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EESTI ELU reedel, 18. detsembril 2020 — Friday, December 18, 2020
Former U.S. Secretary of State awarded Estonian Order of Merit ERR, December 2020
Photo: Hector Vasquez
DROM Taberna — a loyal fixture of Nordic and Eastern European food and music in Toronto Vincent Teetsov In the 2014 documentary Toidutoojad: Ajaloolised eesti toiduärid Torontos (Makers of Food: Historical Estonian Food Businesses in Toronto) – produced by Piret Noorhani and Riina Reinvelt, and directed by Kaisa Pitsi – the cumulative impression made in Toronto by Estonian foodbased businesses was shown to be substantial. In one inter view, Laas Leivat remembers that as a teenager, “there were maybe six to seven food shops” run by Estonians. One of these was Rooneem’s Bakery, which “had the very best light rye” (peenleib). For bakeries like that of Hugo Rooneem’s, there was a steady demand for baked goods because of the high number of immigrants and refugees from Europe. Certainly enough demand for good, dense, flavourful bread that you could make some open faced sandwiches with, or sizzle on a pan with some butter in the morning. Aino Rooneem, Hugo’s wife and the bakery’s bookkeeper, described Hugo’s beginnings at his family’s bakery in Tallinn. Once in Canada, he started by baking bread in the evenings at the Swedish bakery where he worked, and sold it to Estonians after their church services had ended. It was a passion. It was hard work, too, working late nights and early mornings, as bakers do, to keep up with orders. Rooneem’s Bakery ex panded into offering lunch and became a hopping spot for treats ranging from slurps of soup to bites of cake. In the late 90s, the bakery closed. The bakery had occupied 468 Queen Street West and later 484 Queen Street West. These are now SVP Sports and a closed down Taco Bell, respectively. It would be a sad way to end the saga of a decades long business with its closure. Further more, it would be a skewed interpretation of the area where it was located. Queen West has changed dramatically, and will likely continue in this way. However, one business, which is just a few steps away from where Rooneem’s Bakery stood, has proudly and actively put a spotlight on Nordic and Eastern
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia will award an Order of Merit to former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz on his 100th birthday for his services to Estonia. “We are very honoured to recognise George Shultz, the former U.S. Secretary of State. The people of Estonia will never forget his services to the restoration of our independence,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isa maa) said. Reinsalu said Shultz was integral to Estonia achieving its freedom and advocated for the policy of non-recognition. “In 1983, George Shultz, the U.S. Secretary of State at the time, wrote to the Consul General of the Republic of Estonia and acting ambassador Ernst Jaakson that Soviet Union troops invaded Estonia in 1940, and assured him that the United States had never recognised their occupation and did not intend to change that principle in the future,” Reinsalu said. As the Secretary of State, Shultz valued transatlantic relations. “The transatlantic link was, is and remains a cornerstone of Estonia’s foreign policy and the guarantor of security in Europe. We are committed to reinforcing this link,” Reinsalu said. George Shultz was the Secretary of State of the United States between 1982 and 1989. He has held various cabinet posts. On December 13, Shultz will celebrate his 100th birthday.
