Leaside Life Issue 77 October 2018

O C TO B E R 2018

Leaside Life

Hockey Player of the month Pg. 12

leasidelife.com

No. 77

THE BATTLE FOR THE NEW WARD 15 Jaye Robinson

Jon Burnside

LEASIDE SHOWDOWN THE CANDIDATES FOR COUNCILLOR ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS, PAGE 20

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

GRADE 11 BASKETBALL PHENOM ZACH EDEY • PG. 8

HOLLAND BLOORVIEW HOSTS LEASIDE PARTY • PG. 2

ANGELS IN THE GARDEN • PG. 28

WHAT’S A LUNKER? FIND OUT HOW TO CATCH ONE PG. 6 LEASIDE SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES PG. 10 LEASIDE LITTERATI’S TOP 10 THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR PG. 31 LAIRD CENTRE SHOCKER PG. 34 AND MUCH MORE!!

VISIT US AT LEASIDELIFE.COM: COMMUNITY DIRECTORY • UP TO DATE EVENTS • ARCHIVED STORIES

LEASIDE BLOCK PARTY! 2

Leaside Life • October 2018

Children’s Rehab Hospital invites you to big event at Trace Manes Sat. Oct. 13 th at Trac e Manes !

by ROBIN DICKIE

900 Don Mills Road (at Barber Greene Blvd)

416-646-2439 www.UrbanNatureStore.ca

What do you really know about Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital tucked away on Kilgour Rd. in North Leaside?

Maybe your kids took swimming lessons there. Maybe you passed it driving on Bayview. Or maybe you didn’t even know it was there.

The folks at Holland Bloorview want you, and everyone else, to know about the amazing things

they are doing to support kids living with disability, medical complexity, illness, and injury. Kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), brain injury, cerebral palsy, developmental delay and other unique diagnoses. The hospital serves 7,500 families annually and sees over 1,000 unique diagnoses every year. The hospital is also home to the Bloorview Research Institute, whose innovations, research and evidence-informed care impacts the

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lives of children and youth around the globe.

To this end they are hosting a block party at Trace Manes on Sat., Oct. 13th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Offering lots of activities for all families, they want to bring awareness to and break down the barriers of stigma towards children with disabilities. In among the pumpkin patch and sports and games, you’ll be able to play and watch a game of wheelchair basketball or volt hockey. Learn about their amazing music therapy with the ultimate DJ experience. Feast on lunch by the neighbourhood faithful and community champ, Grilltime.

This forward-thinking organization is modern, and designed for kids and their families, and their comfort. It focuses on the clients and most importantly, their families. They serve children and youth, but also provide assistance to the caregivers. They have listened to the kids themselves in developing everything from research, their patient programs and even their marketing campaign. Check out deareverybody.ca; it’s a powerful message in debunking stereotypes.

Leaside Life Published once a month in Leaside, Toronto ON,

by FH Publishing Inc., 1444 Dupont St., Unit 11A, M6P 4H3 • 416-504-8047 Circulation 10,000 to every door in M4G PUBLISHER: Lorna Krawchuk EDITOR: Jane W. Auster GRAPHIC DESIGN: Robin Dickie ADVERTISING: Karli Vezina leasidelifepublishing@gmail.com ph. 647-978-4487 or 416-504-8047

leasidelife@gmail.com

The Leaside Block Party will be fun for the whole family and is a chance to help – and raise your awareness.

Know a child with ASD or Down syndrome? Or perhaps a kid with a concussion? This holistic and state-of-the-art hospital just might treat someone you love someday.

Hopefully not, but be grateful that it is there. To learn more: deareverybody.hollandbloorview.ca.■

Patrick Rocca bro ke r

www.leasidelife.com No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication.

3

Leaside Life • October 2018

BLOCK PARTY, continued

4

LEASIDE PEOPLE • MEET YOUR NEIGHBOURS

Debbie Danbrook and the healing power of music Two Leaside friends aren’t letting dementia and a move get in their way.

Debbie Danbrook, an accomplished and world-renowned flutist, and her former across-the-hall neighbour Norma like to get together for tea every now and then.

Though Norma (who happens to be my mother) suffers from memory loss and moved away from Garden Court two years ago, Debbie continues to find time to enjoy tea with her.

“It used to be Norma’s home-baked cookies with our tea,” Debbie said.

“Now we enjoy my store-bought lemon cookies.”

Debbie is a performer, composer and recording artist who specializes in the healing properties of music.

She also teaches the first Shakuhachi flute master class at the University of Toronto, and mentioned humbly, “I get to carry on a sacred tradition passed on to me during my 10, condensed into two, years of intense

Women

SUZANNE PARK

Leaside Life • October 2018

by SUZANNE PARK

study in Japan with Tadashi Tajima, who is Japan’s leading international Shakuhachi performer.”

Debbie speaks passionately about “the Shakuhachi’s revitalizing and powerful vibrations inducing a relaxed meditative state where comfort and healing can take place for both the player and the listener.”

She confided to me that she had studied classical piano for seven years yet always felt something was missing. “I discovered the source of my discomfort when I headed off on a budget trip to the Bahamas.

The first day of the trip, the mast of the boat I was travelling on broke.

I ended up on a small island, and while there the whole regime of classical music just melted away.”

Debbie then returned to Canada and explored a wide range of music and performance arts. She confessed, “Life was a bit wild. I experimented with jazz and rock and performed in many bars. At one gig in Vancouver, I heard a Shakuhachi flute and from the first note, I knew I was called to

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DANBROOK, continued learn this art form. I packed up my things and one week later headed off to study in Japan.”

Yet her challenges were not over. “I was surprised to encounter so many obstacles which could have discouraged me but instead fueled my passion even more,” she told me. “It seems there had never been a woman studying the Shakuhachi and the master teachers were not interested in permitting me to study with them.

Undaunted, I pressed on and finally after several months Tadashi Tajima consented to take me on as a student.”

Debbie now has a dedicated international fan base and has produced 22 CDs (which can be found at www.

HealingMusic.com). Yet what pleases her most is the growing awareness of the vital role of music and meditation in easing pain and bringing comfort to end-of-life passages and ceremonies. She is also invited to perform at joyous occasions like weddings, music festivals and meditative retreats.

Despite her growing international reputation, Leaside remains Debbie’s home and cherished community where she can relax and recharge over a cup of tea with friends and neighbours. ■

Leaside Life • October 2018

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LEASIDE BUSINESSES

Lunkerhunt reels in avid anglers

Leaside Life • October 2018

by KEN MALLETT There is something fishy going on in Leaside, but it’s not illegal or smelly. And it all happens at 42 Laird Drive, international headquarters for Lunkerhunt.

Say again?

For anglers, a “lunker” is a very large game fish, especially a bass.

Old, wily, hard to catch.

“Lunkerhunt” is an internationally famous brand of lures that fishermen can use to… well, hunt for lunkers. And Leaside is the pond where the company fishes.

Recreational fishing is big business in Ontario. There are 1.2 million anglers in the province and they spend $2.2 billion each year, or a little less than $1,900 a year per angler That is a market well worth reaching, but Lunkerhunt also draws customers from the U.S. and internationally, where the numbers are larger by several orders of magnitude.

For example, about 30 million Americans hold fishing licences; about 45 million reported taking at least one fishing trip per year; and annual sales of fishing equipment in the U.S. topped $50 billion. With a ‘B’.

Fishing is literally bigger than golf in terms of sales and participants, and Lunkerhunt, with strong eight-figure sales last year, has a significant piece of that action.

This all started as a part-time hobby for an avid – perhaps obsessive – sports fisherman named David MacDonald.

MacDonald says he's got fishing in his blood; he comes from a long line of fishermen who trapped lobsters off the east coast of Canada.

He caught his first bass at the age of four. “As a kid,” he says, "I'd be dropped off at the dock in the morning and my parents would drag me off it at night."

He adds, “I started Lunkerhunt out of my house in 2001. I love fishing – any kind of fishing – but I couldn’t find products that I wanted or were

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specific to my needs, so I started making my own.

