Soup Can company’s interpretation of Marat/Sade examines psychiatric testing at McGill University in the late 1950’s. Photo courtesy Scarlet O’Neil

By Síle Cleary

It may only be their second production, but precocious theatre company Soup Can Theatre have taken on a mammoth challenge by reinterpreting the classic Peter Weiss play The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade— or Marat/Sade for short.

“Our mandate is to reinterpret older theatrical works for a 21st century audience,” said Parkdale resident Sarah Thorpe, artistic director of the Soup Can company.

“We thought we’d give it a more contemporary setting in order to make it more interesting and relevant to a contemporary Canadian audience.”

Marat/Sade, written by legendary German playwright Peter Weiss in 1963, received worldwide acclaim after it was performed on stage by the Royal Shakespeare Company under the direction of Peter Brook in London in 1964.

The musical/drama tells the story of the 15 years following the French Revolution, through a band of inmates in a Parisian mental institution, who perform a play about revolutionary leader Marat, under the direction of fellow inmate the Marquis de Sade.

As if the play wasn’t complicated enough, given its play-within-a-play structure, Soup Can Theatre have decided to make life even harder for themselves and stripped Marat/Sade of its early 19th century mise-en-scene and placed it in the world of the McGill University Psychiatry Department, circa 1957.

Thorpe explained that it was at McGill University that Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron, the first chairman of the World Psychiatric Association, performed psychologically-torturous experiments (including the administration of high voltage electroshock, hallucinogenic agents, and paralytic drugs) on non-consenting patients.

The experiments were performed under the umbrella of Project MK-ULTRA, a covert CIA operation which sought to explore the possibilities of mind control, memory erasure, and involuntary information extraction.

Although the play will be shown in the east end, the cast spent the last few months rehearsing in Parkdale in a converted storefront on Queen Street West called Fixt Point.

“Parkdale didn’t inspire me to put on the play, but it has inspired our creative process; Parkdale is dotted with colourful characters, and they certainly have provided a lot of material for our actors,” said Thorpe. “Since we’ve rehearsed not too far from CAMH, passing by there and by Parkdale’s rooming houses on a regular basis reminds us that the mentally ill are not ‘lunatics’ or ‘boogeymen’ and that we have a responsibility as artists to portray them with as much consideration and tact as the script allows.”

In an effort to avoid stereotypical and insensitive depictions of the mentally ill, each ‘patient’ in the Soup Can Theatre production of the play has been assigned a medically recognized mental disorder appropriate for their character, and has been encouraged to inform their performance based on that disorder’s behavioural symptoms.

“The patients in the play represent a range of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, paranoia disorders, and Asperger syndrome,” said Thorpe.

Thorpe admits that directing such an intricate piece of work has proved challenging at times; however, she says she is doing her utmost to effectively depict the two contrasting worlds present in the work of Marat/Sade. “It’s a little tough at times to try to distinguish between the world of the play and the director, Marquis de Sade and the world of the patients and how they are being treated by doctors in the institution.”

“But at the moment we’re definitely fine tuning and showing how these two worlds can be distinguished.”

Marat/Sade marks Soup Can Theatre’s return to the stage after their Kurt Weill inspired cabaret show Love is a Poverty You Can Sell which took the 2010 Toronto Fringe Festival by storm.

The company sold out nine of their 11 shows and were selected to be a part of the coveted ‘Best of the Fringe’ series at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.

In noting the comparison between the two productions, Thorpe said, “This Marat/Sade is much larger in scope than any previous productions.”

“We have a six-piece orchestra and a full set so it will be a lot a lot more challenging.” Nevertheless, Thorpe is confident that her highly talented cast will “bring this play to life” on July 19 (opening night) at the historic Alumnae Theatre.

“Marat/Sade is a play about empowering society’s forgotten,” said Thorpe. “There are a lot of “forgotten” citizens in Parkdale and I hope that our production might inspire them to stand up for themselves.”

(Tickets for the July 19-24 performances can be bought online from the Marat/Sade website here)

By Cara Waterfall

While the Canada Post strike is over, the organization still has its share of headaches. The RCMP said the company has lost millions of dollars because of counterfeit stamp operations in the last year.

