Brave entrepreneurs open a restaurant during COVID
Serine Shi amd Nigel Schwartz, seen here in front of their College Street location, have opened a new spot on Bloor Street just west of Spadina Road. The couple have enjoyed much success despite COVID-19 restrictions. MARY AN/GLEANER NEWS
By Mary An
The Daily Dumpling Wonton Co. opened a second location on Bloor Street this October, just as COVID-19’s second wave gathered strength.
“We’ve seen a lot of growth during COVID-19. It seems to be something that people want right now,” says Nigel Schwartz, co-owner of the restaurant.
In the beginning of 2019, Schwartz and his partner Serina Shi, opened their first restaurant on College Street, just east of Ossington Avenue.
The Daily Dumpling Wonton Co. offers freshly made wontons created and prepared by the owners. The dumplings and wontons are filled with different ingredients such as meat or vegetables, but wontons are often round and served with broth.
The Daily Dumpling Wonton Co., offers three different unique sauces to go with their hand-made wontons and numerous side-dishes.
According to Schwartz, the couple started their business with a take-out mind-set. In August 2018, they rented a commercial kitchen space at The Depanneur, where they “did countless rounds of testing recipes.” Two months after nailing the recipe, they started operating as a “virtual kitchen” on UberEats.
Their business plan also included selling their frozen wontons at local grocery stores. Once they opened up their first restaurant, many customers would either take-out or purchase their wontons.
“We weren’t as affected as a sit down or dine-in restaurant in that regard,” Schwartz said. “And we have not experienced a significant drop in our business compared to other restaurants because we have a pretty loyal customer base.”
According to Shi, many people have a special connection to the meals created by the Dumpling Wonton Co.
“The kind of dumpling we serve is specific to Shanghai, where people eat them daily, like a comfort meal,” says Shi.
Shi says she grew up with the scent and taste of wontons, and cooking them has helped her to settle into life away from home.
“When I moved to Canada alone at 16, making wontons became a solo activity that I did to connect back with my family and culture,” she says.
“As a new immigrant to Canada, opening a wonton shop helped me form a strong connection between me and this city, making me feel much more at home in Toronto.”
December 21st, 2020 · Comments Off on FOCUS: Pivoting from the pulpit with new technology (Dec. 2020)
Churches and synagogues ready for on-line services
By Mary An
Nine months into the global pandemic, religious communities have shifted their pulpits onto digital platforms. With Christmas coming, churches seem to be taking the social isolation mandates that limit their ability to connect physically with congregants in stride, while enjoying expanded audiences and in some cases, even surprisingly intimate connections.
In a way, we’re engaging more people because people don’t have to go out of their houses, and they’re coming from far away…So, there’s a blessing
—Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, City Shul
Colin Phillips, Chair of the Board at Trinity St. Paul’s United Church, says having live-streamed and pre-recorded services has helped gain more attention from people in “other places in Canada and the world.” Online streaming has grown audiences for Sunday services to more than 300 people who watch either through social media or the church’s website – although some people seem to be choosing to view the services on other days of the week. This new form of connection also seems to create a new kind of closeness.
Trinity St. Paul’s United Church has opted for an outdoor wishing tree due the lockdown. The Bloor Annex BIA parkette on Major Street is a perfect spot for this popular pop-up. NEILAND BRISSENDEN/GLEANER NEWS
“The randomness and intimacy of Zoom breakout rooms has made for unlikely connections between congregants who might not otherwise talk,” wrote Phillips said in an email to the Annex Gleaner.
Other religious organizations have shared this experience.
“In a way, we’re engaging more people because people don’t have to go out of their houses, and they’re coming from far away,” says Rabbi Elyse Goldstein from City Shul. “We have people coming to our [online] services from Israel, New York, Boston, and Virginia. So, there’s a blessing.”
The weekly celebration of Sabbath days continue through digital platforms as other occasions do, but with some challenge presented by the meaning of those days.
According to Rabbi Goldstein, on the Sabbath, people are meant to “cease from being involved in the commerce of the world,” by taking a day of rest from technology, work, or shopping.
“It’s very personally hard for me, because I don’t have a day of rest,” says Rabbi Goldstein. “But, my congregants like it. They feel taken care of and that’s what’s really important.”
Other creative ways of connecting were seen in September through the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The synagogue held an outdoor drive-in service at Ontario place, where 135 cars arrived, and celebrations were visible on a big screen.
