Downsview marches for global climate strike

On September 27, people from within and beyond Toronto's borders gathered at Queens Park for the Global Climate Strike. Local residents attended to represent the Downsview community and marched to raise awareness for climate change. 

The event brought people of all ages and different political stripes together. Countless students were excused from school to picket with their classmates. Participants carried signs displaying their personal messages to political leaders, demanding a call to action.

Local resident and community activist, Ayesha Khan, said that "You could feel the frustration, fear, anger and hope in the children. I kept seeing butterflies and dragonflies hovering over the crowd as if nature was saying "Thank you for coming. We heard you. We love you too."

The series of climate strikes are especially relevant in the midst of the federal election. Voters are comparing the various environmental policies that are included in the platforms of the top contesting parties. The Liberals have been criticized for their conflicting stances, including their support of building more pipelines while unveiling a countrywide tree planting initiative that seems to fall short of necessity. While the Conservatives based their climate change plan around abolishing the carbon tax, many are concerned that they will streamline their powers to hold corporations accountable for their carbon emissions.

The NDP's strategy includes "A New Deal for Climate Action and Good Jobs," alluding to the importance of building a greener economy as part of a broader framework for legislating greater corporate responsibility. The NDP's plan is built off of the notion that social justice encompasses environmental justice, and they have committed to working with Indigenous communities to prioritize removing the toxins and pollutants that have been left behind to contaminate their homes for generations. While the Green Party has presented some parallels to the NDP, the public is left to debate whether or not the other pillars of their platform are just as progressive in nature.

Teach2Learn, a youth mentorship program that organizes academic workshops for Spanish-speaking students at Keele and Finch, had several of its young leaders on site. Juan Poveda said that, 

"Participating in the climate strike was a demonstration of coherence. It is extremely important that young people continue to voice their thoughts and take concrete action. These actions should not only include participating in a strike, but should include every-day habits that show people, corporations and governments that we care enough about our future to take care of our home."

More than 15,000 attended the Climate Strike in Toronto, and many continue to express their solidarity online. Given the political climate, this could lead to consistent waves of collective action as much of humanity struggles to realign the modern political agendas to preserving the planet's resources. The common thread that held the crowd together was the outcry for change at all levels of government in order to pave a way to a sustainable vision of prosperity that includes everyone.

Meet your candidates for York Centre

Election Day is on Monday, October 21. Don't forget to vote for the candidate of your choice! Please check out the positions from the four parties below. Learn more about where to vote and what you need to be eligible at www.elections.ca!

Universal Dental Care: Why it’s so important

Growing up I was never one of the kids who left school early or came in late because I had a dentist appointment. From a young age I knew that dentist visits were very expensive and not a financial priority in my household. In short, we just couldn’t afford it.

When low-income families have rent, groceries, commuting, and other expenses it is very hard to prioritize or justify spending hundreds of dollars on dental care for themselves or their children. Yet dental care is important and has a very strong connection with our overall health.

According to research done by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research “An unhealthy mouth, especially if you have gum disease, may increase your risk of serious health problems such as heart attack, stroke, poorly controlled diabetes and preterm labor.” This means that without regular visits to the dentist it can be almost impossible to determine whether you suffer from gum disease or any other oral health problems like Gingivitis, Periodontitis, or Trench mouth which if left unchecked can lead to more serious health problems. 

Research shows that dental care is an important part of our health, yet it is privatized and not accessible for many people in our city. Seeing as we have universal health care it almost doesn’t make sense that dental care is not included under the OHIP umbrella. Here are some average costs, in Canadian dollars, for common dental procedures:

Large Tooth Filling: $325 Small Tooth Filling: $80 (Silver Filling), or $200 (White Filling) Root Canal: $800 Dental Crown: $1425 (Gold), or $1625 (Porcelain) Dental Bonding: $450 Invisalign Braces: $7, 249 Veneer: $1, 750 Adult Dental Exam: $133 Child Dental Exam: $67 Tooth Extraction: $136 (starting at)

Good dental health can be achieved with good oral hygiene, yet this does not prevent an overbite, teeth-grinding, wisdom teeth eruptions, the need for braces, or an injury.

