CCRA PRESIDENT Bob Baron: February 2002 If I thought things were going to calm down after Christmas, I was mistaken. The level of activity around our community seems to be not only busy but getting busier. As I previously mentioned, the various assessments are being performed re the widening of Port Union Road, north of Lawrence to Sheppard Avenue. We are participating in the project and will keep you up-to-date on developments through the CCRA News. You can also get updates quicker and more frequently on our website. Be sure to check it out. Regarding the Manson Plant Remediation, there has been no further activity on the site because the Ministry of the Environment is still reviewing the application of National Excavating and Grading Ltd. (acting on behalf of Yellow Moon) for some approvals. No activity is allowed on site until those approvals are given. The Ministry is also developing a plan for the field audit of the site. We'll apprise you when that is to start. I attended a meeting last week on the new Part II Plan for the City of Toronto's Central Waterfront and its effect on the development of the Port Union Waterfront. I am sorry to report that it doesn't look like the Port Union Waterfront development will be going ahead as we had hoped (at least not without a struggle). The funding for our project has been lumped into the overall budget for the Waterfront Development Corporation and they do not want to have any development take place until the downtown core waterfront has been developed (i.e. 15-20 years from now). We do not believe this is a realistic approach and along with PUVHA and West Rouge, with the help of Toronto and Region Conservation and Councillor Moeser, we are trying to convince the Waterfront Corporation to allow our development to proceed. You might consider writing or calling Robert Fung to make sure he is aware how important this development is to our community. Tenders for the development of the Port Union Village Common Park have been received and we will advise you which company won and what the schedule for construction will be. The tender closed on January 28th. The Brumwell Street rezoning application is being opposed on the basis of lot size and on the grounds that it is to be developed over a creek bed. There have been several applications for bylaw amendments or dispensation from existing bylaws, recently. These have mainly been by property owners wanting to divide their respective properties in order to build a second house and sell it. We fought hard to get the bylaws we have, in place. They were written to protect and preserve our neighbourhood and make it appealing to families. The CCRA intends to keep supporting the enforcement of those bylaws and opposing significant deviations which are not in the community's best interest. Congratulations to Marlow Brooking on winning the CCRA Award for 2001. This award is presented annually to the graduating student at Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute, who best exemplifies the spirit of community involvement and co-operation in the Mowat community. Well done, Marlow. I welcome Mike Savas, to the CCRA executive. Mike is our new Planning Chair and arrives not a moment too soon. We're looking forward to working with you, Mike. I've had a number of calls and e-mails regarding the issues surrounding the convicted pedophile who was living in our area. Yes, that is correct. He is no longer living here. However, the issues raised are still every bit as pertinent. Elsewhere in this issue, you will see my letter to the Minister of Justice and a response to that letter from Mr. John McKay, our MP. Before you read the next several paragraphs, please read my letter to the Minister and then John McKay's reply. In response to Mr. McKay's letter, I still maintain that there are certain inadequacies in the Criminal Code relative to pedophiles. If there is brutality in the offence, the offender can be designated dangerous and receive an indeterminate sentence. As we hear of so many pedophiles released to re-offend, it makes me wonder what it takes to ensure they receive the dangerous offender designation. Without the brutality, the offender can be designated "long term" at the discretion of a judge and can have an additional 10 years of community supervision added to their sentence. Adding a 10 year additional term to a repeat and/or long-term offender's sentence is significant. However, when that additional term is "community supervision", that means that the community is monitoring the offender not the "authorities". It seems to be a very nice way for the Ministry to say "We really don't want to look after these offenders any longer than we have to but if it makes you feel better, we'll give the offender an extra 10 years and you can look after him/her." To me, in this case, the Criminal Code supplies a political solution but not any better than a half-hearted solution to the real problem. I'm not suggesting that Canada's system of "managed reintegration into society" is not a good thing. I am suggesting that pedophiles are a class of criminal unique unto themselves and it will take legislation carefully crafted to deal with them and to preserve the safety of our children and our communities. After looking carefully at the legislation and at Mr. McKay's comments, I believe we still have a long way to go. So far, my criticism has been directed toward the federal government. It's time to share a little of the spotlight with the Province and the City. The Province has been espousing a hard-line law and order approach to justice, at least when it comes to campaigning. So far, we haven't seen much action. Maybe that is just our ignorance at not being privy to the dialogue between the federal and provincial governments regarding dangerous offenders and statutory release. Mr. Gilchrist has stated that the Ontario government has been asking the Chrétien government to amend this legislation since 1995. Perhaps, he would be so kind as to elaborate on those entreaties. The City has exacerbated the problem in an irresponsible way. They decided to release this pedophile into our community at a location where children live and nearby to grade schools. This doesn't seem logical given the nature of his offence. The establishment they placed him in, is one of the Kingston Road hotels/motels which have been a source of controversy in this area for years. This makes me wonder how sincere the City and our local councillors are about improving the image of this community.