Trinity St. Paul’s United Church also has their doors open with physical distancing measures in place and a maximum of 10 people allowed at any given time within the sanctuary. Activities that create camaraderie, such as cooking food for one another along with their outreach programs, holiday prayers and traditions, after-choir practice, and hosting pageants, will all continue with social distancing measures in place – or they will take place online.
“The pandemic has been a time to live out the old adage that the church is more than a building,” wrote Phillips.
Comments Off on FOCUS: Pivoting from the pulpit with new technology (Dec. 2020)Tags:Annex · Life
Welcome to December, month ten (give or take, depending on what date you track back to) of life in a global pandemic. Understandably, you might be struggling to conjure holiday feelings this month. Let’s remember, however, that it is “always darkest before the dawn,” and that on December 22, the days start getting longer. So let’s find out what the institutions associated with the Bloor St. Culture Corridor have in store.
Keep traditions alive. You can’t go see live music, but you can support musicians so that they can keep playing music and so that one day, when we’re all allowed to sit shoulder to shoulder once again, there will be people to play for us. So if you are into Christmas traditions, be sure to purchase tickets for A Tafelmusik Christmas. This event brings members of the Tafelmusik choir and orchestra together for the first time in 2020, and will see them perform a joyous chorus and tender chorales from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio paired with a radiant chorus from Charpentier’s Christmas Pastorale. Ticket holders will have access to the concert for 48 hours following the broadcast date on December 12 at 8pm EST.
Enjoy riffs on tradition. Register to enjoy Electric Messiah, a full-length music video that reflects the city of Toronto as it is today with a feast of musical styles ranging from jazz, to soul and hip-hop. Included, of course is a re-imagining of Handel’s Messiah, brought to you free by Soundstreams on December 17. This event is free.
Connect. If you are a senior feeling isolated, the Miles Nadal JCC has set up a program to help you feel less alone. The community centre hosts a bi-weekly seniors support group led by Zoe Levitt, a trained social worker who specializes in working with older people and their families, and who is passionate about helping people work through social, emotional and physical challenges that may be acting as a barrier to the life they want to live.
Learn. Brushing up on your French is easy through the Alliance Francaise. Their Frantastique program sends play-based French lessons to your inbox DAILY regardless of your fluency level.
Give. Want to help keep an important Bloor/Annex cultural institution open? Buy a brick and help A Different Booklist Cultural Centre (ADBCC) move to its new location in the new Westbank Development. With a minimum $100 donation, your name will be engraved in a legacy brick at the ADBCC for all to see.
Get Outside (while staying inside). Enjoy a descriptive audio tour of Royal Ontario Museum’s winning Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. This is the 56th year of the competition, and it brings photographs from around the world to the ROM. There are 13 intriguing stops on the tour, the only problem being that before getting too far in – you’ll be so keen to see the photos that you’ll purchase a membership at the ROM.
Plan to shake things up in 2021. A better world is possible. Here’s hoping 2021 allows us out of the house long enough to re-shape it. For endless inspiration on the work that has been done and will continue, for stories of visionaries, daring leaders and joyful change, check out the streaming line-up at Hot Docs. Watch First We Eat, a story about a family in the Yukon that bans all store bought groceries for a whole year; or I am Greta, to get up close and personal with teen climate icon; or Rock & Roll President, the story of how a late night bottle of scotch with Greg Allman brought Jimmy Carter to the Whitehouse.
Creators have not stopped creating, and culture is still worth craving, so don’t stop. Keep seeking ways to engage, wear your masks and stay safe. A new year is coming, let’s make it the one where we kick COVID-19 to the curb.
December 4th, 2020 · Comments Off on ON THE COVER: Renewing Martel’s vision (Nov. 2020)
Paul Richard (left) and Joseph Sagaj, part of a team of Indigenous gardeners, have been working tirelessly to bring Paul Martel Park (located on Madison Avenue, north of Bloor Street) back to its original vision. Click here to read more. BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS
December 4th, 2020 · Comments Off on NEWS: Park set for improvements (Nov. 2020)
Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park named after dinosaur hunter
A plaque memorializes the long time Walmer Road resident. BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS
By Tanya Ielyseieva
A plan to redo Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park (Dalton Road and Bloor St. West) is set to be completed by the end of next year, with construction scheduled to begin next summer.
The park is one of the smallest in the Annex and has been in need of renovation for some time.
