A rally calling for more provincial funding for public education was held at the Robertson Parkette (Coxwell and Danforth avenues) on Saturday, April 15. Organized by East End Parents 4 Public Education, the rally highlighted the need for provincial funding to public school boards in Toronto and across Ontario. For more, see our story on Page 5.
LOCAL RESIDENTS are invited to do their part to help the environment and celebrate Earth Day this month.
A number of community cleanups are being planned locally including ones at Woodbine Beach, Ashbridges Bay Park, the Glen Stewart Ravine, and Taylor Creek Park.
Earth Day is on Saturday, April 22, and community cleanups are planned that day for Woodbine Beach, Ashbridges Bay Park and Taylor Creek Park.
Those wishing to take part in the Woodbine Beach cleanup are asked to meet at the Woodbine Bathing Station. Dogs on-leash are welcome. Pre-registration is not required. Please contact info@ tlfcommunity.ca for more information.
A LONG list of complex changes are coming to bus and streetcar routes in East Toronto for this spring, summer and into the fall.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) will be making the changes due to construction projects that are upcoming.
Some of the many routes and services that will be impacted include the 501 streetcar as it travels along Queen Street East; the 504/505 streetcars serving Broadview Avenue, Dundas Street East and Kingston Road; the 506 streetcar along Gerrard Street East; the 64 Main bus; the 23 Dawes Road bus; the 20 Cliffside bus; the 22 Coxwell bus; and the 31 Greenwood bus.
As of May 1, the 501 streetcar will be diverting at Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue to head north to Dundas Street East. It will then travel along Dundas Street to McCaul Street before rejoining Queen Street West. This diversion is expected to be a longterm one due to construction work at the bridge over the Don River on Queen Street East and for the building of the Ontario Line subway at Yonge Street and Queen Street East.
For the Ashbridges clean-up, meet at the public washrooms just off the Boardwalk, west of the volleyball courts. Bags will be provided for collection and volunteers are asked to dress for the weather, wear suitable footwear and bring litter picking tongs and gloves. (A limited supply is available.)
Both the Woodbine and Ashbridges cleanups take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Glen Stewart Ravine community cleanup is on Sunday, April 23, from 10 a.m. to noon. Participants are asked to meet at the Beech Avenue entrance to the ravine, just south of Kingston Road.
Those taking part are asked to bring their own gloves and be dressed in anticipation of getting dirty.
The cleanup is organized by the
Friends of the Glen Stewart Ravine, and garbage bags and treats will be provided.
For more information, please visit the Friends of the Glen Stewart Ravine Facebook page.
The Earth Day community cleanup at Taylor Creek Park is from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. Participants are asked to meet at Victoria Park Station at 1:30 p.m. where garbage bags and instructions will be handed out. Those who are not taking transit can meet at the park’s parking lot, entrance off Dawes Road, at 1:50 p.m. prior to the cleanup.
The Taylor Creek Park event is being organized by Toronto arts company Riot King and is being called All the World’s A Stage. For more information, please go to Riot King’s Facebook page.
On May 7, numerous changes will kick in for routes based out
of Broadview Station (which is seeing work to expand the size of its streetcar loop) and also due to sewer construction work along Broadview Avenue between Danforth Avenue and Gerrard Street East. With the complexity of both projects, the work is expected to continue through the summer. Impacts to transit riders will include the suspension of streetcar services to Broadview Station, to be replaced by shuttle buses on the 504/505 routes.
Also effective as of May 7 will be significant changes to the 506 streetcar route from Main Station. This will be due to sewer work being done in the Coxwell Avenue and Gerrard Street East area and also paving work at Main Station.
The east end of the 506 streetcar route will see shuttle buses available between Castle Frank and Victoria Park stations.
The streetcar will be diverting at the Woodbine Loop (Queen Street East and Kingston Road) and will not be servicing Main Station. The service will operate on Gerrard Street East between Broadview Avenue and Parliament Street heading eastbound only on Gerrard Street East. The westbound-only
Continued on Page 11
By Alan Shackleton
TEX THOMAS has been running Pro League Sports on Queen Street East in the Beach for more than 30 years, and he would like to continue doing so.
However, his business is facing an upcoming challenge as the building his store has called home since he first opened up in 1991 will be undergoing major construction work as an addition is put on.
The upcoming construction means the building will no longer be usable for the lengthy period of time it will take to do the work and into the future.
The situation has put Thomas in a position in which he will have to move his store to another location or close the business for good.
An area resident, Thomas said closing up after more than three decades in the community is not something he wants to do.
“We’re looking for a new site and want to stay in this neighbourhood. I want to stay and remain a part of the neighbourhood,” he told Beach Metro Community News in an interview at the store last week.
Tex
Thomas is hoping to find a new location along Queen Street East in the Beach, but it will have to be one that meets his business’ needs and the amount of rent he is used to paying.
His move must be completed by the end of this July as that is when construction work at his current building at 1957 Queen St. E. (just east of Kenilworth Avenue) is set
to begin.
Thomas stressed that the move from his current location is in no way a landlord dispute, but just the reality of the building about to be used for a different purpose.
“It’s an addition to the building and I just can’t have the space anymore,” he said. “I do have a new landlord but it has been just fine with them. It’s not just the store, the tenants above have to go as well.”
Thomas said the building was sold two years ago, and the new owner/landlord has been “respectful” of him and his business.
Since he first opened Pro League Sports in October of 1991, Thomas and the business have become deeply connected to the Beach community.
“I’ve been here for 32 years and you really get to know the customers well,” he said.
“Last week a mom came in with her kids and with her dad to get something for his 75th birthday. She used to go Kew Beach school and came
here to shop when she was younger. We see lots of people who used to come here with their parents and now come in with their own kids.”
Thomas said the stress of trying to find a new location that suits his needs and the uncertainty of what might become of his business is very stressful.
“It’s hard on me right now. This is a tough haul to have to move after so long,” he said.
“I’m hoping something will happen that we can continue to stay here in the area. I feel I’m not just a business in the Beach but that it’s my friends who come to the store. And it’s not just about keeping the store, it’s about the community and the people you get to know.”
Thomas pointed out that the people who work in the store are all neighbourhood residents.
He himself lives in the area.
Thomas can be contacted through Pro League Sports at proleaguesports@hotmail.com or at 416-699-2097.
FENCING HAS gone up around the Ted Reeve Community Arena bubble in advance of renovation work set to begin this spring and continue over the next nine months.
According to the Ted Reeve Community Arena website, the state-of-good-repair work will include both the bubble and the arena itself.
Work planned will include the installation of new plastic boards and arena glass for both the bubble and the arena, new equipment in the compressor room, new concrete floors for both ice pads, replacing heating units and dehumidifiers, and an expansion of the Zamboni room’s snow melting pit.
The expanded snow melting pit will mean “less trips outside” for the Zamboni, resulting in a “safer pedestrian environment” said the arena’s website.
Also, the bubble will be re-covered which will add to its longevity.
The new concrete ice pads are expected to
last 25 years, according to the arena’s website.
Work is expected to take nine months.
On April 10, the steel fence around the bubble had two gates open to allow access to the Ed McCleverty Equal Access Playground. It is unclear how long access to the playground will remain open once work begins at the site.
For more information on the work planned, please go to the Ted Reeve Community Arena website at https://tedreevearena.com/
Ted Reeve Arena was opened in October of 1954 and underwent state-of-good-repair work back in 1997. At that time, the wooden boards in the arena and plexiglass were replaced with plastic boards and real arena glass. The bubble to the east of the arena was opened in 2004.
The work now taking place at Ted Reeve Community Arena is funded by the federal, provincial and municipal government.
AFSANA GIBSON-CHOWDHURY will present a Community Inclusion Workshop on Saturday, April 29, at Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Ave.
Beach resident Gibson-Chowdhury is a lawyer, mediator and educator in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). She presents globally to help professionals and local com-
munities gain a better understanding of DEI issues and how to foster the inclusion of marginalized communities. The workshop at Beach United is from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Cost to attend the workshop is $45 and participants can register at www.eventbrite. ca/e/community-inclusion-workshop-tickets-607476457437
SCARBOROUGH-RAISED FASHION designer and owner of clothing store 100 Miles, Garie ‘Miles’ Adamson is marking the one-year anniversary of his store’s launch in the Beach with a two-day celebration during on last weekend of April.
100 Miles opened at the end of April last year at 2359 Queen St. E. as Adamson brought his flagship store featuring unique, hip-hop infused style with him to the Beach.
The Jamaican-born Adamson was taken by the community’s welcoming ambiance and has relished embedding himself in the Beach and getting to know local residents over the past year.
“We’re still learning the whole demographic but the people in the area have embraced us very well,” said Adamson in an interview with Beach Metro Community News. “And we love the Beaches.”
He continued: “We’ve been everywhere as a brand from downtown Toronto to Scarborough and we’ve done shows in Markham and Mississauga, but we never really touched the Beaches. During the pandemic, we had a chance to do a couple of events and we were received very well.”
With 31 years in the textile industry and a brand known around the globe, Adamson is no stranger to fashion, design or retail.
An outlier in terms of longevity, Adamson has been working to promote Toronto’s distinct sense of style and oft ignored influence on the fashion world.
“Toronto, we’re still not really recognized as a fashion capital,” he said. “Yet still, I feel for 31 years that we’ve been putting major apparel lines on a lot of famous, iconic people. So, I think that we’ve been able to overcome and conquer what people don’t really perceive…That being that we are a fashion capital, and have been for some time.”
Celebrities to have endorsed 100 Miles include homegrown pop superstar Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham, who notably wore one of Adamson’s hoodies as the Toronto Raptors punched their ticket
to the 2019 NBA Finals in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.
On the international side, the quality of Adamson’s clothing was one of the few things famously bitter rivals Tupac ‘2Pac’ Shakur and Christopher ‘The Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace could ever agree on. Shakur famously donned an identical hoodie to Drake’s in the 1994 sports drama Above the Rim.