My parents always taught my brother and I to practice good dental hygiene and luckily neither one of needed braces or suffered from any mouth injuries. However, this luck ran out when I was in University and my wisdom teeth started giving me issues. I could feel the teeth growing at the back of my mouth and it caused me a lot of pain and headaches. Through my University I had dental insurance, a mere $500 for a procedure that would cost in the thousands - the average wisdom teeth procedure for the extraction of all four teeth costs about $2300. This seems impossible when you are a student who is in school full time and trying to make ends meet.

It is easier to prioritise the cost of food, books, or commuting over oral surgery.  Thankfully, I had a very nice and accommodating dentist who suggested I only take out one of my wisdom teeth (the one that was growing sideways and was causing the most discomfort) and he also suggested doing the procedure without being put to sleep. I was a bit afraid since most of the people I knew who had the procedure were put to sleep first and complained a lot about the recovery. The procedure was very comfortable even though I was awake and since I only pulled one tooth the recovery was quick. The tooth had already erupted so the procedure was quite simple

 I did this over my undergrad two more times as my insurance would renew every September. It took some patience and a lot of Advil to combat the headaches and overall discomfort I would experience from time to time. It wasn’t until last year that I finally took out my last wisdom tooth when I found a job with a good insurance plan and did not have to pay out of pocket for the final procedure.

Recently, I also began grinding my teeth in my sleep which would lead to painful migraines as soon as I would wake up. If I wasn’t lucky enough to have my work insurance, it would be back to Advil and pain management.  A mouthguard can cost anywhere between $300-$1000 dollars plus consultation fees. This is not a realistic expense for low-income families, let alone those with small children.

Universal dental care should be implemented in Canada especially for families and children who should not have to prioritize living costs over their health. Good oral hygiene only goes so far and we must consider all other issues that can not be prevented. 

Another senseless and tragic death at the Fiera Foods factory

On Wednesday September 25^th Enrico Miranda died tragically on the job at Fiera Foods. He was crushed to dead by a machine while cleaning it. This is the fifth death at Fiera Foods since 1999.  The first victim was , a 17-year old temp named Ivan Golyashov who was killed when a dough mixer was activated while he was inside cleaning it. Then in 2011 it was Aydin Kazimov who was crushed to death by one of Fiera’s trucks. Two years later, Amina Diaby a 23-year-old woman was killed at Fiera Foods when her Hijab was caught in a machine and strangled her to death. In 2016, a man in his 40s was pinned to death at Fiera Foods while getting stuck between a loading dock and tractor trailer. After five horrific deaths Fiera Foods is still operating in North York at 50 Marmora St. 

After Amina’s tragic death a writer for the Toronto Star, Sara Mojtehedzadeh, went undercover as a temporary worker at Fiera Foods to investigate. Mojtehedzadeh found that about 70% of Fiera Food’s workforce was hired through work agencies as temporary workers. This is alarming. In Canada only 14% of workers are temporary. The workers at Fiera Food’s are also not hired for seasonal work which is usually why some companies go through agencies during high-demand seasons. The investigation also showed that temporary workers receive very little training, just a 5-minute briefing, do not get paid for sick days, are discouraged from complaining, are deemed easily replaceable, work long shifts with no paid breaks, and are paid under the table in cash through payday lenders. Workers do not receive pay stubs nor a record of their employment. 

This tragedy hits close to home as both my parents have worked as temporary workers for factories before, as I am sure many people in our community have. Fiera Foods benefits from desperate workers who are just trying to survive in our country and Fiera Foods is one of many companies that prey on immigrants and workers of colour who might be too afraid to speak up because they know it might cost them their jobs. 

