If you are outside today, you may likely hear the screech of fighter jets in the skies above Toronto.

Military pilots from the Royal Canadian Air Force and U.S. Air Force will practice response procedures in high-density airspace as part of a North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) exercise, officials say.

NORAD in a Tweets said the U.S. and Canadian fighter jet pilots will practice ‘response procedures in high-density airspace’ on July 30.

They said the fighters will conduct a mock interception of a contracted civilian aircraft over the city’s core.

“These exercises ensure NORAD forces remain ready to respond to aerospace threats 24/7 anywhere in Canada and the United States,” NORAD said in a Tweet yesterday.

“The defence of North America is our top priority.”

NORAD said Toronto residents may see or hear CF-18s, F-16s and a Boeing KC-135 refuelling tanker.

The routine drill, the said, will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

“NORAD routinely conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction violations, hijackings and responses to unknown aircraft,” they said in a release.

For more than 60 years, NORAD has identified and intercepted potential air threats to North America through the execution of the command’s aerospace warning and aerospace control missions. NORAD also keeps watch over Canadian and U.S. internal waterways and maritime approaches under its maritime warning mission.

July 28 vote by City Council to acquire 2950 and 2970 Lake Shore Blvd. W.

Some 26 Councillors voted for Motion to Amend Item moved by Councillor Mark Grimes (Carried)

That:

1. City Council direct that, prior to closing on the purchase and sale of 2950 and 2970 Lake Shore Boulevard West, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the Ward Councillor, engage with local residents, Lakeshore Village Business Improvement Area, Jean Tweed Centre, Women’s Habitat, Jean Augustine Centre, LAMP Community Health Centre and any other community partners in order to ensure they are informed of the planned use of the site and explore any potential partnerships that may fit the needs of the community.

 

2. City Council request General Manager, Shelter, Support, Housing and Administration to consider co-locating permanent housing on the site and to report back through the General Government and Licensing Committee to the September 30, 2020 meeting of City Council.

 

3. City Council request General Manager, Shelter, Support, Housing and Administration to report back through the General Government and Licensing Committee to the September 30, 2020 meeting of City Council with any necessary community services required to support the potential shelter and housing in the site.

For item considered by the General Government and Licensing Committee:

http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2020.GL14.11

Some 26 City Councillors have agreed in a virtual vote that Lake Shore Blvd., and Eighth St., may be the best place for a homeless shelter.

It took about an hour on July 28 before Council agreed to open, pending public consultations, a 95-bed shelter on the vacant office building and Bi Way site, in New Toronto.

Council members gave Councillor Mark Grimes high marks for his handling of the acquisition, which has been in the works since last November.

Council ruled the matter will return before them in September after public consultations has been held with local groups, agencies, residential and other bodies in the community.

Council will then decide if the shelter will proceed.

Grimes is hoping the massive site can be used as a womens’ centre since there are other related groups in the neighbourhood like the Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women’s Empowerment, Women’s Habitat and the Jane Tweed Centre for Women and Their Families.

‘I have had about a dozen letters and 200 calls from the community on this issue,” Grimes told Council. “The community wanted to know what was going on at that site.”

A Toronto official warned that the City does not have to seek permission from the community to open a shelter, but they are obliged to have public consultations after.

City staff said parts of the shelter will be specially outfitted to treat those suspected of having COVID-19.

Members of the Lakeshore Village BIA, who first discovered the acquisition last week, say they are pleased with the outcome.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” says BIA Board Chair Chris Korwin Kuczynski. “We are pleased that there will be community consultations.”

News of the shelter acquisition has split members of the community, with property and business owners opposed to the shelter, while many others are in favour.

A motion for the acquisition was presented by Grimes, who received vocal support from Councillors Shelley Carroll, Michael Thompson, Mike Colle, Josh Matlow, Frances Nunziata and Stephen Holyday.

Holyday says it is up to City staff to meet and talk with the community and hear their concerns.

If approved, work will begin in the next few months to convert the buildings and bring them up to City standards. The site will open for patients in 2022. Five other shelters are in different stages of opening citiwide.

