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Events listings / 10

An annual community event planned for this Thursday will celebrate greatness in both the youth and youth champions of east Scarborough.

The Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough said its annual Unity in the Community Event this year will be an awards night for youth leaders and people involved with community initiatives for young people.

INSIDE Giant panda exhibit now open at zoo / 3

EVENT AT CLUB

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WEEKEND FUN: Historical interpreter Pailagi Pandya shows Daphne and Nicole how to play croquet during a visit to the Scarborough Museum at Thomson Memorial Park Sunday. For more photos from the long weekend, please see page 13.

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It will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. at the club which is located at 100 Galloway Rd. For more information on the East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club and the Unity in the Community event, please visit them online at www.esbgc. org

Experts to study future plans of The Scarborough Hospital MIKE ADLER madler@insidetoronto.com Two big decisions which could reshape The Scarborough Hospital have been placed in the hands of seven outside experts.

Those seven people – an eighth will be named soon – are on a panel which must decide if

proposals to merge TSH’s birthing programs on its Birchmount campus and to divide surgical services between the General campus and Birchmount are either sound or too risky to try.

The experts are also supposed to “address the concerns and risks” identified by residents, physicians and hospital

staff, including hundreds who opposed the proposals before the Central East LHIN ordered the review.

But the hospital and the LHIN, its regional overseer, say the busy panelists can only gather for one public session in Scarborough, which will be on May 31 during the working day.

Anyone who wants to speak at the session, at Scarborough Civic Centre from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 5 p.m., must preregister, provide a written document to the panel and agree to be videotaped, the hospital said.

The proposals are the most prominent of nearly 200 initiatives a Performance

Improvement Committee at TSH proposed to save money at a time when provincial funding for hospitals is being tightened or diverted elsewhere.

Administrators at the hospital said forming a single Centre of Excellence in Maternal Newborn and Women’s Health made sense because the number of births >>>PANEL, page 16

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3 | SCARBOROUGH MIRROR | Tuesday, May 21, 2013

community

Staff photos/TARA HATHERLY

GIANT FUN: At right, giant panda Er Shun eats bamboo at the Toronto Zoo Thursday. At top left, Da Mao takes a nap on a rock. At bottom far left, Er Shun eats bamboo. And at bottom centre, panda Da Mao is still eating bamboo. The giant pandas will spend the next five years at the Toronto Zoo, where it is hoped they will mate and produce cubs.

Giant pandas wow crowd at debut Tara Hatherly thatherly@insidetoronto.com Giant pandas Er Shun and Da Mao made their official, much-anticipated Toronto debut, instantly stealing the hearts of VIPs and special guests who gathered to celebrate their unveiling.

The cute and cuddly-looking creatures elicited oohs and ahs from many of the guests, who furiously snapped photos and filmed videos of the giant pandas.

Er Shun and Da Mao comfortably soaked in the attention, calmly lounging while munching bamboo and staring back curiously at their admirers.

Da Mao lounged around the exhibit’s outside viewing area, taking a nap by a pool to rest up after his bamboo lunch, while female Er Shun pawed around an indoor viewing area. Applause greeted Da Mao as he slowly lumbered out to meet his guests.

Several speeches and a ribboncutting ceremony officially marked the exhibit’s opening, attended by a Chinese delegation and many Canadian politicians.

“The Toronto Zoo has contributed to the conservation protection of giant pandas in the wild for several decades now, and today the Toronto Zoo will play an even more

important role in the conservation and breeding of this highly endangered species,” said Joe Torzsok, chair of the Toronto Zoo board of management.

“Today is a proud day for all Canadians.”

The ceremony began with a performance of O Canada by Davisville Public School students, and a performance of the Chinese national anthem by Yip’s Children’s Choir, both accompanied on trumpet by Brooke Xiang, of Toronto’s Royal Canadian Navy Band HMCS York, who also played the Chinese flute during the event.

China’s ambassador to Canada, Zhang Junsai, said the giant pandas’ presence in Toronto, and Canada, goes far beyond conservation research.

“Learning more about pandas, you’ve got to understand more of their home town. That is China,” said Junsai. “Canadians will get better chances to know more about China’s geography, customs, history, culture, economy and its society, as well as the peace loving nature of Chinese nation ... Pandas are the seeds of friendship in the hearts of the people of our two countries. Pandas are bringing our hearts closer.”

He joked Er Shun and Da Mao are getting it too good here.

“Pandas are token of friendship

“

... today the Toronto zoo will play an even more important role in the conservation and breeding of this highly endangered species.

– Joe Torzsok, chair of the Toronto Zoo board of management

from the Chinese people. And many Chinese are deeply moved by the exceptional attention and thoughtful care towards the two pandas from across Canada,” he said.

“All these make me a little bit worried that Er Shun and Da Mao may one day feel more likely to seek Canadian citizenship, rather than going back to China upon the completion of their tour.”

