A 52-year-old man is in custody after allegedly attacking and wounding a man in a residential building in the Moss Park area Police say the incident occurred around midnight near Shuter and Ontario Streets A man in his 50s suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries Investigators say the suspect in custody is a resident of the building Leafs and Panthers players discuss Game 1 of round 2 of the playoffs Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls on Prime Minister Mark Carney to prioritize a list of projects including the proposed Highway 401 tunnel Monday is calling for rain and thunderstorms Stella Acquisto has the long-range forecast Could we see another indefinite pause on postal service in the country Negotiations are underway again as Canada Post and the workers’ union try to cut a deal to avoid a lockout or strike later this month listen to NewsRadio Toronto live anytime and get up-to-the-minute breaking-news alerts weather and video from CityNews Toronto anywhere you are – across all Android and iOS devices Join the thousands of Torontonians who’ve signed up for our free newsletter and get award-winning local journalism delivered to your inbox in the downtown eastside neighbourhood with the lowest life-expectancy in the city Sarah Ovens can’t seem to stop taking photos It’s become a kind of compulsion for the case manager at All Saints Church and Community Centre a homeless drop-in at Sherbourne and Dundas Streets in the heart of Toronto’s Moss Park neighbourhood In the midst of a peaceful moment—while community members are doing an art activity or enjoying a barbecue happy and smiling—a dark thought will suddenly creep in and Ovens will reach for her phone “So many times the thought has occurred to me that I will end up using some of these pictures for somebody’s memorial,” she says Ovens has had to host memorials without a picture of the deceased before—has had to try to honour someone without being able to provide the basic dignity of sharing their image as well as their name—and she never wants to do that again death has become a routine part of her work “I have the number for the guy in the morgue at St “I know where to call if we haven’t seen somebody in a while.” If she knows the person’s biological family she contacts them first and gives them the news Ovens just tries to make the drop-in feel special—“to make it nicer than a normal day.” She puts out the good coffee She makes room for community members to speak and mourn The church that houses All Saints is a beautiful space—all vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows—and her aim is to create a moment of dignity in death for people who are rarely given that grace in life “It’s what you would do for anyone’s memorial,” she says “To honour people and show that these are people They get treated like trash in a lot of ways A 12-year gap between Toronto neighbourhoods may not feel dramatic, but in life expectancy terms it is a chasm. People at Yonge-Doris enjoy a better life expectancy than people in Japan. In Moss Park, the numbers are comparable to Iran and slightly below Bosnia and Herzegovina The nature of a statistical average means that high mortality among young people has an outsized effect on overall life expectancy don’t just mean people in Moss Park die in their 70s rather than their 80s They represent Torontonians who have had their lives cut short well before their time—in their 60s They represent countless memorials like the ones Ovens has organized at All Saints where people gather to mourn more often than they do in any other neighbourhood in the city There is no single cause of lower life expectancy but countless studies have recognized the role that poverty plays in premature death the median household income in 2021 was just $65,000 eleventh lowest of the city’s 158 neighbourhoods “The neighbourhood has been described as in crisis for at least 50 years a Moss Park resident and director of the urban studies program at the University of Toronto “Part of that has to do with the historical economic role that the neighbourhood played in the city.” The L-shaped neighbourhood on the downtown eastside of Toronto stretches from Carlton to Front Streets from north to south and from Jarvis to Parliament Streets from east to west before jutting all the way out to the Don River in its southern segment That part of the neighbourhood was once a manufacturing centre and in the early 1900s homes were constructed to house the single men needed to work in the factories following the pattern of “slum clearances” happening across the continent the buildings north of Queen East at Parliament were razed and replaced with the Moss Park Apartments the three apartment towers loom over the neighbourhood part of a dense collection of social housing run by Toronto Community Housing that includes a row of battered Victorian houses along Sherbourne Street The presence of so many people living in poverty in such a small area—just four short stops on the 501 Queen streetcar—has brought a collection of social service agencies to support them and health clinics clustered across a few downtown blocks “We have this concentration of services in part because of the historical poverty that has existed in the neighbourhood,” says Roberts “But it also acts as a draw.” If other neighbourhoods reject social housing then the people who need a meal or a warm place to go will make their way to Moss Park “There is a particular kind of function that the neighbourhood plays,” says Roberts and this is one place that they can access some services.” a member of the community-led Moss Park Coalition and a minister in neighbouring Regent Park has been working with people experiencing poverty for 17 years “Almost everyone I know who is poor is making constant choices that put their health as the last priority because they just don’t have the luxury of putting it above anything else,” she says that might mean choosing between keeping a doctor’s appointment or missing a day of work that can mean choosing between getting a good night’s sleep but possibly losing their possessions to thieves She knows people who start using stimulants because staying alert and walking all night feels like the safest option “Drug use is often tied to the basic need of having to stay awake,” says Hocking The health consequences of those choices over time are easy to see People whose mental state was fine when she first met them are now “The cost of being poor is quite literally life-threatening,” she says Hwang found people who were homeless or marginally housed were at greater risk of dying at a younger age than if they experienced poverty alone or hotels had much shorter life expectancies than those categorized as having the lowest income with homeless and marginally housed men having only a 30 percent chance of surviving until 75 Those dismal results are both a reflection of who is at greatest risk of being homeless and what happens once they find themselves on the streets “I view it as a vicious cycle,” says Hwang “People who are among the most marginalized and disadvantaged become homeless and then homelessness sets them back even further.” That’s reflected in Moss Park’s male life expectancy rate the director of substance use and mental health at South Riverdale Community Health Centre essentially watching a community die away—it’s heartbreaking.” in response to the crisis that was devastating the community Greig was one of several volunteers who opened the Moss Park Overdose Prevention Site in a tent in a park the first unsanctioned safe consumption site in the city the site was granted an exemption by Health Canada in an unassuming building on Sherbourne Street health care workers at the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service (CTS) provide overdose response while connecting clients with broader health and social services Doug Ford’s provincial Conservatives announced a policy that will ban supervised consumption sites within 200 metres of a school or child-care centre after March 31 which will force five sites across the city to shutter But the building that houses it is being redeveloped into a condominium and a provincial moratorium on any new supervised consumption sites means that once they’re evicted That reality hung over my conversations in Moss Park. As bad as the life expectancy numbers are in the neighbourhood, it’s clear that they could be significantly worse. Between 2020 and July 2024 Moss Park CTS staff reversed 2,931 overdoses at their location and in the community. A recent study in medical journal The Lancet led by researchers from the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation at St found that overdose deaths decreased by 67 percent in Toronto neighbourhoods within 500 metres of a CTS with no significant change found in neighbourhoods that did not host one “It feels like we’re going backwards in time,” says Greig the decision seemed so divorced from the reality of the crisis she was experiencing each day that it was difficult to comprehend The people who use drugs at the Moss Park CTS will not disappear when it closes They’ll just move on to less safe spaces—to apartment buildings and stairwells and Tim Hortons’ bathrooms Moss Park is a neighbourhood in desperate need of more life-saving interventions “I think the whole community is actually in shock and experiencing anticipatory grief,” says Greig the line-up for food at the All Saints barbecue stretched through the parking lot and out onto Sherbourne Street with people enjoying burgers and ginger ales on outdoor tables as the sound of 90s R’n’B thumped through the speakers flipping burgers and slotting them onto fluffy white buns Janice Bellmore sat in her walker at one of the tables beneath an umbrella The 60-year-old has been living in the neighbourhood for decades She’s part of the homeless union and the housing advisory committee at Street Health “We need more housing and more drop-in centres,” she said flatly thinking about a friend named Randy who had died recently of liver cancer The Local’s life expectancy data captures a specific moment in time But ask people in Moss Park how the neighbourhood has changed in the years since and just about everyone—from residents to the neighbourhood crossing guard to real estate agents trying to sell homes in the area—will tell you the same thing I first spoke with Ovens about life in Moss Park a little over five years ago Now she looks back at that period as a time of relative prosperity “Every kind of hard time that people can be having has become more severe The meal program All Saints runs has expanded by about 200 percent in recent years and we’re out of meals 10 minutes later every single day.” And the people in line aren’t just homeless the working poor—all sorts of people struggling to get the basic nutrition and calories needed to survive the City turned away an average of 233 people who called looking for a bed—a number that is almost certainly just a fraction of the actual need because we know there’s no point,” says Ovens “I haven’t gotten somebody a shelter bed probably in six months.” those deprivations and social failures add up as lost years on a map of life expectancy—as death the thing that bothers her most is that she can feel herself becoming numb to all those losses “I don’t feel each death as much as I used to,” she says how I used to feel each one… Now I feel like it’s kind of you can imagine a future in which Moss Park’s life expectancy improves and the neighbourhood rises to approach the Toronto average to change the conditions here for the better—to invest in deeply affordable and supportive housing to fund both life-saving safe consumption sites and mental health care to make sure that disabled people on government support are given enough to actually survive to strengthen a community that’s been beaten up for decades In the centre of a wealthy city in one of the wealthiest countries in the history of the world these are not outrageous fantasies; they’re choices we’ve decided not to make