“Tupac being such a global, iconic celebrity and people being such fans of his, they’ve always wanted to have something that’s associated or affiliated with him with, our brand being one of those things from the movie,” said Adamson. “A lot of times the message I get from consumers is that they’re huge ‘Tupac’ fans, and they’ve waited years to buy this hoodie and to finally know the brand that actually outfitted him.”
The film and Shakur’s performance have lived on. That, along with Adamson’s embrace of online shopping, particularly during the height of the pandemic, have played a large part in establishing 100 Miles’ global footprint.
“We ship anywhere,” said Adamson. “A majority of our clients are from the U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia, France, Netherlands, Paris and Amsterdam. We’ve shipped all over the globe and of course, Canada.”
All of the products that can
be found at 100 Miles are locally designed and produced. Despite the associated costs, the Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institute alumnus has kept his manufacturing in Toronto, aligning perfectly with the Beach’s entrepreneurial spirit and its penchant for sustaining its homegrown businesses.
“We’ve learned that (the Beaches) love ‘Canadianmade’ and supporting local,” said Adamson.
“We do a lot of custom work from t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, you name it for other companies and institutions,” he continued. “That’s kept us very busy.”
As a thank you to the community for being so welcoming during the store’s first year, Adamson has a surprise in store to commemorate 100 Miles’ upcoming milestone. The two-day extravaganza will also serve as the exclusive launch of a line of spring and summer Beach-inspired merchandise.
“There’s a lot of different pieces,” said Adamson. “We have shorts, tanks, women’s apparel and yoga wear that we’ve really been working on for the last year-and-ahalf. So we’re introducing yoga wear, joggers as well as dog-walking apparel.”
All of the items of clothing, including 100 Miles’ signature hoodie, will have ‘Beach’ or ‘Beaches’ embroidered and stylized in the form of its iconic logo.
Adamson has embraced social media, including Ins-
tagram and TikTok, to stay connected and to keep an ear to the ground on emerging trends.
However, he said he relies on his years of experience to stay relevant in the everchanging fashion industry as well as the understanding that often the best promotional tool at his disposal is the high quality associated with his products.
“We’re from a time in the ’90s where it was really about the culture and about your craft or what you had to offer to society,” said Adamson.
The two-day 100 Miles anniversary celebration starts on Saturday, April 29, and continues through Sunday, April 30, at the store. There will be an in-house DJ and music as well as food and drinks from noon to 7 p.m.
“We’re incorporating this area that we love now into our apparel,” said Adamson. “It was only right and we invite everyone to come and see how we brand ourselves with the community that we represent with some of our new designs.”
As for the future of 100 Miles, Adamson said the company will continue to promote its bread-andbutter, brick-and-mortar store as well as push online sales to further establish the brand’s global presence and acceptance.
For more information on Adamson and 100 Miles, please visit www.100milesbrand.com
Fearless Meat helped raise $1,055.73 for Beach Metro Community News during a sale of peameal bacon sandwiches on April 7. On hand for the presentation of the donation were David Brown, owner of Fearless Meat; Mary Beth Denomy, president of the volunteer executive board of Beach Metro Community News; and staffers from both the restaurant and the newspaper. Brown is encouraging other local businesses to do their part to support local journalism and Beach Metro Community News. To become a Supporter of Beach Metro Community News, please go to www.beachmetro.com/support
IN THE aftermath of the Ontario budget last month, parents and education workers are calling for additional investments in the province’s education system.
Although the Province of Ontario has hailed the new budget as a record-setting amount, many are calling foul play as it appears to them that education been underfunded.
Scarborough Southwest MPP, Doly Begum told Beach Metro Community News that the budget doesn’t do enough to address the growing demands of Ontario schools.
“Bottom line is that ensuring safe, functioning, and well-resourced classrooms for students has to be a top priority for the government – students should not be learning in buildings that are falling apart, and it is disappointing to see the lack of investments from this government,” said Begum, who is also the Deputy Leader of the Ontario NDP, the province’s Official Opposition.
She said that the government’s lack of focus on ensuring classrooms are wellequipped—not only with facilities but also teachers and education workers—is deeply concerning. “The latest budget fails to allocate funding for the TDSB (Toronto District School Board) repair backlog, which has ballooned over the year.”
The Ontario government of Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford has allocated $15 billion in capital grants over 10 years to expand and renew schools and child care spaces. Of this, $2.8 billion will be used in the next fiscal year. However, there is currently a $17 billion repair backlog for elementary and secondary schools in the province, said Begum.
“Schools in our community are falling apart, if you look at the data on the TDSB website, which was last updated in 2021, a lot of Scarborough Southwest schools have urgent facility needs. Students deserve to learn in well-equipped and well-maintained classrooms,” she said.
Continued on Page 10
Jan is survived by her husband Brian, siblings John David and Susan, children Trevor and Jennifer (Chris), her grandchildren Taylor, Reilly and Cameron along with many friends and family who will miss her dearly.
Jan was a long time resident of the Beach where she met her husband, raised her family and built a community. She was the neighbourhood matriarch and keeper of the keys. Jan was a devoted wife, proud mother to many, grandmother, and friend to all. She cherished long chats with neighbours on the porch, searching for shark’s teeth in Myrtle Beach, baking endless trays of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, farmers market lunches, spending Christmas Eve’s with those near and dear, winning games of scrabble and yahtzee over afternoon tea, and of course, all things red.
She will be remembered for her witty humour, healthy dose of competition, crafty nature, green thumb, and the love she shared so easily with so many.
A celebration of Jan’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in her name to a cause close to your heart.
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
—Winnie The Pooh
WITH 46 candidates declared as of April 14, we do indeed have a race for who will be elected Toronto’s next mayor in the June 26 byelection.
But forgive me for being worried about the future of our city. The level of party politics in this municipal election is extremely frustrating. There’s too much game playing going on, and not enough real understanding of our city’s needs.
Toronto is on the brink of falling into a hole it will never get out of.
Most of the reasons for that are because of the last three provincial governments (Doug Ford’s current Progressive Conservatives; Dalton McGuinty/Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals; and Mike Harris’ Progressive Conservatives). They all failed Toronto.
Electing a mayor who puts the provincial and federal governments on notice that Toronto will not be treated this way anymore is critically important. We are the economic engine of Canada, the country’s largest municipality, and Canada’s sixth largest government by population served. We need to start acting that way.
Beach Metro Community News, published by Ward 9 Community News Inc., is a non-profit, non-partisan community newspaper founded in 1972 and published 23 times a year. It is distributed free by volunteers in East Toronto and Southwest Scarborough and paid for by our advertisers and Supporters.
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At long last, spring has returned to the Beach!
And what heralds this welcome change in the seasons? Well, for me it is not the first appearance of robins still scrawny from their journey north from Florida. Nor is it the peeking of crocuses through the hardened mud of neighbourhood flower beds. No indeed, none of these tired clichés for me.
Spring’s arrival, for this citizen, is announced instead by the almost magical re-emergence of those plastic dog poop bags that have lain on the sidewalks over the long winter months, deviously hidden until the big reveal, when they re-appear from the retreating snowbanks with an unspoken, but assumed, “Ta-da!” in April.
Admittedly, I have a special interest in this annual phenomenon. A little over a year ago, while stroll-
While not endorsing anyone, I’ll tell you what I’m looking for from the mayoral candidates.
Whoever I vote for will reject the Strong Mayor System imposed on the city by Ford. It is undemocratic and a recipe for outright corruption. There are many ways for a mayor to exercise power, but needing the support of only one-third of the votes in council is surely not one of them.
I’d also like a mayor who will represent all of Toronto. It takes a special person to lead this large and diverse city. We need a mayor who will not play the needs of “downtown” and “suburban” Toronto against each other.
I want a mayor who has actually
ridden a TTC bus (a bus not a subway) east of Markham Road, north of Finch Avenue and west of Islington Avenue. I would venture there isn’t one who can say that. I also want a mayor who has cycled in a bike lane. Is that asking too much?
Many candidates are framing their campaigns around the hugely important issues of affordable housing, mental health services, policing and public safety. Well, of course. But those are issues Toronto can’t solve alone. We must have the support of the provincial and federal governments. I would be wary of anyone who says they have a “made-in-Toronto” solution to those issues.
As Torontonians we should be
demanding more of our elected MPPs and MPs when it comes to our fair share of funding and so should our new mayor. We must have crystal clear leadership on that. It’s all about the money, and Toronto is being ripped off. Our new mayor must be someone who can have not only the ear of the federal and provincial governments, but also the courage to stand up to them and be willing to fight hard.
We are at a crossroads, and this is no time for a subservient mayor beholden to other levels of government and political idealogies. We must have a mayor that puts Toronto first.
You decide who to vote for. But please, please vote!
ing along Kingston Road, my foot hit one of these bags and I made an unexpected face plant on the sidewalk, smashing an expensive pair of prescription sunglasses into my forehead, causing a gush of blood that was almost matched by the flow from my nose which I was sure I had broken in the fall.
Let me assure you, the sky which earlier had been a serene azure, was turned deepest, darkest navy by my curses of the wayward – but luckily for them – absent dog owners.
Just who are these people and why do they leave their pet’s waste, so neatly bagged, in the public walkways, on top of street furniture, at the ends of private driveways, or perched upon their neighbours’ garbage bins where the collecting trucks’ robot arms unwittingly knock them off onto the street?
Could it be that these doo-doo abandoners are simply afraid of exposure to the germs they imagine residing on those public trash cans they avoid using?
An odd concern, considering that just moments before, they had been manually scooping up their dog’s feces without the slightest shudder of squeamishness.
Or perhaps they are just plain, well, you know…unprepared for the realities of Life.
Perhaps, for most of their existence they could always depend on mom or dad to helicopter in to deal with any yucky situations that arose. Then COVID-19 struck and they were suddenly on their own. Of course, they ordered a pandemic puppy to keep them company through the lockdown.
Unfortunately, the critter came without an instruction manual, but
the pooch has somehow been able to communicate when it needs to be taken for a walk to do its business.
Somehow, the new owners know they must scoop the poop into one of those cute little biodegradable bags that make them feel so environmentally righteous for using (“Oh boy, something more to shop online for!”), but then what?
