On Thursday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty introduced the new federal budget. It outlined a number of Conservative initiatives, including the removal of tariffs on manufactured imports.

Jeff Brownlee, a public relations officer with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters association, applauds the idea. He says manufacturing tariffs make up 30 percent of the federal taxes in Canada.

“The manufacturing sector was hit the hardest during the recent economic troubles,” Brownlee said. “We lost over 100,000 people in just under a month. But now we are going through a paradigm shift. (Removing tariffs is) a good thing for Canada.”

Brownlee said that eliminating manufacturing tariffs is a bold move by the government. It will cost just over $300 million in lost revenue.

According to Brownlee, tariffs tie up goods at the border and cost importers time and money. With the removal of tariffs, he said, it frees up that time and saves importers money. Brownlee said tariff reduction would make it easier to bring in internationally imported machinery (used in the manufacturing sector) and allow Canadian businesses to update or replace older models, and become more competitive.

“I always like to use the example of the iPod touch,” Brownlee said. “There are 450 parts in the iPod touch and each part is outsourced from over 50 different countries and sent to China for assembly. At the end of the day, the brand on the back says ‘made in China,’ even though the design and marketing, amoung other things, is done in North America.”

Flaherty advised that the elimination of tariffs would be costly for the government, but that it would also generate positive economic movement.

“This will give Canada the status of being the first G20 country to become a tariff free zone for manufacturers,” Flaherty said in his speech. “It will help keep jobs in Canada and keep jobs here for years to come.”

Convener of the 2010 OFSAA basketball tournament Michael Kennelley, with help from volunteer coordinator Teena McNee, assembled a team of 40 high schools students from the Durham region to assist with the little things that brought the week together.

McNee, a physical education teacher at O’ Neil Collegiate Institute in Oshawa, selected willing bodies she knew she could trust with any task she handed them.

“We picked kids we knew were responsible, love basketball and knew they’d be here the whole time,” she said. “Some are score keepers, some are ambassadors that get runners for the teams and some are working the door taking tickets. It’s been three 15-hour days for them and they’ve been fantastic.”

Kennelley said the efforts of all the staff was astounding and did not go unnoticed. He also added how exciting it was to hear continuous praise for the jobs well done.

“We had a lot of compliments about the kids from referees in terms of their work at the tables, especially in stressful situation when you’ve got two minutes left with thirty seconds remaining and screaming fans and coaches,” he said. “They’ve done really well under pressure.”

From talking to some of the volunteers it was easy to see that the pressure wasn’t on their face or in their attitude. Cassie Ouellet, a grade 11 student at O’ Neil C.I., looked at the positives of working with a big team full of unfamiliar faces.

“We [the volunteers] became like a huge family. I didn’t talk to half these people before I came here,” Ouellet said. “We learned a lot.”

Natasha Falcioni, a grade 12 student at O’ Neil and now good friends with Ouellet, said she’s just happy to have the opportunity to be herself and help out at the same time.

“It’s amazing. We were chosen from our whole school because they saw a spark in us,” Falcioni said. “It’s [volunteer work] all about personality and being friendly.”

Now both Ouellet and Falcioni have to return to school where a pile of missed homework waits for them. McNee stressed that although handling the load will be challenging, it’s the exact reason why these 40 students were selected in the first place.

“They’re troopers,” McNee said. “We chose them because we knew they were responsible and could catch up in school when the time came.”

To the delight of nearly 1,000 spectators at Durham College in Oshawa, the twelfth-seeded Knights had shutdown the Barons’ leading scorer for most of the game, but as fatigue set in, Clarke got his second wind.

Following a timeout midway through the fourth quarter, the grade 12 student hit five consecutive three pointers and a lay up with 10 seconds left to clinch the game. He believed it was his duty to bring the championship home.

“I felt that I had to do it for the team, for everybody,” he said. “I had to come through. I had to come through.”

Representing the city of Toronto, a kid who had just scored a game-high 20 points and named his team’s most valuable player, Clarke still found a way to remain humble.

“There’s always more to do, but that’s for the future. Right now, just go back to Oakwood and celebrate our OFSAA gold medal,” he said. “For everybody at Oakwood, for everybody in the GTA, this gold medal is for everybody.”

Barons head coach Anthony Miller knew what his leader was capable of and he was truly excited about how the game turned out.

“What more could I ask for?” he said. “My best guy finished it off and gave me something to be happy about on his way off to university.”

Stefano Giovannangeli, head coach of the Knights, had a plan that worked for almost the whole game, put his team just couldn’t find a way to hang on in the end.

“We had to keep this low scoring. We had to keep this very ugly,” he said. “For three and a half quarters I thought we did that.”

Sam Hill’s father was born in Indiana, played high school basketball in Indianapolis and at college in Ohio. He played in high school at Jarvis and later for the University of Toronto. His four children (aged 19, 17, 14 and 12) are all a part of Toronto programs. The Hills are a self-proclaimed “basketball family” with a great history and love for the game.

“We have a real basketball culture in our family,” Hill said.

Hill had the benefit of learning the game at a young age and brought that with him when he came to Canada from New York as a child. In a hockey-dominated society, he said he can remember the day that he found his sport.

“It’s funny;  my friends played hockey when I was up here (Canada) in grade six. I knew guys that played triple A and I couldn’t even come close to them,” he said. “One day I picked up a basketball and in gym class I was better than all the other guys … This is my sport and I really like it.”

His lifetime involvement with secondary school athletics transcended down into each game of this tournament. Jake Hill and even some of his teammates take full advantage of his attendance at the province-wide tourney, being held at Oshawa’s Durham College.

“I think a lot of the guys respect him as well,” Jake said. “He knows what he’s doing, he’s around, he tells the guys advice and stuff.”

From breaking down NCAA games and players, to an annual March Madness pool ending with an engraved trophy, the Hills continue to stress basketball’s place in their lives and still manage to enjoy the sport they love.

“My wife is an athlete as well and we would just tell them (our children) how important sport is and how much fun it is,” he said.

“We’re not going to the NBA and we’re not doing this and that, but we had a great time in university … You can set yourself apart from being a normal kid.”

Hill says all of his children work hard to succeed in their athletics and with a track-star mom, university-basketball-alumni dad and two sons and daughters immersed in high-level basketball programs, the Hills bring a new meaning to the word tradition.

