This year’s show runs for two weeks and is on now.

All photographs will be on sale to help raise much-needed funds for the club.

To take the pictures, students in the club used a digital single-lens reflex camera, owned by educational assistant Cristina Da Silva. The class broke into small groups, so while one group was using the camera, the other groups looked for things they would like to photograph.

The camera however, has since died, due to high usage at the hands of dozens of students.

Da Silva started the club three years ago as a way to provide an outlet for the non-athletes and non-musicians to express themselves through a different avenue.

“The main point of the photography club is to be able to teach them how to look through the lens with a different set of eyes,” Da Silva said. “It’s about changing their perspective on things and being able to tell a story.”

The program has since grown, based on high student interest. However, the club is grossly underfunded.

Da Silva runs the club with two other educational assistants, Christine Lombardi who supervises and Kevin Graham who oversees the technical work.

In its first year, students were asked to bring their own cameras.

“This is the third neediest area of Toronto,” said Graham. “The kids are coming in with these cameras that are 20 years old that you can’t buy film for anymore, or they are digital cameras that won’t even help them.”

Graham has introduced the students to photo editing this year by use of his personal laptop and a free downloadable program. The editing software cannot work on the school’s computers, which are too old.

To further engage the students while some are using the camera, the instructors use slideshows and props to get the students thinking about how they would like to photograph a subject and project meaning onto it.

In the club’s second year, they were able to purchase one DSLR with some of the profits from selling photographs and calendars, all of which normally goes back to the school.

The instructors hope that the club will get more funding soon so it can grow, and they can purchase more equipment. Lombardi is waiting to hear back from the government about an application for club funding.

“The bottom line is, if we don’t any equipment, we don’t have a program,” said Da Silva.

Now in its third year, the club is still rotating one camera between 30 students. Even so, the students have been able to produce exceptional work, by photographing simple objects such as crayons and mouse traps.

“I learned a lot because my teachers were really good with us. I want to be a photographer when I grow up,” said student Samantha B, who photographed a single domino standing in front of a set of falling dominoes, and titled it Stand Firm.

“It means don’t follow other people because you might end up falling behind. Just be yourself,” Samantha said.

At the show, three top prizes and notable mentions will be given for the best photographs, as judged by a panel of students and teachers.

First-place recipient Priscilla Y. will receive a point and shoot camera for her photo titled Defy the Odds which she felt was reminiscent of Haiti and presents the idea there’s always hope in the most dire of situations.

The instructors said the program enhances the students’ sociability, providing friendships to students who normally do not belong to a circle of friends, .

“They’re really proud of [their work]. They really want to showcase it,” Da Silva said.

“They get to go to the art gallery. They get to dress up and they get to show their work. That’s great for their self-esteem,” added Lombardi. “It’s beautiful.”

Provide better equipment for young hockey players….

Raise the temperature in the rinks to accommodate older fans….

Find new ways to sell the sport to new Canadians….

Scarborough residents had lots of suggestions for improving the state of hockey in Scarborough, the task force researching the problem heard at a meeting at the McGregor Park Recreation Centre on April 17.

The problem is that many of these suggestions may not feasible due to a lack of funding, say local officials.

“Some of them are pie-in-the-sky, but other pie-in-the-sky things in our lifetime have been realized,” said Margo Cowie, a hockey mom and member of the hockey task force created by Scarborough Community Council to investigate on the state of minor hockey in Scarborough.

Cowie believes addressing minor hockey is an urgent matter.

“If we don’t change the conversation soon I think what you’re going to see is the programs will fold, and once they fold it is so hard to start them back,” she said. “I think to rebuild them is a lot easier when they’re still there.”

Scarborough Hockey Association president John Kelloway also outlined his vision of hockey in Scarborough at the meeting:

“One house league with a strong select program, with a middle ground of what we call ‘minor development’ and one ‘A’ club representing Scarborough and if we do our job well enough, one ‘AA’ club,” he said.

“It would be dreamy to have a ‘AAA’ club but there are enough kids playing in the [Greater Toronto Hockey League] that could build that ‘AAA’ club in Scarborough.”

The SHA is feeling the effects of low enrolment and high costs for minor hockey in Scarborough, as the association spiraled into turmoil and eventually merged with the GTHL.

The meeting was co-chaired by Ward 37 councillor Michael Thompson and GTHL executive director Scott Oakman.

“What we are trying to do is research, fact-find and then sit down as a committee to assess the information that we’ve gathered from the public,” Thompson said. “Then to come up with some recommendations and refine those in such a way that we can attempt to meet our mandate.”

Thompson first brought this issue to the attention of Scarborough Community Council after finding it difficult to enroll his son in minor hockey.

The GTHL’s Oakman, who played his minor hockey in the SHA system, said that minor hockey in Scarborough has not changed with the times to accommodate shifting demographics. Oakman said that the SHA’s amalgamation into the GTHL has seen positive results so far.

“The sentimental side of me is sad to see the former structure change, but then the other side of it is that if we don’t change we’re going to get left behind,” said Oakman.

Thompson recognizes he has taken on a challenging cause.

“This is a very difficult job, actually,” he said. “It’s not easy because everyone has their own ideas and formulas to make hockey work. People are very passionate about their hockey so it’s exciting we are going to take on this challenge.”

The McGregor Park Recreation Centre will host another minor hockey summit on April 24.

Infested ash trees have been seen in the Morningside Avenue and Sheppard Avenue area, as well as in the vicinity of Kingston Road and Galloway Road, according to Ward 43 councillor Paul Ainslie’s website.

Unfortunately there is no known way to prevent the current infestation from spreading further among the 26,000 ash trees in the Guildwood Village area, the site says.

It is believed that the borer arrived in Windsor, Ont., from Asia in 2002. Richard Ubbens, Toronto director of urban forestry services, has been tracking the bug’s movement in Ontario for over three years and fears the infestation may continue to worsen.

“That’s the problem with this insect: you don’t see infestation signs very easily,” Ubbens said. “Chances are, when you do see it, it’s already well established in the area.”

Residents with ash trees are advised to look for signs of infestation. The first signs are leaves dying from the top of the tree  and v-shaped holes in the bark. But, as the insect’s larvae infest the tree from within, noticing these signs often proves to be too little too late, Ubbens said.

The borer population of is growing exponentially but steps are being taken to eradicate the infestation., he said. The City of Toronto is doing what it can to prevent the infestation from spreading.

According to a statement about the infestation on Ainslie’s website, the city has registered an insecticidal substance, TreeAzin, to inject into ash trees. While it has shown some effectiveness, it comes with a hefty price tag of $250 per tree, which makes the infestation that much more problematic for local residents.

Ubbens says further research is needed in order to stop the infestation from spreading quickly.

In the meantime, residents may help the spread without realizing it, he said.

