Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Toronto Area Council Launch Sat March 27th


This is the culmination of a lot of work, and could be an important vehicle for ensuring our local priorities are being heard:



Friends,

New Democrats are doing exciting things in Toronto. After Cathy Crowe's exciting campaign in Toronto-Centre, we're organizing to keep setting the agenda.

The Toronto Area Council is holding their first meeting this Saturday March 27th. A full agenda for the inaugural meeting is copied below and background information on the council is available on their website www.torontondp.ca.

I hope you will join me, members of my caucus and special guests for a "Members' Levee" - an evening of entertainment and a free social following the business portion of the meeting at 5pm.

Andrea Horwath


INAUGURAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

TORONTO AREA COUNCIL


SATURDAY MARCH 27, 2010

STEEL HALL
25 Cecil Street
Toronto, Ontario

10:00   Registration Opens

11:00  Establishing the Toronto Area Council: How can it help?  What can it do?

·       Working groups break-out sessions

1:00     Lunch

·       Light lunch will be provided

2:00    Business Meeting

·       Elections and adoption of by-laws

5:00    Social

·       Cash bar and entertainment



Wednesday, March 17, 2010

MPs vote to stop mailing flyers outside ridings on taxpayers' dime


Voters in Eglinton-Lawrence have been getting a lot of these. Will we start to feel lonely or less-appreciated if the steady stream of mail from random Conservative MP's stops?

OTTAWA–MPs have voted to put a stop to the practice of mailing taxpayer-funded political flyers to voters outside their own ridings.

In a surprisingly close result Tuesday, MPs passed a Liberal motion to scrap the so-called 10-percenters by a vote of 140-137.

New Democrats, who had argued in favour of retaining the right to communicate with voters all across the country, ended up supporting the motion, which included several other proposals aimed at saving the government more than $1 billion annually.

The Bloc Québécois also supported it while Conservatives, who've made the most use of the mailouts, were opposed.

The controversial 10-percenters – so named because MPs can send one-page flyers to distant voters in numbers equal to 10 per cent of the electors in their own ridings – are estimated to cost up to $10 million each year.

Unlike other opposition motions that the government can ignore, Liberals maintain Tuesday's motion is binding. It was worded as a directive to the Speaker of the House of Commons and the board of internal economy, which set the rules for MPs' mailing privileges.

The flyers have been the source of considerable tension among the various parties over the last couple of years. They've been used increasingly to launch vicious partisan attacks against political opponents.

 


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Community Consultation Meeting: Proposed Yonge-Eglinton Urban Growth Centre Boundaries


For those in the east half of our riding, and especially those down towards Yonge & Eg, there's a "community consultation" coming up tomorrow:

Community Consultation Meeting

 

Wednesday March 3rd, 2010

7:00PM

North Toronto Memorial Community Centre

200 Eglinton Avenue, West

Main Floor Meeting Room

 
 

Proposed Yonge-Eglinton Urban Growth Centre Boundaries

 

Your browser may not support display of this image. The Planning Department and Councillors Stintz, Walker and Jenkins invite you to a public consultation meeting to discuss the proposed boundaries of the Yonge-Eglinton Urban Growth Centre and necessary amendments to the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan.

 

The Provincial Growth Plan identifies areas of intensification called Urban Growth Centres in cities throughout Ontario.  In Toronto the Province has identified 5 Urban Growth Centres: Downtown/Waterfront, Scarborough Centre, North York Centre, Etobicoke Centre and Yonge-Eglinton Centre.  In 2008 the Province released their boundaries for these Centres which the City must incorporate into its Official Plan in order to comply with the Provincial Growth Plan.

 

The City does have the ability to make only minor adjustments to the Yonge-Eglinton Growth Centre boundaries established by the Province.  As can be seen from the small map the Provincial boundaries extend east of Yonge Street to include most the area roughly bounded by Yonge St. on the east, Mt. Pleasant on the west, a line north of Erskine Avenue on the north, and a line north of Soudan on the south.   The Growth Centre extends just west of Yonge Street between Orchard View and Berwick.  After consultations with community representatives staff are recommending only two minor changes to the Yonge-Eglinton Urban Growth Centre boundaries established by the Province.   Amendments to the Secondary Plan policies would seek to concentrate development with the highest heights and density at the four quadrants of the Yonge-Eglinton intersection, with descending heights and densities on Eglinton Avenue East as one gets farther from Yonge Street.  The 'Apartment Neighbourhoods' east of Yonge Street would be considered to be stable areas with compatible infill permitted on truly underutilized sites with existing apartment buildings.  Development on Yonge Street north of Roehampton and Mount Pleasant Road south of Eglinton would be mid-rise buildings with retail at-grade.

