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Regent Park has long been recognized as one of the lower-income neighbourhoods in the downtown Toronto area. There is a higher representation of visible minorities, refugees, immigrants and Aboriginal people in the neighbourhood compared to neighboring areas. The average income for Regent Park residents is approximately half the average for other Torontonians. However, the residents of Regent Park are not alone. There is currently close to two million Canadians in Ontario are facing poverty and/or are categorized as low income. In fact, Ontario has one of the worst poverty rates in Canada, which causes a lot of hardship for children and families in this country. One proposed solution for addressing this problem is the idea of a basic income. But what exactly is a basic income? According to the Basic Income Earth Network, basic income is defined as an unconditional periodic cash payment made to individuals. In March 2016, Ontario Budget, Kathleen Wynne’s provincial government commi

A Community responds to the need for information in the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered our world, everything from how we socialist, to how we shop, and to what and how we negotiated our most basic movements - is now sifted through the mesh of the pandemic protocols. We are, to put it bluntly, inundated by news, both local and global of the pandemic, including information about Covid testing and various government income and employment supports available to individuals and their families. Keeping up with the latest developments has become a daily ritual.  For culturally diverse residents of Regent Park, many of whom are newcomers with basic English skills, this information can be overwhelming to digest and respond to. In an effort to help residents navigate the various supports that may be available to them, the Regent Park community organized a virtual town hall through the on-line platform of Zoom.  The townhall was held in the eveni

On, January 20, 2020, Regent Park Community Partners made their voices heard loud and clear to City Council in support of social development in Regent Park!  Regent Park is going through a massive transformation from Canada oldest and largest public housing community, to a mixed use and mixed income neighbourhood. Unlike many redevelopment projects around the city, the Revitalization of Regent Park has always involved a two-track approach – a Physical Development Plan, approved by the City in 2006, and a Social Development Plan, endorsed by Toronto City Council in 2007. The Physical Development Plan calls for new streets, parks and facilities, along with new residential buildings and townhouses. The Social Development Plan (SDP)consists of activities and strategies focused around communication/safety/community building/employment and economic areas that residents and community members have identified are important for the creation of an inclusive and cohesive neighbourhood. While the p

Regent Park is comprised of multiple populations from countries outside of Canada, such as Bangladesh, Somalia, China, and Vietnam. But in Regent Park, there is a small community that is often left off people’s radar: the French African community, which includes newcomers from Cameroon, Chad, Mali, and the Cote d'Ivoire. About 2% of the Regent Park population speaks French as their first and primary language (City of Toronto statistics, 2014), which equates to 240 unique persons. Maybe that doesn't seem large, but for a neighborhood in Toronto, which is Canada’s most populous urban city, it’s larger than the city average of 0.1 (Social Planning Toronto, 2018)! To support the social, cultural and economic inclusion of the smaller French-speaking population, there are some local organizations that exist, including the Centre Communautaire des Africains Francophone. This small community group was founded by a local Regent Park resident, Mr. Christian “George” Yombo, in 200

Have you ever wanted to grow a vegetable or a fruit, but didn’t know where to start or what to get? Ever wanted to be in a team of gardeners? Ever wanted to own a patch of fertile soil for freshly grown food? Now you can with the CRC Gardens in Regent Park. In the 1980s, social workers began realizing that many people in Regent Park were not accessing fresh fruits and vegetables. This was because residents of Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) apartment buildings did not have access to their own land to grow food, and fruits and vegetables simply cost too much. Aware that people were choosing to sacrifice basic healthy foods to pay for other necessities, community groups began to petition Toronto Community Housing for communal land to establish community gardens. One of the first community gardens was set up behind a TCHC building located in North Regent at 600 Dundas Street East, now the site of the entrance to the Big Park. Today, managed mainly by the Christian Resource Cen

