December 3, 2020
Dear Neighbours,
I want to thank everyone for their efforts during these difficult times. Let us all remember COVID-19 will hopefully be stopped, but we all must continue to keep following the mandated rules. We also need to remember, our mental health is paramount, and it is important we take care of ourselves and seek support if needed. For information on COVID-19 community supports please visit this link.
Town Hall Meeting Tonight, December 3
Check out all Scarborough-Guildwood’s past Live Town Meetings on my YouTube channel – like and subscribe for more meetings and videos! Scarborough-Guildwood’s Live Town Halls provide the community with up to date information, supports and resources throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toronto is in the Grey-Lockdown level of restrictions in the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework. Please stay home as much as possible, except for essential trips for groceries, healthcare, child care, school and work. Remember to practicephysical distancing, washing your hands as often as possible and wear a mask or face covering. Residents are asked to limit contact with people not in the same household and to remain at home when ill.
To help residents understand the new Grey-Lockdown category measures, the City has created a simple Do and Don’t guide. This guide communicates what is – and what is not – permitted under the province’s lockdown stage, to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
City of Toronto COVID-19 Case Update: (Data as of December 2, 2020) There has been an increase of 421 COVID-19 cases in the City of Toronto. There are 240 people currently hospitalized. Through the pandemic the City of Toronto has seen a total of 43,112 cases of COVID-19, of these, 36,618 cases have recovered. To this date, there have been 1,630 COVID-19 deaths in Toronto, an increase of 10 fatal cases since the day before. Case status data can be found on the City’s reporting platform. Province of Ontario status of COVID-19 Cases can be found here.
Getting a flu shot is one of the best ways to protect yourself and others from the flu. It is especially important this year to help protect our healthcare system during the fight against COVID-19. Learn more about the flu online at www.toronto.ca/flu and book your flu shot appointment at www.tphbookings.ca
A City of Toronto report providing an update on the Eglinton East Light Rail Transit and the Waterfront Transit Network will be going to Executive Committee next week. The Eglinton East LRT is a planned 15km extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from Kennedy Station to Malvern, with up to 21 stops and three connections to GO Transit. City staff recommend that City Council approve an updated project scope with an evolved design that accommodates the Province of Ontario’s subway expansion plans.
Transit is an important part of thriving, desirable neighbourhoods. The Eglinton East LRT will have many benefits, including serving Neighbourhood Improvement Areas and making important connections to other transit services. I am very happy with the work done to date on project and support this important future component of Scarborough’s transit network. More information can be read in the news release.
A City of Toronto staff report recommending a tax on vacant homes in Toronto will be going to Executive Committee next week. A vacant home tax increases the housing supply by encouraging homeowners to sell or rent their unoccupied home, and if they choose to continue to keep the home vacant, a tax is levied. This revenue can then be used to fund affordable housing projects.
Using data from Vancouver’s implementation of a vacant home tax as an example, if one per cent of Toronto’s housing stock is vacant, at a tax rate of one per cent on the average Toronto home’s current assessed value, this could equal $55 to $66 million in tax revenue per year. More information can be read in the news release.
St. Lawrence Market Saturday Farmers Market to resume full operations this Saturday so it can provide essential food retail to residents. The City of Toronto has reviewed the Province of Ontario’s COVID-19 response framework for areas in Grey – Lockdown as it applies to the Saturday-only Farmers Market. The Farmers Market has long been a weekly aspect of the permanent indoor St. Lawrence Market, which is permitted to be open under the regulations as it is essential food retail. This allows the Saturday Farmers Market to operate indoors with COVID-19 precautions in place. The Farmers Market will be open from 5am to 3pm on Saturday. More information can be read in the news release.
The City of Toronto continues to take extraordinary steps to help and protect people experiencing homelessness during COVID-19. So far in 2020, the City has also referred more than 2,500 people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing through a combination of housing allowances and rent-geared-to-income units, representing a 50 per cent increase over the same period last year. There are more than 6,000 shelter spaces in the city today. The City’s Streets to Homes team and partner agencies has helped more than 1,100 people move inside from encampments since the pandemic began. In the past two weeks, alone, 110 people have accepted offers to move inside.
The City of Toronto “12 Days of Giving” is now live on their Twitter account. 12 Days of Giving is a social media campaign used to highlight different ways people can give on each of the 12 days. Examples of ways to give back this holiday season include DonateTO, the City’s Holiday Wish List, making donations to the Daily Bread Food Bank, making donations to Toronto Animal Services for pets living in low-income families or participating in the Firefighters Toy Drive. For more information please read this news release.
Cedar Ridge Studio Gallery Holiday Market is opening from December 1 to 24 for Online show and sale. Purchase one of a kind gifts from artists and crafts makers of Cedar Ridge Studio Gallery. For more information please visit www.cedarridgestudiogallery.com/collections/holiday-market
The 43 Division and CPLC will be accepting new unwrapped toys from now until Christmas for the 43 Division Auxiliary Police Toy Drive. All toys will be distributed within the 43 Division community. Donations can be dropped off at the front desk of 43 Division, located at 4331 Lawrence Avenue East.
The Boys’ and Girls’ Club of East Scarborough Holiday Help Program is now accepting various forms of donations. Donate essential daily items, toys, non-perishables, and/or monetary donations. All donations are asked to be dropped off at their main site, 100 Galloway Rd, no later than TOMORROW December 4th, 2020. More information on how to participate in the Holiday Help Program can be found here.