The City said the two properties ‘create a large-sized property that allows flexibility in responding to changes in shelter standards and demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.’

The shelter could end up serving equity-seeking groups as seniors, people with disabilities, newcomers, individuals with mental health issues, the working poor, Indigenous people, people who identify as LGBTQ2S and other vulnerable groups.

 

 

 

Many area residents are applauding on social media a plan by the City of Toronto to open a massive Municipal Shelter at 2950 and 2970 Lake Shore Blvd. W.

The acquisition of the former Bi Way and vacant office building site by the City has been met with outrage and skepticism by some groups, including some residents and the Lake Shore Village BIA, who are calling for a public hearing into the issue.

The acquisition was adopted on July 7 by the General Government and Licensing Committee and will be considered by City Council on Tuesday July 28.

Natasha Jansen is pleased more spaces are available to help those in need.

“Hopefully more long term solutions towards getting people housed are also on the way,” she wrote on the South Etobicoke Community Group.

“We as a community should support this and not make marginalized populations feel that they are dirty, invisible or not tolerated,” says Nicole Byng.

“More shelters are needed as all are full,” Nikki Mackie explains. “It sucks when you need help and have no help no one wants to sleep on the streets.”

Marcus R Tnt is asking why the City doesn’t turn older schools that cannot handle the ‘populations in the area in centres for people trying to get back on their feet.’

“I’m all for shelters but push it into Port Credit a bit and mix everyone into one big melting pot,” notes Candace Parisi. “There are already tons of housing on Tenth St.”

Well-known area realtor Graham Rowlands says the City chose the best location for a shelter since the Toronto Food Bank, LAMP, Women’s Habitat, Salvation Army (Long Branch) and Haven on the Queensway are nearby and public transit is available.

If the shelter is approved by City Council, upgrade work will begin next year with the facility opening in 2022.

The City said the two properties ‘create a large-sized property that allows flexibility in responding to changes in shelter standards and demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.’

The shelter will serve equity-seeking groups such as seniors, people with disabilities, newcomers, individuals with mental health issues, the working poor, Indigenous people, people who identify as LGBTQ2S and other vulnerable groups.

The motion before City Council can be viewed here http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2020.GL14.11

Residents of New Toronto have mixed feelings about a large Municipal Shelter being opened at 2950 and 2970 Lake Shore Blvd. W. and are urgently seeking public consultations.

Toronto City Council will vote on Tuesday, July 28, if it will go ahead and purchase or lease the site that is now a vacant office building and former Bi Way store for use as a shelter for the homeless and people with challenges.

Members of the Lakeshore Village BIA held a news conference on Saturday to update the media and community members. They plan to ask for a motion by the City to be deferred, pending the results of a public hearing.

“There has to be a public hearing into this process,” says Chris Korwin Kuczynski, Chair of the Board of the Lake Shore Village BIA. “We have been working extremely hard to improve our community and this will set us back.”

City documents show negotiations have been underway since last November for the City to obtain the site for a shelter, which will start off with about 95 beds.

The buildings will be brought up to standard next year and will be in operation by 2022.

BIA Treasurer Rattan Gandhi told supporters outside the Maple Leaf House Grill & Lounge at First St., that the shelter will be bad news for developers, realtors, homebuyers, local businesses and property owners who have made investments in the area.

One woman says there are three schools in the area whose students will have to walk by the shelter.

The acquisition was adopted on July 7 by the General Government and Licensing Committee and will be considered by City Council on Tuesday.

“The use of the property as a municipal shelter will support City Council’s direction to expand the number of permanent new shelter beds by 1,000,” according to documents filed.

The City said the two properties ‘create a large-sized property that allows flexibility in responding to changes in shelter standards and demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.’

“All new shelters, including the property, are being designed so that they may be converted into housing in the future,” according to the City. “As demand for municipal shelters changes, the property can be partly or wholly transitioned into supportive or transitional housing.”

The shelter will serve equity-seeking groups such as seniors, people with disabilities, newcomers, individuals with mental health issues, the working poor, Indigenous people, people who identify as LGBTQ2S and other vulnerable groups.

The motion before City Council can be viewed here http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2020.GL14.11