“The worst thing in the world right now is that we speed up the spread of this unknowingly through the spread of firewood. People are moving firewood all the time, and that’s not a wise thing to do at all.”

If residents with ash trees on their property notice an infestation, they are asked to call their local arborist or forestry official.

At least, that’s what we would like to believe.

More likely, they will be digesting the sound of a police siren somewhere not-so-far away, and looking at our current cluster of dilapidated apartment buildings that will have had five more years to rot.

Yes, the games may change a few things. They may be excellent for Toronto, an obvious source of tourism revenues and worldwide praise, if all goes well. Locally, it would be excellent for UTSC students, who may finally be treated to an athletics facility suitable for the ninth strongest university on earth, according to Times Higher Education, rather than one barely suitable for a Scarborough high school.

The games may even give Scarborough the transportation the TTC has promised, with the LRT passing directly through the neighbourhood.

What the games will not deliver is a new Scarborough mindset.

The “suburb” has a bad reputation for a reason, and that will not change due to a new building in town. It’s neither fair nor productive to repeat typical Scarborough stereotypes which impact the area’s reputation almost as effectively as reality. But the reality is that the city has talked about improving the area for decades, and things are only getting worse.

Take Kingston Road: thick documents promising revivals for Scarborough roads have existed since the mid-1990s, when the city decided outdated and seedy motel strips, overgrown vacant lots, and sprawling used car dealerships don’t reflect the glitz and glamour of the big city.

Come 2010 and the motels have only got seedier, the lots further overgrown, and the used cars older. Toronto’s latest approach is to replace such holes with rows of condominiums, but since residents wouldn’t want the already jammed road to receive any more traffic, it is unlikely our reps at city hall will do anything this time either.  Instead, the city will likely plant a few perennials and pussyfoot around the issue for another lifetime.

Oh, and the taxes will probably get hiked again, too.

The fact is that Scarborough is too far gone for a mere athletics facility to bring some life into the dead town. Anything new that comes with the games will simply fade into a desuetude state a few years later.

The LRT will most likely be made obsolete by 2020 in favour of some new form of technology, just as the Scarborough RT was several years after its haphazard creation.  These glorified streetcars will bring their own traffic implications to already unmanageable streets in the area, and the TTC already has lobby groups detracting from its positive impact. The LRT will be old, loud, and disliked before long, not to mention its windows covered in fresh graffiti, its floors covered in fresh garbage, and filled with the same stink that plagues the RT. Bringing in something new does not keep people from using it, abusing it, and making it old all over again.

This also applies to new businesses that are to appear with the games as well.  Sure, they will thrive during the games, but eventually they will fall into disrepair like almost every other business in the vicinity.  Once they begin to bottom out, they will receive help from neither investors nor the city, and an entirely new generation of businesses will suffer the same fate as other Scarborough businesses have for years.

It is too bad, because locals care about the state of their town, but with an infrastructure that is suspect, and violence rates that do not want to drop, the area can’t seem to shake its penchant for being the armpit of Toronto.

The motto for the 2015 Pan Am games is “Your moment is here.”

But Scarborough, this is not your moment — not yet, anyway.

“Everybody is excited and it’s overdue to have a facility in the area,” said Robyn Bate, head coach at the Scarborough Diving Club. “Most of us run out of high school pools, so for us to go from there to a full facility with a 10-metre [diving] tank and a 50-metre pool is unbelievable.”

Bate said the new facility will serve Scarborough and the rest of the GTA , as clubs travel from as far as Burlington and London to use pools in Toronto.

Bates adds that she feels the new complex will be important for the survival of aquatics in the city.  “I don’t foresee another pool coming around for years and years.”

Plans for the facility include two Olympic-sized swimming pools, as well as a running track and racquet courts.

Although the complex’s main purpose is to serve the needs of the Pan Am Games, it is to be made available to the university and general public by 2014.

“We expect to start construction at the very end of 2011 or beginning of 2012,” said Laura Matthews, director of communications and public affairs at UTSC. “The intention is that the facility will be operational a year before the games will open.”

“It will serve many different groups,” said Matthews. “It’s going to be a great place for recreational athletes and people interested in a healthy lifestyle.”

A shared-use agreement with the city and the university will be written to help determine who gets access to the complex.

“We’ll look at scheduling for when the community can use the site and when U of T can use the site,” said Ward 44 councillor Ron Moeser, a supporter of the bid.

“There will be times when it’s open to both [the community and the students], there will be times when just students can use it and all those things will be decided based on the needs of the community and university.”

The cost for the public to use the facilities is yet to be determined, but Moeser would like to make it as accessible and inclusive as possible.

“A lot of it will be free,” he said. “For seniors, I’d like to make sure it’s free because they’ve made their contributions over the years.”

“[With] these kinds of circuses, there’s no longer really any dispute,” says John Clarke, founder of Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and supporter of No Games Toronto.

No Games Toronto was the group responsible for trying to stop Toronto’s bid for the 2015 Pan Am Games by rallying at future venue sites.

“What they’re going to do is divert public resources and they’re going to facilitate the process of upscale gentrification and they’re going to lead to very ugly displacement of low-income neighbourhoods and a sort of repressive climate for homeless people when the events actually take place,” Clarke says.

Clarke says in order to see the affects the Pan Am Games will have on the city, people need only look at previous Olympics or Pan Am Games.

In those cases, the cost of apartments, condos and housing rose dramatically, says retired University of Toronto professor Helen Lenskyj who has written three books on the effects of the Olympics on their host cities. Her second book, The Best Olympics Ever: Social Impacts of Sydney 2000 included an entire chapter on the negative impact the games had on housing.

“The prices were pretty much out of range of even a middle-class person, ” she says. ‘Cheap accommodation is converted by landlords into tourist accommodation and they evict the low-paying tenants to make way for more lucrative tenants.”

Lenskyj is also concerned about the lengths the city will go to impress tourists and Pan Am officials.

“The usual so-called cleaning up of the streets to make the city look clean and wholesome to visitors involves harassing, and arresting in many cases, homeless people,” Lenskyj says. “The police get special powers, as we saw in Vancouver, to do that sort of thing.

While all of Toronto will be footing the bill and suffering the consequences of the games, Scarborough’s demographics will ensure it is hit especially hard, Clarke says.

“There’s no question that the drive to displace local communities is going to have a particularly virulent effect in a place like Scarborough, which has so many low-income communities and so many people just seeking to establish themselves in this country.”

While both critics of the games admit the aquatics facility will bring some benefits, they say the money would have been better spent on several facilities in the heart of needy communities, rather than on one large facility isolated on a university campus.

“There will be lasting facilities and there will be benefits that continue to exist,” said Clarke. “But then, even an earthquake will create some level of employment and opportunity.”

