Play starring R.H. Thomson opens at Tarragon

COURTESY CYLLA VON TIEDEMANN
Warm and funny: You Will Remember Me is about a family struggling to care for a loved one who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

By Annemarie Brissenden

“Who are you, again?” asks Edouard, the family patriarch at the centre of You Will Remember Me, now playing at the Tarragon Theatre until April 10. It’s a much repeated, at times humorous, refrain that serves not only as a reminder of the dementia that is subtly ravaging his memories, but also hints at the broader question posed by the play: what constitutes our identity?

[pullquote]“You can’t assume the next generation will value what you’ve bequeathed to it” —Joel Greenberg, director[/pullquote]

Or simply put, who are we, really?

Originally written in French by the Governor General’s Award-winning Québécois playwright François Archambault, at its heart the play — translated into English by Bobby Theodore — is about a family struggling to care for a loved one who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. In a particularly poignant twist, the loved one grappling with such pathological forgetfulness is a man who has spent his life dedicated to remembering. Edouard, an accomplished history professor, is also a prominent lion of the Quebec sovereignty movement.

Annex resident R.H. Thomson, director Joel Greenberg’s first choice for the role, plays the lead role.

“I was looking for a man in his mid to late 60s with gravitas who would be credible as a public figure; somebody passionate about politics,” explains Greenberg.

Thomson, who likens the play to Hamlet’s soliloquy, says he was “drawn to its richness and density. It’s an elegant play about this journey.”

As Edouard navigates his memory loss, questions arise about the nature of identity. Is it constant, something that’s distinct from our experiences? Or is it a construct formed from the collection of memories — both cultural and personal — that we lug around, somewhat like an albatross slung about our necks? If so, does that construct change with every social interaction and every experience? Can we ever have any control over how others will remember us?

Thomson refers to Willem de Kooning, an abstract artist who had Alzheimer’s, to illustrate the connection between memory and identity. As de Kooning’s illness progressed, his paintings changed. But did that mean that the artist was regressing to nothingness, or that he was rediscovering a purer self? As de Kooning lost the connective tissue of his memories, perhaps his abstract paintings in fact became far more accurate.

“Were the paintings more from the core of who he was?” reflects Thomson.

Underpinning the personal here is the political, in which, Greenberg explains, dementia becomes a metaphor for how a society remembers itself.

He first read the play two years ago, just after it had opened in Montreal, during the last few weeks of the Quebec election. Greenberg says it was compelling to see the personal and political written into the play at a time when a society’s own identity was not only being challenged, but was also challenging itself.

Though Quebec sovereignty is not the centre of the play, says Greenberg, “it is central for the main character, who is very fond of being a much quoted voice during the Quiet Revolution”.

“The Quebec founding myth is quite an intoxicating idea if you are a Quebec sovereigntist,” adds Thomson. “It’s an exhilarating idea if you believe in it.”

What happens, though, if the people around you stop believing in it?

Edouard is written as a really important voice for the Quebec movement; a man who thought those who followed him would be just as passionate about sovereignty.

“But you can’t assume the next generation will value what you’ve bequeathed to it,” says Greenberg, who adds that part of what Edouard discovers is that “what he has to say is long past being interesting”.

The director, who is also the co-founder and artistic director of Studio 180, which is co-producing the play with the Tarragon, describes the play as “the beginning of a conversation; not a play that tries to tie up anything”.

He says that Studio 180 looks for interesting and provocative subjects that they hope will promote public discourse. And while it can be an emotionally taxing play, it’s not all grim seriousness. There’s plenty of warmth and humour to be had, as well.

“The situations and conflicts arise in all families,” says Greenberg, stressing the play’s universal appeal.

After all, we all want to be remembered, in one way or another.

You Will Remember Me runs at the Tarragon Theatre until April 10. For further information, or to buy tickets, please visit http://www.tarragontheatre.com.

Also by Annemarie Brissenden:

Drink L’Elixir d’Amore on Bloor (February 2016)

Hooked on Language (September 2015)

Delivering history in Harbord Village (April 2015)

MICHAEL CHACHURA/GLEANER NEWS
Tomek Iwanek takes on an intermediate course rated 5.9 at the newly opened Basecamp Climbing (677 Bloor St. W.) in the former Metro Theatre.

