Catch da Flava Online

Anti-Asian Racism: A traditional Chinese Lion sculpture as part of the Chinese archway architecture located in the Broadway Avenue and Gerrard Street East are defaced with paint.   Photo courtesy of Tyrone Maclean-Wilson Anti-Asian racism incidents spark the need for a new reporting tool. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a multitude of unforeseen problems, but one of the most troubling side effects has been a spike in incidents of anti-Asian racism. The coronavirus was first recognized in Wuhan, China, and some people are using COVID-19’s origins as an excuse for racism (though the majority of Ontario’s cases can be traced back to American and European travellers). In order to properly document these incidents of racism and related intolerance towards people of Asian descent, as well as other People of Colour and Indigenous peoples, the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter (CCNCTO) and their partners has launched an online reporting tool designed to document ...

Initiated in January 2012, the Regent Park Community Wealth Initiative is exploring the potential for the developing a new sustainable economic model for the Regent Park community. Regent Park is going through a massive transformation from a social housing community to a mix-income and mixed-use community. The revitalization, now in its fifteenth year, has given rise to various initiatives and opportunities. One recent initiative is the Community Wealth Feasibility Project. The Community Wealth Feasibility Project is a partnership between the City of Toronto, Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), Young Street Mission (YSM), and the Employment and Economic Development table of the Social Development Plan (SDP). Initiated in January 2021, the project is exploring the feasibility of developing a new sustainable economic model for the Regent Park area by creating an environment that can nurture opportunities for community ownership, local entrepreneurship and resident operated businesses...

RPTV reports on TCHC's selection of a new development partner for Phases 4 and 5 of the Regent Park Revitalization. On Dec 15, 2020, the Board of Directors at Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), approved Tridel Builders Inc., as the new partner developer for phases 4 and 5 of the Regent Park revitalization. Founded in the 1930’s, Tridel Builders Inc is the largest builder of condominiums in the Greater Toronto Area. Along with announcement that Tridel Builders Inc. was selected as the new partner developer, TCHC disclosed that Tridel will allocate $26.8 million towards community benefits for the Phases 4 and 5 of the Regent Park development, tripling the amount allocated in years previously! This decision followed over two years of intense consultations between Regent Park resident’s groups who were surprised by TCHC’s May 4, 2018, announcement that TCHC will be issuing a call for proposals, for a new developer to complete the final stages of the Regent Park Revital...

In conversation with Rowena Pinto, Chief Program Officer of UNICEF Canada about ending Child Marriages St. James Town, located in the heart of the City of Toronto, is a community of communities. It lies in the northeast corner of the downtown area. The neighbourhood covers the area bounded by Jarvis Street to the west, Bloor Street East to the north, Parliament Street to the east, and Wellesley Street East to the south. Officially, approximately 17,000 people live in the neighbourhood's 19 apartment towers and 4 low rise buildings, making it one of Canada's most densely populated communities. It is largely filled with immigrants — especially those who arrived in the 1990s. In celebration of International Women’s Day, held this year on March 8, 2021, St. James Town TV had the opportunity to interview Rowena Pinto, Chief Program Officer of UNICEF Canada. Rowena oversees international policy and programs, advocating govern...

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair and Toronto Centre MP Marci Ien, meets Regent Parkers to hear safety concerns and inform the community about Bill C-21. On a cold night at 11:40 PM, on February 2nd, 2021, multiple gunshots were heard near Regent Park Boulevard and Dundas Street east, Toronto. Soon Toronto Police Cruisers were seen rushing towards a parking lot on Oak street between Sackville and Sumach street. Four men in their 50s and 60s were sitting in a Golden Honda Accord, were sipping their warm coffee, when two unidentified men opened fire on the car. Three men were injured and one was unharmed. Out of the three, one victim is reported to had suffered life threatening injuries while other two had major injuries as well. The deafening gunshots not only has shaken the community and has spread fear among the neighbourhood but has also mobilized a conversation around the issue of gun violence and the policies that have recently been considered...

