Latest news with #Etobicoke
CBC
13 hours ago
- CBC
Police seek missing 12-year-old boy last seen in Etobicoke
Social Sharing Toronto police say they are are looking for a missing 12-year-old boy last seen in Etobicoke. Robert was last seen on Wednesday in the area of The Westway and Kipling Avenue at about 2 p.m. In a news release on Thursday, police described Robert as five feet tall, 120 lbs., with a medium build and short black hair. He was wearing a maroon t-shirt, black pants and black shoes when he disappeared. Police said they are concerned for Robert's safety. They are appealing to the public for help in finding him. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2300, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
CTV News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Over 600,000 near-miss incidents with pedestrians, cyclists recorded at intersections across Canada
A new study reveals pedestrians and cyclists face high-risk near-misses every day in Canada. (CAA / Miovision) One in every 770 pedestrians and one in every 500 cyclists experience a high-risk or critical near-miss at intersections across Canada, according to a new study commissioned by CAA. CAA and Miovision—a traffic data analysis company—watched 20 intersections nationwide between August 2024 and February 2025 using cameras and artificial intelligence. They logged over 600,000 near-miss moments, indicating that at least three serious incidents occur at a single location every day. CTV News Toronto spoke to people at the intersection of Park Lawn Road and Lakeshore Boulevard in Etobicoke, and asked how safe they feel crossing the street. 'I always wait extra time and I have a toddler, it terrifies me,' one woman told CTV News. 'I don't even bike on the street I'm so scared someone will hit me,' a cyclist said. The study found that one in every 770 pedestrians and one in every 500 cyclists were involved in a high-risk or critical near-miss with a vehicle. 'That's almost a cyclist every single day that's coming into an intersection and having a conflict with a vehicle,' said Kristine D'Arbelles, director of public affairs at CAA. 'I would say that's a pretty scary number.' The majority of close calls involved right-turning vehicles, followed by left-turning vehicles, then through-vehicles, according to the study. It also found that if those near-misses were actually crashes, there would be an 85 per cent chance of serious injury. 'Using AI helps to tell us what areas (in intersections) there seems to be an issue, so hopefully we can implement a design that will prevent a collision,' D'Arbelles said. CAA says these near-misses are collisions waiting to happen and are urging municipalities to make intersections safer by improving engineering and infrastructure. The study offered three solutions that would help make intersections safer, including more dedicated left-turn lanes, pedestrian first signal crossings—meaning pedestrians could start crossing the street before vehicles move, and advanced green lights for left-turning vehicles.
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Non-profit housing tower in Etobicoke stalled over ‘employment lands' conflict
A planning application proposing one of the largest privately owned affordable-housing developments in Toronto has been stalled amid differences between provincial and city policies on converting land once zoned for industrial and commercial use to residential. The proposal filed in late 2024 seeks to turn a plot of land in Etobicoke into four condo towers containing 1,819 apartments. If approval is given, one of those towers, with 342 apartments, would be conveyed to the not-for-profit Community Affordable Housing Solutions (CAHS) group, which combines members from affordable housing organizations such as Habitat for Humanity GTA and St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society. 'We would own it and those units would be affordable in perpetuity. It's exactly the type of housing the city wants,' said Joshua Bénard, a board member with CAHS and vice-president for real estate development for Habitat for Humanity GTA. The city has 120 days to make a decision after an application is complete on the request to convert the property, which the city deems to be 'employment land' to residential use. That should have meant a decision in early May, but there has been silence from a department of city planning said to be reviewing the matter. 'We've been kinda stonewalled. … I don't know what to make of it, I'm very frustrated by it,' said Mr. Bénard. According to advocates for the proposal and land-use experts, the source of the tension appears to be Toronto's long-standing desire to protect hundreds of hectares of employment-zoned land from residential redevelopment, and a provincial government that, since 2023, has been making it easier for landowners to apply for conversions of that same land. New builds drive rent decreases, but also leave tenants vulnerable to steep hikes, experts say In 2023's Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, Ontario narrowed the definition of 'employment area' so that lands used for retail and commercial office space would no longer be covered (with some exceptions, such as attachments to larger warehousing or manufacturing facilities). In 2024, the Provincial Policy Statement kicked away other bureaucratic hurdles that allowed cities to avoid considering conversions of employment land. Despite this new landscape, the CAHS team said the only objection to its proposal seems to be related to an outdated view of employment lands. 'They refused to recognize that this is not an area of employment. They somehow thought it should regenerate for employment uses,' said David Charezenko an urban planner and principal at Bousfields Inc. who made the application on behalf of CAHS and the landowners. He said that, early on, he knew there was opposition from some parts of the planning department but believed the merits of the application would win out. 