HMCS Regina

Happier days

President Xi was stamping his little feet, apparently, when the order went out for two Chinese fighter jets to buzz HMCS Regina as it operated in international waters in the East China Sea. The Chinese temper tantrum over the entirely legal detention of Huawei heir and CFO Meng Wanzhou took that turn Monday, a new twist on the outburst that has seen citizens detained and agricultural products banned. Canadian Global Affairs Institute fellow Matthew Fisher wrote in a column on the website of the think tank that the Su-30 fighters flew within 300 metres of the bow of the frigate HMCS Regina on Monday. Fisher, who was aboard the ship, said that although the display was more aggressive than previous encounters between the Canadian Navy and Chinese warplanes, it was not considered dangerous. China’s short memory has blotted out how Canadian wheat saved millions of lives there when Mao Tse Tung was busy destroying Chinese agriculture.

The East York Canada Day parade and the Leaside fireworks show will no doubt be the highlight of many local plans. Here is a list of events the City knows about. Enjoy.

From 6 to 10:30 p.m. on July 1, Mel Lastman Square will feature a School of Groove performance and dance workshop, DJ Dre Ngozi and singers Maylee Todd and Jully Black, and face-painting, food and market vendors and more. Fireworks will conclude the event at about 10:20 p.m.

Visitors to Thompson Memorial Park on July 1 will be treated to entertainment by Sonja Collymore, the Arsenals and Danny Fernandes, and there will be kids’ crafts and face-painting as well as opportunities for interactive performance. The community’s annual parade along Brimley Road is scheduled to start at 4 p.m., with fireworks at 10 a.m. in Milliken District Park (5555 Steeles Ave. E.).

More information about these Canada Day celebrations is available at http://www.toronto.ca/canadaday.

Canada Day fireworks at Ashbridges Bay Park and various neighbourhood-based celebrations, some of the larger ones described here, will also be held on July 1. Torontonians will also be able to take advantage of recreational opportunities such as swimming, tennis and golf offered by the City – as well as visiting the two historic sites noted below.

Toronto Historic Sites
Two of the City’s 10 historic sites – Fort York National Historic Site and Scarborough Museum – will offer activities and tours on Canada Day.

Fort York: The City encourages you to bring a picnic to Fort York National Historic Site to experience its free celebration of Canada Day on Monday. This celebration will feature the return of the Fort York Summer Guard, with its musket and cannon drills, as well as a program that includes music, tours, crafts, face-painting and cooking demonstrations. The location is 250 Ford York Blvd. and hours on Monday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Scarborough Museum: Visitors to Scarborough Museum on Monday will have the opportunity to explore the historic buildings, sample traditional foods and observe historic activations by the Inprint Collective, blacksmith David Brandow and Toronto Spinners and Weavers. The museum, located at 1007 Brimley Rd. (in Thompson Memorial Park), will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 1.

The remaining eight historic sites will be closed on holiday Monday, though all (except the Market Gallery, closed on Sunday) will be open Saturday and Sunday of the Canada Day weekend. Admission fees and activities vary by location. More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/museum-events.

July 1 fireworks at Ashbridges Bay
The City’s annual Canada Day fireworks display at Ashbridges Bay (1561 Lake Shore Blvd. E.) will begin at 10 p.m. on Monday, July 1. Residents planning to attend are encouraged to leave their vehicles at home and use public transit.

City of Toronto bylaws prohibit members of the public from setting off or selling fireworks in City parks.

East York’s Canada Day parade
East York’s annual Canada Day parade featuring marching bands will begin at Dieppe Park at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 1. The parade will move east along Cosburn Avenue to Woodbine Avenue and end at Stan Wadlow Park (888 Cosburn Ave.). The celebration will continue at the park all day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., including a fireworks display starting at 10 p.m.

West Toronto/Etobicoke
The annual Toronto Ribfest will be held at Centennial Park (256 Centennial Park Rd.) from Saturday, June 29 through Monday, July 1. Fireworks take place at 10 p.m. on Canada Day. More information is available at http://www.torontoribfest.com.

The annual Canada Day event at Amesbury Park (1507 Lawrence Ave. W.) will offer a full day of family entertainment, concluding with fireworks at 10 p.m.

Take back our roads?

Aviva Insurance, a British firm, has removed the bright yellow flags it had placed at busy intersections across Toronto after the City said the road safety campaign was unsanctioned and unproven. There were complaints from citizens, some of which can be seen on Leaside Community FB, that the flags were confrontational. Take back the roads from whom, was the question asked.  The company had installed the flags to allow pedestrians to be more visible to drivers while crossing the street and had planned to reveal the plan Thursday, but had not cleared the initiative with the City. Toronto PR man Brad Ross said the municipality supported efforts to help road safety in Toronto but permission was not sought before affixing flags to City-owned poles at crosswalk intersections.

SENSORS IN FLAGS?

A bucket holding the flags at the crosswalk had read “each one of these tech-enabled flags automatically tells City Council how this road could be safer.” But Aviva would not reveal ahead of the Thursday launch whether the flags contained sensors or data trackers. On Facebook one member said he found the flags unsuitable. “The slogan Take Back Our Roads is an antagonistic way to address the driver/pedestrian divide. It simply reinforces an us vs. them mentality placing pedestrians as the default victim and drivers as the default perpetrators.”

