by Sabrina Gopaul
Residents are invited to celebrate an afternoon of music, dancing, food and fun at the Driftwood Multicultural FestivalThe festival is comprised of activities for all ages and tastes including a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, activities for children and seniors, a multicultural talent show with surprise performances, food from around the world, information tables and much more.“The Driftwood Multicultural Festival is important because it brings together all the various group members who use the building all year and lets us see what each group has been doing,” said Mary Sue MacDonald, a member of the Driftwood Seniors advisory council. “The Festival also informs the community of all the group activities, and gives us all a sense of inclusion in community events.”Perhaps, most importantly, what the festival is truly about is a chance for the community to come together, young and old to enjoy each other's company and to share a sense of community.The festival gives residents of the community a chance to catch up with old friends, experience some of the best food the Jane and Finch community has to offer and take in wonderful entertainment. It also gives people a chance to access services in the community and try something new like tai chi, raw food demos, or learn about resources like the Black Creek Farm.The 38th annual Driftwood Multicultural Festival will take place on Sep. 27 from 10:00a.m. -- 5:00p.m., at Driftwood Community Centre, 4401 Jane St.For interviews with performers, and further information on the festival's activities and much more turn your radio dial to CHRY 105.5 FM from September 22-26.If you are interested in getting involved or want more information in this year's festivities email us at driftwoodfestival@gmail.com.-Sabrina “Butterfly” Gopaul is the coordinator of the Driftwood Multicultural Festival
I'll miss my uncle Gerard
By Tom Rakocevic
I will dearly miss my Uncle Gerard. He passed away this summer after battling that terrible illness which has affected all of our families, cancer. My uncle was a friendly, tireless and incredibly hard-working machinist who enjoyed a job-well-done, a glass of wine, a good book, the Toronto Maple Leafs, crossword puzzles and, unfortunately, cigarettes as well. He was always smiling and seemed invincible even at 69. His diagnosis was a shock for everyone who knew him. He had admitted himself to hospital after experiencing a shortness of breath that kept getting worse. My Uncle Gerard took the bad news with great dignity and optimism even until the very end. There are many among us who are silently battling cancer, and there are many of us who have beaten this disease. Even as I write this, the news is reporting that Mayor Rob Ford has been admitted to hospital with a tumour following months of abdominal pain – I wish him a speedy recovery. Cancer has also claimed the lives of very public figures like the late, great Jack Layton and billionaires like Apple founder, Steve Jobs. We are all at risk, but the risk can be mitigated. The end of our lives is unavoidable but the length of our lives and the quality of our years are largely of our choosing. Healthy living will make you live longer and better.Your diet and regular exercise will give you energy and boost your immune system. Local non-profit health organizations like the Black Creek Community Health Centre (located at York Gate Mall, 416-249-8000) is a great place to learn about healthy living.Our community centres such as Grandravine CC, Driftwood CC, Oakdale CC and John Booth Arena all have weekly seniors exercise programs during the colder months. When the weather is warm, take regular walks with your friends and enjoy our parks. Cut out the unhealthy bad habits – an Oncologist told me that smoking increases the risk of cancer by ten times. Monitor your health.Make sure to see your doctor regularly, especially if you are elderly, and obviously when you are feeling persistently unwell. Annual physicals are important for all of us since blood work can reveal health issues that are not readily apparent. If you are facing health challenges like diabetes, make sure to stay on top of it and follow the instructions of your doctor, pharmacist and other medical professionals. Also, learn the early warning signs of a heart attack or stroke. Ask about the health of others.I am proud of community members like Joe Astrella and my neighbor, Armindo Silva, who regularly volunteer their time to help others and drive seniors to health appointments. We can all do a little more to help one another, and there are many among us who may not feel well but are keeping it a secret. We all know people who are living in isolation – this can be unhealthy as our mental state can often affect our physical. Maybe that person is a family member, friend, or neighbour. Keep in touch and let them know that they are not alone. There are many interesting programs and social clubs at our community centres; encourage them to join. Finally, learning CPR and First Aid may help save someone else’s life in an emergency. We have all heard about these fast-acting heroes – that hero could be you! The loss of a loved one is a harsh reminder that we often spend a lot of our time worrying about trivial things. Someone you know may be silently suffering, perhaps even from something that can be stopped if detected early. I think we can all treat each other, especially those we love a little better and express how much we care and appreciate them.You never know when it will be your last chance to say “I love you”.