“I started living a few houses down from the park a decade ago. No children really played in it,” said Gillean Bernier, a community member, and volunteer. “It was a scary place filled with drinkers and homeless at night, and the sand was filled with broken glass. Some of the families I now know even habitually called it “Glass Park” and never let their kids play there. The park has a long history as a place of drugs and drinking. It is not a nice place.”
The community played a large part in the redesign process and worked with the councillor’s office, staff at the Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division, and The Annex Residents’ Association (ARA) to develop a plan for improvements.
Bernier, who is an architectural designer, adds that a lot of the park’s problems are design-related.
“The original planner intended good things,” she says, “but the dense bushes and gated paved areas are wasted space that do not invite people in.”
Bernier approached Councillor Joe Cressy’s office several years ago to start the redesign process, and says she was pleased at the way Councillor Mike Layton and his director of operations, Marco Bianchi picked up the project.
“We discovered the park had gotten into the city’s list for improvement projects, so we didn’t have to start from scratch,” she says. “Last summer the city planted new trees, and a neighbour donated a bench. It was a great improvement, and everyone was excited for what it could really turn into when a true re-design happened.”
In a letter to the ARA, Bianchi stated that, “there may be disagreements to the proposed direction, but by maintaining as transparent a process as possible these conflicts should be mitigated by the fact that the park is being designed in a way that we hope the vast majority of residents and park users can get behind.”
According to the city, the park is being improved as a state of good repair project and to improve accessibility with new pathways, seating areas, site lines, and a playground.
A design team has developed three preliminary layout options for the park based on an online survey, where residents shared what they wanted to change in Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park.
“The goal was to open the park up visually to the street, reclaim the wasted spaces as part of the park, offer even more seating, shaded from the sun. Everyone agreed that while the play equipment didn’t look fancy, they really were still the best swings and slides in the whole neighbourhood,” said Bianchi of the residents’ offerings. “We would not object to having the playground equipment painted to look fresh. Some members of the community would prefer dogs to be excluded, while others love that the dogs come. I think this will be the strongest point of negotiation for the redesign, but I believe a holistic design for the community will emerge.”
According to the city spokesperson, Forest and Field Landscape Architects have been retained for the design and contract administration of the project. The project budget, including construction, testing, 3rd party inspection, and soft costs (surveyor, consultant, arborist, etc.) is estimated at approximately $350,000.
Who was Joseph Burr Tyrell?
Joseph Burr Tyrrell was a geologist, mining consultant, mapmaker and explorer. He is best known for his discovery of dinosaur bones (Albertosaurus sarcophagus – flesh-eating Alberta lizard) in Alberta’s Badlands, and coal in the vicinity of Drumheller. Tyrrell was born in Weston, Ontario, in 1858, and began working for the Geological Survey of Canada in 1881 after graduating from the University of Toronto. He worked there from 1882-98, and during that time, explored and surveyed the natural history and mineral resources of the country’s remote regions.
Before working on independent assignments, Tyrrell was an assistant to another great figure in Canadian geology, George Mercer Dawson. Working together, the two men made a few important surveys of the Rockies to secure accurate information about coal deposits, and to collect plants, fossils, and other natural history materials.
While he was mapping and studying the geology of the land north of Calgary and east of the Rockies, he discovered the remains of dinosaurs in the Red Deer valley. These remains started the collection of fossil vertebrates currently held by the National Museum in Ottawa.
Tyrrell was a recipient of honorary degrees and distinctions, including The Black Medal of the Royal Geographical Society, The Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London, and The Flavelle Medal of the Royal Society of Canada.
December 4th, 2020 · Comments Off on NEWS: Neighbours oppose demolition plans (Nov. 2020)
Heritage building holds monumental significance
Residents hope heritage designation saves 661 Huron St. MARY AN/GLEANER NEWS
By Tanya Ielyseieva
Annex neighbours are fighting to stop the demolition of the properties at 661 and 663-665 Huron Street.
The plan to replace the single-family homes would see the construction of a four-storey apartment building with 48 residential units.
“The current developer met with the ARA Planning and Development committee where he heard that we were not against an infill project on the large property, but we were not supportive of the demolition of the buildings,” wrote Rita Bilerman, chair of the Annex Residents’ Association (ARA), in the letter to the Toronto Preservation Board. “We offered to show him other infill projects in the neighbourhood that maintained historic buildings that were part of historic streetscapes, but he expressed no interest in working with us to take that approach on Huron Street.”