 

In addition, in response to the suggestions of community representatives to strengthen the Secondary Plan, some of the policies that have now been put in place for the 'four corners' of the Yonge-Eglinton quadrant that deserve broader applicability, are proposed to be extended to apply to the entire Secondary Plan Area.  These include: encouraging sustainable transportation initiatives, providing adequate parking supply, encouraging bicycle linkages to the City's bike route network, having new development improve the streetscape and sidewalks, encouraging mid-block connections on large blocks, providing community services in a timely manner, promoting community services that are flexible and multi-purpose, pursuing opportunities arising from development to develop new parkland, and identifying priorities for community benefits under Section 37 of the Planning Act.

 

If you cannot attend the meeting, you can still make your views known by emailing cgiles@toronto.ca or by fax to 416-397-4080 or by writing Christian Giles, Planner, Policy and Research, 55 John Street, 23rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3C6.

 

Looking for more information? Please call Christian Giles at 416-392-0881 or visit the following web sites for more information about this initiative.

 

January 5, 2009 Report to Planning and Growth Management Committee (direction to undertake consultations RE: Yonge-Eglinton UGC): http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/pg/bgrd/backgroundfile-18454.pdf

 

Province of Ontario Places to Grow Program and Growth Plan:

http://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php?lang=eng

http://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=14

 

City of Toronto Official Plan:

http://www.toronto.ca/planning/official_plan/introduction.htm

 



Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Lawrence-Allen Revitalization Meeting Invitation and Project Update


An update on the ongoing consultations around the Lawrence Park redevelopment:
 

We are writing to let you know about a community open house where we will be presenting the emerging preferred plan for the area.

 

Date: February 25, 2010

Time: 1:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Lawrence Heights Community Recreation Centre

Address: 5 Replin Road

 

Similar to the release of Option Plans in June 2009, the open house will be followed by a series of small group workshops.  You will have an opportunity to sign up for these workshops at the open house.  The expected workshop dates and locations are:

 

§   March 1: Barbara Frum Library
20 Covington Rd.
6:00 - 8:00 pm

§   March 8: Lawrence Heights Community Centre
5 Replin Rd.
7:00 - 9:00 pm

§   March 10: Sir Sandford Fleming Secondary School
50 Ameer Ave.
7:00 - 9:00 pm

§   March 24: Lawrence Heights Middle School
50
Highland Hill
7:00 - 9:00 pm

 

A full meeting notice and general Community Update is attached.

 

Thank-you,

 

The Lawrence-Allen Revitalization Team

 

http://www.toronto.ca/lawrenceallen.

lawrenceallen@toronto.ca        

 

 

 



Monday, February 1, 2010

Over at Lawrence and Dufferin...

From Inside Toronto:

City, developer reach draft deal

Last-ditch negotiations between the city and a developer over property in the Dufferin-Lawrence area appear to have been successful, according to Eglinton-Lawrence Councillor Howard Moscoe.

"It appears we have a settlement. We have a draft settlement," he said Tuesday, Jan. 26.




Monday, January 11, 2010

Education Funding Task Force


Education Funding Task Force
At the ONDP Convention in March 2009, a resolution was passed that mandated the party to establish a Task Force on Education Funding in Ontario (see below for resolution) that would consult with party members on this critical issue.

The Task Force was established, and its membership approved, at the November 2009 Provincial Council meeting. The membership is as follows: Vicky Smallman (co-chair), Bud Wildman (co-chair), Cameron Holmstrom, Pat Chastang, Malcolm Buchanan, Ed Chudak, Effie Vlachoyannacos, Brian MacDonald (staff), Sandra Clifford (ex-officio)

Mandate of Task Force
• The mandate as set out in the convention resolution is to deal with education funding in the
broad sense.
• Submissions may deal with legal, constitutional, political, fiscal, equity, taxation,
and governance issues.

