Area residents protesting a ban of cars using High Park at certain times.

 City officials are bowing to public pressure against an auto ban in High Park and are putting in place a shuttle service to get people to visit the sprawling park.

Staff are seeking proposals for a ‘reliable and accessible’ shuttle service to help visitors to get to popular park locations as the petting zoo and other attractions.

City staff said they are ‘marketing the opportunity for a supplier to maintain and operate a passenger transportation shuttle service at the park.’

Those interested are asked to submit a proposal or contact the City website by December 3.

The move comes as an advocacy group claim the park is now empty except for cyclists and restaurant and other businesses are suffering due to a lack of visitors from the vehicle prohibition.

A view of an empty Grenadier Cafe as customers  cannot use their vehicles to drive into the park as businesses suffer.

Diane Buckell, of High Park Access For All, said prior to the closure of the park to vehicles five years ago there were line-ups at the popular Grenadier Café for brunch or lunch with friends or family.

“Only three tables were occupied when I visited,” she wrote an Open Letter to Mayor Olivia Chow. “In a period of 15 minutes only six joggers or walkers and 17 cyclists went by.”

She told Chow the auto ban has left the park unaccessible for seniors, families or those with mobility issues.

“High Park these days is unvisited,” Buckell said. “Why does the City want to discourage people visiting what was once one of the most utilized parks in the City.”

She cited an online petition to reopen the park to vehicles that was signed by about 23,000 nature lovers.

The group is seeking a meeting with Chow to discuss the situation they face.

You may soon be able to 311 to report alleged parking infractions on your street.

City residents may soon be able to call 311 to report potential parking offences on our streets.

A staff report will be considered on November 25 to determine if the change will be approved by a City Customer Experience Division.

The consultation will include the Parking Enforcement Unit of the Toronto Police Service to review the possible change.

The move focuses on improving the coordination of non-emergency services to improve overall customer experience.

The report by Division looks at opportunities regarding enhanced parking infraction reporting, and other improvements for non-emergency service coordination.

It will feature a live person processing the 311 call before it is passed over to Toronto Police for non-emergency issues.

Since January, 311 Toronto has received about 920 calls monthly regarding police parking infractions. It is about 1 per cent of 311 call volume.

It provides a “no wrong door” customer-focused approach.

Last year almost 110,000 parking infractions were reported by residents using the an online portal and 82,359 via the police non-emergency line.

Politicians and dignitaries take part in a ground-breaking ceremony for a new Canadian Helen Keller Centre. Staff photo.

Area politicians and dignitaries took part in a New Toronto ground-breaking ceremony of a multi-unit Canadian Helen Keller Centre (CHKC) for deafblind people.

The 56-unit accessible apartment complex, at 158 Eighth Street, is slated to be completed by July 2025.

‘’This is a critical step in addressing a significant housing shortage in Ontario,” Centre CEO Jennifer Robbins told supporters and donors on November 18. ’’Deafblind consumers from Toronto and beyond can apply for housing in the new building.”

She said the facility will include a 6,500 square foot training centre where more deafblind people can learn essential life skills to aid in their independence while caring for their families and homes.

The complex will help reduce a lengthy CHKC waitlist and give more people with vision and hearing loss access to an independent life. People with other disabilities will use any remaining units.

A ground-breaking took place for the building of a new 56-unit Canadian Helen Keller Centre on Eighth Street.

“The apartment complex will also help to reduce social isolation, improve the quality of life for vulnerable deafblind individuals experiencing homelessness or living in unsafe environments,” Robbins said.

The facility is a partnership between CHKC, the City of Toronto and the federal government through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The new six-storey building will have one-, two- and three-bedroom homes alongside a range of shared spaces and amenities, including a rooftop garden.

MP James Maloney said the centre was a ‘made in Canada” project in which all parties worked together to make happen.

CHKC user Angele Periard (right) of North Bay will be one of the many deafblind people moving into the new centre. Staff photo.

“A safe and secure home is of vital importance for a better quality of life and strong communities,” he told a gathering of social workers, CHKC and construction staff. This “will provide housing stability for people with disabilities from our community along with the support they require for their success.”

Deputy Mayor Amber Morley said the project “serves residents seeking not just a home that works for them, but a community that can provide them with supports and a sense of belonging.”

Angele Periard, who will be moving into the new centre, said she is excited and cannot wait to move in.

“Now I can save money to buy groceries and visit my family back in North Bay,” she said. “Now I will have a safe space to live in.”

The CKHC also operates Canada’s only residential training centre for people who are deafblind.

CHKC’s training centre has played an important role in the lives of individuals, their families and the community since opening its doors in July 2001.

Dedicated staff and instructors offer classes to improve skills needed for daily living, which facilitates independence and helps people who are deafblind.

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.