'It's a little bit frustrating. It really has been like we're caught in a bigger conversation on employment areas, and we're not getting to the point of what this proposal is about: affordable housing,' Mr. Charezenko said. The city didn't make anyone from the Planning Department available for an interview, but provided a statement that reflected that tension: 'Affordable housing is a major priority for the City of Toronto, and the City must weigh that against the need to protect stable employment areas that provide thousands of local jobs and ensure long-term economic viability, while creating complete communities for Torontonians,' it read. Corporate property owners fueling housing rent increases in Toronto According to background documents provided by city staff, as of 2023, employment areas hosted 21,900 enterprises that provided 26 per cent of all the jobs in the city (almost 400,000 people), and were responsible for almost 27 per cent of the city's $195-billion GDP. The area around the CAHS site, the 'South Etobicoke Employment Area,' is the second largest cluster of employment land in the city, responsible for 40,900 jobs in 2024. For Mr. Bénard, it's not a matter of disagreeing with those goals but of recognizing that not all employment lands are the same. 'It's not Triple-A employment lands: It's a parking lot next to a Golf Town [retail store] and the adjacent lots are single-family homes,' said Mr. Bénard. 'We do need to protect the right employment lands – this site isn't one of them.' 'The city does exist in a bit of a period of limbo with some of its employment areas,' said David Bronskill, partner in the municipal and land development group at Goodmans LLP, who on June 3 filed an appeal with the Ontario Land Tribunal to break the logjam and get the application moving. In an interview, he noted that, in part, the city's planning policies have yet to catch up to the new provincial direction after its first attempts to update its official plan were rejected by Ontario's Minister of Municipalities and Housing. 'For better or for worse, the lands they designated employment permitted office and general employment permitted large-format retail,' Mr. Bronskill said. 'That's a significant portion of the lands in Toronto that wouldn't meet the new provincial definition.' Even the appeal is somewhat unusual, given that a key protection in Ontario's Planning Act says that land owners can't appeal decisions related to employment area conversion applications. According to Daniel Artenosi, a lawyer with Overland LLP, there is a view among land-use experts that the city's most recent attempt to bring its official plan into alignment with the new provincial definitions on employment land (which is currently awaiting approval at the provincial legislature) is an attempt to preserve that appeal-denying power for most of its existing employment areas. 'The Planning Act allows cities to keep employment areas providing the use was 'lawfully established' prior to October, 2024,' he said. Toronto staff, according to Mr. Artenosi, have hinted at various times that they will interpret even nonconforming employment areas – with historical office or retail use permissions, in opposition to provincial definitions – as 'lawfully established' and side-step all the province's redefinitions. 'We think they are saying: 'We used to permit these, therefore they were lawfully established' … this exercise is trying to revive the status quo,' he said. There's also the possibility that the city could limit its own options if it succeeds in preserving all its current employment lands, since it could no longer approve office or retail uses in those areas if they didn't meet provincial definitions. The city's statement on the CAHS application offered more nuance. 'City Planning balances the provincial direction to protect economically vital employment areas with the City's housing objectives,' the statement said. 'Over the last few years ... staff reviewed over 150 requests for conversion on employment lands and recommended 64 conversions to allow residential uses to Council, which typically have affordable housing requirements.'
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
‘Stupid criminals': Doug Ford says 4 masked ‘thugs' tried to steal car out of his Toronto driveway
While slamming the 'weak justice system', Ont. Premier Ford revealed that 'four thugs' recently tried to steal his car. Siobhan Morris reports. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says four masked suspects attempted to steal a car from his Etobicoke driveway early Tuesday morning. 'So four thugs come racing down my street, masks on, ready to take the car out of the driveway,' Ford said at an unrelated news conference in a self-described 'rant' about Canada's criminal justice system. 'Surprise, surprise at 12:30 (a.m.) the two police cars are there. The chase is on,' he recalled. Ford initially said that the suspects, who he described as 'stupid criminals,' were apprehended by his OPP detail. However, Toronto police clarified their officers made the arrests. 'Thank God the police got you and I never did,' he added. In a news release issued following Ford's news conference, Toronto police said officers were in the area of Lawrence Avenue West and Royal York Road at approximately 12:30 a.m. when they observed four individuals wearing masks in a vehicle. They said the vehicle slowed down as it approached a driveway, at which point officers initiated a traffic stop and investigated the suspects. One of the suspects fled on foot, but was located nearby. Police said officers located a car key programming device and a programmable master key in the vehicle. Four suspects, including a 17-year-old and 16-year-old youth, were arrested and each charged with possess electronic device for motor vehicle theft and unlawfully purchase automobile master key. The 17-year-old suspect was additionally charged with resisting arrest and failing to comply with an undertaking. Police said all four suspects were held for a bail hearing on Tuesday, but Ford said he expects they'll be released. 'Guess what's going to happen? They're going to be back out,' he said. 'I'm sick and tired of the weak justice system that we have. They have to get a backbone. We need to start throwing these people in jail. This is turning into a lawless society.'
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
‘Stupid criminals': Doug Ford says 4 masked ‘thugs' tried to steal car out of his Etobicoke driveway
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks during a news conference in Mississauga, Ont., on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young Ontario Premier Doug Ford says four masked suspects attempted to steal a car from his Etobicoke driveway early Tuesday morning. 'Thank God the police got you and I never did,' Ford said at an unrelated news conference in a self-described 'rant' about Canada's criminal justice system. Ford initially said that the suspects, who he described as 'stupid criminals,' were apprehended by his OPP detail. However, Toronto police clarified their officers made the arrests. The premier said the car belonged to his brother. More details to come.
