The government cheques for seniors, disabled and others will be delivered monthly during CUPW strike.

Here is one bit of relief during the Canada Post strike.

There will mail delivery once a month for ‘socio-economic’ cheques during the ongoing labour disruption, Canada Post and its CUPW union have agreed.

The parties have agreed to continue the delivery of socio-economic cheques during the labour disruption, for eligible and participating government organizations.

“The agreement ensures government financial assistance delivered by mail will reach seniors and other Canadians who rely on it,” according to Canada Post.

Cheques for the month of November will be delivered on November 20 and Canadians will receive their cheques the same way they normally receive their mail.

There will be no other mail or package delivery during the strike. Photo CTV.

According to the Government of Canada website the cheques being delivered includes CPP, CPP Disability, OAS. Canada Child Tax Benefit and the Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime.

It said payments may be delayed due to the strike and recommend if you receive your Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) payment by cheque, you can contact your local office to find out where and when you can pick it up.

You can also call 1-888-789-4199 or 416-325-5666, or TTY 1-800-387-5559 or 416-327-4282.

During the strike there will be no delivery by Canada Post of any other mail or packages.

City crews clearing a New Toronto encampment of the homeless some who have been there for more than a year.  Photos by Suzie Basheir.

Some New Toronto and area residents are breathing a sigh of relief.

A homeless encampment that had bunkered down in the parking lot of LAMP Community Health Centre has been moved indoors by City crews as the temperature dips.

This was going to be the second winter in the Fifth Street facility for some of the encampment, who had been on a waiting list for shelter beds to open up.

City crews on November 15 with trucks and equipment moved into the encampment and removed mountains of items as old tents, cooking and other equipment and garbage.

It took crews more than an hour to fill a truck with all the possessions of the encampment.

It took City staff several hours to pack the items in a truck and it was driven away. Some of the items will be returned to the owners.

There was a smell in the air as the piles of garbage were removed from the former encampment, which has racked up dozens of complaints from residents in regards to rats and unsanitary conditions.

A City official said beds were found for five people living in tents and another in a car.

The official said members of the encampment agreed to being moved to shelter beds in the area.

Some of the encampment before they were provided with shelter beds. This would have been the second winter outdoors for some of them.

At one time there were as many as 12 homeless people, including a pregnant woman, living in the encampment.

Those being moved indoors included one man with bone cancer, another with one lung, one whose wife had recently died and another who had lost his job and couldn’t afford rent.

Mayor Olivia Chow has said there are 1,200 people in City shelters, and about 200 others are turned away nightly due to a lack of beds.

Chow said the City is raising funds for new shelters but that can take years.

Community social workers said local out-of-the-cold overnight programs have been chopped and people are sleeping in parks, bus stops and staircases.

Currently there are about 12 homeless sleeping in area parks including Col. Samuel Smith, Marie Curtis  and Coronation park.

The City is going after $30 million in back taxes owed by 30 companies, which can be sold to collect outstanding arrears.

Moves are afoot by City officials to aggressively go after $50 million in back taxes owed by some major non-paying companies.

The City is targeting the tax arrears of 30 of the worst companies that owe more than $50 million in back taxes and other arrears.

Some complain priority can be placed on collecting the sum owed for use to fund City services.

Documents filed to a General Government Committee by City financial staff last month shows the 30 worst companies owe more than $500,000 each to City coffers.

The ‘amount of arrears relating to properties under Court-supervised Receivership has significantly increased as a result of post-COVID shifts in the real estate market and increases in interest rates,’” according to a report.

“Tax receivables will continue to be monitored and acted upon in a timely manner,” according to the City.  “The largest debtor accounts continue to be a priority for collection.”

The report points to one company that owes a whopping $12 million in back taxes. There are others owing the City millions of dollars.

Staff provided a list of companies who owe the largest sums in taxes. Three of the firms are from South Etobicoke.