Framework and Timelines
• This is a task force of the party and will seek submissions from party members, on the
assumption that outside interested groups will be represented through the party membership.
• Submissions will be accepted by mail, e-mail, and video, and there will be one in-person session
Sunday, February 28 between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm at the venue of the Provincial Council
meeting. Time-slots for in-person submissions must be booked in advance, and the in-person
presentations must be accompanied by a written submission. All submissions must include name,
address, phone and e-mail information. Submissions will be accepted until March 19, 2010.
All submissions and requests for time at the in-person session are to be sent to:

Valorie Block
Executive Assistant to the Provincial Secretary, Ontario NDP
101 Richmond Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 1N9
p: 416.591.8637 ext. 244
f: 416.599.4820
vblock@on.ndp.ca



CONVENTION 2009 RESOLUTION
3-6 Public Education Funding
Whereas Ontario currently has four publicly-funded school board systems, a French Catholic, a
French Public, an English Catholic and an English Public; and
Whereas schools in all board systems currently lack adequate funding due to a flawed
provincial funding formula that the McGuinty government has refused to fix despite promising
to do so; and
Whereas all proponents of public education should be unified in the fight for excellent schools
that have the funding they need; and
Whereas the forced merger at this time of some or all of these school board systems will only
serve to divert attention away from the real problems facing public education in Ontario;

Therefore be it resolved that New Democrats oppose the McGuinty government's continued
and chronic under-funding of schools in Ontario's four publicly-funded school board systems;
and
Be it further resolved that New Democrats continue to support Ontario's four publicly-funded
board systems at this time and oppose any efforts to forcibly amalgamate them.
Be it further resolved that Provincial Council establish a Party task force to examine all public
education funding options in Ontario and that that task force report back to Provincial Council
within a year of this convention.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Toronto Centre by-election

This just made its way down the pipeline:


Yesterday, Dalton McGuinty dropped the writ for a Toronto Centre by-election to replace MPP George Smitherman who resigned his seat this past weekend.

Toronto Centre NDP will hold its nomination meeting this:

Sunday, January 10 at 3:00 p.m.
in the Auditorium of the
519 Community Centre
(519 Church Street, Toronto ON)


Confirmed speakers include
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath!
To date, one potential candidate has filed papers to seek the nomination:

Toronto community and housing activist Cathy Crowe. Cathy Crowe, Toronto's Street Nurse, is the author of "Dying For A Home" and is a recipient of the coveted Atkinson Economic Justice Award. She is a frequent spokesperson and advocate on behalf of the homeless and a co-founder of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee.

Any member of the NDP may seek the nomination by filing papers with the Provincial Office not later than 3:00 p.m. Saturday January 9th.

Nomination papers are available at the ONDP office, 3rd Floor, 101 Richmond Street East, Toronto ON.

All are welcome to the nomination meeting but only members in good standing who live in the riding will be eligible to vote.

For more information, call 416-657-2531 or email info@tcndp.ca

Friday, December 18, 2009

Lawrence-Allen Revitalization Project Update

An update from the city on the Lawrence Heights project:


Hello,

 

Attached is the January 2010 Project Update for the Lawrence-Allen Revitalization Project, which provides information about the project work over the last few months.

 

The last community meetings organized by City Planning were in June.  We want to apologize for the fact that two workshops were cancelled in July 2009 due to the City worker's strike.  The consultation process is ongoing and will continue into 2010.  The next round of meetings is expected in the first few months of 2010.

 

Web Site Updates: Four reports from the City's transportation work have now been posted on the web site:

 

If you have any questions or comments, please email us at this address, or contact:

 

Ann-Marie Nasr
Project Manager
(416) 395-7180

Kyle Knoeck
Senior Planner
(416) 395-7116

Michael Noble
Assistant Planner
(416) 395-7106

 

Thank you and have a Happy New Year,

 

The Lawrence-Allen Revitalization Project Planning Team


Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Say NO to the HST on Thurs. Dec. 3rd (1:30-2:30 PM) at Queen's Park



Picture (Metafile)

1:30 PM in front of Queen's Park

From Toronto to Timmins, from Sudbury to Thunder Bay, Ontarians across the province are telling Dalton McGuinty that his unfair tax plan will make life more expensive for everyday people while funding a massive tax giveaway to corporations.

