May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on NEWS: Wiener’s Home Hardware celebrates a century of service (Provincial Election 2022)
The venerable institution remains in the Wiener family
Marty Wiener accepts his plaque celebrating 75 years in the business in 1997, surrounded by the Wiener family. COURTESY WIENER’S HOME HARDWARE
By Fox Oliver
What’s the secret to keeping a family retail business running for a century? Marty Wiener is the one to ask, as his family’s business, Wiener’s Home Hardware (432 Bloor St. W.) has been open for one hundred years and has been run by three generations of the Wiener family. As he approaches retirement and gets ready to sell the business to his daughter Melanie, Marty has taken time to reflect on the changes he’s seen on Bloor Street over the decades and the key to his success in managing the business through it all—consideration and attention to detail.
Hyman and Ida Weiner founded Wiener’s Hardware in 1922. While Hyman was doing plumbing installations in the neighbourhood, Ida ran the store. As their business grew, so did their family. Hyman’s youngest son, Gerry Wiener, started working at the store after high school and eventually took over the business in the early 1960s. He joined a new cooperative, known as Home Hardware, and changed the name of the business to Wiener’s Home Hardware. Gerry married and raised a family, just like his parents had done years before.
Marty Wiener, Gerry’s oldest son, began working weekends and summers in the store in 1968, when he was 13. After graduating from university in 1977 with a degree in microbiology and genetics, Marty began working full time at Wiener’s. In 1998, Marty expanded the store into the building next door, just in time for its 75th anniversary.
Marty says that the biggest change he’s seen in the over 54 years he has worked at Wiener’s is that streets dense with retail stores have turned into areas packed with restaurants. This has made it more difficult to draw customers into the store during the day, he says. Marty adds that there has also been a change in the customers. Many people are just as sociable and friendly as they were 50 years ago, but there are more customers who “want what they want, when they want [it], and how they want it.” While he says he can meet their demands, the tone of the interactions has changed, and not necessarily for the better.
After working full time at Wiener’s for seven years, Melanie is excited to finally take over the business. She’ll be the first woman to run the business since her great-grandmother. Melanie says she plans to keep the core values of customer service the same but intends to give the store a greater online presence to adapt to changes in modern retail. Melanie first remembers going to Wiener’s on her days off school as a kid and would have fun running around the store and helping her dad at work. Now she shares the same special experience with her own five-year-old daughter, carrying the family tradition forward yet another generation.
Canadian journalist and author Stuart McLean wrote a piece describing his visits to Wiener’s titled Hardware Stores Have All the Answers. McLean wrote: “Going for hardware is like going for water at the village well. No matter when you go, there is always someone there with something to say, and sooner or later everyone you know drops by.”
Toronto poet Dennis Lee also wrote a poem about Wiener’s called A Trip to the Hardware, which playfully describes just how committed the staff are to ensuring the best possible service for their many customers.
With all the dedicated staff and customers of Wiener’s in mind, the Bloor Annex Business Improvement Area (BIA), Annex Residents’ Association, and Harbord Village Residents’ Association are hosting a block party to celebrate Wiener’s 100th anniversary. On June 18, a portion of Howland Ave. will be closed for a ceremony marking the exact day that Wiener’s Hardware first opened 100 years ago. Brian Burchell, head of the Bloor Annex BIA, said that this block party and ceremony will express the community’s gratitude to the Wiener family for keeping their treasured institution alive for so many years.
Come join the community in celebrating 100 years of Wiener’s Home Hardware and the welcoming environment they’ve provided ever since June 18, 1922. You might even learn a thing or two about the Annex’s rich history.
Comments Off on NEWS: Wiener’s Home Hardware celebrates a century of service (Provincial Election 2022)Tags:Annex · News
May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on NEWS: Candidates clash over climate platforms (Provincial Election 2022)
PC candidate a no show, parties unite in opposition to Ford
By Carly Penrose
Only three of the University-Rosedale candidates running in the Ontario election this spring were present for the University-Rosedale All Candidates Provinical Election Debate held Tuesday, May 10.
Andrea Barrack for the Liberals, Jessica Bell, incumbent MPP for the NDP, and Dianne Saxe of the Green Party debated questions from the audience. Progressive Conservative candidate Carl Qiu was not present. One of the moderators, Rory Gus Sinclair, said organizers made multiple attempts to invite Qiu but received no response.