It said the City’s Revenue Services go after the non-payers though collection procedures as the mailing of overdue notices, telephone contact and bring in bailiffs to collect unpaid property taxes. The business can ultimately be put up for sale.

The City charges 15% interest per year on overdue taxes. Penalties are applied at a rate of 1.25% on the first day of default and at the beginning of every month thereafter.

A 16-year-old has been charged with the savage murder of Long Branch’s Matthew Bergart.

Bad to the bone.

A young offender rounded up in a 100-bullet downtown gun battle has been charged with second-degree murder in a killing that stunned Long Branch.

The 16-year-old youth, who cannot be identified, was arrested with 22 others following a horrendous gunfight on November 12, near Queen Street W., and Sudbury Ave.

The teen, following Toronto Police checks, was charged with the April 25 murder of Matthew Bergart, 30, in the Long Branch Avenue and Lake Shore Blvd. W. area.

The professional poker player was shot multiple times after three suspects forced their way into a townhouse in the early morning hours.

Bergart was known as a professional poker player who took part in the 2019 World Series of Poker.

Bergart was known for playing in the 2019 World Series of Poker and one site listed his winnings at about US$19,000.

The suspects made a demand for valuables and the victim was shot after a struggle ensued, police said. Bergart died of his injuries.

The teen, who is a resident of Brampton, was under a firearms prohibition at the time of his arrest, police said. He cannot be identified as per the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The Long Branch townhouse complex where the horrific shooting took place.

Police said the boy was among 23 suspects who were arrested in Parkdale after a wild west shootout in which 100 shots were fired between two rival groups. A police vehicle with officers inside was also hit by gunfire.

“Bullets pierced through the front, back and sides of the vehicle, narrowly missing the officers and riddling cars and surrounding buildings,” Staff Supt. Joe Matthews said.

Officers said three occupants of a stolen vehicle pulled into a grocery store parking lot in the area, exited the vehicle, and began firing at a group who were gathering for a birthday party. The incident escalated to an exchange of gunfire between two groups.

Some 16 weapons were seized by police.

New $100 coin honouring our courageous Veterans is now available from the Canadian Mint.

Veterans and active full-time members of the Canadian Armed Forces will be able to travel for free year-round on GO Transit beginning in March next year.

The Ontario government said they are introducing a transit relief program for veterans and full time Canadian military members that will begin on March 1.

Michael Parsa says there are also plans to extend the free fares to UP Express in the future.

Parsa said the government is increasing the amount that eligible veterans and their family members can receive each year through the Soldiers’ Aid Commission from $2,000 to $3,000.

The money covers costs such as health-related expenses, home repairs and moving costs, as well as personal items such as clothing for those in financial need.

He said veterans have made tremendous sacrifices to make Canada and Ontario what we are today and deserve the government’s unwavering commitment to their well-being.

City officials say FIFA World Cup soccer fans will generate millions in revenue to city coffers.

Some hopes are dashed as promised updates to Centennial Park to make it into a world-class FIFA World Cup practice facility has been slashed.

FIFA has reduced training site requirements at Centennial Park from two training pitches and field houses down to one for the duration of the tournament in Toronto in June 2026, according to City documents.

The reduction results in net savings in capital expenses allocated to training sites, operations including safety and security budgets, according to the City.

Savings from the training site capital budget will be reallocated to other World Cup requirements including BMO Field, or Toronto Stadium, as it will be called during the matches.

Some residents are disappointed that Centennial Park will not receive much-needed upgrades as promised.

FIFA has now downgraded the number of training facilities required in Toronto, freeing up funding for a city struggling to foot the broader bill.

“The City is now going to have to backfill that money and manage the pressure about the planned and ongoing work in the park,” Stephen Holyday, the councillor for Etobicoke Centre, told CTV Toronto.

The Centennial Park FIFA training facility is in the final design and tendering phases, according to the city, with completion slated for March 2026.

