Courtesy of schools.tdsb.on.ca

According to the Toronto District School Board last year 92 of 533 public schools in Toronto had an enrollment of less than 60%, and the attrition is continuing. The TDSB loses about 4,000 each year. Add this to the fact that the TDSB is hard up for cash and there seems to be no alternative to closing schools. It is estimated that closing 25 – 30 schools would save between $10 million and $15 million per year.

In order to deal with this issue trustees have voted to close Scarborough’s Timothy Eaton Business and Technical Institute in September. It is also reported that Grade 9 has been cancelled at West Toronto Collegiate because of too few students. Instead of massive school closures Josh Matlow, trustee for St. Paul’s, will be presenting a motion at the August 26^th school board meeting, requesting that the board consider closing 10 of its undersubscribed schools this year and 10 more the year after.

The quality of education should be of paramount importance. Today’s Parent magazine has compiled a list of the best elementary and middle schools across Canada. The criteria was based on factors including community commitment, serving special needs, quality of teachers, clubs, programs, and the cool factor. Here is the list of the top schools in Ontario. Only one is in Toronto. Let’s hope that it’s not slated for closure.

• Cedarvale Community School (Toronto, 220 students, JK-6)
• St. John Bosco Catholic School (Brockville, 380 students, JK-6)
• Briargreen Public School (Nepean, 330 students, JK-6)
• Pioneer Park Public School (Kitchener, 316 students, JK-6)
• Castlefrank Elementary School (Kanata, 315 students, JK-8)
• Guardian Angels Catholic Elementary School (Waterdown, 500 students, JK-8)

Courtesy of bbs.stardestroyer.net

According to Environment Canada lightning kills about seven people and seriously injures 60 to 70 people in Canada each year. The majority of these tragedies happen in the afternoon and early evening during the summer when people are caught outdoors. If you are inadvertently caught outdoors there are ways to protect yourself from lightning strikes.

• You may have a built-in warning system for lightning. If you feel a tingling sensation, your hair stands on end, or you smell sulfur, lightning might be about to strike.
• If possible go into a protected building, a car with a hardtop, a tunnel, subway, cave, or a ditch.
• You should not be higher than your surroundings. Try to go to an area of lower elevation. If you are in an open space crouch down and cover your ears. Don’t lie down or place your hands on the ground because a lightning strike could electrify the ground that you are lying on.
• Stay away from trees.
• Don’t use your umbrella. Put it down and walk away.
• Leave wet areas, pools, lakes, and beaches immediately.
• Avoid metal objects – scooters, bicycles, motorcycles, golf carts, fences, poles, power lines.
• If you are with a group, spread out.

We all feel safe from lightening strikes at home and frequently watch storms from our balconies or windows. But, are we really safe? What should you do if you are indoors during a lightening storm?

• Stay away from doors and windows.
• Don’t use the phone, except during an emergency.
• Don’t use electrical appliances.
• Don’t unplug any electronic equipment or electrical appliances during a storm.
• Refrain from touching sinks, faucets, baths, and showers – any wet places.

Courtesy of repairpal.com

There are vast differences in the outcome of public sector and private sector strikes. The union is omnipotent within the public sector but becoming impotent in the private sector. The tragedy is that unions have not come to grips with this new reality and as a result they irreparably damaging the lives of the rank and file in the private sector. Such is the sad case of the employees at the Lever Brothers soap factory.

In 2002 Unilever sold the Lever Brothers soap factory to Korex Don Valley. With the purchase Korex inherited the best paid workers in the soap manufacturing business at $25/hour with benefits. This is indeed an incredible wage for unskilled labour. The reality was that the company was no longer financially viable. When the contracts were renegotiated the workers agreed to a five-year wage freeze, cuts to disability benefits and the loss of their defined-benefit pensions in exchange for job security. When that contract expired in June 2007 Korex wanted more concessions. In June 2008, 160 workers went on strike to protest a new contract that they said wiped out seniority rights. The factory continued to run at a reduced rate until May 2009. Korex Don Valley has now filed for bankruptcy. The remaining 110 workers who are members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada local 132-0 now have no jobs and very poor prospects.

According to Korex the strike went on far too long and as a result they lost their consumers. The union has only one job – to represent the rank and file. Why would they have encouraged prolonged strike action with a company who was not on solid footing financially? If these unfortunate and ill-advised workers had it all to do over again I’d be willing to bet that they would be happy to accept Korex’s concessions and continue working. Who is going to hold the union responsible for the livelihoods of these 110 people, many of who have worked 30 years or more at this same factory?

