Hello Davenport friends & neighbours,

Today is an important day for many in our community. Ramadan begins this evening, and for many in the Muslim community it will be difficult to be apart from family, or unable to attend their local mosque. I speak regularly with Shabir Ally, who is Imam and president of the Islamic Information & Dawah Centre on Bloor St, our local mosque. Imam Ally asked me to pass along to everyone some information about supports and opportunities for connection, virtually, during this blessed month (see below). On behalf of my family and staff, I would like to wish everyone marking the start of Ramadan a rewarding month of reflection & spiritual growth. Ramadan Mubarak!

This was also a difficult day for many in our City, remembering the 10 lives lost during the van attack two years ago. I was thinking a lot today about the friends and families of those who died, and also of the first responders. We are sending them strength today. I want to particularly mention the family of Anne Marie D’Amico, our Davenport neighbours, and thank them for honouring her memory by establishing a Foundation to fight violence against women, in her name. You can find out more about the foundation and support their work on their website, and there are resources to emergency supports for women facing violence at maritstiles.ca/help.

I am also pleased to share a new Portuguese-language resources and links related to COVID-19 on my website at: maritstiles.ca/ajuda Please share with anyone who may need this information, and if you know of a resource that is missing, send it my way: MStiles-CO@ndp.on.ca 

There continue to be many new announcements and more resources available each day. I know it can be hard to keep up and also a bit overwhelming. Our hope is these (almost) daily updates help you navigate through everything. And we know many in our community are slipping through the cracks, worrying about how to keep their small business afloat, or how to put food on the table.

As always, my office team is working hard (from home!) to answer your questions and advocate for our community. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We still are doing our best to connect with everyone as quickly as possible, prioritizing very urgent issues. Ashley, Greg, Peter, Elaine and I have connected hundreds of Davenport residents with supports and our team of volunteers continues to help me reach out, by phone, to check in with constituents every week.

Take care,

Marit

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Canada is boosting support for COVID-19 research, including clinical trials for a vaccine, and creating a task force to look into tests to identify antibodies to the virus. The World Health Organization has warned that immunity to the virus may not be clear-cut. 

• Municipalities across Canada are asking the federal government for an emergency funding boost of at least $10 billion, as cities and towns see their revenues plummet and their public health and social service costs spike -- Doug Ford has declined to say whether Ontario will change the rules to allow municipalities to run a deficit, and has failed to heed calls from the NDP to throw municipalities a lifeline and provide financial support.

• The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) announced it will have to temporarily lay off about 1,200 workers in the coming weeks, the result of a greatly decreased ridership – the NDP’s Transit critic responded with a call for the Ford government to use its power to stop these transit layoffs, and give desperately needed financial support to municipalities. I’m sending solidarity to all TTC staff in Davenport who have been impacted by this, after you have already faced risks on the job during this pandemic.

• Ontario announced new measures to support residents and staff in vulnerable settings like homeless shelters and homes for adults with developmental disabilities - the NDP has been calling on the Ford government to immediately increase measures to save lives in vulnerable sites like shelters and long-term care homes, and to make a plan to ensure Ontarians with disabilities are no longer excluded from access to testing and treatment. 

• Yesterday, the federal government rolled out a package of supports to help students, including a Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), and an incentive for students who volunteer in COVID-19 relief efforts. I have already heard from students who are concerned that the roughly $1,200/month the CESB will provide will not be enough to meet their needs. Provincially, I continue to advocate for more direct, universal financial supports.

Here are some concerns and proposals my colleagues and I have put forward today:

• What iPads? Last week, Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce gave teachers, students and families the impression that at least 21,000 new iPads were on the way to give families in need access to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, I shared the unfortunate truth that school boards won’t get a single extra device. Read more in BlogTO.

“Mr. Ford’s words don’t match his actions, and as a result, thousands of kids — especially kids from lower-income households — are being let down. This really adds to the inequity. We need solutions for kids in communities with less resources, and those in remote and rural areas.” 

• The NDP is calling for all long-term care facilities and other congregate care settings experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19 to be posted online -- the call comes after at least 31 deaths were confirmed at a Pickering long-term care home that had reported just four deaths days before. 

• Staff at a Markham assisted living home for adults with disabilities that is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak have reached a deal to see their pay doubled during the outbreak, plus stronger health and safety protections -- Andrea Horwath is calling for the same deal to apply to all workers in congregate care settings, who are risking their lives to keep residents safe. 

Community Updates

A Ramadan update from the Islamic Information and Dawah Centre 

Imam Shabir Ally, has let me know that the mosque will remain closed until they receive new directives from our government and health officials indicating that it is safe to reopen. In the meantime, Shabir has been making regular facebook posts, including a virtual sermon on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. streamed on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DrShabirAlly.

The Imam also has a new telephone number for folks in the area of our mosque to reach me during the mosque's closure: (647) 512-0920. 
 

On National Volunteer Week, Support Safehaven

The Safehaven Project for Community Living, an amazing local respite and residential service provider, has issued a call for community volunteers to help engage and entertain the children with complex care needs they support. Here are some suggestions they asked us to share:

• Create a fun and engaging video that Safehaven can share with their clients - Make a TikTok video, share words of inspiration, read a story, sing songs, highlight your talents, etc. 

• Colour your driveways and sidewalks in support of Safehaven using the hashtags #havenathome, #safehaven and #ProtectTheVulnerable and post on social media and tag (@safehavento). 

• Make a financial contribution or just raise awareness about the organisation. Learn more at www.safehaven.to

My staff and I met with Safehaven’s Executive Director Susan Bisaillon today via Zoom to talk about how they are protecting their clients and staff during COVID-19, and to share what they’ve learned to better support the residential community care sector province-wide. 
 

Metrolinx Davenport Diamond Update

In my regular communication with provincial transit agency Metrolinx, I have continued to raise the concerns of neighbouring residents, and to advocated for better communication and transparency about the Davenport Diamond construction process. 

Here are the latest update we have received from Metrolinx and Graham Construction:

• Equipment Storage – Graham will review storing construction equipment away from the condos so that lights are pointed away. Graham will consider storing other equipment (i.e. lights, backhoe, dozer, etc.) within the rail corridor. This will minimize noise along the access road and next to the condo building.

• Noisy Operations - Graham will review shifting some construction activities to daytime work (as opposed to night work). These activities may include: chainsaw work (general), removal of City trees at Paton and Campbell and auguring for temporary shoring wall north of CP.

• Clearing/Grubbing limits north of CP - Graham is only planning to complete the clearing and grubbing on the east side of the existing track for now. 

• Noise Monitoring – Noise monitoring devices between the rail corridor and the existing condo building (along the north side of the future condo site) have been put in place to monitor the dBA levels in real time data on a regular basis to ensure Graham is working within their allowable dBA levels.

For more information on this project, visit the Metrolinx website and review my correspondence and action on this file at: maritstiles.ca/davenport_diamond

Public Health Updates

COVID-19 self-assessment tool:
Use this to determine what steps you should take should you exhibit symptoms: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/#q0

Reminder that updates on the pandemic response are available daily on the following websites:

Toronto.ca/coronavirus

Information from Toronto Public Health on local cases, how to protect yourself and where to seek further medical support.

Ontario.ca/coronavirus

Information from Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

Find out how to protect yourself, what to do if you’re sick and how to recognize possible symptoms. Updated twice daily, in 30 languages.

Canada.ca/coronavirus

Information from the Government of Ontario and the Public Health Agency of Canada

Updates on the national response and access to emergency support benefits.