The Strength Of Community Advocacy
Never Underestimate The Power Of People Coming Together
There is a lot going on in our community, in the city, province and in the world so we felt that it was a good time to remind ourselves that there is strength in people coming together to do good and the power of community advocacy.
Friends of Silver Creek came together to save a school, parkland and programs for children with mental health issues, autism and special needs - and we did all of that and more.
We want to share the video of how people came together from the community, the programs operating out of Silver Creek School, members of local and provincial government, the school boards and many supporters across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond to help make positive change happen.
What a night at the 6th Annual
Friends of Silver Creek Pumpkin Parade!
So many amazing jack-o-lanterns lit up Silver Creek Park on Friday, November 1st at the Pumpkin Parade! What a fun-filled community event in our park. Check out the photos from the event.
See you next year at the Pumpkin Parade!
COMMUNITY POLLINATOR GARDEN - 2026
Friends of Silver Creek are excited to welcome new members to our group who will be leading the Pollinator Project at Silver Creek Park but to meet the submission requirements we still need more people to commit to the project.
Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators.* In addition to the food we eat, pollinators support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, protect from severe weather, and support other wildlife.
The City of Toronto is opening grant applications for funds to create a new pollinator garden for 2026 which is led and managed by community members.
The new Friends of Silver Creek Pollinator Project Committee will be working on the submission due in Fall 2025 for funds along with proposed plans for a pollinator garden(s) in Silver Creek Park for 2026.
UPDATE: SOMALI CENTRE FOR CULTURE & RECREATION & BUTTONWOOD PARK
PUBLIC COMMUNITY CONSULTATION NEEDED FOR ETOBICOKE CENTRE
At the July 16, 2024 Executive Committee, City of Toronto addressed the deferred item from the June 18, 2024 meeting regarding the proposed location of Buttonwood Park as the location for the Somali Culture and Recreation Centre (SCCR).
The intention of the June 18th deferment was to allow for further consultation and consideration with the local community, Somali community and City staff.
To date there has been no inclusive Etobicoke Centre community consultation as per outlined in the deferred motion.
UPDATE HIGHLIGHTS
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In discussions by Executive Committee Members, it was determined Etobicoke Centre constituents present were unaware of the September 13, 2019 Buttonwood Park recommendation that Councillor Holyday put forward to maximize the Buttonwood School and Park Site.
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The Executive Committee motioned to have a fully inclusive and collaborative community consultation by October 1, 2024.
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Online posts by TCDSB Trustee Markus De Domenico and the Buttonwood Hill Residents Association (BHRA) posted on their social platforms that Buttonwood Park was "saved" and that the SCCR would be in "Rexdale".
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A flyer was circulated citing a "private group" who could "build a parking lot" on Buttonwood Park at the Mimico barbecue that Mayor Olivia Chow and Deputy Mayor Amber Morley hosted on Monday, August 5th at Mimico Memorial Park.
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The BHRA also posted that MPP Kinga Surma "confirmed" that the Buttonwood Park site is no longer an option for the SCCR.
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All these posts and confirmations of decisions with no calls or discussions with members of the SCCR or community consultation.
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The political process seems to have been ignored. City Council decisions are being overridden in lieu of side conversations with select groups and members of the community.
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Once the community at large had been informed, from the outset the dialogue around the Somali Centre for Culture and Recreation has been positioned by both politicians and residents as an "Us vs Them" divisive narrative with incorrect information being shared.
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The Buttonwood Park site was one of many other sites provided by CreateTO to the SCCR committee for consideration. Why did Create TO and the City of Toronto including Councillor Holyday in 2019 propose the park site for development?
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The SCCR found out about this "community" decision through social posts. Is this a fair and transparent process?
Listen to the
Friends of Silver Creek
interview on
CBC's Metro Morning
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
TELL DECISION MAKERS THAT YOU WANT A SAY IN WHAT HAPPENS TO ONTARIO PLACE
Ontario Place is currently a free, open and accessible waterfront park that is used by more than a million people every year. It is also an internationally recognized architectural treasure. And yet this amazing asset is at risk RIGHT NOW.
The Province of Ontario plans to turn close to half of the parkland over to an Austrian spa franchise which will cut down over 800 trees and level the internationally recognized landscape to accommodate its enormous 13 storey (half the size of Rogers Centre) pay-to-play glass spa facility.
Unbelievably the Province has also committed the Ontario taxpayer to provide a huge subsidy, upwards of $650 million, to help out this commercial development, giving our public land away for 95 years.
The Ontario Science Centre (OSC) has been underfunded by the government for years.
And now its very existence is under threat.
The Government of Ontario plans to demolish the iconic, award-winning OSC to replace it with a 50% smaller building, located on top of a parking garage at Ontario Place. The OSC was an iconic gift to Ontarians to celebrate Canada’s centennial in 1967, and was one of the first interactive science museums in the world. Today, there are more than 3,000 science centres globally: many attribute their inspiration to OSC and purchase its innovative exhibits.
