World Food Day, celebrated on October 16, mobilizes action around hunger and the disproportionate impact of hunger on the world’s most vulnerable populations.The 2016 World Food Day theme, “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too,” has been chosen to raise the profile on food security. The world’s poorest, many of whom are farmers, are being impacted the most by higher temperatures and increased weather-related disasters. At the same time, the global population is growing and is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. To address these realities, agriculture will need to adapt and become more resilient to the adverse effects of climate change.Food security suggests that people can obtain safe, nutritious, culturally appropriate food through a sustainable food system. Growing food in a sustainable way means adopting practices which produce more with less in the same area of land and using natural resources wisely. It also means investing in better post-harvest handling and management along the entire food supply chain that will increase returns to farmers.Farming is no longer confined to rural areas. Food is now being cultivated in dense urban areas on unused space. It is hard to get more urban than Fresh City Farms. Founded in 2011, Fresh City Farms combines three things: a farm, a delivery system and a grocery store. The six acre urban farm and greenhouse, on the western edge of Downsview Park, grows organic, high-value per square foot produce and sources from more than 80 farmers and food makers across Ontario and beyond. The social enterprise also provides 15 member farmers with a starter plot where they learn to farm as a career. Making agriculture urban - against the backdrop of traffic from Keele Street - is a constant reminder that this model can work. Fresh City now serves 2,000 customers and delivers almost 4,000 orders monthly through its bag delivery system.“The hyper-local approach to growing food means it is fresh, it is accessed easily and we are encouraged to eat in season,” says Fresh City Farms manager Hannah Hunter.This fall, celebrate World Food Day by supporting small-scale urban farmers. To learn more about Fresh City Farms, visit freshcityfarms.com.
World Cerebral Palsy Day: A Social Movement
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is more common than we think –it’s actually the most common physical disability in childhood. Its name is an umbrella term that is used to describe a group of disorders affecting a person’s ability to move and control certain muscles and limbs. It is caused by damage to the developing brain either during pregnancy, labour or shortly after birth.CP affects people in different ways and can weaken body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. People who have Cerebral Palsy may also have visual, learning, hearing, speech, and intellectual impairments as well as epilepsy.Too many people with CP receive ineffective therapies, too many individuals and their families lack access to basic information and support, too little money is being spent on research and many societies are not inclusive to people living with CP and other disabilities.World Cerebral Palsy Day is on Wednesday, October 5, 2016. Worldcpday.org is a social movement made of, by and for the CP community. Their vision is simple: to ensure that everyone with CP has the same rights, access and opportunities as anyone else. The movement empowers anyone to take action locally. Helping locally contributes to building the global movement for change in our communities.Taking action means closing the gap between everyday circumstances and the real potential that people living with CP have. The six key areas for change include: public awareness, civil rights, medical/therapeutic care, quality of life, education and contribution.We can all do something small to help raise awareness in our communities. Share this article and/or donate today to help people living with CP.If you would like to help the movement visit:https://worldcpday.org/If you are thinking of making a financial donation to a charity or organization in Toronto consider:http://ofcp.ca/donate/https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/donate.aspx?eventid=21033&langpref=en-CA
The Latest on Electoral Reform
Since this paper last wrote an article on electoral reform there have been several developments on the issue.Firstly, Justin Trudeau apologized to the House of Commons for comments he made during Question Period alleging that the opposition was not cooperating on electoral reform. When questioned about the lack of progress, Trudeau said that his government has put forward several ways to address the issue, including a parliamentary committee, direct engagement by the Minister of Democratic Institutions, and a public consultation. Trudeau implied that the delays arose because the opposition Conservatives and NDP were imposing unreasonable conditions in exchange for taking part. Conservative MP Scott Reid challenged this statement, calling it “invented and patently false”, forcing the Prime Minister to issue a formal apology through the Speaker.In addition, the Prime Minister altered the structure of the parliamentary committee looking at electoral reform. Initially, the committee had a government majority but after the NDP put forward a motion for a a committee that gave a majority to the opposition parties the Liberals abandoned their plans and supported this motion. Prime Minister Trudeau said that he feared they were acting too much like the Conservatives under Stephen Harper and that his government is trying to work better with the opposition. The initial proposal would also have denied a vote to the Bloc and the Green Party but the NDP committee contains five Liberals, three Conservatives, two NDP, and one Bloc and one Green Party. The motion also called for all MPs to conduct town hall consultations with constituents and to file results by October 14th. There have not yet been many scheduled town hall meetings, in fact, only a handful have taken place so far. Local MP Judy Sgro has yet to set a date for consultations in her riding but this information will be added to the Downsview Advocate’s website event listing when it becomes available.The consultations will discuss what form electoral reform will take. There are two major proposals: Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV). MMP involves making two votes: one for a local MP and one for a regional representative. The regional MP would be used to “top up” the votes to ensure that the number of MPs that the party receives is proportional to the number of votes it receives. The Law Commission of Canada recommended this system in 2004. STV involves larger ridings that would receive a number of MPs based on its population. Voters rank candidates on their order of preference. The number of votes needed to elect an MP would be calculated by dividing the number of voters by the number of seats. Candidates who receive more than this will have their surplus votes transferred to voters’ second choice. The BC Citizens Assembly recommended this system in 2004.Leadnow is an organization concerned with this issue and will be conducting a detailed presentation on proportional representation in the coming months. The time and location will also be posted on the Advocate’s website.Stay tuned for more information!
