Gord Perks City Councillor, Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park

I would like to wish everyone in Ward 14 a safe and happy Halloween.

See you out on the street or in Sorauren Park for the annual Pumpkin event on November 1st.

Please be advised that the City of Toronto has completed a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) study to examine potential streetscape improvements on Roncesvalles Avenue between Queen Street West and Dundas Street West.

All comments can be sent to to the Ministry of the Environment. A copy of the request must also be sent to the City contact – contacts listed below. The last date when these requests can be received is Monday, November 30, 2009.

Maogosha Pyjor Tel: 416-338-2850
Public Consultation Unit, City of Toronto Fax: 416-392-2974
Metro Hall, 19th Floor, 55 John Street TTY: 416-397-0831
Toronto, ON M5V 3C6
mpyjor@toronto.ca

The Honourable John Gerretsen Tel: 416-314-6790
Minister of the Environment Fax: 416-314-7337
12th Floor, 135 St. Clair Avenue West Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5

I have attached the Notice of Completion for your reference:
roncflyr.pdf

When you change your clocks on November 1 for Daylight Savings, remember that it’s also time to change your smoke alarm batteries. As of March 1, 2006, every home in Ontario must have a working smoke alarm on every level and outside all sleeping areas. By providing an early warning and critical extra seconds to escape, working smoke alarms can cut your family’s chances of dying in a fire by half.

Use these tips if you plan to purchase and install a new smoke alarm:

• When installing smoke alarms, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for information about correct placement, testing and maintenance.

• Test your smoke alarms every month using the test button.

• Replace smoke alarm batteries at least once a year and whenever the low-battery warning chirps.

• Replace smoke alarms with new ones if they are ten years and older.

• Cooking or steam from the shower can cause smoke alarms to activate. Do not remove the battery. Instead, try relocating the alarm or purchase a smoke alarm with a hush button feature that will temporarily silence the alarm.

Toronto Fire Chief Bill Stewart encourages all families to follow these important steps. “By installing and maintaining a working smoke alarm on every level of your home,”Chief Stewart stated, “you are ensuring that your family is equipped with the best defense against the devastating effects of fire.”

It is the responsibility of homeowners to install and maintain their smoke alarms. However, it is the responsibility of landlords to ensure their rental properties also comply with the law. Rental property tenants that do not have the required number of smoke alarms should contact their landlord immediately. It is also against the law for tenants to remove the batteries or to tamper with their alarm in any way. Failure to comply with the Ontario Fire Code smoke alarm requirements could, upon conviction, result in a maximum fine of up to $50,000 for individuals, imprisonment, or both, and up to $100,000 for corporations.

For further information visit http://www.toronto.ca/fire/prevention/smoke_alarms.htm

In the first month of operation, 311 Toronto has proven to be a reliable resource for Torontonians seeking information about City services. 311 Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) answered 68,000 calls during the first month of operation. The majority of calls were for general information, while 20 per cent of calls resulted in the creation of a service request. The majority of service requests were for Solid Waste (57%), followed by Toronto Water (27%) and Transportation Services (16%).

On average, the daily wait time for calls to be answered was 60 seconds, with 83 per cent of all calls answered in less than two minutes and an average call length of 216 seconds. During the first month, 311 Toronto responded to 3,729 e-mails.

In the first month, 269 callers required the assistance of interpretation services. 311 Toronto can provide service in more than 180 languages through telephone interpretation. While the most requested languages were Cantonese, Mandarin and Portuguese, 311 Toronto also provided service to customers in less common languages like Tagalog and Singhalese.

The 311 contact centre saw an increase in calls immediately after residents started receiving copies of the City’s newsletter, Our Toronto. This newsletter is mailed to all households in Toronto and features valuable information about the City’s programs and services, and encourages readers to contact 311 Toronto for more information.

Perhaps it’s the time of year, but the unusual calls received by 311 Toronto in the first month seem to have a Halloween-like theme. For example, there were calls asking how to get rid of a large spider in the house, a flying bat and even what one caller thought was a scorpion between her bedroom windows. Although these are not the kinds of questions 311 Toronto was set up to respond to, the City’s customer service representatives handled them with their usual professionalism and resourcefulness.

One caller asked who cleans up after the Police horses. While an unusual question, 311 Toronto had the answer – if it doesn’t wash away naturally, the City’s Transportation Services staff clean up after them.

Residents, businesses and visitors can call 311 to access non-emergency City services and information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Early in 2010, 311 will expand to include self-service on the City’s website (toronto.ca/311).

Get the lead out of your tap water.
Was your house built before
the mid-1950s? If so, it may have lead pipes. This important
health message is for you.

Attached is a flyer with information for you about how to protect yourself until your service is replaced.

For more information call Public Health.

Flyer:lead-in-your-water.pdf

West End Food Co-op’s is hosting a launch event this Monday, November 2nd from 7 – 9pm at the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West).

They will have good music, local food, old and new friends and lots of news and information about Ontario’s newest food co-operative. WEFCOntario, and one of the few non-profit co-ops.

They are planning to open a store by 2011 in the heart of Toronto’s west end, offering food as local as possible, community food programming and a place to change the food system in our own backyards. They welcome members from all of the stakeholder groups: producers, workers, eaters and our community partners.

They have big plans: a warm space, great food as local as possible, community cooking, processing and working. is one of the only multi-stakeholder co-ops in

Come join us to hear more about how we are making this exciting vision become reality

Flyer attached:bond_launch_press_release_1.pdf

4CATS (Four Villages & Committed Action Team for Seniors)

invites seniors and their caregivers to join us for an Open House

Friday November 13 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

See attached flyer for more information:4cats-open-house.pdf

Message from the Roncesvalles Village BIA

Parking Returns To Roncesvalles, And So Should You!

