An online screaming match is taking place between two of our elected leaders as to who’s best at fighting crime.

Liberal MP Yvan Baker, who represents Etobicoke Centre, is blasting Kinga Surma, the Conservative MPP for Etobicoke Centre, for allegedly providing misinformation about his crime-fighting skills.

“MPP Kinga Surma is misleading you about my work to fight crime and is trying to deflect and evade responsibility for the provincial government inaction,” Baker wrote on social media in an October 10 post.

Baker said Surma has been sending emails and posting social posts that ‘completely misinform the public’ about his record on fighting crime to score political points.

“I don’t normally respond to partisan or political attacks, but this level of misinformation and defamation from an elected official in Etobicoke Centre is unprecedented and cannot go unchallenged,” he told readers.

He accused Surma of asking thousands of residents to contact his office about the crime issue.

“She has never spoken with me or written to me about crime or public safety. Not once,” he warned. “If her concerns were sincere, then surely, she would have contacted me to discuss this before asking thousands of people to do so.”

Baker said fighting crime has been one of the top priorities in his riding.

“I have been working with federal, provincial and municipal government leaders to do just that,” he said. “At the federal level I have been pushing for longer sentences, stricter bail laws, and additional funding for police.”

He said he has even spoken to Surma’s boss, Premier Doug Ford, about curbing crime.

“You didn’t elect me to be a populist, you elected me to solve problems and that is what I will continue to do,” Baker said in a Facebook post.

He said Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to toughen federal laws but they need provincial action as well.

“This is because the federal government has responsibility for the Criminal Code and bail laws,” Baker said. “The province has jurisdiction over the justice system (e.g. courts, judges, prosecutors, jails, etc.). “

The majority of criminal cases in Ontario are dropped due in large measure to a shortage of resources in the justice system, he said.

Many charged with crimes have also been released on bail due to lack of space in Ontario jails.

Surma, who is the Ontario Infrastructure Minister, has not responded to Baker’s post.

 

Toronto Police have arrested a 74-year-old Mimico man in connection with a child sexual abuse material probe.

Police said the suspect was arrested on October 8 by officers of the force’s Child Exploitation Section who executed a warrant to search a home in the Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Royal York Road area.

Officers allege  the accused was in possession of child sexual abuse material on his personal electronic devices.

Larry Boyle, 74, of Toronto, has been charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and access to child pornography.

He was scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing on October 8 at a Finch Ave. W. court.

Police warn that parents and caregivers are the frontline when it comes to protecting children on the Internet and electronic devices and encourage them to remain vigilant.

Reporting of any online exploitation can also be made at Canada’s National Tipline for Reporting the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at cybertip.ca

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

A new grocery store will be opening soon in South Etobicoke.

Construction is underway as Longo’s prepares to open their newest location at 1061 The Queensway, just east of Kipling Avenue.

Sobeys own a major stake in Longo’s and both stores will be massive and side by side in a major development.

A 22 and 27-storey towers are also being built at the rear of The Queensway property that will be parallel to the Gardiner and contain almost 1,000 units. The stores will be fronting The Queensway.

There will also be a Sobey’s store in the same complex, to replace two Sobey’s being shut at the Kipling Queensway Mall and Parklawn and The Queensway.

Parkland would be tucked between the two buildings and fronting a Caven Street extension.

“For almost 70 years, we have been focused on providing amazing food, remarkable service and wonderful ‘treat you like family’ culture and we’re so excited to be continuing that legacy here at this beautiful new store,” said Deb Craven, president of Longo’s. “This is the next chapter.”

The family-operated Canadian organization started in 1956 when three brothers, Tommy, Joe and Gus, opened their first fruit market on Yonge Street at Castlefield.

The store has been expanding its presence and now has about 40 locations in Toronto and the GTA.

The grocery is known for high-quality produce, fresh prepared foods, and private label products that many shoppers enjoy.

Some locations also feature Starbucks cafés, stone-oven pizza counters, and full-service butcher counters, though details on what will be included at this new location haven’t been released yet.

Longo’s employs more than 5,000 people, and for nine consecutive years was one of Canada’s Top 50 privately managed companies by the Financial Post newspaper.

 

A massive condo development on The Queensway has been cancelled after less than 10 per cent of the pre-construction units were sold.

The Clove condominium complex was slated to be built at 2 The East Mall Cres., across from Cloverdale Mall, and included a 33-storey tower and adjoining nine-storey midrise, totalling over 600 condos.

Developers  Mattamy Homes, Canada’s largest home builder, and QuadReal Property Group, in a release said they are not moving ahead with the project , as it is not in the best interest of “purchasers or the community,” as the market experiences “significant headwinds.”

They said only 10 per cent of the units were pre-sold despite receiving strong initial interest from buyers.

“The market has to come down if they want to get their units moved,” said Daniel Foch, a Toronto-based chief real estate officer.

“What happened with The Clove probably is they couldn’t sell units because they were trying to launch at a higher price than the market was willing to bear,” he said.

Foch said this cancellation is part of a larger trend across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), where other developments have had to significantly lower their pre-construction prices in order to sell units.

The housing market in the GTA has continued to drop since its peak in early 2022.

Reports in August showed 118 units in stacked townhouses and low, medium and high-rise buildings were sold in the GTA — a 59 per cent drop from August 2024 and 90 per cent below the 10-year average.

It’s the old versus the new.

Developers are calling for for the frontage of a historic Etobicoke heritage home to be demolished to make way for Metrolinx’s Royal York-Eglinton Station.

