happy new year!

BEST WISHES FOR A SIMPLER, HAPPIER AND MORE PEACEFUL LIFE IN 2008

Complete The Streets

Here's a new phrase you may not have encountered before, "Complete The Streets". As with many good ideas, this one comes to us from our neighbours to the south, concerned that their streets are designed only for speeding cars, or worse, creeping traffic jams (think Markham, Morningside, Lawrence or Kingston Road at rush hour).

The Complete the Streets movement believes that our cities and towns ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider, homeowner or shopkeeper.

By an exclusive focus on cars, our streets are becoming unsafe for people on foot or bike and unpleasant for everybody. This is especially true for those who live on our major streets and have to endure the rush hour parade everyday. In communities across the United States, a movement is growing to "complete the streets".

States, cities, and towns are asking their planners engineers and designers to build road networks that welcome all citizens.

Members of the movement come from widely diverse groups, from America Bikes and AARP, Smart Growth America and the American Society of Landscape Architects to Paralyzed Veterans of America. The Institute of Transportation Engineers is even on board, amazing for a profession long known as the "throughput crowd" for its pushing of maximum numbers of vehicles at maximum feasible speed through cities and villages alike.

States and cities are getting the message. Illinois this fall passed a complete streets law requiring the state's transportation department to include bicycling and walking facilities in all its urban-area projects. Five other states (Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island) now have some form of complete streets law on the books. More than 50 metro regions, counties or cities -- Charlotte to Johnson County, Kan., Salt Lake City to Seattle -- have passed similar statutes. Many others are now considering them.

Chicago, for example, is moving to narrower traffic lanes, median "refuges" and curb extensions for pedestrians, as well as converting four-lane roadways into three lanes with marked bike lanes.

Here in Scarborough Guildwood, we are seeing the evolution of the of the Toronto Bike Plan, which is to make every Toronto street “bicycle friendly”. The bikeway network establishes priority routes with a formal bikeway facility to provide a higher level of comfort for cyclists. The proposed network routes, because they are very visible through their design, pavement markings and signage, have an important role in encouraging cycling.

The 1999 Cycling Survey highlighted the critical importance of bikeways for achieving the Toronto Bicycle Plan goal of doubling the number of trips by 2011. More than nine in ten Toronto cyclists (93%) are comfortable cycling on bike trails or paths, more than eight in ten
(87%) on residential streets, and more than five in ten (53%) on major roads with bike lanes. However less than two in ten cyclists (18%) are comfortable cycling on major roads without bike
lanes.

Current Bikeways with signs are #16 which runs the length of Coronation, #79 which follows Morningside from Coronation to Guildwood Parkway, #77 which runs from Lawrence to Guildwood along Galloway, #4 running along Guildwood Parkway and #12 which runs up Livingston, through the Guildwood GO station to Morningside Park.

Having had the unfortunate experience of witnessing a cyclist fall under the wheels of a cement truck last year, on Eglinton just past Leslie, I am aware that Toronto's major thoroughfares are not yet "complete". They still belong exclusively to the automobile. But I am encouraged by the appearance of Toronto Bikeway signs that are springing up. Now if we could just get the bike lanes painted on those same streets, we would be making a good and safer beginning.

Yes, Christmas IS about GIFTS

I remember Christmas morning as a child, the house silent and dark, not a creature stirring, not even my parents. I had no clock in my room, but the darkness and general quiet of the house told me it was way too early to get up to see what Santa had left under the tree. I would have to wait in silent and painful anticipation until the night brightened somewhat or I could hear movement elsewhere in the house.

My brother, who shared my room, was a heavy sleeper, even at Christmas time. Sometimes I would try to wake him up so that the blame for disturbing the household could be more fairly shared. I would try tactics like whispering, "Are you awake?" or saying his name out loud. Then even louder. Or maybe poking him with my finger.

I was seldom successful, but Christmas morning eventually managed to arrive every year and the beauty and magic of a gift laden tree, a glow in the pre-dawn light, would be a thrill beyond measure.