Topics covered were wide-ranging, but major themes included climate change, housing policy, and health care in Ontario.
The event was held over zoom and was organized by a collective of community organizations including residents’ associations and business improvement areas. At its peak, the event was attended by 85 community members.
Climate
A major focus of the debate was the transition to clean and renewable energy. Ontario is one of the only provinces where emissions have increased since 2017.
All three candidates pointed to Ford’s plan to increase investments in natural gas, which experts say could increase Ontario’s emissions by 300 to 400 per cent over the next decade. “It’s a totally stupid policy,” said Saxe.
Both Bell and Barrack were strongly opposed to expanding the gas grid and advocated for moving away from fossil fuels. They mainly support carbon pricing, active transportation, fewer cars on the road, and retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency.
Saxe was critical of the other parties’ climate plans, saying “the Liberal plan is about an eighth the size of what we need, the NDP plan financing doesn’t make sense.”
The Green’s plan, said Saxe, does acknowledge the importance of reforming the transportation and building industries, but goes further because it includes a legally binding climate budget that would stipulate a set amount of carbon emissions that the province could not exceed.
Saxe also said that Greens plan to increase carbon prices to $300 per tonne by 2032 to disincentivize large polluters. This would amount to a 600 per cent increase in carbon prices compared to the current federal rate which is at $50 per tonne.
Affordable Housing
All candidates expressed a need for increased housing supply and government policies that would make living in Ontario more affordable.
Bell, who said “the NDP is the working people’s party,” advocated for increasing the minimum wage to $20 per hour.
She also advocated for building homes on public lands and for government-run housing. “It is absolutely vital that the government get back into the operation of building affordable homes,” said Bell.
Barrack agreed that the minimum wage should be increased, though the Liberal plan involves an increase to $16 per hour, with region-specific wage rates based on the cost of living.
The Liberal’s plan, said Barrack, includes a promise to build “1.5 million new homes in the next 10 years,” including “138,000 new, deeply affordable homes” with supportive housing and units for Indigenous peoples.
The Green Party is also calling for “100,000 new, deeply affordable homes plus 60,000 supportive homes and 22,000 indigenous owned and run units specifically for indigenous people,” said Saxe.
Saxe said reliance on fossil fuels is driving up the cost of living and that increased efficiency, promised by the Green Party, would significantly reduce living costs. She also pointed to the Green Party’s promise to double ODSP rates, if elected.
Health Care
Barrack, who spent 10 years working in community health care, said the Liberals “will ensure that we have an additional 15 funded community health centers.” She said this would increase patient access to a primary care doctor and a team of professionals, while “building community cohesion.”
Bell said Ontario has the lowest per capita health-care funding of any province in Canada and that an NDP government would change that.
She added that more needs to be done to attract and retain medical professionals and family doctors in the province.
Saxe advocated for community-based wellness hubs and patient-centered care with an increased focus on mental health support. She said the climate crisis is a major cause of health problems, so decarbonization would also reduce health-care costs in the long term.
Bell also promised an NDP government would repeal Bill 124 which limits possible salary increases for public sector employees, including nurses and other health-care workers, to one per cent per year.
Other issues such as improvements to long-term care (less privatization), maintaining, but not increasing, nuclear energy facilities, and electoral reform, were largely points of agreement among the candidates.
All three candidates had progressive policies and presented themselves in opposition to the Ford government. This stance would appeal to voters in the riding since they have not voted Progressive Conservative since 1995.
May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on CHATTER: Inaugural Artisan Studio Tour lands on Harbord St. (Provincial Election 2022)
Are you ready to take a stroll along Harbord Street? On June 4, the Harbord St. Artisan Studio Tour will kick off with an array of artisans out on the sidewalks between Borden Street and Sussex Mews.
The self-guided walking tour will take place between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and will feature artists, restaurants, and musicians. Tables will be set up outside the artisan studios to display their artwork. Expect to see brilliant clay sculptures from Clay Design, unique pieces from the Rock Store, and abstract art from Spence Gallery. A soon-to-open studio for a glassblower is located at 150 Harbord Street. Students from Central Technical School will display their work, and there will be street art venues, musicians and childrens’ face painters. Restaurants will be preparing special food, including Harbord Bakery, a local favourite.
