April 24 – Evening Update: COVID-19 Key Information & Resources

April 24, 2020 

Dear Neighbours, 

I want to thank everyone for your efforts during this very difficult time. It is very important for all of us, to the best of our ability to follow the mandatory social distancing bylaw!

Please see the following update regarding COVID-19 key information and resources in the City of Toronto:

City of Toronto begins targeted spring cleanup across the city

Targeted spring cleanup will be taking place across the city over the next few weeks.

Unfortunately, the annual Clean Toronto Together community cleanup campaign was cancelled due to COVID-19. The public can do their part to help keep Toronto clean and safe by properly disposing of items in available street bins and not littering. You can also report litter hot spots to 311. In light of the COVID-19 situation, the City does not want the public handling items that have been discarded on the ground in Toronto’s public spaces or organizing community cleanup events. If residents find personal protective equipment or other trash discarded on their property, they are advised to use gloves to pick it up and to discard it in the garbage, along with the gloves and then wash their hands.

Saad Rafi appointed to lead the Toronto Office of Recovery and Rebuild to begin planning post-COVID-19

Today, Mayor John Tory announced the start of Toronto’s Recovery and Rebuild Strategy including the establishment of an office led by Mr. Saad Rafi, with a public health strategy led by Dr. David Mowat. While the City’s priorities remain on reducing the spread of COVID-19, minimizing demand on the health care system, and ensuring the delivery of essential and critical City services, preparing Toronto for recovery and rebuild in the weeks and months to come must begin now. Decisions about timing of re-opening and relaxing current measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19 have not been determined and will be guided by advice from public health officials. For more information, please read the news release.

Sing for Canada this Sunday

The Canada Together initiative is asking everyone to sing the anthem on Sunday at 12 p.m. Visit canadatogether.com/en for more information.

City urges residents to stay focused on stopping the spread of COVID-19

As of this morning, there are 4,480 cases of COVID-19 in Toronto. Cases include 4,048 confirmed cases and 438 probable cases. There are 300 cases hospitalized, with 113 in intensive care units. We continue to see COVID-19 deaths; to date 238 people in Toronto have died from COVID-19. Case status data can be found on the City’s reporting platform. As the weekend approaches, residents are reminded of the importance of staying home and remaining focused on fighting COVID-19.

Update on enforcement activity

Enforcement of the City’s physical distancing bylaw and the Emergency Measures and Civil Protection Act orders is ongoing. Yesterday, the City received 483 complaints involving people using outdoor amenities or not practising physical distancing in parks. Bylaw and police officers issued five tickets – bringing the total number of tickets issued since April 3 to 489. Bylaw and police officers have spoken to close to 11,000 people in City parks about the closures and public health measures. The City also received 39 complaints yesterday related to non-essential businesses remaining open in contravention of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. Since March 24, Municipal Licensing & Standards and Toronto Public Health have issued 65 tickets and 141 notices to non-essential businesses.

How to Dispute a Ticket

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, new legislation and bylaws have been put in place which have not existed in the past. If you feel that you were wrongly ticketed, you have the option of requesting an early resolution meeting with a prosecutor and challenging it in court. You can do this by requesting early resolution meeting, or requesting a trial. For more information is available on the City’s website.

Eglinton GO Station 

At Eglinton GO Station, the overnight drilling work that was scheduled for Sunday, April 26 and Monday, April 27 is cancelled. Drilling work can be expected during the daytime next week, however this overnight work is canceled. The purpose of this work is to install groundwater monitoring wells to collect and monitor groundwater quality information needed for the planned Eglinton GO Station Accessibility Upgrades Project.

Visit this website for the latest GO Transit, UP Express and Metrolinx-related COVID-19 news updates. 

Please click here for a list of food banks and soup kitchens in the Ward 24

Please remember to call ahead to book to ensure they are properly stocked. For those interested in volunteering, food banks are always looking for volunteers, so please feel free to save and share this information.

Please click here for a list of food banks in Scarborough

Essential Government Information for COVID -19

Public Health’s information line & 311 are experiencing high call volumes. Residents can get the information they need online at www.toronto.ca

The City’s website has a tool that can translate pages into 51 different languages.

