Ecological destruction has economic fallout

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3:40 pm

In a CBC interview about his decision to prorogue Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canadians are primarily focused on the economy.

Thus, he dismissed concerns about Canadian complicity with torture in Afghanistan and ignored the fact that Canadians see climate change as a critical issue. Mr. Harper has often used the economy as an excuse to reject our international obligations as a signatory of the Kyoto protocol and to rebuff serious discussion about the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, develop renewable energy and create green jobs.

Raising the spectre of economic disaster is a convenient way to downplay or ignore other issues, but global ecological degradation has enormous economic implications. Former World Bank chief economist Lord Stern concluded that taking action to keep heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions below levels that would cause catastrophic climate change could require investment of two to three per cent of annual global GDP. Lord Stern also pointed out that failing to bring down greenhouse gas emissions will destroy the economy, costing more than the First and Second World Wars combined!

How can anyone who claims to be concerned about the economy ignore this? The challenges we face are far more profound than just economic collapse. They threaten the very existence of civilization.

The environmental crisis is not just about greenhouse gas emissions, toxic pollution, disappearing forests, or vanishing species. It’s about whether the biosphere can continue to support top predators, and no species is higher up the food chain than we humans. In a debate in the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper between George Monbiot and Paul Kingsnorth (Aug. 18, 2009), both well-known writers and environmentalists, Mr. Kingsnorth refers to a set of graphs with the same horizontal axis measuring time from 1750 to 2000.

The graphs measure “population levels, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, exploitation of fisheries, destruction of tropical forests, paper consumption, number of motor vehicles, water use, the rate of species extinction and the totality of the human economy’s gross domestic product.” What’s amazing is that although they measure such disparate factors, the graphs’ curves are almost identical: “A line begins on the left of the page, rising gradually as it moves to the right. Then, in the last inch or so — around 1950 — it veers steeply upwards.” We are familiar with these curves, especially for population.

Try this: Take a piece of paper and draw a horizontal line representing time, but now ranging from 150,000 years ago (when our species appeared on Earth) to the present. For more than 99 per cent, the curve is virtually flat, rising imperceptibly until finally reaching a billion in the last pencil-width of time around 1830.

Then the curve leaps straight up off the page to 6.8 billion now. Nothing can rise so steeply without hitting limits, resulting in rapid collapse. Mr. Kingsnorth’s conclusion?

“The root cause of all these trends is the same: a rapacious human economy bringing the world swiftly to the brink of chaos.” We cannot keep fooling ourselves into thinking that simply recycling and composting, replacing light bulbs and buying hybrid cars will get us out of the jam we’re in. Our blind and relentless commitment to continued growth is the very heart of the crisis. If Mr. Harper is serious about the economy being our highest priority, he’d better start to address the state of the global ecosphere. Climate change is the place to start

Historic Forest Hill mansion now on city’s heritage list

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3:38 pm

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City council recently added Maclean House to their inventory of heritage properties, barring the owner from demolition to the house at 7 Austin Terrace. The home was built in 1910 for John Bayne Maclean, the founder of Maclean’s magazine.

It is considered a heritage property because it reflects the early work of John Lyle, the architect who designed Union Station and the Royal Alexandra Theatre, as well as its connection to the founder of a media empire. In mid-December, the owner removed elements of the property once they became aware that Heritage Preservation Services had undertaken a review of the house in an attempt to allegedly avert a heritage designation, according to Coun. Joe Mihevc.

The city was granted a 60-day stop work order from Aileen Carroll, the Minister of Culture at the time. Mihevc said the owners wanted to demolish the house and build townhouses. “The onus is on the developer to come back with a proposal that respects the heritage qualities of the house,” he said. “Hopefully… they will come with a proposal to restore what they did.”

Purchase of homes for ring road causes councillor rage

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3:37 pm

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The recent purchase of two North York properties to be razed to make room for the Yonge Street ring road has one Toronto councillor fuming.