The other route to a city-average life expectancy is less inspiring poor neighbourhood in the centre of a booming city The area’s shelters and service agencies are unlikely to move anytime soon but the neighbourhood is already changing fast with construction hoarding announcing the “future home of an Ontario Line station.” Towers that traditionally housed low-income renters have been transformed with a paint job and the euphemistic promise that they’re “reshaping vintage rental communities into modern gems.” It is not difficult to imagine a future in which that process continues and accelerates—a future in which landlords push out low-income tenants the people of Moss Park are simply disbursed taking their difficulties and traumas and statistically early deaths to less desirable real estate on the northern border of the neighbourhood at Carlton Street the line-up for the food bank snaked around the block music wafted over from the encampment in Allan Gardens an ever-shifting configuration of tents that is now a permanent fixture in the city’s geography a line for lunch was starting up at Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre The neighbourhood was a place in which people were in desperate need a neighbourhood in which people were coming together to try to help one another The 64-year-old in a frayed jean-jacket lived in Allan Gardens decades ago and could recount the local history like it was her own She was living in an apartment around the corner now—a grandmother of four—and that evening she was volunteering at Street Health a 44-year-old originally from Jamaica with an infectious laugh who lives in nearby Regent Park “but I don’t want to sit around and do nothing.” And so she was volunteering too leading beading workshops at various drop-ins the colourful evidence of her work visible on wrists throughout the crowd “I see everybody helping each other out,” she said Bellmore got up and steadied herself on her walker calling goodbye to the others at the table content to sit and soak in one of the last warm days of the summer For all the neighbourhood’s difficulties and traumas It was the kind of day you’d want to capture in a photograph Nicholas Hune-Brown is an award-winning magazine writer and Executive Editor at The Local. Follow @nickhunebrown.bsky.social, email nick@thelocal.to award-winning journalism thanks to the generous support of readers you're contributing to a new kind of journalism—in-depth from corners of Toronto too often overlooked neighbourhoods separated by just a few TTC stops can be worlds apart in terms of how residents experience life Our five-year-anniversary issue is an unprecedented deep-dive into this city’s disparities—on everything from health and housing to who makes 3-1-1 complaints The Annex had fewer residents in 2021 than 1971 illogical densification pattern of the last 50 years created today’s Toronto From wealthy neighbours griping about shrubbery to low-income tenants requesting winter heat—a map of 311 requests charts a certain kind of civic engagement Recent analysis by The Local shows just how widespread encampments have become and how the City’s clearing efforts simply pushed unhoused Torontonians from one park to another unhoused people like Davit Sesisheili have gone from park to park and reporting and photography that spans years intimate portrait of Toronto’s failing encampments strategy the first-ever neighbourhood-level analysis of life expectancy in Toronto This North York neighbourhood has plenty of public amenities and walkable streets But the secret to residents’ good health may have a less expected explanation: immigration Join the thousands of Torontonians who've signed up for our free newsletter and get award-winning local journalism delivered to your inbox non-profit journalism from corners of Toronto too often overlooked You will also start receiving the Star's free morning newsletter vice-chair of the 11-member Moss Park Arena board said she thinks the dispute with local councillor Chris Moise over the way the facility is run would discourage others from donating their time to the city A report to city council determined that under the board the arena normally came close to covering its costs each year but if the city took over it would cost about $300,000 annually to deliver the same programming Karin Frtizlar said she wouldn’t be running for a position on the Moss Park board when her current one expires in November Chris Moise (Ward 13 Toronto Centre) said blamed the state of the Moss Park Arena on the “negligence” of the board which he alleged had failed to address minor repairs until they grew into costly fixes The Moss Park Arena has been at the centre of a running feud involving allegations of bullying Moss Park Arena echoes with the sound of pucks thwacking against the boards as a dozen skaters warm up for a pickup hockey game The city-owned rink on a scruffy corner of Toronto’s downtown east side exudes a retro charm — 1970s wood panelling on the walls red-and-blue colour blocking in the dressing rooms — but it has seen better days The lining of the ceiling is ripped at the edges and there are rust stains running from overhead pipes While the pickup game is friendly — no hard hits or high elbows — for the past two years Moss Park Arena has been at the centre of a bruising off-ice battle between the local councillor The dispute over the state of the 50-year-old facility has featured allegations of bullying generating levels of rancour unheard of for normally sleepy municipal arena boards At stake is more than the future of the Moss Park facility as some councillors warn the negativity caused by the feud could dissuade residents from volunteering with the city Both sides insist they’re just trying to do what’s right for the arena and the surrounding community “We all came with the best of intentions,” said Andy Marcus outgoing chair of the Moss Park Arena board A longtime minor hockey coach and lifelong player applied to volunteer at the arena out of a desire to stay involved in the game after his kids got too old for it He claimed Moise’s attempts to overhaul the facility’s governance have been “slimy” and lacking transparency “The whole process here has been really really screwed up and unfair to be quite honest,” he said We didn’t sign up for any of this s—-.” a former police officer and addictions counsellor who is in his first term as Toronto Centre councillor argues the board has allowed the arena to fall into disrepair and not done enough to ensure local residents have equitable access to ice time He told the Star he never bullied any board members and has only ever advocated for the residents he was elected to serve “I want to make sure that people in the community a safe facility,” he said at a council meeting last month referencing two nearby underserved neighbourhoods “The board consistently worked against me.” but in a holdover from before amalgamation eight of them in the former municipalities of Toronto and East York The boards consist of council-appointed volunteers and are responsible for day-to-day programming and maintenance Boards are supposed to generate enough revenue through user fees to minimize the city’s rink operating costs while the municipality provides funding for major capital work and as the local councillor has a seat on the 11-member Moss Park Arena board Other members say their relationship with him got off to a rocky start months after he took office when he began pushing them to fundraise for arena repairs because the board doesn’t have the capacity to come up with the required cash and city policy dictates the municipal government is supposed to pay for building improvements that cost more than $50,000 “It’s like he doesn’t understand that we are actually not responsible for those big repairs,” said Fritzlar a communications professional who spent her childhood as a recreational figure skater The disagreement escalated in May 2024, when Moise put forward a council motion asking staff to look into dissolving the board and bringing Moss Park Arena under direct city control As his proposal made its way through the council process Moise voiced a range of complaints about the board at city hall meetings He argued its members should better reflect the demographics of Toronto Centre which has a higher proportion of lower-income and racialized residents compared to Toronto as a whole none of the board members lived in the ward and none of them “looked like me.”   In addition to concerns that local underprivileged groups didn’t have equitable access to the rink which is across the street from the Maxwell Meighen men’s shelter at Sherbourne and Queen Streets should open its doors to allow the local homeless population to watch games or use the showers But much of the dispute has centred on the state of the arena itself Moise displayed pictures of mould in the washrooms inoperable showers and an outer door that for two years has been secured shut with a hockey stick He blamed the problems on the “negligence” of the board He also slammed the board for requesting about $500,000 in emergency funding from the city in 2023 and 2024 after it missed its revenue targets “They expect the city to write them a cheque every year So what exactly do they do?” he said at council Moise doesn’t deny that the city is responsible for funding major improvements but said nothing prevents the board from helping to raise funds for repairs He said his office worked hard on plans for fundraising events that would have brought in $1.2 million They said Moise brought them a proposal to hold a ball hockey tournament at the arena last summer and while they told him that might not be feasible because the rink maintains its ice year-round they didn’t prevent him from raising money said he was angered that Moise made the comments about the board shutting down the fundraiser at public meetings at city hall and they weren’t given a fair chance to rebut his “lies.” the chair argued there’s nothing in the city’s policies that requires members to live near the arena or come from diverse racial backgrounds and if Moise wanted to change that he should have taken it up with Toronto’s public appointments office Marcus said that regardless of their addresses the volunteers serving Moss Park are passionate about giving back to the community called Moise’s concerns about lack of ice time for local youth “unfounded,” and said the arena is open to users of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds She said one of the reasons the arena required emergency funding in recent years is that it waives fees for a hockey house league that offers free registration and equipment to up to 325 youth who otherwise might not be able to afford to play At least some of the arena’s users disagree with assertions the rink isn’t well managed has been playing pickup hockey at Moss Park for two decades Like the other skaters who use the ice on weekday mornings he doesn’t work a regular 9-to-5 job — he’s an actor He lives on the west side of downtown but makes the trip because the ice is better than other city arenas but said staff there do the best they can with limited resources “Everybody who plays in it kind of knows these guys do the best job,” he said In January, city staff published a report about bringing Moss Park under the municipality’s management It determined that while under the board the arena normally came close to covering its costs each year if the city took over it would cost about $300,000 annually to deliver the same programming When Moise’s proposal came back to Mayor Olivia Chow’s executive committee that month arena users showed up to speak in defence of the current management and instead put forward a list of recommendations he said would improve the arena’s governance The recommendations directed the board to develop a multi-year strategic plan that includes identifying new revenue streams providing more free public skates and considering “full reconstruction” of the arena But while the councillor dropped his plan to bring the arena in-house that would have rescinded the appointments of seven of its members but to board members it was further sign of the lack of transparency around Moise’s push for reform There’s an unspoken rule at city hall that councillors don’t interfere in local matters in a colleague’s ward But the Moss Park saga has pushed some to voice concerns Etobicoke Centre) told council last month that members shouldn’t interfere in the autonomy of arena boards otherwise there could be a “chill effect” on volunteering Toronto-Danforth) was rankled by Moise’s motion that publicly listed the board members he wanted replaced She said “a line got crossed here” and the motion “should never have been here on the floor of this council.”  