But Dalton McGuinty isn't listening.

We are mobilizing people to have their voices heard. First Nations from around Ontario will be gathering at Queen's Park on Thursday. They will be joined by tenants, condo owners, hockey parents and everyday people from all walks of life.


Join us and say NO to the HST!

Visit: www.unfairtaxgrab.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=184009262895&index=1



Thursday, November 19, 2009

More Conservative partisan advertising


I'm sure many residents of Eglinton-Lawrence are getting rather tired of receiving mailings from out-of-riding Conservative MP's -- an open abuse of the spirit of the rules on communications from our elected officials. We've certainly been receiving a string of complaints from local residents who are unhappy that their tax dollars are being used for a blatantly partisan advertising spree on behalf of an unelected Conservative candidate.

The latest mailing seems especially pandering and is generating some wider attention:

One wonders if Eglinton-Lawrence Conservative candidate Joe Oliver will demonstrate some integrity by denouncing this unending stream of junk mail pouring into our riding. Having seen Mr. Oliver on the campaign trail in the last campaign, he certainly came across as a decent sort -- although it's hard to know what any of his personal opinions are given the central party boilerplate that dominates his website. Perhaps he should ask the PMO for some talking points on how to square his party's talk of fiscal responsibility with this sort of pork-barrel waste.



Friday, November 13, 2009

Developments at Dufferin and Lawrence


It looks like the wheels are turning behind the scenes over how big the development at Dufferin/Lawrence will be:

North York councillors are willing to work out compromises with a landowner proposing a 1,700-unit residential neighbourhood at Dufferin Street and Lawrence Avenue but will fight the plan at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) if a settlement can't be reached.

An OMB hearing has been set for next February to look at the mixed-use development at 3083-3101 Dufferin and 770 Lawrence, which includes retail space and 1,700 residential units in a combination of tall apartment buildings, mid-rise buildings and townhouses.


[...]


Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit - Project Update and Consultations

Another round of open houses for the Eglinton Transit City project. Our local open house id the last of these, December 10th, at Beth Shalom Temple -- just a short ways from Eglinton West station.

The City of Toronto and TTC are pleased to be hosting seven Open Houses across the study corridor for the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit Project.  Please see the attached notice for details.

At the Open Houses,  staff will present the preferred design for both the underground and street level segments of the line. For the street level segments, final stop locations and traffic management strategies to provide fast and reliable LRT service will be displayed.

All Open Houses will be held from 6:30pm to 9:00pm.  Details are as follows:

November 23
York Memorial Collegiate (cafeteria)
2690 Eglinton Avenue West

November 24
Etobicoke Olympium (2nd floor Lounge)
590 Rathburn Road

November 25
Northern Secondary School (cafeteria)
851 Mount Pleasant Road

November 26
Richview Collegiate (cafeteria)
1738 Islington Avenue

December 2
CNIB Conference Centre
1929 Bayview Avenue

December 8
Don Montgomery Community Centre
2467 Eglinton Avenue East

December 10
Beth Shalom Synagogue
1445 Eglinton Avenue West

Following the last round of consultation, public feedback and additional analysis, some key improvements have been made. The proposed station at Brentcliffe has been relocated to Laird Drive to best serve the Leaside Community.  Furthermore, the design for the surface section of the line west of Keele Street  has been updated to maintain a series of left hand turns from a number of north-south streets onto Eglinton. Please see the attached notice for more information.

Public Consultation Reports from previous Open Houses  are posted on the project website. Please visit www.toronto.ca/transitcity and click on "Eglinton Crosstown LRT". The reports are located at the bottom of the page.

Direct Link to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT page:  http://www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/eglinton_crosstown_lrt/index.htm





Monday, October 19, 2009

Reminder of Upcoming Public Meeting Re: Avenue Road Traffic Study


 

            

COMMUNITY MEETING NOTICE REGARDING AVENUE ROAD TRAFFIC STUDY

 

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 7 P.M.

Auditorium - Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute, 125 Chatsworth Drive

 

 

Dear Neighbour,

 

A number of residents in the community have expressed concerns regarding traffic speed and volume, as well as pedestrian safety along Avenue Road, from Lawrence Avenue West to Eglinton Avenue West.