How to sort through used clothing box boondoggle
by Howard Moscoe
You’ve just cleaned out your closets and have a lot of good used clothing to give away. There is a clothing drop box at the corner of the plaza nearby so you haul it all there and drop it into the box. It kind of makes you feel warm and fuzzy because your used clothing donation has gone to help a charity to help others. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but many of these boxes are not run by charitable organizations. One of the most common boxes in Downsview is a $6 Million a year business which has little, if any, charitable component. In fact, many boxes in Toronto are operated by contractors who pay the charities listed for the use of their name. You can find the names of some pretty exotic charities on clothing drop boxes.
Here’s how it works. The company assigns an area to a contractor. The Downsview contractor then drops as many boxes as he can wherever he can. You will often find the boxes at the edge of shopping plazas or on city property near the road allowance. The plaza owner doesn’t object because, after all, it is a ‘charity’ box and besides, most property owners aren’t quite sure where their property ends and city property begins. The boxes are often on the property line. In 2006, I had Toronto city Council pass a bylaw prohibiting the location of these boxes on city Property. It did little good because enforcement of the bylaw is almost non-existent. The used clothing is taken to a depot where it is sorted by low wage workers into piles. The best clothing is sold to second hand clothing stores. Much of it shipped to third world countries where it is sold for profit. A group of Ryerson Journalism Students once followed a T-shirt they “donated” in one of these boxes to Guatemala where it was sold in an open air market. Some of these business hides behind charities that lend them their names in exchange for a small monthly or yearly donation. One set of clothing boxes displayed pictures of missing children listed as being owned by a ‘charity’ called “The garden of Lost Children.” I tracked it down to one lady in rural Nova Scotia who said she was paid $500 a year for the use of her charity’s name. It was so egregious that the Attorney General of Ontario ordered their name off the boxes. As chair of Licensing, I made two attempts to regulate the industry. The first bylaw the city passed in 2007 was completely unenforceable. I managed to get the city to re-write the bylaw three years ago before I retired. The bylaw is simple. Every box must have a permit. To obtain a permit for a location the operator must have the written permission of the owner, must be free of graffiti, and the operator must keep the area around the box clean and tidy. Sounds easy, but the city has still not put an effective enforcement mechanism in place. I have been trying to get rid of one such illegal box for ten years. Every time the contractor has been asked to move it, he simply lifts it up and drops it on another property. I intend to harass city council until they do something to actually enforce this bylaw. When donating your used clothes, be sure to look for a city of Toronto license sticker on a box. Every legitimate box must be licensed and If there is no city sticker prominently displayed on the box it is an illegal box. Do not leave your clothing. Take it to one of the charities that operate thrift stores.
Safety first in our schools and our roads
By Matias de Dovitiis
Last year, the school year in the Downsview community started off with a tragedy. On the first day of school, Violet Liang, a high school student was hit by a truck and killed as she was crossing the street on Lamberton blvd. We should remember this event and learn from it to do honour to Violet. As school starts again and as construction and City traffic bottle, we as drivers should remember that we share the road with children, bicycles and other drivers. As a community, we should also learn from it to avoid such accidents from happening again. With this in light, the City of Toronto started a number of actions to rethink school zone safety such as lowering speed limits around schools, creating more signs to warn drivers they are in school zones and improving their designs, pavement markings, as well as meeting with the school boards to determine safety concerns, educational measures for students and more. These actions were started at the request of Councillor Anthony Perruzza, who asked for a report and started the ball rolling late last year. For the community around Sentinel Rd., the effects were two fold. Last year, we added a crossing guard at the intersection at Lamberton Blvd., and Sentinel Rd. The office of the Chief of Police expedited the process due to the circumstances and the crossing guard was added almost immediately after the request was made. Secondly, a new pilot project called “Watch your Speed” will be starting this fall. The City is purchasing a number of portable speed measuring display signs. There have been a few of these around, but the city will be purchasing more of them. Importantly, the location at Sentinel Rd., and Lamberton Blvd., will be one of 10 locations in the City of Toronto to get one of the displays on an almost permanent basis. It was chosen, because of the accident that occurred last year.