“Other anglers started buying them and soon local tackle stores began asking for them, and it kind of took on a life of its own.”

All of the design work is led by founder David MacDonald and carried out in Leaside. Product testing and on-the-water work take place at his home in Buckhorn, Ont. In 2010, the company was acquired

by BG Distribution and Marketing (BGDM), a much bigger multinational organization, which took the company to another level.

Jon Goldfarb, president of BGDM Group, says they manufacture many different fishing products includ-

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Leaside-East York University Women’s Club scholarship winners Leaside High School graduates Stanimira Aleksieva (2018) and Nicole Ilyin (2017) are the most recent local recipients of the $1,500 scholarships awarded by the Canadian Federation of University Women Leaside-East York as part of their mission “to advance and promote the higher education of young women and women’s equality.”

The national organization is a century old, while the local chapter is in its 64th year and has been granting scholarships since the late 1950s to young women at the three high schools in the former East York Board of Education: Leaside High, East York Collegiate and Marc Garneau Collegiate. The amount has risen from the initial $100 to the current $1,500 over the years, with the total amount awarded sitting at $82,000 granted to 143 students.

According to Maralynn Beach, one of the scholarship co-convenors, the criteria for the award have evolved from the best marks in nine Grade 13 subjects to today’s high academic achievement plus involvement in a variety of extracurricular pursuits both inside the school and in the community, two reference letters, and enrolment in a Canadian university.

Beach and her co-convenor, Lorna Wright, evaluate the five or so applications from each Nicole Ilyn of the schools. As she says, “Reading the applications is a reward in itself.

I am in awe of the girls’ achievements.

They often see a need in the school

and then initiate a club or program, acting as leaders.”

The two most recent winners are excellent examples. Nicole Ilyin, the 2017 winner, is certified in first aid, lifeguarding and swimming instruction. She won Toronto’s Best Rescue Award for saving a non-swimmer as well as the Sunnybrook Volunteer Association Award before entering her university program in nursing.

This year’s winner, Stanimira Aleksieva, volunteered in an international heritage program, Stanimira teaching Bulgarian Aleksieva to children. She was also a leader in a youth summer program, tutored students, participated in several sports teams at LHS and plans to pursue medicine.

This level of dedication is typical of all the scholarship winners, including the two this year: from Marc Garneau – Julia Xiao, and from EYCI – Kim Vo. No wonder the club members are so proud of the winners that they invite them to present reports on their university experiences at their year-end dinner each May. In addition to the scholarships, the University Women’s Club engages in several other activities aimed at “improving the status of women, promoting human rights, public education, social justice and peace.” This enthusiastic and lively group welcomes new members to their program of social activities, interest groups and monthly meetings with guest speakers, held at Northlea United Church. For more information, visit www.cfuwleasideeastyork.ca. ■

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Leaside Life • October 2018

by JANIS FERTUCK

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LEASIDE PEOPLE • MEET YOUR NEIGHBOURS

It’s been quite a ride for athlete Zach Edey

Leaside Life • October 2018

by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO

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Yes, Leasider Zach Edey is 7'3", has a wing span of 7'7", and wears a size 20 shoe. Sure, he stands out (and above) the crowd.

But what sets Edey apart from the crowd isn’t the fact he is playing basketball for Team Canada, but that he only started playing the sport six months before he was chosen to play with the national team.

If you follow sports, have a child playing sports, or are an athlete yourself, you’ll know that most people who “make it big,” start learning and practising their sport while they’re basically still in diapers.

But Edey isn’t “most people.”

Edey is a 16-year-old multi-sport athlete who has excelled in hockey, baseball, and now, basketball. He was, in fact, scouted by the University of Alabama for his pitching and allround skills in baseball.

But while Edey loved playing AAA baseball, as he grew, so too did his leaside-ad-winter-outlined.pdf 1 strike zone. Frustration was felt by both the umpires calling the game,

LEASIDE SPORTS and Edey himself.

In the fall of 2017, Zach’s good friend Magnus Taylor was playing basketball for the North Toronto Huskies. Magnus’s dad and coach, 9/6/18 8:35 AM Steve, approached Edey to see if he could lure him off the baseball field

and onto the basketball court. Edey politely declined, but confident that he could win him over, Steve Taylor ordered an extra team shirt.

Eventually Edey was won over and in October joined the Huskies where he learned the fundamentals of the game.

While playing in a local tournament Edey was spotted by a representative of the Northern Kings. A Torontobased basketball program, the Kings recruits elite youth players and offers them the opportunity to gain outstanding training and exposure to university recruiters through play in multiple tournaments. Edey joined the program in March this year and was mentored by several coaches, including Vidal Massiah, who was twice the captain of the Canadian Men’s Senior Team.

With the exposure granted him by the Kings program, Edey was quickly spotted by, and recruited to, the U17 Canadian team.

If your head is spinning at this moment, let’s do a quick recap. Edey began playing basketball in October of 2017 and was recruited by Team Canada in April of 2018. As Edey himself says, “it’s been quite a ride!”

And this ride is only just beginning.

By June this year, Edey had received his first NCAA offer from Tulane and this fall Edey was admitted to the prestigious IMG Academy in Florida.

The school features an integrated academic and sports curriculum with a who’s who list of alumni in various college and professional sports.

Michael Meeks, a 2002 Canadian Olympian and an assistant coach

EDEY, continued

Leaside Life • October 2018

9

Zach with our writer. with the U17 Canadian team, notes that Edey is “a great young talent,” adding that he is “extremely excited to watch (Edey) develop over the years to come.”

Also excited is Edey’s extremely supportive family. Brother Doug, also a skilled athlete currently at Leaside High School, as well as parents Julia and Glenn, are Zach’s biggest fans.

Julia and Glenn have been actively involved in Zach’s sports over the years both as coaches and, as parents of kids in sport would well know, chauffeurs, cooks, cheerleaders, and more. The Edey family is close-knit.

Julia remembers a much younger Zach promising to get a scholarship so she could retire early.

Edey’s attitude and lifestyle are impressive especially for a 16-yearold. He goes to bed early and eats well, noting that his only weakness is Mike and Ikes fruit chewies, a treat, he said, that he allowed himself after a tournament with Team Canada this summer. He analyzes his game and draws from his experiences in both hockey and baseball to “outthink my opponents.”

While he admits with a sheepish grin that the last time he was shorter than one of his teachers was in Grade 2, he’s so much more than just a tall kid with talent.

One of Edey’s coaches once remarked that his story is like a movie. It’s already been a thriller, an adventure, and a drama rolled into one. What’s next for this cinematic athletic star? ■

10

LEASIDE SPORTS

Leaside’s first girls’ hockey teams to join Sports Hall of Fame

Leaside Life • October 2018

by ALLAN WILLIAMS The Leaside Sports Hall of Fame will hold its sixth annual Induction Ceremony and Community Reception on Friday evening, Nov. 16th, organizers have announced.

The event will be held in the William Lea Room at Leaside Gardens and will honour this year’s crop of Hall of Fame inductees (see profiles below) as well as Leaside’s 2018 Athlete of the Year, who will be announced in the November issue of Leaside Life. The guest speaker will also be announced in the next issue.

Tickets to the event are $30 and will be available at Leaside Gardens, at www.LeasideSports.ca, and from any of Leaside’s sports associations.

Here are this year’s inductees: 1974 Leaside Lancerettes and Blazerettes – Historical Teams The Leaside Girls’ Hockey League was established in 1974 as an offshoot of the older Leaside Hockey League that was essentially a boys’ organization. The founders cor-

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The Lancerettes

The Blazerettes rectly observed that there was an increasing demand by girls to play the game. As a result, a fledgling two-team house league was created, featuring the “Lancerettes” and the “Blazerettes.” Because of the efforts of the trailblazing young members of these two teams, the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association (TLGHA) took flight! Without community support and the strong determination of this first group of players this could not have happened. The house league has continued and flourished over the years and out of this beginning a more competitive “Wildcats” program has developed, making the TLGHA an inclusive, community-oriented program.

