A decision is expected this month in the fate
of a Long Branch megacondo project and the
relocation of more than 500 tenants who now
live in low rise apartments on the site.
Five residential towers have been proposed by
Promenade Co-Tenancy in an application filed
with the city in mid-April, which seeks to
redevelop 220, 230, and 240 Lake Promenade,
and 21 and 31 Park Boulevard, opposite Long
Branch Park and gazebo.
The five seven-storey buildings will be
demolished and rebuilt by two 12-storey
rental buildings, a 14-storey condo and a
30-storey condo building with two 30-storey towers sitting
on a six storey podium. There are ongoing meetings to
stop or curb the project and more than 100 residents
showed up for a site visit on July 15 attended by Councillor

Amber Morley, city planners and the developer.
Christine Mercado, of Long Branch Neighbourhood
Association, said city officials have 30 days to make a
decision, which can be appealed.
“This is a very divisive issue in the
community,”Mercado said. “We are
concerned about the relocation of tenants in
the 548 units as the construction takes place”.
She said many of the tenants are seniors, who
have been living there for a long time, some
as long as 50 years.
Resident and an organizer Patti Pokorchak
said more than 765 residents have signed a
petition and in excess of $1,500 collected on
a Go Fund Me page to fight the development.
Pokorchak said 97 units, or around 200
tenants, at 21 Park Blvd will be temporarily relocated as
developers tear that down and double the size of the
building. There will be a total of 2,021 suites, of which
1,444 would be market condo suites.

Members of the 69-year-old Etobicoke Swim Club
keeps getting faster capturing more records at
the 2023 Summer Ontario Swimming Championships
and other meets.

A record was broken in the women’s 200 medley relay
last month, where Etobicoke swimmers Delia
Lloyd, Victoria Edgar, Victoria Raymond
and Maya Bezanson combined for a
1:55.27 breaking the old record of 1:55.98 set by another Etobicoke relay in 2009.
Etobicoke was the home club of World
Champion Summer McIntosh, now 16, before
she left to train in Toronto and eventually
Florida.
McIntosh retained her world title in the women’s
200-metre butterfly final on July 25 at the World
Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
She finished in two minutes, 4.06 seconds — a
new Canadian and world junior record.

Another Etobicoke speedster Ella Jansen, 17,
swam 4:40.65 in the 400 metres to become the
fastest girl at her age in Ontario’s history. That
swim broke a record previously set in 2013.
Jansen’s record came before a trip to Asia to
compete as part of Swimming Canada’s team for the 2023 Aquatics Championships
held last July 14 to 30.
Etobicoke swimmers Ella Jansen, Hanna Henderson and Ruslan Gaziev were selected
to represent Team Canada at the Championships in Japan.
Also members of Toronto’s RAMAC Aquatic Club combined to set a new Ontario
record in the men’s 200 free relay.
Swimmers Eric Ginzburg , Yichi Zhang, Reid Tichy and Dillon Fernando combined to
knock half-a-second off the old record set in 2018.

And Madisyn Kryger, 14, from Brock
Niagara Aquatics, swam 1:02.21 in the 100
backstroke that knocked half-a-second off her
best time from March’s Canadian Trials and
breaks a provincial record.
Top Etobicoke Swim Club members Kevin
Zhang, Delia Lloyd, Ella Jansen, Elan Daley
and Victoria Raymond were selected to
represent Canada at the 2023 World Jr.
Swimming Championships being held
September 4 to 9 in Netanya, Israel.
Five of the World Jr. contenders are from
Etobicoke Swim Club and one from Toronto.
Canada will send 26 swimmers to the Isreali
tournament which will feature more than 600 promising young swimmers from more
than 100 countries.
At the 2019 World Junior Championships, Canadians including Josh Liendo, Finlay
Knox, Emma O’Croinin, and Jade Hannah won
individual medals. Liendo won a silver medal and
set a new Canadian record at the World
Aquatics Championships in Japan.
The 20-year-old
from Markham, finished second in the 100-metre butterfly final in a time of 50.34
seconds. He is the first Black swimmer to capture a silver medal.
The Etobicoke Swim Club has a long and rich history of service to the Etobicoke
community. Since 1954 it has been training children and young adults in competitive
swimming with outstanding results. The club has produced many national, international
and Olympic swimmers and has been provincial and national champions many times
over. Today it has more than 270 swimmers competing for Etobicoke.

