A cyclist prepares to ride on a portion of the Trans Canada Trail near Grand Forks, B.C. (Anke Aussendorf/Wikimedia Commons)

The idea for a trail that runs across the country from coast to coast to coast was hatched in 1992 as a unique way to celebrate Canada’s 125th year since Confederation.

Twenty years later, the Trans Canada Trail is 73 percent completed, thanks to the hard work and dedication of thousands of Canadians—many of them volunteers.

When completed, it will stretch 22,500 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic Oceans, through every province and territory, making it the world’s longest network of trails.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the beginning of the ambitious project, which is made up of close to 400 individual trails, all with their own unique features.

The goal is to connect the trail as a continuous route by 2017, Canada’s 150th anniversary. That means 6,500 kilometres have yet to be built—much of it in unpopulated areas with difficult terrain.

But it’s a challenge Trans Canada Trail president and CEO Deborah Apps says can be met, given the gusto with which the project has been embraced so far.

“This is the largest volunteer initiative in Canada’s history, because there have been so many people on the ground working in support of this project over the last 20 years,” says Apps.

“We’re challenged with some pretty tough terrain right now and that will be our challenge for the next five years, but we have great volunteers and we are really seeing a lot of very positive community support.”

Apps says she envisions the trail being used to connect families and communities, and enrich the lives and wellbeing of all Canadians. From cross-country skiing in the winter to horseback riding in the summer, the trail can be used in an endless variety of ways.

“It’s all about health and well-being—the physical and spiritual,” she says.

“Eighty percent of Canadians live within 30 minutes of the trail, so if you think about it that way … it’s absolutely very positive for communities.”

From Horseback Riding to Snowshoeing

A view of the Trans Canada Trail at Silver Springs Park in East St. Paul, Manitoba. When the trail is completed it will be the longest recreational network in the world. (Van Whitehead/Wikipedia)

The trail’s “Greenways Vision” promotes non-motorized uses of the network, mainly designed for hikers/walkers, cyclists, horseback riders, and canoeists/kayakers in summer, and cross country skiers, snowshoers, and snowmobilers (on select portions) in winter.

The Trans Canada Trail website has maps that guide users to their nearest piece of the trail, and provides details on what kind of terrain and features to expect.

“Is this a good equestrian trail? Is it good for cycling? Is it paved? Gravel? Will I be able to pull my children behind in a chariot? All of those things are available for visitors to the website to understand the kind of experience they’re going to get on the trail,” says Apps.

The trail is funded by corporations, all levels of government, and through public donations. It will take approximately $100 million to finish the remaining portion.

Over the past 20 years, more than 125,000 Canadians have donated towards building the trail and anyone can sponsor a portion for as little as $5. Apps says the organization is trying to decide how to recognize those who have contributed to the trail.

“There are hundreds of thousands of Canadians, maybe millions [involved], and so we have to come up with a plan where we will recognize how people have given and what they’ve given.”

She says both Canadians and tourists from around the world are already planning to use the trail in creative ways.

One family is planning to travel a different portion of the trail every year, and another is organizing a “cousvention,” where cousins from different areas of Canada plan to meet along the trail.

“It’s starting to really take root in people’s psyche about what they can experience on the trail and what it can be used for,” she says. “There are portions of the trail that deliver a remarkable experience.”

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Over a quarter of children in Ontario are obese or overweight. (John Moore/Getty Images)

The Ontario government has created a panel to make recommendations on how to cut child obesity by 20 percent, a goal set by the Ministry of Health to be met over the next five years. 

The panel, dubbed the Healthy Kids Panel, is co-chaired by Alex Munter, CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and Kelly Murumets, CEO of ParticipACTION.

“Childhood obesity is a global epidemic,” Murumets said.

In Canada, obesity among children between 2 and 17 rose from 15 percent in 1979 to 26 percent in 2004; in Ontario, over a quarter of children are obese or overweight.

Childhood obesity is a global epidemic. — Kelly Murumets, Healthy Kids Panel

Murumets said the panel has been given an important task to make the province healthier.

“I think it’s the Ontario government standing up and saying ‘Listen, we have a crisis here in our own province.’”

Announced last week by provincial Health Minister Deb Matthews, the panel consists of 17 accomplished experts from different sectors including health care and public health, food retail and manufacturing, education, and academia, among others.

The blue-ribbon panel will come up with recommendations and suggestions for the minister, with the first set of recommendations due by the end of this year.

“[The recommendations] need to be hard-hitting, meaningful, fiscally feasible, implementable,” Murumets said.

“[W]e owe it to our kids to give them the best possible start in life—and that includes good health,” she said. 

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A task force says all Ontario long-term care homes should make prevention of abuse and neglect their topmost priority and asks the provincial government to take action along with the long-term care sector to improve the system.

The Long-Term Care Task Force on Resident Care and Safety was formed last year in response to media reports of elderly abuse and neglect in retirement homes. It released its action plan last week consisting of 18 recommendations to improve the quality of care for residents.

The recommendations include 11 actions for the long-term care sector to implement. They include establishing a quality committee, identifying indicators of abuse and neglect, regularly assessing staff competency in recognizing and preventing abuse, and others.

The report also calls for long-term care homes in the province to declare “the prevention of abuse and neglect and zero tolerance as their number one priority over the next year and a top priority in years to follow.”

The report further outlines a number of areas for the government to take leadership on. They include taking initiative to strengthen staff capacity, taking action to support residents with specialized needs, and revisiting legislative requirements and processes that “detract from resident care,” among others.

The task force is independent of the government and is made up of different stakeholders in the long-term care sector including medical professionals, personal support workers, unions, and long-term care provider associations, among others.

The external chair of the task force is Dr. Gail Donner, former dean of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto.

The report involved nearly 2,000 individuals and groups and meetings with over 40 subject matter and industry experts.

The initiative is part of the province’s Action Plan for Health Care and is meant to allow more seniors to live at home to free up hospitals and long-term care facilities.

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Youth interested in learning more about careers in the construction industry attend last year's B.O.L.T. Day of Discovery.

TORONTO—Ontario’s labour shortage has been of growing concern to government. The lack of skilled workers is being felt in all industries, including the construction industry.

Builders complain that the shortage of skilled tradespeople reduces their capacity to produce needed housing in Toronto.

Many skilled tradespeople are in their 50s or older. Our immigration policy favours immigrants with academic credentials. Canadians, both new and old, push their children into white-collar work.
Given this scenario, as our cities grow, who will build homes and offices for all these educated workers?

Both the federal and provincial governments have put incentives in place to encourage youth to take up work in trades of all kinds, and offer attractive incentives to employers as well.

The federal government offers up to $4,000 if you begin and complete an apprenticeship in a trade. The Ontario government offers employers a tax credit of between 35 and 45 percent of an apprentice’s wages, and $1,000 scholarship for apprentices who have left school early and return in order to meet the academic requirements for apprenticeship.

Government incentives are helpful, but young people making career choices need to be welcomed by the industry that will employ them. They need to know the jobs are there, and that the jobs will lead to meaningful careers.

Tridel, one of Ontario’s largest builders, recognizes the need for industry leaders to actively encourage young people to explore construction careers.

In 2009, Tridel president Leo Del Zotto learned from members of the Children’s Aid Foundation about the needs of youth in care who lack the funds to continue their education after high school. That year, Tridel hosted a golf tournament that raised $25,000 for the foundation that was used to grant scholarships.

What came out of Tridel’s partnership with the Children’s Aid Foundation was a need for funding geared toward young people who don’t want to go to university but are interested in apprenticeship.

In 2010, Tridel introduced Building Opportunities for Life Today (B.O.L.T.). The focus was on creating awareness and raising funds for youth going into construction-related programs.

Expanding

Tridel has continued to offer scholarships to youth through the Children’s Aid Foundation, but they have also greatly expanded the program to include a broader range of youth.

Speak Out is a B.O.L.T. program that introduces students to careers in the construction industry. When partnered with the TDSB, speakers from the industry are brought into secondary schools to encourage youth to explore careers in everything from carpentry and masonry apprenticeships to architecture and design.

B.O.L.T. also offers Day of Discovery, a daylong event during which youth visit both a Tridel site under construction and the George Brown campus. This year it will be held on May 31 at George Brown College, Casa Loma Campus, and at Tridel’s Ventus Project.

Youth who connect with B.O.L.T. through any of the agencies and organization that are partners can finish a Day of Discovery and sign up for a two-week job shadowing program, though spaces are limited.

Interested participants can connect to college programs that lead to building-related careers.

Last year, B.O.L.T. scholarships were awarded to 10 George Brown students in construction-related programs. B.O.L.T. scholarships will be available to Humber College students this September.

By Fall of 2011, the B.O.L.T. program has grown so large the staff that had been working on it in their spare time realized they needed to hire someone full-time to administrate the program.

In 2011, Tridel made a big step, hiring Joanne Bin to coordinate B.O.L.T. full-time. And boy did it pay off. Last month, Tridel held the first annual Heart to Heart Casino Night, which raised an astounding $400,000.

“All the money that we raise goes to these programs,” says Bin proudly. “My salary and everything around B.O.L.T. is covered by Tridel. It’s not like this money is going to support overhead. It all goes to the kids.”

Making connections

Hammerheads received $150,000 from BMO through B.O.L.T. over the next five years. Hammerheads offers youth a 12-week overview of the construction trades, and is connected to unionized apprenticeships through members of the Central Ontario Building Trades.

Connecting youth with unionized work is a good idea. Unions provide job security, pensions, and opportunities to learn as you earn, all of which are attractive to young people who are hesitant to take out a student loan and want to know their career path will lead to a secure future.

“We’ll continue to work with Hammerheads to see how we can help them grow their program,” says Bin.

The George Brown College Foundation B.O.L.T. Scholarship received $100,000 during the Heart to Heart Casino Night, and an additional $150,000 over the next 10 years from CIBC. What will they do with all that money?

“We’ll probably be covering most of the tuition and we’ll probably do 10 [scholarships] each year,” Bin says.

Next up on Tridel’s B.O.L.T. agenda is an online auction starting in mid-June. Tridel will be auctioning off the furniture from their sales floor model suits to raise funds. You can bid online until July 26.

It seems there’s a lot going on, which is appropriate considering the GTA has one of North America’s most active housing markets. According to Bin, we’re hopefully going to see more programs like B.O.L.T.

“It’s the community, government, and industry working together,” she explains. “This is a great model for other industries.”  Well said.

For more information visit www.boltonline.org

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The courtyard of the Canary District Condos will not only provide access to shared outdoor space, but will also ensure that all units have abundant natural light.

The shovels hit the dirt last week and the excitement surrounding the West Don Lands’ Don River Park community brings us one step closer to the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games.

The area has been named the Canary District after the iconic Canary Restaurant building.

Since the Canary Restaurant closed in 2007, you’ve probably had time to forget the taste of the food and have become nostalgic about the loss of the historic restaurant for which the new district is named.

Don’t worry. They haven’t killed the Canary. It and the old Canadian National Railways office building will serve as the “western gateposts” to the district.

The west entrance to Front Street Promenade flanked by the historical Canadian National Railroad office building and the Canary Restaurant.

Adjacent to the 18-acre Don River Park currently under construction, the 8 buildings that will make up the Canary District will serve as the Pan American and Para Pan American Games’ Athlete’s Village, hosting approximately 10,000 athletes and officials.

Housing guests of the games has accelerated Toronto’s plans for the West Don Lands. When they wrap up, the area will be left with a carefully designed mixed-income, mixed-use community nestled around what will be Canada’s largest YMCA facility and surrounded by meticulously planned public green spaces.