No one should go to work and lose their life. The Star found that “Fiera has been slapped with 191 orders for health and safety violations over the past two decades, for everything from lack of proper guarding on machines to unsafely stored gas cylinders.” Yet they still operate. When the Star arrived on the 25^th of September, they found that production had not stopped, and workers had not been sent home amidst the tragedy that caused Mr. Miranda’s life. 

On Tuesday October 1^st, organizers gathered outside the Fiera Food factory and handed workers pamphlets about unionizing. Security guards asked worked to throw away their flyers at the door. The following day more organizers and over 100 members of the community protested with banners asking for accountability. Workers were asked to not come to the day shift and were not paid for the day. No further details have been given by Fiera Foods regarding the death of Mr. Miranda. They have only stated that “As a company, we are heartbroken and have been focused foremost on supporting the family and our employees through these first few difficult days. At the same time, we are fully co-operating with Ministry of Labour inspectors as they review the accident.”

A GoFundMe Campaign has been started to help cover the costs of the funeral of Mr. Miranda. You can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-help-for-tay?fbclid=IwAR0RKDPR2tuP2ZKQsY3DJNo9EqpzoyAHFn__TV8suPb47_GIddDn6FY1JNs

Our buses are overcrowded and bus tickets are expensive

Waiting for the 36 Finch bus can make one ponder the meaning of life. It is never quick or an efficient use of time. Bus service is so unreliable, that if car insurance premiums were not so expensive in our area, most people would choose to drive instead of taking public transit. 

The majority of bus routes in Downsview are unreliable and overcrowded during the morning and afternoon rush. This reality leads to more cars on the road and more congestion. In case you have not heard about this update in local news, Toronto has the longest commute of any City in North America. [1]  

If taking public transit was more affordable, that would at least make the experience of longer than normal wait times more reasonable. However, Toronto is also known for having one of the most expensive bus fares in North America. An individual bus ticket in Toronto is one of the top five most expensive fares in general and our monthly transit pass is the most expensive option in the continent. [2]

Even though more commuters are added to our roads each year, it is not surprising that the growth of TTC riders has slowed down recently. Commuters will always choose another option if it's offered to them for a fair price. People downtown, for example, have taken to cycling in very large numbers. A bicycle is the fastest mode of transportation for short trips in the city's core. That being said, up here in Downsview cycling is not a realistic way to get to school or work year-round if you have far to go.

The way to get more cars off the road is not complicated, even if a series of successive governments have made it seem so. Building more reliable transit networks and making it affordable has worked everywhere an appropriate investment has been made.

That being said, here in Ontario successive Conservative and Liberal governments have reduced their share of transit funding, downloading the cost to rate payers and municipalities. Toronto gets the smallest share of higher level government funding out of every major city in Canada. That is the real reason why we take so long to build any new transit lines, nobody is paying for them. 

It took over 20 years to build the York University subway extension. By the time it's finished, it will take a similar amount of time to build the Finch LRT. The improvements are coming too slowly and without the adequate funding required to make them work properly. 

Municipalities do not pay the bill for public transit expansion on their own. In other cities, higher levels of government step in to pay for the big projects and subsidize the trips for commuters. That type of investment makes transit more accessible, creating an incentive for people to leave their cars at home. The less cars we have on the road, the better. Helping people get to work more efficiently improves their quality of life because they can reallocate those wait times towards other priorities, like spending time with family.

Accessible and affordable public transportation options eases gridlock and boosts the local economy. In Toronto, we have not had a higher level of government involvement for decades, and you can see the lack of investment every time you are out there waiting for the bus. 

[1] https://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-has-worst-commute-in-north-america-sixth-worst-in-world-study-1.3983200 

[2] https://www.blogto.com/city/2019/01/how-ttc-fare-compare-toronto-north-america/ 

Joy of sleepless nights

I love my child.  But honestly, what I would love more than anything right now is something even close to a good night’s sleep.

