Posts

Immigrant Families Cannot Afford a Return to Business-As-Usual

Image
Recently, the Ford government announced that schools would remain closed until September. While we agree that the safety of our children must be paramount, the impacts of school closures are not borne equally by all families. Indeed, for immigrant families who were already suffering under the Ford government’s cuts prior to the pandemic, any return to “business-as-usual” would only increase suffering. Immigrant families have already been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and public health measures. In fact, a recent study in Toronto shows how racialized, low income and recent immigrant neighbourhoods had the highest cases of COVID-19, suggesting that the pandemic is intensifying pre-existing inequalities faced by marginalized groups. Recent research has shown that immigrant parents are at elevated risk of emotional problems compared with other immigrants who are not parents. Inequities in language instruction are one of the systemic issues that immigrant parents must cope with. I

CANADA COMICS OPEN LIBRARY – Filling a Gap in The Cultural Landscape

Image
In the world of comics, keeping alive the past is just as important as making way for the new. The Canada Comics Open Library (CCOL), located in Regent Park in the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), at the Daniels Spectrum building, is a novel undertaking combining both traditional and innovative approaches to comics, their presentation, preservation, and promotion. In the world of comics, keeping alive the past is just as important as making way for the new. While the past may have been characterised by male dominated worldview, the present and the future are anything but that. In what is commonly known as the Golden Age of comics (the 1930s and 1940s in the US), a pantheon of superheroes Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America, and Wonder Woman, is conjured up to save the lot of mankind, from say, the devastation of the Great Depression. Parallel to this, and no less important, in Europe and in Japan for instance, comics are also flourishing, TinTin, Asterix, Manga and Anime em

What We Learned From the Ontario Basic Income Pilot

Image
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

REGENT PARK – Virtual Town Hall – Thursday May 28, 2020

Image
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

Regent Park Goes To City Hall!

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’s French African Community

Image
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

The CRC Community Gardens - Why Are They Important?

Image
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

Regent Park Portrayed in Film and Television

Image
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

Gang Violence and Prevention

Image
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

Fire at Daniels Spectrum – Was it Arson?

Image
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