This event is being hosted by the Harbord Village Residents’ Association (HVRA), the Harbord Street BIA, as well as Wright Real Estate. Harbord Street BIA chair, Neil Wright, explained that this event is being held to “kick-start the economy” of the area after closures due to COVID-19. Wright said that the neighbourhood has always been a creative hub, but recently he’s noticed an influx of artisan stores to the area. After seeing the success of the annual Great Harbord Street Pumpkin Festival, an event hosted by the HVRA the day after Halloween, he wanted to see a similar community gathering in the spring to celebrate these artisans and welcome the warm weather.
—Fox Oliver/Gleaner News
Comments Off on CHATTER: Inaugural Artisan Studio Tour lands on Harbord St. (Provincial Election 2022)Tags:Annex · News
May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on CHATTER: Juxtapose is helping Ukrainians with patron support (Provincial Election 2022)
Annex gift shop Juxtapose has begun selling gift bags to help provide aid to those in Ukraine. FOX OLIVER/GLEANER NEWS
As conflict rages on between Russia and Ukraine, Annex business Juxtapose is doing their part to help Ukraine.
For years, Juxtapose, a gift shop and boutique located at 430 Bloor St. W., has been offering a gift-wrapping service to raise money for charities. Customers can bring in gifts purchased elsewhere and staff at Juxtapose will wrap them for a fee based on their size. The proceeds from this gift-wrapping service are donated to a charity, which changes every year. Past charities included Operation Smile, Second Harvest Canada, Women in Motion, and Black Lives Matter Foundation.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Juxtapose decided to donate their charitable funds to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF). However, this year they are stepping up their fundraising tactics. Since the start of April, Juxtapose has been selling gift bags to customers, and one hundred per cent of the proceeds from these sales are donated to the CUF. These gift bags contain various odds and ends from the store such as soap, candles, jewelry and reusable tote bags. This campaign will run until all the bags are sold, and while prices for the gift bags range from $5 to $45, Juxtapose is also happy to pass on any additional donations from customers directly to the CUF.
Founded in 1994, the CUF provides commercial, technical, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Even before the war, donations of medicine, food, and hygienic kits were vital for those who lived in martyred cities in Ukraine. Now, the CUF is depending on donations more than ever to assist Ukrainians who have been displaced and endangered by the war, including over 14 million refugees, according to the United Nations, who have been displaced by the conflict.
With this in mind, Juxtapose continues their charity campaign for the CUF and invites shoppers to visit the store and purchase their very own bag of goodies.
—Fox Oliver/Gleaner News
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May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Buck-a-fare just another sound bite (Provincial Election 2022)
Doug Ford has lowered the discourse for campaign-time politics by sucking another party into a vacuum of sorts. The PCs have given free licence plate renewals and are promising a five-cent drop in the gasoline tax—if reelected.
The Liberals have countered with a buck-a-fare public transit plan. It feels like we are at the CNE with hucksters competing for attention.
Clearly, the Liberals under Steven Del Duca are modelling their buck-a-fare proposal in response to Ford’s ill-fated buck-a-beer promise from 2018. In the Liberal plan, all municipally funded transit agencies, the GO service (both trains and buses), plus the Ontario Northland transit services, would see one-way fares reduced to $1 until 2024.
The PC beer promise, had it come to fruition, would have likely given consumers crappy beer for a loonie. It’s not clear what social or economic benefits that would have brought society, but it’s not a pretty picture. Thankfully, Ford had not bothered consulting with the breweries expected to deliver the price break before he promised it on their behalf. That’s typical Ford behaviour—over promise, under deliver, and fail to consult in the first place.
The Liberal’s buck-a-fare plan hints at serious policy but it’s more of a sexy slogan than a well-conceived plan. Beware of shiny objects.
There are several problems with the Liberal plan. First, it’s essentially what Ford is doing. Ford is writing cheques to drivers, with the elimination of sticker fees, and lowering tolls on provincially controlled highways. Del Duca is writing cheques (through a price reduction) to commuters on transit. They are each buying votes with money from ALL Ontarians.
Second, though the Liberals say it will cost the province only $710 million, it appears it will cost much more based on prepandemic ridership stats published by the TTC. Even if seventy-five per cent of 2019’s ridership returns, the province will be on the hook for $856 million payable to the TTC for their losses in the discount fare program, and that’s just Toronto.