The province has taken notice as some municipalities
complain about being squeezed for more ambulances
and paramedics.
The Ontario government is making it easier for students
who want to become badly-needed paramedics.
The province is adding more than 300 spaces in
paramedic programs in Ontario colleges this year,
according to Etobicoke-Lakeshore MPP Christine
Hogarth.
An expanded Ontario Learn and Stay Grant will provide
students studying in the first year of a paramedic
program in 2023-2024 at select post secondary
institutions with funding for free tuition, books,
compulsory fees and other direct educational costs.
After graduating, students will need to work in the same
region they studied for a minimum of six months for
every full year of study funded by the grant.

“There is a significant demand for paramedics in
communities across the province,” said Sylvia Jones,
Deputy Premier and Minister of
Health. “In partnership with the
Ontario Association of Paramedic
Chiefs, we are strengthening
Ontario’s paramedic workforce
for years to come.”
She said more student spaces in
primary care paramedic programs
at Ontario colleges will make it
easier for future paramedics to
access education and training
closer to home.
“Expanding the pipeline of talent
for the future will also help
bolster the paramedic workforce
and make sure emergency
services are available to respond to emergencies,“
according to a release.

The province is also giving paramedics the flexibility to
treat additional 9-1-1 patients – including those with
diabetes and epilepsy – at home, on scene, or in
appropriate community-based settings instead of in
emergency departments.
“These new spots will play a critical role in addressing
the current shortage of paramedics by preparing more
highly-skilled health care professionals to enter the
workforce and provide the excellent care Ontarians
deserve,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and
Universities. “
“This is an incredibly important investment in the
paramedic programs at Ontario’s public colleges,“ said
Marketa Evans, president and CEO, Colleges Ontario.
“It will bolster Ontario’s health-care workforce and
improve the delivery of emergency services throughout
the province.“
“The province is making it easier for people and
their families to connect to the care they need,“
Hogarth added. “By helping those who want to
train and work in Ontario and hiring more health
care workers to help communities build up their
own health workforces.”
Funding from the 2023
Ontario Budget
Dedicated Offload
Nurses Program
(DONP) increased by
$51 million over three
years to support
municipalities in
reducing ambulance
offload delays,
providing funding for dedicated nurses to offload
patients in hospital emergency rooms.
Colleges offering the paramedic program are Algonquin
College, Cambrian College, Centennial College, Collège
Boréal, Collège La Cité, Conestoga College,
Confederation College, Durham College, Fanshawe
College, Georgian College, Lambton College, Northern
College, St. Clair College and St. Lawrence College.

Most people driving by Portland Road can see a hive
of construction activity without knowing what is being
built on the former industrial lands.
Two mixed use towers rising to 32 and 48 storeys will
be sprouting from the site that is referred as 21 – 25
Windsor, but consists of properties from 21 through
31 Windsor Street, 18 Buckingham Street,
93 Portland Street, and 60 Newcastle
Street.
The megaproject is bounded by Portland
Street to the north, Buckingham Street to
the east, Newcastle Street to the south,
Windsor Street to the west
Developer Diamante Development has
submitted applications for Official Plan
Amendment and Zoning By-law
Amendment for the site that is within
walking distance of Mimico GO station.