The project will last a year and start this fall, by late October or early November. It will help to remind drivers of the school zone driving speed. Importantly, there is a possibility of expanding the project to other areas. As construction and congestion in the community pushes traffic into more residential areas we need to start looking at ways to make our roads safer. One of the things that the school boards should be doing is rethinking how we transport our children. The TDSB only offers school bus services to students in grade 5 or under if they live more than 1.6 km away from the school they attend. For a 10 year old, with the way traffic in the City has grown, that distance is starting to become more of a danger. It is about time for the school to rethink the distance requirement. We need to think about the dangers that these distances create for school children, particularly to younger children.
Recording youth potential
By David Ros
PEACH, who have been transforming the lives of marginalized youth in the Jane-Finch community through their innovative approach to education have added a new program which teaches youth how to professionally create, record, mix and master their own music. The organization, which stands for Promoting Education And Community Health, will run a recording studio program which connects youth from priority neighbourhoods with professional musicians and studio engineers. “We're teaching them the basics and if this is something that they want to pursue, they will already have the foundations,” said Zino, a recording artist and the program's instructor. “The facilitators that we're going to be bringing into the space aren't just engineers, we're bringing in managers, we're bringing in promoters, we're bringing in A&Rs, we're brining in people from every aspect of the industry down to the producers and the artists.” PEACH has held a drop-in recording studio program on Thursday nights where youth can have their songs recorded on a first come first serve basis for nearly a decade, but Zino said the new program is a step up from what the organization had been doing before by providing a fully accredited educational program. 
During the course of the 16 week program, youth will not only be taught how to record, mix and master music using professional grade equipment, they will also be taught a musical theory as well. The program is available to youth free of charge, and 10 participants will be selected based upon an application process. “Some of the [selection] criteria will be basically, general interest and potential in studio engineering and just basic artistry, there is a particular feel that people normally have when they're really interested in something.” Zino said. “We're looking for commitment as well.” According to Zino, the program's participants will be decided based on interviews of the applicants. He also said that there is a possibility of running an additional program for another 10 participants following the initial run. PEACH was formed in 1993 as an offshoot of the Black Creek Anti-Drug focus group, is a charitable organization dedicated to helping marginalized youth to achieve their full potential. In addition to their youth-centred social and educational programs, PEACH also has provides support programs for families as well. These include the wraparound program which connects youth and their families with community outreach workers and the mom's group which provides support for mothers to become active participants in their children's education. If you would like to more information about PEACH, or the studio management program, you can contact them at info@peachyouth.org.
New murals carry powerful message
by Yasmin Parodi
This summer, the Jane St., and Highway 400 underpass underwent a beautiful transformation.On Aug. 28, The Essencia Arts Collective completed an 8,000 sq. ft., mural dedicated to water, the Earth's most precious resource.The project was a massive collaboration between 18 local and international artists, part of the International Essencia Water Festival.The festival, co-directed by sisters Fiya Bruxa and Shalak Attack included a speakers conference and closing exhibition and concert to bring attention to the need to protect and conserve our water supply. 
Bruno Smoky, the artistic co-director said the goal was to use art as a means to spark a conversation about our connection to this most essential compound.“Without water we don’t exist,” said SkratchWon, an Alberta hip-hop artist who contributed to the mural. “It’s something we need to pay homage to and give respect to, and not take it for granted.”The mural is located in close proximity to Black Creek and the Humber River, two extremely polluted waterways which flow directly in to Lake Ontario, which provides drinking water to more than 6.3 Million people.