Toronto has a rich history of being a go-to shooting location for many television and film production companies. Some notable films shot here over the years include Good Will Hunting (1997), Billy Madison (1998), American Psycho (2000), and X-Men (2000). Regent Park has also had its share of showcases in film. This article aims to review the general content of movie dramas and televisions shows shot in Regent and explore their relationship to the community. Clement Virgo is a director, producer, and writer from Montego Bay, Jamaica. He was born in 1966 and moved to the Regent Park area in Toronto in 1977. During this time Regent Park was generally populated by low-income families and as a hot spot for drugs. Virgo is most recently known for his roles in Greenleaf (2016-2018), The Book of Negroes (2015), and The Wire (2002) as Director and/or Producer. His first feature-length film, however, was Rude (1995), which was filmed almost entirely in the old Regent Park. “The film told

29 people have been killed and more than 83 injured thus far in the year 2018 due to guns. As many as 10 of these shootings have been in, or very close to, Regent Park. Why is this happening? Mayor John Tory thinks gang violence may have something to do with it. “Who were the people that pulled the trigger on Queen Street? Were they the boy scouts? Who goes by in a car and fires a gun out the window at people on the sidewalk?" Tory is referring to the recent shooting on Queen Street West, which took the lives of Toronto natives, rapper Smoke Dawg and producer Koba Prime. Tory has said statistics show that 75% of the shootings in Toronto are related to gang activity in some way. That’s a very large portion. Chief of Police Mark Saunders also had something to say about the many shootings this year. "The vast majority of gunplay in the city can be associated with a street gang. Having said that, being surgical, being strategic, and being focused with that gang subcultur

On the morning of May 30, 2018, a fire broke out at the Daniels Spectrum, located at 585 Dundas Street East. Although the fire was quickly extinguished, the emergency sprinkler system continued long after the fire was out, which caused flooding and extensive damage to the first and second floor. It’s unclear how the fire started. “We were told that the fire started in the store room across the hall from ArtHeart” said Tim Svirklys, Manager of ArtHeart – a tenant arts organization located on the second floor. Several people associated with the Spectrum believe the cause of the fire was arson. However, according to Artscape’s Chief Operating Officer, LoriAnn Girvan, the local fire and police departments are still investigating the incident to determine the cause. “We may never know, and it’s really important people don’t speculate. We are just moving forward,” said Girvan. The fire has affected almost all of the first and second floor tenant agencies, forcing ArtHeart, Regen

Until the recent provincial elections, Toronto Centre was considered one of the safest Liberal strongholds in the province. This all changed with the historic election of NDP candidate, Suze Morrison. Morrison was comfortably elected with 23,537 votes. Liberal candidate David Morris came second with 11,934 votes, and Progressive Conservative candidate Meredith Cartwright finished last with 6,194 votes. Morrison is a resident of Regent Park, and she is recognized for her work on healthcare, indigenous issues, inclusion and diversity. Her passion is inextricably linked with her personal experience of growing up in poverty and witnessing gender-based violence. Morrison has held communications and engagement roles in both the health sector and the indigenous non-profit sector, and she feels she can bring an indigenous policy and anti-poverty lens to Queens Park: “Something that's been absent from our governance for a very long time,” said the elected candidate. Morrison feels t

Looking for a delicious vegetarian restaurant in the east side of the city? Well, look no further. Located in the heart of Regent Park, Toronto, at the corner of Sackville and Dundas, is the Paintbox Bistro Restaurant. Founded in 2012, the Paintbox Bistro and Catering Restaurant offers an array of unique and fresh vegetarian dishes including green curry tofu, collard green enchiladas, forest mushroom pappardelle, “meat-free” burgers, and a Caesar-style kale salad with coconut “bacon”. For those that are quick to brush off the Paintbox as another example of the area’s gentrification, it is important to note that the Paintbox Bistro is a proud Certified B Corporation. Certified B Corporations are businesses that strive to meet verifiable social and environment objectives to help fight poverty and climate change. The Paintbox was the first caterer in Canada to receive the designation in 2013; it was also recently named “Best for the World” in 2016, landing in the top 10% of B Co