From South Etobicoke across the country, most Indigenous and other people will this week be focusing on the Pope’s visit to Canada.

Pope Francis will arrive and  be met by the Prime Minister and government officials at Edmonton International Airport on July 24 for a six-day reconciliation tour, where he is expected to apologize for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the residential school system.

“It is good that His Holiness is here and it takes courage to stand up to help heal the pain brought on by the wrongdoing of others,” said long-time South Etobicoke resident Susanna. “His apology and forgiveness will take time but we must never forget the children.”

She and many others at her church will be following the Pope’s first visit to Canada in 20 years on television. Thousands of Catholics from across the country are expected at most of his stops.

On Monday, the Pontiff will meet with residential school survivors from across Canada at Maskwacis, Alberta, home to the former Ermineskin Residential School. It is the only residential school visit.

Later that day, he will meet parishioners and Indigenous community members at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, which recently reopened after a fire in 2020.

On July 26, Pope Francis will hold a mass at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium before greeting Indigenous pilgrims at the Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage groups.

The Pope will depart for Quebec City on July 27, where he will meet Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Citadelle of Quebec, as well as Indigenous leaders and other dignitaries.

He will also hold mass at the National Shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre the following day before meeting with a Quebec Indigenous delegation and flying to Iqaluit on July 29.

At an Iqaluit primary school, the Pope will have another private meeting with Indigenous residential school survivors before attending a public community event hosted by Inuit leaders. Pope Francis is set to fly back to Rome later that evening.

Pope Francis’ visit comes after First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegations met with the Pontiff in Rome back in March to discuss reconciliation with Indigenous communities in Canada.

At the end of these series of meetings, the Pope read an apology infront of the delegates,  asking for God’s forgiveness for the “deplorable conduct” of members of the Catholic Church.

Pressure on the Pope to come to Canada and issue an apology had been mounting after the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops B.C. last year, which was followed by similar discoveries at numerous other former residential school sites across the country.

The Truth and Reconciliation commission found that an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children attended the residential school system, mostly by force, from the late 1800s to 1996.

Of the 139 schools in the system, more than half had been run by the Catholic Church. The commission estimates that approximately 4,100 to 6,000 children died amid abuse and neglect while in the residential school system.

The 58th call to action from the commission calls upon the Pope to issue an apology on Canadian soil for the Catholic Church’s role in the residential school system.

 

 

Area motorists are being urged to slow down on our roads.

Plans are underway to reduce speed from 40 to 30 kilometres an hour on local roads and public lanes in Etobicoke to help save lives, according to a City of Toronto Report For Action.

Work is being conducted in Etobicoke Lakeshore (Ward 3) and Etobicoke North (Ward 1) to reduce the speed limits to 30 kilometres an hour on dozens of roadways in the ward.

“The intention is that every local roadway and laneway in the City will ultimately be included in one such zone in order to have the speed limit set at 30 km/h,” according to city officials.

The move is part of a City Vision Zero Road Safety Plan that was approved by Etobicoke Community Council last May. It was created by the City’s Project Design and Management arm of Transportation Services.

The plan sets speed limit reductions on local roads and lanes to prevent serious injuries and fatalities.

“Setting lower speed limits is a key tool for reducing operating speeds on Toronto’s roadways,” according to a report by city staff. “The Vision Zero Speed Management Strategy includes a program for reducing speed limits on local roads.”

The report said it would cost about $300,00 to install hundreds of speed limit signs and funding is available in Transportation Services’ 2022 Capital Budget.

The speed limit reductions are expected to be completed by the end of 2023, subject to available staffing resources within the Transportation Services Signs and Pavement Markings Unit, according to council.

Council designated most local  roads in Ward 1 and Ward 3 as having a speed limit of 30 km/h, with the exception of specified areas near bridges or highways.

The report said there will be a ‘significant amount of new signage’ to be installed across the city with two or three wards being completed yearly.

“The reductions will be rolled out on a systematic, ward-by-ward basis using a data driven approach with priority going to wards with a higher rate of vulnerable road user injury collisions on local roads,” according to officials.

“The goal of the Speed Management Strategy is to mitigate the risk of injuries and fatalities on Toronto’s roads by reducing the speed of vehicles,” according to City staff. “There is evidence that the reductions have had a positive impact on reductions in operating speeds of vehicles.”