By Michael Chachura

A new rock-climbing gym has opened its doors at Christie and Bathurst streets. Basecamp Climbing (677 Bloor St. W.), which revamped the Metro Theatre, features 40-foot climbing walls and routes that target all levels of difficulty. Currently they have 70 routes, and they pledge to offer one new route each day.

Basecamp also has auto-bilayers, meaning that a partner is not required to climb.

The only climbing gym on a subway line, Basecamp offers monthly and annual memberships, day passes, and lessons. For owner Matt Languay, opening his own climbing gym has been the fulfillment of a dream. He has an undergraduate degree in engineering, and previously worked for a company that made climbing walls.

By Brian Burchell

University of Toronto Schools (UTS) will mark its third annual celebration of International Day of Pink with an expanded mandate to raise money for Sprott House, which opened last month in the Annex. Led by UTS guidance counsellor Catherine Wachter and organized by the students themselves, the day builds awareness of homophobia, transphobia, bullying, and discrimination in schools and communities. One of the largest events in the city, it culminates with a celebration in Matt Cohen Park at Bloor Street and Spadina Avenue that brings out community members and the Toronto Police Service’s mounted unit. It is supported by local businesses — many of whom donate prizes — and the Bloor Annex BIA, whose chair also publishes this newspaper.

“It’s hugely validating for the students to get outside with their message of tolerance and inclusiveness and have that validated by cars going by honking in support,” said Wachter.

Community members are encouraged to attend this year’s event on April 13 at 1:30 p.m. at the park. Don’t forget to don your pink.

For further information, please contact Catherine Wachter at 416-946-0223.

READ MORE

Sprott House opens new home for LGBTQ2S youth (February 2016)

Tentative deal for UTS (December 2015)

UTS goes pink, students unite (April 2015)

Incidents connected to Entertainment District

By Brian Burchell

An overall reduction in crime across 14 Division, particularly in key categories, is overshadowed by a city-wide increase in shootings, some of which have occurred in the division’s southern flank.

There were 395 recorded shooting incidents, defined by the Toronto Police Service as those in which a victim was shot or shot at, throughout the city in 2015, compared to 243 in the previous year. However, the number of fatal shootings decreased by 3.7 per cent last year, with the total number of homicides in 2015 standing at 57 compared to 56 in 2014.

There have been seven shootings so far this year in 14 Division alone, including one incident in Chinatown that occurred in the early hours of Jan. 30 and resulted in two homicides. An arrest has been made in that case.

[pullquote]The shootings “are almost without exception targeted”—Detective Sergeant Brian Kelly, 14 Division[/pullquote]

The shootings “are almost without exception targeted”, stresses Detective Sergeant Brian Kelly, the crime manager at 14 Division. “But that is not to say there are not unintended victims caught in the crossfire.”

Dieter Riedel, who represents the Wellington Place Neighbourhood Association (bounded by Spadina Avenue, and Bathurst, Front, and Adelaide streets) on the division’s Community Police Liaison Committee, says the increased shootings, as well as knife fights and street brawls, are “directly correlated to what is happening between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. with nightlife activity and the outflow from the area when the entertainment clubs close”.

The seven shootings this year have all occurred in or around the area Riedel refers to: Jan. 23 on the Bathurst Street bridge at Front Street; Jan. 30 on Queen Street West near Denison Avenue; Feb. 14 in Exhibition Place; Feb. 20 at Queen and Crawford streets; and Feb. 22 at Queen and Dufferin streets.

Although Chinatown is not considered part of the Entertainment District, the January double homicide may indicate that club patrons and staff head to the area to eat at restaurants that are open long after the clubs close.

“We consider there to be an overly high concentration of licensed occupancy in clubs, bars, and restaurants,” says Riedel. “I live on a block where it is permitted to serve 4,400 patrons. We have raised our concerns to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, [but it is] unwilling to put a cap on this concentration, or even to place additional conditions on licence holders. The resulting problems that we are seeing become police issues and they don’t always have the resources to deal with that.”

Riedel also thinks that alleviating some of the traffic issues would help ease conflict between club patrons.

“The worst traffic that King Street West experiences is on the weekends between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Daytime rush hour simply does not compare, it’s far worse at night.”