Courtesy of earneasily.org

Everything gets recycled these days including scams. An old Internet scam has resurfaced in Toronto. The scam is very simple to perpetrate. A scam artist hacks into a private email account and changes the password rendering the account inaccessible to the owner. Pretending to be the legitimate owner of the email account the scam artist blasts out an email to everyone in the address book of the email account owner saying that they are stranded somewhere overseas and need money to get home. They request that you send the funds via Western Union. About a year ago I received an email from an acquaintance telling me that he was stranded somewhere in the UK and had no money. I immediately deleted it. What amazes me is how many people get taken and actually send money. Does common sense fly out the window when someone sends an email asking for funds?

Think about it, if you had a friend who was traveling overseas and legitimately found themselves stranded without funds, would they send you what amounts to a form email and ask you to send funds via Western Union? No, of course they wouldn’t. In the first place they would call you collect and tell you the story about how they arrived at this most unfortunate situation. If you agreed to send funds they would ask how you were sending them and you would make the arrangements to send the money. Or, you would simply contact who ever needed to be paid – airline, hotel, etc – and arrange to make payment by credit card.

Think before you do something that clearly doesn’t make sense. As long as people continue to use bad judgment, there will be scam artists standing ready to take their money.

Courtesy of chrisdavies.ca

Are you a tenant in Toronto who has just had it with taxes? According to the Federation of Metro Tenants, Toronto’s high property tax rates are pushing apartment renters past the poverty line. Toronto home owners are always complaining about their property taxes but the truth is that Toronto tenants are taxed at almost three times as much as residential homeowners. The reason for this is that apartment landlords are taxed as businesses and they in turn recoup the money from their tenants. This becomes a double whammy for tenants because they can’t deduct their rent from their income in spite of the fact that the rent that they pay in turn pays for the services – transit, fire, police - that their landlords are deducting. The Federation of Metro Tenants reports that tenants occupy approximately 9% of Toronto and pay 19% of the taxes. Where is the justice in that?

To add insult to injury as of July 1, 2010 people across Ontario will have to pay the 8% provincial sales tax (PST) when the province applies a harmonized sales tax on utilities among other things. This means that landlords will be paying 8% tax on electrical, plumbing, painting, landscaping, snow removal, etc. in addition to electricity and heating oil. Currently 20% of tenants pay their own utilities however in the buildings where landlords are paying the utilities you can be sure that they will be going after the tenants seeking increases in compensation.

What can you do? Contact your Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament.

Courtesy of pawlingcycle.com

Are you tired of bicycles not stopping at stop signs and red lights, going the wrong way on one-way streets, not signaling when turning, and riding on the sidewalk? If so you are not alone. Many cyclists seem to be under the mistaken impression that they can ride how ever and where ever the mood or the traffic takes them and pedestrians are paying the price. Just last Thursday a pedestrian passed away after a collision with a cyclist on a sidewalk. According to Ontario Highway Traffic Act (HTA) a bicycle is a vehicle and a cyclist has the same rights and responsibilities as a motorist.

The Toronto Highway Traffic Act has a very detailed list of bicycle violations and fines. Here are the ones that stand out for me.

• HTA 144/136 -Traffic signals and signs - stop for red lights and stop signs and comply with all other signs.
• HTA 153 - One ways streets - ride in the designated direction on one-way streets.
• HTA 142 - Signalling a turn - before turning, look behind you and signal your turn. Cyclists can use their right arm to signal a right turn.
• HTA 140/144(29) - Crosswalks - stop for pedestrians at crosswalks and walk your bike when crossing at a crosswalk.
• HTA 130 Careless driving.
• HTA 140 (1) (a) Fail to yield to pedestrian.
• HTA Improper right turn 141 (2)
• HTA Improper left turn 141 (6)

Should we blame cyclists or law enforcement? These violations and fines are on the books, so why aren’t they enforced? When as a society are we going to start treating bicycles like the vehicles that they are and hold the cyclists responsible for their safe operation? Perhaps we should have licensing criteria along the same lines as we do for cars and motorcycles.

Courtesy of www.twisia.com/mtp/pictures/Tall%20Busker.jpg

Come out and celebrate the 10^th birthday of Buskerfest from August 27^th – August 30^th. Not only is this a one of a kind event with over 100 of the best street performers in the world – aerialists, stilt walkers, comedians, contortionists, magicians, mimes, sword swallowers, human statues, silent comedy and slapstick, puppets, high wire acts, acrobats, clowns, and more – but Buskerfest raises awareness for Epilepsy. Instead of charging admission for this fabulous it is requested that you make a donation to Epilepsy Toronto in any amount that is comfortable for you. Last year Buskerfest raised $165,000 for Epilepsy Toronto.

Buskerfest is one of the highlights of the summer season in Toronto and last year over 1 million people attended. It is the largest festival of its kind in North America and the largest Epilepsy awareness raising event in the world. Buskerfest is a terrific family-friendly event with special treats for the small fry like face painting and balloon sculptures. For the second year in a row Buskerfest been named as one of the Top 100 Festivals in Ontario by Festival and Events Ontario. In addition it has been chosen as an event to support by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and awarded a Celebrate Ontario Grant.