Eventually I grew up and had children of my own and I got to enjoy Christmas from the opposite side of the experience, the thrill of my daughters on Christmas morning mirroring all the joys of my own childhood. Now as a grandfather to three grandchildren, that act of giving and the joy my grandchildren get in receiving is still one of life's great pleasures.

So, it annoys me when decent and sincere members of the Green movement, deride the giving of gifts at Christmas and treat gift giving as crime against nature.

Christmas is about Gifts and giving. In a very real sense Christmas will not come if that is given up. There is no crime in gifts and gift giving. They are an intrinsic part of Christmas.

But they are just a part, and we do have to realize there is more to Christmas than gifts alone. Christmas is also about peace, and family and joy and love and caroling and feasting. At its heart it is a religious experience whose time of year is shared with Eidul-Adha the Festival of Sacrifice, and Chanukkah. In recent times the gift giving part has tended to overwhelm the rest of what Christmas is also about. While there is no magical formula guaranteed to create the Christmas spirit, there are essential ingredients, and gifts are part of the mix. However, there is a real danger that gifts and gift giving, along with the relentless advertising urging us to buy, are hijacking the whole experience. I know our economy depends substantially on consumer spending at this time of year, but it seems to me, the value of gift receiving should decrease as a proportion of the Christmas mix, the older you get.

As a fairly affluent adult, my needs and wants are few and simple, I no longer need much in the way of gifts. There is little I want that I can't purchase for myself, in a size that actually fits me and in a colour I actually like. I see little value in gift receiving for most Canadian adults. My grand children yes, me no. Those less fortunate yes, me no. There are other tangible ways to demonstrate our caring for the important adults in our lives.

The gifting part of the Christmas mix, for me, is in giving to my grandchildren, the joy I experience in their delight and the memories the experience ignites in me. Carols, gathering together with friends, sharing joy and food and drink, a quiet walk on a winters evening, large flakes of snow gently falling, are equally important and critical to the Christmas spirit which is, after all, about the awareness of being apart of something greater than ourselves.

So from all of us here at the Scarborough Guildwood Green Party of Ontario Constituency Association, whatever your religious practices and beliefs, or lack thereof, let me wish you the Happiest of Holidays and may the spirit of the season awaken in you. Peace.

Garbage

Today is garbage day in my small area of Scarborough Guildwood. We have three people in our home and we generated about a quarter of a garbage pail of waste in the past two weeks (roughly half a green bag worth). We're not proud of it, but it represents the inevitable residue after recycling, reusing and composting. The garbage truck has come by and our waste has been whisked off to begin its journey to the land fill in Michigan.

Try as we might, we are still years away from being the kind of environmentally friendly society in which nothing goes to waste. Toronto has chosen to bury our waste, out of sight, out of the City and, hopefully, out of mind. Durham is toying with the idea of burning theirs.

On Thursday January 10, 2008, Dr. Paul Connett, noted specialist in Waste Management and Phd at Cambridge University, with 22 years experience in waste management will address Durham's incineration plan at a Town Hall meeting at CAW Local 222 Union Hall at 1425 Philip Murray Ave in Oshawa.

As Durham Environmental Watch notes on its website:

As municipalities determine the costs associated with their disposal options, it is important that they consider the health and social costs associated with the pollution from incineration facilities. More specifically, these costs would include the cost of global warming, acid rain, and an increase in chemicals in our air, land and water associated with emissions of certain pollutants to the atmosphere and to waterways. The increased likelihood of adverse impacts on human health associated with air pollution emissions and the release of toxic substances to the environment also carry a cost. Studies have calculated the total social cost of incineration and landfill, and their findings show that incineration costs are much higher than landfill, both fiscally and socially.

No one wants landfill. But the assertion that incineration will eliminate landfill is just plain false. It will simply add to the problems we face and is not a sustainable solution. There are better alternatives.

Letter from the President of the GPO

Hello and let me introduce myself.