Bayview will soon extend further south to meet Front and Mill streets, curling around Don River Park, which will be part of the “dry” park area. A “wet” area including a meadow or “urban prairie” will be located east of the park, sloping downward into a lowland meadow. Yes, that’s right, we’re getting meadows downtown.

Don River Park will eventually connect to the system of waterfront public spaces currently in progress as part of the ambitious and visionary work of Waterfront Toronto.

Residents will soon be serviced by the TTC with three streetcar stops planned along Cherry Street to start.

Completely new neighbourhood

If you have driven along the Gardiner Expressway lately, you’ve seen some of the shining new towers going up around the Distillery. What we can see right now is a fraction of what is planned for the area over the next 5–10 years.

For the uninitiated, there are a number of factors that contributed to the development of Toronto’s first completely new neighborhood in years.

The Greenbelt Act of 2005 quickly followed in 2006 by the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe means the farmlands and undeveloped areas around the GTA are pretty much off-limits.

These programs mandate an increase in urban density and public transportation for all the Horseshoe regions: Niagara, Hamilton, Guelph, Barrie, Orillia, Peterborough, and the GTA.

Brownfields Ontario reforms allow government to be very flexible, fast-tracking and simplifying procedures for projects planned on abandoned industrial areas like the West Don Lands. For a project with a tight timeline like the Pan Am Games Athlete’s Village, less red tape and more flexibility are beneficial.

Waterfront Toronto’s near complete construction of a massive flood protection landform, as well as the eventual naturalization of the Don River returning it to its original course, will eliminate flood risk. The landform allows the West Don Lands to be safely developed as well as providing flood protection for a big chunk of the financial district.

There are four West Don Lands neighborhoods in various stages of planning and development that will surround what is now the rather isolated Distillery District.

Continued on the next page … Collaborative design approach

Police officers chase demonstrators during the G20 summit in Queen’s Park on June 26, 2010. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Police were ill-prepared for the G20 summit events and the protests that followed, Ontario’s civilian police watchdog that reviewed the conduct of police during the summit has found.

“What occurred over the course of the weekend resulted in the largest mass arrests in Canadian history,” Gerry McNeilly, head of Ontario’s Office of Independent Police Review Director, said in his report.

“These disturbances had a profound impact not only on the citizens of Toronto and Canada generally but on public confidence in the police as well.”

Security for the events in Toronto was provided by an Integrated Security Unit consisting of the RCMP, the Toronto Police Service, and the Canadian Forces, among others.

The G20 summit was held in Toronto in June 2010, following the G8 summit in Huntsville, Ontario. The combined security for both summits comprised Canada’s largest-ever domestic security operation, involving roughly 21,000 personnel.

McNeilly said the Toronto Police Service had “incomplete and inadequate” planning for the G20 security operation, and that it lacked experience in planning and executing operations of this scale.

He also said police used “excessive force” when making arrests in many instances, and that the Prisoner Processing Centre was “poorly planned, designed, and operated.” The lack of proper processes resulted in prisoners being lost within the system and prisoners not having their basic needs addressed due to inadequate staffing.

McNeilly noted, however, that given the short time police had for planning, “policing was generally carried out very well,” although improvements are needed.

Security had only six months to prepare for the G20, compared to most host cities that have two years.

Report Clears RCMP of Wrongdoing

In a separate report released this week, the RCMP watchdog concluded that the actions of the force during the G8 and G20 summits were “reasonable and appropriate.”

“The RCMP ably fulfilled its planning and operational responsibilities relating to security for this large-scale international event,” Ian McPhail, the Interim Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, said in a statement.

The RCMP had the primary responsibility for the security of the summit and the protection of visiting foreign dignitaries.

McPhail said the RCMP had behaved properly in conducting its duties.

“Planning for both events was found to be thorough. The investigation did not reveal any instances of unreasonable use of force by RCMP members,” the commission said.

McPhail also cleared the RCMP of any wrongdoing in the so-called “kettling” incident, noting that although such tactics are not consistent with the RCMP’s policies and practices, the site was at the time under the control of the Toronto Police and the Ontario Provincial Police.

The kettling incident involved police boxing in of hundreds of people for hours in the rain in downtown Toronto on June 27, 2010.

“It is hoped that the issues identified throughout the planning process, during the Summits, and in the context of the Commission’s public interest investigation, will serve to enhance security for such events in the future,” McPhail said.

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A study by the Toronto school board shows that students taking part in a nutritious breakfast program initiated in part by the board perform better in school. (Photos.com)

A recent study by the Toronto school board shows that morning meals are directly related to how students perform at school.

Conducted by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the study evaluated the implementation of the Feeding Our Future pilot program, which provides nutritious breakfasts for all middle and secondary school students in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood, regardless of their ability to pay.

Evaluations done on the approximately 6,000 students in the participating four middle schools and three secondary schools show that students who eat a proper breakfast demonstrate an improved ability to stay on task, better behaviour and attitude, improved attendance, and were less likely to be suspended.

“This is tremendous work that highlights the importance of working with our provincial and municipal partners so that all students can succeed. We will do all we can to continue nutrition programs wherever it is needed,” Chris Bolton, chair of the TDSB, said in a statement.

According to the TDSB, almost all (97 percent) middle school (grades 6-8) students took part in the program, with 82 percent participating at least three days in a school week. The majority (85 percent) of secondary school students also took part in the program, with around 46 percent not missing more than three days in a school week.

The survey shows that 78 percent of students who had breakfast on most days were on track for graduation, compared to 61 percent of students who had breakfast only on few days or not at all.

Among secondary school students, those who had breakfast frequently were less likely to be suspended and more likely to attend school regularly.

Grade 7 and 8 students who had breakfast on most days exceeded provincial reading standards by a rate 10 percent higher than those who didn’t have breakfast.

Also, 75 percent of students who had breakfast on most school days rated their health as excellent or good compared to just 58 percent of those who had breakfast on two or fewer days.

The study recommends the pilot program, which was supposed to run for two years after its initiation in 2008 but has been maintained beyond the planned time, continue to provide nutritious fresh food to students.

“The new research affirms the fundamental importance of student nutrition programs and makes it clear that healthy food allows students to grow socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.”

Survivor and mother Karma Brown shares her inspiring story and at the event. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Time)

Fertile Future, a Canadian non-profit organization providing fertility preservation information and support services to cancer patients and oncology professionals, held its Evening of Hope fundraising initiative May 10 at Hart House in Toronto.

Proceeds from the silent auction sales go to Fertile Future. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Supporters at the Evening of Hope event pose for a photo. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Internationally acclaimed classical pianist Shoshana Telner performs at the event while Beckie DiLeo paints. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

(L-R) Shira Benson, Fay Weisberg from First Steps Fertility Clinic, and Andrew Weisberg attend the Evening of Hope event. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Carl Laskin and Michelle Todgham from LifeQuest Clinic enjoy the Evening of Hope event. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Josh McKie and Valerie Verheyen take part in the Evening of Hope. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

(L-R) Lynn van der Linde, president of Fertile Future, Jennifer Cookman, and Jessica Hacker, executive director of Fertile Future. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

People take part in the Evening of Hope at the Hart House. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

All smiles at the Evening of Hope event (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Anatoly Dvorkin and Sara R. Cohen (Fertility Law Canada) take part in the Evening of Hope. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

The beginning of the Evening of Hope event. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Supporters attend the Evening of Hope event. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Supporters share a laugh at the Evening of Hope event. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Some of the prizes put up for auction to support Fertile Future. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Supporters take part in the Evening of Hope. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Master of Ceremonies Anwar Knight (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

Starting this fall, Ontario commuters can expect a refund for their GO tickets if the trains are more than 15 minutes late.

The refund will be provided if the train is late for any reason except when caused by extreme weather, police investigations, accidents, and medical emergencies.

Making the announcement in the same week that GO Transit is entering its 45th year of service, the provincial government said the money-back guarantee is being implemented to provide better customer service for GO passengers.

“For the last 45 years, GO Transit has provided commuters in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area with safe, reliable public transit,” Bob Chirallei, minister of transportation and infrastructure, said in a statement.

The service carries around 62 million passengers per year—about75 percent by rail and the rest by bus.

The Ontario Medical Association is saying the provincial government has “turned their back” on the province’s physicians by imposing cuts to some of the fees paid to doctors this week.

“The message from the McGuinty government to our medical graduates and doctors who might think of returning to Ontario is clear—we don’t value your input in our health care system,” Dr. Doug Weir, president of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), said in a statement.

Weir said the announced cuts mean that Ontario doctors will start considering moving out of the province.

Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Deb Matthews announced on Monday that the province is going ahead with cuts to some of the fees paid under the $11 billion Ontario Health Insurance Plan after failing to reach a deal with doctors.

“Our doctors are the best paid in Canada. Instead of another raise for doctors, we need a real wage freeze so we can invest in more home care,” Matthews said in a statement.

“To hold the line on doctor pay, we’re making changes to fees for physician services to reflect advances in technology and the latest medical evidence on what helps patients most.”

The government says introduction of new technology has reduced the time needed for certain procedures while the costs of the procedures have remained the same. Cataract surgery, for example, now could take as little as 15 minutes to perform, compared to two hours a few years back, and so the fee for this operation will be reduced from $441 to $397.75.

Among the planned cuts are reductions to the $88 million spent on self-referrals, under which a patient is sent back to the doctor’s practice for an additional procedure. With the new changes, payments for some diagnostic tests such as X-rays and ultrasounds will be cut in half if the same doctor orders and performs the test.

Fees will also be reduced for diagnostic radiology tests such as CT and MRI scans as well as eye injections for retinal diseases since technology has reduced the time required for these operations, the government says.

Doctors are also told to perform fewer echocardiograms, which have been found not to improve patient outcomes before routine non-cardiac surgery.

Ontario’s doctors earn an average of $385,000 per year, with over 400 making more than $1 million a year.

Negotiations between the OMA and the province for a new contract, which has lasted for weeks, reached an impasse on Sunday ahead of the government’s latest announcement on Monday.

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Pearson International Airport was voted the worst Canadian airport in an online poll. (Photos.com)

Toronto’s Lester Pearson International Airport was voted the worst airport in Canada in an online poll conducted by FlightNetwork.com.

In the poll, respondents were asked to name the best and worst airports in major cities in Canada, the U.S., and internationally.

In Canada, Pearson was ranked the worst airport with close to 37 percent of the votes, followed by Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport with around 19 percent, and the Edmonton International Airport with 12 percent.

Pearson was also ranked the worst Canadian airport in FlightNetwork.com’s 2010 survey with over 26 percent of the votes.

Internationally, among the 14 airports considered, Pearson was voted as the second worst airport after London’s Heathrow International.

The best Canadian airport according to the poll is the Vancouver International Airport with 35 percent of the votes.

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Trudy Perrow and two-month-old daughter Elizabeth (Liv), her “little miracle child,” in their Toronto home. (Kristina Skorbach/The Epoch Times)

Torontonians will have a chance to witness a blank canvass turn into beautiful art on stage at the Hart House this Thursday as artist Beckie DiLeo paints live to the inspiration of music performed by internationally acclaimed classical pianist Shoshana Telner.

The event, titled An Evening of Hope, is a fundraising initiative by Fertile Future, a Canadian non-profit organization that provides fertility preservation information and support services to cancer patients and oncology professionals.

According to Fertile Future, an estimated 10,000 young Canadians are diagnosed with cancer each year, and 8,000 of them survive. Cancer treatments or surgical procedures, however, can lessen the chances of fertility, which makes it important for cancer patients to get the right information at the right time, the organization says.