Marcus’s term as chair expired last month and Moise told the Star a replacement will be appointed soon Fritzlar’s term runs out in November and she won’t be applying for another “Not because I don’t want to — because I know that the councillor will not vote (for) me to be back on the board,” she said She said she volunteered because she grew up figure skating in a small town arena that and knows the value of giving kids time on the ice She predicted Moise’s “bullying” would discourage others from donating their time to the city Who would want to volunteer knowing that “if they do something that’s contrary to what the city councillor wishes … their names all of a sudden are going to come up in a city council vote?” she said Moise maintains he did everything he could to foster good relations with the board and all the suggestions he has made have been in the service of improving the arena “Having strong opinions and advocating for my community (which) I was elected to serve is not bullying,” the councillor said adding that he felt “disrespected and dismissed” by the vice chair He said he was “putting my best foot forward and trying to do the best for my community,” but the board has treated the rink like their own “fiefdom.” “They feel that they have some sort of ownership to it heaven forbid someone like me comes to tell them maybe it could be a little better,” he said Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Groundbreaking at George Moss Park on August 16 Green Line has provided funding to be leveraged by Parks Foundation Calgary to develop park projects near future Green Line stations George Moss Park is located just 200 metres away from the future Ogden Station and was identified as an opportunity for a Green Line Public Gardens Project The redevelopment of this park will provide a fun and safe space for youth in Ogden to gather and play For more information on George Moss Park, visit Parks Foundation Calgary For more information on Public Gardens, read the Green Line LRT Public Gardens Scoping Report (2019) We would like to acknowledge that we are on the ancestral and traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy Amskaapipiikani and Kainai First Nations; the Îethka Nakoda Wîcastabi First Nations and Goodstoney First Nations; and the Tsuut’ina First Nation The city of Calgary is also homeland to the historic Northwest Métis and to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government Nose Hill Métis District 5 and Elbow Métis District 6 We acknowledge all Indigenous people who have made Calgary their home A man was injured after being stabbed inside an apartment building in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood Toronto police were notified of a stabbing in the Carlton Street and Parliament Street area at around 4:30 a.m Authorities said a man in his 30s was stabbed inside an apartment building’s common area He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries Previous selling prices: $1,189,000 (August Listing agents: Carol Lome and Brayden Irwin The townhouse underwent an extensive makeover in key areas such as the kitchen and two bathrooms.Soare Productions On a one-way street near Dundas and Parliament streets three-bedroom townhouse underwent an extensive makeover in key areas the sellers priced the property $189,000 under what they paid in 2022 willing to let buyers decide its current value “We were hesitant to price it too high because we felt the market may not respond,” agent Brayden Irwin said “We came under the $1-million price point to get enough people in to see it and appreciate the renovations the seller had done.” A bid $275,100 over asking came out on top “We were starting to see more properties selling in multiple offers so it gave us confidence knowing it wasn’t as quiet as it had been a month or two prior,” said Mr we had two [offers] that were very strong with slight differences so it was a close decision for the seller.” The three-bedroom house was refreshed with new windows and doors.Soare Productions At one end of a trio of three-storey townhouses doors and a new driveway to the built-in garage Private decks can be reached from the principal room and primary bedroom on the main and third floors There’s also a firepit and patio on the 18- by 66-foot lot Private decks can be reached from the principal room and primary bedroom on the main and third floors.Soare Productions “There are a number of townhouses in that general neighbourhood but a lot of them have split-floor plan layouts so there wasn’t as much space on each level,” Mr “Whereas this townhouse has a more traditional layout 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Create Account We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle contentThe Toronto Centre councillor gave up his quest to disband the volunteer board at Moss Park Arena on Tuesday with a change to a motion that came so late that the executive committee struggled to get the details in front of those present at the meeting The discussion was punctuated by an apparent admonishment of Moise by Councillor Josh Matlow who said he was “uncomfortable” with the approach taken both at Moss Park and the Sankofa Square renaming “I just can’t in good conscience stay silent about this feeling that I have about this process Every bone in my body feels like this isn’t how we as a city should be engaging with volunteer boards Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. the councillor joined our board meeting for the first time in nine months … and told us that there was a change to the motion and it was no longer being put forward as a motion to transition the rink to a city-run rink but now there’s recommendations being put forward,” Andy Marcus The motion that was approved by the committee instead proposes broad governance guidelines for the rink and tweaks the composition of the board It includes direction to “enhance revenue,” which Marcus said is outside the board’s mandate “This whole process should be under scrutiny … These recommendations feel like nonsense,” Marcus said “The motion didn’t go where he wanted it to go so he’s looking at something else to drive a change in the board.” Moise said “extensive conversations,” including with the community “have broadened my perspective and helped me see a different path forward for the Moss Park Arena.” we do not possess all the answers and must adapt our perspectives and be open to new strategies,” he said He called the board’s rejection of his fundraising ideas “one example of the resistance I’ve received” from the group and pressed a city staffer about $500,000 in emergency funding given to the arena over the last two years The committee heard from several concerned citizens an African immigrant who spoke with pride about her son’s experience at the rink Councillors were told repeatedly about the diverse clientele at the arena the quality of the ice and the role the facility plays in its downtown community said the rink is “like an oasis in this difficult area.” The committee seemed grateful to be done with the idea of dismissing a board of volunteers “I’m very happy the councillor changed the motion from getting rid of a local board to working with a local board,” Paula Fletcher said Mayor Olivia Chow thanked “the many volunteers through the years” and hoped that with a review Moss Park can “still maintain that sense of belonging but also provide the best services.” saying he needed to “voice some concern about what we’ve seen displayed today.” If “we are to make changes” to something like a community board the city should “do it with them rather than at them.” He drew a parallel with another of Moise’s projects “I felt equally as uncomfortable with the way the way that the (Yonge-)Dundas Square issue was handled where people felt like they were surprised by things And I’m sure there’s experiences across the city that we could point to.” who sits on both that board and Moss Park.) jholmes@postmedia.com transmission or republication strictly prohibited This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. 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By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy You can manage saved articles in your account Toronto fire and paramedics at the shooting scene Wednesday night at Sherbourne Street between Queen and Shuter streets Police and paramedics attempted life-saving measures and the man was rushed to hospital where he died on Wednesday night Toronto police were called to the Sherbourne and Queen streets neighbourhood just after 8 p.m A man has died after being shot in the Moss Park area on Wednesday evening Toronto police say they were called to the Sherbourne and Queen streets area just after 8 p.m. for reports of a shooting, according a post by police on X they located a man suffering from a “serious” gunshot wound Officers and paramedics attempted life-saving measures and the man Officers said the suspect fled the area and they do not yet know how many suspects are involved Shutt also said that it is too early in the investigation to determine if the shooting was targeted “Officers are in the area canvassing and speaking with witnesses,” Shutt said we take these shootings very seriously,” Shutt said adding that Toronto police’s emergency task force and K-9 units were all called to the scene Toronto police closed off Sherbourne Street between Queen and Shuter streets and clustered in front of the Maxwell Meighen Centre a homeless shelter run by the Salvation Army A person could be seen taken into an ambulance on a stretcher as police directed pedestrians to leave the taped-off area said he heard a single gunshot and saw two people running toward Queen Street “They were running really fast … By the time I got to this Queen intersection Drivers and pedestrians are advised to avoid the area as the police’s homicide unit is investigating “Obviously anytime a shooting happens in the community I would say I don’t believe there’s any threat to the community at this time,” Shutt said “The investigation is still very early and I don’t have much information to provide at this time,” Shutt added When asked if the victim was a resident of a nearby shelter This is the city’s third homicide of the year Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 51 Division at 416-808-5100 the homicide unit at 416-808-7400 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477 One innovative market in Moss Park is helping residents eat well and affordably through its unique market model So, how do residents buy groceries that fit their budget? One way is through the Moss Park Market the market has a unique pay-what-you-can model the market allows residents to pick produce that they like and pay what’s possible “I can’t afford [groceries] and it’s crazy and that’s the healthiest [kind that] you want to eat [but] it’s out of affordability for most people “What I complain mostly is about the prices then the next day you go to the supermarket and you realize again the prices have gone up — and it’s crazy.” says the market is a focal point in the neighbourhood access harm reduction supplies or just warm up but Building Roots supports the community in other ways The market is like the thing — it’s big like those quiet and caring moments that we have every single week The market ensures locals have access to