As to other categories, theft from auto for February is, as Kelly calls it, an “unprecedented” and meagre three.

Kelly explained that the large increase in “theft of autos”, not to be confused with the aforementioned “theft from auto”, is due to the category’s inclusion of e-bikes for the purposes of the crime count.

He attributes the statistically significant reduction in robberies to “the fact that many of the violent offenders were in custody [in 2015 while at] the same time police had targeted patrols in the Entertainment District where most of the robberies were occurring”.

Fourteen Division includes much of the Annex west of Spadina Avenue, stretching to Dufferin Avenue, as well as a wide swath of downtown from the waterfront north to Dupont Street.

Past chair responds to February editorial

Re “Ship to wreck” (Editorial, February 2016): you claim that former opponents of the dome at Central Technical School continued to work actively against the construction of the dome even after they had signed on to the Minutes of Settlement. That settlement was the result of successful mediation at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) between Razor Management Inc., the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), and five other parties. You name the former opponents as the City of Toronto and the Harbord Village Residents’ Association (HVRA). It would appear that the trigger for the editorial was the news that Razor Management had ceased work because it was being assessed $600,000 in tax arrears on a similar dome at Monarch Park Collegiate Institute.

[pullquote]The whole tenor of the editorial is to paint the HVRA as subverting the agreement reached at the OMB[/pullquote]

The following sentence from your editorial sets the overall tone:

“It appears, however, that opponents of the deal, after conceding the battle, never gave up the war.”

The whole tenor of the editorial is to paint the HVRA as subverting the agreement reached at the OMB. That is a terrible accusation and it stings, especially as there is not one bit of truth to the notion. The record shows that we at the HVRA have fought diligently for the implementation of the Minutes of Settlement, including construction of the dome, the track, and the community public space at the corner of Harbord and Bathurst streets.

We are mystified by this assertion for one thing, but also find it particularly pernicious because if what you said were true, we would be in breach of our written commitment at the OMB to support the Minutes of Settlement.

For the record:

• We (and everyone else) have to abide by the two-level court decision to declare the dome a commercial use, but these decisions were made well before the mediation at the OMB;
• Far from conducting a war against the dome, the HVRA has actively supported Razor Management post Minutes of Settlement, including negotiating dimensional and design changes in a shared use parkette and supporting an upgrade to a more expensive and less toxic cork field material;
• HVRA provided the baseline Terms of Reference for the Facilities Management Committee that would provide advisory assistance in the operation of the dome;
• Razor and the HVRA have been in constant and collaborative contact since the Minutes of Settlement were signed;
• Razor Management’s responsibility for taxes was in its contract with the TDSB from the beginning and has nothing to do with us. That notwithstanding, HVRA wrote to the TDSB in support of the TDSB assisting in providing some level of tax relief to Razor, recognizing a part of its operation included community benefit; and,
• We speak regularly to the proprietor of Razor. He understands our interest is seeing that the agreements made at the OMB are carried out, as they are the legal requirements for him to build and operate, just as HVRA is legally required to support them and ensure they are respected.

This manifestly is not the behaviour of an organization that was continuing some kind of “war” against the dome or “someone [who] would prefer to see Razor fail under the weight of the tax burden”.

In short, after the Minutes of Settlement were reached, there was no war that the HVRA continued — period, full stop. HVRA was committed, and still is, to the solution offered by the Minutes of Settlement. The February 2016 editorial screams duplicity and bad-dealing on the part of the HVRA, and the record must be set straight.

Rory “Gus” Sinclair, Past chair, HVRA

READ MORE ABOUT CENTRAL TECH FIELD:

Construction halted at Central Tech: Student athletes launch online petition by Marielle Torrefranca (February 2016)

Agreement reached for Central Tech field (April 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

To dome or not to dome, that is the question (February 2015) by Terri Chu

Editorial: Mobs don’t rule, nor do pawns (February 2015)

Dome plan inches closer (February 2015) by Brian Burchell

School board appeals ruling and loses, again (October 2014) by Brian Burchell

Editorial: A strategy run amok (September 2014)

Dome plan quashed by courts (September 2014) by Brian Burchell

Raucous meeting on CTS field (April 2014) by Annemarie Brissenden

READ MORE ABOUT CENTRAL TECH:

Central Tech alumni return to mark school’s centennial (November 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

Central Tech celebrates 100 years (July 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

Aircraft program grounded in 2004 (July 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

The key to any stimulus plan that the Liberals adopt is to realize two objectives at the same time — immediacy and economic sustainability.