The RCMP and police raided 24 retail and commercial stores and seized 40,000 counterfeit stamps and 10,000 authentic, reused ones. The convenience stores sold the forged stamps while the reused stamps were sold online.

Corporal David Sutherland, who heads the RCMP’s Greater Toronto Area Federal Enforcement Section, said that the raids did not involve any stores in the Annex, but counterfeit stamps are circulating in the neighbourhood.“Our investigation revealed counterfeit stamps were mailed directly from within [this area] to other areas of Toronto and beyond,” he said.

However, at least one neighbourhood store is stocking the forgeries. Susan Oppenheim, owner of Java Mama (1075 Bathurst St.), did not realize she had purchased a counterfeit stamp until she got a call from her daughter.

The forgery was flagged with a special rubber stamp that said “counterfeit stamp, return to sender.”

Despite Oppenheim’s desire to keep the store anonymous, she notified the business owners of the counterfeit, and described their reaction as “puzzled.”

The convenience store in question declined to comment on this story.

According to Cpl. Sutherland, stamp counterfeiting does not generally result in jail time, but if found guilty, offenders can face fines ranging from $0 to $1 million.

In March, a one-year investigation culminated in five suspects being arrested including two from Toronto.

Cpl. Sutherland advises local residents and businesses to be vigilant when purchasing stamps, especially if deep discounts are provided.

Canada Post does have measures in place to detect the counterfeit stamps, but declined to provide specific details. “The more we give information on that, the more information people who would like to do it illegally have,” said Latour.

“What is important to remember with counterfeit stamps is that they could be returned to sender at the sender’s cost,” said Canada Post spokeswoman, Geneviève Latour. “It is important to buy from registered dealers.”

Cpl. Sutherland said that they believe that all the counterfeit stamps originated from the same point, although it is unclear whether they were produced locally or imported to Canada. The forged stamps featured the same series of classic Canadian images: lighthouses from the Dec. 27, 2007 series, and the Queen and Vancouver 2010 Olympics images from the Jan. 12, 2010 series.

For more information, call the RCMP at 905-953-7271 or Canada Post at 416-345-7503 ext. 54384, or, mail a letter to Canada Post, Attn: Customer Service, 4567 Dixie Rd, Mississauga ON L4W 1S2

By Nathaniel G. Moore

Things are looking bright for Annex actor Paul Bates this summer.

In addition to a highly anticipated show The Soaps—a Live Improvised Soap Opera at Toronto’s Fringe Festival this month, the entire cast of CTV’s “Dan for Mayor” are up for best ensemble for a Canadian Comedy Award, which will be announced in the fall.

The Soaps, produced by The National Theatre of the World, will riff off the backstage politicking and nervousness that is typical in a Stratford Festival playhouse. Different versions of this play have been running all year at The Comedy Bar on Monday nights.

According to Bates, the play will take you backstage and expose this environment, and the personalities, “those characters who populate that world.”

“It’s more about the intrigue and the drama that goes on,” said Bates.

As for the comedy award, the announcement was a pleasing shock to the actor, who was a guest host announcing the nominations online earlier this month.

Bates plays Jeff on “Dan for Mayor,” a character who can best be described as an awkward and sometimes self-involved oddball who is Dan’s best friend. He just bought the local bar, but up until recently, Jeff worked as a manager at a photocopy store.

The popular show is an urban comedy that has elements of “The Office,” “Gilmore Girls,” and “My Name Is Earl.”

“It’s about a guy who has no experience being mayor in a medium-sized city,” said Bates, who feels the show is much more about the entire cast than an individual focus. “It’s very character-driven … with moments of understated, deadpan humour that sometimes gets physical and goofy.”

“Like Seinfeld, each of the characters has their own story line, and every character is given moments to shine and trouble to get into.”

Before landing his spot on the popular Canadian sitcom, Bates was a senior writer for “The Hour With George Stroumboulopoulos,” and was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for his performance as former mayor Mel Lastman in the hit musical comedy SARSical.

The 13 episodes of season two were shot in eleven weeks, on average four days per episode two episodes at a time. “The interior was shot in North York sets at the old Air Force base in Downsview,” said Bates, also revealing the exterior of the fictional town of Essex is shot in Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo.