Day two of the 2010 AAAA OFSAA Boys Basketball Championship, being held in Oshawa, started with an upset as Toronto’s Oakwood C.I. Barons, the team that lost twice to cross-town rival Eastern Commerce in the cities and regional championships, beat number one seed Pickering Trojans 52-44.

It was a thrilling game with Oakwood up at half-time 27-24. This has been a very disappointing tournament for Pickering since they lost both tournament games. Oakwood continued their tournament tonight against the J. Clarke Richardson Storm.

The current tournament favourites, Eastern Commerce Saints, continued with a dominating performance against the St. Anne Saints, winning 67-40.

The game was a comedy of errors, with the refs missing a few calls and handing out a few phantom  infractions, including and a strange three-four diving turnover-possession change.

St. Anne never had a chance against Commerce as Commerce’s defence and up-tempo play was more than St. Anne can handle. Commerce continues their tournament tonight against the Vaughan Secondary School Voyageurs.

Oakwood continued to dominate, with a thrilling 75-72 overtime victory over highly-ranked J. Clarke Richardson. After being down by two in the dying seconds, Oakwood hit the tying two points to send it to OT, where a key three-point play sealed the victory.

The St. Michael’s College Blue Raiders have been ousted after their 81-72 loss to Blessed Mother Teresa Titans. They started the tournament with a loss Monday to the H.B. Beal Raiders. They redeemed themselves Tuesday morning with a thrilling 46-45 victory over the St. Marguerite D’Youville Panthers before tonight’s loss. They are now eliminated.

That’s it for day two blog. Stay tuned Thursday on the blog of the championship game!

As the main guide for Toronto’s arm of Tourguys.ca, Kucherawy said that on occasion, only one or two people show up for his free “Heart of Toronto” walking tours around Old City Hall. “I tell them you’re in luck, it’s going to be a private tour today,” he said.

Kucherawy has worked in the tourism industry for over 13 years. He’s led everyone from ESL students to corporate executives. His passion for showcasing Toronto also resulted in the creation of his Beer Makes Better History tour in the Distillery District.

Tours such as this exemplify what Kucherawy calls the “fun factor” that sets his walking tours apart from those offered by other tour companies.

“I talk about beer trivia, the history of beer and the role it’s played in Canada,” he said. “There was prohibition and silly rules in pubs and taverns in the 50s and 60s…(where) if you wanted to move to another table, your server had to actually carry your drink because people thought that fights would break out if people were standing or walking around with their beer.

“Also, pubs had small tables only,” he adds. “(Proprietors) thought if you had large numbers of people congregating in one table, it was more likely for a fight to break out. People were just terrified of drunks breaking out into barroom brawls like you’d see in the westerns.

“We want people to have a good time. I get very rewarded to put a smile on people’s faces, to make them laugh,” Kucherawy said. “That’s what our tours are really about.”

Justine Palinska, manager for media relations at Tourism Toronto, said there’s more of a highlight on walking tours now as people are choosing to follow a more “green” lifestyle.

“People want to experience a city the best way possible,” she said. As an avid traveller, she adds, “Walking is a great way (of doing that).”

With over 10 organized walking tours scattered throughout Toronto, visitors get a chance to indulge their interest in local history, architecture, food and visual arts.

Seeing a city such as Toronto from behind car windows, Palinska adds, is different from walking on foot and meeting locals. “When you’re driving, you fly through a neighbourhood and don’t really get the taste, flavour and texture of that area the same way you would (walking).

“You’re able to have a personal connection with the tour guide,” she said, in taking walking tours that are usually led in groups of 10-20 people. She explains that visitors get a chance to ask questions they like without hesitation and are able to find out more destinations of personal importance to them.

Most walking tour guides are recognized by Tourism Toronto as “ambassadors” for their designated areas.

“(They are) Torontonians who have lived in the neighbourhood for quite some time and can speak to what the neighbourhood has to offer,” Palinska said. “These people are extremely candid and full of life and expression.”

Guide books and self-guided tours are also an option for tourists, but Palinska said there’s a lot that visitors gain from traveling around the city with a local.

“The first thing any traveller will tell you is that when you get to a city, getting your bearings is the important thing,” Palinska said.

“Once you know where to go, you just discover on your own…and you might get lost, but while you’re getting lost in a city you’re discovering other things that you may not have stumbled upon should you have been following some type of very strict itinerary. But again that’s how you learn about where you are.”

Kucherawy’s walking tours encourage people to get out and explore the city. Identifying specific sights that his tour group wants to see, Kucherawy sometimes tailors his itinerary to suit the needs of his group.

He regularly leads walking tours of Chinatown and Kensington Market, the downtown core, Old City Hall and Osgoode Hall around the University of Toronto for his popular “Toronto After Dark” ghost tours.

So far we’ve been keeping a close eye on the Eastern Commerce Saint’s opening match against the Pope John Paul II Panthers.

It was a battle, to say the least, throughout the first half as Pope took a three-point lead into the second half.  The third quarter was no secret to each team as the Saints came out flying with a tremendous amount of energy from not only early game starters, but also key players that came off the bench to provide the much needed spark that Eastern needed to pull away from this game.

The depth of the Panthers turned out to be a major downfall. With only four bench players, one of them suffering from a knee injury, Pope John Paul II tried to push a pace but the Saints continued to push back. It began as a punch for punch battle but eventually turned into a run-and-gun western film that had more shots than a Clint Eastwood film.

It was pretty exciting to watch the defending champions continue to deny any critique that questions their ability as one team and one unit. A true team effort gave them a hard-earned victory.

The underdogs, despite what they may be now, showed some heart in order to overcome an early tough test like the Panthers.

We now wait to see the fate of both the Panthers, who play an extra early round game to have a shot at the title, and the Saints, who continue to roll on a hot road that could lead them to some pretty big prizes.

Based on the quality of basketball on day 1 of this tournament, it’s going to be a wild, anxious and exciting ride that looks like a guarantee for a memorable championship game.

Pope John Paul (25-10) put up a great first half with a 33-30 lead at half-time. The Saints (23-7) stormed back in the second half after the Panther’s depth was proven shallow as they played six players throughout the game.

