This young child is lucky to be alive.

Toronto fire crews worked diligently for hours to free a young child who was somehow trapped in a ventilation duct.

A child was rescued from the duct on October 11 in a building on The West Mall, south of Rathburn Road.

Emergency crews were called just after 3:30 p.m. for a rescue call.

Firefighters had to disassemble the duct to free the child, who officials said did not suffer any physical injuries.

Toronto Fire Services (TFS) said the child was conscious and crying when lifted to freedom.

It is unclear how the child ended up in the duct.

 

A Toronto City Councillor has a fight on her hands as she tries to sway Council to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal elections.

Councillor Dianne Saxe in a motion is seeking that Council extend ‘voting opportunities’ in City polls to 16 and 17-year-olds.

Saxe said in Canada the minimum voting age is 18-years-old across all jurisdictions.

“Fourteen Canadian municipal councils and school boards have passed motions in support of extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds, or studying the policy,” she wrote.

The matter will be considered by City Council.

“…Sixteen-year-olds are sufficiently mature, informed and ready to exercise the right to vote,” according to the motion. “

Saxe cited a list of 17 countries where the voting age is 16 for at least one level of government. Some of the countries include: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Estonia and others.

She said Canadian scholars have found that 16- and 17-year-olds are not less politically developed than adults and can be more or just as knowledgeable as adults.

“Compared to 18- and 20-year-olds, they know as much about political institutions, the campaign promises, and the candidates,” according to the motion.

It cited research by Elections that found the teens are just as interested, if not more, in participating in various forms of political activity, including voting and non-electoral civic activities.

“Youth want to be more involved across governments and have more opportunities to grow as leaders and sustain leadership opportunities,” Saxe wrote. “Youth want to participate in the decisions that affect them.”

The motion listed a number of measures that can be made to recognize teens and allow them to vote in city elections, where they are directly affected.

How many times have we cringed after watching a speeding vehicle whip by a stopped 508 Lake Shore or other streetcar with its doors open as passengers are getting on or off.

Many times the vigilant TTC drivers sound their loud horns to try and protect disembarking passengers by getting speeding vehicles to stop.

City Council has heard complaints from irate passengers and are working to step up enforcement with the use of TTC cameras and other technology to catch the streetcar runners.

A motion was approved by Council last month on a program to issue automated tickets and increase the fines for motorists and other road users who refuse to stop for streetcars with doors open with passengers embarking or leaving.

Councillor Josh Matlow, who introduced the motion, said the streetcars have had internal and external cameras since 2019 that are not being used for enforcement.

“The failure of vehicles to stop for pedestrians entering and exiting TTC streetcars is a serious and ongoing issue,” Matlow said in his motion.

He said a rider was hit by a car last September 8 that failed to stop for a disembarking streetcar along College Street. There are also near misses daily on the 508 Lake Shore streetcar line.

“Unfortunately, this issue is difficult to enforce without automation given the scale of streetcar service and frequency of stops,” he said.

Matlow said the TTC has not used its onboard cameras for the automated enforcement for motorists who fail to stop for streetcars.

“It is time that we levied stronger penalties for drivers who take the lives of pedestrians in their hands when they recklessly speed past streetcars,” the motion stated.

TTC staff is working on implementing a program and expected to report back to its board later this month with next steps.

The Toronto Paramedic Services (TPS) which has about 400 vehicles on the road is being called on by City officials to have a much greener fleet.

City staff wants the TPS to purchase greener less-emission producing ambulances and support vehicles in its upcoming purchases.

Moves for a greener fleet stems from an October 1 Climate Action report by the TPS Chief in response to a City General Government Committee and will be considered by City Council.

A motion requested the TPS explore the feasibility of purchasing zero-emission ambulance vehicles for future procurement and examine opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint of TPS operations.

The TPS said there are no suitable e-vehicles on the market to serve as ambulances and most of its carbon footprint stems from 45 stations it operates citywide.

Paramedic officials said there are no electric ambulances that currently meet the Ministry of Health’s stringent certification requirements for use in Ontario.