Speaking about his character, Bates is pleased with how he’s evolving on the show. “Jeff changes in season two a lot, he was Dan’s campaign manager and worked at the photocopy store, and is still very much into being the master of his domain,” says Bates, with a hint of mystery and excitement in his voice. “This season Jeff bought the bar and runs it. He’s still a good guy, still buddies with Dan, but what you see later is this power struggle between Fern [former bar owner] and Jeff.”

Bates said Jeff has a good work ethic and has a “I’m-in-charge kind of vibe.”

In addition to season two and the fringe show, Bates co-wrote the 75th Anniversary special for the CBC called “Long Story Short” which will feature Martin Short. “It’s a thrill for me because I’m a Second City alumnus.”

Fans can expect the special in late summer or early September.

As for Fringe, Bates promises death, and some major swerves. “We’re going to kill someone … beyond that we don’t plan any of it until it’s happening on stage.”

“Dan for Mayor” airs Sundays at 7:30 pm until Aug. 28 on CTV. The Soaps—a Live Improvised Soap Opera, plays as part of the Fringe at the Bathurst Street Theatre (736 Bathurst. St.).

Annex writer Nathaniel G. Moore is the author of the novel Wrong Bar and co-editor of Toronto Noir.

Actors Lucas Meeuse (Oscar) and Jody Osmond (Constance) brace for the giant's arrival. Photo courtesy Peter Frenton

By Reem Jazar

Upcoming Fringe play The Giant’s Garden, starring Annex resident Lucas Meuse, is bringing good old fashioned family fun back to the stage along with a couple musical numbers.

Writers Scott White and Peter Fenton say they were aiming to write a story that the whole family can relate to. Fenton said they were inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant and wanted to write an adaptation that focused on the core values demonstrated in the classic tale.

“The Selfish Giant is a pretty religious story,” said Fenton. “We wanted to sort of steer away from that and focus on more on the theme of selfishness and replacing selfishness with sharing and friendship and caring for one another.”

Meuse said what drew him to the script and the lead role of Oscar was the moral behind the story and how relatable the story was. “There’s something in it for everyone,” said Meuse. “People of all ages will be able to relate to this story.”

“There are a lot of things adults will able to identify with as well in this story,” said White. “There are sisters who haven’t spoken to each other in years and I feel that is something that a lot of adults can understand.” Fenton said he and White also wanted to tell this kind of story because of the way they viewed the youth of today. “These days kids have a lot more at a younger age,” said Fenton.

“There’s a lot of sacrifice in this story. What I love is that it is about how far you will go for friendship and I don’t think that is a story that is being told very much these days.”

This will not be the first time The Giant’s Garden will be hitting the stage. The show premiered in Orangeville in 2007. White said opening night in Orangeville was a rather emotional time for him.

The Giant’s Garden is dedicated to White’s mother who passed away while he was still working on the play. “She would tell me I couldn’t cut songs when we were trying to finalize the show,” said White. “A lot of family members came to the opening night and there were literally puddles from all the tears.”

The show runs from July 6 to 16 at the Toronto Fringe festival. Tickets are already on sale and the cast will be performing a total of seven shows at the George Ignatieff Theatre (15 Devonshire Place).

Artist Aynsley Moorhouse's installation will explore sound and memory. Photo courtesy Mykola Velychko

By Julia Hennessey

For the first time ever, the Toronto Fringe Festival has officially opened its programming to include visual artists, and according to Gideon Arthurs, barring hate crimes, anything goes.

“People don’t feel like [art is] accessible so they don’t understand it and they don’t interact with the visual arts,” said Arthurs, the festival’s executive director. “We wanted to give the public a chance to interact with it directly at street level.”

Visual Fringe will take place in the heart of Toronto’s largest theatre festival as part of the Fringe Club, located in the Honest Ed’s alleyway at Bathurst and Bloor. Eight of the galleries will be located in the alleyway with a ninth just down the street at A Different Booklist.

The works featured as part of Visual Fringe were “un-juried” at selection, and will be uncensored and un-curated.

Artists and collectives were selected from all over Toronto, including a few Annex residents. Works will be available for purchase at prices ranging from $1 to $3,500.

