#9203 - May 1992

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Digital Archiving Completed by the Ethnography Lab, A University of Toronto Anthropology Initiative and Produced in Collaboration with David Perlman/Wholenote Media Inc between July-December 2015. Page Four I May 21 1992 EDITORIAL/LETTERS Kensington Market DRUM DRUM Talking DRUM The firebombing· of the clinic on Harbord Street casts a long shadow. So for now only a short comment. At clinics like the Morgentaler women are free to choose abortion as a way of terminating an unwanted pregancy. It is assumed to be their right to do so. At hospitals throughout Ontario abortions are also performed. In fact many times more than at the · - freestanding abortion clinics. The biggest difference is that the woman seeking an abortion at a hospital has to obtain the permission of a hospital committee to have that abortion._ Is this rage against freestanding abortion clinics because they provide abortions, or because they qssert the right of the woman to choose abortion without permission? DRUM is a publication of Kensington Market Drum, P. 0. Box 67590, 576 Dundas Street West Toronto M5T 3B8 Material with a DRUM by-line may be reprinted with acknowledgment. Material with an individual by-line or credit is in the copyright of that individual. Points of Yiew in such items are those of the individual. DRUM is multipartisan rather than non-partisan. We have the right to reject items. For deadlines see page 16. For rates and infonnation, 363-DRUM. DRUMMERS, May 1992 Sally Stollmeyer, Allan Schwam, Angelo Pimentel, Amina Miller, Josh Smith, Robert Lives, Mike Milando, Shelly Stringer, Colin Puffer, Masha Buell, Nina. Ewing, Angie Chafy, Leon Kaplan, Derek Rogers, Sophia Perlman, Luca Perlman, Martin Smith, John Stollmeyer, Jack Gewarter, Mary Fish, Robert Boucher, Buzz Burza, David Perlman,' SN Bianca, Kate Burt McNeil, Karen Pang, The Wilburs, Elizabeth Melo, Mabuti Seabe, Stan Mazur, Larry Walker, Jim Muggah, Chris Lowry, Jeff Stinson, Carol Branning, Doug Hum, Pamela Brown, Janice Runge, Anthony Seaburg, Bernie Buehl, Deborah Cowman, Mark Kajouji, B. Glenn, Pat Bisset, Maisela Kekana, Bread & Roses Credit Union Drum by Mi:Jtyas, layout by KF Editorial printing by Weller Tijf NHJ EN£Rq1~·· THE f10SAIC OF 1fOPLf •• THE 51N~lN~ BIRDS ••• < 0 ' last time we reported Last Time We Reported • That on Good Friday, Kensington is the place to be And we were. Picture p.D 1. · • That March 28 to April 5 would be Bioregion Week Good times were had by all. See p. 1-2 for the Kensington slant, and there's more on p. 6. • That Action on Hospital incineration is hatting up The May 12 meetinfl was a real boost. · •That you can could get a free DRUM classified by finding our coupon and sending or mailing it to us And this time 'you can get your free ad by "signing on the dotted line". See D 1 and p. 16 for details. • That the Spadina LRT looks more like a streetcar every day Hopefully the conditions announced by the Ministry of Environment wHI keep it that way. See news roundup p.2. •that the Downtown Community health board would meet April 13 and would be asked to support Action against Hospital Incineration - Which they did. Now their recommendations go to the Board · of Health (when the Board gets it act together). •that some market residents had complained that when they phone City Hall to ,try to order "ring and post" bicycle stands" their calls we.ren't returned. There's hope. Seep. 7. •That Kate was offering readers a taste of how bad the welfare structure really is Full course meal, anyone? See Kensington Place, page 7. •That there was a chance the princess margaret hospital expansion would not get funding because hospital capital projects were under review by the province - Doug Hum has more. See Report.on the Grange, p.3. - •that City Council had given the go ahead for public works to widen St. Andrew Street (all on the one side if necessary) Further meetings to try to get them to widen a lesser amount on both sides have bitten the bureaucratic dust. &oW~~ TH£ SAtlf FAI'11lAR FACES ON THf 0Uf1XX)R ~ATIOS I KEEP TRYIN~ TO l£W£THE MARKET •• ~ur IT KEEPS ~UWN~. ME BAC~ IN l 0 •That the Oxford-Bellevue "Moonies" appeared to be on the move ' • • We can confirm that 8 7 Bellevue has been s'old. See News Roundup p. 2. •that Parks and Rec would allow children to wear t-shirts in wading pools this summer (ozone depletion sun hazard) Not just wading pools, folks. All of their outdoor swimming pools. •that the Kensington Task Force had been canned as a committee of council Watch how many citizen committees this version of counctY chops on the pretext of budget restraint. •that the western hospital planning workgroup had been disbanded (Also a committee set up by · city council.) The hospital talked about setting up a permanent "liaison committee" in its place. We'll let you know. Stan~ • That the annual art ROUN DUP was close at hand Any day now, any way now. • That there would be a meeting May 7 at Kensington Community school for people interested in the issue of long-term home care for seniors. More in the June/July paper. This wasn't a one-night stand. •that there would be a renovation workshop at Kensington community school April 30 sponsored by the departmemnt of buildings and inspections Some cynics around here likened the idea · to going to dinner with a crocodile. But for the -few who · went--lots of good info, and a chance to prevent problems rather than patch them. • that the Greeks on Baldwin