I'm Lawson Hunter, newly elected GPO
President at the Nov. 24 Annual
General Meeting.  I hope to
communicate with all CA presidents
on a regular basis,to keep you
informed and up to date and to
give you a contact should
you need to share a thought or concern with the Provincial
Executive.  I'd also like you to make contact with the
Regional Reps from your Region.  I'm hoping that
you can establish a relationship with your Regional Reps
as part of their responsibility is to be a conduit between
your local activities and those of the central party.
It's about better communications and inclusivity.


More to come, thanks for your involvement in helping
the Green Party grow.

Lawson Hunter
GPO President


The GPO is hoping to fill some necessary positions from
the general membership.  If you could disseminate the following
message to everyone in your riding membership list, that would
be appreciated and save the centralparty from making a
massive email.


Call for Functionaries and committee members

The GPO Provincial Executive is now accepting applications
for the following positions to assist with the operations of
the Party and to fulfill specific roles as described by the
GPO Constitution.  Send names, contact info, and a brief bio
to Lawson Hunter, GPO President at lawson@electgreens.ca and
cc. Jessica Fracassi at gpoadmin@magma.ca

Communications Coordinator
Operations Coordinator
Fundraising Coordinator
Youth Coordinator
Information Technology Management Coordinator (website)
Male Provincial Secretary

Deadline will be December 14th

Green Christmas Carols

Consumer Wonderland

(To the tune of Winter Wonderland, lyrics by Erica Avery)

The TV's on / are you watching?
Another product / that they're hawking
one more thing you need
to make life complete
Welcome to Consumer Wonderland

In the stores / you will hear it
"Pricey gifts / show holiday spirit"
That's what they call it
to get to your wallet
Welcome to Consumer Wonderland

At the mall we can go out shopping
and buy lots of stuff we can't afford
we'll have lots of fun with our new toys
until we realize that we're still bored
When you shop / ain't it thrilling
until / you get the billing
the money you still owe the stuff broke long ago
Welcome to Consumer Wonderland


Uh Oh We're In The Red, Dear

(To the tune of Rudolph the red-nose reindeer)

Uh oh we're in the red, dear
On our credit card it shows
Christmas is almost over
But the debit line still grows
Shopping like Santa's zombies
Sent our budget down in flames
But all our Christmas spirit
Helped the giant retail chains

I'm so foggy Christmas Eve
Wondering how we'll pay
Christmas doesn't seem so bright
When our finances are tight

So here's a plan for next year
Let's forget the shopping spree
Let's give a gift of love, so
All our Christmas gifts are free


God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Slow down ye frantic shoppers for there's something we must say
If you would spare a moment all the stores would go away
Big business has been telling us what Christmas means today

Now it's time we decided for ourselves, for ourselves
Yes it's time we decided for ourselves.

To some folks Christmas means a time for gathering with friends
And enemies might take it as a time to make amends
But TV says it's time for pricey gifts and selfish ends

Now it's time we decided for ourselves, for ourselves
Yes it's time we decided for ourselves.

Some people feel that Christmas is when Jesus makes a call
For others it's a time to stress good will and peace to all
But advertisers tell us it means Santa's at the mall

Now it's time we decided for ourselves, for ourselves
Yes it's time we decided for ourselves.

Jingle All The Way

Chorus:
Profits here, profits there,
profits everywhere
Christmas time is funny
we smell money in the air
Advertise, glamorize,
fool you with a flair.
Let's make sure that Christmas
is a businesslike affair.

You're eating up our lies and dashing to the stores
Then all our prices rise and how the money pours
If we don't keep you drugged and watching your TV
You might see the hypocrisy
then where would business be?

Chorus

We'll tell you how to think and tell you what to try
What to eat and drink and how to live and die
And if our plan succeeds, when Christmas-time is nigh
Instead of seeking love and peace you'll hunt for gifts to buy

Chorus

Buy and Sell

To the tune, Silver Bells; by Erica Avery

City Sidewalks busy sidewalks
lined with advertising
It's the big retail season of Christmas
Children begging for each new thing
toys for mile after mile
and the mood of the season is clear

Chorus:
Buy and sell (buy and sell)
Buy and sell (buy and sell)
It's Christmas time for consumers
Ching-a-ching (ching-a-ching)
Cash tills ring (cash tills ring)
Must we spend Christmas this way?

