TTC Metropass users will need make the switch over to Presto by the end of this year. The TTC will be discontinuing old Metropasses in favour of monthly Presto passes. The move marks a significant milestone in the TTC’s adoption of the fully cashless payment system operated by Metrolinx. According to the TTC’s website, the last day Metropasses will be accepted is December 31, 2018. Tickets and tokens however will be accepted until the end of 2019 when Presto has introduced single fare Presto passes to replace them.The TTC monthly pass on Presto works exactly the same way as the old TTC Metropass at the same cost. It provides unlimited travel for a month, the only difference being that you tap your Presto card on a card reader instead of swiping it or showing it to a fare collector. Those new to Presto will need to create an account on the Presto website and register their card if they want to automatically renew their monthly pass. The discounted Metropass rates for seniors, youth, and post-secondary students are carried over to Presto. However, “seniors, youths and post-secondary students must set a senior, youth or post-secondary fare type on their card at Shoppers Drug Mart locations or at the TTC’s Customer Service Centre above Davisville Station, before they can purchase a monthly pass” as indicated on the Transit Commission’s website. Users also have the option of purchasing a 12-month pass which serves as a replacement for the old Metropass Discount Plan.New users will need to be aware of some considerations as they switch over to Presto. Funds and monthly passes that are purchased online take up to 24 hours to be loaded to cards so these should be purchased ahead of time to ensure you can use your card. Additionally, the TTC monthly pass only applies to travel on the TTC. To pay YRT and Mi-Way fares, you will need to pay cash or load your Presto card will additional funds that are separate from your monthly pass.
NDP keeps pushing for auto insurance reform
Over 150 local residents packed an auto insurance town hall meeting I hosted in November to pressure this government to bring down the unfair auto insurance rates we pay in our community.
The community meeting was part of a series of auto insurance town halls Ontario's NDP is holding across the GTA, each packed with people demanding change.
Our community continues to pay some of the highest auto insurance rates in this country even though we do not have the highest number of accidents on our streets. In fact, there are even some in this community who are unable to drive because the insurance is simply unaffordable.
Ontario's NDP has been fighting against auto insurance postal code discrimination for years but the Liberals, and now Doug Ford’s Conservative government, sided with big auto insurance corporations over the people.
In 2012, former NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh (and current federal NDP leader) tabled a private member's bill that would have ended postal code discrimination, but both the Conservatives and the Liberals voted against it, and the bill failed. Later, the NDP extracted a promise from the provincial Liberals to reduce auto insurance rates by 15 per cent, but the Liberals simply broke their promise.
Most recently in October 2018, an NDP bill by MPP Gurratan Singh who attended our community meeting, called for auto insurance companies to treat the GTA as a single postal code when determining insurance rates.
Unfortunately, Doug Ford's Conservative government voted against this NDP bill that aimed to bring down insurance rates for drivers. What’s more, one of the first things the Ford government did when taking office was to pave the way for a nine per cent hike to auto insurance rates.
Our community is tired of being taken advantage of by auto insurance corporations and deserve to be treated fairly. I will continue to keep up the fight.
Teach2Learn in the Latinx Community
Teach2Learn (T2L) is a program focused on the Latinx community in Toronto. T2L began with a group of parents trying to encourage their children to pursue higher education. One problem our community faces is that as immigrants we work and focus on economic stability and this at times leads us to deprioritize our education. That is one of the reasons why the drop-out rate for the Latinx community is one of the highest in Toronto at 40%.Encouraging and working to ensure members from our community stay in school is a top priority for T2L. Together with the Conoser Scholarship Fund group, the charity organization that supports our organization and other valuable community programs, T2L is dedicated to finding funds for projects addressing the needs of our community.This year we managed to obtain funds from Trillium. We used this to fund programs in three different locations on a weekly basis helping youth and parents navigate the school system. One program provides newly arrived Latinx parents with workshops that provide assistance navigating the TDSB system. This series of workshops gives guidance and support to Spanish-speaking parents through new information and tools designed to effectively enrich their role as parents and build their capacity to teach other members of their community and give them tools to effectively parent in the TDSB school system.Another program T2L collaborates with is Academic Youth Success (ASY). It aims to bring high school students together with the goal of expanding youth’s community awareness and broadening their personal experiences. ASY focuses on character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, art and cultural experiences, and most importantly, a secure space in which youth can feel a sense of belonging.Our programs are absolutely free of cost and we do our best to make them as accessible as possible to all youth. Youth who choose to be a part of our programs are able to network with like-minded individuals, meet community and business leaders, and are able to obtain recommendation letters for their commitments and efforts in the programs.The leaders of this program are also young members from our community who have experienced the needs as newcomers. These individuals lead the tutoring program where children practice their native language and receive help completing their homework. They benefit the community and we are always seeking volunteers. Reach out if you are interested - even if you are not a newcomer this is an opportunity to exchange knowledge and build a community that is united and strong.Learn more at teach2learn.ca.