Board member Trudy Perrow, a cognitive behavioural therapist who specializes in treating chronic pain, is a survivor of ovarian cancer who found help from Fertility Future when she experienced challenges in finding out her fertility options after her diagnosis.

Perrow says that although it is a devastating time when people learn that they’re diagnosed with cancer, as they’re not even sure if they’re going to survive, getting the right information at the right time is critical.

In addition to the unique collaborative performance of visual and musical arts, Thursday’s event will also include wine and tasty food and will be followed by a silent auction featuring collectibles and artwork.

More information about the event is available at FertileFuture.ca/An-Evening-of-Hope.

Improve Home Improvement Centre (Courtesy of Improve)

Special Feature

When you are dealing with anything to do with housing in the Greater Toronto Area there is indeed strength in the numbers.

Toronto’s real estate market is experiencing another dizzying growth spurt. The housing market can’t keep up with the influx of new Canadians and foreign investors interested in storing their savings in the giant, cozy mattress that is the Canadian real estate market.

The rental vacancy rate is hovering around 1 percent and there are rumours renters have stooped to engaging in bidding wars on apartments downtown.

We’d build even more housing, but there’s a labour shortage and every inch of land counts.

However, no matter whether we build new homes, sell old ones, or rent out an apartment it’s inevitable: we must renovate and decorate.

Torontonians are renovation crazy. According to a 2010 Canada Mortgage and Housing Company survey, the GTA renovations market is worth $8.7 billion. Apparently, 91 percent of us are either currently renovating or planning to in the next five years.

Since 91 percent of you reading this already know what a headache renovation can be, one wonders why such a big industry hasn’t made the whole process more convenient for consumers.

Decorators, designers, and do-it-yourselfers are looking with hope toward a new location to be built at the intersection of Hwy 407 and Hwy 400.

Improve co-owner Oleg Chekhter poses in front of an artist’s rendition of what will soon be Canada’s largest home renovations show mall. (Courtesy of Improve )

Co-owner Oleg Chekhter, designers GHA (of Yorkdale Mall reknown), and builder Belrock are building something Asian and European consumers have had for years—a home renovations shopping mall. It will be called Improve.

Improve, according to Chekhter, is a pilot project. If the location in Toronto goes well when it opens in 2013, they’ll build in Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal.

Canada loves malls because, let’s face it, it’s almost always cold, unless you we’re talking Vancouver where it always rains. We hate driving now too because of the price of gas.

I have heard there are some rare Canadians who like driving but dislike shopping (I believe they’re called men) and for them Improve will be a huge time-saver.

If you’re travelling with an interior decorator instead of your partner, you may be paying by the hour. Your dollar stretches a lot further when you no longer have to run around the city.

Plethora of Shops, Designer Showrooms

There will be over 300 shops, each competing with their neighbour for your attention. They can use unique designs and products, very competitive pricing, or both to earn business.

Instead of milling about online and hoping for the best, there will be many designer showrooms where you can see and feel the quality of the work, quickly finding a sense of style that resonates with your own.

One of the horrors of renovating using a big box store is the mind-numbing lack of originality and overall uniformity of the products available, from one giant corporate mega store to the next.

An area of great potential for Improve is original, one-of-a-kind, customized, and creative products and services.

It is encouraging that, along with the requisite kitchen design shops and high-end appliance stores already owning units, an art gallery, plaster molding company, and a fantastic stained glass company were among the first to buy in.

Chekhter says that as Improve evolves he will give over the role of curator to the consumer.

“Businesses that can do well are businesses that are offering great stuff,” he says. The right combination of products and services will evolve naturally from customers’ needs.

(Courtesy of Improve)

Improve is a welcome concept for consumers, but it may mean even more to the local building industry. Designers and builders will now have a single location to select materials and purchase in bulk because businesses at Improve that have the capacity can sell at both retail and wholesale prices.

The average consumer will also have room to negotiate. Considering that Southern Ontario’s “average” consumers are from all over the world, a place where you can negotiate adds an element of familiarity, a sort of ultra-modern, luxury bazaar.

The price has already moved from $300,000 a unit to $330,000, and may change considerably when the shovel hits the dirt in the next few months.

Part of the condo maintenance fee will be pooled together into a collective marketing fund which will add up to about a million dollars a year.

This is a huge savings for stores that are used to paying thousands of dollars a month in advertising they have difficulty tracking the results of. Once again, there is strength in numbers.

Rendering of Lindvest Properties’ B. Streets Condos located in the Annex at Bathurst and Bloor. (Courtesy of Lindvest Properties)

Special Feature

Is Toronto the best city to buy a condo in North America? At the very least, we have the best advertising agencies. This year they’ve done a world-class job of selling us as this continent’s best place to build a new nest.

In February, Canadian advertising agencies made big tracks at the U.S.-based National Home Builder’s Association Sales and Marketing Awards. Since the awards are called The Nationals, and all the judges are Americans, it’s nice to see Canadian companies getting so much love.

Toronto companies won thirteen of the forty-nine awards up for grabs. Canadian ad agencies seemed to dominate entire categories. For example, five of the six projects nominated in the Best Community Branding category were clients of Montana Steele. They won gold plus four silvers in a single category.

Canadian companies won Best Radio Commercial, Best TV Commercial, Best Overall Ad Campaign, Best Community Branding, Best Graphic Continuity, Best Brochure – Book Format, Best Direct Mail, Best Black and White Ad, and a Building Community Spirit Award.

Toronto condo projects completely swept the Community of the Year – Urban category. The gold and all the silver winners in the category are right here in the T-dot. That’s a lot of award winning community.

Montana Steele’s Andy DeSantis (L) and Adam Savoni (R) win Best Direct Mail for Cinema Tower at the 2012 BILD Awards. In the centre is Corey McBurney, president of Enerquality. (Rodney Daw)

Staff at advertising agency Montana Steele are still giddy after winning seven National Gold Awards [and a number of silvers they need not deign to count].

Montana Steele got most recognition for their work on Daniels’ Cinema Towers. Across the street from TIFF Bell Lightbox and sister building Festival Tower, Cinema Towers places TIFF, and movies, at the heart of resident’s living experience. What’s not to love?

Adam Savoni, Account Executive at Montanta Steele, worked on both the Cinema Tower and Festival Tower teams. “It was a tremendous and unprecedented success. It’s very unique and unprecedented to win so many awards.”

Savoni was also pleased to represent Canada. “We had tremendous competition with other [North American] agencies pitching phenomenal creative.”

Daniels Corp. Cinema Towers offers residents exclusive TIFF access. It was a blockbuster at the 2012 Nationals. (Courtesy of Daniels Corp.)

When we asked Savoni about parents forcing their creative, compulsively doodling Canadian children into accounting and engineering careers, he has this to say: “Canada has a huge market for design and creative. It just goes to show after awards like this—there’s tons of potential here.”

At last week’s The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) Awards, Montana Steele received an unprecedented 21 Award nominations for a variety of projects. They came home with three awards.

It seems GTA judges were more excited by the work of Toronto ad agency L.A. Inc.

L.A. Inc. came home from the NHBA Marketing Awards with five National Gold awards for different projects, and are also fatigued by counting National Silver awards.

Just as L.A. Inc. had recovered from all that U.S. gold, they unpacked to find they had been nominated for 20 BILD Awards. They made the trek up and down the stage at the BILD Awards seven times for their work on Linvest Properties B. Streets condo in the Annex.

Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, the B. Streets project was nominated for twelve BILD awards, winning seven, including High Rise Project of the Year.

“We built the whole campaign around the community, around the neighbourhood,” explains L.A. Inc. VP David Klugsberg. Real local Annex residents became were photographed and used for the promotional material.

The B. Streets team, including Lindvest Properties, L.A. Inc., Milborne Real Estate Inc., Cecconi Simone, and The Communications Group. (Rodney Daw)

“It’s been fun to work on,” Klugsberg said. Hear that tiger moms? He’s talking about his day job.

There are several factors that may be fuelling overall mood of, well…victory. Obviously, the Toronto condo market is very lucrative–more money, means bigger budgets for creative marketing.

We are also increasingly keen on increasing density downtown in an attempt to embrace transit oriented development, which mean we need to build up, not out. With land at a premium, high-rise condos are cost effective.

In order to lure people out of their larger suburban homes (and keep hipsters downtown) condos need to be attractive to live in. With a unit under 400 square feet, you need to be able to effectively sell a ‘lifestyle’, and that’s what marketing is all about.

And it’s working. Just ask BILD Low-Rise of the Year, Treasure Hill Developments block. These College St., ultra-modern townhouses started at $900,000, and sold out before we could visit the website and ogle them.

Toronto may be Hollywood North and Madison Avenue North too. Let’s hope we stay humble.

The “See, Click, Fix” app allows users to report issues such as potholes and graffiti vandalism to city authorities. (The Epoch Times)

Toronto has launched two smartphone apps that allow residents to report potholes directly to the authorities to have them filled.

“These apps let residents report potholes using their smartphones. There’s no need to make a phone call or go to their computer to report the pothole—the request goes right to Transportation Services for action,” Mayor Rob Ford said in a statement.

The apps, which allow users to capture address information of potholes and to include pictures in the report, route the information directly to the Transportation Services division to address the issue.

There are currently two apps available: the “See, Click, Fix” app for Blackberry, iPhone, and Android phones, and the “TDOT 311” app for the iPhone only.

The Daniels Corp. team poses for a photo. (Courtesy of Daniels Corp.)

Special Feature

In the new homes business in Ontario, Tarion is like Santa—they have the definitive list of who’s been naughty or nice.

Tarion administrates the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act. They police builders, ensuring that they abide by legislation. They also protect consumers if builders don’t honour their warranty obligations.

They are there to help us consumers from the moment we commit with a down payment to seven years after our purchase. They also offer protection if buyers incur losses because their home is not completed on time.

Though there are several important awards given out annually in the home building industry, the Tarion awards are the only awards voted on by Ontario home buyers.

The awards are based on survey results taken after purchase, questioning every stage of the after-sales homeowner-builder relationship, from the signing to construction, pre-delivery inspection, and finally after-sales service.

This year, The Daniels Corporation won Tarion’s High-Rise Builder of the Year Award.

The Daniels Corp. team poses for a photo. (Courtesy of Daniels Corp.)

“What makes this award so special is that it’s not some industry committee—it’s from the end user, the homeowners,” explains Niall Haggart, executive vice president at Daniels.

“It’s everything from the time they walked into the sales office, through to the purchase, how the documents were handled, how was the pre-delivery inspection, was the quality of the unit good, what was their after-sales service like, would you buy from them again—all these challenging and really important questions.”

One of the concerns buyers voice about new homes is quality, and for good reason, says Haggart.

“From our perspective, historically, the real estate development home building business has not been terrific in delivering a good quality home within the period of time it has been promised. It’s really something we as an industry need to strive and improve.”

According to Tarion’s website, in 2006 only 6 percent of Ontario’s 5,600 builders were providing the quality of service to qualify for a Tarion award nomination.

It is notable that Daniels has been nominated in the high-rise category every year since Tarion began giving awards in 2005 (except in 2009 when no awards were given).

To what does Haggart accredit Daniels’ success? “We’ve put in place systems and structures, from years of feedback, to be able to do an effective job at communicating with our customers,” he says.

Community Building

Daniels has a broad spectrum of customers, building everything from retirement residences and non-profit housing to high-end condos and the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

The experience their leadership has with non-profit may explain why Daniels was chosen by the City of Toronto to re-build Regent Park.

Many were worried that finding buyers in a mixed-income community would be difficult. However, “the first 10 acres was a tremendous success,” Haggart says.

The second phase of Regent Park’s re-development got off to a great start when Paintbox sold out almost immediately. One Park Place is already under construction and will go on sale soon.