“For us to spend $15 million over the last few years on expropriating houses is absolutely ludicrous,” said councillor Rob Ford. “It’s just a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

The two houses, located at 30 and 31 Churchill Ave., were purchased to make way for a section of the North York City Centre Service Road. The roughly two-decade-old planned traffic route was adapted to facilitate increased traffic created over the years by development in the North York city centre.

When completed, the ring road will run around Yonge Street between Finch Avenue and Sheppard Avenue. “It is going to reduce congestion in the area,” said Pascoal D’Souza, the city’s manager of traffic planning and right-of-way management. While the exact cost of acquiring the homes was not released, the price tag of the properties was “over a million dollars each,” according to Ford, who said that more transparency on these deals was necessary.

“I don’t believe they should be in secret meetings,” he said. “I think the public should know [how] tax money’s being spent.” Councillor John Filion said that rules pertaining to the city’s acquisition of properties are strict. “Whatever the city paid for it is its market value, no more, no less,” he said of the purchased houses.

“The city isn’t allowed to pay in excess of market value.” Filion added that “the vast majority” of money for costs associated with the road’s construction had come from developers who have built in the North York city centre. Filion added that the North York city centre, which he called “a gold mine,” creates revenue for the city far in excess of any cost borne by the city’s taxpayers for the road. D’Souza said that construction on the section between Kempford Avenue and Ellerslie Avenue is expected to begin later this year or early next.

Deadline delayed in Downsview Park historic hangar deal

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3:33 pm

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Efforts to preserve two historic aircraft hangars slated for demolition at Parc Downsview Park (PDP) have earned the buildings a temporary stay of execution.

“There’s no question that the deal is imminently doable,” said Paul Oberman of Woodcliffe Properties. “We’re down to the short strokes of negotiations at this point.” Oberman, who has restored other Toronto heritage properties including the North Toronto Station and the Gooderham Flatiron building, has been working alongside Downsview Park staff to find a way to save the hangars in a deal that would likely involve a land exchange between the park and the Department of National Defense (DND). His group has offered to provide expertise and funding in a joint venture with the park.

“We have a tenant for one of the two buildings, on economic terms that work and a use that seems to be acceptable in principal to DND and PDP,” Oberman said. While unable to disclose the specific tenant, Oberman said that it would be for an aviation-related use that would not generate high volumes of aircraft traffic. Lisa Hastings-Beck, director of public affairs and communications at Downsview Park, confirmed that discussions were ongoing.

“No decisions have been made as of yet,” she said. “Nothing is happening on the property right now.” Built in 1943, the hangars were designated as heritage buildings by the federal government in 1992.

In a January statement, the Heritage Canada foundation called on Defense Minister Peter MacKay to delay demolition to allow for talks to find alternatives. The preservation efforts are a passion project, Oberman said. “I think it’s very worthwhile, and I believe the buildings are important,” Oberman said. “And I believe now that PDP and DND agree that they are important and are worth saving.”

Thornhill woman finds donor match

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3:31 pm

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A Thornhill resident on a mission to find bone marrow donor matches for others got some good news of her own recently when she learned that her own match had been found.

Thirty-four-year-old single mom Shari Silverman was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, last July. Although Silverman is now in remission, she learned that she would need a bone marrow transplant in order to survive. Finding this type of donor match can be extremely difficult.

Silverman and her father, Mike Ichelson, began Shari’s Mission with the hopes of not only finding a match for Silverman but for others, too. “The main objective of it was to get everybody off the list, so if anybody needed a bone marrow transplant they wouldn’t have to worry, they would automatically have a match,” she said. Shari’s Mission runs bone marrow drives that help to expand the donor registry list and identify matches. The next event will take place at Vaughan Mills mall Feb. 26, 27 and 28.

“My dad has been a superstar,” said Silverman. “He started it, he got volunteers, and we’re still going strong with it. It will not stop.”