Maxing credit, running debits
buying things we don't need
with the money we don't really have
Children crying, parents sighing
there's no time for our friends
and the reason behind it is clear

Chorus"

The Theft of Privacy

My daughter and her husband recently purchased a home in a new subdivision north of Whitby. It is a beautiful two story home with a modest but functional backyard on an attractive street. The original plans for the subdivision called for a small plaza to be built at the end of their street with a convenience store, drug store, dry cleaners and pet food shop shown on the plans as examples of the type of stores that might lease the plaza.

Since it was a new subdivision, the street behind their home was still under construction at the time of their purchase. However they had looked at the plans for those homes and saw nothing that would concern them. Of course there was a slight rise in the surface of the land that would make the elevation of those homes one-half story higher than their own, but those houses were to the north and there would be no problem with sunlight being blocked.

What they were unprepared for was the construction of wooden decks on those new houses being built way up on the second story. Being all ready half a story higher than my daughter's, the owners of those houses can sit on their second story balcony and look south out over the roof of the other houses almost to Lake Ontario in the distance.

Well, you might think, that would certainly be an attractive feature. But what it also means, given the smallness of the backyards in that neighbourhood, is that my daughter has families sitting out all summer looking directly down into her backyard and watching everything she and her family do in their yard. Functionally, what it means is that my daughter and her family have had their privacy stolen. With the family behind them virtually living on their deck all summer, my daughter can never go into her backyard without being under constant observation and being the occasional object of discussion.

It can also be argued that my daughter has been robbed of at least some of the value of her home. The lack of privacy in her backyard would become immediately obvious to any interested purchaser. Of course that is why the construction of the homes behind my daughter's street were delayed until all the houses on her street were already purchased.

This unhappy little story raises the question of the value of privacy, not only in new subdivisions, but in more established subdivisions such as are found in Scarborough Guildwood. New purchasers are beginning to put up two story homes in neighbourhoods comprised of one story bungalows. While not many blatantly put up decks on the second story, where they sit snooping on their neighbours, there is little to stop them from doing so.

How much is our privacy worth?

Of course there is more to my daughter's story. Once all the homes in her new subdivision were built, the developer immediately applied for a variance to permit him to change the zoning to allow him to replace the planned small plaza with even more housing. And, of course, that variance was immediately granted despite almost universal community outrage. Now, instead of being able to walk to the store, my daughter has to drive. Instead of an environmentally friendly neighbourhood, she is forced to add an increasing share of carbon dioxide and methane to our climate woes.

As the population increases and with it the density, privacy and the quality of our lives need to be balanced against the need for more compact neighbourhoods. Developers need to be encouraged, or legislated, to build more environmentally friendly communities where our homes can be a refuge and where automobiles are not required for us to reach out for basic necessities such as milk or bread.

The Green Party stands for well designed and livable communities.

How Big a Problem are Plastic Bags?

The Eighth Continent of the World isn't Atlantis or Mu, it is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Located in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii and measuring in at roughly twice the size of Texas, this floating mass of human trash is home to hundreds of species of marine life and is constantly expanding. It has tripled in size since the middle of the 1990s and could grow tenfold in the next decade Weighing in at approximately 3.5 million tons with a concentration of 3.34 million pieces of garbage per square kilometer, it is 80 per cent discarded plastic.

Due to the Patch's location in the North Pacific Gyre, its growth is guaranteed to continue as this Africa-sized section of ocean spins in a vortex that effectively traps flotsam. What little air movement there is blows inwards, further trapping the garbage.

Plastic resists biodegrading. That plastic bag you used for 20 minutes to bring home a jug of milk 20 years ago, still exists and will still exist 500 years from now. Plastic shopping bags or pop bottles photo-degrade over a lengthy time frame, meaning that they break down into smaller and smaller pieces but retain their original molecular composition.