Matthew Sayliss 1904 – 1952 Matthew (Matt) Sayliss was born in 1904 in Sheffield, England. He came to Canada in 1929, fell in love, married and never left! He and his wife raised a family in Leaside and Matt went on to be the driving force behind the founding of the Leaside Tennis Club.

In the mid’40s Matt along with friends decided that they and their children needed somewhere to play tennis. Matt provided a

net and they played on the grass in Millwood Park – now Trace Manes. Matt then approached the town council with a request to lay out a court made of dirt with lime markings on the site of some of the current Leaside Tennis Club courts. In 1948, after “pestering” the Leaside Recreation Committee for years Matt convinced them of a need for more courts and a tennis club. Two asphalt courts were laid in 1948, followed by two more in 1949, and the lights strung over the hockey rink in winter were transferred to the tennis courts in summer!

Sadly, after forming the club, Matt died in 1952, one year before the club house was built. However, it was his unwavering belief in the value of tennis for the community that led to the creation of the Leaside Tennis Club.

Jan Carwardine Jan Carwardine was born in Kingston to two competitive curling parents. Despite their best efforts Jan was not interested as a teenager in following their sport. It was as an adult when first raising children that Jan decided to give curling a try and was obviously a quick learner! She has been a member of Leaside Curling Club for many years, is a very strong club curler, an inspiration to younger members and has represented the club extremely well on numerous occasions. Jan is a lifelong competitor and has competed in many zones (“Too many to count,” she says.) She has competed in 25 regional competitions, 13 Provincial Championships – winning two titles – Senior Women and Senior Mixed. Jan has competed at the national level in a Canadian Championship competition in the Senior Women’s event.

She has also competed successfully in the Toronto Curling Associations Day Women’s Championship and the Toronto Curling Associations Business Women’s Championship where she has also been successful.

Jan continues to be very involved in competitive curling.

HALL OF FAME, Page 36

Made for Life in Leaside Life is about enjoying experiences and occasions.

Not about consequences or inconveniences.

More great times with friends, family and colleagues. More satisfaction of premium quality products. Less about the implications of doing so.

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Look for New Standard Original Lager at some of your favourite local establishments and soon we will share news about where you can find our cans.

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12

LEASIDE SPORTS

HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Game on! It’s hockey season in Leaside

Leaside Life • October 2018

by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.”

And in the fall, this young woman’s thoughts turn to love. Perhaps not the same love that Alfred, Lord Tennyson was discussing, but perhaps a more meaningful love.

Yes, hockey, that love. It’s back.

And I love it all. Every game.

(Obviously the best is when the Leafs beat the Habs. But I digress).

Hockey is for everyone. Young kids.

University kids who can only get ice time at midnight. Moms wanting to get on the ice while their kids are at school. Beer-leaguers across the country. Or those like me who can barely skate and watch from the stands or my couch.

Hockey has been played in Leaside for generations. Since the Leaside Hockey Association formed in 1952 and the Leaside Girls Hockey League (now the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association) organized in 1974, kids have played great hockey, made great friends, and had fun.

This year, Leaside Life is celebrating the return to the hockey season with monthly profiles of players of all ages.

This month, we introduce you to 6-year-old Angus Hammill playing in his second year of Leaside hockey.

Angus is the youngest of three kids with sister Charlotte, brother Reed, and parents Lindsay Blakely and Anthony Hammill cheering him on.

He attends Grade 1 at Bessborough School and is playing this year with the Tyke Red team.

Angus is the quintessential youngest child in the family with a fun-loving, affectionate, and sociable personality. He loves the classic changeroom antics of making (and throwing) tape balls, and while his dad is an assistant coach with the team, he adds that he’d like his mom also to be a coach because “she’s just a good mom.”

While players at this level play all positions, Angus is happiest playing either right wing or centre and does NOT love taking his turn as a goalie. His favourite thing about

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Player Profile: Angus Hamill playing hockey (as it is for many kids) is to score goals.

Angus is a multi-sport athlete who also swims, plays organized baseball and soccer, and loves to play basketball in his backyard.

Coach Brandon Crombeen notes that “Angus is a very coachable kid who always brings a great attitude to the rink. He is always ready to listen and push himself to improve his skills.” Angus himself points out that he loves going to practices, especially for skating drills.

While his family is passionately devoted to the Buffalo Bills, both watching their games on TV and occasionally traveling to see the team play in person, Angus also loves the Toronto Maple Leafs and proudly wears a Leafs jersey.

This year, he is very excited about an upcoming tournament in Buffalo.

He notes that his mom “will probably go to Target,” but that she’ll most likely get him Buffalo Bills’ stickers. Win - win!

We wish Angus a happy and fun year on the ice (and in the changeroom throwing tape balls). ■

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Leaside Life • October 2018

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Age is just a number, right?

Okay, I admit it. I have a problem.

It has to do with my age. The number is simply too big. This was brought home recently when a group of my high school classmates started organizing our 40th reunion. Yes, 40th!

(This is your cue to pipe in now with, “I can’t believe you’re 58. You certainly don’t look 58.”) Yes, it was 1978 when my twin brother, Tim, and I crossed that stage at Leaside High to collect our paperwork and head off on the next phase of our lives. I left for McMaster to study engineering. Tim couldn’t get in to McMaster and settled on the University of Toronto, although he wouldn’t necessarily describe it in those terms. But I digress.

The point is I simply don’t identify as a 58 year old. I don’t have a fear of aging. I’m not always pining for the good old days of my youth. I would never consider plastic surgery or even dying my hair. But I simply don’t think of myself as one who is a chip shot from 60 years old. I think my own impression of myself seems locked in my mid to late 30s.

Occasionally I catch a glimpse of myself reflected in a store window and wonder what the hell happened.

Terry Fallis Columnist

SHUTTERSTOCK

Leaside Life • October 2018

14

But I don’t think I look that different from the way I looked 15 years ago.

Well, let’s go with five years ago.

I confess I seem to be having some trouble wrestling with the reality of my years. Our sons are now 26 and 23 with one already flown from the nest and the other flapping his wings.

But I still do all the same things I did 10 years ago. My weekly schedule hasn’t changed much. I go to the office most days. I write and promote my novels other days. I play ball

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hockey once a week. I like the same foods now as I did a decade ago. I read books, often the same authors I read in 2008. Much of my life feels the same as it did back then. Yet, I’m now 58! And yes, there is perhaps a little distress in my voice when I say 58.

At the office, I still think of my 30-something colleagues as from the same generation as I am, but we’re clearly not. I know this is what happens and that I’m simply following the script for many men of a certain age. But it still catches me now and then. When the topic comes up, I’m not shy or embarrassed to say I’m 58, I just have trouble believing it’s actually true.

The only time I feel every one of my years is the morning after playing our weekly ball hockey game (that would be this morning). When I started playing ball hockey more than 33 years ago – back when my hair was thicker and I was thinner – I felt just the same the morning after a game. Now I can barely lift myself from the horizontal without a chorus of groans and a stiffness that makes me shuffle like I’ve only got a few more steps left in me. Even four days later, I can still feel our game impairing my mobility. And it has not escaped my notice that I don’t have the same hand-eye coordination, blistering shot (such as it was), or scoring touch (yeah, right) that I once enjoyed. The years have brought with them, like some unwelcome companion, a slow but steady decline in my play. Thankfully, we only play once a week, and by the time our next game rolls around, I’ve forgotten how the morning after feels and I’m pumped to get back on that concrete floor.

I know when I soon see my classmates from 1978 at our 40th reunion they’ll all look just same to me as they did back then. That’s what happens.

I’m pleased to report that no one has yet offered me a senior’s discount at the drugstore, but I feel that day approaching. In the meantime, I’ll cling to the image of my 35-year old self, avoid mirrors, and endure the mornings after ball hockey games until reality shakes me out of my delusion, preferably without the aid of a defibrillator. And now I must go and tape my new hockey stick.