Even with the bench advantage, Eastern Commerce’s coach Kevin Jeffers’ game plan was highlighted by the fact they had better depth.

“Two of the best players in the province aren’t playing for them. They got kicked off the team early. We knew we could run them and that’s just what we wanted to do, run them,” Jeffers said.

The Saints leading scorer, guard Tyrone Ariri, believes his team’s strong defensive play helped with the team. Even though he leads the team on the court, he isn’t ready to lead the team off the court.

“I don’t think I’m the leader on this team yet. There are a couple seniors (who handle it). I have another year to go,” Ariri said.

Denzel Brooks, another guard for Commerce, knows that the team’s tempo led them to victory.

“(Our biggest strength is) pushing the ball. When we get the ball off a rebound and (when) we fast break they can’t stop us; no team can,” Brooks said.

Coach Jeffers does not try to counter the opposing team’s game plan, staying true to the team concept.

“Well we have a standard that we set for Eastern Commerce and we identify who we are in the beginning,” he said. “We got to play (a fast) pace. We got to play to (our team’s) skill. We were going play to the team that we developed.”

Eastern Commerce continues Tuesday against St. Anne S.S. Saints at the tournament.

Putting grades first translated into a brilliant 34-4 record in the regular season. The Barons secured the sixth seed in the provincial championship with their hard work off the court.

Head coach Anthony Miller values the education of his players and believes he can use schoolwork as a means of motivation.

“We definitely want our kids to go off to university, or go off to college,“ he said. “We have a big lineup, with 16 guys, and we’ve gone into games with seven or eight. We really want to stress the importance of academics.“

Total domination in the first two quarters had Oakwood up 23 points at halftime. Missed shots and turnovers had the Tigers in a hole from the opening quarter. Defensive adjustments were made by the Barons throughout the match, which had Miller feeling confident about the next few games.

“We started a little bit slow, but we kind of picked up our defence,“ he said. “ I think if we are going to win this tournament, or anyone that`s going to win this tournament, is going have to play defence at a very high level.“

Though academic excellence is key for the Barons participating in the three-day competition, the coach still feels there is room for development in his team`s ability on the court.

“We`ve still got a lot of things to work on. Our habits need to get a little bit better,“ Miller said. “We worked on some specific things today that we didn’t really do in our season. We just want to improve on those things.“

Oakwood will go on to face the first seeded Pickering Trojans in the next round  Tuesday. The tournament being held at Durham College in Oshawa will run until Wednesday.

The two Toronto owned ski hills, Scarborough’s Glen Rouge Campground and Etobicoke’s Centennial Park Ski and Snowboard Centre, are losing the city’s money.

Toronto is looking for a private operator to keep both locations open to the public. The private contract would service the hills while the land would still be owned and maintained by the city.

The move many say will increase the price for skiing passes. The “welcome policy” program which allows low-income residents to use both ski hills will no longer be in effective, once privatization hits.

The move also puts 360 part-time jobs at risk, many are seasonal jobs.

According to the 2010 operating budget the move could save the city more than a half a million dollars over the next two years.

Council will make a final decision in mid-April when the budget is approved. If the approval passes

Blessed Mother Teresa was one of five Catholic high schools in Toronto that hosted the Seventh Annual Northern Spirit Games this past week. Students from nearly 50 elementary schools took part in the games which focused on understanding traditional aboriginal culture through teamwork and sport.

Based on the Arctic Games, which first became popular in the 1970s, the Spirit Games allowed elementary school students from across the city to take part in traditional native activities, as an extension of their native studies classes.

“(Participating in the games) makes learning come alive and makes it jump from the book,” John Somosi, a presenter at the games said. “It gives them a physical experience that they’ll remember.”

Brian Armstrong, games coordinator and a former elementary school teacher, agrees the games are a great way to learn through having fun and being physically active.

“Yes, there is a time for the theory part,” he said. “But if you actually physically take part in something and if you are active in something then the retention level really increases.”

Somosi and partner Kathryn Edgecombe are both of Metis descent and performed traditional native songs for the children during the opening ceremonies.

They taught the students how to use hand drums and encouraged them to sing and dance.

“It just lets them have fun because everyone likes to sing, or at least perform,” Somosi said.

The students also took part in 10 different games including kickball, a snow shoe race and a spear throwing contest. For safety’s sake, however, the children played with foam spears.

Another important component to the games was the interaction between the elementary school students and the high school students that volunteered to help out.

The older students were given the opportunity to perform leadership roles and the younger children got to know the students and teachers from the high school they may one day attend.

While there were many components of the games, the main goal for everyone involved was having fun.

Somosi said that although he wants to break down barriers of racism and teach the children about aboriginal culture, seeing the children enjoy themselves is a reward in itself.

“It’ s been a huge honour to be a part of this and it’s a real beautiful thing,” he said. “You’ll see the kids throughout the day have these huge smiles on their faces and it’s just fun to be part of it.”

Christian was shot in the arm and chest four years ago while driving a stolen minivan into the parking lot at 3700 Lawrence Ave. E.  He was not carrying a weapon.

The Special Investigations Unit investigated and cleared Const. Steve Darnley of misconduct in the shooting.

Darnley testified at the coroner’s inquest last month that Christian was on the verge of running over his partner, Const. Rowena Edey.

In 2008 Toronto Police changed its policy to prohibit officers from shooting at a vehicle unless serious danger exists for an officer, other than from the vehicle itself.

If that policy had been followed in 2006, Christian would not have been shot, says Peter Rosenthal, the lawyer representing Christian’s family at the coroner’s inquest.

“Here’s a policy that would have saved Duane Christian’s life,” Rosenthal said.  “But the officer that killed Duane Christian said that he would [shoot] again tomorrow.”

The coroner’s inquest into Christian’s death concluded on Feb. 25 with six recommendations, including studying the possibility of enacting the amended police policy province-wide.

Christian’s family filed an unprecedented $2-million lawsuit against the SIU charging the investigation was negligent.

The investigation by the SIU was “not a serious investigation of any kind,” Rosenthal said.

“The SIU says that they owe a duty to the public, not the mother of the victim,” Rosenthal said.

The SIU went to court to have the lawsuit stricken and lost.

Edey testified at the inquest on Feb. 11 she felt she was in a life-threatening situation and had made attempts to move from the path of the van.

