6/28/2019 1 Comment Premier Doug Ford minister Kinga Surma's father working as Queen's Park political aide, sources sayIts all in the family at Queens Park.
As Premier Doug Ford copes with a nepotism scandal that cost him his trusted chief of staff, Dean French, it has emerged the father of newly minted Associate Transportation Minister Kinga Surma is working as a political aide. Two senior Progressive Conservative insiders confirmed to the Star what was first reported by iPolitics on Wednesday night. Miroslaw Surma, who did not return messages Thursday, serves as a policy adviser to Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli. His daughter, Kinga, is the Tory MPP from Etobicoke Centre. She was elevated to cabinet in last Thursdays major cabinet shuffle. A second high-ranking official confirmed that Surma, who previously worked at several Ottawa businesses, joined the Ontario government shortly after the Conservatives were sworn in a year ago Saturday. He is the first guy in the office and the last to leave. Hes got real-life lived experience in business and his perspective on small business is said a third senior government insider. Surma, who volunteered on Fords PC leadership campaign last year, has served under former ministers Jim Wilson and Todd Smith during his tenure at Queens Park. A Conservative source said staff in the premiers office were upset about the decision to hire him. Kinga Surma, a long-time Ford friend and member of the premiers inner circle, did not return messages Thursday. A senior Conservative source told the Star that French was heavily involved in all ministerial staffing decisions after the government took office, but could not say if he had a hand in Surmas hiring. A spokesperson in Fords office emphasized that every staff member in the government is hired based on merit. If they do not perform to the standards expected they are removed from their positions. We will not comment further on internal staffing matters, Kayla Iafelice, the premiers director of media relations, said Thursday. Last November, the first-term MPP spoke in the legislature about the sacrifices her parents made for her, fleeing communist Poland when she was 4 years old. It was a number of years before members of my family could return home, she said. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my mom and dad, Margaret and Miroslaw Surma, for never budging and always encouraging me to do my Polish assignments on Friday, driving me to my lessons and making that sacrifice for so many years. At a news conference on the governments digital strategy Thursday, Government and Consumer Services Minister Lisa Thompson faced questions from reporters on the mounting cronyism problems. Going forward well be reviewing everyone to make sure that they received their appointment based on their merits and their expertise, Thompson said at the Royal Ontario Museum, adding she has no relatives working directly for the Ford government. Im disappointed, as is the premier, in what has happened, she said. Asked for a second time about Surmas father, she tried to steer questions to the digital strategy. But the fact of the matter is we need to be better, and we will be united as a team in terms of making sure that anyone that works for government or is appointed to a committee or a board will have the expertise and they will have done so on their own merits. Thompson evaded questions on whether the review of pending government appointments should be carried out by an independent body. During last years election campaign, it was disclosed that Ford was secretly taped assuring Tim Hortons patrons that they would not have to pay for PC memberships, a breach of party rules, while he was soliciting support for Surma during a 2016 nomination battle. While he denied the bogus membership allegations, saying he had never purchased $10 PC memberships for any candidate, he did not dispute the authenticity of the audio recording. Also Thursday, Democracy Watch, an Ottawa-based government watchdog, has written a 10-page letter to Ontarios integrity commissioner, J. David Wake, outlining concerns with the patronage imbroglio. I am writing requesting an investigation and public ruling on the actions of Premier Fords former chief of staff Dean French giving preferential treatment to family members and friends by helping ensure they received government appointments, wrote Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch. I am also requesting an investigation and public ruling on the actions of Premier Ford concerning ensuring Mr. French complied with provincial ethics rules, and possibly also violating the Members Integrity Act if he was involved in the selection of the appointees, continued Conacher. French, a Ford friend of some 25 years, resigned as the premiers chief of staff last Friday night after it was revealed he had awarded six-figure government jobs to his sons friend, Tyler Albrecht, and his wifes cousin, Taylor Shields. Albrecht would have earned $164,910 a year as Ontarios agent general in New York and Shields was to have made $185,000 as the trade representative in London, England. Two other appointees remain: ex-PC party president Jag Badwal, a realtor, is being dispatched to Dallas, Texas; Earl Provost, a one-time Ontario Liberal party executive director and former chief of staff to the late mayor Rob Ford, is headed to Chicago. Each will earn $164,910 plus expenses. Read more: Doug Ford pressed to expand review of appointments On Tuesday, Frenchs niece resigned as a provincial appointee on the Public Accountants Council. Katherine Pal had been named to the council on Dec. 31 and earned $700 per meeting with four being held annually. The council is headed by lawyer Gavin Tighe, who acts for both French and Ford. Tighe, who earns $166,000 as chair of the industry-funded panel, told Newstalk 1010s Moore In The Morning on Wednesday that Pal was a remarkably qualified individual. New Democrat Marit Stiles wrote to Ford Thursday, again asking that the government allow the standing committee on government agencies to probe all past and present appointees given the ongoing controversy so that the assembly itself has the power to retroactively review all appointments that have been made since the beginning of your term and the appointments process itself. She said while we understand that your government has pledged to do its own internal evaluation, I am sure you can appreciate the lack of confidence that the public has with a closed door review initiated and carried out by the very same office at the root of the concerns now before us. Your recent actions suggest you are aware of the disturbing trends and common threads found in many of the appointments. Robert Benzie is the Stars Queens Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie
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They staff the go-to neighbourhood bistros, race to the scene when theres a serious collision and they assist the citys most vulnerable residents.
Increasingly though, the workers who make Toronto a great place to live cant afford to live here, themselves. Although it is a pervasive challenge, the Toronto Region Board of Trade mapped the affordable housing options of five job classes paramedics, social services staff, construction formworkers, kitchen and grocery retail workers. The maps illustrate how limited the citys housing choices are. To stay within the recommended 30 to 40 per cent of household income for shelter, most would need to live far from the core. Only the highest earners among them the paramedics and builders could afford a condo. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Median annual salary: $91,256 ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW After tax income: $67,208 Monthly after-tax income: $5,601 Housing costs at 30 per cent of income: $1,680 Housing costs at 50 per cent of income: $2,800 Three years ago, Goran Mevic, 34, left his job as a full-time advanced care paramedic and acting superintendent in Ottawa, earning about $109,000, to live in Toronto with his girlfriend and be closer to family in Waterloo, Ont. But under the Toronto paramedic system, he works only part-time in a primary care position. As soon as I got here the whole idea of settling down and buying a place thats kind of changed, he said. Mevic lived alone in the capital, never paying more than $1,300 a month in rent for a two-bedroom place in the popular Glebe neighbourhood, a charming residential district adjacent to the Rideau Canal that is a short walk from the lively pubs and restaurants in Ottawas downtown. In that sense, it is similar to the fashionable Trinity Bellwoods area where Mevic lives now near Queen St. W. He and his girlfriend pay $1,200 a month combined to live in a house they share with three roommates. To be in your 30s and having roommates is kind of rough but its the reality of living in the city, he said. Being a shift worker does make it a little bit better because on my days off I have the house to myself. More shocking than Toronto housing prices is the rate at which they climb, he said. Im just constantly wondering whos living in Toronto, whos buying here? There cant be this many millionaires and all of them being in Toronto. Thats the shock, the housing prices are this high and still being sold, Mevic said. He and his partner, a teacher, would like to get their own place. Mevic figures they could afford to spend up to $800,000 if they were willing to be house poor. But even that wont buy them much in downtown Toronto, where they want to be. So he figures they will continue to rent in the city but buy an investment property somewhere else. Mevic earned only about $76,000 last year due to an injury, but the median wage for a paramedic here is about $91,000. Some of his fellow paramedics, those with full-time jobs, got into the housing market early enough to buy condos. But those are mostly in suburbs, he said. Nobody I know is living in downtown Toronto, Mevic said. New part-timers rent, usually with roommates or partners. I dont even think its an option for them to buy, he said. Those who do live on their own are further and further out of the city, Mevic said. There are people who commute from Barrie. I dont understand how you work full-time hours and commute from Barrie. Social and community service worker Median annual salary: $50,932 After