by Bradley Featherstone

Artists rendition of Jason Cain (l) and Mark Cain (r) in the defendent's box

by Bradley Featherstone

Dec 2, 2009

After three hours of debating a lack of equitable ice time at Toronto’s eight privately run rinks in the council chamber Tuesday night, this game is going into overtime.

A referral motion set forward by Coun. Karen Stintz (Ward 16, Eglinton-Lawrence) to have this issue heard by the community development and recreation committee at a Jan. 8, 2010 meeting failed to pass by a vote of 24-14, leaving this issue up in the air for another day.

Stintz told council Tuesday that other user groups such as figure skaters and skating clubs, mostly consisting of girls, would be hurt if the council made a rushed decision without their input. She suggested these other groups would be able to represent themselves at the Jan. 8 meeting so they could deal with the issue of equitable ice time collectively, instead of pitting boys against girls.

“They need to be able to make their case heard at the community and recreational development committee, because that’s where these issues should be heard,” Stintz argued.

This all started when the Leaside Girls Hockey Association president, Ron Baker, sent a letter to Mayor David Miller on Oct. 30, threatening a human rights complaint of sexual discrimination against the city. Their argument was that girls aren’t being allowed to play in some of the city run arenas.

But councilors argued this isn’t a boys vs. girls battle: the real problem appears to be a lack of ice rinks in Toronto, as no new rinks have been built in the city in over 20 years.

“We had Ted Reeve arena last year, they had given us ice at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings for house league. They took that away and said “Here, you guys should go over to Beaches at the same time’, well that’s great but 10 a.m. now on the Beaches there’s adult hockey there,” said Frank Becker, as he tied up the skates of a young girl on the sidelines of the ice rink at Nathan Phillip Square. Becker is a manager of several teams in the Leaside league and has a couple of daughters who  play in it as well. “When guys like my age are playing hockey, for instance, let’s say at Forest Hill at 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning  it’s not right, no one can tell me that that’s right, it’s wrong.”

This lack of ice time in some arenas  is not only affecting girls. The Greater Toronto Hockey League had to turn down 30 teams who applied to  join its league this year because of a lack of available ice.

The issue of equitable ice time only concerns the eight privately run ice rinks. The 40 other ice rinks in the city are owned and run by the city and already follow a strict ice allocation policy that states, “equitable distribution for males, females, persons with disabilities, etc.”

The goal of the original motion set forward by Coun. Janet Davis (Ward 31, Beaches-East York), with support from Miller, was to simply have these eight privately run arenas show the city how they allocate their ice time. If, after inspection, they have not followed city policy, then the arenas would have to work with the city to create a more equitable ice allocation policy for next year. Debate over Davis’ motion is set to continue on Wednesday, time permitting.

by Saeda Raghe

Dec. 2, 2009

The vote for a proposed tax and bylaw to regulate the billboard advertising industry in Toronto was postponed by city council on Tuesday to debate allocating more ice time for girls hockey leagues on city owned rinks.

The bylaw, which is a seven year effort to stop illegal signs in Toronto while generating some tax revenue, saw heated debate from councillors dealing with everything from the environmental effects of having illuminated signs all night to the negative effects the tax will have on small businesses.

“What brings us here today on this issue is an unhappiness with the way the sign industry operates in the city of Toronto,” said Coun. Norm Kelly (Scarborough Agincourt). “This unhappiness is shared by almost everyone, the industry, interest groups, the staff at the city of Toronto, and members of this council.”

It has been proposed that the tax, which is estimated by city staff to generate $10 million in annual revenue, should be used to beautify the city and fund community and art projects in Toronto.

Coun. Adam Vaughan (St. Paul’s) challenged Kelly ‘s proposal to allow electronic static signs in all districts of the city until 1 a.m.

“You’re advocating [for] bigger signs, electronic, and lit up signs by reducing limitations on it…in exchange for all of these additional extensions you’re saying you’re going to cut the tax in half,” Vaughan said to Kelly. “You’re going to effectively double the size of the footprint of the industry, and cut half of the fee they’re going to pay.”

Vaughan stated outside the council chambers that he thinks the billboard industry has defied regulation and taxation for too long.

“I think the industry is deliberately under reporting their income,” Vaughan said.. “And if it comes to a choice between taxing home owners or cutting services, I’d rather tax the billboard industry.”

Rami Tabello, founder of Illegalsigns.com, an organization that tracks, reports, and is trying to abolish illegal signs, agrees with the staff recommendations but fears the bylaw won’t pass.