has one of the most eclectic and interesting booking policies of any club downtown. P!iffer has more, p. 15. oint by Allan Schwam TRIAL BYJURY I have done jury duty twice in my life. Once is unusual. Twice is rare. Three times is, I believe, illegal. The term "criminal justice system" is a misnomer. lWlat happens in a court room is the law, not justice. The two terms are not mutually exclusive, but neither are they synonymous. The first trial I participated in involved a charge of Murder in the second degree. The defendant, a petty thief by profession struck and killed another petty criminal - a bootlegger- in the fate and caused his death. lWlen we retired to hear the case, many jurors were in favour of acquittal because the law says you can't convict beyond a reasonable doubt. The doubt concerned the assailant's intent to kill. I expressed the view that the defendant was guilty--that he had taken advantage of a situation to lilt his opponent when the latter was not in a condition to defend himself (we heard medical evidence that the victim was probably dying of a brain haemorrhage at the time he was struck). I started to get support for my thesis from some jurors on the grounds that the accused was a social misfit and that they " wouldn't mind putting him away for a while". Faced with the prospect of convicting someone because of unanimity on what -they were rather than on what they did, I quickly voted for acquittal, as did we all. It is very fragile in the jury room. I once heard an anecdote about a rich man who disdained trial by_ his peers because he would never let himself be judged by tWelve individuals not influential enough to get off jury duty. As a juror, all the garbage of a particular breakdown, personal, social, or even legal placed at your doorstep. And you haven't been rich enough or influential enough to avoid the job. We expect a jury to distinguish posturing from policy, perception from reality and legitimate self-defence from paranoia. All the jurors in the Rodney King trial had to do was to redress the wrongs of segregation, underemployment, urban decay and political corruption. It was their simple task to rescue American honour from American shame. . Their failure was spectacular, but far from singular. Similar expectations are to be heard from our own leaders. Commenting on the mini riots that took place in Toronto following the events in L.A., Mayor Rowlands said, "This is not a result of racism. This is caused by economic breakdown and alienation". , Is that all? And I thought the problem was difficult! This year marks the 40th anniversary since I have been earning a living trying to work in the journalism business, political and social institutions of this country. I have foand decades of my experiencr, that "the system" has constantly chosen theprecise paths that lead to breakdown, corruption and long-term failure. Indeed, th.g~our contemporary search for order leads to disorder. The editors of the DRUM have kindly invited me to share some of those experiences in a column. Perhaps we can ponder the reasons for such costly failures together.
Digital Archiving Completed by the Ethnography Lab, A University of Toronto Anthropology Initiative and Produced in Collaboration with David Perlman/Wholenote Media Inc between July-December 2015. Kensington Market DRUM EDITORIAL/LETTERS May 21, 1992 I Page Five Letters to DRUM Box 67590 57 6 Dundas Street West Toronto MST 3B8 published. Unless stated here, letters are published in their entirety. COUNCILLORS APOLOGIZE TOTWH " Dear DRUM, RE: INCINERATION AT TORONTO WESTERN HOSPI TAL " In a recent flyer, we stated that "Toronto Western Hospital is burning all of the garbage it produces as well as wastes from 22 other facilities at its· incinerator at Bathurst and Dundas." This statement is erroneous and arose due to a misunderstanding and the reluctance of the hospital to' provide us with exact figures. As a result of the distribution of this flyer, the Hospital has provided us with correct data on its waste 11 management policies. Iri fact, Toronto Western Hospital is burning all of the bi-omedical waste it produces as well as wastes from 22 other . ,, facilities. Bio-medical waste includes such things as body parts, syringes, plastic tubing, bed pans, used dressings, and so en. Much of the other garbage it produces is landfilled and some is recycled. In any event, the Toronto Western Hospital incinerator bums waste at 80-90% of its licensed capacity. Hospital officials have recently stated that the total cost of incineration in 1991 was $315,000. The fees earned by burning for other facilities was $285,000. We apologize for this error and regret any embarrassment it may have caused. We thank the hospital for providing us with the correct figures. Yours very truly, Elizabeth Amer, City Councillor, Ward 5 and Martin Silva, City Councillor, Ward 4. Dear editor I'm writing to you concerning the possible budget cut to the drug · free arcade that is located on Augusta Avenue. Well in this letter I'm going to ·tell you what I feel should be done or could be done. My personal point of view is that the drug·-free arcade is a wonderful educational place for kids and teens to go to. There we learn the true facts about aids, substance abuse, drug · abuse, date rape, sexuality and if I name the rest I think I'll run out of paper. The staff give us a good view of. not only the facts- of all these things but all the side-effects that come along with the package. They teach us a lot