fresh and healthy food through produce that comes from their own community garden and partner organizations a volunteer who’s been a part of the Moss Park Market for four years “People can’t go about their daily lives they can’t go to school or anything if they aren’t able to be healthy and lead healthy lives.” A report by CivicAction and Boston Consulting Group released this month shows that 51 per cent of new food bank users come from households with at least one person employed suggesting that food insecurity impacts everyone The Moss Park Market currently runs on earnings from the market donations from residents and government grants But Lightstone says community funding would be the most sustainable way of running it in the long term She also wants the market to offer economic opportunities for residents by providing a space where they can sell their own crafts and food The victim was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after being struck from behind with a weapon the accused and the victim had a verbal altercation in the lobby of a residential building that escalated into violence A 62-year-old man from Toronto has been charged with an attempted murder in Moss Park Saturday evening On Feb. 22, Toronto police responded to a call around 5:30 p.m. regarding a “wounding” in the Sherbourne and Shuter Streets area had a verbal altercation in the lobby of a residential building then returned after a short while and struck the victim from behind with a weapon The victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries Police said the accused and the victim knew each other but could not confirm whether they were residents of the building Police are asking anyone with information to come forward by contacting investigators at 416-808-5100 or reaching out anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or online Check back in with us at any time to find out what's happening The annual tradition of cherry blossom viewing at High Park is in full swing as the trees hit peak bloom Audra Brown with everything you need to know before joining the huge crowds of cherry blossom enthusiasts preparing for a first meeting with the U.S and some say simply getting America to agree to a framework for negotiations going forward is the goal The woman who says she was sexually assaulted by five former world junior hockey players faced cross-examination as defence council questioned what she said happened in a London hotel room in 2018 Rhianne Campbell speaks to advocates on this year's theme, Rhianne Campbell speaks to advocates on this year’s theme, Honouring the thousands of Indigenous women Two Spirit and Transgender people who have been stolen or lost to violence Families and communities are still looking Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko is currently on tour with Stars on Ice and made a pit stop to talk about the tour and his need for speed on the racetrack with CityNews’ Sports reporter Lindsay Dunn One of the busiest air travel hubs in America is entering a second week of mounting delays and cancellations Laura Aguierre looks at the mounting frustration as the U.S Federal Aviation Authority copes with a staffing shortage Jury selection has begun at the trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Leigh Waldman discusses the charges the music mogul is facing and why finding an impartial jury could prove difficult National Weather Service is in worse shape than previously thought due to a combination of layoffs Ivan Rodriguez explores the impact that could have as hurricane season approaches 80% of the Cardinals who have the task of choosing a new Pontiff were named by Pope Francis this is a group that will be significantly different from the ones who have chosen other Popes in the past Toronto police were investigating after a man was stabbed near Sherbourne and Shuter streets early Saturday evening Roads in the area were closed after the stabbing near Moss Park at Sherbourne and Shuter streets just before 6 p.m One man is in critical condition and another is in custody after a stabbing in downtown Toronto early Saturday evening The incident occurred near Moss Park at Sherbourne and Shuter streets just before 6 p.m., said Toronto police in a post on X. He was transported to hospital with serious and possibly life-threatening injuries The man’s injuries were later updated by police as life-threatening including the circumstances that led to the incident Northbound Sherbourne Street was closed between Shuter and Queen streets as officers remained on scene The fire has been put out but there may be delays around Sherbourne and Shuter Streets The man was rescued from the building and rushed to hospital Friday morning A man has life-threatening-injuries after a stabbing and fire at an apartment building near Moss Park Friday morning Toronto fire crews responded to the fire on the fifth floor of the building at an apartment complex on Sherbourne Street, near Shuter Street The flames were limited to a single unit where two people one who was in the kitchen and one that was on the balcony One man who was rushed to hospital was also found with stab wounds were provided by police related to the stabbing Paramedics say two additional people were treated on scene but were not sent to hospital Fire services say heavy smoke travelled through the building There are still officers on scene and there may be delays in the area Toronto police are investigating after a man in his 60s was critically injured near Moss Park late Saturday afternoon the victim was in the lobby of a residential building near Sherbourne Street and Shuter Street at approximately 5:51 p.m Officers say the two men engaged in a verbal altercation The suspect then left the lobby and returned a short time later and struck the victim from behind with a weapon Paramedics responded to the situation and transported the victim to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries Police arrested 62-year-old Teodoros Emanuel of Toronto at the scene including attempted murder and possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public’s peace He was scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Sunday Residents in Moss Park are voicing concerns over the growing encampment in St a mini-encampment has popped up in this downtown green space just steps away from a busy playground Area resident Daniel Tate is worried it will continue to grow if the city doesn’t intervene but squatting on public parks with spring coming is not the right way and the city needs to act fast,” Tate tells CityNews “I think the concern with me and so many residents in this area is that this will turn into a Clarence Square situation which was a multi-year tent encampment which took many years and a lot of money to get rid of.” Many from the downtown neighbourhood are also flagging safety concerns telling CityNews they are noticing an increase in open drug use Angelica now avoids the park at night and no longer lets her dog Charlie play in the grass “I’ve seen needles and drug paraphilia around the park,” she says “I am not willing to take the risk.” Several structures built by the non-profit organization Tiny Tiny Homes have also been placed in the park The first structure popped up in October and now there are five at this location heated with diesel fuel and are equipped with smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide detector According to the organization’s website they are meant to be a stepping stone to permanent housing “The first few nights I felt real guilty because I had my friends still in the tents but here I have warmth,” says Mike who used to live in one of the tents in the park before moving into one of the tiny homes Those raising concerns about the encampment to CityNews are mostly in support of these tiny homes but not in city parks “The city has a lot of public property that is not park land that doesn’t have kids’ playgrounds where they can put these tiny homes,” explains Tate There have been ongoing legal battles between the creator of these small housing structures and the city Mayor Olivia Chow recently announced the existing homes will stay while solutions are being discussed which local councillor Chris Moise calls a challenging situation it’s actually illegal to have them there and they should be removed once they are vacated by those who are in them,” he said adding that four of the five people living in the modular homes have agreed to relocate if the city can find them an appropriate indoor space A motion was passed last year for the city to look into these structures and how they could possibly help the homeless situation City staff are in the process of researching locations for these tiny homes that are outside of parks and green spaces That report is expected to be released by this summer Two people are in custody following a stabbing Sunday morning in Moss Park Police say they located a man suffering from stab wounds in a residential building in the Jarvis Street and Queen Street East area just before 9 a.m The man was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries Two people were taken into custody but police have not released any further details as to their age or genders or what may have led up to the incident A 43-year-old man is dead following a shooting in Moss Park on Wednesday night Toronto police were called to Sherbourne and Queen Streets just after 8 p.m A male victim was found on the scene with gunshot wounds He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries He has been identified as Lyle Pounall of Toronto Officers are now searching for the suspect or suspects involved This is the third homicide of the year in Toronto A 29-year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly stabbing one person and setting fire to an apartment unit in Moss Park Toronto Fire was called to the residential building at 155 Sherbourne Street just before 11:30 a.m They rescued two people from a fifth-floor apartment – one inside the unit and another on the balcony A man suffering from stab wounds was taken to hospital in serious condition Toronto police say an argument broke out between a man and a woman and the woman allegedly stabbed the man before setting fire to the apartment Nakitha Smith of Toronto is facing a charge of aggravated assault and two counts of arson a service user at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service site in Toronto smudges a fellow client as Nick and Mickey chat on Thursday Community Health Worker Lilia Moreno supports service user Omar after he displayed signs of an overdose at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto on Tuesday Community Health Worker Heather Mackay-Lams is joined by colleagues as she presents a birthday cake to service user Mickey at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto on Wednesday Director of Substance Use and Mental Health and Community Health Worker Noel Glover work to reverse an overdose at the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto on Friday and Community Health Worker Lamia Nouman monitor service users who were treated for an overdose in the consumption room at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto on Tuesday and community health worker Evan Moore attend to a service user after he was treated for signs of an overdose in the consumption room at the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service gives service user Yohannes an inoculation as he talks to Nurse Practitioner Krystal Fox at the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto on Wednesday Savannah shares a moment with a fellow service user at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto on Wednesday who visits the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in Toronto CEO of South Riverdale Community Health Centre holds a discussion with staff members of Toronto’s Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service as the uncertainty of the centre’s future remains Temporary relief has washed over users of Toronto’s original