in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains and is said to reduce fatigue, stress, pain and increase feelings of contentment and emotional health.

Her cozy store is filled with shelves containing bottles of different natural creams and lotions known for their healing properties. She also sell products from local growers or vendors.

“Our naturopathic medicines are good for the mind and body,” she says. “It’s all plant based and more people are using them.”

She is also chair of the Lakeshore Environmental Garden Society (LEGS), which promotes food security and educate the public on permaculture, organic and urban safe food growing practices.

“We strive to support, connect and create spaces that support vulnerable communities and anyone that wants and needs access to healthy, fresh and affordable food,” Meulman says.

She says the group build community strength by offering free plants and nature, facilitate wildlife restoration through wild garden practices and education and park clean-ups.

They bring programs and wildlife gardens to schools in our community and meet with youth, seniors, and local community groups to develop a strong South Etobicoke web of programs, workshops, and information.

LEGS is hosting a contest that anyone can enter the first week of October.

They are asking people growing things indoors and outdoors to submit up to three photos of their most interesting fruit, vegetable or plant. A panel will then judge to see who wins a prize of a Sweet Olenka’s Chocolate package. The top 50 photos will be posted online for a people’s choice award.

They have a food forest garden at the Daily Bread Food Bank, at 191 New Toronto St.

Visit them at www.legsetobicoke.ca

GoFundMe account created to help pay for funeral of child hit by car

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The community is rallying to help pay for the funeral services of a young child whose grieving family are newcomers to Canada.

More than $22,000 has been raised by area residents to help bury three-year-old Ryan Bhattrai, who was killed on August 11 after being hit by a vehicle while crossing a busy street with his family.

A GoFundMe account was created to help cover the burial of Ryan, who was crossing the street just after 11 a.m. with his sister and dad on The East Mall, just north of Burnhamthorpe Rd.

Both the father, 37, and his seven-year-old sister, were hospitalized but are expected to recover.

A woman in her 80s, who was driving the car that hit the family, was also hospitalized.

A family friend said in the GoFundMe post that the family had only been in Canada for four years. It is believed they moved here from India.

“We are seeking assistance on behalf of this unfortunate family who just started life four years ago in Canada with no high expectation but a happy family life and was not prepared for this tragedy,” wrote organizer Sarad Ghimire.

“The most unfortunate father who lost his son was holding his hand at the time and is still in a traumatic condition,” she said. “His mother is not able to convince herself that she no longer has her baby and did not get a chance to say goodbye to her lovely son and is in the same traumatic condition as a father.”

She said Ryan always had “a smiling face and had just learnt how to speak and walk. His little feet have not travelled any long distance and has now come to a full stop.”

“It was so heartbreaking … I was shocked knowing the baby and the family is from our fraternity,” wrote donors Punya Sagar and Monika Marahatta. “May your budding soul rest in heaven, have a good rest with all angels around buddy. Good bye Ryan!”

“Rest in peace lovely shining star; our whole family’s thought and prays goes to the bereaved family,” grieved Jaya Ram Simkhada. “Stay strong, we all are with you.”

No charges have been laid in the incident.

Toronto police are asking anyone with video footage of this collision or anyone with information to contact them at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or www.222tips.com.

Donations can be made by searching for Ryan’s name at https://www.gofundme.com/

Online petition created for those opposing shelter in New Toronto

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More than 200 New Toronto residents have signed an online petition opposing a plan by City Council to open a homeless shelter in a prime business area.

The petition was created by the New Toronto Ratepayers Association whose members oppose the location of a massive shelter at 2950 and 2970 Lake Shore Blvd. W., at Eighth St.

“New Toronto is already supporting more than its fair share of social services,” the petition states. “We recognize the need for more shelters in our City to assist vulnerable residents and also recognize that COVID-19 has increased that need.”

The Association noted that New Toronto already houses 14 social service programs in a 3.2 square kilometre area and the proposed shelter will require even “more social services to be layered into our community.”

They warned the proposed shelter will negatively impact New Toronto community safety since it is in close proximity of shelter to eight schools and daycare centres.

“The proposed location will negatively impact Lake Shore Boulevard West revitalization and our businesses who have made New Toronto their ‘home,” the Association says.

“We are not against the need for shelter, we oppose the proposed shelter location in our community,” the group warned.

City Council has deferred the matter until community consultations can occur, which should be soon. The matter returns to Council on September 30, for a possible vote.

The issue is also a concern for the Lakeshore village BIA, whose members are also pushing for the shelter to be relocated elsewhere.