In 2020 LHS will celebrate its 75th anniversary. Former students and staff are urged to visit leasidehighschool. com/join to register and stay updated on all the anniversary news. ■

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Leaside Life • October 2018

16

How social is Leaside’s social media?

As vibrant and strong as Leaside’s Wildcats, Flames, Leafs, tennis, badminton, and I’ll add in…Skyzone, and even the new Costco clubs are, the only club in Leaside that has more than 6,000 registered members is the Leaside Community group on Facebook (disclaimer: I actually have no data on Costco but thought it might get a chuckle, maybe they do have more?!). The bottom line is a club in Leaside with 6,000 unique registered members, which equates to 45 per cent of the population of Leaside-Bennington over the age of 15, represents an incredibly powerful network.

Billions of individuals around the world rely on various social media each and every day. The World Economic Forum (2016) reported that globally we send more than 30 million messages on Facebook and nearly 350,000 tweets every minute and the numbers keep growing. Social media has permeated almost every part of our lives. A quick search on Facebook in September indicated there were six ‘closed’ groups with a Leaside

sites, I reached out to Robyn Hochglaube, the founder and current administrator of the largest.

Glenn Asano The Business of Leaside

focus. They are: Leaside Chit Chat (1,732 members), Leaside Moms (449 members), Leaside Community Forum (720 members), Leaside Community Buy & Sell (1,899 members), Leaside Moms Buy/ Sell (2,554 members), and Leaside Community (6,051 members).

Fascinated to understand more about the users and usage of these

Show me the numbers Robyn was gracious enough to let me play around with the data tools provided by Facebook. The gender split of the membership is 35 per cent male and 65 per cent female. Based on the past 12 months of data, the average number of active members per day was 2,401.

Collectively, we members have made 10,772 posts, provided 46,927 comments, and 81,588 reactions (e.g. ‘likes’, ‘hearts’ – everybody likes to get a ‘like’) during that same period.

In summary, the site is underpinning a tremendous amount of community interconnectedness. The slower usage days are Friday and Sunday.

On the average day, site usage begins humming by 9 a.m. and holds steady before the momentum shifts upward around 4 p.m., continuing to rise until just after 11 p.m. (peak) when things begin to taper off.

Member distribution by age (Sept. 2018) Age Range

Female

Male

All

13-17

0.3%

0.9%

0.5%

18-24

5.5%

11.3%

7.5%

25-34

15.3%

17.3%

16.0%

35-44

32.4%

26.6%

30.3%

45-54

27.9%

26.7%

27.5%

55-64

11.9%

10.8%

11.5%

65+

6.7%

6.4%

6.6%

100%

100%

100%

As I reviewed the site’s usage by age (see Table), It was clear that our Leaside teens appear no different from their peers around the world. As has been widely reported, Internet users between the ages of 12 and 17 are ‘dumping’ Facebook for Instagram and Snapchat. Through a ‘convenience sample’ I conducted in Leaside, this appears to be the case.

Even though Leaside teens don’t generally use the site, they still stand to gain considerable benefit.

No doubt, social media will continue to have a profound and growing impact on our lives. With its ability to facilitate group communication and collaboration – it’s like being able to: shout over a neighbour’s fence to get the latest score of the Leafs game, find out what’s being ASANO, Page 18

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Leaside Life • October 2018

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built “over there,” post a bulletin on a light pole with far greater reach, instantly alert fellow Leasiders of potential safety threats to home and family, conveniently sell/buy something no longer need or do need, etc. As its power and reach become better understood (e.g. perhaps even change the course of an election), I feel social media platforms can play an important role in boosting civic engagement. They can be a powerful community-building tool and help to bring about positive change wherever we, as the Leaside community, can agree on the change that is needed.

Now there’s the real challenge!

Has social media improved your family’s life in Leaside? Do you have an idea or an initiative where social media can help make a difference for Leaside? Let us know at leasidelife@ gmail.com.

Leasider Glenn Asano is a partner and principal consultant for the strategy and business development practice at Centred Performance.

He is also an Instructor with the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University. ■

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THE BATTLE FOR COUNCILLOR Responses have been edited for space where necessary.

Full answers can be found on our website at

Leaside Life • October 2018

leasidelife.com

Jon Burnside Incumbent Former Ward 26

Jaye Robinson Incumbent, Former Ward 25

Local schools: Given all the new development in and around Leaside, schools are already at or over capacity. How will you work with the TDSB to advocate for solutions, including the possibility of new schools?

Social issues: Leaside is experiencing social issues including the potential for criminal activity including gun violence.

How will you work to ensure the safety of all residents but especially children and the elderly?

Development: The province’s growth plans call for intensification close to public transit routes. What will you do to ensure reasonable and sensitive growth for the area. Where do you stand on development along the LRT corridor?

While in meetings with our 939 Eglinton development community working groups, I invited our school trustee and school board officials to join discussions regarding the challenges of school capacity.

With the Laird/Eglinton development, this collaboration will continue.

I have already reached out to the developer to address the possibility of adding a school onsite should the TDSB deem it necessary.

Although decisions involving schools are not within a Councillor’s jurisdiction, my efforts to limit density in the neighbourhood, while engaging with TDSB officials and developers, will be vital in ensuring that education facility issues will be effectively addressed.

My experience as a former police officer and expert studies’ analysis guide my approach to gun crime and violence.

I’ve worked for over 25 years to engage youth and build relationships between police and community – and I will continue this strategy.

We need to ban handguns (not just their SALE) in the GTA, change the Criminal Code to enforce minimum sentences for gun crime, stop the revolving door of the bail process, double the size of the Toronto Police Service Guns and Gangs squad, and ensure enough officers are hired. We need meaningful – not symbolic – changes for our safety.

I’ve fought every step of the way (often against City Planning) for developments not to exceed the minimum density as set out by the Provincial Growth Plan.

My practice of forming resident working groups with developers at the beginning of the process helps to identify and address local concerns. With the assistance of my working group, we negotiated a 33% density reduction at Brentcliffe and Eglinton.

I’ll continue pushing my plan of promoting balanced development across the LRT line by increasing fees in fully developed areas such as Leaside and reducing fees further east and west.

School capacity is a critical issue for families in Leaside. I will push the TDSB to build new brick-and-mortar additions in Leaside, advocate for a hold on new development until adequate school capacity is secured, and push the province to permit the TDSB to collect Educational Development Charges. Our community’s fight against the John Fisher development prompted a new TDSB policy to oppose development applications when they do not have the capacity to accommodate new students in the area. As your representative, I will ensure that the city and TDSB work together to assess the impact on school capacity when processing new development applications.

As chair of Community Development and Recreation, I introduced the city’s first Seniors Strategy. I also voted to accelerate the implementation of youth violence prevention initiatives, expand the Community Crisis Response program, and implement a ban on the sale of handguns in Toronto. I have a strong working relationship with the local police divisions and regularly meet with the Superintendents and Chief of Police. I formed a proactive task force bringing together community leaders and senior TPS officials to address break-ins in Don Valley West.

Together we achieved a significant reduction in the number of break-andenters in our neighbourhoods.

My top priority is to protect our neighbourhoods and ensure that the community’s best interests are represented throughout the development process. As a city councillor, I’ve spearheaded city-wide planning reform to shift power over development back to neighbourhoods and actively opposed developments in areas that do not have adequate infrastructure to support high density. The Laird-Eglinton intersection is a "T-intersection,” not a major intersection (as Laird narrows to the north) and as such is not suitable for major high-rise development. I will continue to fight overdevelopment – such as the RioCan proposal for 815 Eglinton Avenue East.

ALSO RUNNING TANWEER KHAN

THE BATTLE FOR COUNCILLOR Heritage: What will you do to ensure that the unique heritage of Leaside is preserved and protected?

(See leasidelife.com for full responses re: Laird in Focus)

Green space: How will you ensure that green and recreational spaces are maintained and enhanced to support the growing needs within Leaside?

Traffic: What will you do to address the ever increasing traffic congestion and risks within Leaside?

Include comments on both pedestrian and cyclist safety.

Ward 26 is a microcosm of the City.