supervised consumption site after learning the place will not close when the building’s lease expires in the spring The Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service will remain open on a month-to-month basis until the building’s owner Here is a look at some scenes from the Moss Park site in photos This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan A 19-year-old man is facing several charges in connection with a shooting and carjacking in Moss Park on Sunday night that police say stemmed from a dispute over a vehicle rental Officers were called to 266 Sherbourne St. they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds He was taken to a nearby trauma centre in serious but non-life-threatening condition Police say a man rented his vehicle through an online app but didn’t receive the last month’s rental payment and decided to try and retrieve the vehicle with the help of two friends Investigators say the man contacted the person who originally rented the vehicle and arranged for them to bring the keys to the vehicle The man and his two friends found the vehicle and were standing in front of it when a lone male walked up to them and said they couldn’t take the vehicle police say the suspect retrieved a gun from the vehicle and fired six shots The suspect then fled the area in the vehicle which was later involved in a single-vehicle crash at Dixon Grove Junior Middle School in Etobicoke Investigators said officers arrested the suspect after a short foot pursuit and recovered a firearm is charged with nine offence including aggravated assault two counts of discharge firearm with intent and theft of a motor vehicle involving violence Police have not said if the suspect charged is the person one who initially rented the vehicle police said two suspects – a male and female – had fled the area leading to one being arrested and another fleeing on foot Police have not provided further details on the second suspect A 29-year-old woman has been charged with aggravated assault and two counts of arson The incident left the victim with serious injuries A woman is facing arson and assault charges after a stabbing and fire at a Moss Park apartment building left a man with serious injuries on Friday Toronto fire crews responded to the fire on the fifth floor of the building at an apartment complex near Sherbourne Street and Shuter Street just after 11 a.m According to a news release police said an altercation had broke out between the two resulting in the man being stabbed and the building set on fire The victim was rushed to hospital with serious The 29-year-old woman was arrested “a short time after” and charged with aggravated assault and two counts of arson Paramedics said two additional people were treated on scene but were not sent to hospital Fire services said heavy smoke travelled through the building The suspect is scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Saturday at 10 a.m Police are asking anyone with information to contact investigators at 416-808-5100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or 222tips.com TorontoWoman seriously injured after stabbing in Moss Park: paramedicsBy Phil TsekourasOpens in new windowPublished: December 24 A stabbing in Toronto’s Moss Park neighbourhood Tuesday morning has left a woman with serious injuries as police search for a suspect Officers were called to a residence near George and Dundas streets just before 11 a.m for a report that someone had been stabbed police said they found a female victim with a stab wound where paramedics say she is being treated for serious The circumstance leading up to the stabbing are unknown at this time STABBING:George St & Dundas St E @TPS51DIV10:51 am- inside a residence- report that a female had been stabbed- police arrived and located a female with apparent stab wound- male suspect fled the area on foot- female transported to hospital by @TorontoMedics#GO2771991^sm Twitter feed ©2025 BellMedia All Rights Reserved STABBING:George St & Dundas St E @TPS51DIV10:51 am- inside a residence- report that a female had been stabbed- police arrived and located a female with apparent stab wound- male suspect fled the area on foot- female transported to hospital by @TorontoMedics#GO2771991^sm Toronto police are searching for a suspect wanted in connection to a sexual assault investigation in Moss Park Officers were called to the Sumach Street and King Street East area around 4:30 a.m It’s alleged the victim and suspect were both traveling on the eastbound TTC streetcar The victim exited the streetcar and the suspect allegedly followed her forced the victim into an alley and sexually assaulted her The suspect is described as around 50 years old He was last seen wearing a grey winter jacket with a small white logo on the right sleeve Police arrested two suspects for a stabbing in Moss Park Sunday morning The victim was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening stab wounds Two suspects are in custody after a man was stabbed in Moss Park Sunday morning Just before 9 a.m., police located a man with stab wounds in an apartment building in the area of Jarvis Street and Queen Street East, police told the Star.  The victim, a man in his 30s, was taken with the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police have arrested two men, one in his 30s and one in his 40s. The suspects and the victim knew each other, according to investigators.  Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account. SubscribeToronto’s Safe Injection Site Became a Model Now It May Close Visuals by Ian WillmsText by Emma PalingTorontoFeb 2025Share full articleWhen a rash of overdose deaths struck Toronto in the summer of 2017 The city hadn’t delivered on its promise to open safe injection sites So volunteers pitched a tent in Moss Park and started reversing overdoses themselves providing medical supervision for people using fentanyl But it soon won support at all levels of government the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service moved into a permanent location.Inside the injection room at Moss Park C.T.S A view of the neighborhood park of the same name before it was blocked off for subway construction “I knew a few other young people who passed away from freezing on the streets.” Mikey visits his mother at their family home in Burlington Toronto's forthcoming $27 billion Ontario Line subway has breezed through several early construction milestones on its way to linking Exhibition Place with the shuttered Ontario Science Centre along 15.6 kilometres of new rapid transit infrastructure The project recently celebrated the start of excavation for the tunnel's launch shaft at the future Exhibition Station ahead of a roughly six-kilometre journey for a pair of large tunnel boring machines that will soon be lowered into the ground Among the six downtown stations along the Ontario Line's tunneled run through the city centre work is racing along for the future Moss Park station under construction within the public park of the same name at Queen and Sherbourne The site along the south edge of the park fronting Queen Street East is now in the midst of a sizeable excavation to form a large void where the new station will be constructed.  Metrolinx shared new photos of the sprawling dig site on Friday via the Ontario Line account on X 📍 Moss Park, where excavation work is underway to build a brand new underground Ontario Line station. Once complete, this station will ease congestion on popular surface routes including the 75 Sherbourne bus and 501 Queen streetcar. pic.twitter.com/wvpUzm1sUz Work began in mid-2024 with the start of piling work around the perimeter of the future station This critical stage saw piles inserted into the ground to stabilize the surrounding soil work began on the actual excavation of soil and rock to form shafts to the station's level a process scheduled to stretch into summer 2025.  crews have been removing surface layers of soil using a combination of excavators and bulldozers Excavation is being carried out in sequential layers with every strip of material removed from the pit revealing another portion of the pile wall formed earlier in construction lateral struts are installed to support the pile walls in a process known as braced excavation The pit will eventually extend 30 metres below street level will see the station box reinforced with concrete ahead of the arrival of tunnel boring machines that will soon begin chewing their way below downtown Toronto A June update from Metrolinx stated that construction would advance with the arrival of a tower crane at the site in September though this milestone has since been delayed to January 2025 This tower crane will allow the actual construction of the new station infrastructure the surface-level buildings that will connect commuters to the Ontario Line trains below the area currently being excavated will be restored to park conditions Tony Williams hugs nurse Jessica Lyons at the Moss Park safe consumption site Outside the Moss Park safe consumption site Nurse Keren Elumir watches over some of the service users at the Moss Park safe consumption site The site is not among those being ordered to close but it still might shutter because the building's owners plan to redevelop the space as condominiums The site is not among those being ordered to close but it still might shutter because the building’s owners plan to redevelop the space as condominiums A few minutes after Anthony Williams injects drugs Nurse Keren Elumir is immediately at his side checking his pulse and sliding an oxygen mask on his face Williams survived the mild overdose Thursday at the Moss Park safe consumption site but might not be alive had he shot up at home Staff at this site on Sherbourne Street near Queen Street East reversed 517 overdoses last year friendly multi-room space with tables and lounge space pictures drawn by visitors but also a wall of photos of some of the many — Hughie and others — who died in alleys and other spots outside these walls amid an epidemic in opioid overdoses “If they didn’t have this here you know how many people would be dead?,” says Williams called “Uncle Tony” by the staff On Wednesday, the Ford government said any safe injection site within 200 metres of a school or daycare must close, in addition to a moratorium it had previously imposed on any new site applications. Though Moss Park is closing because the building’s owners plan to redevelop it as condominiums the ban on new sites means it will not be allowed to relocate Though his brother Rob publicly struggled with addiction before getting treatment at a private Muskoka facility the premier said in April he was “dead set” against supervised consumption sites believing they have been ineffective and that facilities’ focus should be on rehabilitation Elumir said the building’s owners have been “very kind” letting the safe consumption site extend its lease past a vacate date last March The developer had not responded to the Star’s messages by publication time Jessica Lyons, another nurse, notes the area’s gentrification will be boosted by a Moss Park subway station on the Ontario Line “have been really clear to us that a new location for us requires a new (operating) application and they are not granting new sites,” under a moratorium announced by the Ford government earlier this year Site operator South Riverdale Community Health Centre will start the application process just in case but the busy Moss Park location will disappear there will be more opioid consumption everywhere paramedics will be overburdened — we’re the buffer,” that helps keep street-involved people out of police cruisers ambulances and emergency rooms by giving them a safe place to inject and get many other services “It’s going to be chaos and completely the opposite of what (government officials) think is going to happen based on other places that have rolled back harm reduction,” which aims to offer drug users services and equipment to use as safely as possible with avenues to treatment to get clean but not