The result is a great amount of fine plastic sand that resembles food to many creatures. Unfortunately, the plastic cannot be digested, so sea birds or fish can eventually starve to death with a stomach full of plastic. Even if the amount of plastic in a creature's body is not enough to block the passage of food, the small pellets act as sponges for several toxins, concentrating chemicals such as DDT to 1 million times the normal level.

This concentration then works its way up the food chain until a fish is served at our dinner table.

In Toronto, when not blowing down our streets or clinging to our bushes or tree branches, our plastic goes to land fill sites where it will outlive all of us. The Scarborough Guildwood Green party of Ontario, urges the City of Toronto to declare itself a plastic bag free zone. And urges the Minister of the Environment to work toward a ban on plastic bags in the Province.

AGM Confirms De Jong as Leader

Frank De Jong, 52-year-old educator, who has headed the party since 1993, was confirmed as Party Leader this weekend when 71 per cent of 403 members voted against holding a leadership review. Party policy calls for a Leadership review when support for the leader falls below 2/3rds. The Green Party constitution requires a review vote every two years. This one came on the heels of the Party celebrating its best performance yet in a provincial election where the GPO tripled its popular share of the vote as well as its membership.

De Jong had strong support among the 115 party members at the meeting, held outside Perth on the Rideau River. But the outcome was uncertain as nearly 300 advance ballots were cast by those who couldn't attend.

Many delegates said the party should concentrate on strengthening its organization and raising money, rather than be distracted by a leadership contest. Most delegates felt Frank had only just become known to the public as the face of the Green Party in Ontario. For the first time, the AGM was extensively covered by the Toronto Star.

The GPO welcomes new President LAWSON HUNTER, a former Director of Communications for the GPO. Former Progressive Conservative Party of Canada Director DAVID SCRYMGEOUR is now Chief Financial Officer.

Other newly-elected members of the Executive include:

Eastern Region Female JEANIE WARNOCK

Eastern Region Male MARK MacKENZIE

Toronto Region Female CAROLINE LAW

Toronto Region Male SHAUN MERRITT

The meeting ended with a rousing speech by De Jong: “The future of Ontario politics is Green. We’re a burgeoning political force en route to electing MPPs in 2011...We are engaged in an epic battle to save the planet," he continued before receiving a standing ovation. "The enemy is us ... the battle is within each of us."

Shane Jolley, the bike shop owner who won 33 per cent of the vote in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, the Greens' best result in a Canadian election, is quoted in the Toronto Star as urging the Party not to become complacent.

"Now is the time to be more bold than ever before. ... We have to champion our policies and ideas in a way we have never done before," said Jolley, who is considered a strong future leadership candidate.

Members also celebrated their recent court victory obtaining a change in electoral law which required candidates who did not obtain 10% of the vote to lose their deposit fee with Elections Ontario.

“Every candidate who ran in the last election will get their deposit fee returned, regardless of how many votes they received and what their political affiliation,” says de Jong. “We are continuing to improve democracy in Ontario.”

The case against Nuclear by Frank De Jong

Building more nuclear power in Ontario is, at best, throwing good money after bad. Nuclear power is hugely expensive, extremely dangerous, requires heavy transmission grids, is prone to breakdowns, and is, in any case, non-renewable as there are only a few decades of high grade uranium remaining on earth at present usage.

Conservation and renewable energy is a far more cost-effective way to keep the lights on in Ontario. The cheapest, safest and most reliable solution to our energy requirements is to reduce demand through efficiency and then supply what we need through distributed renewables like wind, solar, biomass and biogas. With existing technology combined with appropriate financial incentives we can decouple our economy from our energy supply, allowing the economy to expand and our energy demands to shrink at the same time.

The best way to encourage conservation and efficiency is to reflect the true costs of electricity in the price. The true cost of electricity would include the cost of the limited insurance liability granted the nuclear industry, the costs of servicing the stranded debt from past nuclear station construction and repairs, nuclear power station decommissioning costs, the future costs of babysitting nuclear waste for thousands of years, and the related health care costs.