Desperately, they stare at Fido hoping he will know what to do but get absolutely no guidance in return. A big slobbery lick across the face, but no meaningful direction. So, the novice owners make the only choice left to the truly helpless – they leave the bag on the sidewalk, and scarper away, hoping no one notices.
What on earth do they think happens to the bags of poo that they have abandoned on the sidewalk?
Do they believe that the biode-
gradable bags compost into thin air overnight? Do they think that the city has a special crew who zoom along all the sidewalks in Toronto, perhaps on jet-propelled scooters, collecting the tiny sacks with Star Trek-inspired tractor beams?
And then there are those nature lovers who hang them from tree branches like smelly Christmas decorations – do they believe that in a mere 20 or 30 years the trees will have grown so high that the bags of doo-doo will have risen out of sight, like passengers on a very slow-moving elevator.
What should they be doing instead? They should be taking the poop home and placing it in their green bins or flushing the material (not the bags, of course) down the toilet.
Or, if they can’t afford being seen
Continued on Page 7
Re: ‘Steps taken on climate plan, but work still to be done,’ In My Opinion, Beach Metro Community News, April 4.
The column is understandable and logical except for a few thoughts that the well-respected MP and his co-writer could not have imagined, and which raise another issue. What are we to do if government is uninformed?
I’ve been involved in science since my college days of the 1960s and have analyzed a lot of interesting natural science data.
I am a field geologist and let it be known, geologists often tread where no man has ever gone. Moreover, geological science is a juggling act more complex than the weather with animals that become minerals, marine plants that turn to lime mud, 3,800 minerals (of which I can identify fewer than 10), thousands of chemical compounds, unknown subsurface fluids, geophysics, deep time, organic and planetary evolution and a host of other mysterious and daunting unknowns. Volcanoes come and go.
Despite the machine age of isotopes, microchips, vast libraries, and 250 years of common knowledge, the multiple working hypothesis is still the best tool in a geologist kit and skepticism is still the best attitude.
I participated in ‘global warming–climate change’ debates when they were the more common and illustrated them with graphs of temperature sequences through time created by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration better known as NOAA to support my position. Many graphs, but not all, had a rising slanted line (called linear regression) from colder in the past to modern warming. The devil
was in the distraction. On some graphs the trend is downward.
The oldest graphs, however, covered the end of the Little Ice Age (not the Pleistocene of the Beaches Oak Ridge) but a more recent glaciation in the European Alps. Some of those charts that were old enough to show colder weather in the Little Ice Age also showed that when the Little Ice Age ended in about 1840, the cities in North America warmed to modern temperatures by about 1870. This was long before the ‘Oil Age’.
For instance, the Key West, Florida time series showed rapid rebound from the Little Ice Age as did Albany, NY, Harrisburg, PA, and Chicago. IL long before the petroleum-industrial revolution got into full swing.
That warm period, comparable to today, was interrupted by major volcanic eruptions starting before but increasing in frequency in 1875 with Askja in Iceland, an eruption so severe that many Icelanders migrated to Europe. In 1883, eight years later, Krakatau erupted followed by 12 more very violent worldchanging eruptions in 57 years (roughly every four-and-a-half years) until Cerro Azul in Chile, 1932. A few more followed infrequently up to and including Pinatubo and Mt. St. Helens which were tiny by comparison with the old timers but despite being ‘small’ kept my tomatoes from ripening in Toronto.
Recording at many cities started later however, during a volcanic induced temperature minimum thus giving an impression of global warming today for which industrial carbon dioxide (4 per cent of the annual organic cycle) is held responsible. Carbon dioxide, however, cannot be proven responsible for these temperatures nor the current hiatus.
These and likely subsequent temperatures are likely the result of regression to the normal equilibrium temperatures of the earth (for now). A global tempera-
ture (approximately 14 C) was calculated by Arrhenius in 1906 (his second paper on global warming) and cited by NASA today as the current the global average of approximately 14 C. Apparently, there has been no global warming since Arrhenius (1906) up to the current NASA estimates.
Therefore, in my opinion, climate modellers are over-specialized and have used many global time series seriously affected by volcanic activity from 1875 to 1932 to document anthropogenic global warming without realizing the volcanic consequences. The consensus attribute that warming to carbon dioxide which cannot be teased out of the temperature data and is not science except as a tentative assumption.
Environmental events such as cleaning beaches, woodlands and waterways are extremely praiseworthy and should be increased orders of magnitude, but the war on carbon dioxide is unnecessary and distracts from other worthy efforts.
EVs should be encouraged for all cities, especially for delivery and maintenance vehicles; EVs should be made from materials that never exploit the poor to improve the air we all breath.
Let us all step back and prepare best for a future where oil and gas are less necessary.
There is danger in applying ‘Net Zero’ to each behaviour of the economy using what is clearly a shaky assumption.
It is even more important to realize that ‘Big Oil’ means OPEC and Russia who collectively hold 85 per cent of global oil resources and reserves. It is unrealistic to believe many of those nations will ever cut back carbon emissions (even if it did matter), but in my opinion, carbon dioxide is being hunted down like a witch and the hunt benefits no one.
Francis Tucker-Manns, Ph.D. Artesian Geological Research
‘Spring’ from Page 6 by their friends carrying fecal material out in the open an instant longer than necessary, they can place it in a public garbage receptacle.
What can we, the innocent, do when spotting these malefactors at work?
Well, in a different time and place, I would have suggested confrontation and public admonishment in a
loud, braying voice, perhaps even picking up the offending bag and, running after the perp shouting, “I think you dropped something!”
However, this remedy may no longer be safe to perform.
After all, someone who cares so little about the state of civilization to boldly litter the streets with dog poop is capable of anything.
Certainly, if you are personally famil-
iar with someone who habitually dumps his/her/their doggie’s leavings on the innocent public, an intervention of friends and relatives may be in order.
Who knows, perhaps there are even rehab centres for this type of behaviour ?
Oh yes, you can also complain through the Toronto 311 site. I’m sure they’ll get right on it, riding a jet-propelled scooter.
Bruce Dodds
APRIL 20: Sole Alternative Open House at Monarch Park CI, 1 Hanson St., 5:30-6:30 p.m. Offering a small, supportive, student-centred environment for students aged 16-21. Info and registration: debbie.andrew-murphy@tdsb. on.ca, 416-393-0756. More info: www.solealternative.ca
APRIL 22: Free screening of “What You Won’t Do for Love” at the Fox Theatre, 2236 Queen St. E., 10 a.m. This love story examines our relationship with earth and reveals the deep love that Environmentalists David Suzuki and partner Tara Cullis share. Hosted by Beaches-East York MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon. Register for tickets https://mmmbey.com/earthdayfilm/
APRIL 22: “All The World’s A Stage” Community Cleanup at Taylor Creek Park, 2-4 p.m. Hosted by Riot King, a Tkaronto based arts hub that connects art lovers with the natural world. Meet at Victoria Park TTC station at 1:30 p.m. Free and all materials will be provided.
APRIL 23: Glen Stewart Ravine Spring Clean Up, 10 a.m.-12 noon. Meet at the Beech Ave. ravine entrance. Please bring your own gloves. Bags and treats will be provided. Info: friendsofglenstewartravine@gmail.com
APRIL 26: Feast Day of Our Lady of Good Counsel, patroness of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada (CWL). Morning Mass at St. John’s Catholic Church, 794 Kingston Rd., invites all CWL members to attend the 8:15 am Mass on this day.
APRIL 28: Folk, Rock, Show Tunes and Folk Music Fundraiser in support of The Beach Cares at St. Aidan’s Church, 2423 Queen E., 7:30 p.m. Featuring Boardwalk Cowboys, Graduates of Humber’s Theatre Arts Program and St. Aidan’s Regrets. There is no cost for the concert, but the event is to raise funds for the refugee families. The Beach Cares is a coalition of St. Aidan’s, Beach United and the Beach Community.
APRIL 29: Acoustic Harvest presents April Verch & Cody Walters (https://aprilverch.com/) at St. Paul’s United Church, 200 McIntosh St., 8 p.m. Tickets $30 advance or $35 at the door. Tickets and info: www.acousticharvest.ca
APRIL 29: East of the Don Chorus presents “Lift Off” at Toronto United Mennonite Church, 1774 Queen St. E., 6:30 p.m. first concert, 8 p.m. second concert, and a Bake Sale between performances. PWYC tickets available at www.eventbrite.com. Tickets also available at door. Info: www.eastofthedonchorus.ca
APRIL 29: Try Rowing Day at Hanlan Boat Club, 6 Regatta Road. Get your first taste of the sport of rowing. Learn the parts of the rowing stroke and the basic body movements of rowing on a rowing machine and then try rowing on the water in this fun and easy 90-minute session. Hanlan’s certified coaches and experienced volunteers will usher you through the process. No rowing experience or swimming experience required. Sign up here: www.hanlanboatclub.ca/try-rowing
APRIL 30: Sunday Funday at RCL Branch 11, Clubroom, 9 Dawes Rd., 1-7 p.m. Entertainment: Malcolm Edwards 2-6 p.m. Dinner 4 p.m. Menu: chicken shish-ke-bob, tzatziki sauce, steamed rice, roll/butter, dessert. Dinner tickets $15 pp (cut off April 27). Dinner tickets sold at the Bar or Susan Squires 647-657-8817. No cover charge. All welcome.
MAY 6: EcoFair at Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Ave., 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 35+ exhibitors/vendors: solar panel co-ops, vegetarian food vendor and cooking demo, info on green grants and how to access them, recycling experts, bike repair tent, a beekeeper, butterfly and pollinator gardeners, energy advisors and more. Free. All welcome! Info: beachunitedchurch.com
MAY 6: Jazz & Reflection (Theme: Time) at Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Ave., 4:30 p.m. We are excited to welcome young jazz singer John Amato (vocals), Jesse Whiteley (piano) and Matt Savard (bass) to our Main Hall. Donations are welcome and proceeds support the Beach United food programs. Info: beachunitedchurch.com
MAY 13: Historical Walk with Beach Metro News history columnist, Gene Domagala, 1 p.m. Starting at Corpus Christi Catholic Church at Queen St. E. and Lockwood Rd., this walk travels along Queen Street to finish at Beach United Church at Wineva Ave.