Manget is the owner of Felicia’s Collection, the boutique providing clothing for the show sponsored by the Canadian Federation of University Women Scarborough.

The proceeds of the show will go to support the Scarborough Women’s Centre and to Centennial College Student Awards. A raffle will also be held, with its proceeds going to the Stephen Lewis Foundation which funds HIV/AIDS related projects in Africa.

When the CFUW Scarborough first began developing an award fund in 1976, the aim was to help young women in Scarborough get a university education, said club member Ann Rutherford.

“We were targeting gals who had not necessarily had the highest marks in school, but they were very close to the top and they showed financial need,” Rutherford said.

Most of the projects sponsored by the CFUW emphasize education, Manget said.

They also donate money to University of Toronto Scarborough, which matches their donation and gives out scholarships in their name, she said.

“Women who had the privilege of being educated, they want to give back to help other people may not have been given the funding,” Manget said.

Manget has had the boutique in Highland Creek Village for the past 17 years. She said she purchases the clothing from agents abroad six months in advance. She has already ordered clothes for the fall.

This will be the fifth show she organizes for the CFUW Scarborough. Models in the show will be 20 to 70-years-old and of all backgrounds and sizes, Manget said.

“It’s a lot of fun once everyone one is on the runway,” she said.

The CFUW Scarborough has 60 members, around half of them will be helping out in the fashion show on April 12, she said.

Looking out of her window today, Lisa Fritz is disappointed to see nothing has changed.

“They put the cars right on my lawn, they stick up non-compliant signs,” Fritz said.  “I phoned to complain about the sign in January. I don’t see anything has been done.”

According to residents and business owners, it is the dirty lots, ugly signage and excessive litter that is preventing Kingston Road from bolstering its reputation.  With the 2015 Pan Am Games fast approaching, Scarborough is soon to be under more international scrutiny than ever.

But headway is being made in beautifying Kingston Road, according to Bill Blakes, manager of the Scarborough district of Municipal Licensing and Standards.

“Our guys enforce public right of way,” Blakes said.  “According to our staff, most businesses are complying with the bylaws.”

Area residents however are not so sure.

“The plazas and parking lots are dirty and disgusting,” said local residents Marianne and Margaret, who didn’t want their last names published. “They look dumpy, they keep the [lots] like garbage.”

Margaret has been a Scarborough Village resident for 26 years, while Marianne moved to the area from the Upper Beaches nearly two decades ago.  The two often take long strolls along the Kingston Road strip.

Most of the trouble is along the main street, where there is a lack of green space and shopkeepers fail to maintain their properties, they say.

“These unkempt areas and overpopulated apartments are a breeding ground for gangs and prostitution,” Margaret said.

Better enforcement is needed to help improve conditions in the area, Fritz said.

“It would improve business if they clean up the area,” Fritz said.  “I see traffic police, but I don’t see too many inspectors.”

The city is looking to address residents’ concerns with the March 2009 Kingston Road Initiative – Action Report, which outlines the detailed plans for the stretch of Kingston Road between Port Union Road and Victoria Park Avenue.  According to Ward 44 Councillor Ron Moeser, the report is stalling.

A followup to the report, which was set to outline final plans and possible means of funding, was due in late 2009 but has still not been completed. Moeser said he is hopeful the upcoming 2015 Pan Am games will speed up the process.

“[The games] will be very beneficial.  They will create partnerships with the community and generate $152 million,” Moeser said. “The community will have access to the facilities.”

Among other things, the plan suggests replacing existing buildings along Kingston Road with highrise condominiums and improving public space with a host of new parkettes, benches and planters.

“Were hoping we can partner with some of the run-down motels and make something the community can be proud of,” Moeser said.

Residents agree that improving the outward appearance of Kingston Road may have more than a superficial effect.

“It’s a good area, it just needs some happiness and colour,” Fritz said.  “It’s quite bland.”

“When things look ill-kept, you get trouble,” Marianne said.  “Physically making it look prettier would definitely help.”

While Moeser reiterated that some of the businesses are finally starting to clean up and the area is looking better, he hopes the added attention from the games will take the area to the next level.

According to Fritz the increased traffic flow from the games should cause a “mini-boom” for local businesses and bring development to the area.

“Five years is not that far away — it’s coming up faster than you think,” Fritz said.

John Hoang turned himself in on Tuesday.  He peacefully surrendered to police at 14 Division a day after the incident occurred.

The 28-year-old man is facing three charges including aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

Gunanayagam Thurainayagam, a 35-year-old Scarborough man, is in stable condition but still recovering in hospital from life-threatening stab wounds resulting from the incident.  The father of two is expected to survive.

Police say the incident took place in the Neilson Road and Wickson Trail area around 7 a.m. Monday morning.

Police believe the altercation began as a road-rage incident on Highway 401, where the two men got into an argument after a minor collision.

Thurainayagam was then followed back to Wickson Trail where the suspect smashed the window of his Toyota Camry.  When he got out to confront the suspect, he was stabbed multiple times in the back.

Thurainayagam then managed to drive himself home to a building on McLevin Avenue where police were called. The victim was rushed to hospital by ambulance.

Hoang was to appear in court on the charges on Tuesday.

“The number of people in high-priority neighbourhoods without cars is much higher than other parts of the city,” he said. “And there’s often many seniors and people who are already dealing with multiple challenges in priority neighbourhoods.”

He was responding to a preliminary report on Toronto’s first food strategy released in February by the public health department. The study aims to integrate food security into the city’s broader agenda — linking public transit to grocery stores, building community centres with gardens and kitchens, and educating residents about healthy eating.

Last month Dorfman spoke with a group of seniors in Malvern about where they go to get groceries. Those living in the heart of Malvern told him they just walked to the local Food Basics.

But residents who don’t live near it had to rely on their children to take them shopping, Dorfman said.

“That’s okay. But what do you do if you don’t have kids or your kids don’t have a car?”

Solutions

One of the solutions identified in the city’s strategy is to encourage more food stores along transit lines, which means integrating food security into urban planning.

“We’re increasingly trying to organize the city around transit,” Dorfman said. “And we’re looking to intensify development — to stop sprawl. When there’s new growth, we should be thinking about access to food.”

The plan also looks to encourage the growth of food markets around the city. Montreal has food stands selling fresh produce outside a number of its subway stations, a system Toronto can implement as well, Dorfman said.

The city is also looking to introduce food trucks that go around neighbourhoods selling fresh produce.

The Good Food Box, a program that provides fresh fruits and vegetables to residents at a subsidized cost, began 16 years ago as a way to address Toronto’s food security gap.

“The program feels pretty permanent to us,” said Paul DeCampo, Good Food program manager. “It’s something that’s grown exponentially.”

Today, they distribute 5,000 boxes a month through 200 neighbourhood drop-off centres.