The giant pandas will spend the next five years at the Toronto Zoo, where it is hoped they will mate and produce cubs.

They will then spend five years at the Calgary Zoo, before returning to China.

In exchange for the pandas’ loan from the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, the Toronto and Calgary zoos will invest $5 million each in giant panda research and conservation.

A laboratory, nursery and mater-

nity ward within the giant pandas’ Toronto home is already ready and waiting. Staff will assist the breeding process, performing artificial insemination if necessary. If cubs are born in Toronto, the bears and cubs would stay until their removal is approved.

The Toronto Zoo exhibit, dubbed the Giant Panda Experience, opened to the public last Saturday. It features an 8,000 square foot Giant Panda Interpretive Centre, which offers educational and interactive giant panda-themed activities.

The Giant Panda Experience also includes a Mandarin Express kiosk, where guests can enjoy Chinese food from Mandarin restaurant.

Er Shun and Da Mao arrived in Toronto by plane March 25, where they were received by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and welcomed by a score of dignitaries.

The giant pandas are under tight security in Toronto, with webcams placed throughout their exhibit to ensure their safety at all times.

Er Shun, which translates to “double smoothness” is said to be docile, lively and affectionate toward her handlers. Da Mao, whose name means “first born,” is said to be lively, tender and quite a gentleman.

Er Shun was born at China’s Chongqing Zoo and raised by her mother, while Da Mao was hand-

reared after being born through artificial insemination at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

While at the zoo, the pandas’ diet will consist mostly of bamboo, brought in fresh two-to-three times a week from Memphis. They will also eat leaf-eater biscuits, dog chow, apples and vitamins.

It’s been 28 years since giant pandas were displayed at the Toronto Zoo. In 1985, when the zoo housed giant pandas for three months, it marked its highest annual attendance with 1.9 million visitors.

“Since arriving March 25, our female Er Shun and male Da Mao have already stolen the hearts of our staff,” said Torzsok.

“I know that it’s only a matter of time before they do the same for millions of visitors who will come and see them.”

For more information about the giant pandas and their Toronto stay, visit www.torontozoo.com/ pandas/.

The Toronto Zoo is located in northeast Scarborough, on Meadowvale Road.

Giant pandas are one of the world’s most endangered species, with less than 2,000 thought to be in the wild in isolated Chinese mountain ranges. The animals symbolize peace, friendship and good fortune.

i

(416) 284-0966 SCARBOROUGH MIRROR | Tuesday, May 21, 2013 |

12

community

Walk for Seniors helps St. Paul’s-L’Amoreaux Local residents are invited to help out the St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux Centre this Saturday for the Scarborough facility’s Annual Neighbourhood Walk for Seniors.

The event takes place between 10 a.m. and 1p.m. and will include a free barbecue for all walkers, as well as amazing prizes and fun entertainment.

The walk begins and ends at the centre, which is located at the southwest corner of Warden and Finch avenues.

The walk route follows Bridletowne Circle, which wraps around the intersection.

Money raised will go straight to the local community, helping seniors in financial need to receive grants and bursaries for essential

services.

The community is asked to help the centre raise enough funds to give seniors in need hot meals, transportation to medical appointments and help in the home.

For more, visit www.splc. ca/walkforseniors/ St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux Centre provides a broad range of services and programs to address health, wellness,

transportation, housing, financial and social needs for area seniors.

King Academy film to be screened wR.H.

A local high school launches its short film this Friday at 7 p.m.

Students from R.H. King’s arts management class have created Places Everyone, a short film dealing with themes

of self-esteem, individuality and arts education, which they are sharing with students in grades 7 and 8.

The arts management students focused the 25-minute piece on themes they wanted youth, who are entering high school, to know about.

Places Everyone follows a group of teens as they attend a local arts camp and navigate the challenges of a high

stakes production. Respect and teamwork eventually win the day when a choreographer is injured and the teens realize the production can only succeed with everyone’s contribution. The film is written, directed, filmed, edited and packaged by the arts management class.

Places Everyone hits the screen at R.H. King Academy, 3800 St. Clair Ave.

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Join us at Relay For Life on June 14!

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St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux Anglican Church 3333 Finch Avenue East (at Warden)

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Grab your walking shoes! On June 14th, the Canadian Cancer Society is hosting its annual Relay For Life in Scarborough, at Morningside Park.

Relay is an inspirational, noncompetitive overnight fundraising event to celebrate, remember and fight back.Together, from 7pm to 7 am, teams made up of friends, family and co-workers spend the night taking turns walking around the track, with all the funds supporting the Canadian Cancer Society.

Participants spend the night

celebrate, the volunteer committee is hosting a special Survivor and Caregiver Reception, from 5:307pm, on event day. Survivors and Caregivers can enjoy a nice meal, while partaking in games and activities during the reception.

If you would like to participate, donate or volunteer in the Relay For Life in Scarborough, please visit relayforlife.ca/Scarborough.

