York Region Character Community

Article appeared in the April 2007 issue of Municipal World magazine

By Tom G. Kernaghan

“The better a State is constituted, the more do public affairs intrude upon private affairs in the minds of the citizens.”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract

Character is working in York Region. For the past five years, the nine municipalities that constitute the vast and vibrant region to the north of Toronto, Ontario, have been taking bold steps toward a better future.

Wendigo Way

Naturalist’s legacy is close-knit community

A history of life in the valley

By Tom G. Kernaghan

One of the city’s most unique streets lies hidden in a valley in northeast Swansea. Sheltered by Bloor Street, Ellis Park Road, and High Park, Wendigo Way for generations has been treasured for its dramatic topography, deep seclusion, and enchanting sylvan beauty.

Viva Latino

Viva Latino

Latin community expresses itself through art, dance

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Forty-five years ago, the Argentinean poet Jorge Luis Borges wrote that each one of us ultimately discovers the “patient labyrinth” of our life’s work is really a drawing of our own face.

Today, Toronto’s Latin population, estimated by some at around 250,000, has a multitude of faces. This richly expressive community, which hails from more than 20 countries, is comprised of individuals diverse in education, income, national culture, history, and values. But there is a unifying similarity: their desire to move forward together and become part of Canadian society.

The Bard of Ukraine

The Bard of Ukraine

Local museum honours Ukrainian hero

By Tom G. Kernaghan

In the Taras Shevchenko Museum (1614 Bloor St. W.), the brilliant man known as the Bard of Ukraine lives in copies of his artwork, books of poetry, and works rendered in his honour. His greatest home, however, is in the hearts and minds of people the world over. Here in the west end, members of the museum are preserving and spreading the memory of the man who dared to speak out against Tsarist oppression in the 19th century.

“He’s considered the greatest son of Ukraine,” says Bill Harasym, local resident and president of the Taras H. Shevchenko Museum & Memorial Park Foundation. “And he’s considered the father of the modern Ukrainian language.”

St. Anne’s

St. Anne’s resilient soul

Century-old church’s struggle to maintain building and relevancy

By Tom G. Kernaghan

St. Anne’s Anglican Church has endured bad weather, controversy, financial difficulties, and demographic shifts.

Now, as it approaches the 100th anniversary of its construction, the beautiful church that Group of Seven artist J.E.H. MacDonald once described as the “home for the soul of a wide neighbourhood,” is struggling to stay relevant.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Somewhere over the rainbow

West end gay community is spreading out

By Tom G. Kernaghan

“In North America, we tend to put people in one spot or another,” says Tom Riley, a local gay man in his 50s. “Sexuality is really a continuum.”

Riley is one of many gay men who have chosen to make Toronto’s west end, sometimes called Queer West Village, their home. For over 15 years, there has been a general shift of the city’s gay population away from Church and Wellesley streets, or what is often referred to as the Gay Ghetto.

Roy Singh

Little West Indian Culture in BWV

Guyana native Roy Singh reflects on life in Toronto

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Roy Singh remembers the weather when he arrived in Canada at the age of 16.

“There was lots of snow, and I loved it,” says Singh, who emigrated from Guyana with his family in 1963. He stayed briefly with his aunt in North York before his family settled in central Etobicoke, where Singh went to high school and still lives today.

Quietly seeking tolerance

Quietly seeking tolerance

Queer West Village home to growing lesbian community

By Tom G. Kernaghan

“I don’t need to be a big urban dyke,” says Stephanie Rogerson, a lesbian artist and writer who lives in the Annex but wants to move to the west end.

For many years, lesbian women, like gay men profiled in this section of last month’s Village Gleaner, have been choosing to live in the west end instead of Church and Wellesley streets, or what is often referred to as the Gay Ghetto.

Paul Stewart, Busker

Singing the street story

Gospel and traditional country music inspire Village busker

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Local busker Paul Stewart knows about being away from home. Since 1992, Stewart has been singing songs in the Village. Day after day, the Etobicoke resident and his 13-year-old Seeing Eye dog, Roadie (named after Rhode Island), make their way to Bloor Street, where Stewart spends hours strumming his guitar and wailing tales of life for the busy Village burghers.

More action for Afghan women

More action for Afghan women

AWO tackles a legacy of oppression

By Tom G. Kernaghan

There is an Afghan proverb that reads, “Little talk, more action.”

Here in Toronto, the Afghan Women’s Organization (AWO) is talking and acting in an effort to serve the specific needs of Afghan women. Through its Village area head office on Dundas Street West, and three additional outlets in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the AWO provides Afghan refugees and immigrants with a wide array of services in the areas of advocacy, settlement, employment, language, training, and education.

Lost Rivers

One league under the Annex

Plans afoot to celebrate our buried city

By Tom G. Kernaghan

The last time you took a stroll, you may not have been aware you were walking over history. Maybe you saw some evidence of Toronto’s lost rivers, but didn’t know it: dead end streets, flooded basements, tilting houses, oddly shaped parks, dips in the road.

Jane Jacobs

Original activist

Neighbourhood pays tribute to Jane Jacobs

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Like all prophets, her name preceded her. And though Annex resident Jane Jacobs passed away on April 25, the words and work of this legendary urban writer and activist live after her in the many books she penned, the initiatives she supported, and the people she inspired.

Jami Mosque served changing community

Jami Mosque served changing community

Toronto’s oldest mosque welcomes all

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Toronto’s oldest mosque sits on a quiet street just east of High Park.

Jami Mosque has served many Muslim newcomers by offering youth and marriage counselling, funeral services, religious education, and settlement advice since it opened in the late 1960s. Located at 56 Boustead Ave., the mosque has been a spiritual Canadian home to a diverse mix of Muslims from all over the world—Europe, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, Africa, and the West Indies.

High Park K-9

Barking up the right tree

High Park K-9 Committee improves dog-human relations

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Roughly 600 dogs pass through High Park on any given day. Most of the time they present no problem to the people who share the park. On the occasions that they do, however, the High Park K-9 Committee is there to help.

Fort York

Speaking from the garrison

Meet David O’Hara, Fort York’s new administrator

By Tom G. Kernaghan

David O’Hara is clear about what is important to him in his role as Fort York’s new administrator. The former City of Toronto planner hopes to bring the museum and the city closer together.

“The whole context is changing down here,” says the 36-year-old O’Hara, who has a degree in landscape architecture from the University of Guelph and a master’s of science in urban planning from the University of Toronto. “We are strengthening connections to existing neighbourhoods.”

Fifty years of freedom in Canada

Fifty years of freedom in Canada

Budapest Park monument celebrates Hungarian 56ers

By Tom G. Kernaghan

You may have missed it. At the east end of Sunnyside Beach, in a small area called Budapest Park, sits a haunting cluster of big interconnected steel shards. This sculpture is a monument to the Hungarians who gave their lives for freedom almost fifty years ago. It’s also a reminder to those who lived through the revolt, one of whom is Geza Matrai.

Culture shock in Canada

Culture shock in Canada

Subculture youth project slow to catch on among Russian youth

By Tom G. Kernaghan

“There’s something that keeps young Russians from integrating,” says Ilia Avroutine, head of the Subculture youth project at Russian House, a non-profit group in Swansea formed to preserve and share Russian culture in Canada.

Celtic Village

Celtic Village

Heritage preserved in story and song

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Their ancient ancestors roamed Europe, often telling stories and playing music. Today, the descendents of Irish and Scottish immigrants are still on the move, forever drawn to sad tales and sweet tunes. And here in the west end, people inside and outside the Celtic community enjoy the beat of the bodhran and the fling of the foot.