Far too often, my nightly state of bliss, those precious and magical few hours where I can close my eyes and maybe, if I’m lucky, fall asleep, abruptly come to an end when I hear something loud and whiny.

To no one’s surprise, it was my son, crying. Oh Joy! It was 2:30 a.m., and I think: “I have to deal with this now. Goodbye sleep, hello crying child.”

I rushed over to his room, and a mixture of exhaustion and panic set in. “Maybe something is wrong, maybe he is hurt,” I thought. I picked him up and started asking him what was wrong. Obviously, my one year-old son couldn’t answer me yet, but I tried anyways. 

When situations like this occur, my go-to solution is food - always food. I mean, if he is eating he can’t cry, right?! I was still completely exhausted, but I decided to take him into the kitchen and get him some food. 

In the meantime, my son’s cries have now woken up my husband and I worried that because we live in an apartment, he may have woken up the neighbours as well - so I move even faster to take him to the kitchen. 

My husband held him while I struggled to find something, anything, to feed him. Of course, my son wanted ME to hold him and as his crying got louder, I got more nervous. 

I frantically rummaged through my refrigerator and I found two simple items, a yogurt and a mini muffin and I quickly presented them to him as a gift from me to him. He looked at them, then me, then again at the food and finally decided on the mini muffin. 

“Thank goodness,” I said to my husband, and we both breathed a sigh of relief. 

As my son rested on my shoulder finishing his muffin, his satisfied expression let us know that he was in the comfortable in the presence of his mommy and daddy. Even in the midst of exhaustion and worrying that I didn’t have enough strength to carry him, my toddler wrapped his arms as tight around me as he could, tucked his head under my chin and peacefully rested it on my chest. 

Through these actions, he showed us that he knows we are always there to provide him comfort.

After that, we lay on the couch together, my son was on my chest, my husband was in the bedroom, already fast asleep, and soon enough, so were we. 

We did it! Or should I say, I did it! Another “I love you mommy and daddy” moment. 

These are the kinds of moments I think all parents need, just knowing that your kiddo loves and appreciates you makes it worth all of the (mostly) sleepless nights.  

I must say that, despite all of this, I truly feel blessed to have a little one and to hear the words “momma… and dada…” come out of his mouth.

Redevelopment of Wilson Station's parking lot - the saga continues

On August 14, 2019 York Centre Councillor James Pasternak hosted a working group meeting to discuss the proposed redevelopment of Wilson Station’s Main Commuter Parking Lot at 50 Wilson Heights Boulevard. The lot was deemed ‘surplus’ land by the City’s development agency, CreateTO, and was selected by Toronto City Council to include in the affordable housing initiative, Housing Now. 

The meeting was organized by the Councillor Pasternak’s office in response to concerns raised by community members related to the loss of parking at the June 2019 Housing Now Community Meeting.   

During the meeting, City of Toronto Planning and CreateTO staff provided an overview presentation. It included: a recap of the Housing Now proposed development; a summary of City Council direction on parking for Housing Now sites; an analysis of existing usage of the parking lot; and three potential parking scenarios being considered in any future development. 

To justify the selection of the Wilson Station lot, City staff presented some helpful data. For instance, they provided the result of a recent licence plate survey, which indicated that of the total 866 parking spaces, only 25% (219 spots) are used by York Centre residents. The remaining 75% are used by folks outside of the community, including the 41% of spots which are used daily by commuters from the Greater Toronto Area. 

CreateTO staff also indicated that rebuilding all 866 spots underground a future development would be unfeasible given their estimate that each space would cost $85,000 ($75 million to build 866 spots). Adding in financing and operational costs, the public would need to pay $35+ per day in order to break even.

City staff revealed that future redevelopments would include one of three parking scenarios for community members: 1) provide exclusive public parking (no dedicated residential parking space); 2) provide shared parking (residential and public parking space); and 3) provide no public parking.