The government’s plan to downsize the OSC will squander this expertise and international reputation, and puts the livelihood of hundreds of Ontarians at risk.
The OSC building is an important part of Ontario’s cultural heritage. Built by the late Ontario architect, Raymond Moriyama, it is a thoughtful and innovative design intended specifically to host visitors in an engaging environment that encourages curiosity. The proposed demolition of the OSC has been strongly condemned by prominent architectural organizations, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
Importantly, the OSC was deliberately situated in Flemingdon Park-Don Mills, away from downtown Toronto, and accessible by highways. Well over 100,000 school children visit each year from around the province.
THE 2023 CANADIAN CITY PARKS REPORT
Surfacing Solutions
How addressing conflict and reframing challenges as opportunities can create more equitable and sustainable parks.
Park People Parks Platform 2023: Toronto Parks as Core Urban Infrastructure
Parks are not “nice to have,” they are critical social, health, and environmental infrastructure for Toronto. City parks are lifelines in extreme heat waves.
Social connectors in an age of increasing polarization. Keepers of biodiversity despite ever fragmenting urban landscapes.
To meet the biggest challenges we face in Toronto—climate change, biodiversity loss, social polarization, rising inequality—we need whole new ways to plan, design, manage, program, and govern parks.
This shift requires doing things differently. It requires ensuring proper funding, sharing decision-making power, addressing inequities head-on, and prioritizing action on truth and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
15%
increase in park visitation from 2020 to 2022 across Canada.
64%
of city residents said they visit parks 2-3 times per week or more, including 29% that visit every day or almost every day.
51%
of city residents said they'd like to spend more time in parks then they do currently.
Read the full 2023 Canadian City Parks Report online here or download the PDF summary here.
Find the specific Toronto city profile Parks Report for 2023 here.
Check Out What's Happening In Our Community
PUBLIC WASHROOMS FOR ALL
In November 2020, Councillor Stephen Holyday voted NO to opening more park washrooms stating:
"What I don’t want is people hanging around
drinking beer out of a tailgate.”
COVID-19 has shown us that access to the outdoors is vital to a healthy body and mind and for seniors, individuals with special needs, children, prostate and kidney patients, those who suffer from crohn's and colitis, everyone and anyone - safe access to public washrooms is a basic human right - a dignity that should not be denied.
DID YOU KNOW
As a result of work at the Richview Pumping Station and Reservoir located in Richview Park, trees located on top of the reservoir and around the Pumping Station and Valve House will need to be removed:
• 387 trees are planned to be removed,
• 34 trees to be preserved (Tree Protection Zones)
• 18 trees will be monitored for minimal injury.
Only about 92 new trees and 385 shrubs will be replanted upon the completion of the Richview Pumping Station and Reservoir Rehabilitation project.
The value of 295 trees that will not be replanted on the reservoir will be another cash-in-lieu payment to the City of Toronto that may not be spent in our community.
There is the option to plant these trees in our neighbourhood! If you have any suggestions as to where these 295 trees could be planted, please contact Kate Kusiak and quote 19ECS-MI-02WA Public Consultation at richview@toronto.ca or 416-392-1932.
More info www.toronto.ca/richview
OUR STORY
THIS IS COMMUNITY ADVOCACY AT WORK.
DEAL FINALIZED TO SAVE SILVER CREEK SCHOOL
In May 2018, the Provincial Liberal Government finalized the agreement for the Province of Ontario to acquire Silver Creek Public School from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). This completes the acquisition by the province of Silver Creek School, saving autism supports and a therapeutic preschool program for children with special needs.
The transition to provincial ownership will ensure that Silver Creek Pre-School, The Etobicoke Children’s Centre and the families that rely on their services will not experience any disruptions.
This is a true example of community & government working together with dedication, hard work and persistence.
Thank you to Yvan Baker who made it a priority to help save Silver Creek School, the attached green space & Silver Creek Pre-School and The Etobicoke Children's Centre, protecting vital programs for children with special needs, mental health needs & autism.
Watch Our Story
Friends of Silver Creek School
Friends of Silver Creek School
The Story of Saving Silver Creek School
Yvan Baker MPP Report 2017 Ep3, Tracie Napoli, Co-Chair, FofSCS - The Fight To Save Silver Creek
"I am Silver Creek" - Tara
Save Silver Creek School & Green Space
Friends of Silver Creek request the community continue to be diligent in advocating for the continued preservation and protection of Silver Creek School and the attached green space.
Friends of Silver Creek led the fight with Silver Creek Pre-School, The Etobicoke Children's Centre, elected officials and the community at large resulting in a positive outcome for children with special needs, autism and mental health challenges. Read the story of Saving Silver Creek School here.