City planning: food first

“The food strategy is a significant moment because it’s encouraging the city to be thinking food first,” said Angela Elzinga Cheng of Toronto Food Animators, a group that works with local agencies and residents in Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods to start food projects, like community gardens, kitchens and markets.

The group worked with residents at Gordonridge Place, a Toronto Community Housing residence in Scarborough, to set up a community garden.

They started with 12 plots three years ago and expanded to 32 due to high demand, said resident and community activist Len Mirander. There are currently 15 people on the waiting list.

While the project at Gordonridge Place has been successful, Mirander said he thinks the food strategy shouldn’t target one demographic of Toronto society.

“They’re talking about low-income [communities], but what about the middle class and the upper class?” he said. “If we’re going to make this work in Toronto, there can be absolutely no exclusion. It’s for everybody to partake and work together.”

But the main barrier to healthy food is one the city cannot solve, DeCampo said. The provincial and federal government control the tax system, which “really are the instruments that would lead to more equitable distribution of wealth,” he said.

Building communities

People benefit from fresh food in more ways than one. Activists say it’s also about empowering residents and fostering vibrant communities.

Good Food boxes aren’t delivered directly to people’s homes but through community centres.

“That way we are bringing community together around food,” DeCampo said. “So people will start to recognize the various resources that already exist in their community and learn how to use them more efficiently.”

Mirander said the garden at Gordonridge Place has fostered a sense of community that they didn’t have three years ago.

“We have people from about 15 different countries gardening,” he said. “You get to know your neighborhood. It builds relationships. It builds participation.”

Police were called to a high-rise apartment building at 20 Antrim Cres. – in the Kennedy Road  and Highway 401. area - around 3:30 a.m., Toronto Police Staff Sgt. Ken Taylor told the Toronto Sun.

Not long after police responded, three men arrived at Centenary Hospital in a gold Toyota Camry. Two were suffering from serious, but not life-threatening, gunshot wounds.

“We’re not sure if it’s a gunfight,” Toronto Police Staff Sgt. Al Scott told the Toronto Star. “We’re still monitoring all the hospitals [in the city] just in case.”

Anyone with information can contact police at 416-808-4100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477, 222tips.com, or by texting TOR and your tip to CRIMES.

Durham Regional Police spokesperson Dave Selby said the discovery was “part of an ongoing investigation that we’re doing.”

Due to this, he could not release any more details about the incident.

It has now been revealed that the murder of two Pickering men, whose bodies were found in the trunk of a car last May, is what brought police to the storage unit at Kennedy Road and Progress Avenue.

The DRPS Major Crime Branch executed a search warrant around 6:30 p.m. and found weapons and explosives inside. Selby could not release any details concerning the type of weapons or explosives found.

Police evacuated the area for investigation which halted service on the Scarborough RT between Kennedy and McCowan stations, and the Stouffville GO line outside of Agincourt. Progress Avenue was also closed between Midland Avenue and Kennedy Road.

Police called the Emergency Task Force explosives unit to the scene before containing the materials in a steel drum for transport.

Highway 401 was closed around 9 p.m. from Kennedy Road to the Don Valley Parkway while police took the drum to the Leslie Street Spit. The contents were then detonated shortly after 11 p.m.

Transit resumed at 7 p.m., while the highway reopened around 11 p.m.

John Le and Vijay Singh both face charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and forcible confinement in connection to the murders, but no arrests have been made in connection with Wednesday’s incident.

The man was loitering in a park in the Markham Road and Lawrence Avenue area on March 18 when he was allegedly found to be in possession of a loaded Tech 9 machine pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition.

He was granted bail on March 22.

Wariskhan Pathan, 18, was arrested March 18 on charges including possession of property obtained by crime, weapons dangerous, and careless storage of a firearm.

Meanwhile, a second Toronto man arrested on eight gun-related charges in a separate incident on March 17 is scheduled to appear in court March 31 for a bail hearing.

Police received reports of disorderly conduct in the Ellesmere and Orton Park Rds. area and found a man allegedly in possession of a semi-automatic 9mm Ruger handgun.

Jahdel Myers, 21, faces charges including unauthorized possession of a firearm and careless use of a firearm.

“This is the second time this has happened,” said Laura Ricci, who lives on Slyvan Avenue.

Led by the Toronto Wind Action group, residents of Guildwood have been opposing the provincial government’s plan to construct wind turbines in the Scarborough Bluffs, citing the amount of land needed for the wind farms.

The signs, featuring the slogan “Save our Shoreline”, were reportedly stolen at night on March 16 from homes on Prince Phillip Boulevard, Catalina Drive and Sylvan Avenue.

A resident reported a sign missing from the residents’ own front lawn, then drove through the neighbourhood and reported more empty front lawns.

“It’s a display of vandalism,” said John Laforet, a candidate for Toronto city councillor in Ward 43. “Over 40 signs for [Toronto Wind Action] have gone missing,”

The 12-by-24 inch signs are purchased by residents or dropped off by Toronto Wind Action activists, for supporters to display on their front lawns.

The signs have been a vital part of the campaign to raise awareness.

“Similar disappearances happened before Christmas,” said Timo Puhakka, president of the Guildwood Village Community Association.

No arrests were made in connection with the earlier thefts.

A photograph of the alleged thief, taken from a resident’s security camera footage, was given to police after the Christmas thefts.

Guildwood community members speculate these recent thefts are the work of the same person.

Other residents have been looking through their security camera feeds to see if they can catch the culprit on film, said Ricci.

The supporters of Toronto Wind Action say they are not going to let the thefts get in the way of expressing their opposition to the government plan.

“My next-door neighbour replaced their sign the next day,” Ricci said, adding that she has seen the signs returning to front lawns.

This is not an isolated situation. Throughout Scarborough many apartment buildings have multiple unsolved standard-of-living complaints.

“Residents shouldn’t have to put up with this nonsense,” said Ward 44 councillor Ron Moeser.  “People should be able to live in comfort and have their issues addressed as soon as possible.”

According to Moeser, the problem is due to a lack of appropriate legislation and the power of landlords to deny city by-law inspectors entry.  The city is forced to take property owners to court, which can take years and keep tenants living in impoverished and sometimes dangerous conditions.

“It breaks my heart when we can’t do our job, it’s extremely frustrating,” Moeser said.  “By-law officers have to tell property managers that they don’t have to let them in, even after we receive complaints.”

Angelo Swampillai, property manager at 205 Morningside Ave., said they are doing the best they can with their budget to fix the building.  He says they deal with the serious safety complaints first and claims the city doesn’t do much of a job of enforcement.

“City inspectors show up maybe once in a blue moon,” Swampillai said.  “They just give an extension anyway — safety issues are the only thing they really care about.”

Moeser says the landlords are simply taking advantage of a flawed system and doing all they can to avoid and prolong dealing with complaints.