Improvements coming to Ward 10 this summer
There is a common refrain that there are two seasons in Toronto – winter and construction. We are in store for a busy construction season in Ward 10 and while there may be some inconveniences, the work across Ward 10 and the city in general will bring enormous improvements and benefits to our neighbourhoods. Recreation is a vital part of any liveable city. And, it is with much excitement that we are now only weeks away from the re-opening of the Earl Bales Community Centre. Work has been happening over the past several months to add a new gym, new change rooms, a public lounge area and other improvements to the existing facility. This $4.5 million project is expected to be completed in late June to early July. Torontonians love their parks but great parks need regular improvements and investments. Construction of new playgrounds at Garthdale Park and Champlain Park will be starting shortly and we expect work on Phase II in Irving Chapley Park to be under way by the end of the summer. We just received word of another exciting addition that will be coming to Earl Bales Park. An announcement will be made shortly – keep an eye on www.JamesPasternak.ca for further details. After the major rain storms of 2013 and 2014, I promised that the City of Toronto would make the necessary investments to help prevent basement flooding. This is essential to protect the value in homes and keep our neighbourhoods healthy. This year $22.3 million of basement flooding protection work is scheduled to begin in Ward 10. In total, $178 million of improvements are planned for Ward 10 over the coming years.The City of Toronto is continuing to improve roads in our neighbourhood including repaving Finch Avenue West between Bathurst and Dufferin as well as along Wilson Heights Boulevard. Just outside Ward 10, The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is completely rebuilding the aging Avenue Road- Highway 401. This is a major project that will likely go into 2019.Toronto is a great place to live, work and raise a family. But to keep it that way we must make major investments in infrastructure. It will be messy and noisy and the traffic will be slower, but these investments will provide a great return for the good people of North York and Downsview. We thank you for your patience during the work and as always, I am available to speak at 416-392-1371 if you have any questions or concerns. You can also keep up with our progress and check back for regular updates at www.JamesPasternak.ca.
Amazing Love
William Ashley started his career as a graphic designer. When he switched to a career in the fine arts, it was a natural step. For many years, he worked with oil paint and much of his early work was wildlife drawings. He was also always interested in photography. William switched from oil to acrylic, believing that acrylic allowed for more versatility in his work. For a while, he found himself painting portraits. His reputation preceded him and commissions started coming. At one point, he was asked to paint a portrait of Mayor Mel Lastman. The Mayor was overwhelmed with the portrait, crying when he saw it for the first time.William has been working on an inspirational piece for the Jane-Finch community. William and his partner and Marketing Manager, Evadney, are long time residents and advocates in the community. For more than 18 years, William and Evadney ran a food-bank in Jane-Finch. They have also mentored many students and continue to advocate for the people of Jane-Finch. The piece that William has recently been working on will go on display at the Jane Finch Mall where community members can visit and receive inspiration from the positive message embedded in the work. The piece will incorporate some of the great minds that have come from the community, highlighting the accomplishments of the people of the Jane-Finch, including those of famous artists and professionals. In 2004, William found faith and started featuring Christian scripture into his work. Some of his works can be customized by clients with some even having their photos incorporated in the designs. His work can also be very high tech as he uses the latest digital technology to get the designs just right. On September 28, 2018, William and Evadney will be launching a new brand and are holding an exhibit at the De Runa Banquet Hall in Toronto. Currently, they have a gallery in the Jane-Finch community which is open by appointment. For more details, you can visit www.AmazingLove.ca.