Town receives plan for 833-unit Dunlap site development

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3:23 pm

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A proposal calling for an 833-unit development on the David Dunlap Observatory site submitted to the Town of Richmond Hill has incensed councillors and residents alike. Submitted by property owner Corsica less than 24 hours after town council adapted 25 guiding principals for the site — focusing on conservation, planning and design principles — the proposal raised concerns from one town official.

“They didn’t draft it overnight,” said Brenda Hogg, deputy mayor of Richmond Hill, regarding the proposal. “I looked it over, and I didn’t see an awful lot of natural heritage protection. I didn’t see anything that gave me the comfort that these 25 principles were even read.” Hogg is not the only member of council with concerns.

“I don’t believe anyone is really prepared to look at that kind of magnitude,” said Coun. Godwin Chan of the development proposal. Council recently passed a resolution asking the provincial and federal governments to declare the property a national landmark. Hogg said that the federal government had repeatedly stated that they would not get involved in the matter before action came at the provincial level. “The province is not responding with any real hope because the people aren’t attacking them,” Hogg said. “They’re still attacking us.”

Karen Cilevitz, of the David Dunlap Observatory Defenders, said that such an accusation from Hogg is “inaccurate” and “unbelievably insulting.” “We are working every day in the back rooms and the background of all levels of government,” she said. While she had yet to see the proposal, her group’s position remains the same. “Our mandate is no development,” Cilevitz said.

Boldly braving the sibling battleground

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3:02 pm

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Our beloved children tend to be at their worst when they’re at each other’s throats. And so do we. Their conflicts can bring out the worst — or the best — in us.

It’s easy to go authoritarian. Saying, for example, “If you kids don’t cut it out, I’m going to.…”, or, “If you can’t stop fighting then we won’t be able to… go shopping… out for dinner… stay at the pool… on the slopes.”

Or worse, “Johnny, you started this fight and you hit your brother. Hitting isn’t allowed in this family, so go to your room.”

These responses include threats and putdowns for bad behaviour. And Johnny got singled out.

The parent, as judge and jury, has tried and convicted him. Sure, he hit his brother Billy, but do you know why?

Neither of the responses helps the combatants, who are clearly in need of assistance.

Johnny walks away angry at his parents for blaming him. He’s also now even madder at his brother, who effectively has gotten him into trouble.

As we head into March Break, we up the ante on family feuding. Family time can be heaven or hell. It isn’t possible to prevent sibling fights, nor is it desirable.

Doing conflict — the non-toxic way — is a crucial life skill, and if your kids learn conflict resolution skills at home they’ll do better in adult relationships.

Try this: When your kids fight, separate them if necessary and say, in a calm non-judgmental voice tone: “Let’s sit down and talk. Nobody’s in trouble — I just want to help you work this out.”

If you’ve not approached your kids that way before, they’ll be shocked, disbelieving, and you may have to repeat your offer a few times.

Your body language and voice tone matter immeasurably: If you project calm curiosity, they’ll buy in. Project anger or bossiness, and your kids will retreat.

Kids in explosive situations are used to getting in trouble for their misbehaviour, so they expect that. When you empathize, you get all their attention.

Then say: “I want to hear what happened. Who wants to start?” They’ll both talk at once. Say: “Stop a sec, you’re both going to get to talk. You’ll need to take turns.”

Choose the most agitated one, and say: “Johnny, what happened?” He’ll tell the story, with blaming.

Don’t listen for content! Get down from the judge’s bench and into the mediator’s chair — to help the combatants work out their problems by talking and listening to each other.

Keep asking Johnny: “Tell me more about what happened.” When Billy interrupts (as he will), say: “Billy, wait till Johnny’s done, then it will be your turn.”

When Johnny winds down, ask him: “How did that make you feel?” When he’s finished talking, ask Billy exactly the same questions.
Don’t say anything else.

Then go back to Johnny and say: “Tell me more about what happened.” When he winds down, ask: “How did that make you feel?” Then same again with Billy. And so on for three or four rounds till both kids calm down.

