The funeral of four-year-old Ramy Suleman will be held today. Ramy fell 15 floors from the bedroom window of an apartment at 71 Thorncliffe Park Drive. He will be laid to rest after mid-day prayers at the Salaheddin Islamic Centre, near Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue East in Scarborough. The public service will begin at about 1:30 p.m., followed by a burial.
Writer Fannie Sunshine profiles two Sunnybrook Research Institute doctors in light of their Order of Canada appointments earlier this summer. They are Dr. Sandra Black and Dr. Martin Yaffe. Fannie Sunshine
Sources who claim to know have told U.S. Automotive News that GM plans to add a new Chevy crossover above the compact Equinox and below the full-size Traverse. The plan requires the popular Equinox to get a little smaller in 2017. The move is said by automotive wonks to follow the trend of mainstream brands of finding inventive ways to fit more flavors of crossovers into their showrooms. The coming Chevy model will be inserted in the middle of the lineup, as a grande plus. And it will require GM to make some adjustments. Step one will be to downsize the Equinox. It will shrink a bit when the next generation appears, shifting to the same global compact platform that will underpin the redesigned Chevy Cruze and Opel Astra cars, due out early next year. That creates more room for the new three-row crossover to slide in between the Equinox and the Traverse, which also is scheduled for a redesign, in mid-2017. The new vehicle will be a short-wheelbase version of the Traverse, the sources say.
Geoff Kettel and Sabina Ali of the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee will be the guides for the neighborhood walk named Thorncliffe Park: Canada’s Arrival city. It is scheduled for next Saturday, July 25, 2015 from 1.30 to 3 pm. It will start outside the Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre (Thorncliffe Park Library) at 48 Thorncliffe Park Drive. Organizers note that the tour is entirely on flat pavement. Thorncliffe Park began in the 1950s and welcomed people from all over the world. Journalist Doug Saunders named it Canada’s “Arrival City”. Outsiders can discover the history and current vibe of Thorncliffe Park, from the era of Aboriginal farmers through European settlers and post-war development to the present day Tower Neighbourhood renewal.
The thorny question question of whether Canadians living permanently abroad have the right to vote has been settled at least for the time being. The Ontario Court of Appeal, the highest in the province, has decided that an absence of five years from the country disqualifies Canadian citizens from voting. In fact, the court requires Canadians to be permanent residents to vote. The long-standing issue originates in Canada’s aggressive immigration policy and the decision of some new Canadians to immediately leave the Canada with no plan to return. The issue has arisen more than once in recent years when Lebanese-Canadians, some 40,000 of whom live in the middle east, demanded the government fly them home when unrest occurred. This demand caused resentment. The court’s decision was a 2-1 split but the majority found that it was unfair to those who live in Canada to permit those who don’t to make decisions about Canadian laws. Canada’s “social contract” entails citizens submitting to laws because they had a voice in making them through voting, the ruling states. “Permitting all non-resident citizens to vote would allow them to participate in making laws that affect Canadian residents on a daily basis but have little to no practical consequence for their own daily lives,” Justice George Strathy wrote for the majority court. “This would erode the social contract and undermine the legitimacy of the laws.” The case was brought by two Canadian citizens living in the United States — Montreal-born Jamie Duong and Toronto-born Gillian Frank. They argued they had only left for educational and employment opportunities and still had strong attachments to Canada and a stake in its future. Their status and background sets up the contrast between career-driven expats and those who leave Canada to “go home” in effect. Theirs it seems is an attachment to a different culture. A few Canadians leave the country to live in tax havens Colin Perkel, Canadian Press
Three medal winners on the trampoline on CBC. They are Rosie MacLennan is from King City, Karen Cockburn of Stouffvile and Keegan Soehn of Red Deer, Alberta.
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He is identified as William Richard Turner, 47. Mr. Turner is accused of knocking off bank branches all over Toronto for the best part of a year. He was arrested in Sydney, Nova Scotia on July 14, 2015. Previous story with photo
Starting today (Monday, July 20, 2015) Canadian families with children under 18 can expect a hefty cheque to arrive in their mailboxes or bank accounts. This comes by way of the government’s Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB). There is much politics about it as the country heads toward a general election. A short ad precedes the content but the discussion by BNN is informative. .
They are making funeral arrangements today (Monday, July 20, 2015) for the boy who fell from the 15th floor window at 71 Thorncliffe Park Drive on Saturday. The death is both a terrible family tragedy and a worrisome reminder of window safety in such high-rise buildings. The child was visiting the apartment and was playing with other kids in a bedroom while parents were in the living room. It is unclear whether a lock which should have been in place preventing the opening of the window had been altered. Hot weather is always an issue there because few units seems to have air conditioning. Abbas Kolia, the president of the building’s tenant’s association, said that safety locks had been installed on all windows two years ago however he said some residents may have removed the locks to install air conditioning units. Mr. Kolia said that going forward, every unit will be inspected to make sure the locks are in place.
Winds caught balloon handlers by surprise at the Waterford Balloon Festival Sunday when gusts took control of several balloons. One of them somehow became entangled with a car and dragged it into a tent. There were plenty of scrapes but no serious injuries. A witness said it happened while balloons were being deflated after the display was canceled.
Two people were rescued off the Scarborough Bluffs Sunday afternoon during treacherous weather. High wind, rain and hail crashed in on the Scarborough Golf Club area and southern Scarborough shortly after 4.30 p.m. It was all over by about five but many trees were down. Residents had hail to gather up and record. These photos are from CP24 and City News. The rescue was described as a perilous high-angle type which seems to suggest the rescued parties were hoisted at a great than 90 degree angle with the beach below.