 

In order to determine if any remedial actions or improvements are required, the City's Transportation Services Division undertook a review of the collision history and traffic patterns, operating speeds, signage and pavement markings, traffic control signals, pedestrian activity/railing installation, as well as winter maintenance practices and road drainage conditions. 

 

The review was concentrated on three specific areas along Avenue Road. This decision was based on roadway alignment, collision history and pedestrian activity (school area). As such, the three areas that were reviewed are:

·        Glenview Avenue to Glengrove Avenue;

·        St. Clements Avenue to Roselawn Avenue; and

·        Elwood Boulevard to Eglinton Avenue.

 

The results of Transportation's analysis indicate that the following recommendations be implemented:

·        Installation of eastbound and westbound left-turn and through prohibitions during the a.m. and p.m. peak traffic periods at Avenue Road and Glencairn Avenue to reduce vehicle conflicts and collisions;

·        Reassessment in the spring of 2009 of the section of roadway between Glenview Avenue and Glengrove Avenue to determine the level of impact that the modifications to the pavement markings and signage have had on motorist awareness and collision patterns in this area;

·        Deployment of the Speed Watch Board on Avenue Road in the vicinity of Allenby Public School;

·        Increased Police enforcement of the 40 km/h speed limit; and

·        Installation of Decorative Aluminum Handrails/Splash Guards on the west side of Avenue Road between St. Clements Avenue and Castlefield Avenue.

 

In light of the aforementioned, I am holding a public meeting on October 22nd to review the traffic study results and proposed recommendations.  Staff will be present to answer your questions.

 

I hope to see you at the meeting.






Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Fw: York West/York Centre Nominating Meeting Invite


A message from our friends to the north:
 

As President of the York Centre Riding Association, a Chair at the New Democrats @ York University and a full-time activist, I cordially invite you to the York West & York Centre Federal Nomination meetings.  Both events are combined, as the two ridings work with some solidarity as we recognize the need for a united front in the North-West of Toronto, a place where we have not won in quite a while.  A revitalization project is needed and this is where we believe it needs to begin.
 
The date for our Nomination Meeting(s) is Tuesday, November 10th, 2009.  We are conducting considerable outreach to members, previous members, community activists, students at York University and others.  We hopefully are expecting a large turn-out, particularly hoping to have a significant student presence.  The time is at 7pm at the location of 1280 Finch Ave. West (nearest intersection is Keele & Finch) in the Nor-Arm Tower, 2nd Floor in Casa Maize.
 
We hope to see you there and have an amazing event to start our trek to revitalize the region and turn it orange,
 
-Jesse M. Zimmerman


Monday, October 5, 2009

Some upcoming events


Short notice here, but best to pass these all along.

  • Please join us in Davenport for our Federal Nomination meeting this
    Monday, October 5th at 7pm (doors open at 6:30) at 1140 Bloor St West
    (at Dufferin).

    This will be a meeting like no other.

    Come celebrate as we nominate musician and journalist
    Andrew Cash as our next Federal candidate for Davenport.

    Special Musical guests:

    Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo and
    Andy Maize & Josh Finlayson of The Skydiggers.

    Special guest speakers:
    NDP Leader Jack Layton
    ONDP Leader Andrea Horwath
    MP Charlie Angus

    Please join us for the nomination meeting on October 5th at 7pm at
    1140 Bloor St West.

  • NDP President and former MP Peggy Nash will be speaking the Scarborough Southwest AGM this Sunday October 6th at 2pm. The meeting is taking place at the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters, 936 Warden Avenue, in the "Senior's Lounge."

     

    Come on out and hear Peggy speak about the Economic Crisis and the NDP.

     




Gilbert also passed this notice along:
INVITATION

 

* CEHS

Centre for Equity in Health and Society

 

presents

 

A TALK AND DISCUSSION

about

"Barriers to Progress"

 

Professor Victor Trotman

Senior Director, Labour Relations, UHN

 

Discussion led by

 

Ms. Jacqueline Silvera, LLB

Senior Manager of Diversity, UHN

 

October 5, 2009

6 – 8 pm

 

Metro Hall

55 John Street, Rm 303

Toronto

 

Light refreshments