Category Archives: Article

Changes to Holiday Shopping Regulations

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Under the City of Toronto, Municipal Code Chapter 510, Holiday Shopping, retail stores are required to be closed on the following nine public holidays: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

The (Ontario) Retail Business Holidays Act (RBHA), which governs jurisdictions outside the City of Toronto, has similar requirements. Both the City’s Municipal Code and Provincial Statue provide numerous exemptions by type and size of store, as well as exemptions for designated areas within a municipality. Some Councils have exempted their entire municipality from the requirements of the RBHA. It should be noted that subject to proclamation, the RBHA is slated to be amended. These amendments will bring the retail shopping provisions applicable to other areas of the province more in line with the provisions currently applicable to the City of Toronto.

Toronto City Council considered the topic of holiday shopping in 2006, 2008, and 2010. In the consultations for all of these reviews, there has been a consensus that the existing regime of regulations, exemptions and exceptions creates an unlevel and often confusing playing field. The purpose of this review is to develop a fair and equitable solution. Under the guidance of the Economic Development Subcommittee on Holiday Shopping, this review incorporates the most comprehensive consultation of holiday shopping conducted by the City of Toronto to date. A report from the Subcommittee on Holiday Shopping has also been submitted to this meeting of the Economic Development Committee.

Consultations took place through stakeholder meetings, telephone poll, online survey, email submission, and public meetings between November 2011 and July 2012. The consultations provided a forum for a frank and respectful exchange of views among all stakeholders, many with strongly held views. Although there was no consensus among the stakeholders, the consultations were successful in soliciting input and produced a better understanding and appreciation of the range of perspectives on this topic. Through the consultations, staff heard from all the stakeholders identified by City Council including Business Improvement Areas (BIA’s), community groups, members of Council, the Workers Action Centre, legal clinics and others who represent employees.

Staff also conducted an extensive review of holiday shopping regulations in other jurisdictions. This is the first time information on holiday shopping in southern Ontario has been compiled. There are 81 municipalities in southern Ontario that permit holiday shopping. More than 60% of municipalities in southern Ontario with a holiday shopping exemption apply the exemption to the entire city, and at least 90% of retail business establishments are open on following four days: Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day. The number of municipalities that permit shopping on public  holidays is increasing.

This report takes into consideration the views held by all stakeholders on this topic and recommends amendments to the existing by-law in order to establish a more fair and equitable solution. The recommendation would require retailers to remain closed on five of the public holidays: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day, and give retail operators the choice to open on the remaining four holidays: Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day between the
hours of 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM.

AGCO Liquor Licence Application: The Pinball Cafe, 1662 Queen St West

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The Pinball Cafe, located at 1662 Queen St West has applied to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for a liquor licence for an establishment with 57 seats.

Any questions or concerns should be directed to <Raj.Singh@agco.ca>.  As the placard on the property has been advertising this application since October 19, 2012,  the deadline for submissions is November 17, 2012.  Please copy your submission to Councillor Gord Perks at <councillor_perks@toronto.ca>.

Councillor Perks will meet with the applicant to review the list of conditions (below), that the community has developed over the last few years in response to past AGCO applications in Parkdale.

CONDITIONS…

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Notice to Members: Filming At Queen & Dufferin Today

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This is to notify our members that there will be a short film being produced today at the amphitheatre at the north west corner of Queen Street West and Dufferin Street.  Filming should take approximately 5 hours.  Two production vehicles will be parked in NO STOPPING or NO STANDING AREAS under PDO supervision.

All business / delivery / driveway/ pedestrian / handicapped / TTC / traffic /emergency vehicle accesses to be maintained.If problems occur at this filming location between the hours of 0700 and 1500 (Mon-Fri) call P.C. Michael Mead, Film Liaison Officer, at 416-808-5082. At all other times call Eric Jensen, Manager TFTO 416-697-0257 or 416-808-2222 (TIPS switchboard).

 

Notice to Members re: Toronto Public Health Scam

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We have been alerted to a scam targeting businesses in Toronto by a member of the Roncesvalles .

A person or company posing as the Toronto Public Health department is calling businesses stating that they are obliged to purchase a first aid kit from them.

In this instance staff received two calls, the first saying that they had to purchase a first aid kit, a second from the “shipping department” asking to confirm the business address (which they declined to do.)

The callers refused to supply a name or phone number.  City staff have confirmed that this is a scam.

Please be wary, alert your staff, and do not fall for this scam.