The station is part of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension rapid transit line, a new underground station on the north-west corner of Royal York Road and Eglinton Avenue West.

The demolition will be considered by City council at its meeting October 8, 9 or 10 to determine if a low stone wall with  gateposts outside the home will go.

The stone fixtures are to be reconstructed in their exact location after the station is built in its original stone, according to a City report.

“This property remains as a reminder of the intended appearance of this part of Etobicoke,” according to a City report. “It is a well-crafted example of a Period Revival style house that was designed and set in landscaping that was inspired by the English Garden City Movement.”

The low-stone wall with gate posts along the southern frontage reflects the style and character of the house as well as the intended relationship that the landscaped gardens were planned to have had with the roads in this part of Etobicoke.

The 2.5 storey Mary Reid House at 4200 Eglinton Avenue W., is owned by the City of Toronto.

The house was constructed in 1939 as a country residence in what was intended to be a small residential enclave similar to those in the Kingsway Park area. However, the remainder of the subdivision was not developed as envisioned and this property is a reminder of the intended appearance of this part of Etobicoke.

“It is a well-crafted example of a Period Revival style house that was designed and set in landscaping that was inspired by the English Garden City Movement,” according to City documents. “

It said the ‘low -stone wall with gate posts along the southern frontage reflects the style and character of the house as well as the intended relationship that the landscaped gardens were planned to have had with the roads in this part of Etobicoke.’

Documentation and photographs regarding the dismantling, storage specifications and the salvage, storage, reconstruction, landscape are to be kept to re-construct the heritage site.

In 1925, local gardner Mary Reid bought the property for $3,000 as an investment to give in future to her son. In 1937, she transferred half the land to her son, Randolph Calvin. In 1939, an unfinished house valued at $1,300 stood there. In 1941, she transferred the rest of the lot to Calvin, and the entire east half to her other son, Leonard Roger.

 

 

 

A man has been arrested in New Toronto for allegedly firing a gun at another man in a scuffle.

Police said they responded to a call for a firearm being discharged in the Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Islington Avenue on September 21 about 8:12 p.m.

Officers allege a verbal argument occurred between the men, when one was shoved to the ground.

“The accused brandished a firearm and discharged it towards the ground,” police said in a release. “The victim did not sustain any injuries,”
Officers of the Gang and Gun Task Force arrested a suspect on October 4 in Long Branch.

The suspect was in possession of a loaded .38 calibre revolver handgun and a quantity of ammunition.

Riley Larman, 28, of Toronto, was charged with assault, discharge a Restricted Firearm and six other gun related offences, including careless storage of a firearm.

He was slated to appear in court  for a bail hearing  on October 5.

Service at the Royal York Subway station is back to normal following the death of a woman who was pinned under a TTC bus.

The station was shut for about three hours on October 6 around 1:20 p.m. after the woman was found pinned under the bus and pronounced dead at the scene.

Roads in the area were closed for several hours as investigators examined what led to the fatal collision.

The collision happened in the bus bay area of the station, located near Royal York Road and Bloor Street W., according to Insp. Errol Watson, a spokesperson Toronto Police.

At this point, it is not clear how the woman ended up pinned underneath the vehicle.

Police say that they are currently reviewing surveillance footage from the bus bay area.

Police have not publicly identified the victim and officers are still working to notify next-of-kin.

“We understand that this incident can be very traumatic for anyone who was involved or witnessed what happened,” a police spokesman said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fight to pause a controversial Third Street municipal seniors’ shelter in New Toronto has now hit the courtroom.

A Statement of Claim has been filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by the South Etobicoke Community Association (SECA) and New Toronto Initiative “challenging the decision to locate a municipal shelter at 66 Third Street in New Toronto.”

The action comes as more than $15,000 has been raised online in a Go Fund Me campaign to stop the proposed 50-bed shelter.

The legal action, which was announced in a release on October 6, names as defendants the City of Toronto, Councillor Amber Morley and Bruce Davis, of Public Progress.

Councillor Amber Morley and former school Trustee Bruce Davis are named in the legal action.

 

“The claim alleges that the City’s site-selection process was negligent, procedurally unfair, and tainted by the bias of Morley and Davis,” according to a release by SECA.

The group alleges Morley and Davis ‘engaged in conflicts of interest, misrepresentation and improper influence that undermined public trust.”

“Let’s start with proper consultation and don’t hide what you are trying to do,” a spokesperson Mark Smith said on AM 660 radio.

The pending lawsuit was the subject of a call-in talk show on the station’s Ben Mulroney show on October 6.

“This is the most undemocratic thing I have seen,” host Mulroney said. “I can’t believe it.”

Morley was blasted by callers, who called her a ‘ghost politician.’ She was taken to task by callers for not returning the phone calls or e-mails from voters.

Smith said the City and its politicians have not been frank and honest with area residents.

The City and Councillor Morley ignored residents, misled the public, and bent the rules to push through an inappropriate site at 66 Third Street, according to a posting on an Initiative website.

“Our community already carries its fair share of social services,” group spokesman Dan Perdue said. “We support helping vulnerable people, but this must be done fairly and equitably across Toronto.”

Perdue alleged the planned shelter is close to two schools and a seniors’ residence.

The group is seeking a court injunction to stop the shelter, have a transparent consultation process including residents to consider alternatives, and are seeking investments in child care, youth recreation, safe streets and local businesses.

The shelter was one of six shelters announced last year as part of the city’s efforts to meet an unprecedented demand for shelter spaces.

No date has been set for a court hearing.