MAY 13: Malvern Collegiate Institute 120th Anniversary Celebration, 55 Malvern Ave. An Open House will be held from 1-4 p.m. at the school, and a pub night will be held at several different venues. Info and tickets: malverncollegiate.com/events/reunions/mci-120/
MAY 13: Nisbet Lodge McClintock Manor Foundation Mothers Day Walkathon, 10 a.m. (registration starts at 9 a.m.) This in-person 5K and 1Km walk starts at 740 Pape and wends through the neighbourhood, and includes a post walk BBQ and prizes. Our fundraising goal is to raise $40,000 to upgrade our resident’s activity room. Registration is required. Contact Gwen at foundation@nisberlodge.com
MAY 20: Organ Recital (rescheduled!) with Stefani Bedin at Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Ave., 4:30pm. Organ Stops - Beach United welcomes back accomplished pianist and organist Stefani Bedin as she presents a beautiful, varied program from Bach & more. Donations are welcome and proceeds support the Beach United food programs. Info: beachunitedchurch.com
JUNE 6: Community Centre 55 Annual General Meeting for members at 97 Main St., 7 p.m. for the purpose of considering and taking action with respect to the following: to approve the financial statements of Community Centre 55 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022; to receive our Program report; and to fill 1 vacancy on the Board of Management. Additional info: Reza Khoshdel, Executive Director, Community Centre 55 at 416-691-1113 ext. 225 VENDORS WANTED for St. Luke’s Spring Outdoor Sale, 904 Coxwell Ave., May 13 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (rain date June 3). Tables are $45. To reserve and arrange payment, call the church office: 416-421-6878 ext 21 BEACH INTERFAITH OUTREACH LUNCHES, 11 a.m. •Mondays at Corpus Christi Church (16 Lockwood
Rd.). Sit in. Bag lunch. Chair lift. •Tuesdays – alternating locations: St. Nicholas Anglican Church (1512 Kingston Rd.), April 25, May 9. Hot meal. Wheelchair accessible.; St. Aidan’s Anglican Church, (2423 Queen St. E), April 18, May 2, 16. Bag lunch. Wheelchair accessible. Coffee available. •Wednesdays at Beaches Hebrew Institute (109 Kenilworth Ave.). Bag lunch. •Thursdays at Beach United Church (140 Wineva Ave.). Hot meal. Wheelchair accessible. •Fridays at Kingston Road United Church (975 Kingston Rd.). Hot meal. Wheelchair accessible. Please note: Lunch format may vary site to site. Last lunch is May 19. Info: 416-691-6869 BEACH PHOTO CLUB offers a range of activities including guest speakers, mentorship, opportunities to share your work, photo excursions, competitions, practical seminars and more! We meet the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month from September to June, 7-9:30 p.m., at Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Ave. (unless specified in program). Info: beachphotoclub.com or email beachphotoclub@gmail.com
ABYC CAMPS, 30 Ashbridge’s Bay Park Rd. •Girls’ Regatta, Aug 26/27 •Girls’ Sailing Camp, Aug. 23-Sept. 1. A camp for those who identify as female who have had some sailing experience. Info: communityprograms@abyc.ca
SENIORS LUNCHEON at Royal Canadian Legion, 243 Coxwell Ave., April 18, May 2, 16, 30, and June 13. Doors open at 12 noon to a swing band with luncheon served shortly after. $5 for lunch, free for seniors 65 and over, and veterans.
ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION, 243 Coxwell Ave. •April 29: Live Band – No Where Men, 8 p.m. No cover charge. • Bingo every Sunday 2-5 p.m. in Club Room. Info: 416-465-0120
RCL TODMORDEN BR. 10, 1083 Pape Ave. •Wednesdays: “Buddy Check” Program, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Meet fellow Veterans in a safe, non-judgemental atmosphere of Comradeship. This is open to Veterans and families. You do not have to be a Legion member to attend. •April 21: Bingo, 6:30 p.m., with Lenny Graff Orchestra at 8 p.m. •April 28: Bingo, 6:30 p.m. with DJ Derek at 8 p.m. •April 30: Drop In Cribbage, 1 p.m. $10 per person. Prizes determined on the amount of participants. •May 5: Celebrating “Cinqo De Mayo”. Build your own Taco - 2 tacos for $7, served at 5 p.m while quantities last. Entertainment: DJ Jose at 8 p.m. •May 12: Bingo, 6:30 p.m and Entertainment by Al Jordan, 8 p.m. GERRARD ASHDALE LIBRARY, 1432 Gerrard St. E. •May 4: So you want to be a Crime Writer?, 7-8 p.m. A panel of writers from The Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem collective will share their secrets of success. Info: 416-393-7717, www.tpl.ca
CHURCHES
ST. JOHN’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, 794 Kingston Rd. Weekend Masses: Sat. Vigil at 4:30 pm, Sun. 9 & 11 am. Weekday Masses with Rosary: Tue. - Fri. Doors open and Rosary begins at 7:45 am followed by Mass at 8:15 am. Confessions every Sat 3:45 to 4:15 pm or by appt. Info: stjohnsto.archtoronto.org, 416-698-1105
WAVERLEY ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH, 129 Waverley Rd. We invite you to join us either In-Person or On-Line for our Sunday Morning Worship Services (twitch.tv/ waverleyroadbaptist or Instagram Live) beginning at 11 am every Sunday! Also, mark Friday, May 5th down in your calendar for the start of The Marriage Course. Info: waverleyroad.ca, 416-694-3054, info@waverleyroadbaptist.ca. Follow us on Facebook & Instagram, also. And, let us know how we may pray for you. (Just click the PRAYER button on our website.) We look forward to seeing you here!
BEACH UNITED CHURCH, 140 Wineva Ave. Join us in person every Sunday, 10:30 a.m., for our worship service led by minister Rev. Greg Daly and our music director Steven Webb. We will have Sunday School available on May 7, and June 4. Please join us for a special outdoor Blessing of the Pets service May 7 at 10:30 a.m. - all pets are welcome! Info: beachunitedchurch.com
GRANT AME CHURCH, 2029 Gerrard St. E. All are welcome Sundays from 11 am to worship service inperson, Facebook, ZOOM, or YouTube livestream with Pastor Kenesha Blake-Newell. Join us on our prayer line every Wednesday from 11 am-12 noon. Bible study on ZOOM every Wednesday at 7 pm. We provide nonperishable food, fresh fruits and vegetables on Fridays from 3:30-6:00 pm at our food bank. Registration is required. New clients must present identification for each household member. Links and info: www.grantame. com, grantamechurch@yahoo.ca, 416-690-5169
ST. AIDAN’S ANGLICAN CHURCH, 2423 Queen St. E., welcomes you to join us for Sunday worship at 8:30 am in person, or at 10:30 am (with children & youth programs) in person or on Zoom. Mondays: Out of the Cold, doors open at 5:30 pm, hot dinner at 6 pm. Tuesdays: Euchre at 7 pm. Wednesdays: Mid-week service, 10:30 am. Supper at St. Aidans – Join us April 20 at 5:45pm. It’s free and all are welcome! Our energetic, active church offers varied opportunities for spiritual growth, vibrant Children’s and Music programs, Youth activities, and a strong commitment to action on social justice and environmental issues. Info: www.staidansinthebeach.com, 416-691-2222 BEACHES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 65 Glen Manor Drive. (S of Queen). We are an inclusive and affirming congregation in the heart of the Beach. BPC has strong commitments to community service and social justice issues. We provide non-perishable food for those in need through our Free Food Pantry. Our Refugee Commitee has been in operation for many years helping families and individuals arrive and start a new life in Canada. On the 2nd Wednesday of every month we host a Coffee Outreach from 1-3 p.m. A special Jazz Service will be held on April 30 at 10 a.m. Links and info: www.beacheschurch.org, 416699-5871. Minister: The Reverend Katherine McCloskey
‘Province’ from Page 5
The 2023 budget displays signs of progress as it stated Ontario was set to increase education funding from by $2.3 billion.
However, many have described this as a form of a budget cut. According to the latest Financial Accountability Office (FAO) report, this funding has previously been designated for the joint federal-provincial child care program and will not be used to fund primary and secondary schools. The FAO reported that the Ministry of Education plans to spend $1.5 billion in 2022-23 and $2.3 billion in 2023-24 under the federal-provincial child care program.
“This includes $1.1 billion in 2022-23 and $1.6 billion in 2023-24 to reduce child care fees,” stated FAO’s report. “The remaining planned spending in 2022-23 and 202324 of $353 million and $694 million, respectively, is for wage enhancements, professional development, growth in spaces, start-up grants and administrative costs.”
This hasn’t gone unnoticed by community members such as East End Parents 4 Public Education (EEP4PE), a group of parents and community members advocating for better public education and adequate funding.
The group held a rally
against the cuts on April 15, at 11 a.m. at the Coxwell Avenue Parkette.
The rally aimed to convince Queen’s Park that the TDSB needs more help to ensure students get the proper education they need.
The call by East End Parents 4 Public Education comes as the TDSB is expected to lose out on an additional $31 million as the Ministry of Education has opted not to renew the COVID-19 funding once it expires in August. This, TDSB warns, will lead to additional cuts.
According to Beaches-East York Trustee TDSB Michelle Aarts, the Ministry of Education required school boards to use their reserves to cover operating costs.
This means that although schools will have base level staffing, they still expect to lose almost 500 staff members in Toronto alone, most of which are from the human resources sector of the education system.
Although the pandemic is now being considered a thing of the past by the government, Kate Dupuis, parent of two east Toronto public school students and Chair of EEP4PE (who also ran as the NDP candidate in Beaches-East York in the June 2022 provincial election) believes that Ontario’s budget is neglecting the after effects
of the past two years and importance of human resources in a post-pandemic system.
“The truth of the matter is that the system is really stressed and so many kids, we’re seeing, are in need of more support since the pandemic,” said Dupuis.
“So, its really concerning to hear about cuts as a parent because people are already doing the most they can with not a lot of resources.”