I’ve built trust and relationships in every community of our ward, making me perfectly suited for an expanded ward.

My practice of engaging communities by forming committee and working groups, attending all resident association meetings, and conducting annual Town Halls in each community, is a practice I will continue throughout our expanded area.

My own “on the ground” approach is the only way to feel the pulse of the community. I’ll continue my 24-hour office call back guarantee and personal follow-up including onsite visits.

I’ve got boundless energy — and love my job.

I grew up here; 103 Airdrie was our family home for 54 years, so I have a deep emotional attachment to Leaside. I understand the importance of retaining our historic character.

Working together with the LPOA, I have supported the heritage designation of relevant buildings on both Laird and Bayview. I will continue to be vigilant in protecting the unique character of Leaside while balancing the changing needs of the community.

Green and recreational space has been a top priority of mine in Leaside.

I’ve vigorously pursued opportunities to acquire additional land to expand Leonard Linton Park and have secured almost $1 million to enhance and make improvements to the park, including a splash pad.

Working together with community member Jillian Walsh, I complemented her extraordinary fundraising efforts by securing additional funds to enhance Trace Manes playground.

I negotiated more than $8 million in Section 37 funds to be used towards a new community centre at Laird and Eglinton which would include a safe walking space for seniors.

The City’s Vision Zero plan lacks enforcement strategies and thus fails to reduce the shameful number of traffic-related fatalities.

My photo radar initiative to control speeds will be a reality within a year; I will continue pursuing technology-based tools to make our roads safer.

Neighbourhood traffic volume concerns led to me form the North and South Leaside Traffic Committees. I will continue to actively address this issue.

Recognizing the need for a multimodal approach to reducing traffic, I proposed a plan for bike lanes on Leslie providing a north-south route through the city with minimal vehicular traffic impact.

Before I became a city councillor, I was a director in the City's Economic Development division. In this capacity, I worked with hundreds of stakeholders across the city to execute community projects and major events such as Nuit Blanche, Summerlicious, and Winterlicious. I have experience balancing divergent interests for the betterment of our neighbourhoods and will continue to service the residents of Don Valley West with extensive consultation and proactive communication. I’m a strong advocate for public engagement and consistently keep my residents informed of local and citywide issues through regular newsletters, community town halls, up-to-date social media posts, and a comprehensive website.

The historical character of the Leaside neighbourhood should be celebrated. As part of the recently-passed Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan, I supported policies to ensure that all new development preserves and enhances the unique urban design and landscape qualities of the existing site. As a part of this plan, a Heritage Impact Assessment will now be required for any development applications on or adjacent to properties with potential cultural heritage value.

My track record demonstrates my commitment to the protection and enhancement of parks, green space, and community amenities. As a city councillor, I've delivered results for Don Valley West, revitalizing 25 parks and facilitating the city's purchase of four new properties for public parkland. I also initiated a complete overhaul of the existing city-wide tree bylaw to protect trees threatened by construction, strengthen enforcement, and increase the fines for developer violations.

I introduced Toronto’s first-ever city-wide Road Safety Plan as chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. Since 2017, I’ve launched school safety zones, accelerated the implementation of automated speed enforcement, and lifted the moratorium on community safety zones. this summer, i announced the city’s new Active and Safe Routes to School project in partnership with SickKids, funded by Bloomberg. I’ve moved over 100 traffic-related motions and will work closely with the Leaside community to address the issue of arterial traffic infiltration in our residential neighbourhoods. A comprehensive strategy is needed to avoid isolated measures that negatively impact adjacent streets and exacerbate overall traffic issues in the neighbourhood.

VOTE on October

22nd!

The boundaries of the new Ward 15.

The former Toronto parking enforcement officer who gained notoriety on twitter by documenting vehicles disobeying road signs is also running for city council. Kyle Ashley is a long time cycling advocate who recently quit his police enforcement job.

(See online for full response.)

DANIEL ROTSZTAIN voteamara.ca

ALSO RUNNING KYLE ASHLEY

21

Leaside Life • October 2018

Ward changes: Given the sudden changes to the Ward boundaries, how will you manage to fully represent all the divergent groups within the new larger ward?

22 16

Who will be our new school trustees?

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Earlier this summer, long time TDSB Ward 11 school trustee Gerri Gershon announced she would not be running for re-election this coming October. This has opened the door for what is shaping up to be an interesting and important electoral race as seven candidates are running to fill the position.

It is the responsibility of the TDSB trustees to create the vision and direction for Toronto’s public schools and its students. Working with school and city staff, they are collectively responsible for balancing an annual $3 billion budget.

Running for election are north Leaside resident and former Northlea Home Learn gymnastics •& PlaySchool • Be active Chair THIS YEAR ATRachel GYMKATS! Chernos Lin; former proLocated in Leaside, we offer gymnastics classes vincial NDP canfor 1-12 years old, including Gym, comdidateBabyand Intermediate and Tumbling Classes. munity organizer

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by RAYPossian; WHITE Davisville resident and journalist Stavros Rougas; and Toronto resident Jennifer Hinder.

The original Leaside Gardens was Rounding the field completed out in 1951 just of sixcandishort dates Haman Mamdouhi, years are after the end of WorldAbdi War Yousuf and Hafiz Sattar II. All across OntarioAbdul and Canada, Khan. it was common to see hockey and In the rinks TCDSB trustee election, skating erected at this time. long-time incumbent Angela After all, we needed recreation facilKennedy will be running re-elecities for the Baby Boomersfor born right tion.

Kennedy after war’s end. commented, “I am running sixth term I Leaside for wasmy no different.

Byand 1963 have beenservice the trustee the for pasta the local clubs for looked 20 I amand passionate about wayyears. to honour memorialize the supporting parents they advocate sacrifices made by as Leaside servicefor children.”

Also expected to mentheir during the war.

The then new run areand Kevin Morrison Anna arena facilities wereand dedicated Sajnovic.

■ to the memory of 17 servicemen from Leaside who made the ultimate sacrifice during WWII. An impressive stainless-steel plaque featured the 17 names inscribed on it and the facility was named The Leaside Memorial Community Gardens in their honour. The plaque was affixed to the wall in the original lobby area

of the William Lea room, past the main entrance and onto the viewing area of the facility as we now know it. The average age of those 17 men was just 22 years.

When the new facility construction meant the removal of the plaque and reconfiguration of the William Lea room, the board knew immediately that when construction was finished the entireRachel new facility incorporating Chernos the original Lin would need to be rededicated.

The original plaque was carefully removed and tucked away for safekeeping and refurbishing while awaiting rededication. During that time a remarkable opportunity presented itself. In 1963, when the memorial plaque was struck, the name of Walter Newel was unfor-

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Bonnie Byford Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage 1536 Bayview Avenue (@ Millwood)

24

The end of an era: Sunnybrook Home Hardware to shut its doors It has been 30 years since Malcolm Firkser and his father took over Sunnybrook Home Hardware, but he still hears tales about Mr. Scott and Gibby – two of the previous owners.

When Sunnybrook Plaza was developed as the first strip mall in Canada, one of the tenants was a hardware store. That will no longer be the case after Malcolm and his business leave, probably around the end of the year. The signs in the window say the business is closing.

A letter by the cash offers details – Malcolm is not retiring, since he has three other Home Hardware locations in the east end of the city, and HomePro Pest Control servicing mostly apartment buildings, but he will no longer be at Sunnybrook.

The business losses at this location during these last few years made the decision to leave a practical one, if not a particularly easy one.

Originally from South Africa,

JACQUELINE CANTON

Leaside Life • October 2018

by LORNA KRAWCHUK

the whole Firkser family came to Canada to start a new life after Malcolm had completed his compulsory military service in the air force. He took two and a half years of a three-year small business course at Seneca College, then decided the time had come to run a small busi-

ness. His father ran hardware stores in South Africa, so continuing with one in Canada seemed a good idea.

It was strange, though, that just down Bayview, also in Leaside, was another Home Hardware store, also owned by a South African, Raymond Gork. The two businesses always acted in a friendly, not competitive manner towards each other.