PEACH Radio: Planting seeds, growing a community
There is no doubt that the Jane-Finch community has been known for many things over the years – some of which have not always been very positive. This being said, there has also never been a shortage of occasions within the community that are worth celebrating. The launch of PEACH Radio is one such occasion. Community leader, Wayne Black, and Shari Castello, the Executive Director of PEACH (Promoting Education and Community Health), launched PEACH Radio in the hope that it will serve as a platform that would facilitate dialogue in the community by creating an open public forum to discuss issues such as education, mental health, justice, and more. This exciting and innovating project will also provide many opportunities for young and aspiring journalists in the community. Moreover, local businesses and neighbourhood organizations will benefit as they now have a local outlet through which they can advertise and promote themselves.“We want people to be insightful and aware of what’s happening,” Wayne Black says. Both Black and Castello emphasize the need for more local communication outlets in the community, citing the many notable developments in the education and public health front that need to be better publicized. Some of the key focuses of PEACH Radio will include local artists, local athletes, local community organizations and agencies, and the local experiences and concerns of youth in the community. The official PEACH Radio launch took place on May 3 and despite the rainy weather, familiar faces in the community including local artist, Kofi Frempong, and members of the Black Creek Community Health Centre came to show their support. Other locals artists such as EYE 2 EYE and Sydanie and Terence Penny also showed their support by performing for the audience. Both Wayne and Shari hope that this project will bring to the fore underground issues that are often overlooked and to create a forum that will connect local issues, the arts, culture and education to reinforce the voice of the community. Visit www.PeachRadioLive.com today to hear about what’s happening in and around the community.
Editorial ✘Downsview Votes
According to the most recent polls, the Wynne Liberals have lost the confidence of most Ontarians. Instinctively, Ontarians looked to the Progressive Conservatives to end the 15-year-long reign of Liberals at Queen’s Park. However, the abrupt resignation of Patrick Brown and the controversies surrounding his leadership, and the poorly organized PC leadership race that ensued, made Progressive Conservatives look less and less like a viable option for most Ontarians. This sentiment was further reinforced by Doug Ford’s Greenbelt remarks and the Highway 407 data breach controversy which saw the resignation of the PC candidate for Brampton East. Also, Ford’s failure to present Ontario voters with a comprehensive platform makes Ontarians question the aptness of Progressive Conservatives to take charge of the province. The only other option left for Ontarians is Andrea Horwath, the leader of Ontario’s New Democrats, who is seen as the most trustworthy contender in this fierce election season. In contrast to Ford’s PCs, the NDP has presented a fully costed platform that seeks to address some of the greatest challenges faced by Ontarians and aims to make life more affordable for people in the province. This year, the election race in Humber River–Black Creek has proven to be an exciting one with three new and diverse candidates. The candidate that The Downsview Advocate is proud to endorse is Tom Rakocevic. Tom’s rich knowledge of the community and his years of experience advocating for local issues make him a strong voice for Humber River–Black Creek.
Working with Community
The Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN), DUKE Heights BIA and Osgoode Hall Law School organized the March 23 and 24 Creating Opportunities Summit to take a good hard look at what truly makes great communities. In our efforts to find the perfect solutions, we often ignore big problems and make matters worse by doubling down on things that aren’t working. Whether it’s capacity building in marginalized communities, local policy making in neighbourhood improvement areas (NIAs) or just plain racism, no one answer fits all. If the summit had one great takeaway for me, it’s that finding shared prosperity will come through working with community and not for community. The summit was an amazing chance for communities to come together with agencies, government workers, thought leaders and entrepreneurs, to really drill down and explore community benefits together. The two-day event kicked off with a bus tour that took delegates along the future Finch West LRT route. The route holds much promise for investment where there has been so little for nearly 40 years. There was a short detour to the future Woodbine Racetrack redevelopment, another possible place for community benefits. An incredible “poster exhibit” on community benefits was moved to Day-2 because of the strike at York University and even the strike didn’t put a damper on the success of the event. The bus tour was followed by a celebration dinner at York University’s Underground restaurant. The dinner included a speech from Senator Ratna Omidvar who will sponsor the Community Benefits Bill when it reaches the Senate from the House of Commons. The conference which took place the next day at Jackman Law Building at the University of Toronto was full of timely information on what community benefits can mean and how they can be achieved. The opening panel discussion included a passionate address from Hamilton City Councillor Matthew Green who has been at the forefront of the community benefits movement in Hamilton. Other incredible speakers included lawyer Anthony Morgan who spoke on racial justice issues in Canadian law and policy. Climate change and its impacts on communities were also covered. There were case studies on community benefits in action and there were new friendships hatched and plans for future cooperation laid out. I’ve only scratched the surface here of all the amazingness that happened over the 2 days - I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next year.
