By Perry King

When first notified she was receiving an award for her work with kids, Alexandra Orlando immediately thought back to her work with the Pan Am Games bid.

“We did a community outreach summer, and I lead the youth portion of that,” said Orlando, the program coordinator for the bid’s Youth Program. “I set up days where I brought in ten to 15 athletes, and we had a whole day or half-day [where we] went to summer camps and did all different kinds of sports demos, and had athletes speak to [kids]. It was really incredible.”

In June, Orlando was awarded the 2011 Everest Foundation Adult Leadership Award for her work. In an email to the Gleaner, Farell Duclair, the founder of Everest Foundation and a former Calgary Stampeder, says that she received the award “for her ongoing contribution to youth and sports, particularly her active role as an ambassador for Right to Play.

“Alexandra exemplifies how the rigour and diligence of sports develops not only an athlete but also leadership qualities that reach beyond personal achievement,” he wrote.

Orlando, an Annex resident, was more than speechless when she was informed about receiving the award. “It showed me that what I’m doing is actually making a difference, and I’m actually affecting lives and making a change in the lives of youth. They’re our future, and everything I’ve learned I’ve wanted to give back and give to my community,” she said.

Orlando, 24, has been working in the community since she was 16. Early in her career, she developed a passion for working with school-aged children. “I had a unique experience, when I was younger, to work with a lot of older athletes and I saw how even little gestures can go a huge way with kids,” she recalls.

“Whether it’s answering a question or getting water for them, they’re so blown away by someone who actually cares. What’s really important, when you’re working with kids, is that even if you’re tired and had a long day—especially athletes, when they’re doing a million things—you know it’s a great cause and you go and give it your all. They can feel that, and they know that you’re really there for them.”

Describing herself as a “pretty outgoing, fun person,” Orlando wants to etch an identity as a community organizer. “Every time I create a summer camp or help with programming or sports demos within my community, I make sure I really do bring my A game when I go, and I want to make it as fun for them as possible.”

Before she retired as a rhythmic gymnast after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Orlando was a five-time senior National Champion, six-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist and a three-time gold medalist at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil.

Orlando was the only rhythmic gymnast from the Americas to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

Since retiring, Orlando has mentored the Canadian Youth Olympic Team and is an ambassador for the international NGO Right to Play. She also instructs at Havergal College and sits on the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Women in Sport and Youth and Education Committees. “There’s so much that I want to do. My friends describe me as someone who ‘falls off the face of the earth’ a lot, I’m extremely busy,” she chuckled.

“I love to keep myself busy and I always love to learn, so I’m always throwing myself into situations where it will be challenging for me. The world is a huge place, and there’s a tonne of opportunities for me to go. Working in sport now, it opens up all these doors, so I want to see where that takes me.”

By Emina Gamulin

More than a few eyebrows must have been raised in August when Trinity-Spadina residents received a surprise copy of the Women’s Post food and wine issue in their mailboxes.

An image of MPP candidate Sarah Thomson, the same image she uses in her election materials, is found on the cover of the magazine she publishes under the cover line: “Sarah Thomson weighs in on the tough choice facing Ontario voters.”

This was the second time she featured herself on the cover. The first time she more boldly declared herself “Toronto’s next mayor” in advance of the municipal election, provoking one blogger to dub her “Toronto’s queen of all vanity media.”

Whether this move breaks any elections rules seems to be a grey area. Candidates are technically not allowed to spend personal money on their own campaigns exceeding $1,240. They are also not allowed to advertise during the blackout period preceding the election.

However, Thomson said that she checked to make sure she was not breaking any rules. Under the law, it could be argued that this is not technically advertising and that the piece had news value. Having read the editorial where she recounts a supposed dream she had about ships captained by leaders of political parties as she decides on which one to board, the Gleaner  would disagree, but it is unlikely that Elections Ontario will follow-up and penalize Thomson.

Her defense that she graced the cover because there was a lack of suitable subjects is laughable, but to say, as some have, that this move will not give her a political advantage does not hold up in the face of the evidence. Advertising works, the elections laws are in place for a reason, and name recognition is a huge component of how voters make their decisions.

According to a study by political scientists Cindy Kam and Elizabeth Zechmeister, it gives candidates a strong advantage. In their field research, they placed lawn signs for a fictitious candidate by the name Ben Griffin near a local school during an actual election in Nashville, Tennesee. Nearly a quarter of those exposed to the signs placed Griffin in their top three choices.

Of course, Thomson is not the first political candidate in history to use space in a publication to their advantage. Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park) stayed on as an environmental columnist for Eye Weekly (now The Grid) when he ran for city council, a move considered controversial at the time. Frank Stronach put himself on the cover of a publication he owned, Focus on York, in 1988 when he was running for MP. Stronach lost the election, and according to an unofficial biography, he also lost the support of his editorial staff, who walked out in protest to what they saw as his shameless self promotion.

While election legislation could use clarification in dealing with grey areas such as this one, perhaps the best defense against the name recognition effect is an informed voter. Kam and Zechmeister found that recognition became a less prominent decision making factor when more politically relevant information was presented.

In other words, don’t blame us if you vote for Ben Griffin.

By Katie O’Connor

Chris Alexander had just settled in for one of his last screenings at the Bloor Cinema when he spotted something, or rather someone, who didn’t belong.

Alexander, editor-in-chief of Fangoria magazine, hosts a monthly film series titled ‘Film School Confidential’ where he showcases cult, horror and sci-fi films.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers had just begun when Alexander noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. “I was sitting there in my seat and at the stage there was a spilled container of popcorn from the previous screening. What was either a very small rat or a very large mouse kept coming out from under the stage, eating popcorn and disappearing back into its hole.”

For Alexander, incidents like this, that make up what he calls the theatre’s “not ready for the ball” aesthetic, are what initially drew him to the Bloor. “It had that art deco feel to it, it was a little rough around the edges,” he said. “It still had a kind of 42nd street vibe about it but it was still evolved enough that you could bring your mom there.”

Alexander and others who enjoy the Bloor’s “rough around the edges” vibe may have to look elsewhere when the legendary Annex theatre re-opens under the helm of documentary festival powerhouse, Hot Docs.

Hot Docs announced in July that they would be partnering with Blue Ice Films, a Toronto-based sales and acquisitions company, to own and operate the theatre.
Blue Ice Films purchased the building for $3.25 million, and under a joint-venture agreement, Hot Docs will manage the theatre and provide programming for the Bloor year-round.