The Parkdale BIA & TD Green Streets Garden Ceremony

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Our gorgeous new plaque at the Elm Grove garden – plaque holder by Phil Sarazen; Graphic Design by Joel Hentges; Text by Ellie Anglin

Ribbon Cutting by Tenzin Tekan on behalf of Peggy Nash, MP Parkdale High Park; John Doherty, Chair, Parkdale BIA; Cheng Wang, TD Bank; Gord Perks, Councillor Ward 14; Ed Borczon, Tree Canada

Planting the Roots for a Greener Parkdale

 – TD Green Streets awards the Parkdale Village BIA with $15,000 for tree planting initiative –

Parkdale, Toronto, Ontario (October 17, 2012) – The Parkdale Village BIA is pleased to announce it has been selected by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) and Tree Canada to receive a $15,000 grant from the TD Green Streets program for its 2012 urban reforestation program. 75 applications were submitted to the 2012 TD Green Streets program, and the Parkdale Village BIA represents one of 21 municipalities selected to receive a grant.

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Notification of Filming in Parkdale, October 17 – 19, 2012

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To the Residents of the Queen St and Brock St area,

Please accept this letter as an introduction to ‘Rookie Blue’, a television series in its fourth year of production for Global/ ABC.

We would like to film scenes in the area of Queen St West and Brock St as follows:

  • Wed Oct 17, from approximately 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM:

Exterior and interior scenes: Cadillac Lounge, 1296 Queen St W and 1302 Queen St West.

During these scenes we may require traffic stoppages on Queen St, lasting no longer than three minutes per occasion, with the assistance of the Toronto Police Service.

  • Thur Oct 18, Fri Oct 19, from approximately 7:00 AM to midnight:

Exterior and interior scenes: Neubacher /Shor Contemporary, 5 Brock St off the alley. Again, we may require traffic stoppages during filming in the alley between Brock St and Noble St with help from the Toronto Police Service.

To facilitate this we would like to clear the following areas for production vehicles and clear for picture:

  • Queen St, north side, from Noble St to Brock St, clearing from 6:00 PM Tue Oct 16.
  • Queen St, south side, from Gwynne Ave to Elm Grove Ave, clearing from 9:00 AM Oct 17

*Please note: Queen St parking will be released by 11:00 PM Wed Oct 17

  • Noble St, south and west side, from Brock St to Queen St, monitoring from Mon Oct 15 at 8:00AM and clearing from Tue Oct 16.

*Please note: We will only clear the required spots necessary for our production vehicles. All other space will be left free to the neighbourhood.

  • Strickland Ave, west side, from Noble St to five parking spots north of Noble St, monitoring from Mon Oct 15 at 8:00 AM and clearing from Tue Oct 16.
  • Private lots in the area.

All vehicles will leave the area prior to 10:00 AM Sat Oct 20

*Permit parkers unable to find parking are asked to park in area lots. Please submit valid receipts to a member of the location dept. for reimbursement.

We realize that we are guests in your neighbourhood and hope to complete our work with as little inconvenience as possible. Please contact us at our production office with any questions.

Andrew O’Sullivan                     John Mendes

Location Manager                      Asst Location Manager

c.c. Toronto Film and Television Office

5101 Orbitor Drive, Mississauga ON L4W 5R8  Tel: 905-206-1477 // Fax: 905-206-1434

The Parkdale BIA Invites Community Members To The TD Green Streets Garden Celebration and Tour!

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On Wednesday October 17th at 12pm, the Parkdale Village BIA (PVBIA) will celebrate its Urban Garden Development Project with the launch of its reinvigorated community gardens, historical plaques and a cheque presentation and ribbon cutting ceremony. The ceremony will be followed by a brief tour of all six gardens along Queen Street West within Parkdale Village.

The Parkdale Village BIA represents one of 21 communities selected from across the country to receive a 2012 TD Green Streets grant to support expansion of their downtown urban reforestation program.

Please meet us at the Elm Grove Garden, located on the south west corner of Queen Street West and Elm Grove Avenue.  Here we will celebrate the launch of our reinvigorated community gardens and historical plaques with a ribbon cutting, comments from Councillor Gord Perks, the BIA, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) and Tree Canada. This ceremony will be followed by a brief tour of the other revamped gardens within Parkdale Village.

 

About TD Green Streets: TD Green Streets is a national program that supports innovative practices in municipal forestry. Through this unique program, communities across Canada are eligible to receive matching grants of up to $15,000 to support local forestry projects. TD Green Streets is open to Canadian municipalities, Aboriginal communities and Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) in Montréal, Vancouver and Toronto. For more information about TD Green Streets visit tdgreenstreets.ca

Call for Participants for the 2012 Parkdale Nightcrawl!