According to Cathrin Winklemann, a project manager for the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, the speed and intensity of the more frequent and intense rainfall we have been receiving due to climate change, has increased the amount pollutants such as garbage, chemicals and oil from city streets in our creeks and rivers and has caused their banks to erode more rapidly.Shalak said her contribution to the mural shows a mother and baby polar bear walking on drought plagued land caused by climate change.“This is a prediction of what may come if we continue to put a blind eye to mother Earth,” she said. “We are not above her, we are part of her and must treat her with conscious respect.”More than 70 local, First Nations and international artists participated in the festival.For more information on how you can help keep our rivers and lakes clean, please visit trca.on.ca.
ACORN sticks up for local residents
By Gaelan Bickford-Gewarter 
On a rainy evening in August, a large crowd filled the hall of the University Presbyterian Church at Driftwood Ave., and Finch Ave., W. People from all across the community had come out and were chatting amongst themselves until the buzz in the room was suddenly broken by a single passionate voice. "We are here tonight because our homes are infested with bugs and the walls are crumbling around us. The heat doesn't work in the winter and our children are living in unhealthy conditions,” Called out Mercy Osagie. “The landlord is there to collect our rent on the first of the month but we're waiting forever for basic repairs. We're coming together tonight because enough is enough! We demand change now!" Osagie was on her feet as she finished her fiery call to arms and the audience responded with thunderous applause. Osagie was subsequently elected Chair of Jane and Finch ACORN, the local chapter of a nationwide organization of low and moderate income people coming together to fight for change. The chapter is made up of people who live in buildings just like Osagie's and recognize that the only way change happens is when people stand up and fight back with the power of numbers. The re-lauch of the Jane-Finch ACORN chapter started off with a bang as members living in 4500 Jane St., frustrated with the bad conditions and high rents, took to the streets and demonstrated right outside the property manager's office calling for immediate repairs and a rent freeze. One of these people, a woman named Maize Blanchard, has been an active community leader for decades and a long-time member of ACORN. Blanchard was critical to the success of the campaign as she worked tirelessly, knocking on her neighbours' doors, documenting violations, and bringing people together to make change. ACORN's commitment to action is really what sets the organization apart and makes real change possible. After three invited landlords failed to show up to the big meeting that re-launched the chapter, members decided to march on their property management offices to make sure they got the message. The march was a huge success because after the marchers delivered letters to these property managers all three agreed to meet with the chapter. Negotiations are ongoing, but marginalized families now have a seat at the table. ACORN members get involved and fight for change because they believe that healthy homes are a right regardless of whether you live in Rosedale or Jane and Finch. They know that raising a family is hard enough without having to worry about broken heaters in the dead of winter or making dinner on a broken stove surrounded by mould and cockroaches. They believe that good jobs should be available in their communities and that those jobs pay a decent, livable wage to break the cycle of working poverty. And they believe that basic products and services should be affordable for all, from internet to car insurance and childcare. If you are interested in getting involved in ACORN, please give us a call at 416-461-9233
Letter to the Editor - How's your Rogers?
Re: How's your Rogers? Aug. 2014: My internet service is very slow when I first try to log on. It can take up to 15 minutes or longer and sometimes I even have to reboot to get on. My cable television is alright except for the Smart TV which relies on the wireless router, which is horrible and videos continuously stall during playback. I find the service to be very expensive indeed and I resent having to pay an extra $6.99 to order a movie on top of the extraordinary amount that I am already paying them, which is over $200 a month, for telephone, cable and internet. Peter Re: How's your Rogers? Aug. 2014: We have lived in the Keele & Finch area for 40 years and we are practically neighbours. Every night at 2 a.m., my cable box shuts down and does a reboot and it lasts for around 20 minutes. This has been going on since the first boxes came out. The service is horrible and the prices are incredibly high, I agree with you 150 per cent and I believe our voices should be heard! Thanks for writing such an article and I hope it catches others eyes as it did mine. Anonymous writer.