“We want to make sure the Bloor keeps the same role in the community,” said Hot Docs executive director Chris McDonald, speaking to the local business community at a BIA meeting in July. “It has been one of our beloved homes for ten years.”

However, the theatre will be revamped significantly both in appearance and philosophy. Programming will be split 80/20 between documentaries—including the festival’s Doc Soup series—and a combination of second-run films and festivals that previously screened at the Bloor.

Renovations will include new seating, lighting, carpets, snack bar, sound system, screen and digital projection, as well as improvements to the exterior. Accessible washrooms will be added on the ground floor, and the rake of the balcony will be adjusted to ensure better views. McDonald said they have also applied for a liquor licence. Renovations began in mid-September and Hot Docs say they expect to complete them in December at the very latest.

Hot Docs is only the latest step in what has been a long and storied history for the 106-year-old theatre which has seen its days as a 1920s vaudeville theatre, a 1940s movie palace, a 1960s grindhouse, and a 1970s porn theatre. A family-run business for many years, it has seen its share of love, laughs, and drama.

Originally known as the Madison, the Bloor Cinema was built in 1905 as a vaudeville theatre for the Annex, according to the archives of Ontario.

By the early 1940s, it was in major need of repairs. The theatre was closed down and rebuilt from the ground up, and re-opened in 1941 as the Midtown, complete with a new art deco façade. The Midtown had a lot of competition, said Robin Sharp, who co-directed a short film titled The Bloor, which was released back in 2005 to celebrate the theatre’s 100-year anniversary. Three other theatres clamoured for movie-goers attention at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst, including the original Bloor Theatre, where Lee’s Palace is now located.

The Midtown lasted almost three decades and according to the archives of Ontario, in 1967 it became the Capri, showing popular grindhouse-style films.

The Capri didn’t last long as hard times hit Toronto, and the theatre took on a new persona. In 1973, it opened as the Famous Players-operated Eden, showing soft-core pornography.

“It was definitely an interesting time in the Bloor’s history,” said Sharp.

Robin Sharp, inside the Bloor Cinema. File Photo, Matt James/Gleaner News.

The Eden was eventually put out of business by neighbouring theatre the Metro (677 Bloor St. W.), who showed the same fare for lower prices.

During the late 1970s, Tom Litvinkas and Jerry Szczur of Festival Cinemas took over the theatre.

They had the idea to buy out old theatres in Toronto and turn them into second-run cinemas. They partnered with Carm Bordonaro, and renamed the theatre. The Bloor Cinema opened its doors in December of 1979. Bordonaro proposed the idea of selling tickets for 99 cents and charging a membership fee.

Initially, the Bloor was a great success, with screenings selling out weekend after weekend.

“That first night I sold 160 memberships just sitting up here in an office by myself with a little note on the box office window and the door open,” said Bordonaro. “The community was so welcoming, it was phenomenal. It felt like It’s A Wonderful Life.”

The theatre prospered, with 1,500 people streaming through its doors a night, according to Bordonaro. “We were able to play two different films every night for eight weeks without repeating one.”

However, the theatre suffered ongoing financial conflict and in 1999 Festival Cinemas’ lease was terminated.

Despite the fall of Festival Cinemas, the Bloor remained firmly in the hands of the Bordonaro family, with Carm Bordonaro taking over management.

Speculation that the Bloor was financially struggling surfaced in 2004 after a chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling during a screening of The Corporation.

The Bloor continued to draw in crowds through a variety of events. One of these events was ‘The Wright Stuff’ with Edgar Wright, director of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Wright showcased his movies Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. Director Kevin Smith also attended the theatre in a special organized event. A popular Fringe event called ‘The Silver Stage’ was created, where actors performed shadow casts of the film Blue Velvet by David Lynch and a double bill of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s musical episode “Once More With Feeling” and Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog by Joss Whedon. Shadow casts involve actors reenacting scenes on stage while the film or TV program plays behind them.

Alex Woodside and Nigel Agnew, who now run the Toronto Underground Cinema, were two of the minds behind these events. They departed from the Bloor in 2009 after reportedly butting heads with the Bordonaros.

“The Bloor was like a really tight knit family,” said Peter Kuplowsky, who worked at the theatre and was involved with the Kevin Smith event. “With families, there is always lots of drama.”

Kuplowsky said staff often clashed with the Bordonaros over programming, with the drama coming to a head over funds from the Silver Stage Fringe event. With Fringe events, performers normally receive 100 per cent of the proceeds, which didn’t happen in this case.

“At that point the staff had become a really tight family, and the owners, they sort of weren’t really paying attention for a year, so we kind of took over,” he said.

“The Fringe show made a lot of money and there were verbal agreements that were made that certain parties didn’t think were being honoured. That’s what started the fighting. Because there was the weird case that the Bloor had distribution fees to pay for, they expected to get money. The owners were out of the loop so much that they didn’t realize that the performers would be getting money. They ended up doing a split. Because there was bad communication between both parties, nobody was trusting each other and it led to arguments that shouldn’t have happened and very bad feelings from both sides.”

Carm Bordonaro declined to comment on the event, saying it was a legal matter.

The last two years saw the Bloor hit hard times, and the family began to look for ways to reinvent the theatre. “We had to work really hard just to pay the bills and keep everything going,” said Bordonaro.

In June 2010, with their lease ending, the family purchased the theatre for $1.6 million in an effort to ensure its survival as a cinema.

Bordonaro said they had many offers from developers but they wanted to find the right person or company who would allow the space to stay as a theatre.

Bordonaro was approached by Hot Docs and Blue Ice in May of this year. Initially, both parties remained tight lipped as they worked out the deal. Many people speculated on the fate of the Bloor after it was announced that the theatre would be closing for renovations at the end of June.

Misty Pusztai was working at the theatre when the renovations were announced, and said that staff were given very little notice. “It was really slow, and we were all kind of wondering what was going on, and then two or three days before the renovation posters went up in the windows, we were told that the cinema was going to be renovated and that we’d all be out of a job at the end of the month. They gave us a really nice termination letter and supplied us with all of our paperwork but nobody was informed really, with proper notice. It was all kind of shocking to a lot of people.”

Bordonaro said their hands were tied. “We weren’t allowed to say anything. The closing date was June 30, and we hadn’t really even officially closed, so we weren’t in the greatest position to reveal anything earlier than we did.”