“This battle with the City is not over,” says Lakeshore Village BIA chair Chris Korwin Kuczynski. “Many people have mixed feelings about a shelter in the community.”

Residents point out that one City worker was stabbed two weeks ago in an incident at a downtown shelter.

The City says some of the 95-bed shelter will be equipped for those suspected of having COVID-19.

Council has allocated the funds to bring up to standards the former office building and BiWay store sites.

If the plan is approved, they will begin conversion work next year and begin accepting patients by 2022.

The petition can be accessed at change.org.

 

 

 

 

Artist selected for memorial sculpture to honour escaped slave Glover

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Award-winning artist and educator Quentin VerCetty has been selected to design a memorial sculpture of escaped U.S. slave Joshua Glover, who fell in love and was adopted by Etobicoke residents.

VerCetty, who is from Rexdale, was introduced by Mayor John Tory following a selection process at Montgomery’s Inn on August 13.

“His (Glover’s) story, both here and in the United States, helped to propel the abolitionist movement,” Tory said.

Glover escaped slavery in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1852, and eventually ended up in Racine, Wisconsin. In 1854, he was recaptured and taken to a Milwaukee jail. Thousands of residents protested at the jail, releasing Glover.

Through the Underground Railroad, he made his way to a boat that brought him to Ontario. He eventually settled in the Lambton Mills area of Etobicoke working for Thomas Montgomery, the owner of Montgomery’s Inn.

VerCetty said he is pleased to be selected for the meaningful and high-profile project.

“I was once told that a successful art piece is an art piece that contains a bit of the artist’s soul in it,” he said.

“People thought I made that story up and it was interesting because they always asked me, ‘Where’s the proof? Where are these stories in our history books?”

His bust shows the top half of Glover’s body with a cyborg-like right arm with shackles and on Glover’s left side he can be seen wearing a suit and holding books close to his chest.

VerCetty is a multidisciplinary visual storyteller and arts educator who is currently working on his Masters degree in Art Education at Concordia University with a focus on teaching Afrofuturism in underserved communities.

His art has been featured in numerous media outlets and publications in Japan, Haiti, Peru, Ghana, Australia, United Arab Emirate and France.

“Most of my work is done off research. Either my life or something I was exposed to and wanted to learn more about,” said Vercetty.  “It’s not about making money; it’s about making connections through this opportunity.”

Glover’s was selected for recognition by the Etobicoke Historical Society. His bust will be displayed in park named after him in the Dundas St. W., and Royal York Rd. area.

 

 

 

 

Three-year-old local boy killed and sister injured after being hit by a car

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It is a tragic situation that a grieving south Etobicoke family is coping with tonight.

A three-year-old boy is dead and his older sister is in critical condition after they, along with their father, were struck by a vehicle near the busy Burnhamthorpe Rd. and The East Mall on early Tuesday.

Toronto Police say they were called shortly after 11 a.m. to Montebello Gardens for a collision involving two children and their father.

The children, the boy and girl about seven or eight, were crossing the road with their father who is also in hospital receiving treatment, explained Det. Brett Moore, of Traffic Services.

The driver of the SUV, reportedly an 82-year-old woman, remained at the scene and was later taken to hospital for checks.

The toddler had his vital signs absent when emergency crews arrived and did not survive, police said, while the girl suffered serious injuries and was rushed to Sick Kids hospital.

“It appears that the driver of the motor vehicle was making a turn onto The East Mall, and the family was crossing the street and we don’t know how that came to be — which direction they were crossing,” Moore said.

Investigators said anyone who witnessed the incident or has dash camera footage is asked to call police.

Officers were canvassing the area in search of video footage or witnesses of the horrific incident.

Roads in the area were closed and motorists advised to take alternate routes.

“We are going to be asking the local community, anyone who saw something, to come forward,” police said.

Traffic Services officers can be reached at 416-808-1900.

 

City to honour former slave Joshua Glover who fell in love with Etobicoke

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Escaped U.S. slave Joshua Glover loved Etobicoke and 166-years-later the City of Toronto is moving closer to honouring him.

Mayor John Tory will be hosting a press conference at Montgomery’s Inn on August 13 at 10:30 a.m. to announce the winner of a public art competition.

​The City of Toronto’s Arts and Culture Services, working with the Etobicoke Historical Society, had invited proposals for the creation of a public heritage memorial to be dedicated to Glover. The process was slowed down due to the COVID-19.

Glover escaped slavery in 1852, and made his way from St. Louis, Missouri into Canada assisted by the Underground Railroad. In 1854 he found work and shelter in the community of Etobicoke. His story was important to the abolitionist movement, and in general to Canada as well.