The previous Conservative government ran repeated deficits though it liked to pretend it didn’t, and the federal Liberals now inherit not only that fiscal reality but also an economy in recession, and something must be done. The relative price of the Canadian dollar does nothing to assuage one’s worry. Notwithstanding the overheated residential real estate market in Toronto and Vancouver, the economy is stalled.

The Liberals are poised to make significant investments in infrastructure projects as a way of stimulating the economy in the short term and raising productivity, such as in Mayor John Tory’s Smart Track transit investments, in the long term. This will require deficit spending, that part is not news. But what form the spending takes is important to consider and the Liberals seem intent on getting it right, though the right path is by no means clear.

Stimulus spending is not a new government tool in response to sputtering economic conditions. And since the Liberals campaigned quite openly on their spending plan they can take these steps with considerable democratic approval. Let’s hope it bears no resemblance to a specific one previously enacted by their predecessors. It’s worth recalling that then Industry Minister Tony Clement commanded a $50 million stimulus program which he sold to Parliament as a infrastructure fund to reduce border congestion, but which instead was used to spruce up his Muskoka riding including, infamously, a $100,000 gazebo in Orrville (about 300 km from the U.S. border).

As far as we know, there are no gazebos in the Liberal plan, but Mr. Clement, who now sits as an opposition MP and critic of the government, will be able to recognize any lack of spending integrity with some personal authority.

Rookie Liberal MP Ahmed Hussen will introduce a private member’s bill at the beginning of March aimed at coupling community-benefit agreements (CBA) with public works contracts. This, if approved, would require contractors carrying out federally funded building or maintenance work to hire local workers and to run training and apprenticeship programs. CBAs were pioneered south of the border and also set targets around procurement and the improvement of public spaces. This caveat to spending might be difficult to bring to fruition since rarely does the federal government fund that many infrastructure projects directly. Acceptance of this strings-attached offer to other levels of government would be necessary. Also, negotiating these agreements with contractors would prove time consuming at a moment when time is the most precious commodity. On the other hand, just about any project will require approvals and local support, and with the CBA element bringing direct local benefit that support may come more quickly. Hussen’s bill is a trial balloon, and the government may just let it die, but then co-opt elements of it for its overall strategy.

At a recent town hall meeting, Carolyn Bennett (MP, Toronto-St. Paul’s) tested some waters of her own. She reminded attendees of the Liberal campaign platform that broadly defined infrastructure spending was not only for things like subways and bridges, but also for green and social initiatives. According to Bennett, green infrastructure projects may include freshwater protection through spending on watershed improvements and improved waste water treatment. Social infrastructure could involve investing in affordable housing and facilities for seniors, as well as enhancing child care facilities.

The key to any stimulus plan that the Liberals adopt is to realize two objectives at the same time — immediacy and economic sustainability. Investment is needed in projects now that produce an immediate economic benefit but only those projects that also have a sustainable economic benefit in terms of productivity. Increasing the gross domestic product, relative to overall debt, is within the government’s sights. Realizing community, green, and social benefits too are laudable aspirations that will pay broad dividends.

Time to break up with your large garbage bin

COURTESY HOLLY THOMSON/TORONTO ENVIRONMENTAL ALLIANCE
The city has a plethora of handy services to help you redirect waste from your garbage bin.

By Mike Layton

Despite a higher cost and growing list of recyclable and compostable items that you can put in the blue and green bins, some households are holding onto their super-sized garbage bins and continue to throw away stuff they could recycle, reuse, compost, and keep out of Toronto’s landfill.

[pullquote]Downsizing your bin will help you save hundreds of dollars a year.[/pullquote]

I consider myself a recycler. In our household, my wife and I had a large recycling bin and a medium garbage bin. But last year when the garbage rates went up, I took a look in my garbage bin and discovered at least half the stuff should have been recycled or put in the green bin. Composting used tissue paper alone almost entirely eliminated garbage in my bathroom. Feeling a little ashamed and embarrassed, I called to order a smaller garbage bin.