Adam Lopez, festival director of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, said they were also given very little notice. “We weren’t really told what was going on,” said Lopez. “I understand why, because it was a confidential situation.”

Toronto After Dark announced last month that they would be moving this year’s festival to the Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave.), but that they would be back at the Bloor in 2012.

“There was no way of being 100 per cent sure that the renovations would be done in time,” said Lopez. “They are hoping to have the renovations done in October, two weeks before the festival. As a festival director, that was terrifying.”

Amy Taylor, of Excited Mental State, the group that performs monthly Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow casts at the Bloor said that the whole process has been really positive, and that Hot Docs has been welcoming. “They want us to be there, they want the neighbourhood to have a sense of continuity.”

However, many people, including Chris Alexander, are unsure what a revamped Bloor Cinema will be like. Alexander is permanently moving his ‘Film School Confidential’ night to the Revue Cinema (400 Roncesvalles Ave.). “It’s a double edged sword,” said Alexander. “You bring an A-list filmmaker in town or a big movie, you won’t have to worry about creatures running around.”

Hot Docs held a community meeting in August where members of the public were invited to voice their questions and suggestions.

One of the main concerns brought up at the meeting was that the building would be “over-glammed.”

Concern was also voiced over a possible name change for the theatre. McDonald said they would be changing the name, but that the word ‘Bloor’ would be prominently featured.

Kuplowsky, who attended the meeting, said he was not worried at all about the fate of the theatre. “The fact that you have a very specific type of festival taking over means its going to have its own kind of identity that is going to be iconic and people are going to latch on to that,” he said. “I don’t think the stuff that everybody loves about that place is going to disappear. The community doesn’t want it to disappear and [Hot Docs] are smart businessmen.”

Kuplowsky likened the Bloor to a TV series. “There was always lots of drama, and it was kind of like a revolving door with people coming in and out. I hope with Hot Docs it will be like a new season.”

If you have any questions or feedback regarding the Bloor Cinema, please email feedback@hotdocs.ca.

By Karen Bliss

Karkwa, 2010’s Polaris Music Prize winners, will screen a documentary at U of T on Sunday, Sept.18. Courtesy Karkwa.

Francophone indie rock act Karkwa had little presence outside its native Quebec when its fourth album, Les Chemins de Verre, was selected as winner of the 2010 Polaris Music Prize—a $20,000 cheque that went to the year’s Best Album, as determined by media from across the country.

The award landed the band immediate attention in English-speaking Canada, and coverage in top publications NME, Rolling Stone, Huffington Post, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and Billboard.

“We sell a lot of albums during the two or three weeks after winning the prize outside of Quebec, in all the provinces in Canada,” said the band’s French-speaking manager Sandy Boutin. “The Polaris have a big impact and it have a big impact too on our sales in Quebec. Quebec we are really not huge, but everybody know about Karkwa. Our last album Le volume du vent, we sold 30,000 copies only in Quebec and with Polaris all the Anglophone media talk about Karkwa after winning the prize.”

As the next Polaris ceremony takes place on Sept. 19 with a private gala at the Masonic Temple, Karkwa will be in Toronto, as it crosses the country on its first headlining tour. The band’s concert at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor St. W.) is Sept. 17 and the five-piece band will stay in the city to present the cheque (this time $30,000) to the 2011 Polaris winner.

A day after the concert, there is also a screening of Les Cendres de Verre, the art-documentary for Karkwa’s fourth album, Chemins de Verre, at the University of Toronto’s Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave.) at 2:30 p.m.

Directed by Nat Le Scouarnec (La Blogotheque), the film features live clips and behind the scenes footage of Karkwa during the release of that breakthrough album.

Formed in 1998, Karkwa—singer-guitarist Louis-Jean Cormier, drummer Stéphane Bergeron, keyboardist François Lafontaine, bassist Martin Lamontagne and percussionist/singer Julien Sagot—have sustained a healthy career in Quebec alone, where the majority of its albums sales have been. In 1999, the band played at the Cégeps en spectacle contest in Montreal and were subsequently invited by a France-Quebec youth exchange organization to perform at the Printemps du Québec cultural expo in Paris.

In 2001, Karkwa made the finals of the seventh Francouvertes music competition and hit the road for the next two years, honing their songs in preparation for their debut album, 2003’s Le Pensionnat des Établis.

There followed some 75 shows across Quebec. The follow-up album, 2005’s Le tremblements s’immobilisent earned the band a 2006 Félix-Leclerc Award and jointly received the Félix for best singer or composer alongside Pierre Lapointe.

In November 2007, the French launch of Les tremblements s’immobilisent prompted a number of tour dates overseas. In April 2008 came Karka’s third album, Le Volume du Vent. The two years that followed were hectic with hundreds of performances for the band around North America and Europe, including Canada, France, and Switzerland. The album was released in France in March 2009.

Their fourth album, Les Chemins de Verre, was partly recorded at La Frette studios in Paris, a venue dating back to the 19th century. Put together without pre-production for a more organic and impressionist sound, the album came out in March 2010. That September, they won the Polaris.

Since then, Karkwa took home the 2011 Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year, and performed Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me To The End of Love” with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet on the live broadcast of the Genie Awards.

They will also return home on Sept. 22 to open for Arcade Fire at the free show celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Pop Montreal. The two acts have never shared the stage in their hometown.

By Julia Manoukian

287 Brunswick Ave.

287 Brunswick Ave. was once home to one of the area’s wealthiest real estate owners. Anne Racz, better known as Annie of the Annex, invested in a great deal of real estate in and around Toronto with her husband, Leslie Racz. Her entire estate, which is rumoured to be valued at $80 million, was left to her common-law partner, Rich Martyniuk, after she passed away in July 2004. Strangely, the property is listed as occupied, under Leslie Racz’s name.

The problem: while locals can only speculate why a 2,810.40 square foot prime real estate space on the corner of Brunswick and Bloor West has been vacant for so long, a title search of the property revealed it might be the tax value of $658,000. Martyniuk, who could not be contacted for comment, has no plans to sell, maintain or develop the space, according to his currents tenants at Grassroots.

Current state: looks like the grass hasn’t been cut in nearly a decade, and weathering has taken its toll on the exterior—undoubtedly a handyman’s dream.

400-408 Bloor St. W. (upper floors)

With the exception of a hair salon, the top floors, which served as office space in the `60s and small apartments in the `70s, have been empty for about 20 years, according to Amir Benedict, owner of By The Way Café.