tax income: $39,585 Monthly after-tax income: $3,298 Housing costs at 30 per cent of income: $990 Housing costs at 50 per cent of income: $1,649 Social worker Carol Lee, 45, shares her house with a roommate. She also shares her bedroom with her 6-year-old daughter. Lees son, 9, bunks with her roommates son on alternate weeks. A community development worker with Dixon Hall, Lee sees Torontos housing crisis from two angles. She works with rooming house tenants assessing their needs and connecting them with community resources and, as a sole-support parent, she struggles to afford adequate housing for her own family. She still regrets a 2016 decision to leave a $1,300-a-month two-bedroom apartment. It was supposed to be a money-saving move. A friend approached her about splitting the $2,200 rent for a three-bedroom place, the savings looked too good to pass up. Internet, heating, everything was all included, Lee said. It was great until they were evicted because the landlord said he wanted to move in. Instead, he sold the place. The only rental they could find in Lees childrens school district was a three-bedroom house for $3,000 a month plus utilities in the east end. Lee figures her rent and associated expenses are up about $600 a month compared to two years ago. The loss of her previous job means she is also making less money. I dont know how Im going to afford it moving forward, she said. Lee makes about $47,000. The median pay for social services work in Toronto is $50,932. She says she is frugal and has been relying on severance from her old job and the use of her parents car. Even though she checks in with Toronto Community Housing Corp. (TCHC) about once a year, she doesnt hold out much hope of ever getting in. She has been on the wait list since 2008. Theres been no real affordable housing built. Theyre looking at shelters which are Band-Aid approaches, Lee said. The citys housing challenges are compounded by contract work, inadequate child care and education, she said. Working people like her are occupying the low end of the Toronto housing market, leaving fewer options for more economically and socially disadvantaged residents. I know other housing workers, they cant find any housing for clients who are on assistance, Lee said. I dont know what people are doing ... I feel like theres lip-service and no political will. I think we need a more humane way to do things. Construction formworker Median annual salary: $80,000 After tax income: $59,580 Monthly after-tax income: $4,965 Housing costs at 30 per cent of income: $1,490 Housing costs at 50 per cent of income: $2,483 Brian Torres isnt complaining. The construction sector is booming. He has been promoted and hasnt been subject to the building industrys usual months of winter layoffs. The 29-year-old figures he grosses about $100,000 annually more than the average wage of a formworker, whose job is to build the forms for concrete. Even so, Torres cannot wrap his mind around housing prices, which have far surpassed income growth. Ten years ago you could buy a nice house in Toronto for $400,000. Now you need $1 million, which is hard to understand, he said. He and his partner, Natalie, began saving every penny toward a house after their son Leandro, 4, was born, living with family to accumulate a down payment. But when Toronto real estate prices soared, they settled for a pre-construction condo for about $560,000. Initially it felt smaller than Torres had expected but, he says, they have adjusted. Theyve been in the two-bedroom apartment near Park Lawn Rd. and Lake Shore Blvd. W. for about a year and are awaiting the arrival of another baby in October. Thats opened up the subject of house hunting again. Its a comfortable spot. Youve got 900 square feet of living space ... until the next (child) starts running around. Then well have issues, he said. Torres blames GTA housing costs for a generational struggle. If you havent bought anything yet, youre kind of screwed. Obviously people have parents who are able to help financially, which is a bonus. But if your parents cannot... His own place would cost more than $2,000 a month to rent, he said. I cant grasp that, he said. But people have to live somewhere. Thats the reality. You pay or you dont have a roof. Sous-chef Median annual salary: $38,000 After tax income: $30,590 Monthly after-tax income: $2,550 Housing costs at 30 per cent of income: $765 Housing costs at 50 per cent of income: $1,275 Torontos kitchens buzz with talk of the citys housing challenges, says sous chef Scott Birss, who has been cooking for about 12 years, the last two for the Art Gallery of Ontarios events catering division The younger cooks are always looking for housing solutions. Shared accommodation is fairly common. It always has been, I suppose. But the prospect of having to find an apartment is one of the least desirable positions for a young person to be in right now. The thought of trying to find a place quite frankly scares the hell out of them, Birss, 47, said. Even though he earns more than his younger colleagues about $60,000 annually, nearly twice the industrys $38,000 average he knows their pain. He has been through it himself recently. Finding a home is just challenging. The idea of finding a home for a family thats livable, affordable and, at the end of the day, somewhere you want to live and raise a family. We were very lucky to find a place, he said. Birss and his wife were paying about $1,600 a month to live in a Bloor Village West lowrise that was showing its considerable age. With their son starting school, the couple decided to roll some of their daycare savings into a new apartment. They spent two or three frustrating months answering ads and searching listings. By the time we would get to the apartment to view it, they would have rented it already. The demand is so high I cant really blame landlords for doing that. I would probably do the same, Birss said. He was walking his son to daycare one day when he got lucky with a walk-in inquiry at an older highrise undergoing a condo-style renovation. The two-bedroom unit they eventually rented for $2,300 a month about half his salary has new appliances, new floors, new bathroom fixtures, a redone kitchen and a swimming pool. At least in terms of our comfort level and our way of life, were quite happy now in spite of the price, he said. Birss says they have come to terms with the fact that home ownership, something that was a given when he was growing up in Durham Region, likely isnt in the cards. It was almost seen as something we were entitled to. Our friends, our friends parents, regardless of what they were doing professionally, everyone was walking the same path toward home ownership, he said. Were choosing to look at it positively. Instead of putting money into home equity we are putting money into retirement funds as best we can, he said. Birss remembers seeing a small two-bedroom detached house selling for about $450,000 in their favoured Bloor West Village neighbourhood. He cant even imagine what that house would be worth now: In the millions Im sure. Thats not so long ago. Retail grocery worker (about assistant manager level) Median annual salary: $43,005 After tax income: $34,293 Monthly after-tax income: $2,857 Housing costs at 30 per cent of income: $857 Housing costs at 50 per cent of income: $1,429 When Deb Henry dropped in on her mom one day, three-and-a-half years ago, and found the fridge empty, it became vividly apparent that the senior was struggling to pay the $900 rent on a one-bedroom apartment. She didnt even have a condiment. I didnt realize that because my mother always came to my house, said Henry, a produce clerk at Metro, where she has worked for 15 years. Meantime, Henrys daughter, a part-time grocery worker, and her son-in-law, a seasonal worker, who have three children ages 12 to 16, were also struggling to pay their $1,250 rent. Henry and her husband, who works at a fish and chips shop on Danforth Ave., werent happy with their own $1,050 two-bedroom apartment. So the eight family members joined forces in a five-bedroom bungalow in Scarborough where they pay $2,500 plus utilities. Henry says her mother, 83, is now eating properly and looks fabulous. As crazy as it all is, I do absolutely love it but it was out of necessity because we just couldnt survive any more, Henry said. The clan recently had a scare when their landlord announced she was moving into the house. A similar home in Scarborough would cost at least $3,500 plus utilities, Henry said. If they separated, she said her daughter would have been looking at nearly $2,000 for a three-bedroom apartment. We were looking for a house and it was starting to make me sick looking at the prices, Henry said. We pay a lot here too but we have a great location (near Warden Ave. and Ellesmere Rd.), we love it here, its good for my mom and everybody can pretty well get to work decently, she said. Fortunately, the landlord changed her mind and Henrys family is staying put for now. Our situations pretty good but sometimes its tough to do anything outside paying our bills, and our food bill is so big because there are so many of us. Were surviving, just barely. I was worried about where we were going to live if we had to move, she said. Henry says shes among the fortunate retail workers with a full-time unionized job that pays about $19 an hour with benefits and a pension, which her husbands employer doesnt provide. She says she takes home about $35,000 annually after taxes and other deductions, about average for someone in an assistant managers job. Retail work tends to be part-time but its not necessarily relegated to students, Henry said. Often, its people trying to feed their families. Even full-time staff often have a part-time side job. Many people have two or three part-time jobs and are still not making it, Henry said. Sources: Wage data based on Statistics Canada as displayed on the Ontario Labour Market Job Profiles; After tax income was calculated on the Simple Tax Calculator. Tess Kalinowski is a Toronto-based reporter covering real estate. Follow her on Twitter: @tesskalinowski 6/26/2019 0 Comments 'It was hard to breathe the next day': An 11-year-old's homicide stirs memories of trauma in Rankin Inlet's Inuit communityRANKIN INLET, NUNAVUT Almost everyone here remembers OJs laugh. The 11-year-old was a jokester at home and school.