After a year, we have never overflowed the small bin even with the addition of another member to our household (diapers go in the green bin). Our family of three easily fits two weeks of garbage into a small bin, with room to spare.

The City of Toronto has found that on average 38 per cent of the garbage in our bins is actually garbage — meanwhile 38 per cent could have gone in the green bin, 15 per cent in the blue bin, and the rest diverted through other city collection programs.

For those with extra large garbage bins, 77 per cent of the stuff in their bins could have been diverted away from landfill; even those with small and medium bins could be putting more into their blue and green bins.

According to the Toronto Environmental Alliance’s analysis of the city’s own waste audit numbers, we are sending 182,000 tonnes of organics to our landfill every year that could be going into the green bin. We are also sending 84,000 tonnes of recyclable resources to the landfill each year, never to be seen or used again.

There are many reasons to move to a smaller garbage bin and one of them is hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Moving to a smaller garbage bin will save you a lot of money and upgrading to large recycling and green bins is free.

A small garbage bin will cost you $17.76 per year for garbage collection. A medium bin is a lot more at $115.38 per year, a large bin is $295.14 per year, and an extra-large garbage bin $411.23 per year. Downsizing your bin will help you save hundreds of dollars a year.

Another reason to put more into your green and blue bins is to help create jobs in the city. Our recycling, composting, and diversion programs create jobs: 10 times more jobs than disposal to landfill because we need people to process the materials and work in the waste depots.

The last reason is to save space in our landfill. Right now our city’s landfill is filling up. Green Lane landfill will be full in just over 10 years if we don’t recycle and compost more. Finding a new landfill is not an easy task, is very expensive, and is bad for the environment. Most importantly, landfills aren’t good things. They take up beautiful land, and trap materials we could be reusing, including some toxic hazardous materials we should be disposing of properly.

It’s really easy to move to a small bin and increase the size of your blue and green bins. Simply email311@toronto.ca, or call 311 to make the request. The city also has the Waste Wizard available for you online so you can find out whether something can go into your blue or green bin, instead of your garbage. If we simply used our green and blue bins more we could reduce how much we send to landfill by more than 300,000 tonnes per year. This could add almost 20 years to the life of our landfill. Do your part today by switching to a smaller bin and then encourage your neighbours to join you.

Mike Layton is the councillor for Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina.

Also by Mike Layton:

Happy New Year from a new Dad with a new perspective (January 2016)

Make informed choices when buying green

By Terri Chu

One great thing about living in the Annex is that there are lots of places to buy green products. (Though losing Grassroots means there are not a lot of places to refill shampoo bottles.) I find myself taking this for granted and not always carefully reading the labels on products I buy, trusting that they have been sourced by stores that share the same ethical values that I do.

[pullquote]Global demand for palm oil is the leading cause of rainforest deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia.[/pullquote]

Accommodating a friend’s dietary choices, I bought a vegan baking block made by Earth Balance to make pastry. I didn’t look carefully, and the word vegan satisfied me at the time as a low impact product with an environmentally sounding company name. When I got the product home, I realized it was made with mostly palm oil. I was immediately sick to my stomach. If my friend was choosing to go vegan for ethical rather than health reasons, well, I would have done less damage to the environment and harmed fewer animals by baking with a stick of lard. At least that way, only one animal would have died in the process, and if it was lard from my friend’s organic farm, it was an animal that was treated well while it lived.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, global demand for palm oil is the leading cause of rainforest deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia, home to the critically endangered orangutan. A quick Google search for “orangutan” and “palm oil” will lead to images of orangutans burned alive in a bid to clear land for plantations. The slash and burn method of land clearing contributed to last year’s Indonesian forest fire crisis that saw 19 people killed and half a million people treated for respiratory illnesses (though it did not receive a lot of media coverage).

Orangutan habitat is disappearing at a rate of about 300 soccer fields every hour thanks to the demand for plantations.

Indonesia is doing what it can to curb the slash and burn practice but policing is near impossible for a stretched government where corruption is high. With palm oil so cheap to produce and the trees so lucrative to grow, most people take their chances in bettering their own situations rather than thinking about the climate as a whole. It’s hard to blame the subsistence farmer. For our part, we can at least decrease the demand and by extension the profitability of burning rainforest land in favour of palm oil plantations.