Further, the plan is unfair as it favours those with longer commutes. For example, a Toronto resident riding the TTC every weekday to work would save $1170 a year.
A Kitchener resident commuting 100 km to Toronto, who normally pays $38.80 for their two-way daily commute would now pay just a toonie, and they will save $9568 a year! Not a dime of those savings will go to make transit a better option. It would be a mistake to conclude that the buck-a-ride proposal is about funding transit, it is purely a subsidy to riders.
Perhaps the most damning part of the Liberal plan is the fact that it is so fleeting—until 2024. An 18-month discount period will not likely lead to a meaningful change in behaviour.
In Germany, where fares were severely discounted or eliminated, studies show that new riders tended to be those who would have walked or cycled. People who commute with their cars do so for a variety of complex reasons beyond cost. It’s already much cheaper to take the GO Train than drive from Kitchener to Toronto and back, but thousands still drive.
The buck-a-fare plan, should it come to fruition, will cost taxpayers over $1 billion and will not likely produce a measurable climate benefit. It’s better than Ford’s free licence stickers and lower road tolls, but not by much.
May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on FORUM: Addressing homelessness and housing challenges in Toronto (Provincial Election 2022)
Province finally steps in with $27 million
By Mike Layton
On any given night in Toronto, close to 10,000 people are experiencing homelessness, and the provincial budget announced on April 28 did nothing to help the problem.
Doug Ford’s election budget offered little to help municipalities address the housing crisis and left them on the hook for operating funds, despite their repeated calls for action and assistance.
The City of Toronto has a homelessness crisis—one that has only worsened over the last two years through the pandemic and is getting worse with the exponentially rising costs of housing in Toronto.
Governments on all levels have failed to invest in creating and operating affordable and supportive housing.
There are 80,000 people on the waiting list for subsidized housing.
Shelters are full every night and encampments have become a widespread reality across Toronto as a preferred method of housing.
Pandemic emergency shelters, intended to be temporary, are being used long-term in the absence of alternatives, and the average number of deaths of people experiencing homelessness increased from 2.8 per week in 2020 to 4.2 in 2021.
Despite all this troubling data, the provincial government released an initial budget on April 28 that failed to provide funding for much-needed housing initiatives and homelessness intervention.
On May 4, with a report set to come before executive committee recommending that council reiterate our request for funding to the province, it was announced that the city had secured $27 million from the province.
This funding is required for the city to move people into the new, supportive, permanent housing we are creating, while maintaining our existing base shelter system for short-term emergency use, including services related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toronto is ready and willing to build supportive, affordable housing now.
We have set clear targets and ambitious goals through the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan to increase the supply of affordable rental and supportive housing to help Toronto’s most vulnerable and marginalized residents, and we have made significant progress towards achieving these goals on our own.
Since early 2020, the city has moved more than 10,000 individuals previously experiencing chronic homelessness into permanent housing, opened approximately 770 new supportive homes, and expanded rental support programs like Rent Bank to help keep people in their homes.
We know that providing good quality, safe, affordable housing is the right way to help people out of chronic homelessness.
Not only is it the compassionate, obvious option to improve the health, social, and economic status of an individual, but it is also the most economical solution for the city.
The average cost of operating a single shelter bed is $40,000 a year—and that number has nearly doubled during the pandemic.
Additionally, individuals experiencing homelessness are hospitalized up to five times more often than the general public, and for much longer, with an average monthly cost of more than $12,000 per person. Meanwhile, the cost of providing supportive housing is estimated to be, on average, $2000 per month, per person (or $24,000 annually).
Permanent, affordable, and supportive housing means significant cost savings for all levels of government through reduced use of these services.
While we have made great strides in achieving our housing goals as a city and have more capital funding from federal agreements, we cannot do this on our own.
Addressing the homelessness and housing challenges that Toronto is facing requires significant investment from all levels of government, including operating support from the province, a request that had remained outstanding for years.
The recent funding announcement, while long overdue, is a welcome commitment that will assist us in our goal to house all residents and provide them with the stability they need to improve their lives.
Mike Layton is city councillor for Ward 11, University–Rosedale.
May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on GREENINGS: Vote this election (Provincial Election 2022)
A vote for the oil men is a vote for genocide; it is actively acknowledging our ambivalence about the suffering of others
By Terri Chu
We live in a sea of green, red, and orange signs here in University-Rosedale, and for all the things we might disagree on, our neighbours agree on a few key points: climate change is real, vaccines work, science can move us forward.
