news
Newsstand: September 23, 2015
Ring in boots and oversized sweaters; it's the first day of Fall! In the news: the City cracks down on street hockey, a Mississauga mosque re-zoning application is approved at council, and Justin Trudeau under fire following gender equality speech.
Children and parents in a North Toronto neighbourhood are crying foul as the City cracks down on street hockey in an attempt to boost pedestrian safety in the area. Residents on Esgore Drive near Wilson and Avenue Road were threatened with $90 fines were they to fail from removing sports nets on their street within the next 20 days. Councillor Christin Carmichael Greb (Ward 16, Eglinton-Lawrence) says that while the area does lack green space and parkland, “it’s a safety issue for the city, a liability issue… We have to respect and obey city bylaws.”
A Mississauga planning committee has approved of a re-zoning application that will see the construction of a new 12,000-square-foot mosque despite neighbourhood concerns. The proposed mosque, dubbed the Meadowvale Islamic Centre, will include 115 parking spaces, prayer rooms, classrooms, and a gymnasium at 6508 and 6494 Winston Churchill Boulevard, located across from Meadowvale Town Centre. Local resident Cheryl Pounder argued the mosque would not be able to “fit” into the community due to the increase in traffic it will bring. “I respect everyone in this room, I believe everyone should have a place to worship, I really, really do—it’s just the wrong location.” Council is expected to vote on the proposal October 14.
Justin Trudeau made a “careless nod to anti-black stereotypes” while discussing the topic of violence against women, claims black rights activist and journalist Desmond Cole, who spoke against the Liberal leader following an interview on gender equality aired Monday night. Cole, who contributes to Torontoist said on Twitter, “First Trudeau said a factor was ‘certain types of music—there’s a lot of misogyny in certain types of music. He did not say which types. [He] also mentioned ‘shifting parental roles. There’s a lot of communities in which fathers are less present.’ Is it a coincidence that two of the three factors Trudeau cited about violence against women are well-worn stereotypes about black people?” Trudeau, who spoke in Montreal yesterday, defended his remarks, saying, “I wasn’t speaking of any community in particular… We need to make sure we are combating misogyny in all its forms wherever it’s found.”