Charging the true costs of nuclear and fossil fuel generated electricity would significantly raise the price of electricity, however, instead of this being an additional tax, the new revenue should be used, dollar for dollar, to reduce income taxes. This way, without government subsidies, consumers and industry would have incentives to conserve electricity and to build as much renewable electricity as is needed.

Frank de Jong, GPO Leader

My Letter to the Minister of Transportation

Dear Minister Bradley,

Now that the Quebec based manufacturer of the ZENN electric car has received approval by Transport Canada for sale in our country, I was wondering when steps will be taken to approve these cars for sale to Ontarians?

There are a myriad reasons to do this as soon as possible; you would be supporting an innovative CANADIAN company, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and the obvious impact that zero emissions passenger vehicles would have in preserving our environment.

You can find out more about this company at www.zennmotors.com

I would appreciate a response back as to what the plans are on this issue.

Thank you,

Barry

Barry Fraser
President
Scarborough Guildwood GPO CA
http;//www.scarboroughgreens.com

Buy Nothing Day

Friday is an important day for many North American environment groups as they are marking "Buy Nothing Day," to signify the need to cut back on excess consumption.

It's an idea that the Scarborough Guildwood GPO CA certainly supports.

The idea is to keep people's wallets in their pockets to avoid buying unneeded consumer goods, according to Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada.

"This is a day to be thought provoking," May said.

It is certainly an opportunity to realize that the quality of life is not dependent on the quantity goods you own. So save yourself a little money, relax, cook your own meal and remember, you have more than 6 weeks to get your Christmas Shopping done. You can afford to take one day off from your job of consumer.

Coverage by Toronto Sun

The photo on the left was taken in Wood Green Ravine in warmer and happier times. Wednesday in the cold and freezing rain, thirty protesters came out to block the machinery expected to arrive to begin the removal of the 2000 trees on the small wood lot.
Toronto Sun writer Mike Strobel braved the cold the wet and the early morning hour and wrote the following report:

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Strobel_Mike/2007/11/22/4675351.php

Green Social Night

It was a small turn out for the November social night at the Old Stone Cottage Pub. Caren and Iain, Wendy and Mike, Alonzo Bartley, Linda and I. And, of course the waiter, who is used to us by now and sometimes enjoys adding to the discussion.
We talked about Parry Sound where Wendy and Mike had vacationed and where Linda and I lived for a year back in the '70's. Linda and Wendy discussed a book Linda was writing and Caren clarified the pronunciation of Stephan's name. But, for the most part we talked about the Annual General meeting which Iain, Caren and Alonzo are attending. Everyone has concerns about the omnibus 13 page revision package that is being presented.
And then the discussion turned to drainpipes. The City had decided to end paying for the disconnection of the pipes from household eves to city drains. It was just costing too much money. However, the City was requiring householders to ensure their pipes were disconnected to prevent a Skydome full of water per year surging through our aging sewers. The cutoff date for the city paying for the disconnect was yesterday and the City received 50,000 final orders. Linda and I had disconnected years ago and have redirected our rainwater to our flower gardens.
We also discussed the crisis at Woodgreen Ravine where the developers are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. I will be going over to the site to offer our support.
In all, despite the small group, the discussion was lively and the evening a pleasure.

Woodgreen Ravine Background

As some background to the Woodgreen Ravine issue, here is a copy of my letter to the editor of the Scarborough Mirror in 2006. Woodgreen Ravine is located behind the 43 Division Police station at Lawrence and Manse Road.

THE FOLLOWING LETTER WAS SEND TO THE SCARBOROUGH MIRROR ON MAY 21, 2006, IN RESPONSE TO THEIR EDITORIAL OF MAY 17, 2006.

Thank you for your Editorial of May 17, questioning the manner in which City council has treated the Manse Road property in contrast to Wanita field.

That the City of Toronto’s Policy and Finance committee has unanimously approved the sale of the Manse field, as an affordable housing project, without any debate is beyond belief. I am pleased that the Wanita property has been approved for purchase by the City as an act of considerable environmental prudence; but the Wanita property, although important as the headwaters of Centennial Creek, is essentially a field of grass and there is no comparison with the rich biological diversity of the Manse property.