I demanded he call me uncle, but he never would. He was a little bugger that way, his uncle Louis Taparti said last year, laughing from his living room couch. The sounds of passing all-terrain vehicles and kids on bikes filtered through the window with the summer sun. I hated when he called me Louis. Ray Taparti, OJs father for whom Ray Okpik Jr. (a.k.a. OJ) was named, lived on the other side of a wall he shared with Louis, in a semi-detached house that OJ lived in until his death. He was a happy boy ... I just miss his big smile. His laughter, Ray said from his kitchen, staring off, his face lined with deep folds. Louis and Ray have lost other family members prematurely: one brother froze to death in the middle of this town of about 3,000. Another brother ended his own life. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Tragedies like the Taparti family have experienced are not uncommon in Rankin Inlet or Nunavut. But the killing of OJ shocked the community. At school, OJ was sharp and witty and had lots of energy. He would often run around the gym in his Air Jordans. Some days, OJ didnt get enough sleep or food. At school, he would have a nap in the cosy Corner and a snack. And then he was back to himself. He liked to tease Nelson Kablalik, a teaching assistant who was slightly hard of hearing. OJ would sidle up beside Nelson and whisper, tiktik, earwax in Inuktitut. OJ and his friends would laugh. Nelson looked out for OJ, afraid the kid was slipping between the cracks. It was hard to breathe the next day, Nelson said a year after OJs mangled body was found on July 7, 2017. For many here in Rankin Inlet, traumatic events began piling up with the Canadian governments colonial efforts in the mid 1900s. Authorities scooped children from their families and placed them in residential and day schools during a campaign of cultural deprivation. Government health officials tore families apart by sending some far away for mandatory health treatment. Some never returned and lie in graves unknown to their families. And with colonization began the waves of sexual abuse, substance abuse and violence trends that remain high today. OJs murder was the latest in an onslaught of traumatic events that overwhelm the heart and mind. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW But despite the burden, people also find measures of closure, healing and forgiveness. Many draw strength from their culture, family, community and the land around them. The Star spoke to more than 30 locals about OJs death. Many remembered a kid with a big personality and endless energy. But many also told their own traumatic stories, as though triggered by OJs death. Neighbours in this tight-knit community grapple with how other young people may have been responsible for OJs violent end. OJs family doesnt know where or when, exactly, he died. But they do know where his lifeless body was found: in the middle of a garage junkyard, hidden in a row of truck trailers. If you face the front of M & T garage, about 12 metres to the right sit three parallel rows of truck trailers, backhoes and cube trucks. The rows, which stretch to the shore of the inlet, create dimmed alleys. Backhoe tires, spare parts and other debris sit atop the trailers and spill from the cube trucks. OJ was found in a trailer in the middle row. This trailer has been removed. The spot sits empty, like a gaping hole in a row of teeth. OJ was about to enter Grade 6 at Simon Alaittuq Elementary School, where slogans hang from oversized Inuit drums strung from rafters. Weve Only Just Begun, one says. What Dreams May Come, says another. OJ had been missing for about five days before a community-wide search-and-rescue effort was called. Two young men discovered OJs body just hours into the search. They came back asking for help, screaming, yelling, crying they were really terrified [of] what they had discovered, said Wesley Inukshuk, manager of the search-and-rescue team. The story around town is that the two young men saw a light shoot in the air when they were on top of a hill by the gas station. The light came from across Johnston Cove, near the garage. They followed the light and found OJs corpse, wrapped in plastic, hidden beneath junk. They couldnt identify OJ by his features, like he was tortured, a local shop-owner overheard police say. Police finally arrested two suspects last October one young man and one youth. At the time of the arrests, the RCMP said it was one of the biggest investigations in Nunavuts history, involving more than 100 officers, 15 agencies or departments and 75 interviews. The RCMP provided little information or updates to the community, family and friends of OJ said. When asked how and when police kept the community informed, the RCMP said it does not release information on a criminal investigation until it becomes a matter of public record or is in the public interest. The Star visited Rankin Inlet before and after the arrests. Did he get raped? Did he get stabbed? Lena Siutinuar, OJs mom asked repeatedly just months before the arrests. Lena has never been allowed to see her sons body. OJs parents, who split up before OJs death, said the lack of communication from police was like an open wound and made them feel hopeless. Louis Taparti said rumours put the entire community on edge while parents worried for the safety of their kids. It makes you look at people that you trust most of your life and you look at them and wonder, is that the person? Is that the person? Is that the person? It just makes you think that everybodys a suspect until they find the person who did it, or the persons responsible, he said. Now, the family awaits criminal court proceedings to find out about OJs final moments and days. I just came here to love you, mom, and hug you, OJ told his mom the last time she saw him. In summer months along Rankin Inlets rocky coastline on the western shore of Hudson Bay, sunlight sparkles on water as far as the eye can see. Chatter over the local CB radio talks of wildlife sightings and travel to neighbouring but also far-flung communities. On the tundra side, low-lying ridges frame a vista of winding rivers and small lakes. Cabins and tents line many of the waterways, where thousands of caribou pass every year on their migration across the barrenlands. OJ would sometimes go fishing with friends out here. Louis and Ray used to hunt out here. Nuna means land in Inuktitut, but also includes the sea, ice, animals and even souls and memories of those who lived before. Its the Nuna that many Inuit live for to hunt, fish and sustain themselves, and to connect with the supernatural and the spirits of their ancestors. In town, the strength of Inuit culture is obvious. Most of the mainly Inuit residents speak Inuktitut. Some southern Canadians may question how anyone could live this far north of the treeline. But for many Inuit, the Nuna easily answers those questions. So do the sprawling family connections that go far beyond the nuclear family, and include adoptions and naming babies for recently deceased relatives, regardless of gender. Anaanatsiaq (grandmothers) and anaana (mothers) sew with traditional and modern materials. During the school year, almost every student wears a homemade one-of-a-kind parka trimmed with fur. The dirt streets are lined with mostly single-storey houses. There are no sidewalks. Snowmobile and ATV parts lie scattered in grassless yards. Its not uncommon to find caribou antlers or animal bones picked bare by dogs and ravens and bleached white by the sun. Kids hang out at places like the Red Top or the Northern, stores where they can buy junk food. Some youth smoke in small huddled groups by the entrances. OJ would frequent the local playgrounds, a soccer pitch and baseball diamond during summer months. The diamond is a stones throw from M & Ts junkyard. The town was created in 1957 with the opening of a nickel mine. The federal governments efforts to lure Inuit away from their nomadic lifestyle and into permanent communities had begun to ramp up earlier that decade. The government promised education, jobs, health care and other services that failed to materialize. The widespread killing of sled dogs by colonial officials early in Rankin Inlets history robbed hunters of their transportation. The crumbling remnants of the nickel mine, now covered in graffiti, sit atop a small hill up the street from the M & T garage. The mine closed in 1963, but new mining activity outside of town has spurred the economy. Arts and crafts, like sewing, beading and pottery, have a long, celebrated history. Sports clubs flourish, hockey especially. Jordin Tootoo, the first Inuk hockey player to make the NHL, is a hometown hero. But many parents worry theres not enough for kids and youth to do, leading to substance abuse and trouble early in life. In his autobiography, Tootoo told of the alcoholism and violence that ran in his family and community. Up in Rankin, you drink until the last drops gone, and then you find someone else with booze. You figure out the consequences later, Tootoo wrote. Rankin Inlet is a semidry community with an active black market for hard liquor and various drugs. RCMP frequently seize 40-ounce hard-liquor bottles and illicit drugs. When the criminal circuit court comes to town, the docket is bloated with alcohol-fuelled offences. Between 1999 and 2017, the Violent Crime Severity Index, which shows the relative seriousness of individual offences, was nearly five times higher in Nunavut than the national average, according to Statistics Canada. The homicide rate in that same time period was almost seven times higher. Thats in line with the homicide rate of other Indigenous populations in Canada, who make up nearly one-quarter of all homicide victims yet only account for roughly five per cent of the national population. Suicide rates have been about seven times higher than the national average for years. Rates of reported sexual abuse are nine times higher than the national average, according to federal data from 2009 to 2014. One Rankin Inlet citizen remembered an autumn when five suicides left the community breathless. You just get your breath and somebody would punch you in the gut again. And you know everybody, you feel for their family, Mike Shouldice, a town councillor and longtime resident, said. High rates of crime, abuse and death are often found in communities affected by what academics call structural inequality. Canadas opportunities and public resources are not equally distributed to all groups. Some groups face barriers to housing, jobs, food, justice, education and health care. Racially skewed carding in Toronto is an example of a structural inequality. In Nunavut, 40 per cent of the population lives in overcrowded homes. The territory has no university and its high school graduation rate in the last school year was 41.2 per cent. Unemployment among Inuit is far higher than the national average. Food insecurity affects seven out of 10 homes. And the lack of health-care services forced the Nunavut government to pay for 32,000 round trip flights for its 40,000 residents to receive services in southern Canada in 2016-17. These barriers mean that victims of violence often do not get the support