Rosenthal said discrepancies in the case include testimony by a witness who heard arguing that did not show up in the officers’ accounts of events.

The SIU, however, is facing heat not just from Christian’s family. In late 2008, André Marin, Ombudsman of Ontario, released an extensive report highlighting holes in the SIU investigation, such as the SIU not being notified of the incident until nearly 75 minutes after Christian’s death. Key witness officers were interviewed six days later, and the subject officer was not interviewed at all.  Lastly, Christian’s mother was left waiting at the police station unaware of her son’s death.

The Ombudsman noted 226 incidents investigated by the SIU in 2006, in which only two charges were laid.

Crime victim advocate Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo defended the investigation and the officer’s actions.

“Police have families too, just like us. Parents should open their eyes, please. My sympathy goes to Duane Christian’s family, but suing the SIU will not bring him back or erase the memories,” Omololu-Olunloyo said.

“Every one of our children cannot be monitored 24/7. What is a 15-year-old doing at five in the morning in a stolen van?” Omololu-Olunloyo said.  “These days, when there is a police witness and all these dashboard cameras that capture images, seeing his partner almost run down is something that may have endangered the officer’s life too. The officer defended the life of his partner.”

A 40-year-old Toronto man, Chuan Liang, is facing seven charges, including two counts of importing and exporting a prohibited device and possession of prohibited devices for the purpose of trafficking.

After Liang’s court appearance in Feb. 14, Det. Sergeant David Bishop of the Organized Crime Enforcement unit said that no new updates have been made in the investigation.

The apartment at 120 Townhaven Place is considered Toronto community housing.

“Toronto community housing is committed to public safety and [we] look to and work with police to handle criminal investigations,” Kyle Rooks, spokesperson for Toronto community housing, said.

He refrained to comment any further, as it is an ongoing investigation with police.

Rooks explained tenants are entitled to privacy.  Staff members only enter homes for maintenance work and must provide 24 hours notice.

“We have regular building meetings and it enhances community safety,” Rooks added. “Tenant engagement is a great way to encourage community safety.”

The seizure of the guns is coming on the heels of an interception made by the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) on Feb. 9. Liang was attempting to bring in three rifle-style guns into Canada.

“Coordinated efforts like this contribute to community safety, and speak to the importance of enforcement partnerships,” said Rick Comerford, Regional Director General for the CBSA for the GTA.

The bill would make the TTC an essential service and make future strikes illegal, preventing TTC workers from walking off their job as they did in 2008.

City council debated this issue two years ago. In October 2008, councillors decided by a vote of 23–22 not to ask the province to change the TTC’s status.

Critics of the new proposal say the city already has essential services that are unable to strike, such as police and fire services, and any contract disagreements are sent to negotiation. This process results in more salary hikes than if the contracts had been negotiated freely between the two parties, said Bas Balkissoon, MPP for the Scarborough- Rouge River.

“It’s not convenient. We must make mass transit a priority for Scarborough to discourage people from getting in their cars,” Balkissoon said.

Improvement of the current transit system should happen before making any more changes, Balkissoon said.

Wayne Arthurs, MPP for the Pickering-Scarborough East, is against the TTC becoming an essential service.

“Public transit is certainly a matter of convenience and it has an economic impact, but it doesn’t involve people’s safety,” Arthurs said.

Arthurs said we need to consider the long term costs.

“Some people are promising everything for free,” said Ward 38 councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, a former TTC commissioner.

“I don’t support it and I think it’s very ironic that some people say ‘I want to save you money’ with one breath, and then say ‘I want to make the TTC an essential service which will cost you more money’ with the second breath,” De Baeremaeker said. “And that means the third breath is ‘I’m going to raise your taxes more.’”

The proposal will benefit people who use the TTC to get around quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively, De Baeremaeker said.

“People who live in condos out by the Sky Dome can walk to work if they have to during a strike,” De Baeremaeker said. “But if you live up in Malvern, Jane and Finch, or North Etobicoke, for example, you can’t walk to work. It would take you two days.”

“People often told me that I wouldn’t amount to anything,” she said. “My imagination helped me discover a whole new world, one where I belonged.”

Dupuy was never good in school and was often bullied. Her imagination helped her to dream big. In 1974, she founded her own theatre company called the Famous People Players (FPP).

The Toronto-based not for profit troupe specializes in black-light puppet productions. The company gives individuals who are developmentally challenged an opportunity to perform on stage and work behind the scenes.

“What’s great is that they aren’t recognized for their disabilities; they are recognized for their talents,” she said.

After 35 years as FPP’s creator and artistic director, showcasing an array of show business legends, Dupuy is now sharing her own story with audiences.

The latest production is called “Hi Ho Silver,” a homage to her imaginary friend. Director J.D. Ibay said that the performance showcases Dupuy’s ability to inspire people to never give up.

“A lot of the people who work here (at FPP) have learned responsibility and some are now living independently,” he said. “It’s because (Diane) believed in them.”

Dupuy wasn’t always an advocate for the developmentally challenged. In “Hi Ho Silver,” she recalled a time when she was asked to perform her one-woman puppet show for them. At first she refused, but eventually gave in. The decision changed her life forever.

“I realized that they’re people, just like you and I. They deserved a chance at showcasing their abilities,” she said. “So, I put those same kids that were there that day on stage.”

Famous People Players hasn’t always been a theatrical and box-office hit. In “Hi Ho Silver” she recalled a time when she ambitiously tried to send her troupe to Broadway to get better exposure.

“We needed to raise $1 million to get there, so we tried to sell buttons across Canada,” she said. “Paul Newman got word of our efforts and sent a check for $40 thousand. We were on our way to Broadway.”

Though FPP is now international known, Dupuy said she still faces obstacles to funding. Recently, the company moved to a new facility in Etobicoke. The downturn in the economy as well as rising construction costs have left them almost $500,000 in debt.

In an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, Dupuy reached out to the community for support. With its help, FPP is still alive and Dupuy isn’t about to back down. “Hi Ho Silver” runs at its Etobicoke location (on Evans Avenue) through the end of April.

On Feb.1, Bill 157 took effect in elementary and secondary schools across Ontario. Now teachers, principals and other school staff must report incidents of bullying, harassment and other forms of anti-social behaviour. The emphasis on reporting, however, worries Karen Sebbon of the York Region Anti-Bullying Coalition, She described how her son Daniel endured sustained bully attacks.