“These guys know how to use the courts,” Moeser said. “Even if we are victorious the courts just give them a slap on the wrist anyway,”

He said new legislation is needed from the province to really solve the problem.

“We need to be able to give them a fine right away if they don’t comply with our orders — and a significant fine that will hit them where it hurts.”

Mike Halliday, a tenant at 207 Morningside Ave., agrees the city needs to step in and make sure landlords live up to their responsibilities.

“My girlfriend gets shocked every time she touches her stove,” Halliday said.  “They keep saying they are going to fix it and never get around to it.”

Vincent Simon, who has lived in the same building as Halliday for 30 years, said the building could use some work but has improved drastically since a new more responsible owner has taken over.

“It used to be horrible, full of cockroaches and falling apart,” Simon said.  “This new owner is trying to fix things up.  Violence and graffiti have almost completely disappeared, and they put in new windows and balconies.”

For the wife and daughter he left behind, Hilit Mutlu was much more than an immigrant worker toiling daily to build a new instructional facility for University of Toronto Scarborough Campus students.  He was a father and husband, a provider and a hero.

For this city that relies so heavily on the constant work done by construction workers, Mutlu is just another statistic.  He is the seventh worker to be killed by a fall in the past seven weeks.

This is not a new trend; workers have been being killed disproportionately by falls for many years now.  The city claims to be aggressively working towards construction safety, yet the rate of construction worker deaths has not improved since 1998.

Construction workers put their lives at risk everyday to build and maintain our city.  Their work is severely unappreciated, and instead of thanks they get noise complaints and angry drivers yelling at traffic slow-ups.

When they die in the line of the duty, they are lucky to get a single-column story in the paper.  Meanwhile, when police officers or firefighters are killed they are given a front-page spread and the entire city seems to rise up in arms.

While it is a difficult comparison to make, there is no doubting the danger or importance of construction work in the city.  They keep our buildings standing and roads usable, indirectly saving the lives of people all throughout the city.

While they may not run into burning buildings to save lives, it is easy to forget the blood, sweat and tears that workers put into making these buildings.  Or the injuries and lives lost along the way.

Often portrayed as a dirty, lower class job, it’s about time construction workers got some respect and admiration.

As the winter closes and the warm weather brings many more workers out of their winter layoff, take a closer look at the bright-vested men and women labouring away at the side of the road.  They are real people with families too, not to be so easily forgotten.

Last week Ontario MPP Bill Murdoch proposed that Toronto become its own province. Murdoch, who represents the rural riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, is speaking on behalf of communities outside the metropolis. He says their needs are not being met because the Ontario Legislature favours the capital city.

Alas, Scarborough feels the same neglect.

We in Scarborough must stand up for our own rights.

Because of Scarborough’s limited representation in the halls of government, our concerns are not taken seriously.

Our ancient transit system is in decline, but Queen’s Park will do nothing to help us.

The Scarborough RT has been the central mode of transportation in the region since 1978. However, the aging system has never been modified to accommodate changing transit demands.
Toronto proposed in 2007 to expand light rail transit in Scarborough as part of the “Transit City” program. This plan will not do. Car traffic will be obstructed and traffic patterns be changed to suit Toronto bureaucrats. Over the next 12 years this citywide plan will cost taxpayers over $17 billion.

The only way our unique demands can be met is if we have an autonomous government. Only 10 of the 44 Toronto city councillors speak for the needs of the people of Scarborough. The Scarborough Community Council, which includes our councillors, still meets in the old City of Scarborough buildings to discuss the community, but their discussions are meaningless. The City of Toronto must approve its motions for any progress to go forward.

We must take action into our own hands.

Our economy is based on manufacturing. If we work for ourselves, instead of for Toronto, we are capable of creating the greatest manufacturing hub in southern Ontario. Agriculture will be another key component of an independent Scarborough. The farmland to the northeast will feed and nurture us.

Scarborough has a long history of independence and it thrived on its own for over 150 years. From its incorporation as a township in 1850 to the 1998 amalgamation, Scarborough grew from a suburban backwater to an integral part of the metropolitan Toronto area. But why should our growth stop there?

Scarborough annexed West Rouge from Pickering in 1973. It is clear we must continue our eastward march. There is much fertile farmland beyond the zoo. We must claim it in the name of Scarborough if we are to sustain our self reliance in the food sector.

Energy will not be a problem. Wind farming off the Scarborough bluffs could power 50,000 Scarborough homes with renewable, emissions-free energy. The shallow Scarborough shoreline is the only area in the GTA where wind farming is possible. We will sell our surplus energy to the surrounding area to supplement our economy.

Unfortunately, my dreams are only dreams and they cannot come to fruition unless you, the people of Scarborough, dream with me.  The fight for freedom will not be easy, but the alternatives are too dire.

We must march to the capital, united, our banners streaming in the air and our heads held high. They can take our light rail, but they can never take our freedom!

If you come from an area like Keele Street and St. Clair Avenue West, the worst critter enemies were the few ants trying to enter the crack through my back door or maybe even a nasty scorpion that made its way in to the bathtub.  At least those attacks could be fended off with a big book or newspaper.

That’s not the only surprising thing about the wildlife in the area.  Don’t get on the bad side of the raccoons in the neighbourhood.  They’ll feud with you.   They’ll knock over trashcans and spill garbage everywhere.  Then, you’ll be stuck picking up their leftovers.

As exciting as that is, that’s not even the most surprising thing found.  Also in Scarborough, your neighbours may even have their own horses.  These are the suburbs.  Shouldn’t you be out on a ranch somewhere?

Now, it’s become known in that area hybrids between coyotes and wolves exist; they’re called coywolves.

What’ll top that?  Next thing, you’ll find a mutant pack of dogs or mutant bees, or dogs that shoot mutant bees at you when they bark.

When moving to this area, you could handle the extra mosquito bites, a difference noticed between Scarborough and neighborhoods near the core.  Now, it looks like residents are going to have to make note of these super beasts that are half-coyote and half-wolf.  These things travel in packs, which means it’s one of us versus at least three of them.

The salesman for the house doesn’t warn potential homebuyers about the coyotes or the wolves.  But apparently, these animals are always here, according to Toronto Animal Services.  Thanks for the heads up, salesman.

All joking aside, it’d be useful to have some signs up in areas where coyotes are known to hang around.  This would serve dog owners in the area tremendously, because coyotes and wolves in the area have attacked small dogs being walked.

In the meantime, become like 100-metre world record holder Usain Bolt. Just be ready to run when a pack of coywolves are chasing you down.

The reaction to discovering he went to University of Toronto Scarborough Campus usually is “When did he graduate?” The chance he may have been a person passed in the school halls is both terrifying and exciting.

I wonder if someone I have met, or made one of the many daily connections to, could be the next person to have a double life exposed: one half normal and the other half heinously criminal.