Your TTC Fare Will Go Up in Downsview
Metrolinx, the Provincial body in charge of building transit in the GTA, is considering a number of changes on how we pay for transit. This conversation will result in the average trip being more expensive for residents in Downsview.Metrolinx is doing this, because of budget pressures and because different modes of transit (buses vs. trains) and the distance of each trip (1km vs. 10km) need to be factors in calculating the price of each trip.Currently, a trip from Downsview to the downtown core, which normally requires a bus and a subway ride, costs the same as a trip from Bay St. and Queen St. to Bay St. and Bloor St. -one bus ride. This means that people in inner suburbs benefit from a system that understands that the distances traveled in the suburbs are greater than they are in the downtown core.Metrolinx is considering changing this. Their rationale for questioning the current system is that it is not fair to charge the same price for someone that rides a train versus a bus, or takes a short trip versus a long trip. What this misses is that the accountant's methodology to building transit will create a dysfunctional system.If we want more people riding transit, we need to figure out a transit system that caters to the needs of riders, not the other way around. Metrolinx seems to be coming to the decision that the riders need to meet the demands of the transit system -they've done this before.Leading up to the PanAm games, Metrolinx built the UP Express from Union Station to Pearson International Airport. Their business model assumed that there would be a wealthy market of transit riders that would pay a premium fee for the convenience of the service they created. What they missed, is that most of the transit trips to the airport were made by the 10,000 employees who are employed by the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA). Since the service was not practical, or affordable for most of the employees, the trains ride mostly empty -even a reduction in fares has not changed ridership.The UP Express experience should have taught Metrolinx that its focus on market based transit building is not a viable model. For Downsview, this could mean a more expensive transit fare in the next couple of years. Let us not forget where the decision are being made: the Province is not investing in the operating costs of transit, so Metrolinx is trying to come up with the money by raising the price of transit.
A Cleaner Downsview Community: One Mailed Letter at a Time
I recently had a letter to mail and the nearest mailbox, in my area, is one block away. Since the weather was lovely, I decided to take a walk to the mailbox and do an experiment along the way.When I left my house, I took a couple of plastic bags. My goal was simple: See how much garbage I could pick up during the short walk from my house to the mailbox. The results were fascinating.By the time I made it half way to the mailbox, I had already filled a full bag of garbage. Its contents included pop cans, chocolate bar wrappers, plastic containers, half-filled bottles of water, newspapers, bus transfers, chip bags, plastic utensils, and a box of organic chicken bouillon. Wow!Where did all this garbage come from? Did one of the garbage bins by the curb get knocked over by mistake? Did the local racoons host a feast for a furry family reunion in the neighbourhood? I continued my walk towards the mailbox and discovered more garbage along the sidewalk, grass, flower beds, and street.As I walked onward, past people waiting at the bus stop, I realised that some of them were looking at me with a confused expression. Perhaps it is unusual to see a man walking down the sidewalk, picking up garbage as he goes. I smiled politely at them and carried on -their faces suggested that they thought I might be out of my mind!Turning the corner, I saw a man and his two sons, about 8 and 10 years old, walking on the opposite side of the street. He noticed what I was doing, and pointed for his sons to look. “Great job!” he shouted across the street with a smile, gesturing to his kids to observe and learn. “Thanks!” I replied. “We have a lovely community. I’m just doing my part to keep it that way.” The man’s friendly words felt good. His children might remember how easy it is to use one of the many City of Toronto garbage and recycling bins. They might encourage others. A simple thing might grow.The walk to the mailbox and back took a total of 10 minutes. The letter was safely mailed. I filled two full bags of garbage from that single street block.Back at home, I thought about my experiment and what I had learned. When reading the news, I often find myself feeling helpless to make a difference. I cannot fix all of the problems. Picking up two bags of garbage means very little on the larger scale of the city, country, or planet. Yet, I did not feel that same helplessness. Instead, I felt closer to my community. I would wish that pleasant feeling upon you as well, because you too can do one small thing here and another small thing there to make our Downsview community a little prettier, a little more comfortable, a little more our home. You don’t need any special skills. You don’t need to be rich. You don’t need bountiful free time. You can help keep our community green and clean, one short walk at a time.