they need, said Tanya Sharpe, a professor at the University of Toronto. That untreated pain can lead to more violence because of this idea that hurt people hurt people, she said. Sharpe has spent three decades working on trauma support programs for families who have experienced a homicide. Although she is new to Canada and has spent most of her career working with African-American communities in the U.S., many of her observations would be familiar to Indigenous groups in Canada. According to Sharpes research, African Americans in the U.S. experience on average at least 2.5 homicides of loved ones in their life times. You begin to see individuals not even being able to breathe. They cant catch their breath because next week or the week after theres someone thats been murdered, she said of communities disproportionately impacted by homicide rates. A few months after OJs body was discovered, Lena said one of his best friends was heard talking and playing with OJ. I believe in spirits, Lena said. Almost everyone in Rankin Inlet who spoke to the Star told stories of experiencing or witnessing traumatic events. When that happens, a part of us wants to avoid or forget the horrible event. But another part refuses to forget. That tension can lead to a traumatic stress disorder, like PTSD, where those affected can be torn between reliving the trauma and, in extreme cases, amnesia. PTSD is understood to affect consciousness through four categories of symptoms: re-experiencing the event through nightmares or flashbacks; feeling jumpy, irritable or sleepless; emotional and cognitive symptoms, like depression; and avoidance. PTSD is a normal reaction to abnormal events, said Allison Crawford, a psychiatrist at the University of Toronto who has had a practice in the Baffin region of Nunavut for more than 10 years. Its the way wed all respond if we were exposed to so many difficult and scary and overwhelming and horrifying things. The symptoms of PTSD can overwhelm an individuals life. While struggling with short-term memory, focus and regulating emotions, holding down a steady job can seem impossible. So too can having meaningful relationships. Or feeling joy. Any of these symptoms, especially avoidance, can lead to further, compounding symptoms, such as substance misuse. Before the arrests and in the absence of regular updates from the police, OJs family saw no end to their pain and trauma. Like a lost person out on the land whos never been found again, theres no closure, no way to say goodbye properly, OJs uncle Louis said last summer. Rays grief, Louis said, compounded by the day, his anger shattering some of Louis living-room furniture. Like my brother says, [OJ is] not going to smile again, hes not going to breathe, hes not going to have another birthday, hes not going to graduate school, hes not going to start a family while this other person is still out there. Rumours rotted the communitys morale. Close friends of mine are even being accused. Its rabid speculation. Nobody feels safe, said Louis. For some, OJs death triggered memories of their own trauma. Like John and Lucy Manilak, who live a short bike ride away in OJs old neighbourhood, called Area 6. The Manilaks son, David, was killed five years ago when he was 30. The police ruled it a homicide, but no charges have been laid. The Manilaks said they believe the police have stopped investigating. The RCMP did not respond to a request for an update on the investigation. It would ease our pain ... if we finally knew whats going on. That would be a big relief instead of thinking, I wonder what happened? Lucy said from her living room couch, a double mattress on the floor in front. On the wall above her head hung family pictures, including one of Davids high school graduation, a crucifix and a decal that says God Bless This Home. Seven people live in this two-bedroom home. Both Lucy and John related their own stories of trauma from before Davids death: physical abuse, sexual abuse, tuberculosis quarantine in the south and suicides. Johns mother Veronica is an elder and artist whose wall-hangings are found throughout government offices in Nunavut. She made a parka and quilt for Queen Elizabeth in the 1970s. I cant forgive who [killed David.] Its in me and I wont let it go, said Veronica, who also told of a brother lost to suicide. The Manilaks said their church community helped them grieve and heal. And when another family went through something similar, the Manilaks reached out to comfort and support them. This is the way we started healing, John said. Trauma is known as a disorder of memory because it changes the way our brains store memories and respond to stress. I have so much short-term memory loss since I lost my son, said OJs mom Lena, who has also experienced abuse and suicidal thoughts. OJ used to work out with me. He used to do chin-ups with one arm. I used to work out a lot, but after I lost him, I lost everything. I was a zombie. I wouldnt shower for days, I didnt eat, Lena said. Like many others in Nunavut, Lena has survived multiple traumas that began early in life. This kind of repeated and chronic trauma over a lifetime, especially if it begins in childhood, is what some experts call developmental trauma. A regular pattern of horrific events can result in complex PTSD. Although not an official diagnosis, the idea of complex PTSD has been around since at least the 1990s and continues to gain traction in the scientific community. It aims to capture post-traumatic symptoms that go far beyond PTSD, which usually refers to a single event. [Developmental trauma] really changes the way people can regulate their emotions ... Their identity and sense of self, their self-worth and maybe most profoundly their ability to see meaning in the world and experience hope and a sense of joy and connectedness to others, said Allison Crawford, the U of T psychiatrist. Its the accumulation within the individual over a lifetime, but also within their family history over a lifetime, and within their community history, and that also has impact on the way an individual and a family and a community are able to respond to future traumatic events, she said. You get a kind of collective distress or suffering, and impact on community-level memory. I think that our models of medicine, western medicine ... really dont capture or understand that accumulation. There is growing biological evidence that intergenerational trauma impacts brain structure and gene expression, said Crawford. There are all kinds of animal studies now looking at the offspring of animals several generations down the line where an animal is exposed to a stressful event, and its led to changes not only in their own brain but also changes that were seen two or three generations down the line. Collective, untreated trauma over generations can lead to a breakdown in community cohesion, Crawford said, with citizens either participating in hurting other people or feeling hurt by people. But theres a flip side to intergenerational trauma. Its what Crawford refers to as intergenerational strength. Connecting to your culture, language, community and family can heal people from trauma in ways that medical professionals cannot, said Crawford. Helen Iguptak is a slight Inuk elder with a calm, quiet voice who laughs often. She has been making art and crafts since she made her first doll in residential school in Chesterfield Inlet as a child. That first doll, out of cloth, yarn and human hair, started Helen on a creative and healing path. Today shes known around the world for her dolls dressed in intricate and miniature traditional clothing. Her laugh is soft, tumbling almost a giggle followed by a sharp intake of breath. In her small bedroom, the blue walls lined with shelves of books and craft supplies, she works on a pair of beaded wall hangings. Eight people live in this two-bedroom bungalow. Helen remembered when, growing up out on the land, people were dying of hunger and sickness. The government transferred her family to Baker Lake. From there, she remembered the boat coming and taking her and other kids away to residential school. I could see my mom standing right in front of the tent, my father close to the beach. I think when I couldnt see them anymore I finally stopped crying, she said. Helen remembered joy in surprising places. Like her first breakfast after being taken from her parents. One of the kids dipped their crackers in the hot tea and it expanded. We were amazed oh, how did it grow? Helen laughed. Or like when she was reunited with her parents after her year away at residential school. I went crazy. I went on top of the bed with my boots on. Jumped on it, jumped to the floor. Just nuts. Sewing, beading, drawing, pottery any art or craft helps Helen cope. It keeps your mind busy so that you dont think about the bad stuff that happened in the past. And Helen firmly believes in forgiving those who have caused her pain. If you dont forgive, its an ongoing hurt ... Forget it, were not going to turn the clocks back and correct everything. You just have to keep moving. Theres still other people who love you and you love them so, why bother to worry about it? If she had her way, Helen said, shed live out on the land again, without any clocks or money. Forgiveness and healing often do not come easily. On Oct. 8, 2018, police made their first arrest in the case of OJ Tapartis death: Glen Kadlak Jr., a local 21-year-old, was charged with murder. Four days later, police arrested a second suspect, a youth who cannot be identified. Neither case has been tried in court. Legal aid lawyers for the suspects declined a request for comment. OJs dad says the arrests brought some relief, but he and OJs siblings still miss the little guy. Its hard. I cry just missing him, Ray said. The thing is, the story didnt end there, said Harry Towtongie, the towns deputy mayor. I think theyre expecting to do more arrests. The RCMP would not confirm whether they are still investigating. I forgive them, Lena said of those arrested. Shes unsure if she can continue living in Rankin Inlet. After his final interview about OJ in August 2018, Louis Taparti well-known throughout Nunavut as a radio personality, interpreter, advocate for Inuit rights and lover of music reached for his guitar and sang, Where do the Children Play? by Cat Stevens. I know weve come a long way Were changing day to day But tell me, where do the children play? Louis put the guitar down beside the couch and reached for a pack of cigarettes. I dont know if the kids are still out there playing, without a care in the world, without having to look past their shoulder, Louis said. I dont know. Just a couple days after the first arrest, Louis died of cancer. Days before his death, a video circulated Nunavut Facebook pages of Louis singing, lying in a hospital bed in a gown, a guitar on his belly. 6/23/2019 0 Comments 650 Parliament St. students finish a school year spent 'living in limbo' following St. James Town fireWhen Hazel Alcantara started her fourth year of sociology studies at York University she was sleeping in the gym of the Regent Park Community Centre, set up as an emergency shelter for residents of last summers devastating fire at 650 Parliament St.