The problem: similar to Racz’s house, Martyniuk disregards any interest in occupancy for unknown reasons. Although some locals suspect his health is to blame for the abandonment, Benedict says because the space is privately owned, “It’s not anybody’s business.”

Current state: these Old Victorian spaces need a lot of work, but are known to still contain bronze fireplaces and original architecture. While some locals complain that loose bricks pose a problem for the street below, no one has been hurt—yet.

310 Brunswick Ave.

This empty residential apartment building has been the source of much speculation, because of a prolonged vacancy for nearly 20 years. Real estate values place the whole corner at almost $10 million.

The problem: it’s always been impossible to make any sort of deal, says Bela Halasz, a Hungarian real estate agent who knew Racz in her early days. “These people are a little bit woo-hoo! If he [Rich] would sell that corner, I would have a buyer.”

Current state: the side is covered in graffiti, and a broken side-door beckons animals inside. This once handsome building is dying for a makeover.

252 Dupont St.

Both Nite-Caps by the Castle and Madoka Japanese Restaurant have occupied this address, but it has remained empty since spring 2005 and its windows are currently boarded up. The landlords reportedly want to use the 14,000 square foot property for a retail structure (for lease only), but have not been able to find a suitable tenant.

The problem: possibly the landlords asking price of $4,500 a month rent, minimum. Or according to the realtor for the property, Harvey Cooper, it could be indecision since “they’re not sure what they want to do with the site.”

Current state: it’s far from move-in ready. The new tenants will have to tear down and rebuild the entire property, including the rotted garage at the back.

420 Dupont St.

Though it may seem vacant, this large warehouse, once occupied by Mono Lino Typesetting Company Limited, is now owned by Wing’s Food Productions along with the neighbouring warehouse at 275 Albany Ave. The oriental noodle manufacturer took over shortly after Mono Lino closed its doors in 1985, due to a technology shift in the publishing industry. Even over two decades later, the famous lettering still hangs above the door.

Interesting fact: the exterior of the TV station in the film Hairspray was shot at the Mono Lino site.

Compiled by Emina Gamulin, Mike Radoslav, and Lindsay Tsuji

Click on the links below for more information about Trinity-Spadina and our Q & A with the MPP candidates in the upcoming provincial election on Oct 6.

The Riding
Trin-Spa Statistics

The Candidates

Question 1: Helping families
Question 2: Fossil fuel-based transportation
Question 3: Alternative medicine
Question 4: 40 hours of community service??
Question 5: Amalgamation

Candidate debates this month in Trinity-Spadina

The Riding:

The Trinity-Spadina neighbourhoods include the Annex, Harbord Village, Seaton Village, Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Italy, Little Portugal, parts of the University of Toronto, the harbourfront, and the Toronto Islands.

Trinity-Spadina’s geography. Source: Elections Ontario

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The statistics:

Population = 115,361 *
Number of electors = 95,363 *
Median income = $50,047 **
Political History:
2007 elections = New Democrat ***
2003 = New Democrat ***
1999 elections = New Democrat ***

* Cited from StatsCan 2006 census data
** Cited from StatsCan 2001 census data
*** Cited from Elections Ontario

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The candidates:

Rosario Marchese (incumbent, NDP)

Rosario Marchese ( incumbent) was first elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1990. He is the NDP’s critic for Education, Toronto Issues, and Training, Colleges and Universities. Raised in the heart of Trinity-Spadina, he studied at Harbord Collegiate (286 Harbord St.) and graduated from the University of Toronto with bachelor degrees in arts and education. Marchese worked as a teacher and served as a Toronto school board and public library board trustee. He helped local residents organize Ontario’s first condo owners association and has been a vocal defender of condo owners’ rights.

Tim Grant (Ontario Green Party)

Until his nomination, Tim Grant was the chair of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association, where he led numerous tree-planting activities, and helped over 100 downtown households add solar panels to their rooftops. He continues to co-chair Tower Power Toronto, helping condo and co-op residents to green their buildings. Grant has been the co-editor of [Green Teacher ITAL] magazine for the past 20 years. A member of Karma Food Co-operative (739 Palmerston Ave.) and the Huron Community Garden, Grant and his partner Gail were early investors in the wind turbine at the Exhibition. They share their Trinity-Spadina home with a black and white cat who makes them laugh every day.

Sarah Thomson (Ontario Liberal Party)

Sarah Thomson, Trinity-Spadina’s Liberal party candidate, is former CEO and founder of Women’s Post Media, a print and online business magazine for women. She launched studioto.ca, which advocates for excellence in architecture and the protection of heritage buildings in Toronto after spending many years restoring old homes. Thomson ran for mayor of Toronto in 2010 because of her passion for her community and that passion has driven her to run for provincial parliament. She was born in Trinity-Spadina and is the daughter of an architect and an artist. Thomson stands for supporting our hospitals and senior care facilities, better transit in downtown Toronto, the redevelopment of Ontario Place to create local jobs, support for investments in green energy, and protection of our heritage buildings. She is running because she wants help build the foundation for a stronger Ontario for her children. Thomson lives downtown with her husband Greg and their two sons.

Mike Yen (Ontario Progressive Conservative Party)

Born and raised in the GTA, Mike Yen learned first-hand the benefits that strong and diverse cultures offer a city from the lessons passed from his great grandfather who immigrated to Toronto, from China. Yen translated his appreciation for cultural diversity into a Bachelor of Arts from York University—where he majored in History. For the last four years, Yen has called Trinity-Spadina home, where he has developed strong relationships within the community. As a 10-year federal civil servant, Mike has extensive experience working with troubled business and is well aware of the issues and problems that hinder the growth and prosperity of our business community.

Also running in Trinity-Spadina are Guy Fogel for the Socialist Party of Ontario and Silvio Ursomarzo, for the Freedom Party of Ontario. The Gleaner was unable to reach these candidates in time for this story.

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The Questions:

1. If elected how do you plan to support families with young children and does this plan involve more money for child and family services? BOLD
—Ruth Rosenblood, Children’s Storefront

Marchese: Many community members are profoundly worried about what services are going to be cut that will affect our social infrastructure, so this is a serious concern. I’ve been to The Children’s Storefront and they provide a wonderful service. It’s not a structured kind of environment that they have, but it’s a place where mothers and fathers and grandparents can come bring their children and they can do what they want. For just a little investment, communities have access to a centre like that that provides a creative place for them to be involved as parents grandparents and with children. It’s important to understand what they do and how critical they are to communities. We haven’t specifically said in our platform commitments that this is a program that needs to be funded, but I am a big supporter of that kind of program, and programs for families and children.