Arthurs describes one exhibition called the Fringe Tourist Trap, as including fake Fringe merchandise. “Things like an autographed book and posters for Fringe shows that don’t actually exist.”

Another display using alternative media includes work by Annex resident and artist bekky O’Neil. Her exhibition is a “cabinet of curiosity” and uses media referred to by the artist as “toy theatre collage.”

Outside the visual medium, there is a sound installation by Aynsley Moorhouse where audiences will be blindfolded for the duration of the 14 minute piece.

Artists were selected on a first-come, first-serve basis. “We put an application online and we took the first eight that came to us,” he says. The response was tremendous, as “it filled up in about four hours, and we probably doubled the list in that span.”

With such an enthusiastic response, Arthurs says the festival will definitely be interested in expanding the event next year. “Clearly there’s a desire in the visual arts community for something like this. Our next experiment is when we actually run the festival, how responsive the public is.”

Visual Fringe will take place in the Fringe Club located at 581 Bloor St. West, south of Bloor in the Honest Ed’s Alleyway from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. every night from July 6 to 17

By Síle Cleary

Over the past twenty years, Ballet Creole has gone from humble beginnings to carving out a reputation as being the quintessential leader of Afro-Caribbean dance in Canada under the direction of artistic director and founder Patrick Parson.

“When I first arrived in Canada, I tried to seek out a dance company that trained full-time professional dancers in my style of dance but at the time, all I came across were companies who worked only during the weekends or for specific events. So in order for me to dance professionally I had to create my own niche,” said Parson.

Parson, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, was inspired to set up the school after he arrived to Canada in the 1990’s to find that there was no professional dance company fitting to his specific style of dance.

His desire to seek out a professional school of performing arts that encompasses Afro-Caribbean dance eventually led to the fruition of Ballet Creole in 1990.

He attributes his sheer dedication and passion for dancing and performing to his family in Trinidad and Tobago. In particular, his mother, Viola Parson, who was a renowned artistic performer in Trinidad during the 1950s and 1960s, was influential to his career as a professional dancer.

“My mother was named the ‘limbo queen’ in Trinidad and she would tour around Japan and other countries for six months at a time, so my life has always been about dancing.”

As a result of his own upbringing, Parson is aware of the significant role that music and dance can play in the development of children and so he has created classes to meet their needs, including Ballet Creole’s summer camp programme.

The camp, which runs from July 4 to July 15, includes everything from hip-hop dance, to storytelling and drumming, and gives children the opportunity to express themselves artistically as well as to socialize in a multicultural and innovative atmosphere.

In speaking about the camp, Parson said “I believe it is beneficial for children as it connects them to cultural expression, heightens their understanding of socialization and improves their physical and creative health.”

The company’s style incorporates an array of dance forms including classical ballet, African, Caribbean, classical Indian, Irish, popular dance, jazz and hip-hop. Parson plays a pivotal role in the choreography for Ballet Creole and he endeavours to incorporate a fusion of cultures in all of the company’s performances.

Since then the company has progressed immensely and Ballet Creole’s professional group of dancers have performed to sold-out audiences at the Harbourfront’s DuMaurier and Fleck Dance theatres in Toronto, as well as theatres in St. Catharines and Hamilton over the past number of years.

Among the company’s acclaimed performances to date are “the Antagonist,” a collection of new and remounted works by some of Canada’s top choreographers including Parson’s “Trouchka,” which is a dance to Stravinsky’s classical score Petrouchka and “Soulful Messiah,” a culturally infused dance to the Quincy Jones R&B rendition of Handel’s Messiah.

It has not all been smooth sailing for Ballet Creole over the past 20 years though. On occasion, they have been forced to leave their premises and relocate to a new home as a result of noise complaints from local residents.

However, Parson is not easily deterred by this. For him it is all part of the journey. It is likely that he and Ballet Creole will continue to “bounce around” for another 20 years yet.

By Lindsay Tsuji

Former mayoral candidate to run for provincial seat. Perry King/Gleaner News

Former Toronto mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson’s name will be back on the ballot, but this time she’s going provincial. Thomson officially launched her campaign as the Liberal candidate for Trinity-Spadina late last month. The Gleaner sat down with Thomson to discuss her nomination, her platform, and why she’s qualified to represent Trinity-Spadina at Queen’s Park.