In Etobicoke, Daniels provided land for 10 townhomes, making their gift the single largest donation of land by a private company in Habitat Canada’s history.

Daniels has been a consistent and substantial supporter of Second Harvest for over a decade. They are also the presenting sponsor of this year’s fundraiser for Regent Park School of Music taking place May 7 at the Toronto Board of Trade.

Daniels is not just a builder with a culture of community responsibility. This year Daniels and Canadian ad agency Montana Steele cleaned up at the prestigious National 2012 awards in February for Cinema Tower, the sibling of Festival Towers that sits atop the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Sponsored by U.S.-based National Association of Home Builders, the Nationals are seen as the Oscars of the new home industry, and are usually dominated by American companies.

According to Haggart, Canadian talent is not only formidable in Hollywood. Canadian planners, architects, and engineers are currently involved in projects all over the world.

Daniels’ amazing “grand-slam” at the NAHB awards is “a real testament to the calibre and quality of work that we Canadians are capable of producing,” says Haggart.

Aside from five marketing awards, Daniels won the NAHB Urban Community of the Year for Cinema Tower.

“We’re more about creating master-planned communities with a whole bunch of different moving parts that function,” Haggart explains.

Daniels has just partnered with Artscape to build a 6,000 square-foot performance space at Cinema Towers that will be available to non-profit, charitable, and cultural organizations.

One could point out that building quality housing and designing vibrant communities creates plenty of goodwill, and that can’t hurt the bottom line.

(Courtesy of Mod Developments)

Special Feature

Surrounded by Canadian music history, the Massey Towers will nestle its 60-story stature between Massey Hall, the Elgin and Wintergarden Theatre Centre, and the old Heintzman building. Toronto’s musical traditions are clearly the very roots of this project.

Just one block from the Canon Theatre or St. Michael’s Cathedral, you can have your choice of reverie or reverence. There is also a tiny department store across the street called the “Toronto Eaton Centre.” Probably not much in there but socks and a Starbucks.

Vacant since 1987, the historically designated Canadian Bank of Commerce building will be restored, becoming the lobby and entrance point for the Massey Towers.

Project developer Mod Developments assembled the same team that designed FIVE St. Joseph in order to sensitively handle the integration of the 1905 historical property.

(Courtesy of Mod Developments)

FIVE recently won the BILD High Rise Project of the Year and Best Building Design awards. FIVE’s 45 floors seem to grow organically out of a four-story gothic-revival façade on St. Joseph St. and a block of mews on St. Nicholas St.

Hariri Pontarini Architects’ ability to integrating urban design with historical buildings and historic neighbourhoods is a given. Modern but organic, there is a decidedly human feel to their work.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood?

Building a high rise in a tight urban centre can be challenging, but Gary Switzer, Mod’s president and CEO, has been busy building relationships with his neighbours.

Mod has donated the building’s “backyard,” a piece of land off Victoria Street, to the Massey Foundation, providing Massey Hall with much-needed space to expand its backstage facilities.

It took some careful designing to negotiate the easements or rights-of-way for Massey Hall, the Elgin, and the Massey Tower. Squeezing a building of this size on to a rather Manhattanesque lot took some doing. Thankfully, there is good will among neighbours.

We took a peek into the 197 Yonge St. building. The wood, iron, and plaster work are being restored to their former glory. Switzer was pleased with his latest discoveries, a spectacular mosaic tile floor previously hidden under linoleum and a pink marble staircase. Both will be restored under the supervision of ERA Architects.

Rock on

The first floor of the old bank building will be transformed into a lobby. The second floor, once occupied by conservative banking executives, will now house soundproof practice rooms for professional or aspiring musicians in residence. Now that’s progress.

(Courtesy of Mod Developments)

One of the key issues for downtown developers is parking. One wonders why you’d need a car living at Yonge and Queen, but we digress. Digging down was not an option for the Massey. Technology answered the call. The Massey will feature six floors of automated parking.

The parking system they are looking at is called Boomerang. Each car is parked on top of what could be described as a car-sized table with stubby legs. Robots, reminiscent of gigantic Roombas, whisk the cars away, parking and retrieving them automatically, using half the space humans require to park.

Sufficient and engaging shared space is key for condo dwellers. Of note are the roof garden, a favourite in Hariri Pontarini vocabulary, and a piano bar in keeping with the Massey’s musical theme.

The HarmonyPhi is inspired by the mysteries of the natural world. (Fortunes Fine Jewellers)

Goldsmith, artist, and gemologist Michael DaCosta is a soft-spoken philosopher at heart. Proud owner of Fortunes Fine Jewellers, DaCosta’s skill and creativity have made him an annual winner at the Canadian Jewellers Excellence in Design Competition.

Born in Jamaica with a Portuguese background, DaCosta learned goldsmithing from a good family friend at a young age. At the same time, DaCosta discovered his talent for design and appreciation of detail. “I learned the trade on the bench,” DaCosta said

After managing a retail store for Canada’s largest jewellery chain, DaCosta decided to tap into his love of design and try his hand at designing jewellery. He opened Fortunes Fine Jewellers in 1986.

Buzzing around his shop at 1901 Avenue Rd. in Toronto, DaCosta offered a glimpse at some of his designs.

Fortunes' Fine Jeweller, Michael DaCosta (Kristina Skorbach)

Detailed pencil sketches of necklaces, bangles, rings, and earrings scattered thick pages inside a beige file folder. Intricate doodles of sport cars, mystical warriors and coloured portraits occasionally popped out in between.

DaCosta took drawing classes at OCAD University. “I think originality is a very big part of what we do here,” he says.

In addition to DaCosta, the Fortunes shop houses three goldsmiths, three gemologists, a setter, and DaCosta’s son, who has had the opportunity to train with Fortunes’ goldsmiths. When customers visit the store and describe their vision for a piece of jewellery, DaCosta promptly designs and makes it.

“We’re a one-stop shop,” he says with a smile.

DaCosta says customers can expect the realization of their envisioned piece. He insists he’d never say “Well, that’s what you ordered” and send an unsatisfied customer home. DaCosta believes in the principles of taking responsibility and delivering quality work.

“Long after you’ve forgotten how much you paid for it, you will appreciate the beauty of it,” DaCosta says.

The Philosophy of Phi

HarmonyPhi diamond pendant (Fortunes Fine Jewellers)

Recently, DaCosta introduced his HarmonyPhi collection to a world audience. He created something with universal appeal and patented his “distilled idea,” HarmonyPhi, in over 40 countries.

DaCosta explained the philosophy and inspiration behind his signature HarmonyPhi design using sketches of the golden rectangle, the Parthenon, and the golden ratio. “It’s fascinating,” and “amazing” he repeated.

HarmonyPhi jewelry is “inspired by things in the natural world.” DaCosta noted that the spiral symbol recurs in nature like in the shape of the human ear, the centre of a sunflower, in fiddleheads, and the shape of our galaxy.

The HarmonyPhi necklace is made of either sterling silver or gold, has a round pendant with four spirals representing earth, water, air, and fire, a drop of 24 carat gold to represent “an unalloyed perfection of creation,” and a phi symbol on top.

“Here’s a piece [of jewellery] that represents your acknowledgement that there are mysteries that still exist” DaCosta said. The HarmonyPhi pendant can also be interpreted as a symbol of luck.

The chair of the Toronto Police Service Board is proposing to outsource the school crossing guard program as part of a cost-reduction strategy for the 2013 budget.

“My inquiries show that the program can be operated by an external provider at a lower cost to the Board,” Alok Mukherjee, chair of Toronto Police Service Board, said in a proposal to be discussed by the board.

TPS spends approximately $7 million per year on the program which employes around 620 part-time crossing guards. The program also requires at least one police officer in each police division to coordinate the guards.

According to Mukherjee, outsourcing the program will result in lower costs due to savings in supervision and coordination. The provider will remain accountable to the board for quality and standard of service, Mukherjee said.

Although disappointed, Mona Piper, the president of the Crossing Guard Association, isn’t surprised by Mukherjee’s proposal.

“They tried it before and they didn’t get anywhere with it,” says Piper, who has been a crossing guard for 40 years.

Last year when the outsourcing was first proposed, the Crossing Guard Association protested in front of City Hall. The proposal was eventually put aside at that time.

Piper has lived in the Davisville and Bayview neighbourhood for over 50 years and has been serving as a crossing guard for children attending Maurice Cody Child Care since moving there.

“I’m crossing children of the parents that I’ve crossed, three generations,” she says.

“It’s not an easy job, I mean we’re taking our life in our hands every day. We don’t do it for the pay, that’s for sure.”

Ida Baan, who also works for the association and has been a crossing guard for 12 years, doubts that an external provider can maintain the same quality of service.

“If it is contracted out, they don’t realize what the legal ramifications are, and what the cost responsibilities are, because crossing guards have to be provided with training, with the security, the background check, they have to be also provided with the uniforms,” Baan says.

A spokesperson with the TPS says that the board still has not made a decision on the proposal. The issue is before a budget sub-committee for further discussions.

A report by Toronto's chief medical officer David McKeown says speed limits should be lowered in the city to increase pedestrian and cyclist safety. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Toronto’s chief medical officer David McKeown is recommending the city drop speed limits to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety.

“Higher vehicle speed increases the risk of a collision as well as the severity of the resulting injuries for cyclists and pedestrians,” McKeown said in a report submitted to the Board of Health.

He said the city should reduce speed limits to 30 km/hr for residential streets and to 40km/hr for other streets.

“Pedestrians have an estimated 85 percent chance of dying when hit by a car travelling at 50 km/hr but fatality rates decrease to less than 5 percent when the car travels at 30 km/hr,” McKeown said.

The recommendations are made as part of a report titled “Road to Health: Improving Walking and Cycling in Toronto,” which probes the health impacts of using walking and cycling for transportation.

The current speed limits in Toronto typically range from 40 to 60 km/hr for minor roads and 50 to 60 km/hr for major roads.

“After 30 km/h zones were introduced in London, these zones experienced a 42 percent reduction in fatalities,” the report says.

Another case mentioned in the report is the Town of Baden in Austria, where restricting the speed to 30 km/hr for three quarters of the roads in the town, along with other measures, reduced casualties by 60 percent.

McKeown’s recommendations will be reviewed by the Board of Health on April 30.

Special Feature

Linda Mitchell Young, vice president of Baker Real Estate Inc., has over 30 years of experience both developing and marketing real estate. During her 20 years with the builder Monarch, she launched 32 buildings, pioneering Monarch’s venture into high-rise development.

In Young’s view, condo sales in the Greater Toronto Area show no signs of a major slowdown.

Last year, 28,000 condo units were sold and another 24,000 were started. This year’s sales are beating last year’s so far. According to Young, this has little to do with a bubble and more to do with supply and demand.

Downtown condos are currently selling for around $700 per square foot, with areas like Queen West selling at around $500 per square foot.

Units are small at 350 square feet. Young says “it’s the math” that’s forcing buyers to embrace Manhattan sizing. The bulk of buyers can afford between $230,000 and $380,000. Because of the price per square foot, our dollar doesn’t go far, so units get smaller.

Goodbye foyers and hallways. Hello, living-dining-bedroom, chic shared facilities, and vertical container gardens.

Construction Costs and Demand Drive Prices

Rising prices are due in part to increasing land and construction costs. Government taxes, levies, and development charges are increasing in a strapped city that passes more costs along to developers.

“We can only build 15,000 condos a year because of labour and materials—they are both at a shortage. Land is also an issue—it’s expensive,” says Young.

High demand is another factor. A large percentage of GTA condo buyers are overseas investors from Asia.