Although only a dozen community members attended the meeting, participants asked detailed questions and provided clear feedback to the Councillor and city staff. I’ve summarized some of the community’s feedback below. 

General Feedback 

• Participants acknowledged that both affordable housing and commuter parking are very important issues and the community should not be presented with options that make them feel like they must choose one or the other. 
• Community members voiced that the TTC needs to be part of this discussion. There were participants at the meeting who would consider taking transit rather than driving to the station, however many people felt that TTC service is unreliable and infrequent.
• Some felt this is a safety concern – especially at night when some have to wait alone at a bus stop.

Process Feedback 

• Participants  expressed that low turnout at the meeting should not be taken as a sign of a lack of concern about this issue. Others in the community are interested and have concerns but were either unable to attend or were not aware of the meeting. 
• Participants urged the Councillor and CreateTO to do a better job at publicizing community meetings, including advertising in the local newspapers; posting a development sign in the parking lot (while has since been done); and handing out flyers at Wilson Station.

Parking Scenario Feedback 

• Participants suggested removing a scenario all together (i.e. “provide no public parking”) since it was considered unreasonable and unfair to the community.  
• Participants urged city staff to keep some or all of the existing surface lot by reconfiguring the development plans or moving the Housing Now site to a new location like Downsview/Sheppard West station.  
• Some community members expressed interest in expanding and improving the parking lot at Downsview/Sheppard West station to accommodate the loss of parking at Wilson Station.
• Participants also offered some creative solutions. Such as, using a permit system to preference local residents in public parking spaces built in future developments at Wilson Station and discouraging the use of the lot from people outside of the area by increasing the cost of parking at Wilson Station (by a couple dollars), possibly as a pilot project.

There was another Housing Now Community Meeting on September 16^th  from 6 P.M to 9 P.M at the Church of Resurrection (1 Tippett Road). I will continue to cover this issue over the coming months – feel free to read my previous articles to learn more.

Ford’s child care cuts hurt families

Ontario is currently experiencing an affordable child care crisis.

Parents across Ontario have expressed disappointment at a Provincial Government decision to slash funding for 51 planned childcare projects consisting of more than 3,000 much needed spaces in the city of Toronto.

These new projects, which would have opened up additional spaces in local schools, were already approved and ready to go but are now in jeopardy because the Ford government removed all provincial funding at the very last minute as part of their budget cuts.

Now the City of Toronto and the Toronto District School Board have until August 30 to replace the lost provincial funding, or, these projects will be cancelled.

The Conservatives didn’t seem to have a problem with paying out $1 billion to rip up the Beer Store contract, nor did they have any issue in losing $150 million to get rid of the so- called “Six Million dollar man” at Hydro One, yet they now claim that the province can’t afford to fund vital new child care projects?

Ontario is currently experiencing an affordable child care crisis. Right now, we pay the highest average child care fees anywhere in Canada.

Working parents are under significant stress when trying to find a daycare spot for their children, and spend on average almost $1,700 a month on childcare.

Having fewer available child care spaces could increase costs due to demand, making the situation even worse.

Families deserve better than this. 

The Ontario NDP and I have been fighting to make childcare more affordable for all Ontarians. In order to do this, we need to fund more affordable childcare spaces rather than make cuts that hurt Ontario children and their families.

The Vision Zero Road Safety Plan 2.0

The Vision Zero Road Safety Plan 2.0 is a five-year (2017-2021) action plan that aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths and reduce serious injuries on Toronto's streets to zero. At the last City Council meeting in July, councillors voted to boot up the effort. 

Vision Zero 2.0's main measure is to reduce speeds on main, arterial roads, further preventing casualties from occurring in the first place. The plan also includes specific programs that are dedicated to expanding cycling infrastructure across the city and boosting safety zones for seniors and school children. The School Safety Zones program is dedicated to implementing measures that protect children who walk or bike to and from school. 