How does it feel to be the Liberal nominee for Trinity-Spadina?

It feels like coming home. Before that I was sort of in the middle. You try not to be biased either way in publishing, so you try to keep out of the politics. But I looked at it and said, out of all of Toronto where would I want to run? When I first moved to Toronto I moved on to Harbord Street and Howland. It’s a really diverse riding and I love that. That line that we have in Toronto “Diversity, our Strength”— that is so much the case in Trinity-Spadina.

Some reports indicated that you were going to run in the Parkdale-High Park riding. Is there any truth to that?

That was just a rumour; there was no substance of truth to that at all. The big thing was that I had to pay off my mayoral debts. I’ve always said that I wanted to get involved but I just needed to focus on that debt. I didn’t want to get sidetracked with something else before I was ready.

Rosario Marchese has been a favourite in the area for a very long time. How do you plan to compete?

I look around and say, what has he done? What am I going up against? I couldn’t find anything. He’s tried to do things but nothing has worked out for him.

I think it’s so important that the riding does get representation and a voice, and right now they don’t have a voice. Rosie’s been there for 20 years now. I think the community is getting reinvigorated: you can see the change and the young urbanites going into the condos; you can see the new families. There’s a sense of new energy there. In a sense that’s what I represent. I’m a do-er. I’m not somebody that can sit on the sidelines and criticize the government. I’m someone that says okay, what does this riding need and what can we bring to the table?

I’ve campaigned there and canvassed there. I’ve actually gone door-to-door—especially for these young families. I can relate to them; I have a son in junior kindergarten and that’s something they’re not getting from Rosario. Rosario doesn’t even live there, he moved out of the riding. What does that tell you? To me that’s really important. If you care about the riding you have to be there.

What issues are important to you?

Full-day kindergarten, clean energy, and infrastructure. In 2006 the Liberals funded the one piece of subway we’re building now. That’s the direction we should be heading. How do we make the city more workable?

There have been a few controversial decisions made by the provincial Liberal Party—the G20 “fence law” and implementing the HST come to mind. What will you do to capture some non-Liberal believers out there?

Things like the HST, you look at it and overall it’s showing that it’s a good thing. We might have to pay more for some things, but at the end of the day low-income families aren’t being hit as hard. More jobs are being created. I look at it on a more local scale, and ask, is this impacting on businesses, is it helping businesses? Yes, it is. As a business owner myself, I can say the HST is a good thing. Firsthand, as a business owner I’ve read the studies and the studies show that it’s a good thing. There are studies that show that the HST is better for Canada overall.

Why do you think you’re qualified to represent the riding at Queen’s Park?

I studied the platforms of the parties carefully before I made a decision. I’m qualified because I have the experience of ten months of campaigning (as a mayoral candidate). As a business owner, I’ve learned to build consensus and build profitable enterprises. I’m a strong believer in the school of hard knocks and hands-on experiences. I look forward to community building with community groups and leaders.  I also have a great relationship with the councillors at city hall, and I’ll build to create space for the community.

What else should Trinity-Spadina residents hope to see from your platform?

I want to open the idea up about the use of Ontario Place. How do we generate more jobs for people in the community? How do we keep it safe and vibrant in the off-season? Do we need to have the air show in a residential neighbourhood? Could we have it somewhere else? The community needs somebody to hear them. I want to hear all the little issues.

By Katie O’Connor

Peter Bruer has been the manager of the conflict resolution service since 1977. Katie O'Connor/Gleaner News

In a city of small spaces like Toronto, loud and obtrusive neighbours can become more than just a mere annoyance. Conflicts rise as the weather heats up, which is why making nice with them has never been more important.

St. Stephen’s Community House (260 Augusta Ave.) offers a free mediation program for neighbours, housemates, families, and anyone with a conflict in their private life.

The service covers a wide range of issues, from property line arguments to landlord and tenant problems.

“It’s a noise dispute in apartment complexes, it’s the people upstairs who have little kids running around, it’s people shovelling snow onto someone else’s sidewalk,” said manager Peter Bruer. “They are the kind of disputes that don’t get resolved by other means.”

Created in 1985, the program is funded through money from the City of Toronto and the United Way. The service is available to individuals living south of Eglinton Avenue between Victoria Park and the Humber River.