It will include an eight storey podium,
while a 12-storey mid-rise building also is
proposed along with a smaller 7-storey
mid-rise building.
The project would replace the existing
low-rise light industrial and commercial
buildings with a transit-oriented mixeduse development.
It will include 978 units for the two tallest
towers and 120 units for the mid-rise
buildings.
The podium connecting the high-rises would feature
retail and office uses.
There will be a park in the northwest corner of the site
along with a mid-block section for vehicular and
pedestrian movement.
Parking would be in two underground parking garages
for the high-rises and mid-rise. There will be 308
residential parking spaces and 877 bicycle parking spots.
Other development activity surrounding Mimico GO,
includes the multi-phase Grand Park Village and four
towers proposed at 39 Newcastle on the south side of
Newcastle Street

VIA Rail Canada say its new fleet of 32 trains that will
service the Québec City-Windsor corridor will be among
the ‘most environmentally friendly in North America.’
Work has begun on VIA’s Toronto Maintenance Centre,
at 50 Drummond Street, near Royal York Road, for a
state-of-the-art maintenance facility for the shiny new
trains that will operate along the 1,150 km corridor.
Politicians and company officials broke ground June 10
for the massive project that will create up to 475 jobs in
the trade and construction industries until completion in
2026.
The work will include demolition of a portion of the
existing structure and construction of state-of-the-art
facilities; new addition, removal, and replacement of
tracks; and the addition of a wheel lathe facility and
critical infrastructure improvements in
the maintenance yard.

“The quality of life of our neighbours
and residents in the EtobicokeLakeshore borough is important,”
VIA Rail said on its website.
The company said measures have
been implemented to limit the
disruptions caused by the upcoming
work, including the retaining of an
engineering firm as noise and
vibration experts.
Monitors have been installed to check
noise and vibrations throughout the site and should
standards be exceeded, e-mail alerts will be generated to
both VIA Rail and the construction company, officials
said.

An air-quality and dust control plan includes a review of
the planned construction work, methods of demolition,
dust control procedures and air monitoring requirements
at the property lines of the construction site.
Mario Péloquin, VIA Rail’s president and chief
executive officer, said the modernized maintenance
centre will “allow our employees to work with the most
modern equipment and will provide them the necessary
tools to maintain the new fleet according to VIA Rail’s
standards of excellence.”
VIA Rail has received the first of its fleet to serve the
corridor. Contracts have been awarded for the
modernization of its Toronto and Montréal maintenance
centres, which is an important pillar of the corridor to
service and maintain the fleet.
Some $1.58 billion was granted by Ottawa in the 2018
budget for the new fleet and modernization of the
maintenance centres, the implementation and integration
of various IT systems as well as the transformation of
maintenance processes.
VIA Rail Canada say its new fleet of 32 trains that will
service the Québec City-Windsor corridor will be among
the ‘most environmentally friendly in North America.’
Work has begun on VIA’s Toronto Maintenance Centre,
at 50 Drummond Street, near Royal York Road, for a
state-of-the-art maintenance facility for the shiny new
trains that will operate along the 1,150 km corridor.
Politicians and company officials broke ground June 10
for the massive project that will create up to 475 jobs in
the trade and construction industries until completion in
2026.
The work will include demolition of a portion of the
existing structure and construction of state-of-the-art
facilities; new addition, removal, and replacement of
tracks; and the addition of a wheel lathe facility and
critical infrastructure improvements in
the maintenance yard.
“The quality of life of our neighbours
and residents in the EtobicokeLakeshore borough is important,”
VIA Rail said on its website.
The company said measures have
been implemented to limit the
disruptions caused by the upcoming
work, including the retaining of an
engineering firm as noise and
vibration experts.
Monitors have been installed to check
noise and vibrations throughout the site and should
standards be exceeded, e-mail alerts will be generated to
both VIA Rail and the construction company, officials
said.
An air-quality and dust control plan includes a review of
the planned construction work, methods of demolition,
dust control procedures and air monitoring requirements
at the property lines of the construction site.
Mario Péloquin, VIA Rail’s president and chief
executive officer, said the modernized maintenance
centre will “allow our employees to work with the most
modern equipment and will provide them the necessary
tools to maintain the new fleet according to VIA Rail’s
standards of excellence.”
VIA Rail has received the first of its fleet to serve the
corridor. Contracts have been awarded for the
modernization of its Toronto and Montréal maintenance
centres, which is an important pillar of the corridor to
service and maintain the fleet.
Some $1.58 billion was granted by Ottawa in the 2018
budget for the new fleet and modernization of the
maintenance centres, the implementation and integration
of various IT systems as well as the transformation of
maintenance processes.