Work is also being done to slow down traffic flow with the design of roadways, automated and manual speed enforcement, proactive deployment of Watch Your Speed Sign and revised speed limit setting practices.

 

 

Mimico musician Pan Man Pat is legally blind but that will not keep him from playing his steelpan at the 55^th Annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival celebrations that runs from July 28 to August 1.

The festival, better known as Caribana, features Caribbean-style food and entertainment with a famed Grand Parade hitting the streets on August 1 with dozens of bands and costumed-dancers shaking their booty down Lakeshore Boulevard near the Royal Canadian Legion Hall, at Ontario Place.

More than one million people are expected to visit Toronto and area for the musical lakefront party, with thousands of spectators arriving from the U.S. Nearly all hotel rooms in the area are booked.

Pan Man Pat, whose name is Pat McNeilly, is a legendary steel pan player and Etobicoke high school instructor who has been involved in the city’s steelpan and carnival culture from the beginning.

He will join other musicians and bands playing calypso, reggae, some merengue and other hits on the parade route.

“I have never missed performing in a Caribana in Toronto,” Pan Man Pat says. “This is my 55^th year of playing the steel pans here and it is still a great festival.”

Revellers of all ages and races are expected to return in force for the massive street party, which was postponed for two years due to the virus.

The Caribana festival was gifted to Canada by the Caribbean Community as part of Canada’s centennial celebrations in 1967.

This Caribbean tradition of parading through the streets was taken from the Trinidad and Tobago carnival in celebration of freedom and emancipation from slavery in the West Indies.

The native of Trinidad, Pan Man Pat arrived in Canada in 1966 and has always been involved in playing the steel pan and teaching students to play the instrument at a number of schools in Etobicoke.

“There are now 50 sites where the steel band is now taught,” he says proudly. “The steel pan is also a degree course offered at York University.”

Pan Man Pat has had a long and varied career, which included four-years protecting the public as a constable with the Toronto Police Service (TPS). He was also a private eye for a law firm founded by the late civil rights lawyer Charles Roach.

“I was also a member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in the 1960s,” he boasts. “I went from sleeping cars to being a teacher and playing the steel pan.”
He hosted a successful online steel pan and calypso music program during the COVID lockdown that had gained a huge following.

This is his busy season and Pat is playing gigs a couple times a week.

Other activities taking place during the Toronto Carnival weekend includes: a carnival king and queen costume extravaganza on July 28 at Lamport Stadium., at 1151 King Street W.  There is also a Pan Alive sounds of steel pan Showcase on July 29 with live performances, dances and food. For more information or to book tickets visit torontocarnival.ca

 

Loud street noise is one of the worst issues we face these days with hot weather and open windows.

The screaming sounds of motorcycles, fast cars or construction equipment can leave many with sleepless nights or so they cannot enjoy their space.

Toronto Police may soon be given sound level meters and asked to issue tickets to drivers of vehicles deemed too loud or intrusive by area residents.

City Council is studying a report on combatting excessive noise from vehicles, leaf blowers and small engines.

The City of Toronto will be submitting a request for the Government of Ontario to increase the fines and assign demerit points for modified exhaust and unnecessary vehicle noise offences under the Highway Traffic Act.

The city is seeking to develop stricter and more specific regulations related to vehicle modifications, including considering mechanisms for periodic inspections of vehicle exhausts and potential modifications.

City officials also want to initiate a ‘noise activated camera automated” noise enforcement pilot project.

Council has also requested that the Toronto Police Services Board conduct additional joint vehicle enforcement blitzes with bylaw enforcement and explore equipping police officers   with sound level meters to support enforcement of vehicle noise.

There has long been longstanding issue with noise of traffic and vehicles in the community.

TUNES IN THE PARK – There will be free Twilight Concerts in the Park with the Etobicoke Community Concert Band on July 20 at 7 p.m. and the Toronto All Star Big Band on August 3 at 7 p.m. at Applewood Shaver House, 450 The West Mall.

For more information contact 416-622-4124. There will be free parking and you are advised to bring a lawn chair.