Individuals meet with trained mediators in a neutral location. The mediators work to figure out the root of the conflict, and how it can be solved amicably. “Our process isn’t about who is right or wrong,” said Bruer. “Our belief is that conflict is going to happen, that it’s a part of life.”

Jill Moriarty, interim co-ordinator for the program, said active listening is the most important part of the mediation process.

“You have to give each of the parties the space to be heard,” she said. “It’s very important that they know that they are being heard or understood.”

She said that most people look at mediation as a negotiated settlement, but it’s about finding a solution that’s workable for everyone.

“We don’t just give people their piece of the pie, we try to make the pie big enough so that everybody gets what they want,” said Moriarty.

The program also offers their services for cases that are referred to them by legal clinics and police. Bruer said the service is very successful when people involved in the cases are willing to take part in mediation, but that it can be difficult with cases that are referred to them.

He said that people have to be willing to fix the problem in order for mediation to work. Bruer said they get cases referred to them by legal clinics and the courts, but that if people are unwilling to be there, the mediation often doesn’t work.

He said the cases that get referred to them simply can’t be solved in court and that the program works as an alternative problem-solving method. “It was created partly because the other systems we have—and they are good—but, they are cumbersome. They often just plain don’t work.”

Bruer said the goal of the mediators is to create long-term solutions. “What it does in the long run is create a workable relationship between people.”

Call 416-925-2103 ext. 229 for more information.

By Katie O’Connor

After years of power struggles, the City of Toronto took control of Casa Loma (1 Austin Terrace) from the Kiwanis Club, which has managed the historic castle for almost 75 years.

The city owns Casa Loma, but had contracted out management to the charity since 1937.

In exchange for ending the management contract early, the city will pay the club $1.45 million for artifacts and branding such as the Casa Loma name, and $300,000 in unpaid management fees, said economic development and tourism general manager Mike Williams.

Under the deal, Kiwanis will be able to hold weekly meetings free of charge and up to five charitable events a year.

The city plans to run the facility for 12 to 18 months while it holds community consultations regarding the property.

The deal is just another twist in a tale that has, at times, seen the city and the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma pitted against each other.

The takeover comes only three years after Kiwanis signed a 20-year contract with the city.

The relationship took a turn for the worse in the summer of 2010 when the city blamed Kiwanis for failing to complete renovations.

Former Mayor David Miller also unsuccessfully demanded the removal of Richard Wozenilek, chair of the Casa Loma board, because of conflict of interest issues.

Asked whether he thought the events of 2010 had anything to do with the contract being ended early, Wozenilek was adamant.

“Without question, it was nothing to do with these current negotiations,” he said. “The economic reality of the situation in our present day has dictated that this is the best eventuality for the castle.”

Wozenilek said he was sad to see the city take over management of the castle, but called it a “win-win” for both the city and the Kiwanis Club.

Over the past few years the castle has struggled to pull in visitors, and was hit especially hard by the recession.

“It’s not a place that Torontonians use to play, to experience culture, to eat, and so on. It could be so much more,” said Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Pauls), a non-voting member of the Casa Loma board.

Mihevc said the castle needs a management board that understands heritage, tourism, special events, and property management.

“We have to acknowledge from the 1930s to the present era, Kiwanis did a great job keeping the place together. However, they are a social service club, focused on music,” said Mihevc. “We need to make this unpolished jewel shine better in our city.”

Trelawny Howell, the great-grandniece of Sir Henry Pellatt, the Toronto businessman who built the mansion, called the deal one-sided and said that the city was giving massive payouts for mismanagement.

The city should not be paying for the artifacts and trademarks, because they never actually belonged to Kiwanis, Howell said.

Mihevc called the payouts a “sweetener” used to make the deal happen.“Kiwanis saw the writing on the wall, but also needed to have their historical contribution to the castle valued, and this is how it expressed itself in this.”

The deal was rubber-stamped by the city’s executive committee on June 14.

By Síle Cleary

UTS, pictured here with students gathered outside for a Jane’s Walk in 2010, will be searching for a new home. Beth Macdonell/Gleaner News

The University of Toronto School (UTS, 371 Bloor St. W.) board is eager to enter into discussions with their academic partner, the University of Toronto, in order to clarify the terms of the school’s relocation plan.