FIFA is freeing up funding for a city struggling to foot the broader bill.

It will cost Toronto almost $380 million to host the 2026 World Cup, the largest and most-watched international soccer tournament that is held every four years in host countries.

City officials

Sketch of Norbu at a recent hearing. He was ordered to remain in custody. Sketch by Pam Davies-CBC.

A man who set an aspiring nurse on fire on a TTC bus at Kipling Station in an incident that rocked the City is still a threat to the public and will have to spend more time in custody.

Tenzin Norbu, 35, was found not criminally responsible for the horrendous June 2022 death of Nyima Dolma, 28, a caregiver and nursing student, who was also born in Tibet.

Dolma was a beloved up-and-comer who was working her way up in Canada. She had only been here for about five years.

The two did not know each other that fateful day, in which Norbu may have been hallucinating, a panel has ruled.

Nursing student Nyima Dolma will never have a chance to pursue her dream.

An Ontario Review Board (ORB) in October ruled that Norbu, who has a lengthy history of mental illness and aggression, should remain in custody as he still poses a significant threat to the public.

The ORB hearing was held last August at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), where Norbu is being held.

He was charged with murder and found not criminally responsible for setting the budding nurse on fire with lighter fluid aboard a bus just over two years ago. She died in hospital from her injuries 18 days later, three months away from completing her nursing degree.

Tenzin Norbu is to dangerous to let out on the streets. Courtesy photo.

Norbu stands to receive privileges as walking around the CAMH grounds while “indirectly supervised.”

The five-member panel ruled he could be gradually given privileges to leave his unit at the facility for other parts of the hospital.

The brutal incident shook the city with people taking precautions on public transit.

A Go Fund Me page raised thousands of dollars to help with the funeral of the soon-to-be nurse.

Councillor Morley has seconded a motion to protest Premier Ford’s plan to remove bike lanes.

Ward 3 Councillor Amber Morley is taking on Premier Doug Ford over the removal of controversial bike lanes.

Morley, a cyclist, has seconded a motion by Councillor Dianne Saxe taking Ford to task for straying from his lane by stepping on Toronto infrastructure claims.

The motion which will be considered by City Council on November 13 calls for the City Manager to write a letter to Ford protesting ‘the overreach’ of his anti-bike-lane Bill 212.

The Bill will give the Ontario government the power to restrict and remove bike lanes that use a lane of traffic in a bid to curb vehicle congestion.

The motion if approved will see a letter of protest from Council asking Ford “to respect municipalities’ jurisdiction to manage compete claims for its own infrastructure.”

Premier Doug Ford has said he will remove bike lanes on busy streets to ease traffic congestion.

It calls for the withdrawal of proposed Section 195.2 of the Highway Traffic Act, that is before the Ontario Legislature.

The motion states that Toronto, with a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, is the fourth-most populous city in North America.

“Our population, our economy and our government are larger than those of every Canadian province except British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario,” according to the councillors.

It said Toronto is one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities and the economic engine of Ontario, providing large subsidies to the province and other parts of Canada.

“Toronto provides a disproportionately large share of the revenue of the provincial government,” it states.

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Ward 3 Councillor Amber Morley says the province is overstepping its reach into the handling of City infrastructure.

The City of Toronto owns, pays for, maintains and operates most of the infrastructure that allows ‘this goose to lay its golden eggs, in an environment of overwhelming and competing demands,” the motion declared.

“Managing and allocating this public infrastructure so as to appropriately balance these competing demands is a central function of municipal government,” the councillors said. It is “essential to allow us to do the jobs we were elected to do.”

They said Bill 212 is an ‘attack on the people of Toronto, proposing to wastefully tear up millions of dollars of newly constructed roads, to distort how Council balances demands for street space, climate action, affordability, road safety, tree cover and quality of life.”

The province plans to remove the bike lanes on busy streets to improve traffic flow and increase small business sales.