‘Complex’ from Page 1
streetcars will travel along Dundas Street East. Also, 505 Dundas streetcars will divert to the Bingham Loop (Kingston Road and Victoria Park Avenue) as they will be replacing the 22A Coxwell bus service that usually runs in that area on weekends and holidays.
Construction work for the Ontario Line at Queen Street East and Degrassi Street will also be impacting TTC service starting in July or August.
The changes here will impact the 501 streetcar service in the construction area and is dependent on the sewer work at Gerrard and Lower Coxwell being completed
on time. The plan is for the 501 streetcar to divert from Queen up to Gerrard between Broadview and Coxwell while the Degrassi work is taking place.
The paving work at the Main Station bus bay will also force a number of bus service changes which are slated to begin on May 7. As of that date, the 23 Dawes, 62 Mortimer, 64 Main, 87 Cosburn, 113 Danforth, and 135 Gerrard will be stopping on Main Street outside the station and not in the bus bay area.
Also, the 20 Cliffside route will be shortened to Victoria Park Station, and the 62 Mortimer route will be extended to Victoria Park Station
while the paving work takes place at Main.
For more information on these service and route changes, please visit the following websites: www.toronto.ca/community-people/get-involved/ public-consultations/infrastructure-projects/broadview-construction/ www.toronto.ca/community-people/get-involved/ public-consultations/infrastructure-projects/coxwellavenue-gerrard-street-eastintersection-construction/ www.ttc.ca/about-the-ttc/ projects-and-plans/Gerrardand-Coxwell www.ttc.ca/about-the-ttc/ projects-and-plans/MainStreet-Station
MALVERN COLLEGIATE
Institute celebrates its 120th anniversary on Saturday, May 13.
There will be an Open House that day at the school, 55 Malvern Ave., from 1 to 4 p.m. On the night of May 13, Pub Nights are planned.
A Pub Night for students and staff from the 1940s (and before), the 1950s and the 1960s is set for the Tara Inn on Kingston Road in Scarborough. A Pub Night for students and staff from the
early 1970s is at the Quarry Cafe on Gerrard Street East.
A celebration for students who attended in the middle 1970s is at the Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club starting at 6 p.m. This event is not organized by the Malvern Red and Black Society but any profits will be donated to the Society. For info on this gathering, go to www.eventbrite. ca/e/fifty-years-since-malvern-more-or-less-pub-nitetickets-571139322087
A Pub Night for former
students and staff from the late 1970s will be at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall Branch 13 on Kingston Road.
A Pub Night for students and staff from the 1980s and onwards is at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 73, on Robinson Avenue.
For Pub Night tickets, and more info on Malvern 120 celebrations, please visit the Malvern Red and Black Society’s website at https://malverncollegiate.com/events/ reunions/mci-120/
IN SPORTS, it’s a relatively rare occasion for an athlete to grow up and play for their hometown pro sports team. For most youth athletes it’s just something to dream about. However, in the case of 19-year-old Beacher Kobe Franklin and Toronto FC, it has become a reality.
Franklin recently signed a contract with TFC through the 2024 MLS season with options for 2025-26.
Franklin grew up in the Beach and attended both St. Denis Catholic School as well as Neil McNeil Catholic High School.
At the age of four, he began his soccer career with the Beach Community Soccer League being coached by his father Julian Franklin for many years.
He said his parents have been a major influence on him.
“Personally, I have always looked up to my parents as
role models. They exemplify many of the characteristics and morals I want to apply daily. From a soccer and athlete standpoint, there are many,” said Franklin
In 2013, the Franklin family made a move to Chicago when Kobe was nine years old, and it seemed to only bring positives to his soccer journey as he was part of the Academy (training) program of the Major League Soccer team Chicago Fire.
“I believe my move to Chicago back in 2013 was crucial not only as a person but as a player as well. Over there I was in the critical stages of my development as a player and the Chicago Fire Academy was somewhere I flourished and picked up many skills I use today,” said Franklin.
“It takes a lot for a young kid to move away from everything he’s ever known but I know now that the experience I had in the amazing place that is the Windy City was crucial for me. I enjoyed my time there a great deal.”
Franklin moved back to Toronto in 2016 and from there joined the TFC Academy to further his soccer skills.
He said that played a big part in his development over the past seasons.
“I have nothing but thanks and praise to give. I joined the club back in late 2016 and for the past seven years and counting they have provided me with the best opportunities, resources, and quality of play a young player could ask for. I am beyond thankful for the club and its fans and I would like to do as much as possible to pay my dues out on the pitch.”
Franklin has also represented Canada on the inter-
national soccer pitch, playing at the FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament in Brazil.
His recent signing with TFC made him the 32nd player in club history to do so from the TFC Academy.
“It means everything. It is something I have dreamed about my whole life and for it to finally come to fruition is surreal,” said Franklin of becoming a professional soccer player.
“From going to BMO Field as a child to watching games to ball boy-ing playoff matches, it is amazing to now be a part of the team I watched and looked up to for so long. Being a kid born and raised in the city, and coming up through the ranks of the club, makes reaching the pinnacle of the first team that much sweeter.”
He is thankful to the many people who have helped him through his soccer career so far.
“I would like to thank my mom, dad, brother, sister, and all of my family around the globe. They have been an incredible support system that has never stopped for one second,” said Franklin.
“I would also like to thank all my friends, teammates and coaches who I have had over the years. And lastly, of course, the Toronto Football
Club for taking a chance on the hometown kid. I can’t wait for the years to come.”
Franklin, at such a young age, has already seen major success in his sport.
However, he has a number of future goals he still hopes to reach including playing for Canada in the 2026 FIFA World Cup which will partly take place in Toronto.
“Aspiring to reach and manifesting things in your career is a big thing for any athlete,” said Franklin.
“The likes of playing regular minutes in the first team, winning trophies with TFC, being a part of the 2026 World Cup squad for Canada, and eventually playing in Europe are a few main ones I have in mind.”
As of Beach Metro Community News’ press deadline prior to this weekend, Franklin had played in two 2023 regular season games in Major League Soccer. He has appeared in two TFC games as a defender for a total of 62 minutes played. He came in in substitution in the March 11 game against the Columbus Crew and the March 25 game against the San Jose Earthquakes.
For more information on Franklin and his career, please visit www.mlssoccer. com/players/kobe-franklin
By Jack Skinner
THE BEACHES Lacrosse
Jammer Tournament took place on the Easter Weekend.
Named in memory of Jamieson Kuhlmann, a 15-yearold Beach resident who tragically passed away in May of 2008 while playing lacrosse for the Toronto Beaches, the tournament was played on April 8 and 9.
Three divisions took part in this year’s tournament.
The U-13 teams played the Saturday, followed by the U-15 teams who played on Sunday and the U-17 teams who played on both Saturday
and Sunday
All games took place at the Cherry Beach sports fields named West Field, and Kuhlmann Field in honour of Jamieson.
Many teams outside of Toronto participated in this year’s tournament. Teams including Six Nations, Peterborough, Mimico, Hamilton, Oakville, Whitby, Orangeville, and the hometown team, The Toronto Beaches, took part.
There were only playoffs for the U-17 teams. The Beaches 2 team finished in sixth place, but Beaches 1 beat fifth place Mimico 7-4 to take the third place overall
spot in the Jammer tournament playoffs.
The U-17 Orangeville Northmen cruised through the tournament with their 5-0 round-robin record prior to the playoff championship game against Six Nations. Orangeville already had a previous win against Six Nations earlier in the tournament by a score of 6-2. In the championship game, the Six Nations team put up a battle against Orangeville but the Northmen won the U-17 game 7-6.
Orangeville dominated the tournament in all three age divisions, going undefeated in each of them.
is an avid birder and nature photographer naturephotosbyann.blogspot.ca
Hello Beach Metro Community News readers, today’s topic isn’t a happy one, but I think it’s necessary that we spend more time addressing the worsening avian flu situation.
I’ve written before about what to do when you’ve found an injured bird: How to prepare a box to contain it, how to pick it up carefully, and how to bring it into a safe space like your garage.
I want to be very clear now, that this should only apply to songbirds that you believe have struck a window, or something similar.
If you see sick or dead waterfowl, farm birds, hawks, owls, crows, or blue jays, DO NOT TOUCH THEM!
Please keep reading for more information and to learn more about what to do.
While many of us look forward to the return migration of the birds, this year there is a huge concern over the High Pathogenic Avian
Influenza (HPAI).
With migration, the opportunity for transmission, and mutation, has greatly increased. Now, while avian flu isn’t new, it’s different this year.
To help put it in perspective, the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC), “conducts yearround targeted surveillance for AI having tested an average 6300+ birds (live and dead) per year between 2005 and 2016, during this time an average of ~14 positives were identified per year.”
(http://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/ docs/fact_sheets/avian_influenza.pdf)
Now, compare that ’14 per year’ to what the CBC just reported a few days ago: “Across Canada, an estimated seven million birds and counting have been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) during a devastating global outbreak that shows no signs of winding down.” (www.cbc.ca/news/health/ avian-influenza-spreadevolution-1.6804656)
Not only is the flu having a ‘devastating’ effect on our birds, H5N1 has also crossed over into 40 different spe-
BEACHES-EAST YORK
MPP Mary-Margaret McMahon is hosting a free screening of the movie What You Won’t Do For Love at the Fox Theatre in the Beach on Earth Day, which is on Saturday, April 22.
The movie examines our relationship with the earth and reveals the deep love that environmentalists David Suzuki and partner Tara Cullis share.
A Liberal MPP who was first elected to Queen’s Park in the June 2022 Ontario election, McMahon has made climate change and the environment among the issues she champions in the provincial legislature.
The movie will be screened from 10 a.m. to noon on April 22.
Admission to the screening is free, but those planning to attend are being asked to register in advance at https://mmmbey.com/ earthdayfilm/
The Fox Theatre is located at 2236 Queen St. E. in the Beach.
In her newsletter released earlier this month, McMahon wrote about the many ways
cies, including foxes, skunks, mink, and even a dog in Oshawa.
