world19News #164 |
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world19News This e-mail is going to people on the mailing list for world19. If you don't want to receive further notices, please reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject. Let us know if you prefer to receive this in "plain text" format. Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested. Past newsletters are posted at www.newsletters.world19.com In this issue:
1. Two public meetings April 26:
a) City meeting on Queensway & S.
Kingsway reconstruction
b) Gerard Kennedy's Community
Council: "Greening Ontario'
2. Toronto needs help: time for direct
action
3. Expose Liquor Application update
1. TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS: April 26
a) City meeting on Queensway & South
Kingsway Reconstruction plans
7:00 pm
Runnymede Collegiate Institute (Auditorium)
569 Jane St.
Ward 13 Councillor Bill Saundercook has sent
a public invitation for this meeting regarding reconstruction plans for
The Queensway, and options related to the South Kingsway interchange.
Transportation staff will present plans for this "major multi-phased
reconstruction project".
If you missed The Villager's story
about the plans and meeting, you can read it online here:
http://www.insidetoronto.ca/to/bloorw/story/2732627p-3163425c.html.
We have also had feedback from one of our
subscribers, active in the Swansea area who has strongly encouraged area
residents concerned about traffic issues to attend the meeting. With
major residential developments in South Swansea underway adding to
already problematic traffic. Our correspondent worries about the changes
(possibly including the closure of some of the existing S. Kingsway
ramps) forcing more traffic onto Windermere and Southport, and suggests
that traffic studies done on behalf of the developments generally only
reviewed access to the Gardiner, ignoring impacts on roads like the
South Kingsway and Park Lawn.
b) Gerard Kennedy's monthly
Community Council meeting:
The following notice is from Parkdale-High
Park MPP Gerard Kennedy's office:
"Greening Ontario: Protecting Our
Environment for the 21st Century and Beyond "
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Lucy McCormick School 2717 Dundas St. West (near Dupont and Annette) Parking available - enter via Annette St.
For more information, contact Gerard
Kennedy's Community Office at (416) 763-5630 or email at
gkennedy.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Unable to attend? Request your Queen’s Park
Report or give your input by phone or by e-mail.
AGENDA
1. 7:00 p.m. Welcome and Introductions 2. 7:05 p.m. Current Provincial Issues 3. 7:45 p.m. Protecting Our Environment 4. 8:00 p.m. Questions and Answers 5. 9:00 p.m. Meeting adjourned
2. TORONTO NEEDS HELP
We have many times over the years
published items regarding the political and financial plights facing
Toronto and other Canadian cities. world19 has met with our MP, MPP and
City Councillor on this issue, and in the last federal election
organized an All-Candidates meeting with a focus on urban issues. While
Toronto and the province are in the midst of negotiations over the new
City of Toronto Act (see
www.world19.com), it's clear to
most urban observers that federal involvement and support is crucial to
the liveability of cities. The upcoming federal election may be critical
in deciding the prospects for Canadian cities in the immediate future
-- and it also may offer an opportunity to lobby on this issue.
The following notice comes from one of
Canada's premier urban experts, former Toronto Mayor, John Sewell:
"Toronto is starved for money. The
federal government generates a tax surplus of about $10 billion a year
from Toronto, but that same federal government refuses to implement a
good affordable housing program for Toronto (or for other big cities);
it refuses to pay Toronto (and Ontario the same level of settlement
grants for immigrants as other places (we get about 40 per cent of the
settlement grants per capita that are available in Quebec); and on and
on.
The Members of Parliament elected in Toronto - 21 of the 22 MPs elected here are Liberal Party members - have not raised these issues effectively in Parliament in the past ten years. The Government of Canada seems to ignore our needs. With an election in the wind it may be time to discuss how we can get MPs and candidates to pay attention. City Council has not been effective in getting noticed at the federal level. Maybe its time for some direct city action. Former Toronto mayor John Sewell has called a meeting to discuss what we can do in the way of direct action. How can we get our MPs and candidates to stand up for Toronto? What can we do to make them notice that a large chunk of the tax money their policies are generating in our city is needed here? How can we create a Toronto agenda for the expected federal election? Please come to the public meeting: Monday May 2, 2005 7.30 - 9.00 pm Innis College Town Hall St. George and Sussex Street Together we can create an agenda, a strategy, and an organization that will help Toronto get back on its feet. John Sewell may be reached at j.sewell@on.aibn.com"
3. EXPOSE / 2109 BLOOR LIQUOR
APPLICATION UPDATE
Our last newsletter (#163/April 10 --
www.newsletters.world19.com) reported many
neighbourhood concerns about a liquor license application at this
location. (We hesitate to print another item about this business. The
same night our first newsletter item (#155 in October/04) was printed,
both front windows of the building were smashed in. Then the same
evening we printed the last report, the site was surrounded by fire
trucks and police cars. A neighbour reported the incident was a minor
fire, but we remain a bit worried about the effects of this newsletter
:-)....
The license hearing before the Alcohol &
Gaming Commission of Ontario was held on April 11. We received the
following report from a subscriber:
"There was a panel of three board members
hearing the application by Expose. The hearing took all day in the
course of which Councillor Saundercook appeared along with 28 residents
in opposition and one resident's lawyer. Expose was represented by a
lawyer and they brought along four people who supported the application
and a petition signed by 20 people compared to the opposing petition
which contained 227 signatures. In the course of the evidence it came
out that the new applicant was part of the group who operated the
Expose after April 2004 until late last year. [contrary to the
statement she made in a letter circulated to the neighbourhood. See
world19's newsletter above] A police officer also appeared from #11
Division and apparently gave evidence about the previous negative
history.
A resident who has been closely involved with
the issue is quite certain that the application will be refused or that
there will be so many conditions attached to any approval that if
approved it may give the new Expose a very short shelf life. Some of the
speakers against the application were very impressive.
The Board adjourned and will render its
decision in 4 to 6 weeks"
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