Grant: We’re strong supporters of the early childhood initiative, I wish that it involved more schools, but I think that’s a foundation that’s long overdue—especially in downtown neighbourhoods where child care spaces have been scarce. Early childhood education is an important foundation for everything that happens later in life. But there’s also a bunch of other factors involved here. One of the problems we have in Toronto—and especially in Trinity-Spadina—is that housing is unaffordable, and it’s often not available to families. We are asking to have 30 per cent of new condo units be made affordable for people like those needing larger units, instead of forcing them to move out to the suburbs.

Thomson: The Liberals have the early childhood education program—that’s full-day kindergarten and that’s a huge benefit. I have a four and five year old, so as a mother with children that age, it’s a huge asset to be able to put them into full-day kindergarten and it’s so good for their future education. That’s something happening here and now in our riding that I am a huge believer in, as well as more child care. [Premier Dalton] McGuinty had a meeting with our mayor, Rob Ford, and they were discussing more child care. I don’t know the details of that plan, but it sounds that going forward it will be a good plan for families—basically more child care positions. We’ve put in 60,000 child care positions in the last year, so it’s all moving forward.

Yen: The Ontario PC government is looking to give an immediate relief to families by taking the HST retirement charge off their home heating and hydro and making the smart meters optional. It’s too tough to afford the cost of living, and with McGuinty and his tax machines, it’s become more and more difficult in that regard, and families and businesses are really struggling with the high cost of energy. So hopefully this will help her out as well.

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2. What will you do to help Ontarians reduce their dependence on fossil fuel-based transportation?
—François Villeneuve

Marchese: We have announced that we would share the TTC operating costs 50/50. It’s something we used to do as governments, and we did it when I was a minister in 1990. We’re one of the few cities in the world that gets very little support from the province and/or federal government. It’s absolutely wrong. So the promise of sharing the costs with the cities is critical, and the only commitment we ask of the city is that they don’t increase the fare. We have to build that kind of infrastructure because if we have better access to the TTC system—whether its light rail, and/or subways—assuming that we can commit to federal governments to support us—then people will use it and they will get out of their cars. That doesn’t solve the problem of trucks and pollution, because that in my mind is a big, big problem. We attacked the government because they claimed to be the greenest ever in this province, and yet they were the ones that have allowed diesel trains. We need to commit ourselves to electrifying our rail system across Ontario, and indeed across Canada. People will stop using their cars if they have a better alternative. At the moment, we are not giving them a better alternative.

Grant: Trinity-Spadina is blessed with streetcar lines and subways, although not enough and not everywhere. The TTC itself doesn’t have the funds to provide the kind of service we really need. We need to start shifting monies away from new highway construction to transit, so that the system has the long-term, stable funding both to maintain a state of good repair and expand service. We think one per cent of the current $5.8 billion Ministry of Transportation budget should go to cycling infrastructure, and one per cent to pedestrian infrastructure, to create a fund that municipalities could apply to for projects. The other issue for us in Trinity-Spadina is GO Transit. With the rapid expansion westward of the train lines people will be subjected to a larger number of diesel trains. We believe that electrification of rail lines is not only urgent, but the additional cost of electrification can be paid for by covering over the tracks and selling the real estate above it, which from Dufferin Street all the way to Yonge would be quite valuable.

Thomson: I don’t know if you know this, but I ran for mayor of Toronto in the last election. I was a big subway advocate. I believe in public transit, especially in our downtown core. We’ve got $9 billion coming to Toronto, which is terrific. We’ve got an Eglinton [light rail] line, which will help reduce the reliance on the automobile. That’s one of the big things that I was just so happy about which was announced back in February or March, that it would go to the Eglinton [light rail], as well as the coal plants that we’re shutting down. We will be closing all coal plants by 2014. All of them. My father died of emphysema and pneumonia so it’s a personal issue for me.

Yen: We’re going to close all coal-fueled plants by 2014. The Ontario PC Party believes in green energy, but it has to be at a price that Ontario families can afford. Unfortunately, Dalton McGuinty’s green energy experiment is too much of a strain on families. So, again, it’s about providing immediate relief and getting away from the coal plants. We plan on investing in the city. We’re going to take the gas tax and invest it in transit infrastructure.

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3. “What does the Ministry of Health do to encourage research on medicines you can’t patent, things that already exist like vitamins, amino acids, metabolic co-factors, etc.? Is it enough? Is it feasible to do more?”
—Jason Skomorowski

Marchese: The fact that you have patents for 20 years, in my mind, has always been a problem. That makes that product very expensive until generics are able to get in. [Drugs] comprise about 15 per cent of our overall health costs, which means its incredibly expensive and it has become a growing expensive problem in this province. That’s something governments have to tackle a little more effectively to bring down the costs. But what kind of research does the government do in non-patent areas? I think we probably don’t do very much. Mainly, I suspect, because it’s a very expensive thing to do, I think there isn’t much research in the non-patent areas. When you are not in [the party that forms the] government you don’t have access to research in terms of what they do. Could more be done? I suspect so. I suspect there are a number of problems, which makes this a very challenging area of study.

Grant: Traditionally the role of the Ministry of Health has largely been dealing with the safety of drugs and the efficacy of drugs, but what we haven’t done is paid enough attention to non-invasive, non-drug treatments that can also be supportive of greater public health. I’m not aware of how much the Ministry of Health currently spends on investigating non-drug treatments, but I would certainly endorse them doing so. One of the ways Trinity-Spadina is different, from my personal experience, is that we have a much greater interest in public health, and in personal health, and people are more knowledgeable and do seek out alternatives. It does behoove us as a government to make sure all non-invasive drug and medical treatments meet the standards of care that we demand of drug treatments, that they don’t cause harm, and when taken in reasonable doses they promote health.

Thomson: I’m a big promoter of naturopathy, I saw it firsthand in my father when he was ill. The Ministry of Health is looking [at it] and they’re actually accepting naturopathic medicine as a credible alternative. That’s something that I’m so proud of that we’ve done. We’re the first government to actually see it as a credible source of healing and a method to reduce reliance on hospitalization and drugs. I think there is so much more we can do to give acceptance to that area of naturopathy that has been overlooked for years and years and years.