In spring 2020, members of The Annex Residents’ Association and the British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association nominated the property at 661 Huron Street for a cultural heritage evaluation.
The properties, which are located on the east side of Huron Street just south of Dupont, were both built between 1890-1891 and were originally single-family dwellings. They are now used as multi-unit residential buildings.
According to the City of Toronto Directories for 1892 and 1893, the building at 661 Huron St. was one of the earliest to be constructed in the Annex, and the third completed on Huron Street between Dupont Street and Bernard Avenue.
661 Huron St. stands out not just because of its age and particular architectural style, it also happened to be a landing place for children known as “British-Canadian Home Children.”
Between 1863 and 1949, charities in the UK shipped 120,000 “orphaned” children to Canada from the United Kingdom to work at Canadian farms and households. Some of these children were as young as two years-old, and a majority of them were not actually orphans, but rather, the children of struggling and impoverished parents.
These children passed through receiving homes located in Toronto, and 661 Huron St. was one of them.
By April 1924, 661 Huron St. was occupied by a matron, associated with the Church of England’s “Waifs and Strays Society,” an organization now known in the UK as “The Children’s Society.”
Named Elizabeth Rye Home, this residence was used to train teenage girls prior to placing them in domestic service roles in the Toronto area. In the first year of the house’s operation, Elizabeth Rye Home trained 72 girls for employment.
“The building is a very substantial brick house in a desirable locality and has been adapted for its present purpose – well-furnished and comfortable as a residence for girls who from time to time may sojourn here,” stated a letter from the Juvenile Immigration Supervisor on July 1, 1924.
On January 15, 1932, the home was officially closed but it continued to house girls until 1933.
“Huron Street stands as a monument to the three-million descendants in Canada of the British Home Children,” wrote Lori Oschefski, CEO of British Home Children Canada in a letter to the Toronto and East York Community Council.
“To have this historic home destroyed by the wrecker’s ball is akin to destroying a part of Canadian history, of which too much has been lost already. On behalf of our over 7,000 thousand supporters, we ask that the heritage value of this home and its contribution to our nation be considered and the property saved and designated as a historically significant property in Toronto, as it should be.”
On September 30, October 1 and 2, 2020, City Council adopted the inclusion of 661, 663-665 Huron St. in the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register and its intention to designate the property V Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Now that the city is on board with the heritage concerns the advocates for preservation hope the developer amends its plans.
December 4th, 2020 · Comments Off on CHATTER: Community groups push pedestrian safety on Avenue Road (Nov. 2020)
Narrow sidewalks plague pedestrians on Avenue Road. BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS
According to the City of Toronto, over 60,000 cars, on average, are caught driving over the speed limit on Avenue Road every week. The sidewalks between Bloor Street West to St. Clair Avenue West do not meet the accessibility standards requiring a minimum width of 152.5 cm, and local groups want improvements to start immediately. With the support of councillors Mike Layton and Josh Matlow, they have requested the launch of a Pedestrian Safety Improvement Pilot Project that would replace a lane on both sides of the road with a temporary barrier.
With six lanes of traffic, Avenue Road “looks and feels like an Expressway,” says Albert Koehl. Koehl is a co-ordinator with The Avenue Road Safety Coalition (ARSC), a group formed in 2017 because, he says, community groups were not impressed by the attention to safety in the area.
“We want people who live there, go to school there, go shopping, or visit friends, to feel safe walking in that area,” Dylan Reid, co-founder of Walk Toronto said in an interview with the Annex Gleaner.
Councillor Josh Matlow says he has been trying to increase the safety on Avenue Road for “several years.” A recent motion Matlow and Layton presented to community council asks for “Transportation Services to report back to the Toronto and East York Community Council in the fourth quarter of 2020 or as soon as possible.”
But, the motion presented was not what the ARSC or supporting community organizations were expecting. “What we got out of that was a study, and there’s no guarantee that the study will be completed before the end of the year,” Koehl said. Frustrated with the slow process compared to other projects, Koehl says that the only study needed is to stand on Avenue Road and witness the issue itself.
According to Councillor Matlow, before the pandemic the city was slow to take action, but now they’re much quicker to support the needs of Torontonians by doing such things as blocking off streets for CafeTO, or implementing new bike lanes across the city. Matlow says he’s trying to take advantage of City Hall’s new agility in the hopes that this motion “demonstrates the same sense of urgency.”