Thankfully, for whatever reason, the risk in songbirds, pigeons, and doves is quite low, which is why we haven’t been told to stop using our backyard feeders yet. I wonder though, since blue jays are getting sick, if even that will change soon.
I know a lot of people are wondering what they can do to help.
First and foremost, please stop feeding the waterfowl. We’re not supposed to be doing this anyway, but it’s more important than ever that we all stop. When someone throws a handful of food into the water, or along the shore, and all the ducks, geese, swans, etc. come together to fight for the food, that becomes a prime opportunity for the flu to spread.
Transmission occurs through, “direct contact with fecal or respiratory secretions from infected birds.” (CWHC) Picture all those birds running out of the water to pick up the bird seed, walking through the droppings on the ground, and then pecking at each other to get at the food.
Some of you may remember being told, during the height of COVID-19, to stand several Canada Geese apart to prevent spreading the
disease. Well, now we want the geese to stand and swim several people apart to keep them healthy.
Something else that you could do to help would be to use the Online Reporting Tool, put out by the CWHC, if you find a sick or dead bird.
Their system, using your submissions, allows them to track trends and outbreaks more quickly and accurately and your report will be automatically directed to the relevant regional office. You can find the tool at: http:// cwhc.wildlifesubmissions. org. If you go to their website, you’ll find other useful information and resources.
Remember that you can also call the Toronto Wildlife Centre. Right now, many birds are migrating, and window strikes are more common.
Wildlife Centres and Animal Control have proper PPE equipment to deal with injured wildlife and birds. Ever since I started volunteering with them, I’ve always carried, in my car, N95 masks, double latex gloves, and disinfectant for my shoes and boots.
I am so sorry to have to share this information with you, but it is better for us, our pets, and our wild friends to be safe. Enjoy the spring, and let’s hope for a safe and healthy summer.
local residents can help the environment and celebrate Earth Day.
“April is Earth Month – a time to raise our environmental awareness and take steps to combat climate change,” wrote McMahon in the newsletter.
“There are many things we can do, big and small, to take action during this time of crisis.”
In addition to watching the film What You Won’t Do For Love and/or helping at one of the various clean ups happening in Beaches-East York, McMahon suggested a number other ways to mark Earth Month in April including:
• Watch documentaries about the Earth.
• Listen to podcasts about the environment.
Read books about protecting the planet.
• Read good news about the environment.
• Tend to your local community garden.
• Clean up litter in your community.
• Restore nature in your area.
DR. KARIN RUMMELL & ASSOCIATES OPTOMETRISTS
1914 Queen St. E. (E. of Woodbine) Mon.- Sat. by appointment 416-691-5757
BALSAM DENTAL Family Dentistry * Open 6 days a week * * Evening hours available * New patients always welcome 2200 Queen St. East (at Balsam) 416-691-8555 www.balsamdental.com
BEACHES OPTOMETRY CLINIC
Dr. Linda Chan, Optometrist and Associates 951 Kingston Rd. (West of Victoria Park) 416-691-1991
DR. LINDA WINTER Psychologist Consultations • Therapy
Individuals • Couples Over 20 years experience. Located at Queen & Wheeler 416-691-1071
Dr. Linda Iny Lempert Psychologist & Psychoanalyst Individuals & Couples Services disponibles en français Insurance Coverage 47 Main Street (at Lyall Ave) 416-694-4380 www.drlempert.ca
Tara Shannon M.Ed. Counselling Psychology, RP Registered Psychotherapist Psychotherapy for Individuals and Couples Insurance clients welcome Evening & weekend sessions available 579 Kingston Rd (corner Main) 416 698-6960 tara@tarashannon.ca
in-home personal trainer 416 888 6465 mimi@missfit.ca
SPIRITUAL
CHARTERED
416-270-9898 98 Scarboro Beach Blvd.
William F. Deneault Chartered Accountant
• Corporate & Personal Tax
• Specializing in small to medium business
• Financial advice 21 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 502 Tel: (416) 962-2186
Kriens LaRose, LLP
Chartered Professional Accountants
• Accounting services for owner-managed businesses.
• Personal and corporation income tax preparation.
• Audit and consulting services for not-for-profit organizations www.krienslarose.com 416-690-6800
Melani Norman CPA, CMA Accounting Issues and Systems, Bookkeeping, Personal and Corporate Taxes Call 416-471-0337
Catherine Allon, BSc, MEd Caring Solutions for Relationship Issues 416-694-0232
www.energyawakening.com
Spiritual Counselling
CHRISTINE KATO, B.Sc., D.V.M. KATO ANIMAL HOSPITAL
Dashwood & Dashwood Barristers & Solicitors
Geoffrey J. Dashwood 961 Kingston Rd. Tel. 416-690-7222 Toronto, M4E 1S8 Fax. 416-690-8738
Snider & DiGregorio Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries. 978 Kingston Road, Toronto, Ont., M4E 1S9
Tel: 416-699-0424
Fax: 416-699-0285 Email: info@sdlegal.ca
Emily C. Larimer CPA, CGA BOOKKEEPING & PERSONAL TAX RETURNS INCLUDING TAXES IN ARREARS Call: 416-693-2274 emily@eclarimercpa.com www.eclarimercpa.com
Patrick Ruiz Professional Corporation CPA, CA An accountant you can count on For your Small Business Self-employed income & investments Real Estate Rentals 647-300-4062 • patrick@prtaxcpa.com
Beaches Family Law and MEDIATION
Linda Bronicheski, J.D. 47 Main Street (at Lyall) 416-763-6884 Linda@BeachesFamilyLaw.com
Shelly Pereira, Paralegal
Commissioner/Notary, Small Claims, Landlord & Tenant/other Tribunals, Municipal Offences, Letters & Mediation. Call for a Free 30 min. Consultation 647-693-6240 Toronto info@toronto-paralegal.net
Peter J. Salah Family Law Lawyer 124 Merton Street, Suite 300 We Collaborate, Negotiate & Litigate 416.752.8128 peter@salahlaw.ca www.salahlaw.ca
KAMRULHAFIZAHMED
REAL ESTATE LAWYER 416 690 1855 [P 416 690 1866 [F 2972 DANFORTH AVE.
QUINN Family Law
Shelley C. Quinn, LL.B., LL.M. (Family Law) 662 Broadview Ave. t. (416) 551-1025 www.QuinnFamilyLaw.ca
O’Reilly, Moll & Mian Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries Public 300 Main Street 416-690-3324
DENISE BADLEY-CASTELLO
Barrister, Solicitor, Notary Family • Wills & Estates Real Estate 2069 Danforth Ave. (Woodbine) 416-690-6195 dbadleylaw@rogers.com
KATHRYN WRIGHT
Barrister & Solicitor Family Law & Mediation
416-699-8848
2239 Queen Street East www.kathrynwrightlaw.com kathrynwrightlaw@gmail.com
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BARRISTER & SOLICITOR, TEP Wills/Estate Administration/Advice to Estate Trustees 416-767-CASS (2277) x 207 416-795-4899 (cell) 416-491-0273 (fax) garry@garrycass.com
Glover & Associates
Barristers, Solicitors, Notaries
Real Estate, Family, Litigation Wills & Estates, Corporate 416-691-3700
Queen and Hammersmith
Janet D’Arcy DC, FRCCSS (C) Chiropractor Sports Injury Specialist 2455A Queen St. East 416 690-6257 Open Saturdays
John H. BJARNASON, D.C. Chiropractor 1906 Queen St. E. (1 block east of Woodbine) 416-694-2868
BEACHES WELLNESS CENTRE Dr. Johanna Carlo Chiropractic & Registered Massage Therapy 2130 Queen Street East 416-698-7070
ASHBRIDGE’S HEALTH CENTRE
Dr. Emily Howell & Associates Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Orthotics ashbridgeshealth.janeapp.com 1522 Queen St. E. 416-465-5575 www.ashbridgeshealth.ca
MASSAGE THERAPY
advancedapproaches massage.com Su Willson, B.MUS, R.M.T. & ASSOC 927 Kingston Rd. (W. of Vic Pk) • Open 7 Days a week • Voted “#1 Spa and Best Massage Therapist in Toronto” 416-694-6767
Stephen G. King, Architect B. Arch. OAA, MRAIC “Serving the Beach since 1987”
Residential, Restorations, Home Inspections, Commercial, Interiors, Landscapes
COMPLETE PROJECT SERVICES FROM DESIGN THROUGH CONSTRUCTION (416) 694-8181
www.stephenkingarchitect.com
Member Ontario Association of Architects
Jen Goddard, R.M.T. Neville Park Health Group 2455A Queen St. East 416-690-6257
FUNERAL SERVICES eco Cremation & Burial Services Inc. Life Celebrations.
BEACH-BASED ARCHITECT and designer Sapphira Charles and Boa Boutique owner Daphne Nissani will be celebrating the makeover of the Queen Street East store this week.
Boa Boutique has been selling fashionable clothing in the Beach for the past 18 years. When it became time to refresh the store’s look, Nissani was excited to team up with Charles to take on the task.
Nissani knew Charles as a customer and felt they had similar senses of style that would work well together.
“I knew she was fabulous with style and we are similar free spirits. I knew Sapphira would be a good fit for this,” said Nissani.
The result is a brighter, more open-feeling store with large front windows that help create a sense of more space.
“It really is the High Street of the Beach here and it deserved a new frontage, and a newer, fresher look,” said Nissani. “It was absolutely a
pleasure working with Sapphira, and her style was a perfect fit.’
Nissani said she had talked with Charles about a new look for the store “that was more Spanish influenced, and had lots of curves. Sapphira helped so much with that and did the designs to give it such a modern European look. I am just very happy with the new space. The customers say it looks much bigger, especially with the new window frontage. It’s so much brighter and even friendlier.”
Located on Queen Street East just east of Wineva Avenue, Boa Boutique will be holding an already sold out Grand Opening celebration of the new space on Thursday, April 20.
For Charles, it was a pleasure to be able to help with the redesign of a store she loves and is located in her neighbourhood.