Yen: With regards to health, we’re planning on investing $6.1 billion to our health system and we’re going to be investing that into front-line care. Unfortunately under the McGuinty government we’ve seen more and more investment into administration. So with further investment in health care we should be able to increase front-line services.

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4. “Please comment on the current state of the high school 40 hour community service requirement for students as introduced by the Harris government. What, if anything, would you do differently?”
—David Perlman

Marchese: [The requirement] forces students to think about the larger community because most students don’t think beyond what they need to do in school, and sometimes they think school doesn’t really connect to their real life experiences, or real issues they’re facing at the moment.  It would be good to do a study of all that students have done, like we do with exit polling, to find out how their experience has been and how we can improve it. But overall, I think the idea is a good one and doing 40 hours of community service is good for all of us.

Grant: I think this was a good, tiny first step, but I think our high school system betrays the developmental needs of high school kids. I’m a big advocate of changing the curriculum at the high school level so that kids are much more engaged in community projects and improving the life of their communities. When kids are involved in community projects they themselves develop a greater enthusiasm for the learning they are doing back in the classroom in support of that project, and they start to care about subjects they didn’t previously.  We should start with pilot projects that eventually move to 10 per cent of the curriculum spent outside in the community, not just 40 hours, where teams of teachers would work together to create projects for students.

Thomson: It gives them a chance to get out there in the working environment and I think that’s great. Some students need that; some students already have that because they’re already working. I think it’s a really good plan, [I would] maybe allow some students more hours, so they could get credit for their hours. Because of my background, I left school quite early, in grade 11, and then I had to go back and take it through night courses. I found certain people learn differently and apprenticeship is a great way to learn.

Yen: The Ontario PC government would fully invest in education and we want to give teachers a little bit more freedom in making decision for their classrooms. So it’s about investing in our education and giving a little bit more freedom. I think community services are great for students. It’s great for them to get out there and experience things outside the classroom. I know we have a lot of students who volunteer on my campaign and they’re learning quite a bit and they’re making a lot of great connections in the community. And they may be learning things that they may not be learning in school.

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5. “Given recent votes and voting patterns at City Hall, do you support reversing the amalgamation foisted upon Toronto by Mike Harris?”
—Hamish Wilson

Marchese: I think Mike Harris destroyed our city. I think amalgamation has made it incredibly complex. We used to have a process where people could go to a city and have much more influence on their city, whether it was East York, Toronto, North York and so on. When you made it into one huge city of 2.6 million it has become complex and difficult, and citizens are not able to influence the City of Toronto as they could in the old days. I would love to break it up again, but I’m not quite sure that it’s easy to do. And if there was a better way we could give more access to citizens by the city to be able to influence policy direction, I would love to be able to study that. But to break it up again would be yet another destructive or hurtful move for the City of Toronto. [Going back] would create problems yet again that would have to be solved once again, so the best thing we could do is improve this structure that has been hoisted upon us.

Grant: I certainly support an honest review of de-amalgamation, but ultimately these are initiatives that must be citizen-driven. We should provide people with a reasoned debate so in the cold light of day, with the facts before them, they can make a decision. This would help to determine whether we go back to six municipalities, or maybe we go back to four. However I think we speak too much about differences, there is a recognition that all corners of Toronto need equal access to services and good transit and need public investment in infrastructure. This would help the people in the corners of Toronto address the same needs as those living downtown.

Thomson: I’m not for going backwards. I think we are still suffering from amalgamation not being transitioned effectively, but I believe that there is still work to be done, and I believe that if we can do it effectively the city could get more benefit from it. I don’t know if you know that we’ve uploaded services such as our drug benefits program. There has been a lot of uploading from the municipalities back to the McGuinty government. That was an agreement that was done in 2009, so it has just come through. And that uploading does help. Services like the drug benefit program, disability support, work benefits program, court security costs. Those things have been uploaded.

Yen: The City of Toronto has a lot of tough decisions to make and the Ontario PC government will work with every municipality including Toronto to make sure that we’re able to deliver services to the best we can working together.

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Who wants a debate?

Candidates for the provincial Trinity-Spadina seat will have many chances to compel and rally their would be constituents at all-candidates debates and forums this month.

On Sept 14, the Trinity-St. Paul’s Church’s (427 Bloor St. W.) debate will be moderated by Rory Sinclair, chair of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association. It is being co-sponsored by the Annex, Seaton Village, Harbord Village and Huron-Sussex Residents’ Associations, and the Harbord Street and Bloor-Annex BIAs.

On the 15th, the University of Toronto Students Union is hosting their all-candidates debate from 2 to 4 p.m. The debate takes place at Hart House (15 Hart House Circle).

If education issues are your thing, check out the forum at Central Technical School (730 Bathurst St.) on the 20th, which begins at 7 p.m.

The next night, Sept. 21, the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association (BQNA) and the York Quay Neighbourhood Asoociation (YQNA) will host their all-candidate event. Taking place at the Harbourfront Community Centre (627 Queen’s Quay W.), the debate occurs from 7 p.m. to 10  p.m. and will be moderated by local artist Alice Norton.

On Sept. 24, at the Financial Services Building at 290 Adelaide Street East, the Make it Count! Festival will feature live entertainment, voter education, a workshop on Provincial policy 101, and an all-candidates debate. Lunch and snacks will be provided. Event begins at 10 a.m. For more information, visit www.ontarioyouthmatter.ca and www.rockthevotecanada.ca.

On Sept. 27, starting at 8 p.m., Rogers Television will broadcast a Trinity-Spadina debate. Check your TV listings for the correct channel, it varies depending on the cable provider.

Finally, on Sept. 28 from 7 to 9:30 p.m., the Friends of Christie Pits and Christie Pits Residents’ Association will host their debate. It will take place at Bob Abate Recreation Centre (485 Montrose Ave.) at 7 p.m.

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By Michael Radoslav

Seats are a hot commodity at Simpsons trivia night. Courtesy Mike Wrobel.

Packing in a crowd of hundreds to standing room capacity, with virtually no advertising or promotion, Andrew Ennals and Amanda Factor must feel like the man who single-handedly built the rocket and flew to the moon. What was his name, Apollo Creed?

Ennals and Factor are the creators of the insanely popular Simpson’s trivia night, held the second Tuesday of every month at the Gladstone Hotel.

The two friends are huge fans of the show themselves, so much so that Ennals described their get-togethers as just “throwing Simpson’s quotes at each other in whatever conversation we were having.”

Factor said their emails would turn into “quote-a-thons,” and this led to the idea of starting a trivia challenge.