Where can you find Buskerfest? Buskerfest is a street festival that takes place in the St. Lawrence Market area including Market Lane, Market Square, Berczy Park, Front Street East, and Jarvis/Church. Take the subway to Union Station and take a short walk east along Front Street and you’ll be in the heart of the action.

Courtesy of dcfud.smorgasblog.com

Check your refrigerators for Hygrade, Shopsy’s and Maple Leaf hot dogs. On August 3^rd the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a warning not to eat hot dogs made in the Maple Leaf plant in Hamilton. They may be contaminated with listeria.

Below is a list of products that may be contaminated. As yet no illnesses have been reported as a result of consuming these products. If you do have any of these products in your fridge or freezer, throw them out immediately, even though they look perfectly good. It is best to err on the side of caution. Listeria can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, nausea, and it some cases it can be deadly. The people at the most risk are seniors, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems.

If you have questions or concerns call the CFIA from Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM at 1-800-442-2342 or if you are hearing impaired call 1-800-465-7735.

The outrage about the settling of the recent city workers’ strike will not be moving off the front pages any time soon and the fall out is just beginning. Torontonians were very passionate about the issue and many are now feeling an enormous sense of betrayal and are furious that after a strike that lasted over a month, the union got everything they asked for and in the end Mayor Miller supported the strikers instead of the people that he is sworn to serve. In record numbers the residents of Toronto reached out to their city councillors and expressed their opinions prior to the vote. Did your city councilor support the wishes of your riding? Here is the list of how they voted.

YES to the contract for CUPE Local 416
Mayor David Miller
Maria Augimeri (York Centre)
Sandra Bussin (Beaches East York)
Shelley Carroll (Don Valley East)
Raymond Cho (Scarborough Rouge River)
Janet Davis (Beaches East York)
Glenn De Baeremaeker (Scarborough Centre)
Frank Di Giorgio (York South Weston)
Paula Fletcher (Toronto Danforth)
Adam Giambrone (Davenport)
Mark Grimes (Etobicoke Lakeshore)
Suzan Hall (Etobicoke North)
Adrian Heaps (Scarborough Southwest)
Doug Holyday (Etobicoke Centre)
Pam McConnell (Toronto Centre Rosedale)
Joe Mihevc (St. Paul’s )
Joe Pantalone (Trinity Spadina)
Gord Perks (Parkdale High Park)
Anthony Perruzza (York West)
Bill Saundercook (Parkdale High Park)
Adam Vaughan (Trinity Spadina)

NO to the contract for CUPE Local 416
Paul Ainslie (Scarborough East)
Brian Ashton (Scarborough Southwest)
Mike Del Grande (Scarborough Agincourt)
Mike Feldman (York Centre)
Rob Ford (Etobicoke North)
Cliff Jenkins (Don Valley West)
Norm Kelly (Scarborough Agincourt)
Chin Lee (Scarborough Rouge River)
Peter Milczyn (Etobicoke Lakeshore)
Denzil Minnan-Wong (Don Valley East)
Ron Moeser (Scarborough East)
Frances Nunziata (York South Weston)
Case Ootes (Toronto Danforth)
John Parker (Don Valley West)
Karen Stintz (Eglinton Lawrence)
Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre)
Michael Walker (St. Paul’s)

Abstentions for conflict of interest:
Howard Moscoe (Eglinton Lawrence)
David Shiner (Willowdale)

Did not vote:
John Filion (Willowdale)
Gloria Lindsay Luby (Etobicoke Centre)
Giorgio Mammoliti (York West)
Cesar Palacio (Davenport)
Kyle Rae (Toronto Centre Rosedale)

Will you be voting for your city councillor or for Mayor Miller again?

courtesy of network.nationalpost.com

Why is the deal shrouded in secrecy? The union says the city dropped all 118 pages of concessions. If that’s true then why did we have a strike to begin with and why was what went on called a negotiation? Mayor Miller says that the deals worked out meets the goals he and the city laid out at the start of talks. Why don’t the city councilors know anything about it? Aren’t they “the city”? Did the city and the union agree to the same terms? Both sides can’t be telling the truth, so what was actually agreed to? Why won’t the pickets come down until after the agreement is ratified?

At this point there are only questions and no answers. The deals struck with CUPE Local 79 and Local 416 are still tentative and need to be ratified. What we do know is that after the deals are ratified, if they are, there will be no instant back to business as usual. It will take several days before services and programs are restored – garbage needs to be moved, parks will need a lot of cleaning and maintenance, swimming pools need to be cleaned and refilled, and the Toronto Island ferries need to be serviced. In 2002 it took about 3 days to clean up after the strike, but this strike went on for more than twice as long.

There are a lot of things that Toronto needs at the moment, but most of all it needs strong leadership, which is exactly what we are lacking.