A man has succumbed to injuries from a stabbing in an apartment unit on Parkwoods Village Drive and Ginsburn Road at around 7:37 a.m. When police arrived on the scene, the man was located conscious but with trauma in a sixth-floor apartment.

A meeting of disgruntled Toronto Uber Black drivers has taken place at which these new members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) expressed the desire for a better deal from the ride-sharing giant. UFCW is the union that represents Loblaws employees. In total the union has some 1.3 million members in Canada and the US, so it is a formidable representative. For all its success, Uber has maintained a transparent charade that it is merely a technology company. No employees right? Let’s see what happens when the UFCW tries to get a contract.

Police are warning of what they believe to a coyote that attacked a boy on a bicycle near 43 Thorncliffe Park Drive on Wednesday.  He was bitten on his elbow and leg The animal was reported to be salivating, foaming at the mouth during the incident and as a precaution, the boy was vaccinated. Homeowners are asked to secure food and garbage. Toronto Public Health recommends that if a person is bitten or scratched by an animal, such as a coyote, they should: Animal bites or scratches can be reported to Toronto Public Health.

A forlorn complaint about the disappearance of Horne’s BBQ Sauce reveals that even six months after the local bottler, Select Foods of nearby Sunrise Avenue, cancelled the long-time staple, it is still getting complaints about the end of the product. Select took four calls before noon Wednesday asking where a shopper might find a bottle of Horne’s. The answer is nowhere.

Cooks grew up with Horne’s

Select Foods, you may recall, was part of the French’s (Canadian) Ketchup sensation two years ago after it was learned that Heinz had abandoned Leamington tomatoes. Then Loblaws took French’s ketchup off the shelf. The national outcry caused French’s to cleverly sign up Select Foods to make and bottle ketchup made with the Leamington beauties. But why would Select stop making a staple like Horne’s some 75 years after its creation? It appears that while popular, Horne’s could not compete for space in the North York facility against French’s. That plus a greater emphasis on wholesale distribution as opposed to retail deliveries seems to have forced the decision to cancel Horne’s. Many cooks recall it from their childhood.

Bayview Ave. at Soudan Ave. and Parkhurst Blvd.

Wilmar Kortleever posts this photo of an accident at Bayview Ave. and Soudan Ave. taken Wednesday. He correctly recalls that a strong resistance among residents to stoplights at this corner is an element in whether the corner is as safe as possible. Lights would certainly make the corner safer but might draw more traffic. However, the present mix of the crosswalk, cars trying to cross east to west and north and southbound traffic especially in the curb lane, seems a dangerous cocktail. East-west cars try to dart across with (or without) pedestrians. But these vehicles are often hit by north-south drivers who cannot see the whole intersection. Sometimes a pedestrian is hit. This phenomenon is aggravated by the crowding as traffic approaches Eglinton and by the off rush-hour single lane southbound. Let’s hope we’re not discussing a death anytime soon. FB

Residents are discussing shoplifting and related smash and grab activity at local stores Wednesday morning as one post reports that Shoppers Drug Mart on Bayview has hired a security guard (visible we presume) to tamp down the losses. Some recall seeing shoplifters at Loblaws (as does the Bulldog) fill bags with candies and then scurry off down the valley. Others may remember the shelf clearing attack last July at the Rexall Drugstore at 325 Moore. 

Councillor Robinson officiates at dedication of Edna Beange Lane (Twitter / @JayeRobinson)

East York icon honoured (Twitter / @Rob_Oliphant)

East off Bayview between Airdrie and McRae (Twitter / @Rob_Oliphant)

Councillor Jaye Robinson presided with other area friends at the dedication of Edna Beange Lane Tuesday afternoon. MP Rob Oliphant gave testament to his former colleague’s for keeping things today, writing on Instagram: “Wonderful to see my longtime friend and East York icon, Edna Beange, recognized for her years of service to our community, both as a City Councillor and an activist on issues such as housing, seniors and youth, with the name of Edna Beange Lane in the heart of Leaside. Thanks to the great work of Pat Barnett for working on this project. That lane better be kept clean and accessible; Edna is watching!” Edna Beange.

The former constituency office staffer who alleges she had an extramarital affair with Liberal MP Geng Tan and has a two-year-old baby girl is claiming she was fired from her job without cause and that the outgoing MP has so far not paid any child support. Ying (Stella) Yu, who is in her early 50s, claimed she had been in a “personal relationship” with Mr. Tan, 56, since 2013, but the relationship ended in 2018. She said she sent two letters to the MP through her lawyers in May 2017 and February 2018, demanding to know why she was allegedly fired without cause and to ask for child support for her baby girl who, she said, she had with Mr. Tan. Ms. Yu said she never received any response until last week from Mr. Tan to the two letters. Through a mutual friend, Mr. Tan had allegedly agreed to meet with Ms. Yu on Saturday, June 15, to come up with an agreement about child support payment, but the MP cancelled the meeting saying he was busy campaigning, according to Ms. Yu — The Hill Times

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