FREE DISPOSAL OF E-GOODS – Bring your old cell phones, household hazardous waste, batteries, paints, e-cigarettes or even propane tanks to be safely disposed of on July 23 at the City’s annual Community Environment Day at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, at 675 Royal York Road.

The event runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and also accepts pesticides, fertilizers, fluorescent bulbs and even used cooking oil.

The City will accept donated items for reuse that are in good condition. Items includes:  sporting goods, arts and craft supplies, books but no textbooks, cameras, CDs and cases, dress clothe, costume jewelry, small household items, musical instruments and games.

Also accepted are eyeglasses, walking or hearing aids and non-perishable goods.

Residents can pick up for free leaf compost, with a limit of two bags a household as long as supplies last.

Not being accepted are: construction waste, air conditioners, garbage, wood, cassette and videotapes, scrap metal and hazardous waste.

HUMBER BAY FESTIVAL – And the 10^th Annual Humber Bay Shores Waterfront Festival with free admission takes place on August 6. There will be a beer garden and performances by Fiddlestix Band, Tom Barlow Band, Chicago Project Band and Black Board Blues Band.

 

​South Etobicoke has been described as the ‘fish and chips capital’ of Toronto.

Tastes have changed and today many long-time residents miss the many busy fish and chips eateries that once dominated the South Etobicoke landscape.

Many have shut down over the years leaving about six fish and chips outlets struggling to make ends meet in Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch.

“At one time we had fish and chips places on every block,” says Marzanna Campbell, an owner of Viking Fish and Chips, which is well-known in the community for its tasty fish and chips for seven decades.

The deluxe fish house opened in 1952 with a busy dining spot on The Queensway. It was purchased  by Marzanna and her husband, and the business moved to 2416 Lake Shore Blvd. W., near Superior Avenue, which is undergoing work to replace streetcar lines.

“At one time there were lineups on Fridays by people outside the store and down the street,” she recalls. “We still have our regulars who come in every day for fish and chips.”

She insists that Viking was at one time the ‘the number one fish and chips place in Etobicoke.”

Marzanna believes the fall of the fish may be due to the many new immigrants, who bring to Canada their own taste, foods and restaurants.  Fish back then was a preferred dish on meatless Fridays by the many British and other Europeans arriving in Canada.

“I love fish and chips and can eat it every day,” she says. “We are proud to be one of the oldest fish and chips restaurants in Etobicoke.”

A favourite for many these days includes New Toronto Fish and Chips, at 146 Fifth Street and Halibut Fish and Chips, 2814 Lake Shore Blvd. W.

Retired Judge Lloyd Budzinski, a columnist for the South Etobicoke News, at one time worked at his dad’s store The Boulevard Fish and Chips, which operated from 1965 to 1971 near Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Thirty Third Street.

“There are less fish and chips stores in the area now compared to back in the day,” Budzinski reflects. “The price of fish has increased so much and it is less a blue-collar dish.”

He says area residents many years ago included many “blue collar working people,” to whom fish was popular and affordable.

He recalls back when fish lovers could purchase a piping hot order of halibut and fries for 45 cents. Today the same meal cost $15.

 

 

Some concerned parents in New Toronto are hopping mad after learning two young students were taped to their chairs by a teacher.

A teacher at Seventh Street Junior School has been put on home assignment and stands to be demoted or lose his job after an investigation by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

The TDSB has confirmed it is probing allegations that two children were taped to chairs by a teacher at the school.

Board officials said it is not the first time an Ontario teacher has faced allegations like this. Toronto Police and the Children’s Aid Society are also involved in the case.

No further details about the allegations have been released by the school board.

The teacher, and an early childhood educator, have both been placed on home assignment pending the outcome of an investigation, the Board said.

“In the meantime, we have offered social work support for the students in the impacted class,” said TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird. “These allegations are very serious and, if true, would be completely unacceptable and could result in serious consequences up to and including dismissal.”

The TDSB says they have offered social work support for students in the impacted class.

A parent told the CBC that her five-year-old daughter was one of the students taped to her chair.

“She told me she was supposed to be sitting in her seat and kept getting up. And so the teacher told her that she was going to have to put tape on her so that she wouldn’t move.”

The mom received a call from another parent whose child saw the teacher tape down her daughter.

She had her daughter explain what had happened to her.

“I sat down and she showed me that a piece of green tape was placed across her thighs on to the sides of the chair,” she said.