“It came along at the right time because trivia is so hot right now,” Factor said. “We were on the cusp of the whole explosion.”

The two were shocked that a Simpsons trivia night was not already being held in Toronto, and began one at The Ossington last year. With an unexpectedly high turnout, they quickly moved to the Gladstone two months later.

The new venue has not fared much better. “We thought there would be enough space,” Ennals said with a laugh. “There was for about 15 minutes.”

“It’s awesome,” said Jeremy Vandermeij, the Gladstone’s creative director. “Every single seat in the Melody Bar is taken, and we put in extra seats.”

The night is about entertaining the fans that congregate to bask in the warm glow of their favourite episodes from seasons 1 through 11. The hosts pick three episodes to play throughout the evening; in between each episode, they ask a round of questions.

The winning team receives the highly sought-after prize of a table for their team on the stage—a valuable commodity on a busy night that doesn’t take reservations.

John Semley started coming out last September and has been back every month since. Semley says it’s intense among the teams at the top to the point where it’s almost like a professional league. “I don’t play sports so to be honest it’s nice to have something I’m good at,” he said.

Regardless of the competition, participants revel in watching episodes together, reciting quotes in unison, singing songs from the show, and relaxing in the company of fellow Simpsons nerds.

The lively crowd is also fuelled by alcohol, which Homer Simpson once famously described as the cause of—and solution to—all of life’s problems. For the night, the Gladstone renames one of its regular draughts Duff Beer in honour of the occasion, Vandermeij said.

Due to its overwhelming success, the Gladstone is putting together a Futurama trivia night, a tribute to another Matt Groening creation, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday, September 27.

To find out more about Simpsons trivia night check out their blog or follow them on Twitter.

By Julia Hennessey

Wellbeing Toronto allows the user to select multiple indicators for a neighbourhood at one time. Screenshot courtesy of City of Toronto.

After two years of development, Wellbeing Toronto website launched this summer and received close to 20,000 hits on its first day.

The City of Toronto, along with partners that include the United Way and Toronto’s school boards, have contributed to the development of the online application that allows users to view and compare Toronto neighbourhoods based on personally weighted criteria and create on-the-fly maps.

The tool may change how government funding is allocated, the way nonprofits will operate, and will inform business owners and residents about their neighbourhoods.

“We wanted to create a system that looked at neighbourhood well-being across all of Toronto’s neighbourhoods, not just a certain number or a priority number of neighbourhoods,” said Harvey Low, manager of Social Research and Analysis for the City of Toronto.

Information is provided for 140 neighbourhoods in Toronto and users can select up to 20 indicators for a specific neighbourhood at a time. The weighted indicators allow users to evaluate areas based on the criteria they deem most important.

Options go beyond typical demographic information such as population, to provide data ranging from tree cover to voter turnout, and pinpoint the locations of amenities. Low hopes Wellbeing Toronto will offer new insight into neighbourhoods like the Annex by providing “information that we’ve never reported on before in this format-on cycling and pedestrian traffic, accidents, and access to public transit.”

Criteria were selected to illustrate all aspects of a neighbourhood. “We decided to include indicators that could potentially look at the assets of communities as well as the challenges.”

While Wellbeing Toronto has the potential to serve a wide range of users including academia, NGOs, and government, the site may be especially interesting to businesses when positioning themselves, and residents shopping for a home.

Low said businesses and corporations can use the website to find information about potential clients, including income level and languages most commonly spoken when deciding on a location and how to target their services. “If you’re doing service planning and you want to locate a new convenience store, use Wellbeing Toronto to find out where the existing ones are so you don’t locate right next to an existing one.”

The website also offers information to business operators about community support for their employees. “The Annex has a variety of restaurants, many different retail outlets along Bloor. It would provide not only information about those retail establishments and where they are located, but also the human supports in that community from child care to seniors homes.”

People looking to purchase homes can use Wellbeing to investigate area information including the location of schools and the average annual income of homeowners, says Low. “[People] want to be near public transit, which the Annex is, they want to be near great parks, which the Annex has,” but they may weight these characteristics at different levels of importance. Wellbeing Toronto allows these users to “pick the same indicators but weight them differently.”

However, Low suggests that the application is one of a number of tools that those shopping for a home can use. “In order to really get a feeling of a community like the Annex you need to walk the streets, you need to feel the neighbourhood, you need to smell the air, look at the trees.”

Elden Freeman, Vice President of Freeman Real Estate, agrees that the applications usefulness in the real estate sector is limited. “People buy homes on an emotional basis. If the schools are good and their peer group is buying in the neighbourhood—statistics don’t add anything.”

He says Wellbeing may also stigmatize neighbourhoods whose positive characteristics statistics may not be illustrated by statistics and is concerned the website will increase the divide between neighbourhoods. “It really is creating ghettos of rich and poor, and that’s what this whole map reinforces.”

Renny Cannon, a homeowner who shopped for a home in the Annex in 2006, says he would have tried the website, but is not convinced it would have been useful. “The areas are so large. I mean—when they define the Annex [to include] from Christie Street to Avenue Road—the area surrounding Christie Pits is very different from the area surrounding University Avenue, so I don’t think it provides too much insight into a neighbourhood.”

Visit the Wellbeing Toronto Website at map.toronto.ca/wellbeing.

Performances, including lion dances, have featured prominently in past Chinatown Festivals. Courtesy Chinatown BIA

The Chinatown BIA is getting ready to host the annual Chinatown Festival this weekend, and organizers said that they wanted to make sure that the celebration has mass appeal. “We like to stage a festival that is organized by Chinatown BIA, but we want to share with everyone and get everything on one stage,” said Tonny Louie of the BIA.

With more than 100,000 expected in attendance and attractions that will include cuisine from around the world, cricket, and perhaps even some Kung Fu monks (visas permitting), the free event should have no problem meeting its goals.

The cuisines are one of the most important features of the festival. Louie stresses that there will be “not just Chinese food, but different kinds of food,” from Arabic-styled wraps and barbecue beef, to Taiwanese cultural food and Malaysian murtabak chicken.

Moon cakes, Chinese bubble tea and ice cream will also be available.

This year’s festival will also have both a beer garden and a children’s play area. Mariama Barrie, organizer of the games segment, says that “[we] are planning to have different performances from different community centres across the city, as well as carnival games.”

A bouncing castle and martial arts demonstration and workshop are in  the works for the kids.