Some Toronto police officers were in tears after a
service dog, Bingo, was shot and killed by a
gunman who was on the run from the law.
Police are mourning the death of Bingo, who was
two. The canine was shot by a 44-year-old suspect,
who was sought for murder, around 8:40 p.m. on
July 25 near Dixon Road and Kipling Avenue.
The gunman had fled one home and was hiding in
the darkened backyard of another when found by
Bingo, police said. He was shot by police.

Police are rallying around Bingo’s partner, Sgt.
Brandon Smith, who was also at great risk in this
incident. Smith has 25 years of policing with both
12 and 31 Divisions in Toronto.
Hundreds of saddened officers formed a procession
on July 27 as Bingo was laid to rest.
Officers were called to investigate a person known
to have a gun when the incident occurred.
The suspect was taken to hospital and is in serious
condition. The province’s Special Investigation’s
Unit (SIU) is investigating the case as was a
police-involved
shooting.

“Bingo, one ofour K9s, was
killed in the lineof duty by gunfire tonight,”
Chief Myron Demkiw tweeted. “Thank
you for keeping our members safe and
thank you for your service. My deepest
condolences to his partner and to all of our
TPSK9 unit.”
The Toronto Police Dog Services, which
was formed in 1989, consists of 21 handlers
and 31 dogs.
Many teams are comprised of one
handler and one general purpose dog, but many
handlers also have a second police dog specializing in search and rescue
or detection of narcotics, firearms, explosives or
cadavers.
Every handler is responsible for the care and
maintenance of their canine partner. The dogs also
take part in arrests of persons trying to evade
police as well other crucial pieces of evidence
leading to criminal charges and arrests.
”Well done Sgt.. Smith and PSD Bingo. Thank you
for your service,” Ernie Dolly wrote. Bingo was
the first police dog murdered in the force‘s almost
200-year history. The service was established in
1834.

AUGUST 4, 11 AND 18 FUN IN THE SUN at Bell
Manor Park, 1 Bayside Lane, from 9:30 a.m. to 11
a.m. Children up to six-years-old are invited to play
in the park while enjoying some rays. Dress for the
weather and note the program will be cancelled
due to extreme heat or thunderstorms. To register
call 416-231-7070 ext. 307 or email
health.promotion@stonegatehc.org

AUGUST 4 MAXIMIZE YOUR GARDEN at Bell
Manor Park, 1 Bayside Lane, from 9:30 a.m. to 11
a.m. for a free gardening workshop led by South
Etobicoke News writer Monika Meulman. She will
show you how to add more edible plants to your
garden. Take home a garden care package to
continue your learning at home. To register call
416-231-7070 ext. 307 or email
health.promotion@stonegatehc.org

AUGUST 9 JOIN US ON ZOOM as we continue
work on establishing a land trust to develop
affordable housing in South Etobicoke. For more
information contact brig@lampchc.org.
AUGUST 9 LINE DANCING is being offered to get
you moving. We are holding two free classes with
Allie our new instructor at 1 p.m. Learn some
simple steps and move to both country music and
pop tunes to dance to. To register
contact jasmind@lampchc.org or crystaln@lampch
c.org 416 252 6471 ext. 246 or 308

AUGUST 9 TO OCTOBER 10 the New Toronto
Holiday Market is accepting vendor applications for
the fourth annual market on November 25 that runs
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Resource Centre
building on Humber College’s Lakeshore campus,
2 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Drive. Proceeds
from vendor table fees will go to support LAMP
Community Health Centre. For more information
visit lakeshoregrounds.ca

UNTIL AUGUST SIGN UP FOR new online
Mindful Renewal program at LAMP. It’s free and
runs on Wednesdays 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. to the end of
August. Corin De Sousa is a certified mindfulness
teacher through the Canadian College of
Educators and provides evidence-based
mindfulness programs throughout the GTA. For
more information contact jasmind@lampchc.org or
call 416 252 6471 ext. 308.

