“Toronto – Canada’s version of a Democrat run city”

Amidst the Victoria Day weekend mayhem at Woodbine Beach, two people were shot. There was also a home invasion in the north end of the city where one occupant was shot and another struck by a stray bullet.

As long weekends in Toronto go, setting aside the stupid wilding on the beach, the city actually got off relatively lightly for gun violence.

Which also can be said, historically, for those charged with crimes involving a firearm, whether they actually used the weapon or “merely” were in possession of it, upon arrest, who cartwheel through the bail system and are back on the streets lickety-split to continue terrorizing particular neighbourhoods.

Police say they’ve made 17 arrests and seven officers were injured after a violent night at Toronto’s Woodbine Beach that saw two people shot, one person stabbed, two others robbed at gunpoint and running street battle4s involving fireworks through Sunday evening.

Video posted to social media showed groups of people firing Roman candles at one another, physical fights and crowds spilling onto streets.

“I’m extremely troubled by the increase in carjackings we are seeing in the city,” Tory wrote in a tweet Friday morning. “I know Toronto Police are also concerned by this brazen, criminal activity and are working to do everything they can to arrest those responsible.”

In Tory’s letter, he said Toronto Police have reported a 55 per cent increase in carjackings compared to 2021 “representing the largest increase of all major crimes that they track.”

“It happened at the Cineplex theatre on The Queensway,” said a police source.

My neck of the woods. It’s good to drive an undesirable vehicle!

The City of Toronto says it is looking for private security guards to patrol major parks to ensure the spaces remain fully accessible to all residents and prevent the large encampments seen in the past.

The key parks include Trinity Bellwoods Park, Lamport Stadium Park, Alexandra Park and Dufferin Grove with two mobile teams for Moss Park and Barbara Hall Park, officials said.

A surprisingly good idea for a change.

There have been 13 more homicides in Toronto this year compared to last year’s total as police are investigating a string of shootings in the past month.

To date, there have been 74 homicides in the city, surpassing last year’s total of 61 for the entire year.

Toronto police released the latest figures on shooting and homicide rates in the city Friday morning and appealed to the public for help in providing any information that might help solve some outstanding cases.

With one year until Toronto’s next civic election, a new poll suggests Mayor John Tory is on track to cruise into a third term — if he wants it.

The Forum Research poll, conducted Wednesday, suggests Tory would handily beat select progressive challengers should he run for re-election Oct. 24, 2022.

Tory, 67, told the Star on Friday he is busy fighting the pandemic and still has not turned his mind to the election — but he will soon.

Greater Toronto Area Shooting & Gang Map

In the 2021 list, which Orkin published this month, Mississauga was ranked the second most rat-infested city and Brampton the eighth out of 25 Ontario jurisdictions.

Orkin’s ranking tracks the number of commercial and residential rat and mice treatments the rodent control company has done in those cities.

This year, Toronto remained top of the list while Ottawa was also in the top five after Mississauga.

Don’t look now but campers and tents have taken over another city park.

This time it’s Dufferin Grove Park’s turn.

Seems some people are uncomfortable staying in an all-expenses-paid, four-star hotel and they prefer the real estate experience across from Dufferin Mall.

Toronto city council has just approved a five-year plan to deal with food insecurity in the Black community in a culturally sensitive way.

The plan, approved Friday, is the first of its sort in North America and lays out a multi-million dollar commitment to advance food sovereignty in Black communities over the next five years.

Melana Roberts, a policy development officer with the city’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism unit (CABR) who worked on the plan, said the team did not come across anything similar globally — a Black-led food plan funded municipally.

“We can’t just have a charitable approach to this,” Roberts tells the Star. “We need a human-rights-based approach that’s based in not only addressing the challenges Black communities face, but positioning them as leaders.”

It can’t just be charitable that would be racist.