Organizers say that a performance by a dozen Shaolin Monks of China is “70 per cent” confirmed. The world famous Shaolin Monastery of China occupies a special place for the Chinese culture and history. “We have had other forms of martial demonstrations in past festivals but not Shaolin style,” said Louie. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.

The Chinatown Festival takes place Sept. 10 and 11 on four blocks of Spadina between College and Dundas.. For more information, please visit www.chinatownbia.com.

We've got one week to auction off these iconic and original hand-painted Honest Ed's signs. All proceeds will go to buying a badly needed new printer. Help us spread the word! Thanks!

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280735667662#ht_500wt_1093

By Síle Cleary

The Danger Bees. Courtesy Luther Mallory.

They may be new in town, but Daycare Records are showing just how feisty they are by utilizing the tag line “babysitting your stupid band.”

The record label is the brainchild of music journalist Karen Bliss (whose work is published in numerous publications, including the Gleaner, Billboard, RollingStone.com and MSN) and musician/producer Luther Mallory, who say the tag refers to an industry inside joke. “It’s not supposed to offend anyone, but everyone in the music business understands that if you’ve tried to work closely with bands it can be demanding and thankless,” says Bliss. “It can even get to the point where they may ring you up in the middle of the night for something that can clearly wait until morning.”

Daycare Records, which currently runs out of Bliss’s Annex home, launched in July of this year and has already signed two reputable Canadian artists: indie pop band The Danger Bees and renowned Canadian battle rapper Kid Twist.

The Danger Bees, which hail from Nova Scotia, solidified in Toronto in 2010 after Mallory (of the band Crush Luther) heard them and convinced them to relocate to the hub of the Canadian music industry.

Since hooking up with Daycare, their song “Why Won’t You Listen,” appeared in an episode of Degrassi this July, while another of The Danger Bee’s songs, “Awkward Guy,” is in the film Moon Point directed by Sean Cisterna.

The video for their single “Good Year” has received a lot of attention as a result of it being shot in just one take by director Gavin Michael Booth.

The video shows frontman David Macmichael being battered by objects and screamed at by his crazy “girlfriend.”

“They had one try to get it right and luckily they managed to pull it off,” said Bliss.

Kid Twist. Courtesy Luther Mallory

Daycare Records’ other act, Kid Twist, is a phenomenal wordsmith with a huge following in the battle rap scene.

Kid Twist, who has humorously named himself after “a Jewish mobster who stabbed people in the brain with an icepick,” is currently working on his first music release with Mallory which will be more humorous than edgy.

Daycare Records is planning on utilizing online resources to help promote the music on their roster.

“The music business is changing so rapidly and new companies are cropping up all the time that offer creative and inexpensive ways for independent artists to get their music out there,” said Bliss.

“Daycare Records is exploring all those [options], from music licensing to online gigs.”

By Michael Radoslav

Councillor Adam Vaughan leads a Jane’s Walk through CityPlace. Courtesy Gary Pieters.

While condo projects have dotted the Toronto skyline for years, at CityPlace some see more than just construction underway—they see the potential for a great community.

“CityPlace is a great development and that’s what it was before we started here, a development,” said Dean Maher, president of the recently-formed CityPlace Residents’ Association. “Our goal is to make a house a home.”

The residents’ association wants CityPlace—a group of condominium developments located south of the rail corridor between Spadina and Bathurst—officially recognized as a neighbourhood by the City of Toronto, much like Kensington, Chinatown, and other areas. In addition they are working on a host of community-building initiatives.

Maher is a founding member of the association, helping to aid its formation last January after an unsuccessful bid to become a councillor in last fall’s municipal election.

The residents’ association has been working with Councillor Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) to achieve their goal of obtaining official recognition.

“Very few neighbourhoods are created out of nothing, and that is why this is so exciting,” said Vaughan. “It is a great opportunity to create this new community in the downtown core.”

Community-building initiatives are sprouting organically based on resident feedback said Steve Kee, the association’s vice-president of communications. Such initiatives include declaring a portion of Canoe Landing Park a dog park and starting up neighbourhood sports leagues at the turf field. For a part of town rich in rooming space, but lacking communal facilities, Maher said more restaurants or a community library would help make the area more attractive.

The group has also started hosting public meetings, including a recent one with Metrolinx regarding future projects.

However, the association’s work is not without its challenges. A lack of longevity is a hurdle in growing a community, said Sandeep Agrawal, an urban planning professor at Ryerson University. Downtown condos generally attract young professionals and young couples, groups not known for staying in one place too long. “At the moment what I see is that it’s more of a transitory place,” said Agrawal. “It is families and kids that make a neighbourhood lively and rich and give it more of a sense of permanency.”

Jack Kiatmysack, 26, a CityPlace tenant, reaffirmed that notion. “We’re leasing and we’re leasing on purpose,” he said.

Many of Kiatmysack’s neighbours say they do not see this as a long term destination point, he said, but rather a stop along the way.

“They have to find a way to keep everybody here,” said Korhan Kinazi, 33, a real estate agent who lives at CityPlace. “I think there’s an age aspect of living here, after you get settled and have a baby, I see people moving away.”

Maher said that perception of temporary residence is something the association is fighting to change. “If that’s the mentality we’ll never have people sit down, have a coffee and meet their neighbour.”

Future developments, such as the Toronto Community Housing project slated for the area, will help the area by adding more long-term residents, he added.

In addition to the transient nature of life in CityPlace, the group also has 12 official members that represent the interests of 12,000 people, which may prove to be another challenge. The residents’ association is currently made up of eight board members and four people working on projects, according to Kee. He said the group has “no immediate goals” of seeking mass membership from the greater CityPlace community, saying their focus is currently to “build up, be solid, be consistent, and build infrastructure,” but they want to “continue to make inroads into buildings and talk to people.”

While the group is not currently focused on membership drives, they are happy to work with residents who have suggestions and intend to find a representative from each building to widen their network. “We have to demonstrate that we’re building value, and I believe that we are,” Kee said. “We feel that we’ve made great strides.”

Ultimately to build a neighbourhood people need a reason to come together, Agrawal said, whether out of desire or necessity. In the past, neighbourhoods have united when a large construction project, such as highway, was built nearby, a tragedy has struck, or a group looked to occupy a specific piece of land together. Maher is confident a strong connection can and will be established among residents living at CityPlace.

“We won’t be Little Italy or Little Portugal since we are a condo community,” Maher said, “but we will form a new community.”