of things that you won~t and can't learn out of reading a pamphlet you pick up on the subway. I have learned a lot from - the , little time I have gone there and I hope to learn more and more as time goes · on and hopefully if there is no budget cuts. The staff make a friendly and lovable environ .ent for the kids and the Dear editor, I am writing this letter because we kids at the Arcade need all the programs [provided by the Drug-Free Arcade. I am involved in a group which is in the process of developing an AIDS and Drugs game at the Arcade to make the kids and teenagers aware of these problems affecting our generation. This program has provided some interesting information on AIDS and drugs and has been a lot of fun as well. As you can see we need the funding you have cut from us. Yours truly Richard Hamilton Age 16 Dear Mr. or Ms. Public Health: My name is Arlynne Poitras I am 14 years old and going in to grade nine in the fall I am an active participant in a revolutionary program designed for young women at the st. stephens drug free arcade. it's called "girl's group" . . We have been meeting for about a year now and learned an immense amount. We've had speakers seen theatre gone camping w e panted a mural promoting equality and safer sex, we re-decorat ed a room, we are beginning to clean out the backyard and we got to talk about our prob- SIGN OF THE TIMES See this sign? It could be yours. Put one up· and help the cause. Phone 368-0407 lems to someone who is trained to help us. At my age something like this holds a great deal of value, we get to talk about things that we might no feel comfortable telling our parents or friends. Next year all of us are going to different high schools. This is our best way to keep in touch with each other. And I'm sure you know that high school can be a very stressful place. This summer we are planning for workshops to help our time organization. This group is very important to me. It represents young women in community centres ,./ ,~ very well considering we're so active. If ·it wasn't for the arcade, I know that I would never have set foot in a community centre. The arcade is very important to me and to many others. This funding is vital to keep it alive. Please give generously. Yours sincerely, Arlynne Poitras, age 14 Girls Group, St. Stephen's Drug-Free Arcade students! 311 Augusta ., cozn laundry best hours great price youth that go there.They are really· friendly. I don't think there should be any budget cuts because 1. feel that the programs that are offered there really help the kids and youth to understand the real fats and effected drugs, sex and other very common issues today have on us and on those that live around us .. The program is really interesting and educational but at the same time fun. I feel that tho$e are the programs that have the most success because they really get the participants interested. They teach us a lot of interesting things that we have of know in order to survive out there in the world today. Well I hope that this letter helps the drugfree arcade stay as it 'is, so ' that it can continue helping the kids of the neighbourhood. They do a very good job teaching kids. Yours sincerely Maria Perez Dear editor, I am a concerned student who attends the arcade regularly and this issue is very appalling to me. I cannot understand why these people are so heartless and greedy. This program is safe and educational. It keeps young people off the streets and out of trouble with the law. I in particular am fond of the program they have provided for me. My evening schedule is. now filled with exciting activities. By cutting the funding for the "DRUG FREE/AIDS PREVENTION arcade the Board of Health has ignorantly "stopped the flow" so to speak of youth activity- in our community. It disgusts me to see such inconsiderate selfishness towards children and children's programs. I obviously feel that this matter should be reconsidered, there must be a s simple solution to the problem. Howard Morgan age 17 Dear Editor I like the Arcade. I learn about drugs and AIDS. Steve Age 7 Dear Editor, We need to learn. The Board of Health should keep giving us funding. · Alexandria Age 7 Dear Editor, I am writing this story because I am mad at the Board of Health. And the Arcade is the best Arcade because we know not to touch the dirty needle. Paul Age 9 Dear Editor I'm mad at the board of health because they cut a lot of the funding off the arcade and we did not like that because the arcade teaches us about aids and drugs and a lot of other things too. Nattasha age 10 Dear editors: We kids at the Arcade learned about drugs and AIDS and we have a lot of fun. Jason Hamilton Age 14 To the editor: I am writing in regard to the cut in funding to the drug-free arcade by the board of health. Please do not cut our funding. The funding that we receive from the board of health will enable us to . provide programs, such as the AIDS game, the drug free arcade and the life skills workshops. These programs help educate youths on A IDS and drugs. There have been enough programs that have been cut, especially summer jobs and recreational programs. We need these programs for our health and welfare. _Sincerely Frank Mensah Editor's note: sorry w e could not publish more than a reJ1resentative sample of the mar y letters we received on this top'ic. See article Cutbacks threaten, page 10.
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#9203 - May 1992

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