Fittingly, the project is to be located in the new Joshua Glover Park in Etobicoke in the Lambton Mills area where Glover settled after arriving in Canada.

Naming the small park after Glover was decided by participants of a 2015 survey organized by the City’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division in consultation with the local Councillor out of three possible names that were shortlisted.

For much of his life Glover lived in a small house in Lambton Mills, owned by Thomas Montgomery the proprietor of Montgomery’s Inn where Glover found employment.

He married twice, both times to Irish women, which marked two of the earliest inter-racial marriages in Etobicoke. Glover died in a seniors’ home in Newmarket at the age of 74, after having been embraced by the community of Etobicoke during his life here.

Glover’s story resonates with the citizens of Racine and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Milwaukee at the intersection of Glover Ave. and Booth St., there is a large plaque that recounts the dramatic “Rescue of Joshua Glover.”

After escaping St. Louis, Glover was recaptured and incarcerated in a jail in Milwaukee. Led by local newspaper owner and anti-slavery activist Sherman Booth, some 5,000 people stormed the jail, set Glover free and facilitated his journey through safe houses along the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada.

The public outcry surrounding the Glover case and the legal prosecution of Booth after the rescue advanced the cause of the abolition of slavery in the U.S.

Glover’s story has been kept alive in newspaper articles, books, a play, an opera and a one man show which had its debut at the Montgomery’s Inn.

 

Group warning alarmed tenants to say no to COVID-19 evictions

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The days of COVID-19 rental evictions may have returned, according to one group.

Housing advocacy group ACORN Canada says a moratorium on evictions was lifted on August 1 and the ousting will restart for many of the 7 to 9 per cent of Ontario tenants who are behind on their rent due to COVID-19.

ACORN says there are more than 6,000 cases of tenants who are behind on their rent and are before the Landlord and Tenant Board.

“Low and moderate-income renters were already in the grip of a serious housing crisis in Ontario before the pandemic,” the group says on their website. “And Bill 184 makes evictions easier by allowing tenants to be evicted with no hearing if they sign repayment agreements.”

They say eviction hearings will begin this month for some tenants. Bill 184 was passed earlier by the Premier Doug Ford after much of a fight by anti-housing groups.

The groups are demanding Ford extend the moratorium on evictions to the end of the year, create a rent forgiveness program for tenants at risk of eviction and repeal Bill 184, which they say will have a catastrophic impact on tenants.

Worse still, they say Bill 184 fast tracks the evictions. Tenants at risk of eviction may be forced to enter unfair repayment agreements and will be rendered homeless if they fail to make a payment.

The Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario data shows that 7% renters either paid part-rent payment or none at all.

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) is phasing out by the end of this month for people who started getting it in March, which will impact 34% private renter households.

ACORN Canada members are demanding the government to take immediate measures so that homelessness crisis is averted on top of the existing health crisis.

Some people are preparing for the tough times ahead and LAMP is providing virtual programs on August 18 with the Centre for Equality Rights and Accommodations to advise tenants on their rights and how to avoid being evicted.

The meetings take place at 2 p.m. at ZOOM MEET. To register email jasmind@lampchc.org

 

Mimico activist says Bike Share rack placed on section of busy sidewalk

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South Etobicoke activist Dan Irwin may have a point this time.

Irwin, of Judson St., says he is 100% supportive of the City of Toronto’s Bike Share program, but not when it is placed on a busy sidewalk.

He warns that a new installation at the northwest corner of Royal York Rd., and Judson St., in Mimico, has been placed over a section of a busy sidewalk.

“It is unbelievably located so that the rear wheels of racked bikes protrude onto the narrow sidewalk,” Irwin writes. “There are two seniors’ residences in the vicinity so a proliferation of motorized scooters’ walkers and wheelchairs that require the use of the sidewalk and the whole sidewalk.”

He says there are about 150 Metrolinx employees who use that section of sidewalk daily to travel from the Willowbrook Crew Centre to the Mimico GO Station and back. They often walk in small groups which are impeded by bicycles on that portion of sidewalk, Irwin writes.

“Who would locate the bike racks so that they intrude on a heavily used sidewalk?” Irwin asks “There is space closer to the curb which would more sensibly accommodate the Bike Share rack.”

He and other Judson St. residents have been fighting the City for the relocation of a ML Ready Mix Concrete batching plant on their street that they claim have been generating noise, dust and debris in the neighbourhood. The City has promised to resettle the plant in the Portlands area.

City officials couldn’t be reached for a comment.