FREE SUMMER CHAIR YOGA SERIES; Join us
on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. with Meaux for a good
workout to strengthen muscles and improve
balance. Wednesdays at 1 p.m. we offer a gentle,
seated yoga with certified Hatha Yoga with
Practitioner Briar Boake. These sessions are
offered both in person and online. For more
information contact crystaln@lampchc.org or call
416 252 6471 and ask for Idman.

AUGUST 12 WATERFRONT FESTIVAL 11th
Annual Humber Bay Shores Waterfront Festival
from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Humber Bay Shores.
Loads of family entertainment, food and live music.
There will be a farmers and artisan markets, kids
zone and live music. For more call 416-357-3899
or visit www.hbsca.ca/events

AUGUST 12 TORONTO POLICE 22 DIVISION
COMMUNITY SUMMER FESTIVAL at Bloordale
Park South, behind 4258 Bloor St. W., from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. Free activities for the kids including
training by members of pickleball, soccer and
tennis teams. Call 22 Division at 416-808-2200.

AUGUST 13 OPEN DANCE REHEARSAL at
Assembly Hall, 1 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr.,
from 1:00-2:30 p.m., presented by Assembly Hall
and TOES FOR DANCE. Open Rehearsal for the
first-ever Process+Practice Dance Residency for a
glimpse into the works of inaugural artists,
Rakeem Hardy (western contemporary dance)
and Tanveer Alam (Kathak), followed by a
discussion. For more information:
https://www.toesfordance.ca/process-practice

UNTIL AUGUST 14 SPACE CAMP run by Mimico
Baptist Church, at 80 Hillside Ave., is a day camp
that runs from 9:30 -3:30 p.m. each day where
children do a wide range of games, arts and crafts,
science, music and more. Registration is $100 but
subsidies are available upon request.

AUGUST 15 MEDITATION IN THE PARK at Bell
Manor Park, 1 Bayside Lane, from 11:30 a.m. a.m.
to 12:30 p.m.
Participants are asked to bring their own chairs,
mats, sun protection and e-mail
health.promotion@stonegatehc.org

AUGUST 18 TORONTO MEMORY PROGRAM;
are you noticing some problems hearing? Sign up
for hearing screening at LAMP, 185 Fifth Street.
Get tested by the Canadian Hearing Services.
Screening for hearing loss; check for ear wax. Call
reception at 416 252 6471 to register.

AUGUST 18 SIGN UP FOR HEARING screening
at LAMP 185 Fifth Street. Canadian Hearing
Service. Contact jasmind@lampchc.org or 416 252
6471 ext. 308.

TUESDAYS AT 1 p.m. WITH MEAUX for a gentle
workout to strengthen muscles and improve
balance. Stretch and enjoy some music and
movement. Offered in person or online for more
information contact crystaln@lampchc.org or call
416-252-6471 ext. 308 or 246.

WEDNESDAYS UNTIL END OF AUGUST for free
online mindful program from 3 to 4 p.m.
Experience a calmer and centred version of
yourself through mindfulness meditation. Coach
Corin De Sousa will guide you through our weekly
meditation that will help reduce stress and anxiety.
Contact jasmind@lampchc.org or crystsln@lampc
hc.org or call 416 252 6471 ext. 246 or 308.

HOW TO ACCESS RENT-GEARED-TO-INCOME
housing in the City of Toronto lead by Kay Hodge
from Access to Housing Toronto. Kay will go
through the application process and let you know
what documents you will need. For more
information contact jasmind@lampchc.org or 416
252 6471 ext. 308.

SAFETY PROGRAM FOR WOMEN is being
organized at LAMP for the Fall. Participate in a
women’s self defence class to increase your
awareness of community safety practices and
teach you moves that will keep you protected. It
will include an Introduction to Women’s Self
Defence Wen-Do and community safety. For more
or to register call jasmind@lampchc.org or 416 252
6471. ext. 308 or crystaln@lampchc.org ext.246

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