I know people who attended UTSC during the reign of the Scarborough Rapist. Their personal accounts of his influence on the community were of terror.

To an extent, the general public has become desensitized to these dangers. The dark backstreets and ill-lit corners are not the only places these attacks occur. Victims of similar crimes are just as likely to go missing during the daylight hours.

Younger residents shrug off warnings from parents or loved ones. My grandfather will not allow me to take the bus home late at night without a friend.

Are these warnings what is needed for there to be real change? Williams rose to prominence with the Canadian Forces and secured one of the top positions. The people who encountered him have described him as an “easy-going, nice guy.”

If Williams is found guilty, it reinforces this concept of a double life.

No one suspected Williams when the murders and sexual assaults were initially reported. Neighbours never had a reason to doubt Williams’s friendly and trustworthy persona. We are not taught to doubt what seems like genuine gestures without indications of underlying malice.

What this incident with Williams, and this reminder about Bernardo, has taught me is that parental warnings are justified.

There is no way to tell the difference between friend and foe. These people and the connections that we create with them, influence the rest of the chain. When a double life is revealed, the chain suddenly branches to these darker recesses of human emotion. These dark chains are usually those that remain in our conscience in the longest.

Scarborough remembers what happened then and personal stories from that era carry a similar theme: “We were right to be paranoid. Look what else happened so easily, and could happen again.”

Rewards were offered for information, and stories were released to describe any possible attacks that could be connected to this assailant. There was panic and paranoia.

Bernardo’s trial for the murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy did not take place until 1995. His first sexual assault was cited as being in 1987.

Williams is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, as well as two sexual assaults. The parallels here are unavoidable. Though police cannot confirm a direct connection between the two men, there is speculation of one.

One convicted, and one charged in murders and sexual assaults. Both attended the same school, with overlapping subjects, at the same time. There are still cold cases that linger and haunt the community. The two could have conspired, convinced or influenced each other.

Naturally, we want to assume they both were connected in some way. It makes the thought easier to bear.

What we can learn from this tragedy is this: no matter who we meet, encounter or befriend we must be wary of the million little connections we make each day. They affect and change our lives, each encounter at a time.

The post-mortem report was released Monday, four days after Kevin Williams, 33, was found in the hallway outside his apartment at 4010 Lawrence Ave. E. in Scarborough.

Williams was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not yet identified a suspect in the case.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS, 222tips.com, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES. (274637).

It was an extremely close game throughout, with no team leading by more than 10 points at any given time. Thirty-seven seconds left on the clock, Laurier sank a game-changing basket to tie West Hill with 51 points.

The score tied at 51, Laurier made a two-point basket to give them a two point lead with four seconds left to go in the fourth quarter.

With just 2.1 seconds on the clock, Laurier fouled West Hill, resulting in two free throws and giving the Warriors an opportunity to tie the game.

But the Warriors sank only one, letting the Blue Devils narrowly win the East region championship 53-52.

“I’m happy, but it’s more of a relief,” Laurier head coach Tony Vallejo said. “We were expected to repeat, and we were able to accomplish it. We had a lot of teams gearing to knock us down.”

The two teams played each other twice this year, once during regular season and once during a tournament the weekend of Feb. 5. Laurier came out on top both times.

The Blue Devils finished the season at the top of the Eastern Region standings with a perfect record of 10-0. The West Hill Warriors came second, finishing 8-2.

With the win, Sir Wilfrid Laurier advanced to the city championship and was to host Earl Haig for their quarter-final match on Feb. 18. Earl Haig finished first in the North/East region with a record of 6-3.

The first half of the match produced three goals and a score of 2-1 in favour of the Goliaths. In the second half, the East York were able to increase their lead and stop the Panthers from scoring again – with the game ending 5-1.

“It feels good; it’s always nice to win a championship,” East York coach Tom Drivas said. “They deserve it – they’ve been together now since September and they worked hard – so I’m glad for them.”

The Goliaths cohesiveness was demonstrated not just by the number of goals they were able to score – but that each point was scored by a different member of the team.

Both teams were undefeated going into the match. East York finished regulation play at the top of Group B with a perfect season of 8-0-0. Victoria Park placed first in Group A, with an undefeated record of 6-0-1.

“We have a good bunch of guys, a good bunch of players on the team, and they play well together,” Victoria Park coach Nick Vretanos said before the game. His team will have the opportunity to compete for the gold next year, since all but one of the players will be returning.

“We’re a really young team; there’s only one graduating student, who’s the captain. He’s the leader,” Vretanos said. “I hope he’ll keep everybody together … and keep them high when they are low.”

The game was lively and fast-paced, with quick turnovers and a handful of odd-man rushes. The Lions, who faced a depleted Tiger team, scored two goals in each of the three periods of play. Bendale played the entire game with only nine players.

“Today’s mentality is to just play a strong game – to the best of our ability,” Bendale Head Coach Steve Taylor said before the match. “We know we’re playing with a short bench today, so it will be a tough game for us. But it’s hockey – and that’s what it’s all about.”

The game got feisty in the last 10 minutes, with four of the five penalties called in the third period.

“It feels great. I feel like we played a good game.” RH King Academy Assistant Coach Brian Chetwynd said. “A little bit of a circus at the end, but it feels good to be moving on [to the finals].”

The Lions finished first in their division, never having lost a game in regulation, with a record of 5-0-1. The Tigers finished the season in fifth place, with a record of 2-4.

“To finish first – we’re pretty excited,” Chetwynd said. “The guys worked hard, but we’re trying to take it one game at a time.”

The final match will be played on Feb. 24 at Centennial Arena.

Not too far away, another group of people sit in a basement, eating spicy food while watching the Olympic  opening ceremony.

Both homes, along with three others, were hosting galas on Feb. 11 and 12 to raise money for the Rouge Valley Health System’s cardiac care program.

The program is in its first year and was started by Ann and Gord Moore, board members of the RVHS Foundation, said foundation spokesperson Kerry McLeish. The five households in Scarborough and Ajax raised over $10,000 in two evenings.

“There is a misconception with most people that all of the programs at the hospital are funded by the government,” said one of the gala hosts Raj Thavaratnasingham, who lives within a few kilometres of the Centenary Hospital.

“I think it’s important that the community gets involved to make sure that the hospital that serves the community is in good shape,” he said.

The minimum donation to attend a gala was $50, but Thavaratnasingham said  some people gave as much as $300. He also encouraged a friend, who is not directly involved with the hospital, to host a gala in his home.

Thavaratnasingham has lived in the community for 19 years and began volunteering at the hospital as a way to help it grow.

“Some people don’t give a penny to the hospital, but they have done more for the hospital by being a volunteer, by helping the patients, talking to the elder patients and caring for them,” he said.