Then say to each kid, in turn: “It sounds like you were pretty mad at your brother. Is that right?”

The kid will say: “Yah I was really mad.” Say: “I get really mad sometimes — you’ve seen me mad. Everybody gets mad, it’s normal and there’s nothing wrong with feeling mad.”

You’re teaching them it’s okay to have bad feelings.

Then ask them each, in turn: “When you were mad at him, what did you do?” Then: “Was that a good choice?” Then: “What would be a better choice to do when you’re mad?” Then ask: “What needs to happen now?”

You’ve just taught your kids to identify their feelings, use their words, understand that they get to choose good and bad choices, and to put things right after a fight. Congratulations!

51 flavours of camp and counting

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3:01 pm

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Picture the perfect summer camp scenario — capture the flag in the field, sloppy joes at lunch, free swim off the dock, parrot-training seminar at noon.…

If there’s one activity that doesn’t seem to fit, there’s a good chance that it might ring just right for a cluster of curious youngsters, and that’s what many programmers of a new breed of specialized summer camps are counting on.

“We’re all about animal programming,” says Jennifer Ego of Pawsitively Pets for Kids Camp in Toronto.
“For example we have programs for kids who are interested in the animal care industry. They get to work in a clinic, practise veterinary care on dummy dogs and cats, learn pet first aid, etc.”

As tailored as this camp may seem to the pet-loving population, Ego argues that specialized children’s programs such as hers are gaining serious ground and holding their own against their more generalized competitors.

“Last year we were sold out with a massive wait-list, she says. “There’s little competition as we’re the only camp of our kind in the country. We’re the only option in this field.”

“These camps often give kids the opportunity to do something they’ve never done before,” Ego adds. “For example, a lot of kids come to us because they have siblings who are allergic and can’t interact with a pet as much as they’d like to, so they get to engage in that excitement for a week.”

As far as a young child’s interest spectrum can stretch, so seemingly goes the range of camp programs tailored to them.

If learning acrobatics and aerial skills sounds like it would fly with your youngster, the Toronto School of Circus Arts may just be the perfect fit.

“We focus on making sure that, when kids leave our studio, they have something they can call their own,” says program director Decker Ladoucer.

“They won’t have just made a new friend, but gained a new skill that will boost their confidence and breed positivity for the year.”
Ladoucer adds that specialized children’s programs, by nature, call for instructors with a certain amount of expertise, which in turn can result in a richer learning experience overall.

“We are very fortunate to have professional coaches teaching at our camp,” says Ladoucer. “You can have all the hardware in the world, but if you don’t have the software to run the program, it’s just not a specialty camp.”

Elliot Bay, co-founder and co-owner of Real Programming 4 Kids — a camp concentrated on video game programming — agrees that the quality of training that comes along with subject-specific camps is a draw for both the kids and parents alike.

“Parents are really sophisticated these days,” says Bay. “They know the difference between a four-kid class and a 10-kid class”.

Bay warns however, that a pitfall with any ultra-specific camp is that a child may sign on with the wrong expectations.

“Every so often we get kids that find out that programming a game isn’t the same as playing one. It’s definitely fun, but it’s serious stuff.”
Bay says he navigates this obstacle by offering free, no-obligation trial classes, while Graham Bridel, of Par Golf Camp, confronts it with communication.

“There is some talking involved, says Bridel. “For some it’s hard to comprehend doing one sport for five days straight.”

“The bottom line is that we want them to have great memories because after all it’s camp. The way we do that is by making it fun. It’s more a camp than an instructional school.”

And while many camps nowadays may be more pared down than in the past, it is clear that there is still room for variety. At Artventure Camp, run out the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the kids concentrate on creativity but can express it in many ways.

“They have the opportunity to do environmentally friendly art, to learn about sculpture. They can incorporate drama, props and costumes, mixed media; they can even work alongside a practising artist,” says program co-ordinator Jessica Sharp.