“The word investment is scary, because it usually indicates an artificially inflated price,” she says. “We did go through that in the late 80s.”

But Young feels the comparison to the current market is inaccurate.

In the ‘80s there were fewer projects, and people were purchasing them and quickly “flipping” them for profit. Soon the market was saturated and it crashed. Today’s overseas buyers are holding on to their rental stock as a long-term investment.

Safe Investment for Overseas Buyers

Many are wondering about the lack of congruency between the average 2 percent rental increase annually and the 7 -- 9 percent appreciation in GTA condo prices. Are condo owners actually able to make money while carrying a mortgage?

“I’ve chatted to a number of agents and they’re saying there are ways they can make the numbers work,” Young says. “But they’re also just happy to have their money somewhere else, with Toronto being a safe spot to invest their money.”

With the vacancy rate hovering around 1 percent, and 100,000 or more people moving to Toronto each year, GTA condos are attractive investments.

For a buyer from a country with an unstable political climate or widespread corruption, even a slight loss in Canada is better than a total loss due to economic instability or a regime change back home.

The influx of overseas buyers has also altered the point-of-sale for Canadian condos. Agents and brokers now sell most condos. In the past they sold around half. “Now you’re looking at 80-90 percent,” Young explains.

Commissions of 4 percent per sale by agents and brokers create a major expense for builders. Since the buyers are mainly from Asia, this may be unavoidable. Agents “are the ones reaching out to [buyers in] their countries.”

Interest Rates and Banking System

Low interest rates are also driving condo sales. But most feel it is unlikely we will see anything like the collapse the U.S. experienced.

“The biggest difference between Canada and the U.S. is the banking system. Canadian banks are strict. You have to have proof of sufficient income,” says Young.

Strict rules apply not only to homebuyers but to builders as well.

Banks give financing for the building of a project when it is 70 percent sold. In order for a unit to be counted as sold, the builder needs to show that the buyer has put at least 25 percent down. Once a builder is 70 percent sold, more flexibility may be offered, but that could change in the near future.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said earlier this month in his budget that he would initiate “enhanced supervision” of the CMHC, and promised he’d be more specific in the near future.

This may change little in the new condo market. Interest rates may rise to 6 percent or 7 percent. “Nobody’s talking about double digits,” Young says.

And regardless of the climate for Canadian buyers, foreign investors may remain undaunted.
“There seems to be an endless supply of investors,” she says.

“There’s a very small percentage of unsold, built inventory in our city. It’s being absorbed. … If you speak to George Karas at Realnet, they have the statistics, he’ll tell you there’s only eight months’ supply of high rise product and a 4-month supply of single family home product.”

Investment Options

We asked Young which was the better investment, a single-family dwelling or a condo.

“Condos, because they’re easier to rent out than houses. From a long-term perspective, condos have gone up at a higher rate than houses.”

Condo sales and starts in March 2012 have outpaced those of 2011. If there is a slight slowdown coming, at the very least average income homebuyers may be dealt in for a hand.

The Junior League is a charitable, non-profit organization founded in 1901 by Mary Harriman with the help of 80 other young women seeking to improve children’s health, nutrition and literacy in Lower East Side Manhattan. One of the league’s first members was Eleanor Roosevelt, and many prominent female leader have contributed their time and money over the past century.

Since it’s inception, the Junior League organization has grown to include 292 chapters across Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Toronto’s Junior League sponsors an impressive group of front-line organizations, including youth and women’s shelters, drop in centres and community legal organizations.

This year, they hope to raise $50,000 for their community partners, seed grant recipients and health initiatives.

This week the league is presenting the first DelecTABLE Designs. Over twenty designers have been given 10’ by 10’ or 10’ by 20’ parameters in which to create a unique dining experience.

From lighting to table settings and flooring, well-known designers play off the Junior Leagues currently focus, nutrition and health, providing us with a variety of inspired dining environments.

What can you expect to see? Everything from Rooms N’ Blooms “Up the Creek Without a Table,” where diners use twig handled cutlery eating from a birch bark canoe style table to Harvey Wise Design’s glamorous 1950s cocktail hour tribute “A Sense of Occasion.”

Designers will be on site sharing design ideas and offering decoration advise from Friday to Sunday as a part of the event-long speakers series including Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, Camal Pirbhai of Studio La Beauté—who has created a multi-media installation for the event, Julia West, Lisa Worth, and Anita Wiklem.

For tickets, speakers schedule, and other information visit JLTDelecTABLEDesigns.org

(Rendering of Flaire Condos, located near the Shops at Don Mills.)

Special Feature

I didn’t really want to write this article because I’d be letting people in on a secret: Don Mills is a great place to live and is, thankfully, still undervalued and undiscovered.

I live here, and I don’t want the word to get out, so in a way I hope you don’t continue reading.

I don’t want anyone to know that when the Don Valley Parkway is sweaty and corked, Don Mills Rd. has the same number of lanes, and is breezy in both directions. I’d rather not mention that Hwy 401 and Hwy 404 are both two minutes from here, giving me 20-minute access to, well, everywhere in Toronto.

I don’t want you to visit all the running trails, or figure out that my townhouse has 1,600 square feet of wood flooring, two backyards because of its egalitarian 1960s design, and rents for half or maybe even a third of a smaller downtown version.

(Rendering of Flaire Condos, located near the Shops at Don Mills.)

I can walk to work or make the five-minute drive just like my many white-collar neighbours working in offices up and down the Don Valley/404.

It turns out I am a typical Don Mills resident. This community was designed for people just like me in the 1950s. I love it. I’d tell you to please stay out, but that would be un-neighbourly.

A History of Community Living

If the streets surrounding the intersection of Don Mills Rd. and Lawrence Ave. were made into a book it would be titled, “The Who’s Who of Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Canada.”

The Don Mills community was designed and built between 1953 and 1965, paying strict homage to the ideals and esthetics of the Bauhaus.

The area’s ties to modernism are tight. Macklin Hancock was hired to plan the area at age 27. He left his studies at Harvard under Walter Gropius to work on Don Mills.

Hancock tried to convince Gropius to design the first incarnation of the shopping area where the Shops at Don Mills now stand. Gropius suggested John C. Parkin for the job. Parkin became a father figure for many Canadian architects.

(Rendering of Flaire Condos, located near the Shops at Don Mills.)

The Shops’ current open-air concept is reminiscent of the original shopping area. Macklin planned “elbow room” into Don Mills, with houses built on huge lots and tons of green space and common areas.

Conceived as an urban village, Don Mills is Canada’s first planned community. A quick tour of the neighbourhood may feel like entering a labyrinth. The many cul-de-sacs and curved streets attest to the family-centred livability built into each of Don Mills’ four quadrants.

Each quadrant originally had its own school and church. All the streets and scenic footpaths in all quadrants lead to public spaces and the central shopping area where the Shops at Don Mills now stand.

Modern Lofts 1950’s Style

Fast-forward 50 years. FRAM Building Group and The Cadillac Fairview Corporation have big plans for the little village at Don Mills Rd. and Lawrence Ave. East.

A total of seven condominiums are in differing stages of development, with a total of around 2,000 units of various sizes scheduled over the next few years. Currently, there are three projects on the market.

(Rendering of Flaire Condos, located near the Shops at Don Mills.)

Liv Lofts is an inventive retrofit of a vintage ‘50s office building. Residents in the 174 planned units will benefit from the building’s 10-foot ceilings and hybrid loft living for hipsters.

The Reflections Residences offer plenty of 1950s space, with the smallest just over 600 square feet. Just like the original Don Mills community, the size is meant to lure you out of downtown. And these days, traffic may lead you back in from the suburbs.

Flaire Condos plays up the mid-century modern feel of Don Mills. Giannone Petricone Associates has made sure the building successfully tips its hat to the ‘50s without looking like a possible Mad Men location. (Would that be a bad thing?) For the same price as downtown, you also get several hundred more square feet of “elbow room.”

Flaire also pays homage to Macklin Hancock’s ideals of functionality and community. Common spaces are built to encourage social interaction, further building on the small-town community feel of the Shops at Don Mills.

(Rendering of Flaire Condos, located near the Shops at Don Mills.)

“We don’t see the lobby as a space you merely pass through,” explains lobby designer Alessandro Munge. “There’s an opportunity for human connection everywhere in this building.”

Natural Light, Rooftop Gardens

Another element that Flaire has borrowed from the original 1950s single family dwellings built in Don Mills is the presence of nature and natural light in living spaces. Floor to ceiling windows and rooftop garden space are meant to keep residents connected to both the cityscape and the green space Don Mills still possesses.

What may be most important about Don Mills is not how big your condo is on the inside, but what you can walk to once you step out your door. The Shops at Don Mills are there, but what if you don’t want to spend a penny?

(Rendering of Flaire Condos, located near the Shops at Don Mills.)

Take a walk in the surrounding blocks of tree-lined, traffic-controlled streets. Keep walking until you find one of the footpaths in Hancock’s original plan. Walk down it, into a hidden wooded area that accesses the Don Valley. Go for a jog or a bike ride.

Walk along Lawrence and see what’s blooming at Edward Gardens to the West, or try something less manicured like Moccasin Trail Park to the East. Let your kids have a look at the RCMP horses kept at Sunnybrook Park then head over to the park’s barbeque pits.

I promise that if you should become my neighbour, I will try my best to welcome you, provided you keep Don Mills our little secret.

Visitors relax in the Trees for Life display. (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

The Green Living Show has come and gone for another year, leaving its wake ideas and inspiration for actions and items to make life a little lighter on the earth.

The show was a cacophony of green ideas and idealists, with every conceivable item on hand to give the green minded something to think about or buy. Row on row in the Direct Energy Centre were crammed with everything from shampoos to shoes, electric cars, television stars, washing machines, and magazines.

Miranda Jade demonstrates the YikeBike, an odd looking electric that folds up to the size of a small suitcase. This carbon carbon fibre version sells for $3,500 while an aluminum bike sells for $2,500. GlobalWatch.ca (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

For people looking to get physical there were massage therapists and chiropractors and a yoga session while the tired could relax in Trees for Life display and temporary parks benches set under living trees.

Kids overran the show on Friday, with many schools bringing students to explore the show and its many child-friendly displays, including live bird and animal demonstrations, crafts and other activities in the Ecokids Zone.

The show included the Electric Mobility Electric Vehicle Show, with a fleet of electric vehicles ranging from buses to power-assisted scooters.

There were rows of cleaning products, food, cosmetics, and ideas for how to greenify your house ranging from rain barrels to solar panels.

Sunday featured an eco fashion show with styles good for the earth, and the image.

A section of the show was dedicated to green innovations and inventions from Ontario that included an impressive range display of items from electric bikes to a model replica of the Solar Ship, an innovative solar-powered flying machine that looks like the love child of a hang glider, blimp, and an airplane.

This year’s show ran April 13-15.

A scale model of the Solar Ship, an new invention being developed in Ontario to fly places regular planes can't go. Solarship.com (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

Barbara Taylor, the “wine cup lady” stands with one of her signature clay wine glasses, which are glazed only around the rim, can neutralize the acidity of wine with the untreated clay. EarthWorksPottery.com (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

The Green Living Show had rows of cosmetics, cleaners, snacks, and other everyday items to take some toxins out of daily life. (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

A giant earth fairy gives the kids something to wonder at. (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

An upscale food court—although with upscale chefs preparing the best local produce it hardly resembled a typical food court—offered visitors a chance to relax and enjoy a gourmet meal. (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

Children pet a pig after the live animal presentation in the Ecokids Zone. (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

Electric vehicles like this Mitsubishi i-MiEV abounded at the show, both from known manufactures and others not commonly seen. (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

Kids got to take in a live animal show with creatures both familiar and foreign. (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

The students of Kotu-Erinjang school all set to read. (Lise Watson)

There’s plenty of controversy about foreign aid in Africa. It’s common knowledge that NGO corruption has often left out the needy and instead paid the salaries of administrators who don’t personally dig wells, hand out mosquito nets, or build schools.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea for people to help each other.