If you need info on COVID-19, please visit the following websites:

City of Toronto

Province of Ontario

Government of Canada

World Health Organization

Official Global Travel Advisory

The City’s website is updated daily with the latest health advice, and information about City services and social supports. Check https://www.toronto.ca/covid-19/ for answers to common questions before contacting the Toronto Public Health COVID-19 Hotline or 311.

I am continuously updating my social media platforms and my website with up to date information:

Website: www.paulainslie.com

You can also reach me by: telephone at 416-396-7222 or email me at councillor_ainslie@toronto.ca

All my Best, 

Paul

April 24, 2020 Mid -Day Update on COVID-19 Resources

 

Dear Neighbours, 

I want to thank everyone for your efforts during this very difficult time. It is very important for all of us, to the best of our ability to follow the mandatory social distancing bylaw!

Please see the following update regarding COVID-19 key information and resources in the City of Toronto:

The Canadian Women’s Foundation “Violence at Home Signal for Help

The social isolation measures necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic are making it more difficult for those who are at risk of abuse or violence to safely reach out for help. “Signal for Help” is a simple one-handed sign someone can use on a video call. It can help a person silently show they need help and want someone to check in with them in a safe way. Details can be found here: https://canadianwomen.org/signal-for-help/ 

Resources to protect against COVID-19 Digital Scams can be accessed here:

Public Safety Alert, Hijacking of Virtual Meeting Spaces

Over the last several weeks, the Toronto Police Service has noted an increase in reported occurrences involving the hijacking of virtual meeting spaces.

Active investigations of meetings being interrupted by uninvited guests who share hate-related content or child sexual abuse material are underway.

For those organizing virtual meetings, the following steps are strongly recommended:
– if possible, do not make your meeting ID public,
– create a unique meeting ID for each session,
– require a meeting password that is known only by invited guests,
– preview meeting attendees in a virtual waiting room before having them join the session,
– if possible, only have the host stream video and do not allow file transfers during the meeting

More information can be found in the news release here:  

Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy “Zoo Food For Life” Fundraising Campaign Raises over $500,000 to help feed the animals 

The Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy launched it’s Zoo Food For Life fundraising campaign just one week ago. The campaign was launched to offset revenues lost from parking and admission due to the Toronto Zoo’s closure on March 14th, which normally goes towards supporting the nutrition needs of the more than 5000 animals. The response from the public was overwhelming. Donors have very generously given over $500,000 to the campaign, which is enough to cover six months of food costs. More details can be found here: https://www.wildlifeconservancy.ca/ 

City of Toronto beings targeting spring clean up across the city 

The City of Toronto will have a targeted spring cleanup taking place across the city over the next few weeks.

Spring cleanup activities include:

  • Illegal dumping cleanup
  • Boulevard and laneway cleaning
  • Litter and debris removal in parks
  • Fence-line litter clearing
  • Street sweeping to clean up dirt and debris from Toronto’s streets.

Unfortunately, the annual Clean Toronto Together community cleanup campaign was cancelled due to COVID-19.

During the pandemic, the City has been working hard to keep public spaces clean and safe. Staff are out each day picking up litter, emptying street and park waste bins and sweeping streets. Full news release can be accessed here:  

Toronto Public Library has launched “38 Ways to Use the Library from Home”

Visit this website for more information: https://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/digital-services/2020/03/38-ways-to-use-the-library-from-home.html.

Please click here for a list of food banks and soup kitchens in the Ward 24

Please remember to call ahead to book to ensure they are properly stocked. For those interested in volunteering, food banks are always looking for volunteers, so please feel free to save and share this information.

Please click here for a list of food banks in Scarborough

Essential Government Information for COVID -19

Public Health’s information line & 311 are experiencing high call volumes. Residents can get the information they need online at www.toronto.ca

The City’s website has a tool that can translate pages into 51 different languages.

If you need info on COVID-19, please visit the following websites:

City of Toronto

Province of Ontario

Government of Canada

World Health Organization

Official Global Travel Advisory

The City’s website is updated daily with the latest health advice, and information about City services and social supports. Check https://www.toronto.ca/covid-19/ for answers to common questions before contacting the Toronto Public Health COVID-19 Hotline or 311.

I am continuously updating my social media platforms and my website with up to date information:

Website: www.paulainslie.com

You can also reach me by: telephone at 416-396-7222 or email me at councillor_ainslie@toronto.ca

All my Best, 

Paul