The South Etobicoke News

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

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.

 

 

More marijuana stores setting up shop in the community

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The Ontario government seems to be handing out licences for cannabis stores like candy.

At least 12 marijuana retail or accessory stores will be opening up soon in Etobicoke, with at least nine of them setting up shop in the Lakeshore community.

A comprehensive list of upcoming marijuana stores is published by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) on their website.

AGCO said they issue about 20 cannabis Retail Store Applications monthly from the hundreds of applications that they receive. They applications are dealt with in the order that they are received.

The organization states that cannabis stores are “in progress” of opening at 3409 Lake Shore Blvd. W., Ameri at 3683 Lake Shore Blvd. W., Green Grow Cannabis at 3755 Lakeshore Blvd. W., and Lakeview Cannabis at 4 Mimico Ave.

More stores in various stages of opening include: McCannabis at 5485 Dundas St. W., and 3812 Bloor St. W., Em Jay’s at 5160 Dundas St. W., Tokyo Smoke at 164 Evans Ave., and Etobicoke Cannabis at 1172 The Queensway,

Area councillor Stephen Holyday in a June letter to the AGCO expressed concerns that some of the stores may be too close to schools or parks and they should keep that in mind when they issue permits.

Holyday wrote that he has been contacted by numerous residents who have raised concerns about the poor suitability of the locations and the increased risk of access to cannabis by minors.

“Some locations are very close to more than one school and they are located at or near strip plazas and parks which are frequented by youth,” he noted. “The provincial regulations require a distance of 150 metres between the retailer and a school and many find this too permissive given the context.”

Holyday says AGCO is the regulator and approval authority for the retailers and there is limited opportunity for the public and elected municipal officials to intervene in these decisions.

There are already four marijuana accessory stores in business along Lake Shore Blvd. W., and in Alderwood.

Plans underway to update Cloverdale Mall to 21st century standards

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The dated Cloverdale Mall which our parents loved is being updated, modernized and being brought up to the 21st century.

B.C. developer QuadReal Property Group, who also own the Campbell’s Soup property in New Toronto, has released details of a ‘multi-building, mixed-use development’ to take the place of the largely one-storey shopping centre near Highway 427 and Bloor St. W.

The developer on August 6 released its plan for the mall and the 12-hectare site as it applies to the City of Toronto for an Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and Zoning Bylaw Amendments (ZBA).

QuadReal plans a “mixed-use, multi-tower, complete community to blossom around a new retail high street.” A large section of the property has remained vacant since Target left Canada.

The company dedicated space in the mall ‘Cloverdale Common,’ for community activities and public information about the proposal. They have also had three open houses over a 16-month period for residents to offer input into the massive project.

Cloverdale’s footprint at 250 the East Mall will be upgraded to a number of condo towers offering a whopping 334,000 square metres of living space between 4,050 units, with ample green space interspersed in between them, along with a food market building, community centre and more.

The residential structures range from between 24 and 48 storeys, and will feature a new “retail main street” that will have storefronts and cafes at ground level. There will be six-storey podiums that help form a street wall along a new retail-lined road running through the property.

This ‘retail main street’ and proposed ‘Cloverdale Square’ will serve as a new retail heart of the community. A food-oriented market building features outdoor patios and terraces, with a multi-purpose arts and culture-focused community hub positioned on the upper level.

The centre of the site will be the glazed glass-covered Cloverdale Square, which will increase the retail space of the project to 26,000 square metres and offer even more residences in low-and mid-rise buildings.

The developer says a minimum of 40 percent of the units would be designated as family-sized layouts.

There will be about 10 residential towers, which will decrease in height from south to north and west to east, with the tallest buildings acting as a buffer from the Highway 427 corridor.

A separate rezoning application has been submitted by QuadReal for a triangular site east of the mall at 2 East Mall Crescent, in which they are seeking to demolish a gas station and Beer Store, which will be replaced by a 27-storey residential tower and a six-storey mid-rise atop a connected base building. The 450-unit development will include 200 m² of retail space.

The amenities of the site will be connected by a series of roadways and pedestrian or cyclist paths, and there will be multiple levels of both underground and above-ground parking, a neighbourhood park, rooftop greenery and court yards.