In other ridings across the country, the federal conservatives hold proportionate power. Here in Ontario we see Doug Ford promising to build a new highway, destroying fragile ecosystems, encroaching upon the Greenbelt, and encouraging more fossil fuel consumption; meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre keeps droning on about cryptocurrencies.
In India, people are facing temperatures over 40 C. In this kind of heat, a human being can no longer sweat to cool off, and a healthy adult male will die inside of six hours—never mind what might happen to a child or elderly person.
A vote for the oil men is a vote for genocide; it is actively acknowledging our ambivalence to the death and suffering of others. At this point, we can no longer say that we didn’t know. Historians will rightly remember that we didn’t care. We didn’t care when our fellow humans suffered from horrific heat or starvation—at least not enough to consider systemic changes that might inconvenience our capitalist ideals. Future generations of children will read about us the same way we read about everyday Germans in the 1930s and wonder, “How could they?”
Little will they appreciate that we tried. And every step of the way we failed in the face of a system designed to protect the wealthy. It is a system designed to overwhelm us. Those of you who regularly read my columns might have noticed a darker tone over the last few years. In the early days, I used to work so hard and thought we could do this if we just convinced enough people. Now, less naïve, I see the incredible special interests that would rather see my children die of climate change-induced starvation than have to explain lower quarterly profits. Every night when I tuck my children into bed, I am overwhelmed by the grief that comes with knowing they might not live long enough to see old age—all thanks to a small, but powerful cabal of men whose entire identities are tied to resource exploitation.
A wise professor once told me, “It doesn’t matter that what you do is insignificant, it’s still important that you do it.” I have never forgotten. I must still soldier on and do what I can to stop this climate catastrophe for my children, for your children. We must all soldier on despite the grief.
This election we must do more than vote. We are lucky enough in this riding that we can vote with our conscience. For me, that means supporting Ontario’s former Environmental Commissioner, Dianne Saxe—the one Doug Ford fired almost as soon as he took office.
I don’t think anyone understands the path to decarbonization the way she does. We still have to do more. If you can, find a swing riding and donate to the non-PC candidate. We have to keep doing this every election and at every level of government.
We can no longer allow the pro-genocide cabal to dictate policy at every level. When the Liberals or NDP go back to their old ways and support pipelines in the name of the economy or jobs, we have to remind them that there will be neither if we’re all dead. It is also past time that we changed our first-past-the-post system so the minority can no longer control the fate of the majority.
Treat every election like you’re fighting for life—our children’s lives, Indian lives, African lives. History will judge us harshly if we don’t.
Terri Chu is an engineer committed to practical environmentalism. This column is dedicated to helping the community reduce energy and distinguish environmental truths from myths.
May 17th, 2022 · Comments Off on ON THE COVER: The Birds of Bloor have landed (May 2022)
According to Briar De Lange, Executive Director of the Bloor Yorkville BIA, the BIA commissioned this installation as it “wanted to deliver a whimsical, fresh, spring-like display for its sidewalk planting beds.” LISA LOMAX/GLEANER NEWS
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PROPOSED: Developer’s rendering of the tower. COURTESY BDP QUADRANGLE
By Fox Oliver
A proposed 37-storey highrise in the heart of the Annex could drastically alter the Bloor and Spadina intersection. On November 8, 2021, developer First Capital proposed the construction of a building at 320, 328, and 332 Bloor St. W.
Designed by architecture firm BDP Quadrangle, the building will have 628 sq. metres of commercial space, 377 residential units, 61 parking spots and 447 bicycle spaces. There will be a new public green space, as well as a path connecting Bloor St. W. with Paul Martel Park.
THEN: Scotiabank at the northeast corner of Bloor and Spadina in 1972. Courtesy City of Toronto Archives
On the proposed site there are currently three mixed-use buildings which house over a dozen businesses and offices. This development will not only displace these businesses, but it will reduce the commercial space from approximately 2000 sq. metres to 628 sq. metres (roughly one third of the size).
