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Newsstand: October 26, 2015
Monday! Here's some news: Scotiabank has left a sizeable hole in Buskerfest's coffers, police want victims to report fraud, and University of Toronto Schools has almost locked down its building for the next five decades.
News came out earlier this month that Scotiabank is no longer sponsoring Toronto events Nuit Blanche, the CHIN Picnic, Caribana, and Buskerfest. Now, Buskerfest beneficiary Epilepsy Toronto is either looking for a new sponsor or facing a loss of fundraising money next year from the event. Scotiabank gave co-ordinators of the four events 18 months’ notice of the end of its sponsorship, but all four appear to still be looking for replacements. “If we lose the festival it will impact the services that we provide to the kids with epilepsy and their families,” said Geoff Bobb, executive director of Epilepsy Toronto.
A fraud scam has been targeting elderly and South Asian Canadians for several months and involves fraudsters calling targets to tell them that they’ve misfiled or erred on paperwork, the result of which could be jail time or deportation if the target doesn’t send a wire transfer of money to the caller. The scammers initially claimed to be from the Canada Revenue Agency but now say they are with immigration. Police have urged victims to report the incident, and said many fraud victims stay quiet out of embarrassment.
University of Toronto Schools, a tony private school dedicated to educating the city’s best and brightest, is one step closer to at least a few decades of stability: U of T has all but signed off on allowing UTS to stay in the building it’s occupied since 2010 for another 50 years. That agreement has yet to be approved by U of T’s governing bodies. Some residents in the neighbourhood are upset; U of T had wanted the UTS building bak to redevelop the land, and some nearby residents believe allowing UTS to stay in the building signals U of T’s reluctance to do anything in the area. “Everyone at the table in that process has believed that things at the university will stop in respect of that process. If they’ve done a 50-year agreement, they’re jumping the process,” said Sue Dexter of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association. “It’s great that UTS could stay there, but it could impact the neighbourhoods in a serious way.”