An architect, artist, designer, performer and activist, Charles founded her own company – The Architecture Revolution Inc. – in 2018. Prior to that she had worked
with other architectural firms in Toronto including G. Bruce Stratton Architects Inc., and Hanson + Jung Architects Inc.
Charles said according to her research with local architectural associations, her firm is the only one in Toronto that is solely-owned by a Black woman.
“I think that is a big and exciting point of interest here in Toronto in 2023… I’m so honoured, and it also scares me a bit, but I’m excited and honoured to be able to forge forward to make history. I think it’s a pretty big deal. I’ve been pretty quiet about it up until recently, but now it’s time to boldly put myself out there,” said Charles.
She pointed out that according to BAIDA (Black Architects + Interior Designers Association), Black women make up only 0.4 per cent of the architecture and design community.
Like many, she has spent a good part of the pandemic and its recovery period trying to get through but now Charles said its time come
Continued on Page 20
Whether you enjoy sports or not, it is undeniable that sports have brought mankind together for hundreds of years.
Sporting events like the Olympics have gathered millions of spectators from around the world to support, celebrate, and bond over their common interests. Sports range in complexity, strategy, and variety.
In Canada however, we have long upheld and cherished hockey as our nation’s iconic sport. Hockey embodies many prized elements of team sports: fair play, discipline, determination, teamwork, respect, leadership, and community. When these elements are listed, it’s easy to see how these values can and should be applied to life in general.
This month I was fortunate enough to meet with Chris George, Senior Wealth Advisor and Portfolio Manager at Scotia Wealth Management. Chris is not only a skilled and respected investment advisor but he also possesses the prestige of having been drafted in 1995 by the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche.
Both of Chris’ parents were born in Jamaica and came to Canada individually to study. His father became a dentist and his mother a lab technician at Sunnybrook Hospital. They knew each other from back home but reconnected in Canada. Chris and his brother grew up in Mississauga and led a charmed life going to private school and playing hockey.
Not only did Chris play hockey, but he was a gifted athlete playing at the highest levels until he was drafted.
“I got invited to two training camps . . . I played one exhibition game in ’96, scored a goal against Calgary. So that was kind of the pinnacle of my career. I didn’t realize at the time that it was the top,” he said with a good humoured chuckle.
“Then to be honest, I didn’t make it, they offered me a not too great of a deal. I had a pretty good visibility of where I was going to be in their system. So, I decided to go to school. I had a scholarship that I had negoti-
ated with my OHL (Ontario Hockey League) team; I had a free ride to any Canadian university.”
Through the influence of his close buddies Chris went to the University of Western Ontario. Life was going well until one night coming home by himself, he was beaten unconscious.
“I got jumped by a biker gang in London, Ontario. I was called an n-word and beaten by a guy with brass knuckles and his biker gang . . . I had 20 stitches in the back of my head . . . that’s as extreme as it (racism) can get. The nuance to it was how it felt. I couldn’t put my hockey helmet on because of the stitches so I had to miss hockey. Which to me was a big deal and I was almost embarrassed. I didn’t want to get in trouble and miss hockey. I actually felt guilt or something for getting in ‘trouble’.”
Up until his teens, Chris hadn’t faced any racism that he was aware of on or off the ice.
As he got older and played at higher levels he said, “I had many experiences (of racism) which is quite common. Especially looking back with the Hockey Diversity Alliance, the Black community came together and we’re all telling the same stories.”
The Hockey Diversity Alliance is an organization set up by hockey players whose purpose is “To eradicate systemic racism and intolerance in hockey”.
Chris acts as an advisor and corporate ambassador for the HDA. Many founders of the HDA were interviewed in the powerful and important documentary Black Ice which was released September 2022.
The documentary
explores the history and experiences of Black hockey players in Canada. Many of the stories revolve around the pain of racism these players have experienced in their careers and the deliberate eradication of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes.
Chris shared what he felt about the documentary: “It’s amazing that we were all experiencing the exact same thing, just independently. That’s what resonates.”
In his efforts to pay it forward Chris is deliberate in his intentions to increase the success of young Black folks. For so long many of us have been working in our respective fields alone, navigating the various white spaces without any guidance or representation.
“My journey through hockey, and starting a career on Bay Street, I had different hurdles to face. A big one was you didn’t have people you could really talk to. There was no ‘Uncle John’ who worked at the firm . . . There were very few people that I could look at myself and say well ‘how did you do it? I think I could do it like you did’.
“When I talk about trying to be a part of the solution, that’s what it is. It’s like hockey and Bay Street, quite similar, the access is very tough. If you want to play hockey it’s expensive, but even once you’re in the dressing room, or into the job, you want to have support. You need mentorship. You need support. It has to be deliberate.”
Chris was very intentional when he created the Black North’s Athletes on Track program with his friend.
Athletes on Track is a $5,000 bursary and mentorship
Continued on Page 19
This is due mainly to the consistent increases in consumer interest rates and the darkening economic clouds that many pundits predicted (and still do predict).
again forced to compete in multiple offer situations with more buyers than they had originally thought were in the buying mood.
circles was yet again how buoyant the market is, with prices on the upswing.
As “Springter” slowly faded away, and the warmer and sunnier weather has finally arrived, I thought I’d reflect upon the first three months of this year in the Beach real estate market, and ponder what’s around the corner as the Beach witnesses the first “normal” spring market in almost three years.
That is to say, our first spring market in the last three whereby the pandemic and the resulting fiscal and social policies are not playing outsized roles in the real estate market.
However, the remnants of the previous spring market are still weighing upon this spring market in some respects, due to the frantic pace and truly eye-popping increase in sale prices of the early 2022 market and the market slowdown that followed in the second half of last year.
If you follow real estate in general, you have undoubtedly heard that the number of sales and sale prices have taken a bit of a dive in much of the City of Toronto since the New Year (continuing a trend from mid- 2022).
Total firm sales reported on the MLS in the first three months of this year were almost 50 per cent less in the Beach area (E02) than in the first quarter the previous year, although the sale prices did not take as much of a hit as many thought they might have.
Limited inventory
The sale prices did drop around 10 – 15 per cent here in the Beach from the height of last year’s market in March, slowly declining through the middle to end of 2022, with that trend continuing into January and February.
Traditionally though, January and February are quieter months in real estate, with less inventory and buyers only kicking tires for the most part.
The late winter and earlyspring buyers who decided that the “best time to buy is when nobody else is” did take advantage of a market that seemed to be stagnant and favouring buyers.
However, those buyers were chasing a limited amount of listing inventory, and noticed that they were
Listing agents started noticing that trend as well when March rolled around, and once again changed their pricing strategy from the more traditional plan of determining a list price and not holding off on offers in order to entice buyers to strike quickly, back to once again setting aggressively low listing prices and holding back on accepting offers, or to seek a “pre-emptive” or Bully offer(s), and/or multiple offers on the offer date.
But that scheme wasn’t without risk either, as the MLS system started seeing a high frequency of suspended and terminated listings “re-listed” at new higher list prices, obviously because many buyers thought they had the momentum on their side and that sellers should feel the pinch this time.
However, the dearth of available inventory, especially in prime Beach locations has again forced many Buyers to the table in a competing offer scenario.
This is raising Beach sale prices, frustrating those first-time buyers, and the move-up buyers once again.
And as April dawned, the talk in Beach real estate
I’m not convinced that the market will get as crazy as it was in the first three to four months of 2022, or that prices will again hit those lofty heights this April and May.
The current crop of buyers are constrained somewhat due to much higher interest rates than last year, and are showing signs of more due-diligence and self-control when in multiple offer situations.
Instead of a dozen or more offers for Beach properties priced aggressively low, there are indeed less, perhaps half that number.
But, whether its 12, 6, 3, or 1 offer, the sale price will still be very good in this market.
The siren call for owning a piece of the Beach neighbourhood will continue to attract buyers to this vibrant area going into May and June.
And that’s good news for Beach real estate prices. Depending what side of the fence you are on of course.
Thomas Neal is a wellknown and respected Beach real estate agent. He can be reached at dealwithneal77@ gmail.com or 416-460-4253.
‘Business’ from Page 18
program. “When we created the Black North Athletic Scholarship it wasn’t just about the 5,000 dollars, it’s an internship and a dedicated mentorship program.”
He gave an example: “A young Black student athlete from Halifax gets an internship in Toronto, and they get to meet with an established Black professional like myself every month. You’ve tackled two things, the first is getting in the door, and then once you’re through the door. When I look back, it was super isolated.
“I was trying to figure it out, you’re talking to yourself about it, you’re brainstorming with your wife, there’s no one to relate to.”
Ultimately, what Chris sees is not only the responsibility of mentorship, but the opportunity.
He is energized by the numerous possibilities for growth when we diversify and elevate each other.
Maybe Chris’ faith in working together comes from his strong family background, or maybe it comes from all his years playing hockey, but what he knows for sure is that when we have respect, determination, and teamwork, the energy and possibilities are a win for everyone.
With full clarity and enthusiasm Chris said: “The energy we have is fuel. It’s the opposite of when you’re isolated and alone. . . if we’re smart about it, we should be together and strong.”
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‘Boa’ from Page 17
out of the “long-lasting” isolation and start letting people know more about her self and her firm.
Post-pandemic, she said things are starting to move forward. “Thus far I’ve been pretty blessed, and there has been a lot of work with women in business. Some of the contacts were because I was local and some because I was a woman running her own company.”
Charles grew up in North York where she went to high school at Cardinal Carter Academy of the Arts. After that she took architecture at Carleton University for her undergrad, and then her masters at the University at Buffalo.
Charles said she decided to study architecture in university after seriously considering the pursuit of a career as an artist and attending the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD).
“There is a lot of art in architecture, though not all architects consider themselves artists. Not every architect has that creative edge,” she said. “I was at a bit of a crossroads at the end of high school as I loved architecture but I also considered going to OCAD. It was a tough de-
cision for an 18 year old, but I felt I wanted to make an impact on the world and I could do that through architecture. I love space and looking at space through architecture, and I wanted to use my skills as an architect and really light that fuse.”
Charles said there’s a saying that architecture is civilization since it has such a profound impact on how people live. “It shapes civilizations and it shapes cultures too,” she said.