Last month the UTS board was formally notified by U of T that their $48 million refurbishment proposal for their Bloor Street premises had been rejected and that they must relocate by 2021.

“Our current position is that we plan on entering into discussions with U of T on the terms of the relocation plan. We need a clear agreement before anything is finalized,” said David Rounthwaite, chair of UTS building committee.

Councillor Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina) reiterated the call for discussions to take place between the two academic institutions. “At the moment we need the UTS and U of T to get together and explore the options,” he said.

“UTS students and family members are a valuable part of the community and I’ll move heaven and earth to keep the school as close as possible to its current location.”

UTS has been a part of the community since 1910, and was established as
a kind of laboratory for U of T’s faculty of education and a testing ground for student teachers.

According to Rounthwaite, the current building on Bloor is structurally sound but has electrical and plumbing issues.

The UTS redevelopment proposal plans to maintain the heritage façade of the building while making significant improvements to the interior, such as the building of new athletic facilities—including two fully-equipped gyms, a 25-metre swimming pool, new heating, air conditioning, and other infrastructure improvements.

After reviewing the UTS proposal, the university informed the school that they would require the entire UTS property to meet their own future academic space needs.

U of T communications officer Laurie Stephens said that the university didn’t want to encumber itself, as they have significant space issues on the St. George’s campus.

“The UTS site on the St. George campus is a valuable site for U of T and we felt that we needed that site for academic purposes,” she said.

While UTS is disappointed that they cannot remain in their current residence, they are confident that they will find a suitable location within the time frame. “I’m positive that we can relocate just as successfully as other institutes have done in the past. Of course, we will lose the connection with the building, but UTS is a living organism,” said Rounthwaite.

The University has said it will assist UTS in the site search process and help with the acquisition, including providing financial and other support.

“We have indicated to UTS that they have ten years to find a new location with the possibility of an extension after the ten years, if required,” said Stephens.

Jennet Poffenroth, teacher and leader of the Solar Inventors Club at Hillcrest. Julia Manoukian/GLEANER NEWS

By Julia Manoukian

The Toronto District School Board has jumped on the green bandwagon with a long-term solution that seemingly kills two birds with one stone, but the upcoming provincial election could bring all this to a halt.

Unveiled May 19, and born at Hillcrest Community School (44  Hilton Ave.), a groundbreaking partnership between the TDSB and AMP Solar Group Inc. would see solar panels installed on school roofs all across Toronto, and the energy generated sold to local consumers. The deal is believed to be the largest of its kind in North America, potentially worth $1.1 billion in green electricity over the 20-year contract.

Hillcrest was the site of the pilot project. For the past three years, the school has sported 52 solar panels on its rooftop. As an environmental leader in the Annex, the school has used the panels as a source of clean energy.

“Up on our roof I think we’re generating more than electricity, more than possible income—we’re actually generating ideas. We’re generating hope, we’re generating imagination, problem solving, and curriculum,” said Jennet Poffenroth, a staff member and leader of the Solar Inventors Club at Hillcrest. This local success became the basis for a new deal and a precursor for the expansion of solar energy in Toronto schools.

The board reported AMP is responsible for repairing 42 per cent of its roofing portfolio and installing solar photovoltaic panels on these rooftops, at a total cost of $120 million dollars. The 66 megawatts of solar energy generated annually from the panels will be sold to the distribution grid for use by Ontario consumers. This is enough to power 6,000 Toronto homes, and will offset a significant component of the board’s $3-billion backlog in basic repairs.

“Our rooftops represent a major untapped sustainable-energy resource,” said Chris Bolton, chair of the TDSB. “By installing solar panels on them, Toronto communities will get clean green energy, 450 schools will receive much-needed roof repairs, and TDSB students will experience an unparalleled real-life lesson in sustainable living.”

Despite the board’s claims that AMP is responsible for all project costs, many members, including Mr. Bolton, remain apprehensive about the deal. “I think it could be considered to be almost too good to be true,” he said at the unveiling. The installments also remain contingent on Feed-in Tariff (FIT) applications, which pay people or institutions for the renewable energy they produce, to be approved by the Ontario Power Authority.