“My son was intentionally physically and emotionally harmed for three years to a degree that he cut his skin and when that didn’t work he started to use marijuana on a daily basis,” Sebbon said. “Throughout all this he had to seek professional help outside of the board level. We had to take him to a psychologist. After that he was diagnosed with post traumatic stress. He was suicidal for five months.”

Sebbon said Bill 157 should go further by making services to help support victims obligatory. She’s also concerned about the principal’s discretionary right to expel a student and to decide whether a student’s actions warrant contacting parents and police.

“In our case, the school administrator knew what was going on and he was telling me his hands were tied,” she said. “I believe in the three strikes and you’re out rule.”

She admitted that in bullying cases, the aggressor has issues too and needs help also.

“Take them out of the school instead of just putting them in a separate classroom,” she said, “so they can get the kind of help they need to be respectable citizens.”

Susan Logue, principal of Unionville High School, believes that discretion is a necessary tool for resolving issues and a key to preventing difficulties for a child at home or later in life.

“Discretion doesn’t mean not doing your job,” Logue said. “I may have personal information about the child or their family background and I can take whatever steps are needed to help the child out. It’s in the student’s and family’s interest.”

Stuart Auty of the Canadian Safe School Network finds some encouragement in Bill 157. He endorces the initiative to force staff to deal with problems as they’re happening.

“The fact that there needs to be a response and intervention from the person who witnesses the conflict, act of aggression or negative comments means teachers are expected to intervene and deal with it on the spot as opposed to ignoring it,” Auty said.

At the school level, Logue applauds the law because it makes reporting the bullying part of a staff member’s job description.

“Now, it’s considered a duty to report the same day and it’s not just teachers but caretakers, secretaries and educational assistants,” Logue said.”

Daniel Sebbon beat the odds by graduating. In the coming months as school administrators begin implementing Bill 157, other bullied students can only hope the extra eyes and hears in the hallways offer enough change to make a real difference in their lives.

Three days later on Feb. 16, he took a few of the accumulated sticky notes and tacked them to the walls of The Lakeview Restaurant at 1132 Dundas St. W.

For the last 13 years, Ghanaghounian has been curating art shows at various locations in Toronto. His latest exhibit titled ‘Embrace It!’ encourages people to jot down a brief thought, message or caricature, then stick it on any wall of the 24-hour restaurant.

Designed as a throwback to the days of communicating via the stroke of a pen, he referred to his project as “old-school social networking.”

“Handwriting is more passionate … You could almost read into that person,” Ghanaghounian said. “When you’re typing something out, it’s not personalized other than having your name at the bottom.”

Only two weeks in, already his exhibit has generated great response from the public.

“People realize, ‘Oh my god, I haven’t actually written anything in so long,’” he said.

In a time of instant communication using tools such as mobile texting and Twitter, Ghanaghounian thinks people are beginning to lose substance in their messages.

“Subconsciously, we’re just getting too used to sending instant messages,” he said. “When it is time for careful thought … it’s getting lost in translation.”

James Harrison, who teaches an Internet in Society course at Centennial College , acknowledged that people have felt apprehensive about change in technology for years.

“There’s this huge fear whenever new technologies come around that we’re losing something,” Harrison said. “Are we gonna lose the ability to hand write? … Is there something about handwriting that is so important to our expression of thoughts?”

Although Harrison has not seen Ghanaghounian’s exhibit, he described what the idea reminded him of and questioned whether it promotes interaction.

“A big wall of Post-It notes is sort of like YouTube to me … Some of it is good, some of it isn’t,” he said. “Are you really interacting because it’s on a piece of paper?”

While Harrison and Ghanaghounian agree that Twitter has its benefits, neither of them have an account with the web site.

“Tweeting to me is almost overload,” Harrison said. “You now have this public thing where everybody knows how lame you are.”

Ghanaghounian challenged the whole concept of Twitter’s brief status updates.

“So-and-so celebrity has a million followers on their Twitter, but they’re two-word, three-word little shout-outs,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re at Starbucks. What’s the point of me receiving these messages and why am I following it?”

With the walls now covered in multi-coloured Post-It notes, Ghanaghounian has succeeded in his aim of getting people to participate. He’s even watched people ‘embrace it’ first-hand.

“The other day I was here, there was a big family and the kids were writing things and sticking them on the wall. But then this place is rockin’ at three in the morning after parties,” he said. “So the messages are different … Everybody is involved.”

Harrison is proposing decreasing the number of trustees from 22 to 20 due to declining student enrollment and the unequal distribution of trustees across the district.

“If you look at the inequality of the system, there are parts of the city that don’t have as much representation as others,” said Harrison. “If you look at the declining enrollment in the board, we should be re-evaluating the staff and our boundaries.”

Harrison said the board faces a $17-million deficit and cutting staff is necessary.

“If it’s possible to save money and resources and if it (creates) a more equitable distribution for a community, then you do it,” Harrison said.

Realigning the trustee boundaries will give each ward more equitable representation, which is good news for Scarborough students who currently have less than one-quarter of the vote even though they represent more than one-third of the board.

“Things won’t change 100 per cent,” said Harrison. “But communities will have more of a say with their representatives.”

He proposed this idea four years ago when the provincial boundaries were realigned, suggesting trustee wards should be changed as well. Harrison said the timing wasn’t right and at the time overhauling the system would have been difficult to achieve by the election of that year.

“I think for simplicity it was easier to just follow the provincial and federal boundaries, [and] just max out as many trustees as they could take,” Harrison said.

Currently, the board can have a maximum of 22 trustees and a minimum of five representing it. Harrison issued a report proposing a decrease in the number of trustees as the best way to represent the newly defined wards.

He said the new boundaries will help amalgamate the board further by no longer using Victoria Park as a boundary for Scarborough wards.

The changes may meet with some opposition, Harrison adds.

“Change is always a hard thing to do,” said Harrison. “We need to lead by example and the onus is on the board of trustees to create a fair system for the voting public.”

The report will be up for approval this March and if passed, the changes would be put in place for the 2014 election.

Crosby’s goal came at the 7:40 mark beating American goaltender Ryan Miller with a sharp angle shot from the left side.