Lise Watson, a bursary administrator with the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, is holding an event to help small friends she’s made in The Gambia.

Watson has been visiting The Gambia since 2005. She loves the music and culture there. During her 2012 visit, Watson met Bubakar Ceesay, the headmaster of a small school in Kotu-Erinjang.

The community needed a school, so in 2007 they started one. As time passed, the community began to rely on the school. The students are 5, 6, and 7 year-olds. The parents pay fees and provide uniforms, but the budget is extremely tight.

“I don’t think that Bubakar is able to take much of a salary,” says Watson.

When Ceesay and Watson met, the school had 50 students and three rooms. Since then the number of students has nearly doubled, but the space and the number of desks has not.

Government inspectors visited the school and threatened to close it because of the lack of desks. The government doesn’t fund the school, so it is subject to private school regulations. There is no government-funded school close enough to Kotu-Erinjang.

So to save the school, Watson has taken it upon herself to raise money for the desks.

“I got so much joy from being there that I wanted to give something back. I asked them what they needed and they said they needed desks,” explains Watson.

The price of one wooden desk is $25. Watson is asking others to help in the fundraising by making donations online at kotukids.wordpress.com.

Watson is also holding a fundraiser on Thursday Apr. 26 at Toronto’s New Bilan restaurant, legendary for its spectacular and inexpensive Somali food. Maryem Hassan Tollar, Roula Said, and Naghmeh Faramand will present music from Egypt and Syria. The price at the door is $20 including food.

Watson will be leaving for The Gambia on June 8. She says pictures of the desks bought by the donations will be uploaded to the fundraising website in mid-July.

A new legislation introduced by Ontario's government promises to improve transparency on wireless services contracts and imposes a cap on contract cancellation penalty. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)

Ontario’s Liberal government is introducing new legislation promising to improve cell phone and wireless service bills.

“We want to eliminate the ‘cell shock’ many people experience because the terms of their agreements lack clarity,” Margarett Best, Minister of Consumer Services, said in a statement.

“Service providers should give people the information they need so they understand the terms, and all costs of any cell phone and wireless services agreements they sign,” she said.

The new legislation makes it easer for consumers to understand the costs and terms of their cell phone contract agreements and ensures service providers are transparent with information before contracts are signed, the government says.

Some of the changes introduced by the proposed legislation include a cap on the costs to cancel a contract, transparent contract agreements explicitly stating the fees, the right to walk away from a carrier company at any time at a “modest” fee, and the need for the customer’s consent prior to renewing, extending, or amending a contract with a carrier company.

If passed, the legislation would come into effect in six months. It would also cover existing contracts that are renewed, amended, or extended.

According to provincial government data, 70 percent of people in Ontario have a wireless services agreement.

Ontarians account for over 41 percent of the wireless services complaints received by the federal Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunication Services in 2010-2011.

The council of Chatsworth Township has supported a motion to restrict smoking in most public areas, but the mayor says the town will rely on the “honour system” for enforcement.

The bylaw prohibits smoking in spectator areas, playgrounds, sports fields, and within nine metres of workplaces and public doorways. Public beaches and restaurant patios are excepted.

While there isn’t a bylaw officer to enforce the ban, Mayor Bob Pringle told Bayshore Broadcasting that there is signage in place and people are mostly aware of the restrictions. He hopes “people will for the most part police themselves.”

The Child Development and Community Conference on Apr. 14-15 focuses on child development issues in today’s fast-paced world. (Photos.com)

A two-day conference dedicated to speeches by experts, Q&As, and discussions on parenting in Toronto this weekend aims to explore the challenges of modern-day child development and give parents and educators a better understanding of the issues.

The 2012 Child Development and Community Conference (CDCC) presented by the KMT Learning Group will feature talks by professionals in the field of child development—physician Dr. Gabor Maté, psychologist Dr. Gordon Neufeld, author Jennifer Kolari, and other contributors.

Based in Vancouver, Maté and Neufeld are experts in child development and psychology.

Maté has published four Canadian bestsellers on child development and is recognized for his unique perspectives on addiction and ADD. Neufeld, who currently heads the Neufeld Institute for developmental psychology, will share his insights from 40 years of practice in the field.

The two co-wrote the popular book “Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers.”

Maté, who has studied the development of the human brain, run a family practice, and published many books on the importance of healthy child development, has had a lifelong passion and interest in human behaviour.

“Child development is the key dynamic in shaping people’s life experiences,” he says.

Author and physician Dr. Gabor Maté is one of the child-development experts taking part in the Child Development and Community Conference held Apr. 14-15. (Courtesy Gabor Maté)

Recent research on brain development has shed light on how experiences in early childhood can influence and even predict the kind of experiences an individual will have later on in life.

“If you get the first years right, you can do so much to prepare for a healthy life,” says Maté, keynote speaker at the conference.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s not surprising that the questions parents most often ask Maté have to do with balancing and maintaining a connection with their children amidst the stresses of life.

For Maté, both the problem and solution are clear. “The child’s physiology is directly affected by the parents’ emotional state, and in a time of toxic stress, children are stressed.”

Some of the issues that children suffer from, such as ADHD, stress, and other mental problems, can be explained by the “emotionally toxic” environment children are raised in.

“It’s a hostile environment for children right now,” he says, noting, for example, that children with stressed parents are more likely to have asthma.

Confusion, Lack of Understanding

Maté’s role at the conference will be to help educate parents on child development, covering what some of the problems parents face and their contributing causes, so that parents and professionals can assess their own situations and make informed decisions in raising children.

“I think a lot of people are very much in the same situation—under a lot of stress, with little control and little understanding. The confusion is pretty prevalent right now,” he says.

“If the parents understood the children, the children wouldn’t behave the way they do. The problem is the understanding and the connection of the behaviour.”

The event will be hosted by Erika Ehm, founder of parenting magazine YummyMommyClub.

“Parents are always looking for new ways to help their children develop well,” says Ehm, who has been leading the YummyMummyClub online magazine for over six years.

“You’re going to be in an audience of like-minded parents who are interested in doing the best for their kids and are proactive in their parenting,” Ehm says of the conference.

Ehm was inspired to start her magazine after she had two kids of her own. She found that there weren’t that many resources that helped parents to share and support each other.

“Motherhood felt very isolating,” she says, adding that raising children felt like being in a “vacuum” and much different before the emergence of online support groups, forums, and large conferences like the CDCC.

The conference provides an opportunity for social workers, psychologists, doctors, teachers and parents to share their ideas and start a dialogue.

“People really want to have a place to collaborate,” says KMT founder and CEO Karen Thornton.

The 2012 Child Development and Community Conference (CDCC) will be held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre on April 13 and 14. Tickets can be reserved on KMT’s website, KMTLearning.com.

Commuters browse Canada’s first virtual store in downtown Toronto. Innovative product displays enable consumers to make purchases with their smartphones while on their daily commute. (Well.ca)

Shopping in a store free of lineups, bulky carts, parking-lot jams, and rude cashiers is now a reality in Canada.

North America’s first “virtual store” was unveiled in Toronto this week, allowing customers to purchase daily necessities by simply scanning products with their cellphones during their commute.

The innovative store, unveiled Monday, is little more than pictures of products displayed on walls in Toronto’s busy PATH system, an extensive underground walkway that links 28 kilometres of shops, office towers, and subway stations.

Shoppers can choose from 120 health, beauty, and baby products by scanning the product’s barcode with their smartphone—after downloading the app—and the item is placed in their online shopping cart.

Once customers have paid, the items are immediately delivered to their home at no extra charge.

The concept was brought to Canada by e-commerce company Well.ca, Canada’s largest online health, beauty, and baby products store.

“We’ve mashed together our love of smartphones, the convenience of e-commerce, and free shipping to do something no other retailer delivers,” says Ali Asaria, founder and CEO of Well.ca.

“Our website and this virtual store are perfect options for busy consumers who don’t have time to wait in line for a box of diapers or a tube of toothpaste.”

The Toronto store will serve as a market trial from April 2 – 30, and if successful, the company hopes to expand its locations.

“Our aim is to inspire Canadians to imagine new ways to shop in Canada,” says Paige Malling, vice president of marketing for Well.ca.

“We’d love to expand beyond Toronto.”

The virtual store will feature discounts on popular brands such as Tide, Crest, Head and Shoulders, and Pampers. Those who are unable to visit the virtual store can access the offers throughout the month of April at www.well.ca.

The virtual store concept was first tested in Korea last year by retail chain Homeplus, owned by grocery giant Tesco. The company was aiming to attract more South Korean commuters, statistically some of the busiest workers in the world.

In their research, Tesco marketers realized that rather than trying to get more Koreans into the store, they needed to bring the store to time-pressed consumers where it was most convenient for them to shop.

The first virtual store was placed in subway stations in Seoul, offering standard supermarket fare as well as office supplies and toiletries that could be purchased while waiting for the next train.

After the campaign was launched, Tesco’s online sales increased 130 percent, and the Tesco Home plus Smartphone App was downloaded 900,000 times.

In February, Tesco announced it would be expanding virtual stores to more than 20 bus stops in South Korea.

“The growing trend in Smartphones in South Korea means that virtual grocery shopping is even more accessible and convenient than ever before. The first virtual store in the Seoul Subway was a great success with customers and has paved the way for the opening of these new stores at bus stops,” SH Lee, CEO of Tesco Homeplus, said in a press release.

“We’ve found it most popular amongst 20 to 30 year olds, so the new stores will be opening close to a local university and other pedestrian areas.”

The model is also being tested in Australia. In February, Woolworth’s supermarket opened a virtual store in Sydney’s Town Hall train station, a major commuting hub.

Toronto's newest cub was named "Hudson" following an online vote. (Courtesy of Toronto Zoo)

Nearly 40,000 participants voted online to choose a name for the Toronto Zoo’s newest polar bear.

Voters chose “Hudson” among the top-five short-listed names for the male cub.

The zoo started the Name the Polar Bear Cub Contest in early February, and asked people to submit their name choices online. Voters then chose their top picks among the five most popular names during the period of March 17 to 28.

Toronto Zoo CEO John Tracogna says that the high number of voters shows how much people want to be involved with the Zoo and conservation. Polar bears are listed as a vulnerable species.

“Hudson’s story, starting with the dedicated care of our Wildlife Care staff touches people’s hearts,” Tracogna said in a statement.

The Ontario Liberal government has announced that it plans to reduce costs by $17.7 billion over the next three years, while raising revenues by $4.4 billion without increasing taxes.

Other highlights of the budget for 2012 include:

- Freezing the planned reductions to the corporate income tax rate and business education tax rate

- Extending the pay freeze for MPPs as well as executives at hospitals, colleges, universities, school boards, and agencies for another two years

- Capping the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit at 3,000 kWh per month to save around $500 million

- Asking about 5 percent of seniors in the province with the highest incomes to pay more of their prescription drug costs

- Continuing to provide 30 percent off the tuition for eligible full-time undergraduate post-secondary students

- Ensuring user fees recover more of the cost of providing provincial programs and services

CAA is asking Ontarians to name the worst roads in the province. (Photos.com)

The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) is once again asking people in Ontario to name the roads most in need of improvement.

People can submit their votes for the street they believe to be in the worst condition online at WorstRoads.ca, while also getting a chance to win prizes.