Partnering with his wife Kumudhini Thavara, Thavaratnasingham served traditional spicy Tamil meals to his 32 guests.  Their gala took place on the opening night of the Olympic Games and everyone watched the opening ceremony together.

Joanne Moffitt, 67, a volunteer at the Centenary Hospital, also hosted a gala in her home.

“It’s my hospital — it’s where my children went when they had their bumps and bangs and stitches,” Moffitt said.

Moffitt said she had help from her friend Millie Tavener with putting out the invitations and organizing the event. Almost 50 people attended.

One of the guests was a professional chef who served up hors d’oeuvres, while others brought a variety of dishes. Journalist and wine-connoisseur Dick Singer organized a wine tasting.

RVHS cardiologist, Dr. Amir Janmohamed, spoke at the event. Moffitt’s sister, who is a heart transplant patient, also attended.

“People could see the benefits of donating or giving money towards these programs and how important they are,” Moffitt said.

The foundation’s next gala will be held at the Ontario Science Centre on March 26, with the proceeds going to the cardiac program.

The stands were packed to the rafters with multiple busloads of screaming high school fans to watch the third place team and underdogs, the SATEC @ Porter Eagles, upset the first place King Academy Lions for a triumphant 4-1 gold medal victory.

“It’s great – we were the underdogs!” SATEC @ Porter assistant Coach Carl Mah said. “The kids were very disciplined. They did exactly what we told them to do. And we capitalized on our chances.”

The Eagles coaches agreed that their boys’ discipline and ability to listen to instruction is what won them the game.

“Team play and disciplined play were the reasons our boys were successful,” Eagles head coach Joel Gardner said. “Even though there were a couple of infractions, they didn’t get frustrated. They played their positions great, they skated hard, it’s kind of cliché, but that’s the way the games are won and lost.”

The first period was scoreless, with both teams getting robbed by the goalies on both ends of the ice. The second period ended the shutouts, and saw only one goal, by Eagles assistant captain Jake Stroscher, #24.

The third period saw lots of action, with tempers flaring; hard hits, and little scraps after the whistle – and four goals. With a man advantage King Academy’s #15, Landon McGhee, scored a goal to tie the game. Eagles #17, Stratos G. scored two goals, and #95, Julian D. scored one goal to end the game.

The two teams had played each other once in the regular season; the Eagles gave the Lions their only tie of their otherwise perfect record. The Lions finished 5-0-1, and the Eagles finished 3-1-2.

“We think that Porter’s a pretty good team,” said King Academy assistant coach Ben Posthumus. “We weren’t expecting to play them here.”

SATEC @ Porter had drawn Cedarbrae – who had beaten them 5-3 once in regular season play and had finished in second place – for the semi-final round on Feb. 17. Against the odds, they won the game 6-4.

“They were awesome; today’s game was the best game they’ve ever played. Everyone I sent out there did their job,” Gardner said. “It feels good to be champions, the boys are really pumped.”

This is Family Residence, a city-run shelter housing more than 50 families. Behind the fence is Idlewood Inn, rented by the city when the shelter is full.

Paying a weekly rate of less than $300, some lodgers stay for months, says motel manager Lisa Fritz.

Fritz often becomes attached to those who stay, she says. Some even call her “mom.”  She also acts as counsellor and mediates disputes between residents.

She would like to see more families stay at Idlewood. “They need a place to stay and we have the facilities.”

Scarborough residents are more aware of the need for social services to help the homeless in the suburbs, says Pastor Bruce Ervin, president of the Scarborough Interfaith Affordable Housing Association. Ervin is also head pastor at Knox United Church where the Out of the Cold program provides homeless people with shelter, a meal and a bus token.

“I remember an individual who had rented a storage locker,” he says. “He was using it for sleeping at night.”

Despite a growing awareness of homelessness in the suburbs, action seems to be lacking, Ervin says.

“People are beginning to wake up to the reality but somehow the social services haven’t fully caught up to that reality,” he says.

Although shelters are crowded, the first draft of the 2010 city budget reduced funding for affordable housing and homelessness programs by 7.6%, the Wellesley Institute reported. This drives the operating budget down to $854 million from $925 million last year, the institute noted.

“It’s nothing short of a catastrophe,” says Laura Sky, director and producer of Home Safe Toronto, a documentary on homelessness in Toronto. “The policy makers don’t go and visit family shelters, and go and visit homes where people are doubling and tripling up.”

Home Safe explored the lives of those without housing security or living in sub-par conditions.

The city’s 2006 Street Needs Assessment estimated there are 64 visibly homeless people in Scarborough, representing 8% of the total number of homeless in the city, although it acknowledged there may be more hidden homeless people.

Sky questions the survey’s method.

“We find that most of the homeless people we know are invisible, and it gives a false number,” she says.

In Scarborough, homelessness is “both hidden and evident at the same time,” Sky says. While there are shelters, like Family Residence, there are more homeless families than those staying there.
“You have people living in basements and doubling-up with family, and kids at school who nobody realizes are homeless,” she says.

Poverty connection

When bills come due at the end of the month for house and apartment renters, the population rises at her motel where the weekly fates are cheap, Fritz notes.

Low-income families spend as much as 50 % of their income on housing, Ervin says.

“If there’s a slight rent increase, you’re suddenly not able to afford housing anymore,” Ervin says. “It’s a cyclical kind of thing. Poverty is a major cause of homelessness, and once you become homeless, you become even poorer and you find yourself spiraling further and further down into a hole.”

A United Way study found that between 1981 and 2001, family poverty shifted from the downtown core to the inner suburbs. In Scarborough, there was a 136.6 % increase in the number of poor families during this 20-year period, and the number of higher poverty neighbourhoods rose to 22 from four in 1981.

United Way hasn’t released an updated study since the recession. But Ervin has seen more people using the Out of the Cold program at his church, which can shelter up to 25 people.

“Our very first night, we had one person who stayed overnight,” he says. “Last winter, on the coldest nights, we had to go slightly over capacity.”

Housing as a human right

“Housing is an internationally recognized right,” Sky says. “Access to adequate and healthy food is a human right. People shouldn’t be deprived of either because they can’t find an economic space for themselves in our communities.”

Despite this, low-income families have trouble finding rental accommodations, says Dorothy Cook, manager at Gabriel Dumont Non-Profit Homes, which offers rent-geared-to-income housing for First Nation families.

“Not everybody, even under the Human Rights amendments, wants to rent to large families or people on social assistance,” she says.

There are often long wait-lists for affordable housing, sometimes taking years. However, social service information is not easily accessible.

“If you’re homeless, you don’t always have the money to go on a bus and get to a library,” Cook says. “We find that it is pretty much word of mouth when we have families looking for housing and rental accommodation.”

The government needs to take a more active role in solving homelessness, Sky says.