Apparently it was not the first time tape was used by this teacher to subdue a child.

 

 

An alleged carjacker is behind bars for ripping off a 65-year-old man of his expensive vehicle as he was stopped at the side of the road.

Police said two other accomplices are still at large and have intensified their search to get them off the streets.

Officers said they responded to a robbery call on July 4 in the Rathburn Road and Islington Avenue area.

Detectives said a senior was driving his car when he stopped at the side of the road and got out.

He was approached by three men who were wearing masks.

“One man got into the car as another pointed a handgun while making a demand for the car keys,” according to a police release. “The third man pushed the 65-year-old man out of the way, then all three men fled the area in the car.”

Members of the force’s Hold Up Squad issued a search warrant on July 14 and located one of the bandits and took him into custody.

A non-functioning handgun and some property taken from the car during the robbery was found in the search, police said.

Diondre Roy, 18, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with robbery with firearm, disguise with intent, fail to comply with probation, fail to comply with a release order and possession of property obtained by crime.

The suspect appeared in court for a bail hearing on July 15 at the Toronto West Court, 2201 Finch Avenue West.

Two suspects remains unidentified. They are both described as male, black, about 5’5” tall with a medium build.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7350, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

 

 

Some local thieves are preying on struggling Alderwood family-owned restaurants trying hard to earn a living.

Two restaurants on Horner Avenue have been broken into from July 7 to July 13 setting back the owners thousands of dollars from the theft of cash, food and damages.

Police have not been able to identify the bandit from security video since he was wearing a hoodie and mask.

The man in a video is seen taking a rock and throwing it through a pane of glass that smashed to the floor.

The video shows the burglar entering the restaurant and running to the cash where he grabbed a small sum of cash from the register.

“It took less than a minute and he was in and out,” recalls a stunned Selda Oncel, who with husband Cenk, own Leziz Kitchen, at 418 Horner Avenue.

Oncel said the robbery cost her more than $1,200 out of their own pockets to replace the glass door. They also lost a small amount of cash from the register had to shut for a day as the door was repaired.

“We are a small business and its takes us a long time to earn that money,” she says.

Oncel says the robbery occurred on July 7 at about 2 a.m. Cenk was working at the eatery and had left about 1 a.m.

“Someone was watching and broke into the place after he left,” she believes. “We are very disappointed by this. We are struggling and it was quite a big hit for us.”

The family were able to pay for the repair through a line of credit, as it was the same amount they would have to pay their insurance company.

Leziz Kitchen has been open for about two years and its Turkish Mediterranean cuisine has gained quite a following online in the community. They can be reached at 416-259-9838.

Another restaurant was robbed on Horner Avenue a week later.

“Our beloved family owned small business Jodie’s Restaurant was broken into yesterday,” wrote Molly-Sarah Roberts, of Jodie’s Restaurant, at 313 Horner Avenue. “An enormous amount of food, money and alcohol was stolen not to mention the damages to the property.”

The family is urging residents to support local and dine in or take out.

Jodie’s Restaurant can be reached at 416-255-5552.

 

Toronto Police have arrested a man who was sought for assaulting an 85-year-old woman at Kipling subway station more than a week ago.

Police say the elderly woman was rushed to a local hospital following what they say is a random attack that occurred around 11:15 a.m. on July 7.

The victim was revived at the scene and taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries, paramedics say.

Kelon Peters, 35, of Toronto, has been charged with assault cause bodily harm, fraud in relation to fares and breach probation.

He is before the courts.

Since then more officers and TTC special constables have been deployed to patrol the sprawling station, in which a young woman was set afire and has since died second and third degree burns to her body.

A memorial service was held for Nyima Dolma, 28, at the Tibetan Cultural Centre, on Titan Road, that was attended by members of the community.

The support worker was on her way to her job when she was set on fire on a TTC bus near the Kipling station on June 17 and rushed to hospital with second and third-degree burns. She succumbed to her injuries on July 5.

A cremation service was held at Mississauga’s St. John’s Dixie Crematorium.

Almost $40,000 has been donated in a Go Fund Me campaign to help the mourning family pay for Dolma’s burial and other related expenses.

Tenzin Norbu, 33, of Toronto, has been charged with murder.