At one time, various BBQs would come with different coloured lids – and Malcolm and Raymond would swap lids as needed to keep their customers happy.

The one treat Malcolm intends to give himself when he leaves Sunnybrook is to take Saturdays off. He figures he has only missed working a handful of Saturdays over the years, except when he was on vacation or for a religious holiday.

He and his wife intend to pursue more weekend road trips, as long as they can bring their English bulldog with them.

Malcolm’s three children all grew up working in the store, but have

HOME HARDWARE, continued

25

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since moved on. Both sons are in B.C. and his daughter is in Israel.

In the small world department, the teenager who babysat our daughters when they were young, Bill Vincent, grew up and worked for Malcolm at Sunnybrook until his health forced him to leave at a young age.

Malcolm and Bill allowed me to share an excerpt from the note Bill wrote to Malcolm recently: “You may have had smarter staff, and those with better memories and muscles, but you had no employee more honest, caring and dedicated to a profitable store than me. I do hope that you know that inside, because it comes from within my heart. That, Sir, was solely created by you, and only you deserve the credit for that amount of dedication.”

As a further example of that loyalty, Malcolm’s longtime employees, Heather, Ruthann and Andrew, have all been offered jobs at Malcolm’s other stores.

While Malcolm expected to feel sad about the closing, what has surprised him has been the sadness of his customers who have become friends, who now wonder “what am I going to do?” without their familiar store and staff. ■

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Leaside Life • October 2018

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“Lunkerhunt prides itself on product innovation in a category that you don’t see much change in,” he offers.

“Our product knowledge and execution to bring to the market quality products that are unique but affordable is the driving force behind our growth. We’ve won four international best new lure awards for our Bento Baits, Lunker Frogs, Link, and most recently our Prop Series,” he adds.

Non-anglers – like me – may find this a little mystifying. Although I am not an angler, one of my neighbours in Muskoka is, and he gets really excited about Lunkerhunt lures.

“The soft-plastic frog is so lifelike in detail that the legs possess a kicking motion no self-respecting bass can resist, a lure that’s in a league of its own,” he told me.

Hundreds of thousands of fishermen around the world would agree. And there’s nothing fishy about that. ■

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27

Bayview Pixie meets Lyndhurst’s Garden Angels

Leaside Life • October 2018

Did you know Leaside has Garden Angels? I didn’t until we received this letter to Leaside Life from Beth Jones.

“I often walk along the top of the ravine behind Bloorview and the Toronto Rehab on Kilgour. There is a dedicated little group of volunteer gardeners who plant and tend to the gardens in front and behind the Lyndhurst Centre. The gardens are beautiful and offer some positivity to the patients of Lyndhurst as they look out their window or venture outside in their wheelchairs.

These Garden Angels come every Monday morning and I think it is a fantastic side of Leaside life that people don’t know about.”

I’d never been to the Lyndhurst Centre, and who are these Garden Angels? It was time to do a little digging of my own.

I contacted Joanna Blanchard, president of the Leaside Garden Society, who informed me that the LGS has been maintaining these gardens since 1990. It all began as a community project initiated by the club president at that time, Desmay Smith.

In 1998, the club’s Barry Schneider became the volunteer coordinator and has been leading this group of gardeners for the past 20 years. He tells me that this year they are a crew of 11 consisting of mostly garden club members and a few friends of members who just enjoy puttering in gardens. They plant annuals in the spring, bulbs in the fall, prune,

The Leaside Gardener: Debora Kuchme Columnist

Angels Barry Schneider and Alice Carriman. weed, deadhead, water and handle any other chore necessary to keep the gardens healthy and looking great.

As a volunteer gardener myself, I just had to meet these kindred spirits, observe them in action and see for myself what makes the gardens of Lyndhurst so beautiful.

On the sunny Labour Day Monday morning, I approached the Lyndhurst building. It took only a second to understand why Beth wrote that

DEBORA KUCHME

28

letter. The front garden is no ordinary and familiar display of organized annuals. This is a large curving island bed that appears more like a park within a parking lot. Green trees and shrubs, both evergreen and deciduous, add a sense of permanence and at that particular moment, a wide drift of brilliant yellow blackeyed Susans drew me in. The closer I got, the more I could see the abundance and diversity of plant material: lavender, salvia, hostas, hydrangeas, goldenrod and Autumn Joy sedums just about to burst into colour, but there were so many others.

It wasn’t long before I saw someone moving behind a shrub (Brooke), another with a watering hose (Alice), and then I spotted Barry. Here were some of the Garden Angels!

After a lovely chat with Brooke and Alice, Barry led me to the back gardens where Rosemarie and Cheryl were pruning. He explained how the gardens have changed and expanded over the past two decades with the growing ambitions of the volunteers; that the facility manager on the property is very supportive and gives them a budget to buy plants and supplies; and how a grant that Lyndhurst received from the Rick Hansen Foundation helped to create a therapy garden for the patients.

As we turned the corner the view of the back garden unfolded. The view is nothing short of magnificent. This is an intimate parklike setting but because the property backs onto the ravine, it appears endless. As with the front garden, the black-eyed Susans and goldenrod were ablaze in huge drifts with even more along the tiered garden wall leading to the lower level.

At this time of year, the burst of yellow is spectacular and I can only imagine how wonderful the spring bulbs must look here (the Angels will be planting more bulbs this month) and how cool and serene the summer must feel when the gardens are mostly green.

These gardens of Lyndhurst are indeed beautiful, changing with every season, but what amazes me most is that all of this is done by 11 loving volunteer gardeners.

As Beth said, “What a gift to all of us who use the grounds – patients, employees, visitors and walkers alike!” Agreed. Here’s to the Garden Angels of Lyndhurst!

Visit leasidelife.com for more photos of the gardens with some of the volunteers who make it all happen. ■

CALLING ALL MEN OF LEASIDE!!!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27TH • 5:30PM

The only thing better than October baseball is October Axe Throwing with cool guys to raise money for kids.

• A great way to hang out with friends and make some new ones while raising important funds for the school to invest in sports, technology and arts!

• The event donates $5,000 to a school in need to fund the Empower Read program for kids at risk of falling behind.

• Over $25,000 in prizes and auction items !!!

Thanks to all our Sponsors who supported our amazing event last year: M&S Auto Paul Dinelle Patrick Rocca Left Field Brewery Lexus on the Park Sports Clips Jascor Hockey Extreme Toronto Hapkido Academy The Leaside Pub Cyclebar The Local Eatery Laird and Sons Leaside Orthodontic Tesla The Dempster Clinic Stainton, Murray & Lam Serrano Ham Sheree Cerqua

Gallery Child The Toronto Blue Jays Leaside Dentistry New Balance Frameworth Maissan Inc. Leaside Life The Georgian Peaks Club Mansfield Ski Club The Source Montreal As Budweiser Skyzone Pure Fitness Skis and Bikes Hand and Stone KG Sports Group Leaside Village Dental Evolve

A fundraiser for Bessborough School at the Amsterdam Brewery, LEASIDE!

Power Soccer McCain Foods Monica Stanway S2 Fitness Scotia Bank Bonavista Pools Barbarians The Ritz Federal Wireless communications Sierra Meat Adamson Barbecue The Mitchell Partnership Inc. Valu Mart Leaside Baseball Elac Batl Axe One Tiger Yoga AND...

Buy tickets at menwithaxes.com All sponsors included in all communications and featured at the event. 98% of attendees said they would “definitely buy from a sponsor.” Email shane.skillen@hotspex.com to sponsor.

30

choose your caregiver

EVENTS BLOOD DONOR CLINIC

Leaside Life • October 2018

Northlea School’s community blood donor clinic. 305 Rumsey Rd, Tues. Oct. 16, 2-7 p.m. Call 1-888-2-Donate.

ATTENTION RUN CLUBS The 7th Monster Dash Halloween Run Sun., Oct. 28th. Group rates and club promotions available. Enjoy chip timing, accurate courses, great food, drink, swag, finisher medals, a charity partner with an epic post-race party indoors.