The gold medal is the 14^th for Canada at the 2010 Games. A record for the most gold medals won at a winter Olympics.

The two other events during the final day of the winter Games was a closing ceremony with its tongue planted firmly in cheek, and a cross-country ski event that lasted just over two hours.

Closing ceremony

Ladies’ figure skating bronze medalist Joannie Rochette carried the Canadian flag into the Olympic closing ceremony on Sunday.

Rochette’s mother passed away just prior to the start of the short program skate.

At the very beginning of the ceremony, two-time Olympic gold medalist Catriona LeMay Doan finally got her chance to light the Olympic flame. Making light of the hydraulics failure during the opening ceremony, the blunder was finally corrected with help from a clown.

Later, the next winter Olympic city, Sochi, Russia, presented to the world, with performances coming from both Vancouver and the succeeding winter Games’ host.

Finally, the cauldron was extinguished and a number of humorous sketches and a rock concert from various Canadian acts closed the ceremony.

Cross-country skiing – men’s 50 km, mass start

Norway’s Petter Northug claimed gold in the Olympic men’s 50 km mass start cross-country skiing event on Sunday in a time of 2:05:35.5.

Axel Teichmann of Germany, and Johan Olsson of Sweden were the silver and bronze medalists, finishing three-tenths of a second and one second behind Northug.

Canadian, Devon Kershaw was fifth, while his teammates George Gray, Alex Harvey, and Ivan Babikov finished 18^th, 32^nd, and 33^rd.

Instead of announcing the three stars of the gold medal game we’ll take a look at the three stars of the entire tournament.

With the third star is the most outstanding defenceman of the tournament, American Brian Rafalski. The 37-year-old Detroit Red Wing led all defenceman with eight points, four goals and four assists in six games. Not only did Rafalski provide an offensive spark for the Americans he also was a strong presence on the blue-line, posting a +7 plus/minus rating, good enough for third best in the tournament.

Canadian Jonathan Toews , would take home the second star being named the most outstanding forward of the tournament. Toews came a long way from the pre-Olympic summer camp where he was regarded as the 13^th forward in the mix. He proved to be much better than that, leading the tournament in assists with seven while posting a crucial goal in the gold medal game, giving him eight points in the tournament. His plus/minus rating of +9 was tops in the tournament and the 22-year-old Chicago Blackhawk showed why he was the right selection by Coach Mike Babcock and GM Steve Yzerman.

Finally, claiming the first star has been the most talked about individual of these Games, goaltender Ryan Miller of the United States. Despite allowing three goals in the gold medal game Miller has been nothing short of spectacular in the Games, posting an impressive 1.35 goals-against average. Miller also led the tournament in save percentage, stopping 94.56% of shots faced. The Buffalo Sabres net-minder was awarded the MVP as well as the most outstanding goaltender of the tournament.

Honourable mention goes to a pair of teammates from Slovakia. Forwards Marian Hossa and Pavol Demitra provided the Slovaks with phenomenal play, producing nine and ten points respectively. The two NHL all-stars were one and two in the total points leader standings in six games on way to their fourth place finish.

Leading the tournament in goals against average was Sweedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, just a shade below Miller with a 1.34 GAA. Lundqvist’s save percentage of 92.73% was good enough for fourth in the tournament, but a shocking upset to Slovakia in the quarter-finals robbed Lundqvist an opportunity to play for a medal.

Crosby, who had not had a point in nine periods heading into overtime was able to latch on to a Jarome Iginla pass and shoot it past American goaltender Ryan Miller to send Canada Hockey Place into bedlam.

“I can’t even remember what happened, I know I just shot the puck from somewhere around here and it went in,” Crosby told CTV after the game

Remarkably, the game would not have reached that stage if not for a Crosby breakaway miss a few minutes earlier that allowed the United States Zach Parise to jump on a rebound from a Patrick Kane shot and slot it past Canadian goaltender Roberto Luongo to tie the game at two with 24 seconds remaining in the game.

Revenge was on the minds of both Canadian players and fans after the Americans had beat Canada 5-3 in round robin play and the game began with excitement running through the air.

Rick Nash took a pass from captain Scott Niedermayer for the game’s first real chance but broke his stick and was unable to get a shot on Miller

The United States nearly broke the scoring deadlock but Canadian defenceman Duncan Keith made a great play with his stick to keep the puck from crossing the line before the whistle was blown after Luongo had come up with the original save.

Jonathan Toews opened up the scoring at 12:50 of the first period after Mike Richards stole the puck from the United States Brian Rafalski in front of the U.S net, allowing Toews to capitalize on the rebound from Richards original shot and beat Miller on the glove side.

Toews goal marked the first time that the United States trailed during the tournament.

Tension and anger began to build as a late hit on Canada’s Ryan Getzlaf after the first period had come to a close caused a skirmish between the players on the ice.

“All tournament I have been waiting for a chance like that. The game is really physical, both ways,” Toews told CTV during the first intermission.

U.S forward Ryan Kesler turned the puck over early in the second period forcing Miller to stop Iginla’s slap shot in close to start the second.

Ryan Malone’s high sticking call sent Canada to it’s second power play of the game at the 2:33 mark of the second. Shea Weber was the focus of the United States penalty killers as they would not allow Weber the opportunity to get his blistering slap shot off from the point and Canada was unable to take advantage of the power play.

Eric Staal was called for interference at 4:41 of the second to send the United States to it‘s first power play. They also were unable to take advantage of the opportunity due to a persistent Nash scrambling to get the puck out on more than one occasion.

His persistence paid off as soon after fellow Canadian Corey Perry found himself with the puck in the slot in the U.S zone after Patrick Marleau was unable to handle a Getzlaf pass and he quickly fired the puck over Miller’s glove to put Canada up 2-0 at the 7:13 mark of the second.

Down by two goals, the Americans began to pressure the Canadians intensely and were rewarded.

Kesler tipped a Kane shot past fellow Vancouver Canuck team-mate Luongo to cut the Canadian lead to 2-1 at the 12:44 mark of the second.

American Ryan Suter nearly tied the game for the U.S but his backhand from in close went just wide.

Staal broke in on a breakaway with under a minute to go in the second but shot the puck over the net for the final chance of the period.