I couldnt really concentrate because I had to do my work on my laptop, but the Wi-Fi connection was really bad. Everyone (in the gym) was trying to connect, so it was slow, recalls Alcantara, 21, who, along with her mother, father and grandmother were among more than 1,500 tenants forced to flee the Aug. 21 highrise fire in Torontos St. James Town neighbourhood. Because both her parents worked long hours during the day, Alcantara was also responsible after school for ensuring her grandmother, who doesnt speak English well, was OK in the community centre. I (had to) go back there after school because my grandma was alone and my parents didnt want me to leave her for a long time with all the other people at the community centre. There were other older Filipino individuals there, but they were able to leave the community centre and roam around, but my grandmother wasnt familiar enough to be on her own, Alcantara says. I didnt want to stay there. There was no space and being there kept reminding me of our situation, during a time when I wanted a distraction from it. It was a lot, Alcantara says. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW That was just the beginning of a chaotic school year that saw Alcantara and her family move several times after being forced to leave the two-bedroom unit they rented in 650 Parliament. The family bounced around for the next six months, from the community centre, to a hotel across town, to a condo near Yonge and Bloor Sts., to a unit in another St. James Town highrise where they currently reside. Residents from both the 22-storey north and the south towers of the building have still not been able to return home and likely wont before the fall, says a spokesperson for the property manager. Earlier this year, Mayor John Tory said the fire was related to a catastrophic failure of the buildings electrical system. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The failure contributed to the fire, he said. Its a miracle no one was killed or injured. Just more than 560 units were occupied at the time of the fire, which impacted adults and young people alike, the latter particularly when it came to school and their studies. Young people like Alcantara. The constant moving and uncertainty about where shed be living from week to week made her feel unstable and took a toll on her school work, Alcantara says. It was really difficult to concentrate in class. Id be sitting there doing the work, but in the back of my mind I would be thinking about my familys situation, Alcantara said in an interview. In the early days following the fire, at the Regent Park centre the Red Cross was on hand to assist families who ended up there. Cots were set up in the gymnasium for residents to sleep on. Alcantara and her parents and grandmother stayed there for about a week and a half before being relocated to the Courtyard Marriott hotel near College and Yonge Sts. They stayed at the hotel for about two weeks before being moved back to the Regent Park centre, where they remained for another three weeks or so. Next came another nearly month-long hotel stay, this one near the St. George TTC subway stop. After that the four were set up in a two-bedroom condo unit near Yonge and Bloor (by this time it was the end of October). They stayed there for about six months before being moved back to St. James Town into a two-bedroom unit at 260 Wellesley St. As you can imagine this was all a lot of back and forth during my school year. It really took a big emotional and mental toll on me, I would say, Alcantara says. Wellesley Parliament Square (WPSQ) is a property management company that operates 650 Parliament. A spokesperson, Danny Roth, says about $10 million has been spent on housing assistance for residents of the building. The building owners paid for and managed most of the logistics pertaining to relocation, Roth says. He went on to say that costs for accommodations, the limited availability of units in Torontos tight rental market and trying to bring residents as close to St. James Town as possible were some of the key reasons families were moved around. The scope of the crisis at 650 Parliament is unprecedented. No management company, community service agency or municipal official in this city has had to deal with the dislocation of so many people for such a prolonged period, Roth said. He added: As a result of our efforts and the support of so many others, today, nearly every resident who has not chosen to reside with family and friends is now comfortably housed in a comparable St James Town apartment suite. We recognize that the process has not been flawless although crisis response rarely is, Roth said, later adding we have been working diligently to meet the unparalleled challenge of rehousing our tenants to the best of our abilities, while meeting the significant challenges of the physical repairs and restoration of the property itself. Providing a sense of stability this year for young students impacted by the fire was one of the goals of staff and the administration at Rose Avenue Junior Public school in St. James Town, a school attended by 68 students from 650 Parliament. We became the community repository of support for those families, says David Crichton, principal at the kindergarten-to-Grade 6 school. That support included helping to raise $40,000 for the affected children and their families. The money came from fundraising at the school, other schools in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), donations from firms such as Manulife and Desjardins, unions, individuals in the community and other sources. The funds were used to provide free breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the displaced youngsters and their families, Crichton explained. Money raised also paid for a special afterschool trip for the affected students and their parents to the Evergreen Brick Works, movie and bowling nights for the families, and gift cards to stores that included Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys and Shoppers Drug Mart, Crichton said. He noted the school has some money left over for this fall when school reopens. With support from the TDSB, transportation was organized this year so that students relocated far from the school could be brought back to Rose Avenue Junior. These accommodations included rerouted school buses and Metropasses. There was also a large clothing drive, managed mainly by social workers at that school board who collected thousands of pieces of new clothing including winter coats and boots. Some teachers, Crichton the principal, and members of Community Matters, a local support group in St. James Town that assists in areas such as finances and housing, came to the school on weekends and opened the gym so youngsters could come in and do crafts or play sports. The impact of the fire was all consuming for the families involved, says Chris Moise, the trustee for the area (Ward 10, University-Rosedale and Toronto Centre) adding parents were stressed, kids were stressed. Its been hard for them, not knowing where or when they would be moved, or what was happening next, living in limbo for a long time, Moise says. So it was key that Rose Avenue a school many from 650 Parliament turned to for advice, emotional support and guidance helped normalize things as much as it could for those impacted, Moise says. The school went above and beyond for these parents and these kids, he added. Kudos to the school. Donovan Vincent is a housing reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @donovanvincent https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/06/22/650-parliament-st-students-finish-a-school-year-spent-living-in-limbo-following-st-james-town-fire.html 6/21/2019 0 Comments Premier Doug Ford accepts resignation of his controversial chief of staff, Dean FrenchUnder pressure, Premier Doug Ford has parted ways with his controversial chief of staff, Dean French, in the wake of an embarrassing patronage fiasco.