To add insult to injury, the fires last year cost the Indonesian government about $16 billion while the value of the palm oil plantations is estimated to be $8 billion. The Indonesian public is subsidizing hefty profits for a few, thanks to the demand we place on an unsustainable product.

Palm oil lurks in so many products. It is often called just plain old vegetable oil, although sterate, stearyl, sodium lauryl sulphate, and sodium laureth sulphate are among its many other monikers. It won’t be possible to bring our consumption to zero, but making a point to read the ingredient list or even writing to manufacturers of your favourite products could alleviate demand even that little bit.

The lesson for me out of this was not just to accept a pretty green label as being green. The products we choose to buy (or not to buy) have an impact on the environment. Everything from the obvious (Keurig coffee pods anyone?) to the more completely green washed Fiji water has environmental consequences.

Those of us lucky enough to be able to afford to make purchasing decisions based on environmental or ethical reasons shouldn’t be duped by good marketing.

We have to think about the entire life cycle of the products we buy, and not be fooled by the green packaging.

Terri Chu is an engineer committed to practical environmentalism. This column is dedicated to helping the community reduce energy, and help distinguish environmental truths from myths. Send questions, comments, and ideas for future columns to terri.chu@whyshouldIcare.ca.

Also by Terri Chu:

Reduce, reuse, then recycle (February 2016)

The power of labelling (January 2016)

Student athletes launch online petition

By Marielle Torrefranca

In the latest of a saga of hurdles, construction of Central Technical School’s $7-million sports facility has been stopped until further notice, said Razor Management Inc. (RMI).

According to a Razor news release, the work stoppage comes after the company received a three-year retroactive tax bill of $505,000 for its stadium at Monarch Park Collegiate Institute, plus approximately $200,000 a year moving forward for each of its facilities. The bill was allegedly received 38 days before its due date at the end of January.

[pullquote]“We are being bullied by the city on the tax issue”—Matthew Raizenne, Razor[/pullquote]

The Monarch Park Stadium and unfinished Central Tech sports facility are projects resulting from Razor’s partnership with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). With the tax bills, Razor said it’s unable to support the funding of both locations.

“We let the TDSB know in October that we had serious concerns about what was happening at Monarch Park,” said Matthew Raizenne, president of Razor Management.

According to a news release from Razor, TDSB trustees ignored a senior staff report recommending a tax exemption for its affiliated championship field partners, since the projects primarily benefit TDSB students.

The news release states that similar tax exemptions have been granted to city partners, such as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s Lamport Stadium, and Field Recreation Inc.’s field at Lakeshore Collegiate.

“It’s politically targeted in our beliefs,” said Raizenne. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of it.”

However, the TDSB said the tax bill shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

“It’s important to note the agreement between the TDSB and Razor Management states that RMI is responsible for payment of any of taxes assessed by the property,” said Ryan Bird, media relations for the TDSB.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), which administers property assessments in Ontario, emailed Monarch Park Stadium in February, saying the City of Toronto had asked MPAC to update its records and review the tax status on the new structures at Monarch Park. This included Monarch Park Stadium.

“It’s just normal procedure,” said Darlene Rich, media relations specialist for MPAC of assessment. “That’s not anything other than normal.”

“You can’t automatically compare other properties that appear to be similar,” she said. “They all have their individual agreements with the property owner, for instance, with the TDSB. Agreements that one company has could be completely different than the other.”

The cost of the bill is set by the city, however. Razor has the option to request an appeal for a property reassessment through MPAC, but the company has not done so, said Rich.

The TDSB is also willing to provide Razor with non-monetary support in a reassessment appeal, said Bird.

“We’re trying to figure out who from the city has the impact to assess us,” said Raizenne, adding Razor filed Freedom of Information requests in mid-January, but has yet to receive the information it had requested.

The company also reached out to the mayor’s office late last month, requesting clarity on the city’s alleged assessment request and the tax bill.

“We believe we are being bullied by the City of Toronto on the tax issue,” Raizenne wrote in an email to the mayor’s office. “The city has come down on only us and there is no justified reason for this.”