They provide paramedic care 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Its staff responds to more than 320,000 emergency calls yearly.

The fleet consists of 234 ambulances, 56 rapid response vehicles/supervisor vehicles and 105 support vehicles.

They said the TPS has installed green anti-idle systems and solar panels on all ambulances and is replacing end-of-life combustion engine vehicles with electric, or hybrid vehicles.

“Toronto Paramedic Services continues to evaluate opportunities to green the fleet, including exploring electric ambulances that comply with the Ministry of Health’s certification requirements,” according to the report.

They said there are funds in their budget to support upgrades to reduce the program’s carbon footprint.

The report said the since 2017 the TPS has installed photovoltaic solar panels in eight ambulance stations and Tesla batteries in two others.

“Work is underway to retrofit additional stations with technology that aids in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” the Services said. “TPS continues to examine further opportunities to reduce its carbon footprint.”

They are building a station in Scarborough that is targeting Zero Energy and Net Zero Carbon through a highly-insulated and airtight building, with high performance windows, triple glazing, well calibrated window-to-wall ratio and building placement and orientation to optimize solar gains.

The facility will have a photovoltaic canopy in the parking lot that is expected to generate 800 megawatt hours annually.

It said an energy retrofit project of their Emergency Services Headquarters, on Dufferin Street, has become one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the City, featuring the largest solar carport which will produce 660,000 kilowatt of energy yearly, enough to power 50 homes.

The report states that while electric vehicle technology has advanced significantly, the market has yet to produce an ambulance that meets all certification requirements, such as sufficient range, rapid recharge capability, and the ability to carry all necessary medical equipment and personnel.

Two people were hospitalized after a battery-operated scooter struck a pedestrian in Long Branch.

The rider and female pedestrian were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries just after 10 p.m. on October 8 at Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Twenty-Sixth Street.

The crash follows a call before City Council to regulate e-scooters, e-bikes, e-unicycles and other similar battery-operated devices due to their speed and pedestrians getting injured.

An online petition calling for e-scooter, e-bike rules has been signed by about 3,000 concerned residents.

The petition states some of the unregulated scooters and e-bikes can travel faster than provincial speed limits and called on the City to ‘step up and enact robust regulations on the sale and use of electric scooters to ensure the safety of everyone involved.’

The issue is a concern for many who took to social media to voice their concerns.

“So many electric vehicles and bikes are now recklessly zipping along our sidewalks,” wrote Mark Brombacher. “It’s a menace.”

“It’s sad that some idiots have to ruin it for others,” said Christine Maybury. “Hope the pedestrian is okay.”

Jenna May-Damiao said she was walking near Long Branch Avenue and Lake Shore Blvd. W., when they nearly got run over by some high school kids on an e-scooter.

“They (riders) should all have to be licenced,” wrote Joanne Gardiner. “So many drivers of these vehicles have lost their license due to impairment.”

Gabriela Calas is still stunned by seeing a couple riding with as toddler on an e-bike.

“I don’t understand how these items are being sold without any regulation and people are allowed to drive them without any license, and means of accountability for their driving,” Calas noted.

She said ‘some riders are reckless, driving on sidewalks as they see fit at speeds that are pretty high and could easily hurt, badly, a pedestrian.’

“The accident risk induced by these scooters also amplifies damage potential,” the petition said. “They (e-bikes, scooters) can cause severe injuries to pedestrians, both adults and children alike and even their pets.“

There are calls for age restrictions for use of the e-devices, introduce mandatory helmet use and speed limit enforcement for electric scooters and e-bikes.

How many times have we seen or experienced riders with no helmets speeding on e-scooters or e-bikes on sidewalks narrowly missing pedestrians or pet walkers.

Almost 3,000 people in one week have signed an online petition to regulate electric scooters in Toronto. More than 500 irate residents signed the petition on one day.

The petition, which was started by scooter-owner Dana Patcas, said the e-scooters are being operated too fast by un-helmeted minors or others and can severely injure the riders, pedestrians or pets.

These electric scooters lack necessary regulations,” the petition state. It “results in minors riding them without helmets, endangering themselves to extreme risks such as fatal accidents.”