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The Parkdale Nightcrawl — September 15

Last year, the Queen West Art Crawl lit up this neighbourhood with its Parkdale Nightcrawl. Twelve businesses hosted events that were unique, locally-focused and participative on the Saturday evening of QWAC weekend. We were overwhelmed by the creativity, level of excitement and the amazing participation in these events. Guided tours marked the stops along Queen West from The Sixth to the Rhino, giving participants a taste of everything and encouraging people to stay, eat, drink and enjoy themselves. This year, the Nightcrawl will take place on Saturday, September 15 from 7 – 11 pm and we want you to be involved! We are hoping to: increase our official events to 15; include a passport that will encourage visits to at least 10 venues; and increase participation from businesses that will benefit from the influx of participants that evening. We are staging some events already, and have confirmed that Dave Bidini and Bidiniband will be our “headliner” at the Amphitheatre.

There are so many opportunities to support the Nightcrawl and a variety of levels for sponsorship. We will be in touch with last year’s partners in the next few weeks. If you didn’t participate last year but are interested in either hosting an event or being part of our Nightcrawl passport program, you can contact Cindy Goldrick, Executive Director, at cindy@queenwestartcrawl.com or 416.516.8401. Let’s make this an amazing event for Parkdale this year, and the highlight of the 10th anniversary Queen West Art Crawl. Thanks in advance for your support of the Art Crawl and local artists.

Construction Notice

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Construction Notice 
Contract No. 12TE-100TU

Construction to replace damaged road and sidewalk on the north and south sides of Queen W. A grind and pave will be scheduled later in the season.
Expected Project Dates: June 18, 2012 – July 20, 2012. Working Hours: Monday – Friday, 7am – 6pm, weather permitting
Location: Roncesvalles Ave to Dufferin (South Side) & Roncesvalles to Lansdowne (North Side)

What to Expect:

  • Traffic delays, decreased street parking and noise are expected during construction;
  • The City will attempt to minimize obstruction of private driveways and sidewalks;
  • Sidewalk signage and storage containers must be removed during project. 

For more information, contact: 

  • Dennis Kelly, Inspector – 416-527-3045
  • Joe Machado, Maintenance Supervisor – 416-392-1045
  • City Services and Information – 311
  • Contractor: Lima Gardens – Virgilio Lima – 416-990-3261
  • TTY – 416-397-0831
  • Ward 14 Councillor Gord Perks – 416-392-7919

TABIA’s Go Renewable Seminar Series – Solar & Community Power Education

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TABIA’s greenTbiz Program has recently launched a series of Solar & Community Power Seminars with participating BIAs across Toronto generously hosting these open-to-public events. The seminars are designed to educate BIAs, BIA members and local residents on how and why they should consider the development of solar PV projects in local BIA communities. A schedule of events can be viewed here:

http://greentbiz.org/programs/community-power/events/
Parkdale Village BIA will cohost a breakfast seminar with the Parkdale Rotary Club with the following details:
June 14, 2012
7:15 a.m.
Grenadier Cafe (http://grenadiercafe.com/), High Park

RSVP: http://greentbiz.org/event/7/the-power-of-community-power/

Our energy supply is changing in Ontario. From large fossil fuel plants, the future will see a transition to smaller scale distributed generation of renewable energy projects. This transition is creating an opportunity for individuals, small businesses and community groups to benefit by generating electricity and profits. Smaller generators sell clean energy to the provincial grid to be used by their neighbours and fellow citizens and are paid under a long-term guaranteed contract with the Ontario Power Authority.

To assist small businesses and BIA communities in taking advantage of this opportunity, greenTbiz created the TABIA Go Renewable series. Toronto’s 72 BIAs and their member businesses are well known for championing a common vision for their neighbourhoods and putting their entrepreneurial spirit to use in realizing that vision. With ample roof space, organizational expertise and marketing savvy, BIAs have extensive potential to actively participate in Ontario’s new green economy.

Attendees will learn how to plan, build and maintain rooftop solar PV projects for their homes, businesses and communities. In addition, they will hear stories from people who have successfully connected their solar PV projects to the electricity grid or are in the process of developing community projects.

For more information contact greenTbiz Program Manager Robert Wakulat at rwakulat@greentbiz.org or 416-697-9000. You may also visit www.greentbiz.org for updates of the program’s progress or to find info on other seminars.

This project has received funding support from the Ontario Power Authority through the Community Energy Partnerships Program. Such support does not indicate endorsement by the Ontario Power Authority or the Province of Ontario of the contents of this material.