Urgent Care Closed at Jane and Finch Hospital
July 2016 marked the end of urgent care at the Humber River Hospital site located at Jane and Finch. The location will continue to provide CT, MRI and general x-rays.The news may be bitter sweet for many residents who are watching the sun set on the community's old York Finch Hospital, while services are being redirected to the new hospital located near Keele and Wilson.Joe Astrella, President of the Grandravine Homeowners Assocation, says the old York Finch Hospital played a large role in his life.When Joe moved into the community in the late 1960's he immediately took up the call to help in fundraising for the York Finch Hospital that was under construction. In 1970, his daughter Grace was born there and over the years, his family would drop by when the need arose. In 1994, Joe credits the hospital for saving his life following a heart attack.When talk began of expanding the Humber River Hospital network a decade ago, Joe joined a coalition of local residents who favoured expansion of the Jane and Finch site rather than moving it to a new location.Joe learned of the urgent care closure through this interview and believed residents should have been better notified since the news came as a surprise to him.Without proper notification, some residents might seek medical assistance at the hospital only to find out through a sign that they will have to seek help elsewhere."I am disappointed." said Joe, "When I was active with the coalition, we were told that the Humber River Hospital site on Church Street would be closing, but that emergency services would still be provided at our Jane and Finch location."As services continue to be cut back at the Jane and Finch hospital location, the time may well come when the government decides to pull the plug on our local hospital once and for all. A disappointing outcome indeed.For more information on the new Humber River Hospital or the urgent care closure, residents can visit www.hrh.ca or call 416-242-1000.
New Trustee elected in by-election
A very tight race culminated with a new name being chosen as Trustee to York Centre. The election was held on Monday, July 25th to fill in the opening created after the passing of Howard Kaplan. Alexandra Lulka is the new school trustee. She won by just over 100 votes in a very close election. 10 candidates put in their names for the contest and the top two won 31% and 29 % respectively. Erica Shiner came in a close second. This is the 4th by-election the TDSB has held as a rash of events has led to multiple Trustees needing to be replaced.
Parents rally against changes to Ontario autism services
A mother holds back tears while speaking to the large crowd at a rally outside of Queen’s Park.“We are mourning the loss of the life we thought our child would have. We had a plan,” said Brianne Brown, whose son Chase was diagnosed with autism at the age of two.Like so many other families of children with autism, her plan was cut short by the Liberal government’s changes to autism services.Children over the age of five no longer qualify for Intensive Behaviour Intervention (IBI), even though many of them have been on the waiting list, to access the service, for years. Instead, the government is offering a one-time payment of $8,000 to families (this will not even come close to covering the cost of private treatment).“$8,000 for what? A couple months of service? It’s nothing.” Said Brown.Families and those who work with children who have autism agree that this one-time payment just isn’t enough.“I've worked with kids on the autistic spectrum and I've seen the progress they can make with IBI therapy,” said Erica Shiner, candidate in the upcoming TDSB Ward 5 by-election.“Offering parents a lump sum that is one sixth of the cost of a year's worth of IBI leaves children and their families high and dry. It's not right to take this crucial therapy away. We can all empathize with the challenges of having a child with special needs, even if that's not our experience. We need to stand together as parents, as educators, and as public servants to make sure that the government does the right thing and reverses these cuts,” she added.Experts have weighed in on the issue to say that there is no evidence to suggest children over the age of five won’t benefit from IBI. It’s the personal stories, like Brianne’s, that are fuelling the movement to stop cuts to these life changing services.Parents, David and Linda Galvao, held signs at the rally with pictures of their two children that read, “Started at 6 and began to speak” and “2nd child waited 3 years for IBI, now what?”With plans to return to Queens Park for a fourth time, the movement by parents’ groups and coalitions shows no signs of stopping.For information on upcoming rallies and events visit www.ontarioautismcoalition.com
What it really means to be a Respite Worker
Working with children who have disabilities comes with its struggles and its rewards. There are many struggles, and the rewards are often intangible. In consequence of poor funding, long waitlists and lack of community resources available to families in need, hardships are unavoidable. This is only further encouraged, by a government that does not assign an economic value to domestic labour. This means families are responsible 100% for the care of their loved ones in need.What about individuals that lack the funds to provide the proper support for their families? In most cases, families are left fighting to gain access to adequate funding -when funding becomes available.Often, funding is limited and restrictive. The result is, more financial strain on families. Family members must leave their jobs to stay at home. There is also a higher expectation on health care workers to “bridge the gap,” with no financial compensation increase for extra time given. Ultimately, people do not get into this line of work for the money. So what is the reward if it isn’t monetary?As a mother I want the best my son and it is my belief that every person deserves the best quality care possible, both at home and away. It is the same level of love and dedication I have at home, that I must provide for all of my clients I service. The reward is being able to build these healthy and supportive relationships with my clients and knowing that I made difference in a person’s life by giving my time selflessly.The relief that families feel is noticeable when the right supports are put into place. That’s when I know, I’m doing my job to the best of my ability.As a respite worker, you become an integral part of your client’s family and their daily life. The client is reliant on the services provided by the respite worker for physical support (in order to be as independent as possible) and the family is reliant on the services for emotional support. A respite worker is as connected to the client they serve, as the family that surrounds themMay is Cerebral Palsy Awareness month and Ontario is currently experiencing a large shortage of respite workers. Many families in need of care are left waiting 6 months to a year or longer for services. If you’re looking for a new rewarding career. Give respite care a try. From personal experience, it will change not only your life, but the lives of those touched by the services you provide.