French, an Etobicoke insurance broker, quit Friday night after two cabinet ministers one female, the other male personally appealed to Ford to fire him because his actions have triggered further tumult in a Progressive Conservative government already struggling to regroup. They told Doug: It is time for Dean to go, a senior Conservative insider, speaking confidentially in order to discuss private conversations, told the Star. Ford got the message and his office said he has accepted the resignation. I want personally to thank Dean for his hard work, his leadership and his friendship. I wish Dean the very best in his future, the premier said in a statement. Jamie Wallace, a former Queens Park press gallery president and seasoned political veteran who used to be the top editor at the Sun chain of tabloids, will serve as interim chief until a permanent replacement is found. The move came after Ford was forced to revoke two high-paying patronage appointments 18 hours after announcing them following revelations of their close personal ties to French. It was only the latest in a string of headaches the ousted chief of staff caused for his boss. A senior government source said Tyler Albrecht, a friend of Frenchs son, will not be heading to New York as an agent-general and Taylor Shields, a cousin of Frenchs wife, wont be taking up a similar post in London, England. Offensive postings on Albrechts Facebook account, which date back to 2012 when he was a teenager, have also surfaced. They include the words fag and no homo. The social media posts were scrubbed Thursday as his appointment was being announced, but frame-grabs captured them for posterity. After axing the two French-related sinecures, Fords office denounced the Facebook postings. The comments made by Mr. Albrecht are hurtful and unacceptable, and have no place in public discourse, Ivana Yelich, the premiers press secretary, said in a statement. Premier Ford has decided that Mr. Albrechts appointment will not proceed. We will not be commenting any further on this matter, said Yelich. Neither Albrecht nor Shields returned repeated messages from the Star seeking comment. French was also unavailable. Conservative insiders insist Ford was blindsided by the two French connections, although the other two appointees to the six-figure gigs are well-known to the premier. Former PC party president Jag Badwal, a realtor, will represent the province in Dallas, Texas. Earl Provost, a former Ontario Liberal party executive director and chief of staff to the late Rob Ford when he was Toronto mayor, is being dispatched to Chicago. Both Badwal and Provost have worked with Ford on political matters and have the premiers ear. But Ford knew nothing about Albrecht and Shields when their names were rubber-stamped by cabinet Thursday. A government source said replacements for the pair are now being sought. He hit the roof when he heard about this, a second veteran Tory said of the premier. Normally, such appointments are vetted by cabinet committees to ensure that they are suitable and have not done anything that could embarrass the government. On Newstalk 1010s Moore in the Morning on Friday, former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne said its clear there wasnt adequate due diligence done on the appointments. Tories confide that that, indeed, was the case. This was stick-handled by Dean, fumed a Ford loyalist, stressing the premier was unhappy because Ford is trying to turn the page for his government with Thursdays sweeping cabinet shuffle. Twelve ministers were moved, including replacing Vic Fedeli with Rod Phillips as treasurer, and six new portfolios created, as cabinet ballooned by 33 per cent to 28 members, including Ford. On Friday, a third senior Conservative operative, speaking on background in order to disclose internal deliberations, said obviously, they wanted to bury the patronage appointments under news of the cabinet overhaul. So that backfired, said the Ford confidant, expressing concern about the damage the debacle will cause to a premier who has styled himself as a champion for the little guy, instead of the downtown Toronto elites he purports to disdain. This is not helpful. Doug cant be happy, said the third insider. A fourth high-ranking Tory confided that other officials were imploring Ford to get rid of the mistake-prone French, whose transgressions have caused the government problems. This (could not) continue. Irreparable damage (was) being caused, the fourth PC stalwart said. As the Star reported last week, Tory MPPs have privately complained to Ford about a culture of fear caused by the heavy-handed chief of staff. That came after French loudly scolded a female MPP on June 6 outside an airport hotel in front of the premier, other members and PC staffers. The rookie GTA MPP broke down in tears and was inconsolable for five minutes, leading Ford to assure MPPs the next day that they should be treated with respect. His office confirmed the incident and said French went to the MPP and apologized and they had an excellent conversation. French is also suing Independent MPP Randy Hillier for defamation, and seeking $100,000 in a damages, over a series of tweets accusing the chief of illegally destroying ballots in the PC leadership race last year In his statement of defence Hillier (Lanark-Frotenac-Kingston) said French is a mercurial man waging a personal vendetta. The long-time MPP was turfed from the Tory caucus in March after complaining to Ford about French. Last November, the chief of staff made headlines when the Star revealed he ordered senior aides to direct police to raid illegal cannabis stores, the day before marijuana became legal, wanting to see people in handcuffs. Staff in the ministries of community safety and the attorney general balked at the edict, with one of them saying, were not a police state. We dont have the right or the ability to direct police to do anything. Still, until Friday night, Ford had stood by French, saying last fall he backed him 1,000 per cent because He works hard. Hes honest. He has integrity. New Democrat MPP Marit Stiles said the decision to rescind the appointments of the French friend and family member was a little bit too late, and shes still very concerned about how these appointments were made in the first place. The process shows that Dean French has a lot of influence at is making decisions to appoint his friends, his relatives, to very plum positions. And I would hope that the premier, as is taking a very close look at that, said Stiles (Davenport). However, the blame still lies with the premier, she said. At the end of the day, Doug Ford is Dean Frenchs boss. He hired Dean French, he brought him in here, and it is Doug Ford, who needs to be answerable for the decisions that Dean Frenchs making. Albrechts appointment also raised the ire of the right-wing Canadian Taxpayers Federation, with president Aaron Wudricktweeting: Ive seen some pretty insulting patronage in my time. Im not sure Ive ever seen one that quite rivals this one. Agents-general earn up to $185,000 a year to boost Ontario business in the U.S. and Britain. Albrecht, who graduated from university three years ago and works in finance, was to be the provinces representative in New York while Shields, an assistant vice-president at ChubbInsurance, was set to go to London, England. The three-year appointments pay $164,910 (Canadian) annually in the U.S., and $185,000 per year in the U.K. Apart from the homophobic comments on social media, Albrecht also liked a group on Facebook called Bringing your Asian to math class, instead of your calculator. Another photo posted on his account shows a woman with the words Im gay written on her cheek. Those posts date back seven years. On Thursday, Ford said of the agents-general that taking Ontarios open for business message around the world will help create the good jobs people need right here at home. Our government will work closely with these experts to make sure theyre delivering what we need and creating opportunities for our businesses to thrive. His move came after the United States Chamber of Commerce, the worlds largest business organization, criticized the Ford government earlier this month for threatening to rip up Ontarios 10-year deal with the Beer Store. Up to four more agents-general could be hired. Read more: Ford doles out political patronage plums to allies Ford scrambles to reboot Tory government with massive shuffle Opinion | Martin Regg Cohn: The day Doug Ford blew up his cabinet to save himself Correction June 21, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly referred to NDP MPP Taras Natyshak as Essex in one reference. Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy Robert Benzie is the Stars Queens Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2019/06/21/premier-doug-ford-revokes-patronage-appointments-after-reports-of-ties-to-dean-french.html 6/21/2019 0 Comments Bruce Arthur: Toronto needs to channel its inner Kawhi, be cool, and leave the poor man alone.Toronto, nice to see you. You look beautiful, as always. You do still have a bit of a dishevelled hungover-but-still-drunk vibe going, but thats to be expected, I suppose. A championship! What a feeling, right? Watching Marc Gasol guzzle an entire bottle of wine atop a double-decker bus and then sit next to the Prime Minister and mumble, Im drunk, man, was the rare and treasured Canadian-Spanish Heritage Moment.