Check out www.monsterdash.ca.

Serving the senior community since 2000 Please contact Living Assistance Services for home care services at 416-483-0070 or www.LAServices.ca

Celebrating 17 years of outstanding service

Call today at 416-483-0070 for a complimentary Nurse’s in-home care assessment.

www.LAServices.ca GREETING CARDS • STAMPS

Blessing of the Animals, Sat., Oct. 6 11 am.

Presentation and questions on Youth Mental Health initiatives by Sunnybrook Foundation, Wed., Oct. 17, 7:30 pm Annual Women’s Dinner, cost $25.

Friday, October 19, 6:30 for 7:15 pm Dinner. Tickets from church office.

ST. AUGUSTINE’S CHURCH

LEASIDE LIBRARY

1847 Bayview Ave.

165 McRae Drive, 416-396-3835.

Calling all Ghosts & Goblins! Stop by the church for a special treat on Halloween Night, 6-8pm.

Baby Time Birth-18 Mos. Stories, nursery rhymes and songs for babies and caregivers. No registration required. Wed. Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 9:30 -10am.

Listen to great live music by local artists and have a coffee and dessert with friends. The Groove Room Coffee House Fri. Oct 12th, 7-8:30pm featuring Les Garant. $5 with proceeds to the Flemingdon Park Food Bank. We are looking for performers. Contact Augustine@bellnet.ca

Shop local at our Christmas Bazaar Sat. Nov. 3rd, from 10-2pm. Market features a bake and craft sale, silent auction, accessories room, family photo booth, and vendors. Free entrance and parking.

CANADIAN FED. OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN LEASIDE-EAST YORK

OPEN SATURDAYS

The Power of Women Working Together.

Monthly meeting 7:30 pm, Thurs. Oct. 18, at Northlea United, 125 Brentcliffe Road. Speaker: U of T Professor Robert Vipond, author of Making a Global City: How One Toronto School Embraced Diversity, on “Clinton School History.”

Visitors and new members welcome.

For more info visit www.cfuwleasideeastyork.ca, email joincfuw@gmail.com or phone 416 930 8581.

FREE Delivery all over GTA ALL Drug Plans Accepted

125 Brentcliffe Road www.northleaunited.ca 416-425-5252

795 Eglinton Ave. East Toronto, ON M4G 4E4 Tel: 416-422-0186 Fax: 416-422-0185

1399 Bayview Ave. 416-485-0329 stcuthbertsleaside.com

Saturday, October 27th, 10am-6pm.

Suomi-Koti Toronto Finnish-Canadian Seniors Centre, 795 Eglinton Avenue E.

670 Eglinton Ave East.

BLISTER PACKS

ST. CUTHBERT’S CHURCH

Annual Christmas Fair Sat., Nov. 3rd, 11am-2pm. Come and shop through a vast array of treasures, enjoy a delicious lunch and stock up at the ever-popular bake table. All proceeds support the church and our outreach programs.

SUOMI-KOTI ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW & SALE

LEASIDE PRESBYTERIAN

We wo u to welc ld like ome a n e doctor to our t w e a who is m accepti n g patient s!

10, Nov, 14. Join us for a quiet evening of reflection.

NORTHLEA UNITED

Services every Sunday morning at 10:30 am with Sunday School and a Youth program during service.

Taize: Candlelight, prayer, meditation and music, 8-8:45pm. Wed. evenings Oct.

LEGO Club 6 years and up. Build your own unique creation! No registration required. Mon., Oct. 29, 3:45-4:45pm.

Discover Your Heritage Explore Ontario of yesterday and today with Barry Penhale and special guests. For info: Marjorie McLeod at 416-425-1392.

Leaside Needleworx Group Knitting and crocheting. Bring your own projects or start something new. Drop in. Fridays, Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26, 10-11:45 am.

Leaside Writers Group Looking for a creative place to meet with other likeminded individuals? Drop in. Saturdays, Oct. 13, 27, 10-11:45am.

Hockey Fight in Canada Veteran sportswriter David Shoalts covers the story of how CBC lost Hockey Night in Canada and how Rogers’ $5.2 billion, twelve year deal with the NHL didn’t work out as planned.

The Creation of Canada’s National Urban Park Rouge Park protects and conserves natural, cultural and agricultural heritage. Join the Parks Canada team to learn how the Rouge is a unique model for environmental protection. Free, all ages. Sat., Oct. 13, 2-3pm.

Works by Sarah Purves Art Exhibit.

Ongoing through October.

For full Library listings see https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ programs-and-classes/ Send us your free listing for November by October 10th leasidelife@gmail.com ■

10 ways I want to give thanks!

Cheryl Vanderburg Leaside Litterati

leadership and involvement. #5 To the people I see on the streets who shout out words of encouragement, stop to speak with me and often join me while I am out on my litter walks. So nice to meet and get to know you all. And thanks for your help! #6 Thank you to the people who take the time to write to me. I read each email and learn a lot from your perspectives.

#7 Kudos to the Bayview-Leaside BIA, the hardworking Pixies, the local business owners and the Leaside Business Park for keeping their parts of Leaside clean and tidy. It makes dining and shopping locally a pleasure! #8 Thanks to the many dog owners who poop and scoop and dispose of their poop bags responsibly. And thanks to dog owners like Wendy, who pick up other people’s dog poop – a thankless task to be sure and much appreciated. #9 Thanks to all the homeowners who keep their curbsides and street lampposts litter free. And to people like Jeff, who keeps Talbot Park and Donegal litter free, Mary, who keeps an eye on Leonard Linton Park and the Leaside Business Park, Phil, who keeps Millwood spotless, and the many other unsung heroes who keep their local green spaces clean.

The whole truly is greater than the sum of the parts. #10 And finally, thanks to litter, ‘plogging’ has kept me in shape, I’ve met a lot of wonderful people and learned a lot about Leaside (the good, the bad, the littery) along the way. ■

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31

Leaside Life • October 2018

October is a month for Thanksgiving. And in my quest for a litter-free Leaside I have a lot to be thankful for. Here’s my top 10 thank-you list: #1 My sincere thanks to Harry Goldhar, the original owner of Leaside Life, and to the current owners, for their support of my Leaside Litterati column, for teaching me how to write, and for showing me that I need to live what I write, and not just preach. #2 I’d like to thank local politicians including Councillor John Parker, Councillor Jon Burnside and MP John Carmichael, who supported my efforts, made calls as I needed and got their hands dirty at Clean Toronto Together/Earth Day events. #3 Thanks go to the stakeholders of Trace Manes Park including Parks, Forestry and Recreation, the Leaside Library, the Leaside Tennis Club, LABA and Pedalheads, for pulling together to keep their areas of the park clean. The improvement has been huge! #4 To the Leaside schools and churches who champion environmental issues, thank you for your

32

Make “active” transportation a priority

Leaside Life • October 2018

By HOLLY REID When we moved to Leaside in 1988 a big draw was that the schools were within walking distance of our home.

From Grade 1 through high school, our kids could get themselves to school, fostering a sense of responsibility and independence. But that was 30 years ago, before smartphones, ear-buds and distracted driving.

Parents today are rightly concerned about safe travel to school. Thanks to active transportation programs at local schools, many kids walk and bike to school and more are being encouraged to do so.

Benefits for kids and the community According to the City of Toronto, just 7% of 5 to 11-year-olds meet the 24-hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth. Walking or biking to school is an easy way to embed physical activity in a child’s day – a 1 km walk means more than 2,200 steps. Active transportation also reduces traffic congestion and air pollution around school zones. Plus, there is some evidence that physical

Northlea uses slow-down signs and a Kiss-n-Ride. activity early in the day improves concentration at school.

Local schools on board Both the TDSB and TCDSB have policies and programs to promote active transportation. Northlea Elementary and Middle School and St. Anselm Catholic School are among local schools taking advantage of available programs to get more kids walking and biking to school. As both principals at the schools stressed – safety is paramount.

St. Anselm principal Donato Di Paolo noted, “Worries about

increased traffic, construction, speed and aggressive driving are barriers to kids walking and cycling to school.”