“The recommendations are good [and] most of the motions make sense,” Tabello said.. “There are some sneaky [councillors] there [who] are determined to cut the sign bylaw up, and I think they will get rejected.”

City council will reconvene Wednesday to debate and vote on the issue.

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Kimberlee Nancekivell

12/02/09

Toronto’s billboard industry will remain tax-free for another day.

City council was scheduled to vote on the proposed Toronto sign by-law Tuesday, but the debates were cut short to make time for a special meeting to discuss the distribution of ice time.

While councillors Joe Mihevc (Ward 21 St.Paul’s) and Pam McConnell (Ward 28 Toronto Centre-Rosedale) were all for the by-law, other councillors found themselves somewhere in the middle.

“Sheep are meant to be shorn, not slaughtered,” said Coun. Norm Kelly (Ward 40 Scarborough Agincourt) who wanted to soften the blow to the sign industry.

“It didn’t make sense to me looking at it from the perspectives of all the groups to introduce an unprecedented tax at the same time we introduce an unprecedented restriction on the industry.”

If the by-law were to be passed as is, owners of third party signs- companies that sell large advertising space like the billboards at Dundas Square and along the Gardiner Expressway- would have to pay the city a collective $10.4 million dollars in taxes per year, and a separate stipulation would make it illegal for electronic signs to be turned on between midnight and 6 a.m. Kelly asked that the taxes be reduced and the “hours of darkness” be changed to 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., saying that Toronto is becoming an electronic, 24-hour city.

“Why hogtie the industry if that’s the way it’s going?” Kelly said.

McConnell pointed out that Kelly does not lived in a high-rise apartment or condominium downtown where these electronic signs are right outside his bedroom window.

“You would have to admit that people have a right to sleep for seven or eight hours,” McConnell said.

Taking issue with the dollar value rather than the “hours of darkness”, Mihevc said “this is a very, very reasonable tax. This tax has already been cut two times.”

The by-law will return to council for debate following a special meeting on Wednesday.

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by Kaitlynn Ford

December 11, 2009.

Pascal Dupuis of the Pittsburgh Penguins, ranked 30^th in the NHL for game winning goals, scored another Friday night with 6:39 left in the third period to lead the Penguins to a tight 3-2 victory on the road over the Montreal Canadiens.

The win gives the Pittsburgh Penguins a total of 43 points this season, with a record of 21-10-1, keeping them tied for second place overall with division mates the New Jersey Devils. The Washington Capitals and the San Jose Sharks are tied for first, with a close 44 points, both having lost their last game.

Including last night, the Penguins have won four of their last five games in Montreal. The Penguins dominated the play for the majority of the first period, against a sluggish Montreal Canadien lineup. Defenceman Sergei Gonchar of Pittsburgh got the first goal of the game, and the only goal in the first period, just over six minutes in. The Canadiens have the worst first period goal differential in the league with minus 18.

The second period started off fast and furious with a string of penalties. The first of the game went to Montreal’s Max Pacioretty for holding, 3:30 into the second. The Penguins had a flurry of shots against Montreal goaltender Carey Price, with the Sydney Crosby line to start the power play, but failed to capitalize. The penalty kill average for the Canadiens on home ice is 83% this season.

Five more penalties would be called before either of the two teams took advantage of the extra man. Pittsburgh has the lowest percentage of goals on the power play in the NHL this season. Matt D’Agostini put Montreal on the scoreboard with the team’s first shot in the period, just over 10 minutes in. Roman Hamrlik riffled a snap shot from the top of the circle past a rattled Marc-Andre Fleury, for his fifth of the season, to give Montreal a 2-1 lead two minutes later with Ruslan Fedotenko of the Penguins in the box.

The lead was short lived, when Gonchar took a heavily screened point shot that Matt Cooke deflects past Price, for his second goal of the season, and to tie the game. When tied after two goals, the Penguins are 5-0-0 this season, and the Canadians are 5-3-1.

And although they may have been rattled on a couple of occasions in the third, they did manage to stick to the plan with Dupuis scoring a lucky deflection off of Price’s glove for his eighth goal of the season. Jay McKee got his 100^th assist on the play.

Dupuis and Gonchar both had a two point night. The victorious Pittsburgh Penguins have a record of six comeback wins in the third period this season. Pittsburgh outshot Montreal 41 to 21.

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by Amanda Kwan

Dec 2, 2009

Toronto’s skyline may soon get a makeover if city council approves a new sign bylaw that would restrict and tax billboard advertising in the city.

City council will continue the debate on the bylaw today, after a series of motions delayed the vote that was scheduled for Tuesday evening.