But Toronto, its time for a talk. First, put the phone away. I know, big ask. But put it down, because otherwise you might use it to take a picture of Kawhi Leonard. And not to put too fine a point on this we need to leave Kawhi the hell alone. Seriously. I know Toronto just won its first major-league title since 1993 all due respect to the CFL and MLS and the National Lacrosse League and it was euphoric. The playoff run was incredible for the city, for basketball in Canada, for basketball writers who wanted to compare happy hours in Orlando, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and San Francisco. (Milwaukee, land of cheap beer, wins.) But its frankly becoming creepy and invasive, and I say that as someone with regular access to and understanding of the internet. Kawhi went to Niagara Falls! Kawhi ate at a mediocre chain restaurant! Kawhi went to a home improvement store and bought what appeared to be moving boxes! Look, if you were renting a house and you didnt know where you were going to live next year, and you had already bought a $14-million (U.S.) palace outside San Diego, you might need moving boxes, too. Bless Kawhi Leonard, one of the best basketball players on the planet and a two-time NBA champion, for going to the Home Depot and buying the damn boxes himself. To borrow a phrase, the cardboard man gets paid. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW But that is not the point, and we are getting sidetracked! With Kawhi, it is easy and even understandable that we get sidetracked, because he carried the Raptors to the NBA title and he is a free agent and he is from Los Angeles. And while the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis without understanding the salary cap, the Los Angeles Clippers have basically waited outside his house holding a boom box over their heads all season. And now ESPNs Brian Windhorst says the Clippers are hyperventilating over what Kawhi will decide, and the Raptors are also keen to know, and amid all the rumours and the smoke flying around all you can say is that at least it seems like its a real decision. Kawhi is the literal difference between the Raptors getting a second chance to do a parade correctly, or not. Kawhi changes everything. Toronto knows, now. And it loves him. But this city needs to calm the hell down. Kawhi is not a public guy. He didnt go out a lot in his year as a Raptor, as far as anybody can tell. At one point midway through the season someone asked him where in town he lived, and Kawhi said, I dont know, because he had a driver. He keeps to himself, most of the time. He went to the Jays game Thursday night, which just shows he enjoys solitude. Fun guy, family guy. And this city is responding to Kawhi doing literally anything by taking his picture, and tweeting it. Its like a collective ex-boyfriend stalking program. GUYS. Look, yes, smartphones have become appendages so essential that young people are growing hornlike bones in the back of their skulls from looking down at their phones so much. Yes, Instagram and Twitter have warped our brains in ways high school could only dream. Yes, when the Raptors were introduced at the end of the parade Monday, every single person in the crowd held up their phones. And yes, the internet may have been a mistake. But Christ on a bicycle, Toronto. Its hard to say act like youve been there before to a city that has never been there before, and harder still to say it to a city that has been arguing over Vince Carter leaving for 15 endless years. But do you know how they treat celebrities in Los Angeles, by and large? They accept them. They absorb them. Celebrities are so ubiquitous there that they can just walk around in L.A. like people, enjoying the sunshine and finding good tacos and watching for the lurking silent electric cars that could kill them at any moment. Any basketball player not named Kobe or Magic or LeBron can stroll around L.A. without a care in the world, other than the terror of wildfires or earthquakes, the worrisome future of climate change, and traffic. And nobody cares about the Clippers there anyway. Kawhi could visit tourist attractions and eat at mediocre chain restaurants and buy moving boxes, and nobody would freak out. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Well, it feels like we are freaking out. Do you want him to stay? Do you want the Raptors to have a chance at a dynasty? Or do you want to smother him, love him to death, and drive him for good into the waiting arms of his hometown? Be calm, Toronto. Let him be. Were supposed to be a big city here, a world-class city. The Raptors fought their way to a title by staying level-headed, by never panicking, by following Kawhi and his equilibrious example. So if you see Kawhi, be like Kawhi; cool, chill, easygoing as a breeze. Be like Kawhi, Toronto. Unless he leaves. Bruce Arthur is a Toronto-based sports columnist. Follow him on Twitter: @bruce_arthur https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2019/06/20/toronto-needs-to-channel-its-inner-kawhi-be-cool-and-leave-the-poor-man-alone.html In an unprecedented move, a controversial York Region trustee has been banned from school board meetings for a year after complaints over online comments that were deemed offensive to the Black community and disparaging to women.
Rookie trustee Elizabeth Terrell-Tracey who landed in hot water even before she was elected, for postings about her competitors country of origin was also barred from attending any graduation ceremonies at schools in her ward and other committee meetings. She faces restrictions on her use of board-related email and social media accounts. The boards integrity commissioner said her cumulative actions are blemishing to York Region schools. Terrell-Traceys behaviour was addressed at a meeting Monday night. Integrity commissioner Sandhya Kohli has previously urged the York Region District School Board to reprimand the trustee for East Gwillimbury/Whitchurch-Stouffville after she described receiving the third formal complaint on Terrell-Tracey. While unable to disclose the identity of the person who filed the complaint May 17, calling it confidential, Kohli said her investigation found Terrell-Tracey to have contravened a section of the trustee code of conduct that deals with integrity and dignity of office, as well as violating other clauses dealing with discreditable conduct. Kohlis investigation found Terrell-Traceys tweet quoting Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, aimed at an activist leading the charge to get her out of office, was problematic. Kohli wrote notwithstanding varied scholarly interpretations of its meaning, the fact is that tweeting a verse from Swing Low, Sweet Chariot caused a negative reaction from the public, one of dismay and alarm, because it hearkens back to the era of slavery. While this tweet varied in literal and scholarly interpretation, it was taken as an affront to the Black community by some of its members, and also by other members of the public at large. Kohli also concluded the tweet cant be read in isolation from her previous comments made to Toronto Star reporter Kristin Rushowy in December 2018, in which Terrell-Tracey said a person that doesnt stay quiet in the kitchen is why they [the public] do not like me. I have many male qualities that traditionalists do not like. This comment was construed as disparaging of women and was the subject of two separate formal complaints for which I issued a report, and presented to the board on March 5, 2019, Kohli wrote. The commissioner found Terrell-Traceys comments distasteful, derogatory, out-of-place, and offensive. Reached by the Star on Wednesday, Terrell-Tracey apologized for upsetting people. I am sorry, I did write on Twitter to quote a religious gospel song lyric, although I didnt mean anything by it, she said. It was in response to a reference and picture of heaven, I am sorry that I have upset people. Its an unfortunate situation that Im in and I do believe things happen for a reason, she added. Also Ive been praying for community peace since September, and I look forward to the future. Despite the sanctions she faces, Terrell-Tracey said she will continue to try to deal with her constituents. Im still allowed to work with constituents who contact me. Im also allowed to do school visits, and Im also allowed to attend school meetings, as anybody in the public could attend as well, she added. I support the trustees, and I look forward to July 1, 2020, when I will have most of my voting powers back. Maybe this is a way to have some closure and some way to move forward, so I think its important as a public servant to be responsible to the community, she said. While the slew of actions targeting Terrell-Tracey limit her power as a trustee, the York school board cant dismiss her or suspend her pay. In a message Tuesday, York Region District School Board chair Corrie McBain said Terrell-Tracey is ineligible to represent the board on the Ontario Public School Boards Association, any government agency or outside organization seeking trustee membership from the board for the remainder of the 2018-22 term of office. McBain also said the board is going to ensure that the community continues to have access to representation through staff, including local superintendents, central board and trustee services staff members and the chair and vice chair. Terrell-Tracey is no stranger to controversy. During the election campaign, postings on her Facebook account took aim at her rival, Lena Singh, for being an immigrant. She later said her account was hacked, but also apologized for the comments. Sanctions against Terrell-Tracey include being immediately barred from attending private, advisory and public meetings until the end of June 2020. Shes also barred from attending student discipline, supervised alternative learning review and negotiations advisory committee meetings for the remainder of her 2018-22 term of office. In addition, she faces restrictions on the use of her school board email account and is barred from attending elementary or secondary graduations in her capacity as trustee until the end of June 2020. This isnt the first time the board finds itself grappling with controversy over racist comments. In 2016, allegations of racism, misspending and a culture of fear rocked the board, prompting the Ministry of Education to intervene and issue a scathing report. In 2017, Georgina trustee Nancy Elgie stepped down after an outcry over her use of a racial slur in referring to a Black parent in the board. With files from Emma Sandri, Kristin Rushowy and Noor Javed Dina Al-Shibeeb is a general assignment reporter for YorkRegion.com and its sister papers. Reach her via email: [email protected] https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/06/19/york-trustee-barred-from-board-meetings-after-offensive-remarks.html 6/19/2019 0 Comments Rosie DiManno: Raptors parade organizers say they had 3 days to prepare. That's absurdA child toppling out of her stroller. Her brother screaming. Both kids trampled.