A representative from the Mayor’s office responded, saying MPAC is a corporation independent from the City of Toronto whose role is to assess the value of all property in the province, and that there is “no picking and choosing.”

“It was always agreed and understood from the beginning that Razor Management was responsible for paying any commercial taxes that would apply to the site,” said Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina). “It’s the TDSB’s land and it’s up to the TDSB whether to exempt those taxes.”

“In our city, businesses should pay commercial taxes. I think that’s fair and only fair for all businesses, but that amount of tax should be fair and taken into account the implied services of the project.”

While the crux of this issue is commercial tax, this project has now seen years of obstacles since its proposal in the spring of 2013.

After mediation by the Ontario Municipal Board last spring, the original construction plan was scaled back due to opposition from residents. The compromise included a smaller dome covering only the field during winter months and allowing community use of the turf during evenings and weekends.

“That resolution and that agreement is what I am committed to honouring and making sure it goes forward,” said Cressy.

However, with construction at a standstill, the field will not be open in time for Central Tech’s spring athletics season, much to the dismay of students and the school’s athletic teams.

A group of student athletes have started an online petition that includes a letter to TDSB trustees and Education Minister Liz Sandals.

“We are asking you, after nearly three years, to please get on with it,” reads the letter, “and if you don’t want to have a great facility at Central Tech and you do not want to be our ‘champions’ to get the project through the finish line, and would prefer to let the site sit empty, just do us all a favour and let us know now, so that we can transfer to other schools or other school boards [that] value sport and athletics and are willing to stand up for their students’ interests and well-being.”

At press time, the petition had received over 600 signatures.

“We appreciate that both students and staff and the community want this field finished,” said Bird. “And we don’t want them to wait any longer either…. We want to see this field finished.”

Both the Mayor’s office and Cressy expressed concern over students having access to recreational space. While Razor shared the same sentiment, it was adamant about its cause.

“We are 100 per cent committed to the project,” said Raizenne. “We just asked the school board for assistance and to be treated equally and not to be discriminated against. But we’re 100 per cent committed and we’re hopeful that a resolution can be found imminently.”

READ MORE ABOUT CENTRAL TECH FIELD:

Editorial: Ship to wreck (February 2016)

Agreement reached for Central Tech field (April 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

To dome or not to dome, that is the question (February 2015) by Terri Chu

Editorial: Mobs don’t rule, nor do pawns (February 2015)

Dome plan inches closer (February 2015) by Brian Burchell

School board appeals ruling and loses, again (October 2014) by Brian Burchell

Editorial: A strategy run amok (September 2014)

Dome plan quashed by courts (September 2014) by Brian Burchell

Raucous meeting on CTS field (April 2014) by Annemarie Brissenden

READ MORE ABOUT CENTRAL TECH:

Central Tech alumni return to mark school’s centennial (November 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

Central Tech celebrates 100 years (July 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

Aircraft program grounded in 2004 (July 2015) by Annemarie Brissenden

Specialized facility meets urgent need

YMCA Sprott House provides transitional housing for 25 LGBTQ2S youth.
CORRINA KING/GLEANER?NEWS

By Summer Reid

Homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirited (LGBTQ2S) youth finally have a place to sleep without intimidation and harassment.

YMCA Sprott House (21 Walmer Rd.) this month began providing transitional housing for 25 homeless LGBTQ2S youth, aged 16 to 24.

“It’s another step forward for us as a city, as we pursue greater equality — not tolerance, not acceptance — but real equality,” said Joe Cressy (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) at the facility’s opening on Jan. 14.

Cressy explained that Sprott House will not, on its own, be able to tackle the challenges that these populations in Toronto face, but it will provide them with a safe haven. Approximately 2,000 homeless youth sleep on Toronto’s streets on any given night, and of these, one in five identify as LGBTQ2S.

“Those statistics are simply unacceptable,” said Diane Sinhuber, chair of the board of directors at the YMCA of Greater Toronto. “The YMCA of Greater Toronto has long understood that there is a pressing need for transitional housing facilities dedicated to serving LGBTQ2S young people.”

LGBTQ2S youth are more vulnerable to mental health concerns, an elevated risk of physical and sexual exploitation, substance use, and suicide, explained Dr. Alex Abramovich, a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. And without specialized programs, LGBTQ2S youth have nowhere to go.