Mayor Miller has just recently been honoured as one of the Greenest Mayors in North America. Where was his voice, where was his influence being felt, during the Policy and Finance Committee’s deliberations? That is, if a vote without any debate can be considered a deliberation.

It is not too late for the Mayor to use his considerable influence on behalf of Scarborough residents as he did in defense of downtown residents who were threatened by an expansion of the Island Airport.

It is not too late for City Council to have a closer look at how it came about that environmental concerns have become pitted against social concerns in this distant area of Toronto, when there was no need for such a battle.

It is not too late for WRP, as a religious community, and Habitat for Humanity, as a social community reliant on the good will of our citizens for its support, to refuse to allow a callous manipulation of their moral cause to be used to do environmental harm to the community in which they propose to build. First, do no harm, people. It isn’t as if there are no other City properties available for their project, where their work would, in fact, enhance the environment. The three-year battle they have been thrust into by the City has served only to delay providing affordable housing to those desperately in need.

It is not too late for the residents of Scarborough to stand up with the people in the Manse community and demand of City Hall the same level of serious concern for their environment and the quality of their life as are accorded to those who live in the Downtown core.

Scarborough is comprised of generous and tolerant people. The West Hill area in which the Manse property is located has already one of the densest areas of subsidized housing in the City, while suffering a comparative lack of appropriate social services.

This is a project that makes no environmental sense, no social sense and no moral sense.

It is not too late for reason to prevail here; but it does require people to stop and listen and think. Before it is too late.

Meeting at Stone Cottage on Tuesday

Tuesday November 20
GPO members from Scarborough Southwest and Guildwood not attending the AGM are invited to a meeting at 7:00 pm at the Olde Stone Cottage Pub, 3750 Kingston Road (at Scarborough Golf Club Rd) to discuss 15 Resolutions to be presented at the upcoming AGM.
Iain Hamilton, Alonzo Bartley and Caren Crawford are going to the AGM. They would like to take your proxy and input on how you feel about the resolutions.
Alonzo Bartley from Scarborough Guildwood is nominated for the executive position of Toronto region male representative. He would like your support

My Reply to Don York

Hi Don,

Very bad news indeed.

I have written to Party Leader Frank de Jong to inform him of this latest
development. I have also passed along your letter to our local membership
and to the Federal arm of our local Party.

You clearly have our support with whatever can be done at this stage.

Please let us know if you can get any more exact information about the day
and time of the developer's arrival.

Best Wishes,

Barry

Woodgreen Ravine

I received the following from Don York President of the Manse Valley Community Association who has been fighting to preserve a 5 acre woodlot from development for the past four years. Here is his letter:

Hi Barry,

Sharon and I were at (City Councilor Ron) Moeser's office in the Port Union Plaza tonight and
he informed us that the developers will be here "next week" (probably
Monday) to start taking out the trees!!!

I am hoping that Moeser can give us a firm date on exactly when they will
arrive.

The question is: what do we do?????

I would like to see us get enough people together that we can form a
picket line across Hainford (their only entrance) to prevent them from
coming in. We would also notify every media contact we know so they would
be there to film it and report on it.

Anyone else have any ideas? How many people could we get to protest on
site? Does anyone have any contacts that could assist us in making up some
protest signs?

Any and all suggestions are welcome. We have fought this thing for almost
four years and I'll be damned if I want to see them walk onto the property
with no problems!!!!

I WOULD LIKE EVERYONE TO RESPOND WITH THEIR THOUGHTS - FOR OR AGAINST -
AND ANY SUGGESTIONS !!!!! NOW IS THE TIME FOR ACTION AND WE HAVE LITTLE
TIME TO ORGANIZE!!!

Thanks ....

Don

Barry's Scarborough Guildwood GPO Blog

Welcome to Barry's Blog where I hope to keep you up to date on the inner workings of the creation, maintenance and growth of the Green Party of Ontario's Constituency Association in Scarborough Guildwood.

It is an adventure I hope you'll enjoy.