The sign bylaw is the culmination of a seven year effort by various councillors and advocacy groups to regulate billboards in Toronto.

The new bylaw also includes a new billboard tax that would raise $10.4 million for beautification of the city.

Opponents argued the tax rate was unfair to the advertising industry and questioned how the funds would be used.

“What’s important is the establishment of a tax that doesn’t injure the industry,” said Coun.  Norm Kelly (Ward 40 Scarborough-Agincourt), who presented a motion to reduce the tax to $6.1 million.

But critics argued the amendment would lead to an explosion of billboards in the city.

“You’re advocating lit-up, bigger signs…[that would] double the size of the industry and cut the tax in half,” Coun. Adam Vaughan (Trinity-Spadina) said.

Kelly also advocated for more electronic signs, evoking an image of a “illuminated” Toronto full of blinking billboards.

“We live in an electronic age…we have become a twenty-four hour society,” he told council, defending the proposal..

His comments provoked derisive laughter from some public space advocates who were gathered at the top of the chamber to watch the debate.

Speaker Sandra Bussin (Beaches-East York) issued a warning, reminding the public they were not allowed to express approval or disapproval of a councillor’s remarks.

Speaking outside of council chambers, Vaughan said he thinks the advertising industry is purposely underreporting its revenue to avoid paying more taxes.

“There wouldn’t be this anger from the billboard industry if they obeyed the rules… And as far as I’m concerned they have no credibility,” Vaughan charged.

Industry lobbyists have also offered councillors money to change the sign permit rules, according to Vaughan.

“I’ve been offered and I’ve reported it to the Integrity Commissioner. But some of the most reputable companies in the city offer councillors donations to charities of their choice in exchange for approvals on variances…and that’s one more reason I don’t trust the billboard industry in any way, shape or form,” he said.

Rami Tabello, founder of the watchdog group Illegalsigns.ca, said he supported the tax plan as recommended by the committee.

“Right now there’s a motion in place to cut the tax in half. So we’d like the original tax to be adopted. We think that’d be fair,” he said in an interview.

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by Sarah Moore

Dec 2, 2009

Hundreds of young volunteers in the United Youth Initiative were seeing red on Toronto streets Tuesday and encouraged other Torontonians to do the same.

The young people took a break from handing out red ribbons to attend a press conference at city hall later that day where Mayor David Miller declared Dec. 1, 2009 as World AIDS Day in Toronto.

Miller  praised  the efforts of the young people who have been working in conjunction with the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research towards finding a cure for HIV-AIDS.

“I would like to thank the young people that are with me today for their leadership,” Miller said. “It’s a privilege to see this kind of energy in our city.”

Miller also said that the young volunteers’ efforts to educate the public about the disease were crucial to the campaign.

“I think it matters that young people are engaged, speaking to Torontonians and handing out red ribbons,” Miller said.

Fred Jackson, 17,  was handing out ribbons to  fuel awareness on the corner of Bay and Queen streets.

“Youth under the age of 24 are among the most affected by HIV-AIDS, so it’s extremely important to me to show my concern with the youth that are suffering from HIV-AIDS around the world,” Jackson said.

Kerry Whiteside, executive director of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, said the main goal of Tuesday’s activities was to raise awareness about the role that research plays in finding a cure for the disease, as well as to gather donations.

“You can only tell people to abstain or wear a condom so much and they may not listen,” said Whiteside in an interview. “So the only way that we’re actually going to end this disease is through research.”

Jackson said that Torontonians have been very receptive and generous toward the Red Ribbon Campaign.

“I’d say about 50 per cent of the people that end up supporting us end up making donations,” he said.  “Many others have also just taken ribbons to show their support and awareness.”

Officials hope to bring the Red Ribbon Campaign to the national level by next year.

“The goal for 2010 is [to have] one million red ribbons given out across Canada,” Whiteside said in an interview after the conference.

Miller ended the news conference by urging the citizens of Toronto to take part in World AIDS Day by “giving a little bit and reaching into your pockets.”

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A Toronto martial arts teacher Deb Chard says every class she teaches is to commemorate the women killed in 1989 at the Ecole Polytechnique. She’s bringing her techniques to Centennial College’s Ashtonbee campus, where few women study. Mallory Hendry reports.

A Toronto martial arts teacher Deb Chard says every class she teaches is to commemorate the women killed in 1989 at the Ecole Polytechnique. She’s bringing her techniques to Centennial College’s Ashtonbee campus, where few women study. Alexandra kazia reports.

Does an art gallery have to be paintings hanging on a wall? Or can it be word art on a human body? Britney Brady-Maginley has this report.