“Focused responses including specialized housing programs, like the YMCA Sprott House, are absolutely critical to meeting this population’s needs and to providing inclusive, affirming, and safe spaces,” said Abramovich.

That’s why the YMCA is dedicated to providing youth with a positive and safe space to live. The facility’s staff will all be very accepting and provide a wide range of support to help these youth transition into adulthood.

“The YMCA believes, with great conviction, that all young people deserve a chance to live healthy and prosperous lives,” said Sinhuber.

Sprott House’s director, Kate Miller, said that LGBTQ2S youth have been asking for a specialized facility for a long time.“These youth are experts on their own lives, and we are responding to something that they have clearly identified as a need.”

Mayor John Tory, who also attended the opening, vowed that this facility would stand as a symbol of how the city works together for the greater good, and said he was proud of how open and accepting of the facility the Annex community has been.

“Not only did the neighbours in this area react without a sense of apprehension, or any other kind of thing,” he said, “they came forward to say they wanted to help make this happen. They wanted to make friends with people here; they wanted to be partners and real neighbours; that is the true spirit of Toronto.”

That openness is in direct contrast to the reception facing the Yonge Street Mission (YSM), which announced last November that it would be moving to a newly renovated 24,000-square-foot space on Spadina Avenue just north of Dundas Street West. Many members of the Chinatown Business Improvement Area have said they believe that the YSM would increase the presence of street youth in the area, and intimidate their customers, especially the elderly. Business owners and residents of Chinatown signed a petition to send to Tory asking him to stop the YSM’s move into the area.

“Annexians are often and quite wrongly accused of being the archetypical NIMBYists, resistant to change and obstructive to new developments either physical or social,” said David Harrison, chair of the Annex Residents’ Association. “However, we firmly believe that there should be a home and a place for everyone. And, in this way, the Annex is inclusive, creative, caring, and generous.

Legislation aimed at being more responsive to survivors

By Han Dong

Recently, the Select Committee on Sexual Violence and Harassment submitted its final report to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. I am privileged to have been a member of this all-party, non-partisan committee of the Legislature. The recommendations that came out of this committee were developed through the testimonies of those who came forward with personal stories and firsthand experiences. These will help establish a foundation for future action.

[pullquote]The government recently announced a $2.25-million fund to challenge rape culture through artistic projects.[/pullquote]

I am proud of the leadership of Premier Wynne on ending the culture of sexual violence. I also want to thank the Honourable Tracy MacCharles, the Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues, for her tireless work on the Sexual Violence Action Plan.

The legislation, if passed, would help deliver on commitments in “It’s Never Okay”, the government’s groundbreaking action plan to stop sexual violence and harassment.

If passed, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act would make workplaces, campuses, and communities safer and more responsive to the needs of survivors and complaints about sexual violence and harassment.

The act would:

• Require every publicly assisted college and university and private career college to have a stand-alone sexual violence policy and to review it — with student involvement — at least once every three years;

• Enhance requirements for sexual harassment prevention programs and create specific employer duties to protect workers,  including a duty to ensure that incidents and complaints are appropriately investigated;

• Remove the limitation period for all civil proceedings based on sexual assault — and, in certain cases, sexual misconduct or assault — so that survivors can bring their civil claims forward whenever they choose to do so;

• Eliminate the limitation period for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence to make a compensation application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; and,

• Shorten the time it takes to end a tenancy agreement for people experiencing sexual or domestic violence, to make it easier for survivors to flee abuse.

The Ontario government is supporting these priorities through a broad action plan that includes increased and stabilized funding to community-based sexual assault centres and hospital-based sexual assault and domestic violence treatment centres.

The government is also running a province-wide public education campaign to promote a shift in attitudes and behaviours, and recently announced a $2.25-million Creative Engagement Fund to challenge rape culture through artistic projects.

As your MPP, I would like to hear your comments and suggestions regarding the Sexual Violence Action Plan, or the work of the Select Committee on Sexual Violence and Harassment. I welcome you to visit my website for more information on the Action Plan, and other provincial programs and services.

Han Dong is the Member of Provincial Parliament for Trinity-Spadina. He can be contacted via 416.603.9664 or hdong.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org. His website is www.handong.onmpp.ca.