CAA will use the votes to compile a top 10 list and share the results along with their recommendations with the provincial and municipal governments.

The annual campaign, which first started in 2003, aims to draw attention to the province’s deteriorating roads and highways. According to the CAA, 90 percent of the roads that made it to the annual list have been repaired or scheduled to be repaired over the years.

Consumers in Ontario may have to pay an additional 81 cents per month for smart meters starting this summer.

The province’s Smart Metering Entity, Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), has filed an application with the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to recover the costs of development and implementation of the system storing and processing the electricity consumption data.

The system, called the Meter Data Management and Repository (MDM/R), stores and processes all of the province’s electricity consumption data which makes it possible for local distribution companies such as Hydro One to charge for time-of-use rates.

Time-of-use rates are divided into three time periods depending on electricity demand, with on-peak hours having the highest rates, and mid-peak hours costing a few cents less. Electricity normally costs less overnight and on weekends, giving consumers the choice to take advantage of off-peak rates.

The Ontario Energy Board sets the time-of-use prices and periods every May 1 and Nov. 1.

The recent application filed by IESO requests a monthly Smart Metering Charge (SMC) of $0.81 per household and retail business owner, effective July 1, 2012. These costs would cover the integration of local distribution companies and their smart meters onto the system, and maintenance and operation of the MDM/R until the end of December 2017.

The MDM/R currently processes reads from over 3.5 million meters per day. “Once all 4.7 million smart meters in the province are connected and transmitting to the system, the repository is expected to process over 120 million meter reads a day, rivalling the number of Visa transactions processed around the world on a daily basis,” says the IESO’s Website.

Kim Sommers, a fourth year University of Ottawa finance student, was recently announced the winner of the Leave the Pack Behind (LTPB) contest. Over 8,000 Ontario post-secondary students took part in the annual provincially-funded contest that rewards students for quitting smoking. Kim, pictured here with LTPB organizers, won a cheque for $1,000. (Leave the Pack Behind)

The Canadian National Railway (CN) has sold two rail line segments in the GTA to Metrolinx, the provincial agency overseeing GO Transit, for $310.5 million.

Metrolinx has acquired a segment of CN’s Bala Subdivision from approximately Rosedale Valley Road north through Don Valley to CN’s main east-west freight line north of Steeles Avenue near the Toronto-York Region border.

It has also bought a segment of CN’s Oakville Subdivision, from a point near 30th Street in Etobicoke to west of the Fourth Line in Oakville.

The Liberal government will be releasing a review of the feed-in-tariff (FIT) program, revealing expected cuts in what the province pays for renewable energy projects.

The review considers an adjustment to the FIT pricing with expected lowered premiums for future contracts, and an assessment of current government policies, according to the province’s Ministry of Energy website. Other changes include a possible inclusion of new technology types into the program, among other considerations.

As part of the revisions, Premier Dalton McGuinity is also allowing local councils a say in where wind turbine projects are situated in rural Ontario. This would enable power producers some decision-making authority.

The scheduled two-year review of the FIT program considered 2,900 online surveys, 150 written submissions, and meetings with over 80 stakeholders, between October 31 and December 14 of last year.

The Liberals launched the Green Energy Act and FIT program in 2009 to promote clean energy in the province and to create jobs in the green energy sector.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says new birthing centres run by midwives will allow women givng birth to have quality care while at the same time free up hospital beds for higher-risk births. (Photos.com)

Ontario will be opening two birthing centres run by midwives, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced this week.

“We want mothers to have more choices, and for them and their babies to get quality care,” McGuinty said in a statement.

McGuinty, along with Health Minister Deb Matthews, made the announcement at Ryerson University’s Centre for Studies in Community Health.

While announcing the new plan, McGuinty and Matthews met with students at the Centre’s Midwifery Education program and with midwives and mothers, and indicated that the new birthing centres allow women more choices in giving birth while freeing up hospital beds that can be dedicated to high-risk births.

“We know birthing centres can provide good value for everyone, while letting hospitals focus on high-risk care,” McGuinty said.

According to provincial data, there are over 580 registered midwives in Ontario. Midwives helped deliver some 15,000 births in the province in 2010 out of the 145,000 births.

“Evidence shows midwives provide quality care—excellent patient outcomes and good value for health care dollars. Midwifery care also leads to fewer medical and surgical interventions which benefits both mother and baby,” Matthews said in a statement.

The Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM) welcomed the move and called it a “great start.”

“Birth centres will help make midwifery more accessible and help more women and their families realize their goal of a normal and healthy childbirth,” Katrina Kilroy, midwife and president of the AOM, said in a statement.

Ontario’s economy is slated for a modest rebound in growth this year thanks to higher demand for the province’s exports in the U.S. and renewed strength in capital spending at the municipal and regional levels, according to an RBC Economics forecast.

“The recent encouraging developments in the U.S. economy are welcome news in Ontario and for the auto industry in particular,” Craig Wright, RBC senior vice-president and chief economist, said in a statement.

“We expect the strengthening U.S. labour market will continue to spur auto sales south of the border, boosting demand for Ontario-made motor vehicles and parts,” Wright said.

The bank projects a real GDP growth of 2.5 percent in 2012, up from an estimated 1.9 percent last year.

Citing Statistics Canada reports that municipal and regional administrations will soon increase capital expenditures by 15 percent this year, as well as increase provincial administration spending by 5 percent, RBC estimates that the rise in public sector capital spending will drive up economic growth by about 0.3 percent in 2012.

Along with additional headwinds due to the federal and provincial governments working to reduce their deficits by ramping up government program spending restraints, RBC expects growth to slow to 2.3 percent in 2013.

TORONTO—The NDP easily held onto Jack Layton’s Toronto-Danforth riding in Monday’s by-election.

The race was the NDP’s to lose, and Craig Scott took it by a mile, beating out his only real competitor Liberal Grant Gordon with double the percentage of the popular vote—59.4 percent compared to 28.5 percent.

Scott, a law professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, has lived in the riding for 20 years. His good works include advocacy on anti-poverty and aboriginal rights. He’s also been working to hold Canadian companies to account for human rights violations and environmental harms committed in other countries.

While Gordon fell far short of winning, he grabbed enough of the vote to matter, unlike the Conservative and Green candidates who claimed just 5 percent of the vote.

When Layton led the perpetually third party to its historic win in the last election, voters never expected the tragedy that would soon follow.

A Ryerson University study shows that women are highly underrepresented in leadership positions in the GTA, with the numbers being even lower for female visible minorities, considering they represent 25.6 percent of GTA residents. (Photos.com)

Women are still underrepresented in leadership roles in the GTA, with the numbers being even worse for visible minority women, says a study by Ryerson University researchers studying women in senior leadership positions across the GTA.

“Though women account for 51.3 percent of residents in the GTA, in the seven sectors analyzed in 2011, 28.0 percent of leaders were women,” says the report compiled by the university’s Diversity Institute.

The industry sectors considered include elected, public, corporate voluntary, education, agencies, boards and commissions, and the legal sector.

Noting that the representation varies depending on the sector, the report found the education sector has the highest number of women in leadership roles with 40.8 percent representation, while the corporate sector has the lowest number with 17.4 percent.

Female visible minorities account for 2.6 percent of the leaders across different sectors, while they make up 25.6 percent of GTA residents. Their presence is most severely lacking among the corporate sectors, with less than 1 percent representation.

“We already know that diversity is one of the Toronto region’s key strengths. We need to increase representation among leaders to leverage this strength”, said Carol Wilding, president and CEO Toronto Board of Trade, according to a statement released by the researchers.

The report says that paving the way for talented women into senior leadership positions will help financial performance, innovation, and social inclusion. It also enables organizations to address skill shortages and reduce employee turnover, among others.

Ontario Minister of Transportation Bob Chiarelli says the increase in driver’s license and vehicle permit fees is required to help support road and bridge maintenance. (Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)

Ontario is raising driver’s license and vehicle license fees to support road and bridge maintenance.

The cost of getting a new driver’s license or renewing one will rise to $80 in 2013, an increase of $5 from the current fee.

Vehicle license validation fee in Southern Ontario is up from last year’s $74 to $82 this year, and will go up to $90 in 2013 and $98 in 2014. In Northern Ontario, the fee is $41, up from $37 last year, and will increase to $45 in 2013 and $49 in 2014.

“By increasing some fees for the first time in almost 15 years, we are making the choice to keep Ontario’s families safe when they are on the road,” Minister of Transportation Bob Chiarelli said in a statement.

Other fees that are increasing include permit fees for truck and bus operators and farm and off-road/snow vehicles, as well as driver examination fees, among others.

The plan follows recommendations made by the Drummond Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services chaired by former TD chief economist Don Drummond.

TORONTO—A telemarketing scam has prompted Toronto Hydro to issue a warning to its customers.

The telemarketers, who claim to be from Toronto Hydro, are offering “energy saving devices” that save 15 to 40 percent on electricity bills. They ask for payment by credit card over the phone to purchase the device.

“Toronto Hydro does not sell energy saving products and advises customers to be aware of this fraudulent representation,” reads a notice on Toronto Hydro’s website.

Toronto Hydro also doesn’t request credit card information over the phone, which should make it easier for customers to spot the fraudulent claims.

Flowers bloom in this Landscape Ontario exhibit from Canada Blooms 2011. (Tweaked Solutions)

TORONTO—2012 is a big year for Canada Blooms, the biggest year ever in fact. Co-locating with the National Home Show for the first time makes the combination North America’s largest home and garden event, both in attendance and square footage.

Previously running for five days, this new union has presented some challenges for Canada Blooms.

“Now we’re operating for 10 days,” says Canada Blooms General Manager Gerry Ginsberg. And because plants indoors don’t last long, “halfway through we will have to do a complete replanting. If you come twice you’ll have a different experience.”

With the National Home Show managing “all things home,” Ginsberg asserts that this has helped “focus on the quality of our gardens.”

The Canada Blooms theme for this year is City Culture. An ambitious program of urban gardening and national and international arts and culture has been put forward.

There are a number of evening arts events on the schedule, including a March 16 celebration hosted by CTS featuring Canadian Idol winner Brian Melo, and Chinese television station NTD’s evening of traditional Chinese dancing, fashion, and martial arts on March 23.

JUNO award winners and nominees are returning this year, teaming up with some of Canada’s best feature garden builders to create gardens that reflect each artist’s sense of style.

Feist, Jann Arden, Keisha Chanté, Sarah Slean, as well as Royal Wood, who is performing on the main stage on March 20, all provided garden designs.

“It shows a different side of performers,” says Ginsberg. “We love to tell good news stories about performers in Canada.”

Another new addition is the first international feature garden put together by the Taipei City Government and Taiwan Tourism.

Taiwan recently hosted a six-month gardening and horticultural exhibition that ended in April of last year and attracted over four million visitors. Canada Blooms is presenting a cultural evening saluting Taipei City on March 19.

Gardening Celebs

Of course, we must mention the glut of Canadian gardening celebrities who are scheduled to speak on an exhaustive number of garden-related themes. Included are the legendary Mark Cullen, CityTV’s Frank Ferragine, HGTV’s Denis Flanagan, Marjorie Harris from the Globe & Mail, and Ed Canadian Gardening’s editor Tara Nolan, to name a few.

Keeping in line with this year’s urban theme, the mammoth speakers list includes quite a number of talks about urban gardening, including ContainerScaping Parts 1 and 2; VeggieScaping (which may be combined well with The Year Round Vegetable Garden); Live Large in Your Small Space; Trees for Small Spaces; and Unlimited Opportunities in Container Gardening.

But this is only a partial list, so please visit the website at Canadablooms.com. There is simply too much going on.