—Mary An/Gleaner News
Comments Off on CHATTER: Community groups push pedestrian safety on Avenue Road (Nov. 2020)Tags:Annex · News
December 4th, 2020 · Comments Off on CHATTER: 3-alarm blaze in Kensington (Nov. 2020)
A three alarm blaze summoned twenty fire trucks to Kensington Market’s Latin American Products located at 243 Augusta Ave. Though there were no injuries as a result of the Oct. 17 fire, there was “significant” property damage. ARLYN MCADOREY/GLEANER NEWS
Comments Off on CHATTER: 3-alarm blaze in Kensington (Nov. 2020)Tags:Annex · News
December 4th, 2020 · Comments Off on NEWS: Fairy doors “magically appear” (Nov. 2020)
Though their origin is a mystery, they are being mapped
Martha Davis and Daniel Levine created fairies to go along with the doors as a way to help contribute and keep the community spirit up in Seaton Village. Who built the doors remains a mystery. MARY AN/GLEANER NEWS
By Mary An
The Annex has welcomed new mystical community members who live in unconventional dwellings: tiny homes nuzzled into tree roots. Doors to these homes can be found on trees all over Toronto, and if there’s a human-builder behind them, he or she remains anonymous.
A customized Google map showing the fairy door locations can be found on several Toronto neighbourhood community pages on Facebook.
“It’s to help the kids find the fairy doors, otherwise you wouldn’t even know to turn down that street, because you would never discover it,” says Shana Tilbrook, creator of the fairy doors map.
The map has been viewed close to 8,000 times since Tilbrook created it. She says she was inspired to create the map for the community when her five year-old daughter started noticing the doors around the neighborhood over the summer.
“This is something that can help a lot of families, because it is a distraction from the pandemic.”
Fairies go along with the mystical doors. Martha Davis and Daniel Levine “found” fairy tenants at the doors this autumn.
“It was Daniel’s idea to have some action at the doors, because they’ve been going without any action for months,” says Davis, co-creator of the fairies.
Daniel, 7, helped hand out fairy kits in October to those who wanted to create fairies for the existing doors. Inside the fairy kits are a single fairy, along with art supplies to create a fairy. Forty people have requested fairy kits so far. A “message board” can also be seen by the doors to help connect the community by leaving small messages.
This isn’t the first time Toronto has seen fairy doors.
In 2015, Natalie Coulter, an assistant professor of communication studies at York University, created an art initiative called Danny’s Urban Fairies for the Danforth Avenue community. Businesses within the area installed fairy doors inside or outside of their stores, encouraging a stronger community connection through a playful activity.
Now, in the Annex, these doors and fairies help children and families enjoy the outdoors safely.
“Everything’s been cancelled for the kids, but they still need something to look forward to,” says Tilbrook.
“It’s more than just fairy doors for these kids, it helps them believe in magic.”
December 4th, 2020 · Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Ford flailing as COVID numbers spike (Nov. 2020)
Ontario’s Auditor General (AG) Bonnie Lysyk recently released a report sharply criticizing the province’s COVID-19 response. The report details a litany of failures by the government and its approach to dealing with the crisis. While some see her timing as unhelpful, to be critical as the proverbial ship is sinking, others see an opportunity to right the boat.
Among other things, the Auditor General said that Ontario’s measures were “slower and more reactive relative to most other provinces.” Lysyk said the province appears to have learned little from the SARS outbreak in 2003 – the SARS Commission said that taking decisive action early was key.
Though the province wisely declared an emergency on March 17, ahead of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, it then went into neutral gear hiring an outside consultant who took weeks to recommend what is now a health command table of 500 people. The AG describes this as “overly cumbersome,” and subordinate to cabinet. By May, thirty-four medical officers of health in Ontario had jointly prepared and signed a letter begging the province for more direction and regional consistency. That direction ought to have come from Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health, who Lysyk says has not fully exercised his powers under the Health Protection and Promotion Act.
Confusion and inconsistency continues to reign supreme and the recent move by the Ford government to order 28-day lockdowns in hotspots such as Toronto and Peel regions is yet another example.