“They are going to fade as the game goes on, Slovakia was able to make the game 3-2 and Luongo is fighting the puck out there, we are going to tie the game,” proclaimed a brash Kesler to CTV during the second intermission.

Weber and Chris Pronger were unfortunate not to add to the Canadian lead as each hit the goal post in the first two minutes of the third period.

After the opening surge in the period both teams were content on not allowing each other any space or opportunity until Miller was called into action at the midway point of the period turning away Canada’s Dany Heatley twice in the matter of seconds.

Rafalski who scored twice against Canada in the round robin game came close to tying the game with five minutes to go but was unable to beat Luongo after he was able to latch on to the puck from a scrum and shot the puck.

Miller stopped 36 of 39 shots for the United States while Luongo stopped 34 of 36 shots for Canada.

Neither team scored on the power play going a combined 0-for-4

With the gold medal win, Canada set the record for most gold medals ever won at an Olympic Games with 14.

He said the suspect harassed his bakery staff for 30 minutes before leaving. That’s when Kuk gave up hope of receiving police assistance.When she learned of Kuk’s story and others like it, Tsering Dolma decided to act.

“I felt that to mobilize the community on safety, it is very important that the public should feel safe,” Dolma said.

She serves as a member as member of the Community Policing Liaison Committee. She has particular expertise working with newcomers and business owners in Toronto’s Chinatown area.

She said that some merchants, who have come from countries with questionable policing practices, have a “negative impression” of the police in Canada. She said they sometimes feel ignored by authorities.

“I felt it would be very important that the community should feel safe and (have) trust (in the police),” she said.

Dolma initiated the Safe Community Initiative in November 2009 in co-operation with Toronto Police Service’s 52 Division.

As part of the initiative, Const. Mike Moffatt and Const. Dave Richards joined Dolma as she visited over 500 businesses in Chinatown.

Each business owner received a robbery prevention kit and fridge magnet with a list of important numbers to call, such as the closest hospital, local police and fire departments.

The kits advised merchants how to look for suspicious persons and key descriptions to remember after a robbery has taken place.

Dolma also provided instructions about filling out incident reports, translated into Chinese. She said the response from business owners has been positive.

The Chinatown Business Improvement Area (BIA) participated in the program by providing posters that told people they were being recorded on camera. They also provided information about ways of arranging a store’s layout to prevent theft.

It helped merchants, Dolma said, because previously most business owners didn’t know what to do when they needed police assistance.

“(I) told them they had to keep in mind all these things,” Dolma said. “As soon as an incident happens…they (now) know what to do.”

Const. Moffatt said that the initiative acts as a basis for good two-way communication between business owners and the police.

“We had a sum-up meeting less than a month ago,” Moffatt said. “It (the safe community initiative) was pretty successful.”

Meanwhile, baker Samson Kuk said he supported the initiative, even if he had just learned about it.

“Maybe they should do a little more promotion…and send out (more information) to business owners,” he said.

In 2003, Dalton McGuinty pledged $300 million to child care. Three years later, the premier accepted a one-time payment from the federal government. Since then, the Ontario government has allotted $63.5 million to child-care funding every year.

Critics say the money Ontario received from the federal government will run out this June and that this means cuts to child-care subsidies. Andrea Calver, spokesperson for Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, says these cuts will hurt parents.

“The ripple effect of these cuts will lead to a catastrophic collapse for our fragile child care system and impact families, child care centres and staff and communities,” Calver said.

Calver said that over 7,000 child-care spaces could vanish along with 1,800 child-care jobs. She added that this will result in additional burden to an economy still emerging from a recession.

”While the province is facing a $24.7 billion deficit, cuts to the child-care sector will significantly affect our economy,” Calver said. “The Centre for Spatial Economics found that there would be a drop of $148.3 million in Ontario’s GDP through job losses and increased demand for welfare.”

Calver said that low-income neighbourhoods will suffer as a result of subsidy cuts.

Rosemary White, executive director of Bond Street Nursery School, agrees. Her school has served children and families living in the St. Jamestown and Regent Park area since 1937. White says that many of the parents who enroll their children at Bond Street Nursery School live below the low-income cutoff. She said cuts to subsidies will exclude the children in low-income families from child-care and put some facilities out of business.

“When our older children leave in August, we will not be able to admit new children because they will not be able to get a subsidy,” White said. “Of course we cannot exist with over half our children gone. We may very well have to close our doors.”

Torbinta Albert, a parent to three children, has waited since April 2009 for a subsidy so her youngest child can attend Bond Street Nursery School. She cannot afford child care otherwise. An immigrant from Sri Lanka, Albert would like to learn English to improve her life. Without the subsidy, she says would have to stay home during the day to take care of her three-year-old son.

“I would like to go to ESL classes, but I cannot go,” Albert said.

White said that the funding shortfall means the system will lose 5,000 spaces.

“The parents impacted are the ones who cannot get their children into the school. They are disappointed and some are confused as they do not understand how there can be funding one minute and then it is gone the next,” White said.

Laurel Broten, minister of Child and Youth Services, said the federal government needs to act quickly to resolve this situation.

“Ontario parents will see an erosion of child-care services if the federal government doesn’t step up and get back in the child care business,” Broten said.

But Sylivia Jones, Conservative critic of Child and Youth Services and MPP for Dufferin-Caledon, disagreed. She thinks that the Ontario should not seek help from the federal government.

“The province should concentrate on managing their provincial program,” Jones said.

Jones also thinks that the introduction of full-day kindergarten may be illtiming by the Liberal government.

“The McGuinty Liberals have chosen to unveil their costly all-day kindergarten program, while organizations with programs already in place are looking for support,” Jones said.

Shots rang out in the parking lot and the van came to a violent halt against a tree.  Fifteen-year-old Duane Christian was dead in the driver’s seat.

Four years later, we must realize the tragedy did not start there.

It is possible in the wave of outrage that seems unavoidably linked to a boy being killed by police we have missed the most important issue at hand here.

Why was Duane Christian out in a stolen van at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning with a stash of cocaine and marijuana in the seat next to him?

Christian could have benefitted from the proper supervision of institutions in this community.  He was killed only two blocks from East Toronto Storefront, an organization that prides itself on connecting local teens with services and opportunities here in Scarborough.

