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RioCan gets approval for Bathurst St. development
‘Walk In My Shoes’ campaign targets poor ALI RAZA araza@insidetoronto.com Put Food in the Budget (PFIB) launched its latest campaign, “Walk In My Shoes”, in an effort to convince the provincial government to raise social assistance rates.
PFIB is an organization aiming to raise awareness of inequalities in Ontario’s social assistance programs. On Feb. 19, it held a mock trial in Regent Park charging Premier Kathleen Wynne for neglecting her pledge to make social justice a top priority. She was tried
in absentia by members of the organization in what they called a “Court of Public Opinion.” She was found guilty. Now, PFIB representatives said they hope to draw more attention to Ontario’s poor with “Walk In My Shoes”. “We held hearings in 20 com-
munities across Ontario leading up to the trial,” said Mike Balkwill, provincial organizer of PFIB. “What we heard over and over again were people saying ‘If politicians had to walk in my shoes, they’d put food in the budget.’” >>>POSTCARD, page 5
With Walmart out of the picture, plans by big box developer RioCan to redevelop land near Kensington Market sailed through the Toronto and East York Community Council Tuesday afternoon. The community council unanimously approved a new application by RioCan, an approval that was aided by a pledge by RioCan not to rent space to Walmart on the new site, and a new development proposal that would make doing so next to impossible in any event. Originally, RioCan had proposed a single-tenant retail space of 8,800-square-metres at 410-466 Bathurst St., which would have placed a downtown Walmart just to the west of Kensington Market. But the proposal raised an outcry in the form of a 91,000-name-strong petition demanding that not take place. The new proposal includes retail, but half the building will be comprised of office space. Trinity-Spadina Councillor Mike Layton said issues remain regarding the development, but the compromise is worth making. “The tradeoffs we have to make to avoid the ultimate deci>>>PROPOSAL, page 6