The examples go on, such as the premier’s announcement on Friday Nov 20 that ordered malls to shut their doors on November 22. This triggered a panicked shopping spree which will no doubt lead to a significant jump in cases. They could, and should have said that malls needed to shut “effective immediately.” What will happen on Dec 20 when the lockdown ends and the malls re-open five days before Christmas? Another case of crowds surging to shop. Doug Ford has created a public health inspired lockdown with COVID-rich book ends.
Meanwhile the province is struggling to do effective contact tracing. Sixty percent of new infections in Ontario have no epidemiological link. More testing of asymptomatic people including students mingling in schools and on playgrounds would narrow the gap considerably. Keeping schools open defies reason if one has a singular goal of driving case numbers below a transmission rate of 1.0.
The decision to close main street retail to indoor shopping and leave big box stores wide open is prejudicial. It makes no sense to force everyone into a crowded cue at Walmart. The decision to prohibit restaurants and bars from serving outdoors is offensive given that health authorities just gave those establishments guidelines for how they can serve safely. Food establishments have spent millions on partial enclosures, heaters, and contact tracing systems. There is no contact tracing in big box stores.
The auditor general repeatedly took issue with Ontario’s COVID response as not being driven by health professionals or as Doug Ford likes to say “the smartest minds in the world.” The AG was unable to obtain a copy of Williams’ advice to the government to see how closely cabinet is following those recommendations. It’s telling that the Ford government would rather not release that document and prefers having a Chief Medical Officer of Health who is quite content to sit on his hands.
The AG’s report is not a footnote in history, it is critical to moving forward with effective decision making in this crisis, and those to yet to come.
December 4th, 2020 · Comments Off on FORUM: City budget a real challenge but we can work together (Nov. 2020)
Impact on homeless is most acute
By Mike Layton
Winter is fast approaching, and with COVID-19 cases on the rise, we must prepare for how to support residents and small businesses through the next couple of months.
The pandemic has highlighted the fact that not everyone is impacted equally, and that we need support from all levels of government to make sure Torontonians are taken care of now and into the future.
At our last council meeting, we put plans in motion to rapidly scale up the permanent housing and shelter capacity response for the 2020-2021 winter season, and to try to extend winter access washrooms for those using our parks. We also expanded efforts to extend support for restaurants to operate outdoor dining and take out.
A concern that I hear regularly from those advocating on behalf of those living in encampments, as well as all park users, is the lack of access to public washrooms, since most businesses are not providing public access to washrooms during the pandemic.
This issue will only get worse as the city closes its washrooms for the winter due to the threat of damage to the infrastructure due to freezing.
This is why I asked council to approve an immediate report back on the impacts of, and options for, keeping more public washrooms open and fully accessible including clearing pathways of snow and ice in our parks through the upcoming winter.
Knowing that this may be difficult, in the long-term, council will also be directing staff to evaluate retrofitting all public washrooms in our parks to withstand the winter climate so we need not have this discussion in the future.
I am also proud to report that I supported the recent approval of council giving city staff the authority to use whatever resources deemed necessary to help those experiencing homelessness now.
But we need to do much more. city staff are projecting a financial impact from the pandemic at over $1.8 billion, at a time where residents need services more than ever.
The mayor and City Council need to continue to advocate for increased powers for municipalities that actually expand available revenue tools.
We need to have options beyond property taxes to fund the services that residents need.
As the 2021 City Budget process begins this month, you have my continued commitment to push for long overdue change that puts the needs of people front and centre.
I will also make clear our collective need for help from all levels of government.
On a hopeful note, the pandemic has also shown us that, together, we can make transformative change happen quickly. There have been some direct supports created in the past few months to assist everyone whose lives have been impacted by the pandemic.
Another issue that has been at the forefront for residents recently is eviction. I want to make clear that if you are experiencing issues with your tenancy and/or eviction, the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association is an excellent resource for advice on how to file an application with the Landlord and Tenant Board, if needed.
You can contact them by visiting www.torontotenants.org. The city is working hard to enhance and expand available financial support to help tenants to maintain their homes in these times.
The city has also been helping to connect residents with various support networks based on need. Outreach continues to those who are experiencing homelessness as we work to find them stable housing and access to services to support their well-being.
You can find helpful information on all of the above at the city’s website at www.toronto.ca/covid-19.
No matter the issue you are facing, my office remains available to assist and to connect you with the resources you need as we continue to live through the pandemic. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office at Councillor_Layton@toronto.ca if you have any questions.
My team and I will do everything we can to help.
Mike Layton is the city councillor for Ward 11 University—Rosedale.