insisting on abstinence as a requirement announcing the new restrictions that will close some sites Ford promised $378 million in funding for new treatment hubs that he said will provide rehabilitation and other health services without any safe injection space or harm reduction services such as needle exchanges to prevent people sharing and spreading disease Elumir said that currently it is incredibly difficult to get somebody a detox bed and then a rehab bed they are often returning to homelessness surrounded by old friends and temptations that can quickly kill them “Dead people are not going to make it to rehab,” she said Moss Park Consumption Treatment Services started in the park as the unsanctioned volunteer initiative Toronto Overdose Prevention Society formed in response to rising death rates due to fentanyl-laced supply and in 2018 moved indoors with an exemption from Health Canada and provincial funding Moss Park staff provide primary care to close wounds accompany them on visits to specialists and hospitals people accustomed to stigma find refuge and community “I don’t understand the government’s approach and frankly I don’t know anyone who does,” Moise told the Star on Thursday Staff at other sites marked for closure told the Star they haven’t yet worked out how to wind down operations Some say they are holding out for a chance “The announcement is clearly intending to close us,” said Bill Sinclair chief executive of the group that runs the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site the only self-funded clinic on the chopping block “But I’d like to see what the legislation says I’d like to see if it passes in the legislature I’d like to see whether there’s an opportunity to appeal,” Sinclair said adding drug users are not the “monsters” he said the province has made them out to be “We reversed 54 overdoses this year,” he said “Fifty-four more people would be dead we’ll explore all our options before closing but at the moment it’s not the law.” a spokesperson for Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said in an email: “The federal exemption that these sites require is attached to a fixed address The Moss Park site would have to reapply for this federal exemption She also pointed to an earlier news release stating her government intends to prevent “any organization from standing up new consumption sites or participating in federal so-called ‘safer’ supply initiatives.” Back in the Moss Park injection room Williams shakes his head at the idea of this facility ceasing to exist TorontoNews1 charged with attempted murder after man wounded during fight near Toronto’s Moss ParkBy Joanna LavoieOpens in new windowPublished: February 23, 2025 at 9:12PM EST Youth in one of southeast Calgary’s oldest communities have a refurbished park with new amenities to enjoy province and various community organizations commemorated the official reopening of George Moss Park on Saturday The long-serving park in the neighbourhood of Ogden underwent a nearly million-dollar revamp this summer with the addition of three multi-sport courts including a full-size basketball court complemented by a tot lot playground and a community plaza picnic area There’s also a designated outdoor skating surface for the wintertime The work constitutes Phase 1 of the project according to officials from Parks Foundation Calgary the second phase of the redevelopment will feature the construction of Calgary’s first combined bicycle pump track and skate park Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links The next issue of Noon News Roundup will soon be in your inbox said the redevelopment of George Moss Park was a project 10 years in the making with involvement from various community groups and stakeholders executive director of the Youth Centres of Calgary who was inspired to improve the park after seeing local children play basketball on a concrete slab Bordered by 74th Avenue to the south and 24th Street S.E George Moss Park is located in the heart of Ogden and has the potential to serve as a “hub” for the community’s families While there was a lot of green space in George Moss Park Taylor said that prior to this redevelopment there weren’t many other park amenities for Ogden families to enjoy adding that public feedback from community members drove the amenities that would be included in the redevelopment what the community needs and helping work with them to bring that to life.” “We’ve heard for years — please bring us places to skateboard please bring more biking amenities,” Taylor said but this is absolutely from the people of Ogden for the people of Ogden.” After overcoming some initial hurdles that included fundraising challenges volunteers were finally able to break ground on the new amenities last summer Sofina Foundation and the Calgary Foundation The Green Line LRT project team was also a donor as George Moss Park is located just 200 metres from where the line’s Ogden station is slated to be built called the project a “huge transformation” of one of Ogden’s main community spaces He likened the park’s revitalization to recent improvements at another park in his ward — George Murdoch Park “I have looked at George Moss Park as this incredible blank canvass,” he said “Now we’re starting to colour it in with some of the best facilities for the community…and I’m over the moon “These things don’t happen unless you have a real coming together of politicians Joanne and Greg Martin are donating the $2 million required to construct the pump track and skate park Taylor said the second-phase amenities are expected to be unveiled by the end of next summer sstrasser@postmedia.com This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. 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designated a Privacy Officer who is accountable for Chart’s compliance with this Privacy Policy and PIPEDA If at any time you have any questions or complaints about this Privacy Policy or your personal information and how it is being used collected or disclosed (including if you wish to request to update or correct any personally identifiable information you have provided) or you wish to withdraw your consent to “Use of Personal Information” Chart Communications Inc.5255 Yonge Street the development at 261 Queen Street East will house 24- and 33-storey towers above the retained heritage walls of the former buildings on the site.  designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects for Tricon Residential Since UrbanToronto’s last update in November a second crane was erected for the south tower a minor variance application was approved to reconfigure podium levels replacing office space with residential units — the unit count goes from 795 to 859 (planned office to residential space conversions are an increasing trend in Toronto developments) — with 20% of the new residential floor area designated as affordable housing image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor richserb The aerial view above shows the green heritage retention scaffold continuing to support the warehouse walls The shorter tower will rise fronting Queen Street East in the back Construction reached grade around the start of this year The heritage walls are wrapped in white weatherproofing on their interior-facing side Construction at grade with the second tower crane installed by the heritage walls image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Jonny5 the podium levels have advanced above grade Concrete walls and columns surround the southern tower crane while scaffolding and formwork are visible along the emerging second storey at the northeast corner The retention system envelopes the concrete on the east side adjacent to the red brick of the heritage walls.  image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Justelena Massing and step-backs at the northeast corner fronting Queen Street East image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Mihairokov the northeast corner features a step-back in the massing creating a recessed space at the first two storeys.  the south tower's fourth level features concrete walls surrounding the crane with formwork columns extending northward and crews preparing decking for the fifth level along the east side forms line the edges above the preserved heritage masonry The north tower in the background stands at five storeys with scaffolding supporting the fourth level and active formwork for the sixth level visible to the east A red concrete boom pump arm extends near the north tower crane An aerial view looking northeast to construction progress rising above the heritage walls ROQ City’s 24 and 33-storey towers will rise to final heights of 88.5m and 113.48m UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development you can learn more about it from our Database file you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe — from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.​​​ The latest updates and breaking news, now available around the clock. Check back in with us at any time to find out what's happening, and always be the first to know. CityNews, Everywhere. The annual tradition of cherry blossom viewing at High Park is in full swing as the trees hit peak bloom. Audra Brown with everything you need to know before joining the huge crowds of cherry blossom enthusiasts. The new Prime Minister is in America, preparing for a first meeting with the U.S. president. Expectations are low, and some say simply getting America to agree to a framework for negotiations going forward is the goal. The woman who says she was sexually assaulted by five former world junior hockey players faced cross-examination, as defence council questioned what she said happened in a London hotel room in 2018. Michelle Mackey reports. Rhianne Campbell speaks to advocates on this year's theme,, 'Unmasking mental health' Rhianne Campbell speaks to advocates on this year’s theme,, ‘Unmasking mental health’ Leafs and Panthers players discuss Game 1 of round 2 of the playoffs. Lindsay Dunn reports. Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls on Prime Minister Mark Carney to prioritize a list of projects including the proposed Highway 401 tunnel. Monday is calling for rain and thunderstorms. Stella Acquisto has the long-range forecast. Could we see another indefinite pause on postal service in the country? Negotiations are underway again as Canada Post and the workers’ union try to cut a deal to avoid a lockout or strike later this month. Afua Baah reports. Honouring the thousands of Indigenous women, girls, Two Spirit and Transgender people who have been stolen or lost to violence. Families and communities are still looking, still grieving, still healing from the losses Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko is currently on tour with Stars on Ice and made a pit stop to talk about the tour and his need for speed on the racetrack with CityNews’ Sports reporter Lindsay Dunn. One of the busiest air travel hubs in America is entering a second week of mounting delays and cancellations. Laura Aguierre looks at the mounting frustration as the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority copes with a staffing shortage. Jury selection has begun at the trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Leigh Waldman discusses the charges the music mogul is facing, and why finding an impartial jury could prove difficult. The U.S. National Weather Service is in worse shape than previously thought due to a combination of layoffs, retirements and unfilled vacancies. Ivan Rodriguez explores the impact that could have as hurricane season approaches. 80% of the Cardinals who have the task of choosing a new Pontiff were named by Pope Francis. As Rafael Romo reports from Rome, this is a group that will be significantly different from the ones who have chosen other Popes in the past. Now New and Improved! Watch CityNews, listen to NewsRadio Toronto live anytime and get up-to-the-minute breaking-news alerts, traffic, weather and video from CityNews Toronto anywhere you are – across all Android and iOS devices. Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account then a single gun blast and a man lay dying on Sherbourne St We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle contentThe entire 40-second interaction occurred Wednesday night  on the sidewalk outside the Salvation Army’s Maxwell Meighen Centre and a Dollarama store A woman in a long puffy jacket standing outside Moss Park Arena — at Queen St — on Thursday showed the Sun the video of the shooting captured on her phone but would not share it out of fear of street repercussions The video shows two men — one tall and skinny wearing a long dark coat and the man who finally shoots him much shorter and wearing a shiny puffy jacket The shiny jacketed man approaches the taller man and they start arguing — about what it’s not known — while a few people stand around watching and others walk by on the sidewalk the man in the puffy jacket punches the taller man The taller man moves quickly after him and starts throwing punches from behind there is a flash from a handgun and the tall man stumbles backwards reeling before falling to the ground in front of a huge brown metal box that houses phone and internet cabling Toronto Police responded to the shooting and paramedics took the man via an emergency run to hospital The victim has been identified as Lyle Pounall A few people exchanging cigarettes Thursday morning at the scene said they thought they knew the man who was shot and said he always walked his pit bull dog The speculation was that the man’s dog possibly bit the shooter recently but that was just street talk and not confirmed by Toronto Police Outside the Dollarama the morning after there were no yellow tape or evidence markers but rather an excavation crew and members from Enbridge Gas fixing up a newly installed gas main Behind them on the wall there were burn and scorch marks People in the area told the Sun that last week a woman started a fire right in front of the gas main trying to keep warm a large pile of burnt debris from the fire was seen piled up along the wall jboland@postmedia.com VideoToronto police ID suspect in fatal Moss Park shootingToronto police say 24-year-old Dellano Robertson-Berry is wanted for second degree murder in the shooting death of a man in Moss Park. from Toronto is wanted on a charge of second-degree murder The fatal shooting marked Toronto’s third homicide of the year Toronto police have identified a suspect in the fatal shooting of a 43-year-old man in the city’s Moss Park neighbourhood last week 5 in the area of Sherbourne Street and Queen Street East Officers found him with life-threatening injuries and he was later pronounced dead in hospital The shooting marked Toronto’s third homicide of the year Alan Bartlett of police’s homicide unit announced that a Canada-wide warrant has been issued for Dellano Robertson-Berry Pounall was a 43-year-old from Toronto and third homicide victim of the year “I’m asking for the public’s assistance in the following areas,” Bartlett said “If you were in the area of the shooting at the time I’m encouraging you to contact the police.” Police describe Robertson-Berry as five-foot-seven tall There is currently no evidence of an existing relationship between Robertson-Berry and Pounall adding is also no indication that the incident was gang-related Bartlett said the suspect poses no threat to public safety but police are advising the public not to approach Robertson-Berry Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911 the new structure has climbed above its podium levels designed by Sweeny &Co Architects for Diamond Corp and Alterra Looking southwest from Richmond Street East we see the east elevation of the four-storey podium The building’s envelope is advancing with insulation panels secured to the second through fourth floors alongside the installation of glazing and cladding at levels three and four a projecting volume is wrapped in white weatherproofing while construction materials are staged in the foreground Insulation panelling and initial cladding installation on the east elevation image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor reinventingthewheel Looking southeast from the intersection of George Street and Richmond Street East, the tower has reached 11 storeys, with decking and formwork in place for the 12th-floor slab at the south end and the 13th-floor at the north end. The heritage base at 125 George Street has its window openings covered in white tarps, ahead of future restoration work overseen by ERA Architects Along the west elevation is a mix of cylindrical and rectangular concrete columns supporting the slabs above The podium extends to the east of the heritage walls while street-level hoarding wraps the site perimeter and a hydrovac truck is stationed along Richmond with a boom line extending into the ground Looking southeast to the heritage base at Richmond Street East and George Street image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor ProjectEnd An elevated northeast-facing view captures the red and blue tower crane and rows of formwork at the top floor under construction. In the background is the topped-off Daniels on Parliament at Regent Park A distant aerial view looking northeast to formwork at the top floor image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor mburrrrr Viewed from the northeast along Richmond Street East the image shows the construction hoist rising as far as the eighth floor of the east elevation Perimeter safety railings are in place at the top level the designated vehicle access gate and covered scaffolding walkway maintain secure site access a projecting platform at the eighth floor creates a stage for receiving materials while a larger one on the seventh floor's south elevation is likely used for storing such items as formwork when not in use the fourth floor is distinguished by deep concrete transfer beams to carry loads from above to the ground The heritage base to the west is lined with white weatherproofing in preparation for facade restoration Scaffolding and hoarding continue to maintain access and safety at grade Looking northeast from George Street to the rising tower image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor UrbanAffair with 516 condominium units upon completion UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe — from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider that tracks projects from initial application.​​​ TorontoNewsToronto police identify man shot and killed in Moss ParkBy Bryann AguilarOpens in new windowPublished: February 06, 2025 at 3:52PM EST A man with an extensive criminal history involving alleged stolen vehicles is in custody after several Toronto police cruisers were struck in Moss Park on Thursday night Authorities say the incident occurred in the Richmond Street East and George Street area around 10:15 p.m when officers were notified of a stolen vehicle close to their location by their Automatic Licence Plate Reader Investigators say the stolen vehicle then struck three police cruisers before it was pinned against the wall of a nearby business Video obtained by CityNews shows the alleged suspect attempting to get away from responding officers who had tried to barricade the man in a Hummer truck of Toronto is facing a total of eight charges including theft of a vehicle and failure to comply with a release order A police source tells 680 NewsRadio that the accused has been convicted of 75 criminal offences who was out on bail at the time of Thursday’s incident has allegedly been in as many as 12 police pursuits “We’re lucky our officers didn’t face serious harm and no innocent lives were at risk,” Toronto Police Association President Clayton Campbell said in a social media post “The suspect has 75 criminal convictions and a history of evading police – individuals like this should be kept in custody CalgaryGeorge Moss Park opens in Ogden, Phase 2 announcedBy Tyler BarrowPublished: September 07, 2024 at 6:39PM EDT Lyle Pounall was identified as the victim in the Moss Park shooting on Wednesday night He was 43 years old and is the city’s third homicide victim of the year Toronto police identified the victim in the Moss Park shooting on Wednesday night as Lyle Pounall from Toronto was the third homicide victim of the year Pounall was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries the victim was not a client of the nearby Salvation Army shelter divisional secretary for public relations and territorial marketing with The Salvation Army “I know somebody ran into the Maxwell Meighen Centre to make sure that 911 could be called In the community people know the Salvation Army is a place where they can come and seek out help it was to make sure that the police were contacted right away We were simply the the closest location for somebody to contact,” he said Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400 or online at www.222tips.com News2 people arrested after reports of a stabbing near Moss Park: policeBy Jermaine WilsonOpens in new windowPublished: March 09, 2025 at 10:44AM EDT One man was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after police responded to reports of a stabbing in a residential building near Moss Park. Officials say the incident happened Sunday morning near Jarvis Street and Queen Street East just before 9 a.m. That’s where police say they located the victim with stab wounds. Two suspects have been taken into custody as police say the investigation is ongoing. This a developing news story, check back here for updates... A man has serious injuries after being shot Sunday night near Moss Park and a suspect was arrested after a crash in another area of the city We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle contentToronto Police were called at 9:30 p.m. to the area of Sherbourne and Dundas Sts. and located an injured man who was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police said the suspects were a man and a woman. A vehicle was seen fleeing the area. It was later recovered after being in a single-vehicle collision in Etobicoke. Police say it hit Dixon Grove Public School, in the area of The Westway and Kipling Ave. After hitting the school, the vehicle caught on fire. There were no major injuries and the province’s Special Investigation Unit is not involved in this case. A suspect fled the area on foot but was later arrested and a firearm was recovered. No other information was immediately provided. more accessible transit to millions of commuters in the Greater Toronto Area TORONTO — The Ontario government has officially broken ground on King-Bathurst marking another milestone in the province’s plan to build the Ontario Line and create a reliable and continuous transit line that connects communities throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) our government is one step closer to delivering a world-class transit system for the GTA,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria “The stations we’re breaking ground on today will help tackle gridlock reduce commute times and connect tens of thousands of commuters to homes and good-paying jobs each and every day.” Construction at the three sites includes work to remove soil and bedrock to create 30 to 40-metre deep stations with elevators and escalators that will ultimately connect the subways to the street This work will also prepare for future tunnel boring machines to create the tunnels that will connect all the underground stations through the downtown segment of the Ontario Line “A strong public transit system will help folks in Toronto get where they need to go faster in 2021 we announced $10.9 billion in support for the Ontario Line,” said the Honourable Sean Fraser “With the launch of Canada Public Transit Fund in July we are investing nearly $30 billion over the next 10 years for transit projects across the country Queen-Spadina and Moss Park stations is an important milestone in our work to build a stronger public transportation system across the Greater Toronto Area.” The King-Bathurst Station will serve over 5,000 commuters during the morning rush hour creating crucial connections between the Ontario Line and popular streetcar routes like 504 King and 511 Bathurst The Queen-Spadina and Moss Park stations are expected to serve over 7,000 commuters each and facilitate over 5,000 transfers during the morning rush hour The Ontario Line project will help reduce crowding on Line 1 (Yonge-University) by 15 per cent and at Union Station by 14 per cent the 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line will have 15 stations running from Exhibition Place through the downtown core and connecting to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT The line will offer more than 40 connections to other subway bringing 227,500 more people within walking distance of transit and reducing daily car trips by at least 28,000 More about Ontario’s priority transit projects Connecting the GGH: A Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe Signing of the Ontario-Toronto Transit Partnership Preliminary Agreement Privacy Policy ∙ Accessibility Policy LocalNewsMan critical following ‘wounding’ near Toronto’s Moss Park, say policeBy Joanna LavoieOpens in new windowPublished: February 22, 2025 at 6:19PM EST Sign in Join now, it's FREE! In the past several months, workers at Moss Park’s safe consumption site have been forced to call paramedics for drug users in cardiac distress more times than ever before three site staff told TorontoToday the suspected cause: a dramatic increase in veterinary tranquilizers in the downtown fentanyl supply “We have never called EMS more frequently for anything,” said Sarah Greig, director of substance use and mental health for the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service (CTS).  “We’re worried that people are going to bottom out or have their heart stop.”  While one veterinary tranquilizer, xylazine, has been present in a portion of the downtown fentanyl supply for several years experts said the rate of veterinary tranquilizers in Toronto's fentanyl supply has never been higher.  In its latest drug report, Toronto’s Drug Checking Service found 81 per cent of expected fentanyl samples it tested contained xylazine or medetomidine — tranquilizers typically used to sedate dogs horses or cattle for surgeries and other procedures.  When a sample is submitted to the drug checking service the sender shares the type of drug they believe was purchased The free-to-use service then tests the substance to identify the drug and the presence of other potential contaminants.  Workers said veterinary tranquilizers in fentanyl — sometimes referred to as “tranq” or “tranq dope” — pose a big challenge in their efforts to help keep people alive.  at least 99 people died in Ontario as a result of drug toxicity directly attributable to xylazine according to information provided by the province’s Office of the Coroner.  During the same 3.5-year period, an additional 275 people in Ontario died of drug toxicity where xylazine was detected post-mortem and may have played a role A spokesperson for the Office of The Coroner said the death counts are believed to be underestimates as data lags due to the time required to identify the cause of death in each case.  Moss Park CTS staff told TorontoToday they’ve seen a significant increase in incidents where drug users’ heart rates have become dangerously low Staff suspect the tranquilizers — which are not approved for use in humans — are to blame.  Whereas opioid overdoses can often be reversed using naloxone this remedy is not effective for veterinary tranquilizers managing director of Toronto’s Drug Checking Service.  A spokesperson for Toronto Public Health added that when the drug supply is unpredictable and toxic people who use drugs are at greater risk for an overdose because the drugs may be different or more potent than expected.  Thompson said she doesn’t know for certain why veterinary tranquilizers are being added to fentanyl in Toronto She said she suspects some drug creators are incorporating the substances to try to make the effects of fentanyl last longer.  The drug, which is about 20 to 40 times more powerful than heroin, offers a quick high then a state of calm for one or two hours, according to the federal government a community health worker at Moss Park CTS said it’s possible the tranquilizers are showing up more frequently because of disruption in the fentanyl market Such disruptions can occur because of a drug bust or the death of a supplier Within the context of an unregulated supply of drugs Moore said disruptions make it more challenging for drug users to obtain substances from sources they trust.  It is not clear how drug makers are obtaining the veterinary tranquilizers senior manager of marketing for the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association told TorontoToday in an emailed statement that xylazine and medetomidine can only be dispensed with a prescription from a veterinarian.  TorontoToday asked the Toronto Police Service where fentanyl containing veterinary tranquilizers is coming from but did not receive a response prior to publication Moss Park CTS staff said the lack of a regulated drug supply is making life more challenging for drug users and for the community at large.  Moore said they’ve seen many clients acting out of character — delirious unusually rageful or like they’re in a “fugue state.” He said staff suspect it's the result of veterinary tranquilizers or benzodiazepines in the fentanyl supply “Benzos” are another type of tranquilizer which has depressant effects on the central nervous system.  it can leave them acting like someone experiencing a mental health crisis A drug user told her yesterday that when she does “tranq dope” she dreams she’s talking to someone Greig said staff have witnessed drug users appear like they are “sleep walking” or interacting with things “the rest of us could not perceive."  Taking contaminated fentanyl of this kind can contribute to drug users becoming lost or missing health appointments Contaminated drugs can also make it more challenging for paramedics social workers and friends and family of drug users to know how to intervene.  “People are being restrained more frequently when they’re presenting with this bizarre behaviour,” Greig said adding this experience can be traumatizing for some drug users.  Thompson said it’s particularly alarming this escalation in drug contamination is happening now.  At the end of March, five of Toronto’s safe consumption sites will be shuttered as a result of new provincial rules.  While the provincial government said the new safe consumption site laws will increase safety by decreasing drug use near schools and daycares Greig said she’s worried the changes will increase the number of fatal overdoses.  she said she helped save the life of a man who took drugs at the safe consumption site She said the man may have otherwise died if he had used drugs alone Grieg said the man’s heart stopped beating so she performed chest compressions for at least six minutes.  “I’m so grateful that we were here in real time because he’s alive and he’s made many life changes since then,” she said.  drug users “often don't live long enough to make it to the hospital.”  Between 2020 and 2023, more than 500 people died each year in Toronto from opioid-toxicity related deaths, according to Public Health Ontario This January alone, paramedics were called for 250 suspected opioid overdoses, of which 12 were fatal.  Thompson said drug users can reduce the risk of taking contaminated substances by getting their drugs tested.  To use Toronto’s Drug Checking Service a person can bring a small amount of drugs — far less than the size of a pill — or drug equipment such as a used needle with a small amount of liquid tests it and within one business day provides information about what’s in the drug The service is anonymous and information can be provided to drug users by text the site’s online portal or in-person at the drop-off location After the closure of the five safe consumption sites drug checking services will remain available at Street Health (338 Dundas St E.) and Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre (1229 Queen St As for how the broader public can help neighbours who may be experiencing adverse effects of drugs Greig said to telephone 211 in the event of a mental health crisis and 911 if it’s a medical or safety emergency.  More Spotlight > A 62-year-old Toronto man is charged with attempted murder after a person was critically injured over the weekend during an attack in the Moss Park area We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle contentToronto Police said they responded to a wounding call on Saturday at about 5:30 p.m. in the Sherbourne-Shuter Sts. area, where two people had a verbal altercation in a residential building. Police said the victim, who was in the lobby of the building at the time, and the accused were known to each other and that the accused left the lobby after the altercation before returning a short time later, allegedly striking the victim from behind with a weapon. The victim, who police said at the time was a man in his 60s, was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Teodoros Emanuel was arrested and charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace. Anyone with information can contact police at 416-808-5100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or 222tips.com. TorontoNewsWoman seriously injured after stabbing in Moss Park: paramedicsBy Phil TsekourasOpens in new windowPublished: December 24, 2024 at 11:47AM EST Join now Nine drug of 10 consumption and treatment services (CTS) sites targeted for closure by Tuesday will shut down despite a court injunction granting them a reprieve The Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services site in Kitchener is set to close on Tuesday according to the Waterloo Region Drug Action Team; as is the Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre's site, per Hamilton's Substance Overdose Prevention & Education Network Toronto's Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site which is within 200 metres of a child-care centre but does not receive provincial funding Catharines will remain open as they are more than 200 metres away from a school or child-care centre several of the sites set to close accepted the province's offer to transform into abstinence-based HART hubs allowing them to continue to help clients access health care and treatment while discontinuing harm reduction services After the injunction was granted last week Health Minister Sylvia Jones' office said the HART hub transition would "proceed as planned on April 1st."  "Provincial funding for HART Hubs cannot be used for drug injection services and will be contingent on the organization not seeking to continue those services," spokesperson Hannah Jensen said in an email The threat of the province pulling back its HART hub funding "looms large across all affected CTS sites," the Waterloo Region Drug Action Team said in an email adding that municipalities can't fund CTS sites without provincial permission The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) which intervened in the Charter challenge case from which the injunction stems urged the Ford government to reconsider its decision “You do not help people by removing essential health services from them Nurses have long said that the rights of people struggling with substance use have been ignored in the government’s handling of this file SCS sites save lives and provide evidence-based care primary care and comprehensive mental health support,” RNAO president Lhamo Dolkar said in a release Toronto harm reduction worker Zoë Dodd decried what she said is a lack of planning to deal with the increased deaths that closing SCS sites will cause We already have examples of it that everyone wants to ignore. I have zero idea what the plan is," she said still has some money and is discussing next steps around harm reduction in the city