Volume 46 No. 16
October 31, 2017
Local seniors, adults face dental difficulties By Josh Sherman
TERRY MCAULEY recently had to make a choice: replace a mattress she’d been sleeping on for a decade or get the three fillings she desperately needed. The 81-year-old Beach resident spent her savings on a nearly $1,000 dental bill. “The mattress is out the window for another eight months or so,” she said. Through the anecdote, McAuley was criticizing what she says is a lack of dental-care options open to low-income retirees. She was at a dental focus group at the East End Community Health Centre on Oct. 18, an early step in the centre’s plans to lobby the province to fund a permanent dental clinic here. “My biggest problem is that all of a sudden at 65, the Ontario population doesn’t require anything for their teeth,” she quipped sarcastically. When Ontarians turn 65, most “exit” Ontario Works or ODSP, both of which offer some dental benefits, and begin receiving the Canadian Pension Plan or Old Age Security, the Ministry of Community and Social Services
said in an email. ODSP recipients might qualify for extended health benefits—but they’d need to apply for them before leaving the program, the ministry explained. The East End Community Health Centre meeting, attended by about 25 people, underlined such issues. McAuley’s experiences, and those of other attendees, will help health-centre staff draft a report that will be part of a submission to the province next year. Mireille Cheung, director of primary health services for the centre, said East Toronto is the only one of the five Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network subregions that does not have a community health centre equipped with a permanent dental clinic. “We’re feeling strongly that we need this in this area,” she said. Jacquie Maund, policy and government relations lead at the Association of Ontario Health Centres, noted there are three public dental clinics in the East End, but she highlighted how they have trouble treating certain clients. Continued on Page 2
City calls 30-storey tower ‘inappropriate’ By Josh Sherman
A REPORT from Toronto planning staff has called a proposal for a 30-storey condo tower near Main and Danforth “inappropriate” for the neighbourhood and recommended planners conduct a full study of the area before deciding whether to approve the application. But Tribute Communities, the developer that is pitching a highrise for the 286-292 Main Street site disagreed and “strongly” opposed one of the report’s recommendations. “We don’t strongly oppose the notion of additional study taking place. What we strongly oppose is our application not being completed until the end of that report,” said Steve Deveaux, vice president of land development for Tribute, which is partnering with Greybrook Realty Partners on the project. “We believe our application
should be judged based on the merits of the existing policies and guidelines in place today,” he added. A preliminary staff report, dated Sept. 29 and presented to Toronto and East York Community Council on Oct. 17, listed the 286-292 Main proposal’s height and density—and how it transitions from nearby low-rise development—as issues. The recommended study needs council support to move forward, and an item is scheduled to be heard by councillors on Nov. 7. Daniel Woolfson, a senior planner for the Toronto and East York District, said he would “let the report speak for itself.” He added that the city has identified the area around the intersection of Main and Danforth for growth but that it was a matter of scale. Continued on Page 3
PHOTO: ANNA KILLEN
Happy Hula-ween Six-year-old Madeline was a spirited competitor during the hula hoop competition at the Beach Village BIA’s Halloween on Queen event Oct. 28 at Kew Gardens. Organizers and attendees didn’t let a little rain dampen the day’s festivities, which included a costume contest, reptile lounge, magic shows and entertainment, pumpkin carving and a number of crafting booths hosted by local businesses.
Stuck in traffic, Scarborough War Memorial often passed by By Richard Dionne
W
here Kingston Road and Danforth Avenue threaten to collide just west of Cliffside Village there’s a beautiful cenotaph known as the Scarborough War Memorial. This soaring landmark sits in an undulating eye-shaped park some 300 metres long. It’s surrounded by mature hardwood and pine and flowering shrubs. The whole stretch is painstakingly maintained by a troop of city workers who pull the weeds, prune the trees, trim the grass and otherwise ensure a constant bloom of flowers through spring and fall. Neat park benches are strategically placed to take advantage of the sightlines and the intermittent sun that filters through the foliage. If you’re lucky in November, you might just see a golden eagle glide above as the cenotaph reaches high into the edge of a raptor migration route. This hidden gem is the perfect spot for contemplation, to meet friends, family and neighbours and, especially, to honour those men and women who sacrificed everything to secure our peace. Or so you’d think. Because
there is one tragic flaw with the Scarborough War Memorial – there’s no safe way to get to there. ••• The First World War. The numbers are staggering: 628,472 Canadians served in the armed forces, 424,589 went overseas, 61,356 were killed. Thousands more were permanently disabled by shrapnel and disease or disfigured and blinded by gas. Others, as we now know, suffered the constant torment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Young men – some very young – and many women, too. Over 2,500 nurses served overseas, and not all made it back home. Canada was a much smaller country of 8 million people back then. Every family, every church, every neighbourhood would have been touched in some way by the war effort. The community now served by Beach Metro News was no exception. The Canadian Great War Project gives us the names of our neighbours: James Otley, 46 Albion Ave (Southwest Scarborough), Dairyman, Died 9 April 17, France. Whilst taking part in the attack
west of Vimy … was instantly killed by enemy shell fire. Next of kin, Amy Otley, Wife. John Casson, 300 Willow Ave (The Beaches), Shoesalesman, Missing, Presumed dead, Hill 70, Lens. Next of kin, Marion Bland, Mother. James Gourlie, 8 Victoria Park (Fallingbrook), Advertising Press, Died 3 April 17, Vimy Ridge. Next of kin, Ernest Howard Gourlie, Father. Or from one of the city papers: Mrs. Margaret Grant, Dawes Road (Southwest Scarborough), has received official notification that her husband, Pte. James Albert Grant … died of wounds on July 19th at No. 57 Casualty Clearing Station, France… The names go on. Plans to erect a local memorial began when war memories were still raw. The cenotaph designed and the site – the intersection of Kingston Road and Danforth Avenue – selected. In the 1920s these roads met at an abrupt angle, so the intersection was rerouted to its current configuration with the southeastern-most separation of Kingston and Danforth forming the memorial setting. Continued on Page 19