People facing hunger in Toronto need our help! Toronto Miracle is inviting Toronto residents to leave a non-perishable food item on their doorstep (marked for Toronto Miracle) on December 5th at 10am. Volunteers will collect these donations and redistribute to those in need in the community. More information can be found at www.torontomiracle.org
The Missions Committee and Board of Heron Park Baptist Church is hosting a drive-through food collection on Saturday December 5th from 11am to 2pm at Heron Park Baptist Church (Parking Lot), located at 4260 Lawrence Ave E. Donations should be placed in the trunk of the car and volunteers will safely take the donations from the trunk and prepare them for the food bank.
Knights of Columbus is hosting a Christmas Community Food Drive on Saturday December 12th from 9am to 12pm at St. Martin de Porres Church (Parking Lot), located at 4179 Lawrence Ave E. This will be a drive-through food drive with appropriate COVID-19 protocols in place. Community members are invited to bring non-perishable food items, much needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the Knights of Columbus will take donations from the trunk of your car. The food items will then be delivered to community Food Banks.
Tell the City about your experience with accessing crisis and support services! The City of Toronto is developing a community-based crisis response service that is collaborative, effective, and community-centric. The City’s second survey is now live until December 14. The survey asks residents for their insights and experiences accessing crisis and supportive services, staying safe in a crisis, community safety and future investments that would provide care or support to prevent people from falling into crisis.
Go Expansion Program Public Information Centre #3 is now open. The GO Expansion consists of many different projects, three TPAPs – New Track and Facilities TPAP, Scarborough Junction Grade Separation TPAP, Stoufville Rail Corridor Grade Separations TPAP – and 2 addenda – the Network-Wide Structure Project and an Addendum to the GO Rail Network Electrification. To participate visit this page to review and learn more about what infrastructure is proposed near you, which TPAP or addenda the infrastructure falls under and provide feedback and ask questions. This public information centre will be open until December 11, 2020.
Durham-Scarborough Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Public Information Centre #3. The purpose of the Public Information Centre is to present and seek feedback on the preliminary design and results of the technical studies, including potential impacts and proposed mitigation measures. The Public Information Centre #3 will run until Friday December 18, 2020, please view the dedicated page and participate by using the Ask-A-Question box, please visit this link.
The City of Toronto is hosting a Virtual Community Consultation meeting to discuss the proposed developments at 4097 Lawrence Avenue East and 197-201 Galloway Road on December 9, 2020 7pm to 8:30pm. For information on how to participate please see this notice or please visit www.toronto.ca/cpconsultations.
The City of Toronto is hosting a Virtual Community Consultation Meeting to discuss the proposed development at 5 Corporate Drive on December 7, 2020 6pm to 7:30pm. For more information on how to participate please see this notice or please visit www.toronto.ca/cpconsultations.
The Toronto BIA Office is now accepting applications for Stream 6 of the BIA Innovation Fund. Awards range from $5000 to $25000. Finding is Limited. Descriptions of projects previously funded under the program can be found here, along with feature stories. Deadline to apply is Thursday December 10th, 2020 4:30pm. Apply NOW.
Create a pollinator garden and help native pollinators from the threats of climate change, habitat loss, and other stressors. Grants of up to $5,000 are available to support community-led initiatives that result in the creation or expansion of pollinator habitat on public and private lands in Toronto. The deadline to apply for the City’s PollinateTO Community Grant is January 8, 2021. More information about the PollinateTO Community Grants is available at www.toronto.ca/PollinateTO
Please click here for a list of food banks and soup kitchens in the Ward 24
Please click here for a list of food banks in East Scarborough
Please click here for a list of food banks in Scarborough
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.
Boys’ and Girls’ Club of East Scarborough Scoop
Check out the ESBGC latest Bi-Weekly Scoop HERE. Subscribe HERE.
insidehousing: News from Toronto Community Housing
Check out their latest issue HERE. Subscribe HERE.
BusinessTO Newsletter: BusinessTO’s upcoming webinars and online events
Check out their latest newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.
TransformTO Update: Climate action for a healthy, equitable, prosperous Toronto.
Check out their latest update HERE. Subscribe HERE.
What’s On at the Library: Home Edition
Check out the latest copy HERE. Subscribe HERE. Fall TPL live and online programming is available online.
Our KGO Updates: East Scarborough Storefront’s crowd-sourced e-newsletter
Check out their latest issue HERE. Subscribe HERE.
Toronto District School Board Update
Check out the latest issue HERE.
TDSB Trustee Update by Ward 19 Scarborough-Guildwood Trustee Zakir Patel
Check out the latest issue HERE. Subscribe HERE.
Toronto Zoo Press Releases
Latest issue HERE. Contact achambers@torontozoo.ca to subscribe.
City of Toronto Waste Wizard. The City of Toronto’s Waste Wizard helps you find out what waste items go where! You can visit the Waste Wizard online or download the TOwaste app.
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
If you need info on COVID-19, please visit the following websites:
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 www.toronto.ca/covid-19/ for answers to common questions before contacting the Toronto Public Health COVID-19 Hotline or 311.
The City of Toronto’s website can be translated into many languages using the GoogleTM Translate tool. This tool gives residents and visitors who speak other languages a way of accessing City information featured on the website. To change languages on the City of Toronto website, please click here: www.toronto.ca/home/translate/
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