This program includes a variety of traffic safety measures that improve the visibility of school zones and signal drivers to slow down and pay better attention to their environment. Enhanced pavement markings, pavement stencils, driver feedback (Watch Your Speed) signs and flashing beacons are all examples of the strategic measures being used. These measures will continue to be installed within the boulevard or public right-of-way areas to ensure that they do not hinder vehicles, pedestrians or properties. You can expect to see more of these measures over time.

While the City is not required to provide advance notice to residents before the installation of poles and signs within the public right-of-way area, they do notify residents whose property is next to a new School Safety Zone sign two weeks prior to the installation. All locations that have been selected for the installation of traffic safety measures have been reviewed by the City's top advisors and engineers. 

The City of Toronto will continue to install these safety measures year-round according to priority. As of October, 2018, the City began the installation of school safety zones at 61 locations and has been on track to increase that amount to 88. Several of these zones are in the Downsview or Humber River-Black Creek area. 

The zones and measures being implemented are examples of how the City is working hard to protect pedestrians and road-users. The Downsview Advocate will continue to share updates about Vision Zero 2.0 as they become available.

For more information, please visit: toronto.ca/VisionZero

Opinion: Canadian corporations enjoy billions of dollars in tax cuts while we bear the burden

In 2013 I wrote an article in the Toronto Star where I laid out the unfortunate reality that exists for large corporations in Ontario. 

In the article, I described how Ontario's large corporate tax rate was reduced to just 11.5 per cent by the then governing Ontario Liberals. It would have been reduced even lower had the NDP not stopped the Liberals' campaign to make the mega-corporation tax rate a lowly 10 per cent.

Each percent back then amounted to roughly $1 billion in lost revenue during a time when the economy was growing, corporations were sitting on record piles of cash, and the Liberals were proposing charging you directly for transit expansion with toll roads and other daily fees and taxes.

There was absolutely *no* reason to make life easier for corporations, and life harder for you. In fact, the economic conditions in 2013 were the exact kind when you ask big business to pay their fair share.

The Federal Liberals under Trudeau are no better. They kept Stephen Harper's tax cuts to mega-corporations and there is no sign of rolling them back. All the while they pledged to deficit spend on our backs.

A recent report by the Canada Revenue Agency detailed how corporations are still avoiding paying taxes. It estimates that corporations, in just one year avoided between $9.4 billion and $11.4 billion in taxes. That is money we are going to have to pay instead with our taxes.

Today the economy is still chugging along as it was before the tax cuts. Corporations are raking in record profits while still not paying their fair share. The corporate tax rate in Ontario is still at 11.5 percent and the Conservative Provincial government has pledged to finish the job the Liberals started by reducing the corporate tax rate to 10.5 percent.

This will take away roughly another $1 billion in revenue while healthcare, education, childcare, child nutrition programs, and front line services you rely on are cut.

It seems we're expected to pay more for less, while corporations are paying less and raking in more profits.

Supporters of this tax cuts plan will argue it "stimulates job growth." As I detailed in the 2013 article, studies show that despite over 15 years of corporate tax reduction, corporations have simply banked the money instead of reinvesting it as was intended. This notion holds even more truth today. It is madness to continue this policy.

To be clear, I am not speaking about taxes on small businesses. They enjoy a completely different and smaller tax burden, as they should. This is about the mega corporations with assets of over $50 million who are sitting on piles of cash yet refuse to pay their fair share.

For years and years, both the Conservatives and the Liberals have counted on your vote so they can subsidize the profits for their big business friends on your back. 

This fall, don't let them take your vote for granted again.

Maria Augimeri is the former Councillor for Downsview, Former Chair of the TTC, TRCA, North York Community Council and Downsview Aerospace Working Group, and the current federal NDP candidate for Humber River—Black Creek. She is a periodic contributor to the Downsview Advocate.