Our Community Deserves Fair Auto Insurance
It's 2018 and the Downsview community still pays some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country.I raised the issue of auto insurance company discrimination towards our community as far back as 2012 when I co-hosted a crowded town hall meeting with Ontario NDP leader, Andrea Horwath. Local residents were angry about sky-high premiums and a lack of government action on this important issue.At the time, the Ontario NDP conducted research on the matter and showed that the same person would pay a premium of $1,153 if they lived at Lawrence Park, but $2,517 if they lived at Jane-Finch. I dug deeper and found that we faced this cost discrimination despite the fact that our neighbourhood had neither the highest rates of vehicle crime nor accidents.With pressure from the NDP, the government promised a reduction of 15% on auto insurance rates. In 2016, when the government was criticized for not delivering on the reduction, Premier Wynne referred to her promise as more of a "stretch goal".In early 2017, with pressure for action mounting, the government released the Marshall Report. Local disability and personal injury lawyer Juan Carranza is skeptical of this report, saying "The government's report does little to address the power imbalance between insurers and accident victims and assumes the insurance industry will act out of the goodness of their hearts." Mr. Carranza further cited a lack of transparency around auto insurers' profits and the amount of money they spend fighting to deny the claims of accident victims.A year after the report's release, local residents have yet to see an improvement in the auto insurance system. Once again, this past March, I co-hosted a local auto insurance town hall meeting with Ontario NDP leader, Andrea Horwath, to give our community the opportunity to voice their concerns on this important issue. Residents packed the room and watched online, expressing frustration with the government and stating that their insurance rates continue to rise.Andrea Horwath spoke strongly for better government oversight, stating "An NDP government will deliver the 15% savings the Liberals refused to deliver and we won't allow your postal code to determine how much you pay."Auto insurance relief is long overdue, especially in our community where families struggling to pay the bills also pay the country's highest auto insurance premiums. In fact, many local residents who can afford a car cannot afford the insurance, so they face needless hours of daily commute times to distant jobs. The auto insurance industry is government regulated and the people deserve better government oversight and accountability rather than broken promises and "stretch goals".
Our Schools in Disrepair and Disarray
Our schools are valuable public assets. They help set the prices for homes in our neighbourhoods. They set the standard by which our children are able to thrive. They are central parts of our communities and their health affects everyone, whether directly or indirectly. Letting them fall in disrepair to the tune of $15 billion across Ontario, like the provincial government has done, is letting our communities down and putting our kids at risk. Just recently at Derrydown Public School, multiple news sources reported an incident where three children were injured as workers were doing repairs to the school’s roof. Tar dripped down through the ceiling on children below during gym class. Two children were taken to hospital, but thankfully, they are expected to do fine. The larger issue is that this is not an isolated incident. A website called www.fixourschools.ca details some of the incidents: scaffolding injuring a child; another child suffering cuts due to lack of lunchroom supervision; a railing in a playground giving way and resulting in a child breaking her wrist; the list goes on. These are recent incidents that speak to the backlog of disrepair and to the larger issue of inadequate funding for our public schools. Moneys needed for emergency repairs have been taken away by more immediate operational budget needs in our schools for years. This ultimately affects the quality of education in our classrooms over time as the budget gets tighter with the growing backlog of repairs. Today we have less specialized assistants to deal with children that need one-on-one help, we have fewer lunchroom supervisors, and parents are increasingly asked to fundraise more and more to fill in gaps. In the 1990s, the Progressive Conservative government gave developers a tax break by structuring development fees in such a way that they would no longer have to contribute toward new schools in school boards like the TDSB. As a result of this, new construction projects in the City of Toronto have not led to more investments in public schools. This system has been maintained by the current Liberal government, despite their protestations about investments in our schools. Ultimately, developers saved hundreds of millions of dollars through this tax cut in Toronto. The tax cut reduced the funding school boards depended on for capital investments and, as a result, schools in Toronto have millions of dollars worth of disrepair despite the longest continuous real estate boom in Canadian history. The repair work that does take place is often done in case of emergencies, rather than to systematically maintain buildings in a financially responsible way.We can all change this. There are two million school children in Ontario. Our city is growing and we need to ensure that our schools are safe places of learning and that we invest in the public assets that we all own so that they can be used by future generations.