St. Anselm is initiating a Traffic Management Study to assess what can be done to mitigate congestion at the school and enhance safety. At Northlea, the parent-run Kiss-n-Ride has been key to reducing congestion around the school.

Education and reinforcement required Barbara Sandler, principal at Northlea, sees active transportation as part of a larger goal of promoting student engagement in the community in ways that are safe. “This is not a one assembly issue; we revisit, review and remind students of safety strategies throughout the year.”

Northlea Phys. Ed. teacher Ashley Zaharia explains that moving safely is embedded in the physical education curriculum, beginning with road safety during the first week of school.

At St. Anselm, two students from the Nursing program at Ryerson University will be developing and delivering units on street safety applicable to all students.

Strategies for parents Walking or cycling to school with children on a designated day each week is a great way to get started and reinforce safe travel practices.

If mornings are too busy, parking a block from the school and walking the rest of the way can work. Parents can take the lead and start a Walking School Bus to share walking duties with other parents and talk to the school about running programs on International Walk to School Day, Walking, Wheeling Wednesdays with Toronto Public Health, and Bike to School Week in the last week of May. Discover more active travel ideas at ontarioactiveschooltravel.ca.

Holly Reid is a recreational rider and cycling commuter who has lived and worked in Leaside for 30 years. ■

Authorized by the CFO for the Amara Possian Campaign

Leaside Life • October 2018

34

Laird Centre shocker The usual pattern of development applications goes like this: start with sky high towers and density, and in response to pressure from the public and the City, heights and density are lowered to something more moderate. And, of course, an OMB (now LPAT, or Local Planning Appeal Tribunal) decision may seal the deal.

But in the Laird Centre (Canadian Tire site) development, RioCan submitted a revised development application on July 31, 2018 which has increased density compared with the original 2016 application. The plans also fail to create a new civic plaza for Leaside as requested by residents.

Geoff Kettel

Saving old Leaside

Why should residents be concerned?

Seven towers – three mid-rise (6, 8 and 10 storeys) will line Eglinton Ave. and Laird Dr., and four highrise (18, 21, 36 and 38 storeys) in the centre and east of the site. There are now four high rise towers proposed instead of three.

Increased density, reduced amount of public parkland, no public plaza.

Lack of sky views.

Total of 1,655 units (representing a projected population increase of

Kathleen Wynne MPP Don Valley West

Wishing a

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Don Valley West!

Constituency Office 795 Eglinton Avenue East Unit 101, Toronto, ON M4G 4E4 416-425-6777 kathleenwynne.onmpp.ca

over 3,000 from this one application), up from 1,435 units – a 15.3% increase.

Issues of traffic, lack of space in local schools, shadowing of neighbourhood remain inadequately addressed.

What can we do about it?

• The RioCan at Laird application is supposed to be in line with the City’s Laird in Focus Plan. Laird in Focus is in the “Proposals” stage and will be coming back to City Council for final approval next year. There will be another round of public consultation this year. Please watch out for this and be there.

• The application will be coming to Council for approval in 2019.

Staff will write a report recommending either approval or refusal. Unless something happens between now and then to significantly change the application, we recommend that you tell the councillor to oppose this.

• The RioCan Laird application is already at the Ontario Municipal Board. The LPOA recently attended the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and requested to upgrade its status in the case to become a Party. This request, which was approved, means that the LPOA will be able to hire a lawyer and planner to assist it to make its case. But as you can imagine, this is very expensive.

Please help the LPOA to underwrite the costs of an appeal. ■

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Leaside Life • October 2018

From Page 10

Thank you from Isaac and family for the generosity of the Leaside Community in support of the Terry Fox Foundation. $1,300 was raised on Sunday, September 16th. Friends and neighbours dropped by the lemonade stand, left a donation in our mailbox and even stopped their cars to visit while our signs were being placed!

24 litres of homemade lemonade was served on a very warm and beautiful Sunday morning.

With Heartfelt Appreciation, Isaac and Family.

Mike McEwan Mike’s dad was a CNR engineer.

Because of his work the family moved to Leaside when Mike was about seven years old. He played hockey with the Leaside Hockey Association and baseball with the Leaside Baseball Association, excelling at both sports.

In hockey he played for the Toronto Marlboros for three years, winning the Memorial Cup in 1975. He was drafted by the New York Rangers, traded to the Colorado Rockies and then to the New York Islanders, while winning two consecutive Stanley Cups in 1981 and 1982. Mike also played for Los Angeles, Washington, Detroit and Hartford in a nomadic career.

He played over 700 games in the NHL and earned three Stanley Cups.

He moved on to play in Switzerland before finishing his career in Oklahoma City where he became head coach. Mike still resides in OKC and has been involved in children’s charitable programs for many years. Mike’s hockey jersey hangs at Leaside Memorial Gardens. ■

TRICK OR TREAT Calling all Ghosts and Goblins!

Stop by the church for a special treat on Halloween Night

October 31, 2018 St Augustine of Canterbury 1847 Bayview Ave. 6:00pm until 8:00pm

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Volunteers Urgently Needed To deliver Meals on Wheels to seniors in Leaside, Thorncliffe Park and East York.

Call 416-424-3322

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Leaside Life • October 2018

Your Old Home Movies On DVD

Leaside Life • October 2018

We know there’s an important municipal election coming up, but as I write this column there are still lots of questions still to be answered.

Here’s hoping that by the time you are reading it the situation may be clearer.

One thing, at least, IS certain: the LPOA’s all candidates’ meeting is going ahead on Tues., Oct. 2nd, in the William Lea Room, Leaside Memorial Gardens, at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.). The evening will feature our ward’s City Council candidates. The LPOA’s past president, Brian Athey, will be the moderator.

We had hoped to present John Tory and Jennifer Keesmaat as well, on mayoral issues, but they were unable to clear their schedules.

As with previous pre-election debates, questions will come from audience members, in writing, in order to avoid repetition. We’ll provide index cards – and pencils, as needed – to people as they enter the William Lea Room. We’ll continue to hand out new cards (and collect written ones, to give to Brian) throughout the Q&A session.

Carol Burtin Fripp Co-president, LPOA

The municipal level of government directly affects our day-to-day lives and the well-being (or not) of neighbourhoods. Our upcoming Oct. 2nd meeting will be an excellent opportunity for you to raise the many important municipal issues facing us: everything from local traffic problems and development pressures on infrastructure, to transit planning, community services, undesirable impacts of our property tax system, the future of Toronto and the future of Leaside – I could go on! Be there, raise your questions, and get answers!

For all your health and beauty needs, come and visit our TWO convenient locations.

Bayview & Fleming 1601 Bayview Ave. Toronto, ON M4G 3B5 416-489-1873 8am - 12am* Bayview & Broadway 1860 Bayview Ave. Toronto, ON M4G 0C3 416-482-9841 8am - 10pm* Excluding Holiday Hours

*

BRIAN MOK My staff and I are proud to serve our community!

Crossing guards You may have missed a short article about school crossing guards in the Toronto Star just after Labour Day. The current crossing guard program is run by the police, but next year they will hand over responsibility to the city’s Transportation Service Division, which will contract out the jobs to two different companies.

Although it is said that our familiar crossing guards will, in The Star’s words, “be given a shot” at being hired by whichever companies are chosen by the City, there clearly is no guarantee that the crossing guards we all know and love will be able to keep their jobs.

School crossing guards play an important daily role in our community, are part of our identity, and are so much more than mere “traffic stoppers” at school intersections.

Let’s stay alert to what’s happening here (and maybe raise the subject at the Oct. 2nd candidates’ debate)!

ab

Following hot on the heels of the candidates’ debate, the next monthly LPOA board meeting will be on Wed., Oct. 3rd at 7:30 p.m., in the Trace Manes building. These monthly meetings are always open to the public. We invite you to attend, whether for help on local matters, to share your opinion or give advice, or just to hear more about what is happening in our community. You can also contact us anytime via our website, lpoa.ca. ■

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38