“People often say there is a lack of political will,” she says. “But I actually think it isn’t a lack of political will. When you don’t do something about a problem, that in itself is a policy. It’s not that there is no policy. It’s a policy of neglect.”

The systemic causes of homelessness need to be addressed, such as a lack of access to affordable housing and food and wages that keep people below the poverty line, Sky says.

“We need politicians who are going to make all these things a priority,” she says. The Scarborough Interfaith Affordable Housing Association plans to buy a house to rent to homeless people to tackle the local problem.

“When we began [the Out of the Cold program], we were clear this was simply a Band-Aid solution,” Ervin says. “What we really wanted to do over the long haul was to provide permanent housing for homeless folks.”

Although the group is looking for a house in Scarborough, it is still in its preliminary stages. And while the house will provide a roof for a select few, others will have to continue searching for a place to stay.

While homelessness in Scarborough may be invisible to most, it’s not for Fritz, who has seen many people come through her motel.

“At first, it was quite devastating,” Fritz says. “But you can’t help everyone. You do what you can.”Running the program for more than six years, Ervin has seen people in desperate situations.

Low income levels in Scarborough compiled with statistics from City of Toronto.

The organization would recruit people to register cars in their name and stage crashes, filing property damage and personal injury claim, police said.

The scheme was carried out between August and November of 2007 and brought in approximately $300,000 worth of claims, police reported.

Const. Tony Vella said the case was brought to light by police “working closely with the Insurance Bureau of Canada.”

The arrest was made on Feb. 4 after police carried out an investigation.

Maamar Saoulel, 39, is facing 11 charges relating to fraud, activities in a criminal organization and dangerous operation of a vehicle.



Williams, a decorated colonel, was recently charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of forcible confinement, two break and enter charges, and two counts of sexual assault.

He attended the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) and graduated in late ’80s with a degree in political science and economics.

This week, any Scarborough cold cases that coincide with Williams’ studies at the campus will be examined.

“Everything’s on the table,” said homicide Det. Doug Sansom. “There’s nothing that is specifically jumping out, but any reasonable cases will be looked at.”

The investigation into Williams’ past has reminded some Scarborough residents of other incidents that occurred when Williams was attending UTSC.

Plagued by a series of murders and rapes, Scarborough was terrorized from 1984 to 1990 by an unknown attacker, nicknamed the “Scarborough Rapist”.

Bernardo, the notorious serial killer and rapist, was apprehended in 1993 and convicted in 1995 for two first-degree murders and two sexual assaults. He is alleged to have committed many more.

Police have said they are re-examining the cases that overlap with when Williams attended UTSC.

The similarities in the studies of the two men have led to speculation.

The Toronto Sun reports through a number of sources that it is possible Williams and Bernardo knew each other.

The police have stated that there is no known connection between the two men.

Bernardo also attended UTSC and graduated in the late 80’s with a degree in commerce and economics.

After graduation, Williams began his 23-year career with the Canadian Forces.

He has been posted in a number of military bases in western, eastern and central Ontario, moving up the ranks until he was promoted colonel in Jan. 2009.

The OPP have begun to examine cold cases in the areas Williams is known to have lived.

In July 2009, Williams became the commanding officer at Canadian Forces Base Trenton. He is also commander of 8 Wing.

Since then, Williams has been interviewed by media for 8 Wing’s involvement in the Haiti relief effort.

Williams will appear in court, over video up-link, on Feb. 18.

The Rouge Valley Health System gave notice on Feb. 5 of 14 positions being terminated, as part of a deficit elimination plan introduced two years ago. At Scarborough the cuts include lab technicians, mental health workers and histologists.

The layoffs could mean longer wait times for patients in histology and biopsy results could then take two to three days, which is double what is expected now, said Rick Janson, spokesperson for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

“It’s not exactly humane for patients to make them wait that long to find out the results of their tests,” Janson said.

The RVHS denies, however, any suggestion that service is slipping.

“In fact, we’ve improved the quality of our care,” said David Brazeau, RVHS director of public affairs.

In addition, Janson said the elimination of three social workers would cut a third of the social workers department—a substantial loss that would prolong the already four-month waitlist for children and youth mental health.

“When you consider the fight we had over mental health a couple of years ago, it’s surprising that mental health is taking another cut,” Janson said.

Brazeau said it is crucial for the health service to uphold the deficit elimination plan, so the hospital could continue operation.

“As a hospital, we’re not allowed to run in the red,” he said. “Now we’ve gotten our financial ship in order,”

Janson said the health service had promised no services would be cut as long as the hospital received at least one per cent increase in funding this year. The health ministry has not yet announced the exact increase in the hospital’s funding for this year, he said.

“It was a bit of a shock to actually see layoff notices given out,” Janson said. “We thought they would at least wait to see what their funding was going to look like.”

Brazeau said efforts are being made to secure the future of the laid-off workers, including plans for redeployment and early retirement packages for those eligible.

“It may be possible to redeploy enough people so that no one is out of work,” Brazeau said.

Aside from layoffs, the deficit elimination plan included changes in spending on the hospital’s infrastructure.

“We’ve compared ourselves to a lot of other hospitals and said, ‘Oh look, not only are they spending less money, but also getting better results,’ ” Brazeau said. “We saw that we have the talent and the determination to do better.”

A stop-work order was issued last fall to a company that began work on 17 Island Rd., as they were suspected of violating several bylaws, said Peter Vanderyagt, constituent assistant to Ward 44 councillor Ron Moeser.

An investigation that started last year revealed that no grading or water bylaws were broken, but trees protected by the city had been cut down without a permit, according to a recent city council report.

“They were very mature trees — you can’t grow trees back in a year or so,” Moeser said. “We want to send the message that this is totally inappropriate.”

Parks Forestry and Recreation determined three trees with a diameter of over 40 centimetres have been removed. Under Toronto’s bylaws, a permit is required to remove a tree with a diameter larger than 30 cm on private property. The investigation found an application for a permit was not submitted.

Toronto Legal Services Solicitor Brendan O’Callaghan, said that the investigation is closer to completion, but it is not entirely clear who is responsible.

“The investigators have to satisfy themselves who did it — on whose authority it was done,” O’Callaghan said.

He said the fine for cutting down protected trees without a permit is as high as $100,000, although a sum that large has never been issued.

“We’re definitely going to do something about it,” O’Callaghan said. “We’re not going to let it go.”

City trees provide many benefits to people, including cleaner air, less UV exposure, shade and aesthetics, said Richard Ubbens, director of Toronto Urban Forestry.

Currently the city is trying to double its tree canopy.

“Everybody right away thinks: plant more trees,” Ubbens said. “But one of the very best ways to sustain the urban forest and to make it grow is to do a good job of maintaining it and protecting it.”

Toronto Private Tree Bylaw protects trees with trunks larger than 30cm.