European traditions. That place is DROM Taberna. Maybe you’ve been there before? If it’s not familiar to you, you might have heard about it in the context of the Estonian folk duo Puuluup. Ramo Teder and Marko Veisson played at DROM Taberna (which you’ll often hear referred to simply as “Drom”) two days after their Estonian Music Week show in 2019. Opened in 2018 at 458 Queen Street West, a building that’s just over 150 years old and which formerly housed Tortilla Flats, this restaurant has served the area with zippy food and drinks that you would indulge in on a trip from Finland to Bulgaria. In fact, according to them, “In Romani [the language spoken by the Romani people] Latcho Drom means ‘safe journey.’ Drom is a Slavic loan word that means voyage, travel, adventure, the open road…” The thing that gets patrons to stay through the night at the restaurant is the vivacious live music they host. Like Lula Lounge and Hugh’s Room Live have also done, they offer a the dishes originate from, their broad folk and jazz music se- specific ingredients, and mode lection. If you want to stomp of preparation. These are the your feet with abandon to details and signals of restaurafiddles and accordions, look no teurs caring about their enterfurther. prise, and for a visitor, it makes When it was hot and it all the more memorable. Torontonians were basking in Normally, there is room for the city’s celebrated patio 75 people, and space is usually scene, Drom was an oasis. Even cleared for musicians and in colder times, music happen- dancing. Groups like Balfolk ing at the corner of Queen and Dance Collective and the Augusta has spilled out onto the Toronto Klezmer Society have street and brightened up every- come through for weekly dancone’s days. In the pickup/ ing and jam sessions. Roo delivery age, it’s still doling out neem’s, and all of the Estonian borscht and cabbage rolls to food businesses of Toronto, happy customers. have shown us what some good The designer behind count- food and company is capable of less memorable nights here is building, and those values Shamez Amlani. Amlani has haven’t disappeared. curated these types of friendly Let’s not despair about what cultural environments before. has ended, but rather, look for As mentioned by Blog TO, he and champion the places that is “one of the original organizers remind us of great things we’ve of Kensington Market’s had. There is common ground Pedestrian Sundays.” Amlani is to be found in looking into the also co-owner of nearby French offerings of Estonia’s neighbistro La Palette, where you can bouring cultures, while sharing gaze into a glass of Beaujolais our own customs in return. And and pull apart some slow- there’s no way of knowing how braised duck confit. that exchange might create A trip to Drom is educational. more ways to enjoy our Esto You’ll be told a bit about where nian culture.
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The Six Hour Workday / Four Day Workweek Proposal beneficial for those seeking work; but in the long run it Before she became Prime would cost employers more Minister of Finland in De money. So it might not change cember 2019, Sanna Marin anything at all. Projects might suggested that Finland should just go incomplete or take lonadopt a shorter workweek, by ger. either cutting the number of A reduction of working days working hours each day from has been criticized as a strategy eight hours down to six; or by because of the potential for emreducing the number of days ployees to be asked to simply working per week from five work more hours each day. days down to four. Marin’s Instead of working from 9:00 intention would be that pay AM to 5:00 PM, workplaces would remain the same, but hours would be less cumula might need their staff to stay tively. The total hours would until 7:00 PM. On a regular be somewhere between 30 and basis, this could lead to exhaustion and also cost employers 32 hours. While generally supportive more in the long-term because of such a change in Estonia, of overtime hours. Nevertheless, let’s imagine Estonian Member of Parliament the benefits of reduced working (of the Social Democratic hours or days. The hope exParty) and former Minister of pressed by proponents such as Health and Labour Riina Sikkut Marin and Sikkut is that the was reported in August 2020 to r eduction of hours or days have said, “It is clear that we would make whatever time we cannot shorten everyone’s are working more productive. workday starting tomorrow. We cannot find more workers over- Indeed, if you sat in the corner night or hike companies’ ex- of a typical place of work, not penses to this degree. However, all of the hours that you shortening the time we spend watched over would be furiously working should be a long-term active. There would be meetings, natural pauses, and breaks. goal...” According to EURES (an It’s possible that less of these agency of the European Union), activities would take place in a Estonia’s working population reduced workweek. All em (between 15 and 74 years of ployees would gain more time age) in the first quarter of 2020 for recreation, cooking at home, amounted to 984,000 people. At exercise, and more. These that time, 670,300 of those peo- activities improve physical and ple were employed, making for mental health. With a six hour work day, an employment rate of 68.1 perstarting at 9:00 AM, employees cent. EURES data from Finland with school-aged children could showed that the country had align their schedules with that “just under 2.5 million workof their kids more easily. They ers” in 2018. At first glance, the could drop their children off at proportion of people in Estonia school and pick them up in the who are unemployed could benefit from the increase of jobs afternoon without needing to that might come from the re- pay for daycare. Families would duction of other people’s hours. have more time at home to This is assuming both that gether and save money. A more young adults would not attend open schedule has the power to university and that people above encourage more of the populathe traditional North American tion to continue working even if retirement age would wish to they are raising a family, thereby reducing unemployment and continue working. If eight or 10 hours of work boosting the economy. were shaved off from each There are definitely aspects employee’s hours at a business, that need to be solved for these would it allow for multiple ad- changes to be implemented in ditional part-time employees to Estonia. However, the benefits step in, or one additional full- are numerous enough to justify time employee? This would be that solution.
Vincent Teetsov
Photo: Jan Vasek, used with a Creative Commons Zero License