Faced with traditionalists that are keen to keep the authentic summer camp spirit alive, Sharp contests that most specialty camps, as well as her own, continue to possess the essential qualities of camp regardless of their concentration.

“Kids get to go outside every day and explore nature”, she says of Artventure. “They’re continually playing the same camp games and get the same feelings of camp. The same kids are back every year, the same counsellors. The only difference is that everybody loves art.”

Graham Bridel says the same of his program.

“Sure this isn’t a camp with 10 sports, but this is still camp,” he says. “It’s camp, and it’s the summer. And no matter what the kids are doing, the main priority should always be keep a smile on their faces.”

Humour and the heart

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3:00 pm

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Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath know a thing or two about romantic comedy. She, a veteran of the Canadian small screen, and he, a quick-witted castmate of shows including Whose Line Is It Anyway? and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, the Toronto twosome have been happily hitched for more than two decades.

With Mochrie set to star in the Canstage production of Art and McGrath carrying on her role in CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie, the duo discuss how a little funny business set the stage for a leap into love.

How they met
We met at the Second City comedy theatre in Toronto. Deb was the director of the touring company and they were looking to find a newcast member. After a gruelling audition, she picked me over “the cute guy.” Those were her words.

The first date
Our first date was in 1987 in Toronto at the Cineplex in the Eaton Centre. We went to see Dirty Dancing.

What happened
We fell in love. Or maybe we were in love before that and we just got caught up in the Patrick Swayze–Jennifer Grey chemistry.

The courtship
Our courtship was full of possibilities. We both knew the kind of life we wanted. It was a relationship of instant ease with each other.

The proposal
Our proposal was a discussion about marriage we quickly entered into after we knew how we both felt. Neither of us remembers bringing it up. We just knew we both wanted to marry each other and have a family. The formal proposal was me giving Deb a ring while she had a bubble bath. I think I saw that in an episode of Dallas.

The Wedding
We were married in Toronto at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse on the eighth of January 1989, and we went to Barbados for the honeymoon.

Kids
We have a son, Luke, who is 18.

Their lives today
Our lives now are that of empty nesters. We miss our son so much, but we are having a wonderful time doing new and interesting things and getting to recapture that time of young marrieds. We are both actors by trade, and we both love going to the movies and travelling and eating and wine and skiing and swimming and dancing. The high points in our relationship have been any time that we are together laughing ourselves sick, which, we are happy to say, is often.

Shared goals
To do only what we want to do, which seems simple in theory but hard to put into practice.

Where they live
We have lived in the area for about 13 years.

Secret of success as a couple
The secret of our success comes down to a quote I read and live by, “Marriage is falling in love many times but always with the same person.” And there is work involved. Never take your partner or relationship for granted. There are always things to work on.

Relationship advice
Always shoot for the most romantic moment you can think of together, then be happily surprised when you find that it’s as you’re cleaning out the garage. That and find the person you’re most compatible with. The rest is gravy.

The show must go on

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2:59 pm

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How much family time should a mom sacrifice for her career? How much of her career should she sacrifice for her family?

When I chatted with Jennifer Copping, mother of four-year-old Cian and star in the Toronto production of Jersey Boys, this was our topic of conversation.

Picture this — Copping, a Vancouver actor, is invited to Toronto to audition for the role of Mary Delgado, Frankie Valli’s drug and alcohol addicted wife.

After a series of callbacks, she hears nothing. Then this — “Can you move your entire life here and start in ten days?”

“I left three days later” she says. Copping’s in-laws cared for Cian while hubby, director, producer Jessie Miller, took care of renting out their house and quitting his job. With ten days to rehearse, life in a new city was topsy-turvy.

“I have a photo of my son on his third birthday blowing out a candle on this little cupcake. I had rushed home between two performances to be with him. This year we’re throwing him a big fourth birthday party with a huge cake with all his new friends.”

Copping raves about the home she sublets in the Danforth and Jones area, a.k.a. the Pocket.

“There are a ton of young families who want to know you, bringing over pies, bringing soup and inviting you over.”