To contact the Canadian Cancer Society please email torontorelay@ ontario.cancer.ca, or call (416) 448-5402 ext 2122.

under the stars, while enjoying great food, and experiencing the fun and games that will take place throughout the night.

Relay For Life is also a chance to recognize friends and family that have been affected by cancer. To

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13 | SCARBOROUGH MIRROR | Tuesday, May 21, 2013

community

ALL ABOARD The Scarborough Bluffs Sailing Club held its open house event this past weekend

on the lake: Clockwise from right photo, Member Ian Dupigny helps member Michael Forster give passengers a ride on his Beneteau First 21.0 during an open house at the Scarborough Bluffs Sailing Club Saturday; Forster gives a passenger a ride on his Beneteau First 21.0; Passenger Errol Corpuz enjoys the ride on the Beneteau First 21.0; Dupigny prepares to dock while fellow member Forster steers the sailboat with passengers David Maguire and Corpuz during the open house event; Forster returns his passengers after giving them a ride on his boat.

Photos by Dan Pearce

SCARBOROUGH MIRROR | Tuesday, May 21, 2013 |

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community

Panel has barely a month to work Friends of the >>>from page 1 had declined at both campuses and many beds were unused.

The hospital board approved in principle the division of surgeries, which means all simple procedures such as cataract removal would be done only at the Birchmount, while complex procedures requiring overnight stays, such as hip replacement, would be done only at the General.

The TSH Medical Staff Association said both proposals were cuts that would put patient lives at risk, adding removal of its Maternal Newborn program would make one TSH campus “substandard” and the Birchmount, without complex surgeries, would end up “a glorified walk-in clinic.”

More than 300 physicians signed a petition opposing both moves before the LHIN intervened on March 27, citing “the absence of any detailed implementation

planning and the lack of support” for the proposals among doctors, community leaders and elected officials.

The LHIN ordered a detailed review by a panel whose members the hospital identified on Thursday.

They are: Dr. Blair Edgerdie, a surgeon and vice president of Medical Affairs at St. Mary’s General Hospital; Dr. Lennox Huang, chief of Pediatrics at McMaster University and hospitals in Hamilton; Dr. Craig Irish, chief of anethesiology at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga; Dr. Nicholas Leyland, obstetrician and chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences; Bobbi Soderstrom, midwife and Risk Management director at Association of Ontario Midwives; Silvie Crawford, registered nurse and vice president of Patient Centred Care at London Health Sciences Centre; and Odette Maharaj, executive director of TransCare

Community Support Services in Scarborough.

The hospital said the final member, an emergency physician, will be named soon.

In March, the LHIN expected the panel to be formed by April 19. The reviewers now have barely a month to work in, since they must submit their report to the LHIN board on June 24.

The hospital also pledged in a statement last month “local community representatives” as well as external clinical experts would form the expert panel.

The only “community leader” on the list is Maharaj, whose company is a nonprofit assisting seniors and adults with disabilities.

Scarborough MPPs Soo Wong and Bas Balkissoon last month called for Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews to place a provincial supervisor in charge of the hospital. In a letter, the MPPs told the minister they had no confidence in either the TSH board or senior man-

agers to make decisions.

In a statement this week, Central East LHIN CEO Deborah Hammons said the panel review “supports the requests made by the local MPPs and the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care that a further review of the hospital’s proposed changes be carried out.“ The LHIN and hospital have said the panel’s findings will be also used by a Integration Leadership Committee, which is soon to be named and will look at ways TSH and Rouge Valley Health System (and its Centenery hospital campus in Scarborough) could merge programs or possibly form a single hospital.

The integration committee met for the first time last week and includes board members, medical leaders and community members, LHIN spokesperson Katie Cronin-Wood said.

For more information on the Central East LHIN, please visit www.centraleastlhin. on.ca

i

Guild Park to elect volunteer directors MIKE ADLER madler@insidetoronto.com

Friends of the Guild Park and Gardens will elect its first volunteer directors at an inaugural meeting tomorrow evening.

The group, which already has 93 paid members, formed last month to help take care of the park, 88 acres of lakeside woods, gardens and architectural fragments in Southeast Scarborough.

Organizers last week said the meeting, starting at 7 p.m. in Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church on Guildwood Parkway, will also feature Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation supervisors who can share “details of upcoming city-funded projects in the park.”

The park’s decaying centrepiece, the Guild Inn, has

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been closed for a decade, but a Toronto company is expected to make an offer by next Monday to restore or replace the building and operate a restaurant or banquet hall there.

Cultural precinct An agreement on the Inn could unlock $6 million in city projects planned for the “cultural precinct” around the building, including trails, a visitor centre, an arts studio and festival gardens.

Paul Ainslie, the local councillor, has also proposed relocating the Guildwood Toronto Public Library branch to the Guild.

As part of Doors Open Toronto, walking tours of the park are scheduled for Sunday, May 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.