However, with the upcoming provincial election this October, the plan may not survive a change in parliament. On May 10, Ontario Progressive Conservative leader, Tim Hudak, promised in a speech to the Ontario Power Summit to scrap the program in order to prevent Ontario families from paying unsustainable subsidies on their hydro bills for the next 20 years.

“The problem is we still don’t know how many of these projects will be connected to the lack of transparency of this program,” said Progressive Conservative candidate for Trinity-Spadina Mike Yen. “Renewable energy must be at a price Ontario families can afford.”

Regardless of any scepticism, Poffenroth’s optimistic attitude not only inspired her students, who crafted and showcased solar-powered cars, but it echoed through the room, evident by the lasting applause. “It’s a win-win for everyone involved,” commented Chris Spence, director of education at the TDSB. “This school board led the way to realizing a greener future with our highly acclaimed EcoSchools program—now we are doing it again.”

After the company recovers the cost of the roof repairs, the TDSB will collect 14.5 per cent of the energy revenue. Once the contract is over, the school board will have full ownership of the panels.

Although the prospect of a Conservative majority may jeopardize the future of this historic deal, it seems a new and lasting light has been shed on the future generation. “We really learn the difference we can make to help the environment,” said Luke Brenton, a Grade 6 student at Hillcrest Community School and member of the Social Inventors Club, “because solar energy is the future.”

By Emina Gamulin

A recent immigrant just got a job in Toronto and wants to celebrate. She walks into a convenience store and looks for some beer. Unable to find any, she asks the clerk behind the counter where she might find some. “We don’t sell beer here.”

Confused, she walks out and spots a bar nearby. She greets the bartender, and orders six Coronas.

“Six?”

“Yes, six.”

“Are you waiting for friends?”

“No. They are all for me.”

“I can only serve you one at a time,” says the bartender, bottle opener in hand. “I’ll keep the rest in the fridge for now.”

“No, don’t open it! I’m not drinking them here, I’m taking them back to my apartment.”

After getting an explanation that this is illegal, the young woman leaves the bar in search of something called a “Beer Store,” more confused than ever.

Barring Islamic states, Ontario has some of the strictest liquor laws in the world, baffling to the majority of newcomers and tourists who come to our city.

On June 1, new provincial liquor regulations were passed, relaxing these stringent laws. Weddings can now serve guests until 2 a.m., servers will be able to carry alcoholic beverages between licensed areas, and drinkers at festivals will no longer be cordoned off to special tents. Bartenders who want to give you a free drink on your birthday (already common practise) will now have the law on their side.

While these changes are a step in the right direction, they also point to how much more we as a society need to grow up when it comes to drinking.

The Gleaner would like to see a community where people can buy beer at the convenience store, a couple can enjoy a bottle of chardonnay at Christie Pits, and bartenders can knock back a well-deserved cold one after finishing their shift. We would like to see neighbourhoods where entrepreneurs do not have to pretend that they are opening up a restaurant to get licensed, and the AGCO is made up, at least partially, of people with know-how around drinking culture.

If this sounds like the beginnings of the destruction of our social fabric, it is only because we have been conditioned to believe so. Ontario liquor laws, at various points in the last century, have seen everything from the outright ban of liquor, to more “relaxed” rules formed as a result of the lingering temperance movement in the province. The LCBO was created after prohibition was overturned and was given a mandate to know “exactly who is drinking and how much.” As late as 1962, people were required to fill out cards when they went to the liquor store (those deemed as buying too frequently would get blackballed), and women were not allowed to drink in the presence of unmarried men.

While Puritan values have loosened their stranglehold on other aspects of our society, their fingerprints can still be seen all over our current booze laws.

Those who are unconvinced need only look at examples from all over the world that show no correlation between relaxed alcohol laws and drinking problems. For example, in the overwhelming majority of Europe, drinking ages are lower (only Iceland’s is higher), last calls, if they do exist, are much later, and drinking in the street is perfectly acceptable. The public drunkenness one might expect to see because of permissive drinking laws rarely shows its face, as it is controlled via social mores.

We have four months until the provincial election. The Gleaner encourages you to tell your candidates what kind of liquor laws you want. Lets finally put the Puritan age behind us.