There are seven other developments close to the proposed building at 320 Bloor St. W. At 350, 316, and 300 Bloor St. W., there are four highrises in development, as well as one at 145 St. George St. A 23-storey University of Toronto residence is under construction at 700 Spadina Ave., as is an 11-storey purpose-built rental building at 666 Spadina Ave. The International Estonian Centre, KESKUS, held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 8 at 9 Madison Ave. Greater population density at this intersection will increase the number of pedestrians in the area, including in Spadina Station. Sidewalk crowding, due to more pedestrians, can negatively affect the experience of walking through an area, while simultaneously damaging commerce.
NOW: April 2022, the soon to be demolished retail strip includes Scotiabank, Pizza Pizza, and Fresh. FOX OLIVER/GLEANER NEWS
To many people, replacing these small businesses with highrises feels very damaging to the community. Goodness Me! Natural Food Market (formerly Noah’s Natural Foods) is one of the businesses located on the proposed site. Owner, Sarshad Sahim, is worried that too many towers will damage the unique culture of the Annex. She said that the food market, in operation since 1984, is well “established within the community. People keep coming back because they have history, and their parents went there years before them.”
If the development goes ahead, Sahim would like current businesses to have the option of returning to their original locations. At a community meeting, Chris Atkins of First Capital stated that, “given where we [First Capital] are in the [development] process, there have not been discussions with potential tenants or users of that space.”
In response to questions about the building, Atkins said that the residential units would likely be rental units, as opposed to condo units, although he said this could change as the building plan undergoes further revisions.
According to the City of Toronto affordable housing costs 30 per cent or less of before-tax monthly income. As of 2021, for one-bedroom units (one-person households at or below the 60th percentile income) this value was $1090 per month, compared to the average monthly rent of $1980 for a one-bedroom apartment in the Annex. Although representatives from First Capital said that they would engage in discussions about affordable housing, there is no mention of these units in any of the building application documents.
Councillor Mike Layton (Ward 11, University-Rosedale) stated that while the city will continue to negotiate with the developer for the best possible deal for residents, it “cannot force the developer to provide affordable housing.” After repeated attempts by the Gleaner to contact First Capital regarding their plans for affordable housing, they did not reply.
At a community meeting, Layton said that Toronto is experiencing an affordability housing crisis and that developments are important. He believes, however, that “just adding density for the sake of density will not help.” He stressed the importance of looking at how a new development “interacts with the street, the local amenities” and how it can “reinforce what’s great about our communities.” This process involves appropriate and thoughtful use of the commercial space at ground level.
An interesting city bylaw explains why this development has been capped at 37 storeys. The city’s Official Plan states that views of the spire of the former Knox Church, 1 Spadina Cres., must not be obstructed.
A pedestrian looking north from the College and Spadina intersection must be able to clearly see the spire, as well as have an unobstructed view behind it. This 800 metre long “view corridor” restricts the heights of all buildings within it, limiting changes that can be made to this development.
If this project is approved, it will certainly shape the future of this intersection and the surrounding area. Currently, city planning staff are working with the developer to solve preliminary issues, and they will update the community once these have been resolved.
May 17th, 2022 · Comments Off on NEWS: PCs pick venture capitalist for University-Rosedale (May 2022)
Carl Qiu seeks to attract youth vote
In 2018, Qiu was elected president of Ontario PC youth, a position he held until 2019. COURTESY CARL QIU
By Carly Penrose
The Progressive Conservatives have an uphill battle in University-Rosedale in the upcoming provincial election. The district has been a longtime NDP and Liberal stronghold, but Carl Qiu, a venture capital associate, has decided to take up the fight as a member of Doug Ford’s PCs. Qiu hopes to be the first candidate to turn the riding blue in over twenty years.
Qiu was two years old when his parents immigrated to Canada and settled in University-Rosedale.
He says that his upbringing—his parents’ hard work to make ends meet—taught him the value of a dollar and reinforced the importance of fiscal responsibility.
Qiu’s education and career path reflect those lessons. He studied business at the University of Toronto and then earned an MBA from the York Schulich School of Business. Over the past four years he worked at major financial institutions in downtown Toronto and recently joined a global venture capital firm.
On his campaign site, Qiu says that by working in the finance and investment industry he has developed an important skill set for managing the Ontario economy and supporting businesses.
Qiu’s top priority is fiscal responsibility and he argues that it should be a major concern for all levels of government.