The petition warns that some of the unregulated scooters and e-bikes can travel faster than provincial speed limits.

“The accident risk induced by these scooters also amplifies damage potential,” it said. “They can cause severe injuries to pedestrians, both adults and children alike and even their pets.“

The petition called on the City of Toronto to ‘step up and enact robust regulations on the sale and use of electric scooters to ensure the safety of everyone involved.’

It noted the City can keep our streets and sidewalks safe for everyone by imposing age restrictions for use of the devices, introduce mandatory helmet use and speed limit enforcement for electric scooters and e-bikes.

It warned that it will be difficult to enforce a ban the devices.

The petition proposed no riding on sidewalks and that riders should only use bike lanes or the roads and obey bicycle-riding laws.

There should be no speeding and the scooters or e-bikes should have devices to limit their speed to 25 miles an hour.

Double-riding should be prohibited and the introduction of insurance liabilities should also be considered.

The petition can be found on change.org

 

 

 

 

A Toronto Police search is underway for a man who is accused of sexually assaulting a victim in Mimico after the person ceased dating him.

The alleged assault occurred in the Royal York Road and Mimico Avenue area in December last year, Toronto Police said in a release.

Officers said the suspect met the victim on a dating app in June 2021 and they dated for a couple months before the victim ended the relationship.

It is alleged on August 6, 2021 the suspect entered the victim’s home and sexually assaulted the victim.

Alistair Olumuide Salako, 41, of Toronto, is wanted for sexual assault, break and enter and being unlawfully at large.

He is described as six feet tall with a medium build. Police believe that there may be more victims.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2200, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

An inmate of the Toronto South Detention Centre has been charged with manslaughter for allegedly killing a fellow prisoner.

Police allege on October 3 an inmate was assaulted by another man at the notorious maximum security prison on Horner Avenue that can house up to 1,650 inmates.

The victim sustained injuries and was taken to hospital where he died, officials said.

He has been identified as Euplio Cusano, 69, of Toronto.

Ivan Ademovic, 54, of Toronto, was charged with the death.

He appeared in Ontario Court of Justice on October 7.

A 2020 report found that inmates at the prison were subject to confinement, infrequent changes of bedding and clothes, outbreaks of diseases such as scabies, and undue stress caused by repeated lockdowns.

 

A Long Branch conservation photojournalist has made international headlines in being selected from 23,000 others as Bird Photographer of the Year in an image highlighting bird deaths.

Patricia Homonylo’s photo of 4,000 dead birds beat out thousands of others from around the world to win the sought-after distinction and prominence from bird lovers world wide.

The title, and about $6,000, were awarded on September 30 by the Natural History Museum in London, which can receive more than 30,000 images yearly for consideration.

“I am honoured, thrilled and overwhelmed having been awarded the Bird Photographer of the Year,” Homonylo said. It is “considered the most prestigious bird photography competition in the world.”

Her goal is to bring attention to the deaths of birds from flying into windows.

“It has been my mission to bring attention to the global and catastrophic issue of bird-window collisions,” she wrote on social media.

Her photo, called ‘When Worlds Collide,’ shows the birds arranged in a circular fashion. They were all killed by colliding with glass in Toronto.

Their bodies were collected and arranged by members of the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), a charity where Homonylo volunteers, which helps birds injured in these kinds of collisions.

“Unfortunately, most of the birds they find are dead,” she said. “Those bodies are never left behind.”

She said each year more than one billion birds die in North America alone due to collisions with windows.

The image also netted gold in the competition’s Conservation category.

All the birds in her award-winning picture died preventable deaths, the Etobicoke conservation photographer said.

Homonylo began taking wildlife photography seriously about 10-years ago. Originally from Oakville, she has been living in Long Branch for many years and has taken part in the Bird and Tree Fests in the community.

She said the bird deaths can be prevented by making windows bird-safe by turning off the lights, and by demanding that governments create bird-safe building standards.

Environment Canada estimates as many as 42 million birds die from collisions with windows every year in this country. Already this year, FLAP has recorded 331,718 fatal bird collisions in North America.