“I’m always considering light and colour and the effects it has on psychology in spaces. Colour is a big, big thing for me as it inspires a space and its function. As architects we need to consider the aesthetics of space and how it all works together for human wellness,” said Charles.
A resident of the Beach since 2012, Charles said she loves living in the community as a single mother to a five-year-old son who she coparents with his father who also lives locally.
She had lived downtown before moving east to the Beach.
“I didn’t really see myself then as wanting to live in any particular neighbourhood,” said Charles of mak-
ing the Beach home. “I liked it downtown before I moved, but I’ve come to love it here. The beauty and creativity of the area has really grown on me. There’s nature and green spaces, and the beach and the water. It’s a beautiful place to live in the city. There’s so much creative energy and it’s a great place to raise a child.”
She said she also appreciates the family nature of the Beach community. “There’s a strong mom base here and I just love the neighbourhood. There’s so many parks and so much greenery and it’s inspiring to be out in nature.”
Along with her work as an architect and designer, Charles is also the founder of the Beachers for Black Lives Facebook group (which began in 2020 when the death of George Floyd who was killed by a Minnesota police officer brought issues of racism to the forefront) and is a member of Friends of the Beach Parks, a group of residents dedicated to enhancing and animating parks in the area.
For more information on Charles and her firm, please go to www.thearchitecturerevolution.com/
For more information on Boa Boutique, please go to https://shopboa.ca/
This photograph above from the City of Toronto Archives of Kingston Road looks eastward, by Scarborough Road. Ciro’s Restaurant would not close its doors until 1979, so my guess is this photo was taken sometime in the 1970s, judging by the vehicles behind the streetcar.
Do you have an old photograph of Kingston Road that you would like to share with our readers? Please contact me at gdvandyke61@gmail.com
Beaches Recreation Centre Advisory Council sincerely thanks all sponsors supporting our annual event
HON OURARY City of Toronto
Eagle Beaver Sports
Pegasus
GOLD
Balmy Beach Canoe Club
Boardwalk Running Club
Norseman Construction & Development Ltd.
SILVER
Cari & Paul Lapas Bespoke Real Estate
Molson Canada
Tom Jakobek
BRONZE
100 Miles
Afterglow Studio
Beach Metro News
Beacher Café
Beaches Lions Club
Brad Bradford, City Councillor, Ward #19
D & G Trophies
Farm Boy
Fearless Meat
Freshco
Mary-Margaret McMahon, MPP Beaches-East York
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, MP
Restore Integrative Health
Scarborough Masters Running Club – Vern Christensen
Seagull Classics Ltd.
The Teenage Tutors
The Mail Slot
Tim Hortons – Gerrard & V.P
THE ANNUAL General Meeting
(AGM) of the members of Community Centre 55 will be held on Tuesday, June 6, at 7 p.m.
The meeting will take place at Community Centre 55, located at 97 Main St.
The purpose of the AGM is considering and taking action with respect to the following: to approve the financial statements of Community Centre 55 for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2022; to receive the Program report; and to fill one vacancy on the Board of Management.
For additional information on the
AGM, please contact Reza Khoshdel, Executive Director, Community Centre 55 at 416-691-1113 ext. 225.
Ticker of a Time 2 fundraiser slated for April 29
EAST TORONTO resident Joe Sexton and family will be hosting a fundraiser this month for the Schroeder Brain and Heart Centre at St. Michael’s Hospital.
The Ticker of a Time 2 event, called the best Newfoundland Kitchen Party, takes place on Saturday, April 29, at Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas St. E., starting at 7 p.m.
Sexton and his family hold the fundraiser as thank you for the life-saving care he received at the hospital following a stroke in 2016. “It is with a tremendous degree of gratitude and thanks for the incredible care and treatment Joe received while at St. Michael’s Hospital Cardiac Care Ward the family is hosting the event,” said the news release for Ticker of a Time 2.
Tickets are $100 and can be purchased at https://secure3.convio.net/ smh/site/SPageServer?pagename=%2F
ATickerofTime
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith M.P. Beaches-East York info@ beynate.ca 416 . 467. 0860
Story idea? News tip?
Something you think we should know about? We want to hear from you!
www.beachmetro.com
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CUTTING
416-414-5883 info@blpm.ca (4r)
Lord of the Stone LANDSCAPE SPECIALIST • Patios • • Walkways • • Stone steps • • Retaining walls • instagram.com/lordofthestone 647 906 6826 (4r)
THE STONE PORCH LANDSCAPING
Finely Finished Stone Work www.thestoneporch.com thestoneporch@gmail.com 416-988-2589 (4r)
Scotstone
Traditional stone walls, steps, interlocking paths, patios & decks. Landscaping solutions to customize your space. Call Scott 416.858.2452 scotstonecontracting@gmail.com (7)
STONESCAPE
Specializing in Interlocking Stone • Planters Retaining Walls • Steps • Fences Decks • Sodding & Repairs rickscape@hotmail.com Rick 416-821-4065 (7)
A FUNDRAISING concert in support The Beach Cares is planned for the evening of Friday, April 28.
The Folk, Rock, Show Tunes and Folk Mu-
sic Fundraiser will take place at St. Aidan’s Church, 2423 Queen E., starting at 7:30 p.m. Performers will include the Boardwalk Cowboys, Graduates of Humber’s Theatre Arts
last. Tino 416-333-3773 www.ipaintkitchencabinets.ca (20/24)
WG
647-702-9502
Renos • Basement • Kitchen Bathroom • Flooring • Carpentry info@perfectpaintingandrepair.com www.perfectpaintingandrepair.com (19)
WG PAINTING
Local resident w/38 yrs. exp. INTERIOR PAINTING
All work guaranteed
Fully insured • Free estimate Experienced Handyman Available 416-322-7692 warren_gamey@yahoo.com (6r)
Master’s Touch Painting A Company You Can count on Quality Since 1981 Interior • Exterior Pantelis
Cell: 416-543-8254
We Don’t cut corners, we cut lines. (7)!
Plumbers
BEACH PLUMBING
Small Repairs to complete houses Renovations 416 691-3555
50 years in the Beach (r)
NEIGHBOURHOOD
PLUMBING
Beach resident for 50 years.
Discount for seniors and single parent.
Lic. Master Plumber • Free estimates
Patrick 647-404-7139 patrickj480@gmail.com (6)
Plumbing & Drains
All types of plumbing work.
Smallest leak - complete bath reno.
Internal & external drain excavating.
Call the professionals 416-480-0622 24 hr. - lic# P1624 (4r)
PLUMBER CONTRACTOR
Fully licensed & insured.
Program and St. Aidan’s Regrets.
There is no cost to attend the concert.
However, donations are appreciated as the event is being held to raise funds for refu-
gee families supported by The Beach Cares, which is a coalition of members of the St. Aidan’s and Beach United congregations and the Beach community.
GENERAL CONTRACTING Kitchens - Bathrooms
Basements - Doors, Windows Garages - Fences, Decks
For all
in the heart of The Beaches www.laniganscontracting.ca
416-569-2181 (r)
THOSE ROOFERS
Don’t call them, call those roofers ALL TYPES OF ROOFS - Shingles & Flats- Repair & Tune ups - Cedar & Slate - Re-roofs & new work Doug 416-871-1734 Jeff 647-686-8103 Lic - Insured • Free Estimate (r)
ROOFING & SIDING?
SOLUTION!
Flat and Shingle Roofs Re-roofing, Repair Eavestrough, Soffit & Fascia Workmanship Guaranteed Gus: 416-910-8033 (4r)
TORONTO ROOFING INDUSTRIES LTD.
Local • Reliable • Professional Servicing the beach for 18 years. 416 694 0906 torontoroofingindustries.com (4r)
CANADIAN CONTRACTORS Shingles • Flats Roof Repairs • Metal Work Eavestroughing & Siding Waterproofing • Since 1984 Met. Lic. B-16-964 Steve 416-285-0440 • 416-605-9510 (4.)
Beach Co Roofing Flat Roofing 647-309-8056 (4r)
K. R. ROOFING
All types of Roofin= Eavestrough & Siding
Over 40 years in the east end. Martin 416 579-6534 (4r)
ROOFING, REPAIRS DUN-RITE Shingles, Flats, Eavestroughs Fascia & Soffit Chimney tuck pointing 15% off for Seniors • All work guaranteed 647-857-5656 (15)
Trades
UNDERPINNING & WATERPROOFING
Maximum
John www.mgcunderpinning.com maximumgen@gmail.com
MET# B16348 Since 1998 (13r)
Beaches Brickworks
• brick restoration
• arches, lintels & sills
• openings & enclosures
CHIMNEY SPECIALISTS
416 988-2589 danielmccaf@gmail.com (4r)
S.A.C Masonry
Brick, Block, Stone, Chimneys, Concrete, and all masonry repairs Call Sergio 416 873 9936(4)
CJ DRYWALL & PAINTING
Professional drywall and plaster work. Renovation and Repair. Very clean. No job too small. Call C.J. 647 222 5338 (4.)
BEACHES HANDY WORKS
Dedicated precise worker. All your build and repairs. Indoor or outdoor: dry-wall, flooring, built-in, landscaping, interlocking, sheds, fences, decks, etc. at a reasonable price!
Call Hamid at 647-300-2462 (4r)
JDB MASONRY
• Brick / Foundation
• Concrete / Stone
• Chimney & Parging
Restoration & Build
www.jdbuild.ca 416-738-2119 (4r)
BRICK SPECIALIST
Masonry & brickwork.
Experts at matching existing brick. New builds, tuckpointing, colour matching, parging. Stone & Block.
Call Scott @ Scotstone 416.858.2452 scotstonecontracting@gmail.com (7)
Can Pro Mechanical
Heating cooling service & install Hvac ductwork
Furnace, boiler, hydronics
Large and small jobs 416 606 4719 (4r)
BLANK SLATE RENOVATIONS
Kitchens & bath, basement apts, doors, trim, crown molding, shelving, paint, drywall repair, tile, hardwood, fences, decks, interlock and more.
Lic. & Ins.
416.274.5929 (4r)