Or perhaps the barrier between Scarborough teens and the police was at the root of Christian’s death.

A bond between police and teens like Christian is in the making with the opening of job opportunities at police stations for teens in priority neighbourhoods. Teenagers and police working to establish trust would remove the fight or flight mentality from the minds of Scarborough youth.

With due guidance, Christian would have never found himself in the fatal situation. His criminal action would have been avoided and Const. Darnley’s bullets would have remained in his gun. His family and friends wouldn’t have to cope with the tragedy they’ve dealt with for four years since.

But the young man’s family are not the only living victims of Christian’s death.
Const. Darnley and his family would have never heard the word “killer” attached to his name.  We must look beyond the badge to see the human being — he is a victim in this too.  He has to move on knowing that Christian’s actions forced him to end the boy’s life.

It is unfortunate that Christian was not mature enough to realize the impact of his actions, but he could have been taught.  He could have been steered by his family and community away from crime, and away from what ultimately cost him his life.

The most effective preventive measure in deaths like Christian’s is not a change in policing policy, and it is not a painful audit of the thought process of officers at the scene.  Prevention, in this case, begins with the environment in which Christian was raised.

The controversial project will connect Sheppard Avenue East to the Don Mills subway station.

The members of Save Our Sheppard (SOS) oppose the line, as they’re advocating for viable transit in Toronto, said Patricia Sinclair, organizer of the group and 30-year area resident.

The city’s anticipating economic growth in the neighbourhood, but critics claim it’s a wasteful expense.

“We recognize the very great need in Toronto for better public transit and we acknowledge large sums of money need to be spent,” Sinclair said. “Light rail, alias streetcars in designated rights-of-ways, does not offer a solution to our woes, but creates more problems.”

Although the group wants a subway instead, city councillors say it’s not affordable.

The 14-km Sheppard East line will cost the same as the 6.2-km Sheppard subway, according to toronto.ca.

“When we only have so much money, why not use that for a continuation of the underground subway from Don Mills to Kennedy?” SOS Reg Rego said.

The city’s building “a spider web” of a mess, as LRT vehicles operate in a dedicated right-of-way, he said.

A subway would be more reasonable, even in terms of “immediate capital costs,” as the underground tunnel for a streetcar would have to be at least 45 cm higher than for a subway to accommodate electric power lines, Rego said.

Another concern is the lack of access for vehicles from one side of the street to residences and businesses on the other side, creating a “dividing Sheppard wall,” he said.

If an incident disables a streetcar, emergency services would be delayed, resulting in “a total crippling of transit,” Rego said.

“This city has fallen behind in a major way, which leaves us economically at a distinct disadvantage when you compare us to other cities, not only in North America, but in Europe,” Sinclair said. “Even Asia and India are doing better than we in building new transit lines.”

Ward 38 councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker said although the $1-billion project will cause unavoidable disruption, the city is working with local residents and business owners to minimize inconvenience during construction.

“The Sheppard East Village Business Improvement Area welcomes the LRT,” De Baeremaker said. “The owners have told the city just to make sure not to disrupt their businesses, like if we’re paving the road, not to be in their way for four weeks.”

He said benefits of the LRT include lower costs and diesel fume emissions while providing a clean, comfortable and fast way to travel.

There’ll also be new bike lanes running along the tracks, De Baeremaker said.

The line will enter a tunnel west of Consumers Road, travel under Highway 404 and connect to the subway level at Don Mills Station, according to toronto.ca.

Although Ward 39 councillor Mike Del Grande said construction started in late 2009 in the underpass of the Agincourt GO Station and is to be completed by 2013, Sinclair said there hasn’t been much progress.

While part of the parking lot at the station has been closed for construction, it’s now just a “dirt field” from where the cement has been taken out, she said.

Citizens need to be aware of the facts of the issue, as studies have been done, including one on the failure of the LRT in Portland, Oregon called “Debunking Portland: The City That Doesn’t Work,” Sinclair said.

“Billions of taxpayers’ dollars will be wasted if we can’t stop this,” she said. “But more importantly, the negative impact these lines bring will be detrimental to the neighbourhoods they are being planned for.

“The documentation exists, but it seems neither our politicians nor transit planners are bothered to read them. We want to change that before it’s too late.”

Public consultations for the LRT project are set for March 8 at Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School and March 11 at the Chinese Cultural Centre.

Now the sweet smell of progress fills the zoo as it looks to turn the poop into power.

“We looked at what is a liability and thought about using it to create green electricity,” said Ward 38 councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker, a zoo board member.

The Toronto Zoo is expecting to have a privately biogas plant up by summer 2011.

City council approved the final proposal this month, paving the path forward to turning the Toronto Zoo into a green leader, De Baeremaeker said.

The plant is expected to make the zoo carbon neutral in two years, plus produce enough electricity for 2,500 homes in Toronto. It will use the feces of 5,000 animals and organic waste from restaurants and grocery stores, like Metro, to produce the energy.

“All the old banana peels and apples that don’t sell, and right now go to landfill sites, will go into the plant,” said.

The zoo is looking to private investors to pay the $20-million bill for the project. De Baeremaeker says many companies already eager for the development. He expects more to follow suit, as the plant’s electricity will be sold to the grid and make profit for its investors within five years.

“This is a winning project,” he said. “The zoo wins, the private sector company wins, the tax payer wins, and the environment wins.”

But not everyone agrees.

“It’s a great project but big deal,” said Rob Laidlaw, director of Zoocheck Canada, an animal rights group in Toronto. “The zoo is in the animal business and they are supposed to be engaged in wildlife conservation. I don’t see any evidence of that happening,”

Laidlaw criticizes the zoo for its recent animal deaths: a matriarch elephant and a rare Siberian tiger.  He says the zoo cares about popularity more than animal welfare and conservation.

De Baeremaeker counters this, saying he believes the zoo is becoming a green pioneer.

“The Toronto zoo is changing,” De Baeremaeker said. “We’re trying to change the mandate of zoos to be more compatible with species survival and to become places of education and advocacy.”

With 1.3 million visitors annually, zoo officials say the biogas project will play a major role in informing the public about renewable energies and will spark similar projects throughout the city.

“I’m confident that we can power the entire city of Toronto through green energy,” De Baeremaeker said. “This is just one step towards that future.”