Cabbagetown Cares is an example how local communities are forming grassroots responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by mobilizing partnerships and resources to meet the needs of our most vulnerable communities. In this initiative St. Luke's United Church joins the Cabbagetown BIA and Dixon Hall to provide a free weekly hot meal in Allan Gardens. The coronavirus pandemic is uprooting and upending all the known human conditions. And as has become so patently clear to everyone, there is a definitive divide on who is being the most affected. From all reports COVID-19 infections are disproportionately striking low-income neighbourhoods, and neighbourhoods with a higher percentage of black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC). In Toronto’s downtown East side, neighbourhoods like Regent Park, Moss Park, Cabbagetown, St. Jamestown, and Church and Wellesley where there were already high levels of low-income people, homeless, those with complex health and mental health issues, and sub...

More than just a convenience store, Sam’s is an integral part of the Regent Park community. No matter where you live, there is a local convenience store that is your go-to place for the smaller every-day consumer items. It might be a carton of milk, a loaf of bread, a bag of chips, a pop, the odd battery, or perhaps it’s a memory stick for your digital device – the convenience store should have it. The variety of convenience stores may differ slightly from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, they may be mom and pop operations, or chains like the 7-Eleven. They may be a meeting point in the neighbourhood where local residents can connect with friends, or form relationships with owners that go beyond the monetary exchange of goods and services. In Regent Park an area of Toronto that is going through a major revitalization, which will see the neighbourhood, once the largest social housing development in Canada, transformed into a mixed in-income, multi-use community. But change, especia...

A neighbourhood Icon serving the Regent Park and Cabbagetown area closes its doors. In what is known as the Toronto Downtown East, which spans from East of Yonge Street to the Don River, and South from Bloor Street, down to Front Street, includes a surprisingly large number of quite distinct Neighbourhoods, they include: Corktown, Distillery District, The St. Lawrence Market, the West Don Lands, Moss Park, Regent Park, The Garden District, Cabbagetown, St. Jamestown, and the Church-Wellesley Village. The essence of these neighbourhoods is a mix of past and evolving histories, of shifting demographics, and the ebb and flow of economies. A major shopping and business thoroughfare of the Toronto Downtown East, Parliament St. has of course witnessed the rise and fall of its fortunes, from the site of the first Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada in the 1790s, to the redevelopment of Regent Park in the 1940’s and St. Jamestown in the 1960s, to the waves gentrification that begin ...

City of Toronto partners with Hotels to provide respite to the homeless. But do short-term hotels miss the need for more comprehensive housing policies? At the beginning of the pandemic (March 2020) Regent Park TV interviewed David Reycraft, Director of Housing, Homelessness Services at Dixon Hall, who then described the housing and shelter situation faced the Toronto’s homeless population as dire - eight months later a great deal has changed. In Toronto’s downtown east side, in the areas of known as Moss Park, Regent Park, Cabbage Town, Church and Wellesley, and St Jamestown where there is the greatest concentration of people considered to be low income, living in poverty, and homeless, the matter of responding to the urgency posed by the pandemic has never been more obvious. While homelessness in the public eye may no longer be seen as a phenomenon limited only to certain areas of the city, it is however, in the more concentrated areas of the downtown core. With the exist...

The Regent Park Community Health Centre has teamed up with Fred Victor and Unity Health Toronto (comprised of Providence Healthcare, St. Joseph's Health Centre and St. Michael's Hospital), to provide free Covid-19 testing to area residents in Regent Park and Moss Park. Currently testing is held every Wednesday from 1:30 pm to 4 pm, on a drop-in basis, at Fred Victor, located at 40 Oak Street. According to Michele Heath, the Director of Community Health at the Regent Park Community Centre, although the rates are not out of control, it is still high and that’s why it is important to ensure free pop-up testing so that everyone in the community can access. Regent Park is one of the more populated communities in downtown Toronto and it is important to have easy, free access to the testing to keep down the curve. The 40 Oak Street site has the capacity for 20 people at a time and can accommodate 50 - 60 people on each day the test is run. 40 Oak Street was chosen for t...