Since mid-July, Roncesvalles Avenue has been under construction.

Even though this has been a challenging time for our community, we’re

eagerly anticipating the completion of this phase of the construction

and the beautification of Roncesvalles next year.

Even though construction is not quite over—there will be some work

continuing into winter—much of the street is back to normal, and in

fact, almost every part of the street has parking or is close to

parking.

Your best approach to Roncesvalles is still from the south. There is

always northbound through traffic. There is also on-street parking

almost everywhere from Queen up to Grenadier, making now a great time

to come back to your favourite shops, services and restaurants.

There is some heavy construction still at the north end, but this is

quickly finishing up, and besides, there’s lots of nearby parking in

the north end.

Many people have yet to discover that the Howard Public School

parking lot (with 44 spots, just west of Roncesvalles on Howard Park

Avenue) is a public pay parking lot after 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and

all day on weekends, making it a perfect spot to park to get to shops

in north Ronces, to catch a movie at the Revue, or have dinner and see

a band at any number of north end eateries.

And don’t forget the Green P parking lot where Roncesvalles and

Dundas meet. Go south on Dundas just past the Starbucks to get to this

lot. From there it’s just a few steps to Roncesvalles‘ north end, with

great shops and amenities like The Little Hair Shop, Mari Cla Ro,

Homebake Pizza and the Centre For Well Being.

All of us in Roncesvalles Village are looking forward to seeing you

soon! Visit roncesvallesvillage.ca for more.

Management Advisory Service is organizing a day-long Networking Forum coming up on November 26.

Please see attached Notice for more information:mas-effective-networking-forum.pdf

HINI Inncoculation Clinic at Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre Beginning November 2, 2009 Toronto Public Health will hold a public H1N1 flu shot clinic at MCCCThe clinics will operate on Tuesdays to Fridays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for approximately six weeks. This is the largest Public Health mobilization ever in Canada. . Immunizing over a million Torontonians is an enormous undertaking requiring the cooperation, support and hard work of hundreds of members of the Toronto Public Service.Parkdale is proud to host this initiative and we will be working closely with staff to ensure that this service runs smoothly. MCCC is home to numerous community activities. Scheduling of these activities may be disrupted by the H1N1 clinics. My office is working closely with Parks and Recreation and other service providers to find alternative locations for programs that may be affected. As I learn more from Public Health and Parks and Recreation, I will inform you through my blog, postings on my website www.gordperks.ca, and via my office staff. Information about the H1N1 flu virus will be available at the clinics, on the web and through 311. Additional information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/health/cdc/h1n1/clinics.htm. Toronto Public Health will also offer vaccinations at selected homeless shelters.

Help stop the spread of H1N1

The best way to stop the spread of H1N1 is to get vaccinated and practise good hygiene.

Do your part to stop the spread of germs: * wash or sanitize your hands frequently * cough or sneeze into a tissue * If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your sleeve or arm – not your hands * clean common surfaces* stay home if you are ill.

Parks, Forestry and Recreation Staff are hosting a public information update meeting.

An area of Sorauren Park has been assessed for its suitability for dogs’ off-leash activities and staff would like to review the proposed area, receive comments/input from the public and discuss next steps.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Please see attached notice for more information:

public-information-notice-nov-5-2009.pdf

Congratulations to Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre (PARC) for being recommended for a 2009 Toronto Heritage Grant Program. PARC was recommended to be awarded up to $25,000 for masonry and cast stone conservation for the property at 194 Dowling Avenue known as Edmond Place. This project was chosen by an independent selection committee composed of an architectural historian and a heritage building specialist. We look forward to seeing the completion of this exciting project in 2011.

There has never been a better time to upgrade the insulation in your home!

On October 14, 2009, The City of Toronto launched Home Energy Assistance Toronto (HEAT), a new incentive program offering residents up to $1,000 when they upgrade their home insulation.

Home Energy Assistance Toronto is open to homeowners of low-rise residential properties including single detached, semi-detached, attached (i.e. row houses) and small multi-unit buildings (three storeys or less and maximum footprint of 600 square metres).

HEAT is a partnership with Federal ecoENERGY Retrofit-Homes. To be eligible, homeowners must follow the steps outlined by the Federal program. For more information on eligibility requirements, visit http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/retrofit-homes/apply.cfm?attr=4.

In total, ecoENERGY Retrofit-Homes offers residents up to $5,000 in home efficiency grants. Ontario’s Home Energy Savings Program then matches these grants for another $5,000 (maximum). When combined with HEAT, this means that homeowners can now access up to $11,000 in total grants when they upgrade their home insulation, and also implement other important energy efficient upgrades.

The amounts specifically related to HEAT by area of insulation include:

Ceiling:

• Up to $200 from the City of Toronto

• Up to $1,500 in Federal and Provincial grants

Walls:

• Up to $500 from the City of Toronto

• Up to $3,750 in Federal and Provincial grants

Foundation:

• Up to $300 from the City of Toronto

• Up to $2,500 in Federal and Provincial grants

Visit http://www.toronto.ca/livegreen/home_energy_heat.html for more information on the recommended insulation measures for each area of the home.

But hurry, this program is on for a limited time only!

HEAT funds are only available to residents who complete their home renovations between August 6, 2009 and March 2012.

For more information on HEAT and other City of Toronto environmental programs, visit http://www.livegreentoronto.ca.