For a few terrifying minutes, Diane Weis, with a toddler in arms, lost sight of her two older kids amidst the scrambling panic. A stranger had picked up my 6-year-old and put her up against the wall. I picked up a kid myself, had no idea who it was. The family, abandoning the stroller, struggled to the main entrance of the Sheraton Hotel on Queen St. only to find the doors locked. They had checked out that morning. It was a stampede. My husband banged on the door but the security guard wouldnt let us in, Weis tells the Star, still deeply rattled by events that had unfolded Monday afternoon, on the periphery of the civic rally for the Toronto Raptors. My daughter was bleeding. We told the guard that we were guests and he finally opened the door a crack to let us in. At that point, Weis and her husband, Jesse, had little idea of what had happened, was still happening, though Jesse Weis had overheard someone hollering about a shooter as the pandemonium erupted. Its the contemporary version of shouting FIRE! in a crowded auditorium. But its guns, the crack of a firearm, that sends people scattering for their lives. In the hotel lobby, Weis continues, pure havoc ensued with a second wave of fear: SHOOTER! People were hiding under tables, behind chairs. My kids took cover behind the (registration) counter. Opinion | Bruce Arthur: Toronto responds like a champion when celebration turns to chaos What theyre saying about us: Shooting at Nathan Phillips Square dominated international medias coverage of Raptors parade The Sheraton did not return the Stars calls. It was a horrific scene that has left Weis children traumatized and their mom boiling mad. Not just about the late afternoon shooting that marred what was otherwise a joyful parade and rally at Nathan Phillips Square. The city was not prepared for an event this big. No Porta-potties, no water, hardly any police that I could see. People were dehydrated, fainting. There were some nurses in the crowd who tried to help. We were yelling HELP! HELP! to police we could see on the rooftops. Diane and Jesse Weis thought theyd done everything right. Their kids, Raptors fans, were mad to watch the parade. So the family booked a hotel room, drove from their Markham home on Sunday, parked at the city hall underground lot. Studied the parade route material and took their position on Queen St., at the southern edge of the plaza, at 8:30 a.m. Nobody expected the Raptors arrival to be on time at 12:30, yet the hours wore on. When the water Weis brought ran out, a Good Samaritan offered her family more. Six hours we stood there. And then they changed the route so we never saw the parade at all. In congested downtown, the procession was supposed to turn right at Queen. Instead, with intersections jammed and thousands falling in behind the open-top buses as the vehicles inched along, the parade continued north to Armoury St. before doglegging towards city hall. It was all for nothing, for the Weis family and so many others. Most in the square were unaware of the shooting, knew only what emcee Matt Devlin told them, that a serious emergency had occurred, urging calmness. But that sea of humanity estimated at 100,000, well over the Nathan Phillips Square capacity of 65,000 had spent hour upon hour in the baking sun, with no access to washrooms, no water distributed, no garbage cans, no designated safe exits, not even a measly bit of entertainment to while away the time. It was, frankly, a disaster, mismanaged along the seven-kilometer route lined by at least a million revellers and at steamy Ground Zero. Officials claim they had only three days to prepare for the parade. If so, this is an absurdity. The NBA playoffs extended over two months, the public viewings at Jurassic Park and elsewhere an escalating phenomenon, the likelihood of a Raptors victory in Game 6 of the Finals darn high. The relevant authorities from police to Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment should have seen this coming far earlier and prepared appropriately. Granted, Toronto had never seen anything like it. The city has scarce history of victory parades. But to be caught this off-guard? Nobody can be blamed other than the culprits for a shooting. There are too many guns in the hands of too many reckless young men in this city. Gun violence has become a fact of life. Thats a policing matter. But the rest of the mess is down to those who should have foreseen the practical problems. Yet all were hearing is excuses, lack of due diligence and deflection of liability. Theyre actually taking bows for the wonder of a memorable day and, yes, it was all that. But drop the typically Toronto smugness. It does not foster confidence. It was a monumental screw-up. I take full responsibility for the decision we made, says Diane Weis, who has written to both the city and the police department. And its the biggest regret of my life. But this isnt a witch-hunt. I just cant believe that nobody has taken responsibility. The terror in my childrens eyes Im so disappointed, angry and upset. Just a really, really bad memory. Rosie DiManno is a columnist based in Toronto covering sports and current affairs. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2019/06/18/raptors-parade-organizers-say-they-had-3-days-to-prepare-thats-absurd.html Premier Doug Ford appears to have a problem with boos.
Ford, who marks the first anniversary of his swearing-in a week this Saturday, was lustily booed at the Toronto Raptors victory celebration. In contrast to Toronto Mayor John Tory and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who were cheered by the massive throng at Nathan Phillips Square on Monday, the premier was greeted with boos and profane chants. The poor reception has senior Conservative strategists worried about what might come next. The danger, said one Ford loyalist, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations, is that people just tune you out. Mondays boos followed the ignominy of Ford being jeered at the opening of the Special Olympics at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on May 14 and at the Collision international technology conference at the Enercare Centre on May 21. The public displays come after seven polls in the past six weeks suggest Fords popularity is declining in the wake of the April 11 budget that announced numerous program cuts. Pollster John Corbett, the first to track Fords plunge in a survey for the Star on May 6, was not surprised by the negative reception at one of the largest public gatherings in Canadian history with some people saying there may have been as many as 2 million people along the parade route. Hes really, really unpopular, Corbett said Tuesday, noting his own polling shows Fords personal approval rating has dropped 11 percentage points in the past month and now sits at -53 per cent. Only 18 per cent approve of his performance with 71 per cent disapproving and 11 per cent unsure. Its not an arithmetical progression the way his popularity has been plummeting its much more an exponential decline in popularity, said the president of Corbett Communications. Eleven points in a month. You cant get much below 15 per cent popularity, you just cant, he said, pointing to Fords 18 per cent approval. Using Maru/Blues Maru Voice Canada online panel, Corbett Communications surveyed 1,555 Ontario voters June 4-5. It is an opt-in sample, but for comparison purposes a randomly selected sample of this size would have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Corbett said Ford, whose name was trending on Twitter after the jeers, should be concerned about where those boos came from at the Raptors celebration. A lot of the people in that square werent just Torontonians. They were from Oakville and Burlington and Barrie and York Region not just the city of Toronto, he said, noting GO Transit announced that ridership for the parade far exceeded normal weekday levels of 200,000 commuters. With Conservative MPPs representing most of those ridings in the 905 and the 705, that response should be considered shocking, added Corbett. The senior Conservative strategists agree the boo-birds could be like canaries in a coal mine, a warning sign of things to come. They point to former NDP premier Bob Rae being jeered at the SkyDome after the Toronto Blue Jays won the 1992 World Series. We saw that with Bob Rae. People just stopped listening to him and he couldnt catch a break for years, the PC insider said. Mindful the booing bothers Ford a populist who styled his administration as the government for the people opponents have started an online campaign to text booooo to the cellphone number he gives out publicly. Over a million people booed #Ontario Premier #DougFord at Nathan Phillips Square today, but why stop there?! the Twitter blitz says. The premier, who will be on a campaign-style swing in Sudbury on Wednesday, has been low-key since the house rose on June 6 until Oct. 28. We have work to do. We are not out there celebrating because we have a tremendous amount of work to do, Ford said June 7. Its going to be a very busy summer. Robert Benzie is the Stars Queens Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2019/06/18/is-ford-being-booed-a-sign-of-things-to-come-for-the-premier.html Now it begins.
The waiting and the wondering and the anxiety about where Kawhi Leonard will play next season ramps up today, and it was less than a week ago that Masai Ujiri stood in the champagne-drenched locker room of Oracle Arena and chatted about it. The Toronto Raptors had been NBA champions for about an hour, and of course the hot-take moment was about Leonards future. Would he stay after one memorable season? Could the Raptors leverage a championship to convince him to stay? How would they make that ultimate moment a part of their sales pitch? Ujiri, at first, didnt bite. The team president said he had to finish his champagne first and would discuss it some other time. And then, this: I said one thing when we got him: We are going to be who we are. The fans and those on the periphery went all out on Monday, however. From the multitude of Please stay signs that dotted the parade route, to the over-the-top love thrown his way, to Mayor John Tory making him the prime recipient of the key to the city, the underlying theme throughout the drawn-out reception was trying to convince Leonard to stay. He didnt bite, and no one who has been around him was the least bit surprised. Thank you all for welcoming me here with open arms after the trade, he said from the stage at Nathan Phillips Square. Thank you, and like they said, enjoy this moment and have fun with it. Get even more Raptors analysis in your inbox with Doug Smiths email newsletter. Sign up for it here. He did end his brief remarks with a self-effacing laugh that mimicked the one from his very first appearance as a Raptor, but other than that, no clue. Entirely to character, Leonard otherwise played it close to the vest the entire day and did not react to the outpouring of love. He smoked a cigar, held his obviously tired young daughter to his chest behind the stage. He was cool and composed. As the parade passed under the Gardiner Expressway, teammate Kyle Lowry changed a one more year chant to five more years in reference to the terms of a new contract that Leonard could sign in July and Leonards trusted adviser, his uncle Dennis Robertson, joined in. But the truth is, no one knows. You could find 10 NBA insiders and throw them in a room, and five might say Leonard is absolutely gone and five would say hes staying in Toronto after having won his second NBA title and his second NBA Finals most valuable player award with the Raptors. You can parse his words forever and not get a hint. He said he hadnt purchased a house in Toronto yet and maybe thats a message hes staying. He spoke of the Raptors first championship as something they could cherish and come away with an entirely different view. If anyone says they know for certain, theyre either lying or inflating their own importance. Ujiri, since he traded cornerstone DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs in a package for Leonard last July, has remained very hands-off. Monday affirmed that, but it whether it ultimately matters remains an unanswered question. Doug Smith is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @smithraps https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/analysis/2019/06/17/the-kawhi-question-adds-sell-to-the-raptors-celebration.html |
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