Having kids has had an effect on Copping’s social life with the cast. Jeff Madden, who plays Frankie Valle, has two little girls, but they live out in Oakville making play dates prohibitive.

Late night drinks with the cast have also become a thing of the past.

“My son wakes me up at 6:30 every morning, so I had to stop partying,” she laughs. Playing the role of Mary Delgado, Frankie’s wife who loses her daughter to drugs, takes a big emotional toll on Copping on a nightly basis.

“As an actress, it’s been an incredible challenge to relive that pain eight times a week. I don’t want to use my own son to get to that place. It’s very painful.”

The irony of the Jersey Boys back story isn’t lost on Copping.

“Really it’s about people trying to raise kids and have a career, which is why I think this show has such mass appeal. It’s a huge struggle that I can relate to.”

The recent tragic death of Jersey Boys cast member Lindsay Thomas from lung cancer has had a profound effect on Copping’s very own attempt to maintain a work-life balance.

“Lindsay really wanted to have kids. She didn’t get that chance,” Copping explains. “I did and I want to cherish it. Which is why I’ve made the decision to leave the show later this year. I needed to do this job, and now I need to be with my family. I want to be able to put my son to bed every night.”

As the character of Frankie Valli says in the show, “Family is everything.”

Copping is a working mom who walks the talk.

Rosehill Park’s off-leash bark may have bite

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2:58 pm

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City council recently approved 29 new sites that meet the criteria for off-leash dog parks, but some other spots, such as St. Alban’s Square, weren’t so lucky. A public meeting to discuss the possibility of an off-leash area at Rosehill Resevoir is to be scheduled in 2010 although regular dog walkers in the area say at this point it doesn’t matter either way.

“As you can see, most of the people have their dogs off-leash,” said Jan Werner, who walks his border terrier regularly in the Rosehill Reservoir Park. As it stands, letting your dog roam could net you a fine ranging from $125 to $300. Included in the list were Sir Winston Churchill Park and Ramsden Park, which saw minor adjustments to off-leash hours and boundaries.

The new policy also permits non-neutered male dogs in off-leash zones and states that a fence is required for parks smaller than two acres. At nearby Eglinton Park, their off-leash application was denied due to the park hosting large numbers of activities and sports groups, recreational programs and summer camps, plus the sloped areas attract a large number of tobogganers.

Mario Racco makes move for Vaughan mayor role

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2:57 pm

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Political heavyweight Mario G. Racco is once again seeking public office with his recently announced bid to become Vaughan’s next mayor. With 18 years as a local councillor and one term as a Liberal MPP under his belt, Racco is the first big name to declare his candidacy. “I feel very strongly that the city’s not in the right direction,” he said.

He launched his campaign last month at an event that highlighted one of his key priorities: transportation. Highway 7, west of Jane Street, is one of the worst areas in the city in terms of traffic, and gridlock is a problem that needs to be dealt with, he said. Two other areas Racco would like to tackle are planning and openness. He said he feels that residents need to be better informed and consulted before the city moves forward with applications. Racco’s wife, Sandra Yeung Racco, is currently serving as the Ward 4 councillor in Vaughan.

“I don’t think her position should affect me in any way or form,” he said. Racco is joined by declared candidates Paul Donofrio and David Natale in the race to become Vaughan’s next mayor. Donofrio, a former fleet coordinator for the city who made a run for Ward 2 councillor in 2006, said he feels it’s time for a change. “We need to get the city running on all eight cylinders again,” he said.

Part of this would be restoring Vaughan’s bruised image and boosting the morale of city staff, he said. Another of Donofrio’s aims would be to identify areas where the city can reduce costs as a response to what he sees as waste that is currently happening.

Natale, who currently manages a Vaughan-based business, said he would like to usher in change and provide stewardship that he feels is wanting at the moment. He said he would try to unify council and draw on city staff to work toward his goals, which include sustained economic growth and bringing a first-rate hospital to Vaughan.