In interviews, he has said that debt and government spending should be kept to a minimum. He has stated his opposition to some government programs because he says that average Canadians will be left paying for those programs with their taxes, which he says is unfair.
Although he has not released specific platform points, Qiu has said in previous interviews that affordability and climate change are also pressing issues.
He feels, however, that solutions to these problems should not burden individuals, which is what he says other parties have done with initiatives like the carbon tax.
While studying for his undergraduate degree, Qiu shared his public sector ambitions in a 2017 interview conducted by the University of Toronto. Soon after, Qiu became an outspoken advocate and member of the Ontario PC party.
In 2018, Qiu was elected president of Ontario PC youth, a position he held until 2019. In this role, Qiu campaigned for federal and provincial PC candidates.
During the 2019 federal election, Qiu was a regular guest on CBC segments about engaging young voters. Qiu hoped for improved turnout and more excitement about civic and political engagement among youth.
Now, as a candidate himself, his campaign strategy reflects his experience reaching out to younger, first-time voters. In addition to conventional campaign strategies like canvassing and events, Qiu uses social media platforms like TikTok, which makes him unique among his opponents.
His focus on youth voter turnout and his knowledge of issues affecting young working professionals could be assets. Qiu is in his late twenties and is the youngest candidate in the University-Rosedale race by approximately a decade.
He is running in a riding where young people 20 to 29 represent over 22 per cent of the population, according to 2021 census data from Statistics Canada.
There is a common belief that PC policies do not connect with young voters, but Qiu is attempting to change that narrative.
The Gleaner reached out to Carl Qiu for an interview but was informed that his campaign only responds to written questions.
Comments Off on NEWS: PCs pick venture capitalist for University-Rosedale (May 2022)Tags:Annex · News
May 17th, 2022 · Comments Off on CHATTER: Annex Residents’ Association AGM covers pressing issues (May 2022)
The ecological restoriation of Paul Martel Park (formerly Ecology Park) was one of the agenda items at the ARA’s AGM. The park is now home to a Bloor Annex BIA-sponsored mural created by First Nations artists led by local artist Joseph Sagaj. NEILAND BRISSENDEN/GLEANER NEWS
The Annex Residents’ Association (ARA) held their annual general meeting on April 21 via Zoom. Those in attendance included members of the ARA, residents and representatives from development teams, city council and Toronto Police Service. The most notable discussions were about improving safety on Avenue Road, the West Annex Heritage Project, vandalism at St. Alban’s Square and the restoration of Paul Martel Park.
In response to concerns about safety on Avenue Road, the Avenue Road Safety Coalition (ARSC) has teamed up with Brown + Storey Architects to propose significant changes to this area. The ARSC describes Avenue Road, between St. Clair Avenue and Bloor Street, as “a six-lane, high-speed road that is unsafe to pedestrians and cyclists.” The proposed changes would reduce the number of lanes on Avenue Road from six to four and expand the sidewalks from 1.5 to 8.5 metres. The increased space on either side of the road would make room for a linear park or bike lanes. This proposal has not yet been approved by the city.
Sandra Shaul, co-chair of the ARA heritage committee, described the upcoming West Annex Heritage Project. The ARA and the city have collaborated to identify and assess sites for inclusion in the West Annex Heritage Conservation District. Heritage sites are protected from demolition and renovation if the changes harm the heritage value of the property. Property owners can apply for additional funding if the property is damaged or requires maintenance. Shaul stated that heritage conservation is part of maintaining the public realm, and that there is “great merit in doing more designation [of heritage sites].”
One of the longer discussions concerned the destruction of rose bushes at St. Alban’s Square in February, 2022. A concerned citizen felt that their reports about this vandalism had not been taken seriously. Councillor Mike Layton (Ward 11, University-Rosedale) said that the vandal was apprehended but the Crown did not press charges because the damage occurred on Crown land. The concerned resident, who had also maintained the garden, was not satisfied with this update. Representatives from the Toronto Police Service suggested that residents take photos or videos if they notice vandalism and call 911.
Another topic of discussion was the ecological restoration of Paul Martel Park (formerly Ecology Park). Paul Richard, a retired city gardener, has organized a team of Indigenous gardeners to restore the park. He reported that they have received ten weeks of funding which will cover the planting of grasses, flowers, and shrubbery, as well as the restoration of other park features. Richard expressed his gratitude to the community and received a warm reception from members of the ARA.