Bring in photographs of your garden and your tale of woe to Super Sundays. You must register online to book a 20-minute consultation with a master gardener either March 18 or March 25.

Our workshop pick is the Small Scale Gardening Series, which includes Seed Starting, Sub-irrigated Planters, Indoor Growing Solutions, and Small Scale Composting. Whether you want cheap organic food or are planning for the zombie apocalypse, it pays to be prepared.

As a kindness to consumers, one $20 ticket grants you admission to both Canada Blooms and the National Home show. Since you may exhaust yourself trying to see it all, you can return for a second day and pay only $9.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Canada Blooms 2012.

On Tuesday, Toronto’s city council passed a resolution that it wanted to be exempt from the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA). The move was welcomed the Canadian Auto Workers and Council of Canadians, long-time opponents of the free trade deal.

“When Canada’s largest city thinks there’s something wrong with the Canada-EU deal it’s probably time for us to perk up and listen to the growing municipal concerns,” Maude Barlow, national chairperson with the Council of Canadians, said in a press statement.

“The truth is there’s no benefit to Toronto from being shackled by international trade restrictions on their local policy and spending powers. Cities are Harper’s bargaining chips—they have a right to say no to CETA.”

The agreement has attracted criticism from municipalities for requiring they consider procurement bids from European companies on equal fitting with those from local companies.

The majority of the elementary schools achieving the top rank in Fraser Institute's annual report are in the GTA. (Photos.com)

Elementary schools in the GTA generally performed better compared to the average performance in the province last year, according to the annual school rankings report put out by the Fraser Institute.

“While the average for all schools in our report card was a 6.0 out of 10, GTA schools on average received a rating of 6.5 out of 10,” report co-author Michael Thomas said in an email.

The report rates 2,695 public, Catholic, and francophone elementary schools in Ontario based on nine indicators using data from the government’s province-wide tests of reading, writing, and mathematics.

Thomas said the report is meant to prompt a discussion among parents and educators.

“Schools that perform well should be studied by their school boards to identify what led to their success so that it can be spread to other schools that may need to improve,” he said.

According to the report, 15 out of the 19 schools in the province achieving a perfect 10 were from the GTA.

The report also notes that of the top 19, seven have parental incomes lower than the provincial average.

“In fact, of the 2,695 schools included in the report card, 565 performed above average academically despite having parental incomes lower than the provincial average,” Thomas said in a statement.

Sixteen of the 20 schools in the province showing the fastest academic improvement over the last five years are schools where parental incomes were below the provincial average.

“These results show that both academic excellence and continued improvement in academics is possible in any school, regardless of the personal and family circumstances of its student population,” Thomas said.

However, Thomas noted there is still work to be done.

“While there has been some improvement over the previous year, more than one in four skills tests written by Ontario elementary students still failed to meet the provincial standard for learning,” Thomas said.

TTC workers will be boarding subway trains to toss out trash during service hours as part of a new program announced by TTC Chair Karen Stintz and Deputy Chief General Manager Andy Byford on Mar. 2.

Under the new program, workers will clean out each car after the morning rush hour at Kennedy and Finch stations, and will walk through trains while in service between College and Osgoode stations to collect litter between rush hour periods.

The new program will also improve the safety aspects of TTC operations, as paper left behind and blown to the track level can ignite and pose a serious fire hazard.

The TTC is also asking customers to pick up their litter when leaving the system in the effort to keep it clean and safe.

TV host Oprah Winfrey will bring her “Oprah’s Lifeclass” show to Toronto in April. (Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)

TORONTO—Oprah Winfrey’s Canadian fans have an exciting event to look forward to next month as the American talk show magnate takes the stage at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on April 16.

With the first show selling out in 24 hours, a second show on the same date was later added to the schedule. The event features Oprah talking about life lessons that she has learned and uses to guide herself as part of the “Oprah’s Lifeclass” series.

For now, Toronto is her only stop in Canada.

“Oprah’s Lifeclass” is a series of webcasts and interviews with motivational and spiritual leaders that will air weekly on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) for the second season starting on March 26.

Earlier this year, the series won the Outstanding Talk Series award at the 43rd National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People Image Awards.

The event in Toronto will include author Iyanla Vanzant; leader of mind-body medicine Deepak Chopra; public speaker and author of multiple bestsellers Tony Robbins; and Bishop T.D. Jakes, a visionary and leader of a humanitarian organization.

The show will broadcast live from the convention centre on the web and on OWN. This will be the first time the show will broadcast from Canada.

Philanthropists Jamie and Patsy Anderson will receive the 2012 Award for Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Vancouver on March 31, 2012. (J.P. Moczulski)

TORONTO—For Toronto couple Jamie and Patsy Anderson, giving and contributing to the community began at an early age.

“We have been very fortunate in our own lives and we are both from families where our parents have been community volunteers. It came very naturally, it was something we enjoyed doing and it really enriches our own lives,” says Mrs. Anderson.

The Andersons will be awarded the 2012 Award for Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in March. They will receive the honour at a special ceremony in Vancouver during AFP’s 49th International Conference on Fundraising, the largest gathering of fundraisers in the world.

The story of philanthropic involvement and volunteering for the couple began 25 years ago. In his twenties, Mr. Anderson found an interest in the Outward Bound non-profit organization that leads youth in outdoor experiential education, and decided to volunteer and get involved.

He loved “the spirit of their schools” and “their view to help people conquer all sorts of personal challenges,” says Mrs. Anderson.

He first planned a few of his own trips, and then became the chair of the board of Outward Bound Canada. A couple of years later, Mr. Anderson was recruited for Outward Bound International and took up the role of chair of the board of directors.

Also for a number of years Mr. Anderson, who is a deputy chairman of RBC Capital Markets, served as a member of the gifts cabinet of the United Way in Toronto.

His most rewarding involvement, however, was at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Mr. Anderson was inspired to join the centre after his friend and colleague, former Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Wilson, approached him and asked for support after losing a son to depression.

“In 1999, at a time when few business leaders were willing to step forward and advocate for mental health, both Andersons joined the $10 million Centred on Hope Campaign in support of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada’s largest psychiatric and addictions hospital,” says the AFP.

Later when Mr. Anderson became the chair of the centre’s board of trustees, CAMH raised $108 million in six years through its Transforming Lives campaign under his leadership.

In 1999, at a time when few business leaders were willing to step forward and advocate for mental health, both Andersons joined the $10 million Centred on Hope Campaign in support of the CAMH.

—Association of Fundraising Professionals

“He’s a very successful businessman. He’s had a very fortunate career and he has a desire and a drive to give back to the community,” says Mrs. Anderson about her husband.

Mrs. Anderson has a lengthy portfolio of volunteer work herself. While at home with young children, she was asked by a neighbour to write a report for an issue at the Roy Thomson Hall and was then asked to join the venue’s board.

Involvement at SickKids Hospital was a “natural fit” for Mrs. Anderson since one of her children was a long-term patient at the hospital.

In 2001, she joined the board of directors for the SickKids Foundation where she led and recruited other volunteers and helped increase the donor base by 60 percent.

She has also been on the board of SickKids Hospital for eight years and was part of the $200 million dollar campaign for the construction of a Research & Learning Tower.

Donating on average of 15 hours a week for her philanthropic leadership role at SickKids Foundation, Mrs. Anderson says the causes she has dedicated herself to continue to motivate her to contribute.

“The psychic rewards are fantastic. … The more you get involved in these amazing causes, the more you choose to donate yourself,” she says.

Mrs. Anderson is also the chair of the Aldeburgh Connection, an arts organization that supports classical musicians.

“There are many common principles in philanthropic work that go across these sectors,” Mrs. Anderson says. “I think you need to have a passion for the story of the organization in order to maximize your impact.”

The AFP Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser award recognizes people who demonstrate “outstanding skills in coordinating and motivating groups of volunteers for fundraising projects for the benefit of charitable institutions.”

The Andersons will be receiving their honour on March 31.

Mrs. Anderson says that they weren’t even aware of their nomination and that they were very pleasantly surprised when they found out.

“The first [time] we heard was [when] we had won,” says Mrs. Anderson. “We have accepted the award and hope that it inspires others to get involved themselves.”

“I think that Torontonians have decided that they’re very proud to have the best hospital in the world here and that when they’re in the worst situation in their lives and need global expertise for their children, you know it’s right downtown.”

A report by Symantec names Burlington and two small B.C. cities as the riskiest cities in the nation when it comes to cybercrime, ahead of Vancouver and Toronto. (Photos.com)

A recent report by computing company Symantec names Burlington as the nation’s most high-risk city for cybercrime.

“This economic hub and one of the province’s fastest growing municipalities ranked at or near the top in categories such as cybercrimes, consumer expenditures on computer hardware and software, and Internet access,” the report says.

Trailing Burlington’s ranking in Symantec’s top-10 list were the small B.C. cities of Port Coquitlam and Langley.

“This study is a real eye-opener, demonstrating that larger urban centres, such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, which have a diverse mix of high and low income communities, don’t necessarily have the same level of Internet access as do wealthier suburbs like Burlington, Oakville, and Kelowna,” said Lynn Hargrove, director of consumer Solutions with Symantec Canada, in a statement.

“Residents in areas with more access to computers, the Internet and WiFi hotspots will go online more often to shop, bank and communicate with family and friends, making them greater targets for cybercriminals,” Hargrove said.

The report also points out that Oakville residents have the highest expenditure on Internet access and computers in Canada, followed closely by Markham.

Most Quebec municipalities ranked among the lowest-risk cities of the 50 Canadian cities the report examined.

The Canadian report was published just a few days after a similar study done by Symantec in the U.S., which named Washington, D.C. as the riskiest online city, followed by Seattle and San Francisco.

Twenty eight percent of respondents to a Zagat survey said they dine out more frequently this year comparTwenty eight percent of respondents to a Zagat survey said they dine out more frequently this year compared to last year, while 18 percent said they eat out less often this year. (Photos.com)ed to last year, while 18 percent said they eat out less often this year. (Photos.com)

A Zagat survey shows that Toronto residents eat out an average of 3.1 times a week, more than those in Chicago and New York.

Compared to last year, 28 percent of the Toronto survey respondents said they dine out more frequently this year, while 18 percent said they eat out less often.

A greater proportion of respondents (34 percent) indicated that they spend more than they did last year, compared to 9 percent who reported a reduction in spending.

Toronto ranks behind cities like Las Vegas and Los Angeles whose survey respondents reported dining out an average of 3.3 and 3.4 times a week respectively.

The Toronto survey, covering 315 restaurants and getting feedback from 2,266 diners, put Scaramouche in the first place under the food category. The Midtown Toronto restaurant earned an impressive 28 out of Zagat’s 30 points scale.

Spring Rolls, with numerous locations across the city, ranked as the most popular, while Downtown’s Canoe was rated for having the best decor.

Toronto registered dietitian Cassandra Reid cautions that eating out a lot can have negative health effects and says people should be mindful of the choices they make.

“If one is eating out regularly, then try to have in the restaurant … what you would have at home in your own kitchen, rather then the most favourite item on the menu,” says Reid.

“This will ensure you make a more mindful choice and will more easily fit into a healthy lifestyle.”

Reid says a quarter of every meal should ideally consist of protein, while half should consist of fruit or vegetables. The total starch portion shouldn’t be more than a quarter of the meal. This will help keep weight gain at bay and maintain a healthy diet.

“It is one that should be more on occasion, and try asking for the fruit plate instead.”

Alcohol intake is also something to watch out for when dining out frequently, Reid says.

“Try having a wine glass with Perrier and even a splash of juice to decrease your alcohol intake.”