I have been acknowledged by other tenants for knowing my rights. Not a bad thing to have said to my face. They can say whatever the heck they want behind my back.
You may be wondering what that has to do with the units being used by capital project construction contractors. (The ones doing the major work on TCHC sites like replacing the ancient copper water pipes throughout my building.) Let me explain. Based on a report submitted yesterday at TCHC's Board of Directors meeting there are 40 units across the TCHC portfolio that are being used for "capital deployment". One of them just so happens to be across the hall from me. Oops, their bad. Within weeks I sent an email to Toronto Public Health regarding two problems arising from this whole set up. Number one. They are cutting copper piping (enough for the whole building over the time frame of about six months). At first I was freaked out by the noise. Then one day it sounded like they were cutting it right in my living room. I looked out my peep hole. That's when I noticed they were cutting the copper piping with the door open. The workers themselves were walking in and out with light weight masks on. My thoughts quickly went to - If it's that dangerous where's my mask? Why didn't they install proper ventilation? Number two. One morning I woke up and I couldn't breathe. In a panic I hand to calm down enough to remind myself to inhale. My throat was constricted and air couldn't pass through. Once it did I smelled cigarette smoke. That didn't exactly calm me down. It was strong enough that again I thought someone was in my living room. More than likely a few someone's smoking some cheap ass cigarettes. (The cheaper they are, the harsher they are.) When I got out of bed I opened my bedroom door. No one there. Peaked out my peephole. What do you know? The door to the unit across the hall, the one that the contractors are using, was wide open. One more reason to ensure that they had proper ventilation. I don't know anything for sure about copper metals poisoning but I do know about the dangers of second hand smoke. So do most other people. This morning I woke up to the following -"You don't cut unless I say you can cut. That goes for you, you, you, and you." There must have been some grumbling or dirty looks from the workers because that was followed up with "You don't follow normal fucking rules ... You don't like it you can go home" Obviously, a supervisor was on site. Just in case there are any doubts a few moments later I heard the outraged security guard that was hired by the construction company - "What the hell man. Where are we supposed to smoke?" Honestly, I don't care where you smoke. As long as it's outside that nine metre radius of every entrance to this building and not in the unit across the hall from me with the door wide open. That's the good thing about this being a public building. There are bi-laws that protect us that would not apply to private residences. As a security guard working alongside subcontractors on TCHC property she should have known that. This set of contractors is expected to remain on site until at least December. The cold weather is coming. She (the security guard) should just quit. Smoking that is.
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Iconic pop-rock trio HANSON announce a second Christmas show in Toronto on November 24 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The date is part of their Finally It's Christmas Tour and the first date (November 25th) sold out in a matter of days. The tour includes the two stops in Toronto, a handful of American dates and wraps on December 10th in Manchester, England
Coinciding with their benchmark 25th year together, over which the group has released six studio albums and sold over 16 million albums, HANSON recently announced the October 27 release of their new Christmas album, Finally It's Christmas (3CG Records / S-Curve Records) and recently released Middle Of Everywhere - The Greatest Hits. The Middle Of Everywhere Tour showcases more than two decades of music in a celebratory world tour, alongside new music that will be followed by an additional release in 2018. Tickets for the show are available here: www.ticketmaster.ca On August, 31rst, 2017 a number of people were gathered at an office in downtown Toronto for an invitation only CD release party, The intimate celebration was for John Cody's album Hard Won The Final Recordings. The evening rewarded guests with performances by Damnhait Doyle, Andy Maize, Tom Wilson, Jennifer Warnes, & Perla Batalla. By far the main attraction was John Cody. Throughout the concert he was seated center stage often strumming along on his guitar. The Hard Won title isn't a misnomer. To record an album on deadline when you are 100% healthy is a challenge. To complete it when you are less than, is difficult. Under a six week deadline before surgery to have your cancerous larynx removed, damn near impossible.
John Cody acknowledged that his success with this battle was in large part due to family and friends, as well as, the Unison Benevolent Fund (a non profit, registered charity that provides counselling and emergency relief services to the Canadian music industry). Unbeknownst to all John Cody had written a personal note that was handed out in a gift package to each person who attended his little soiree. He quoted Wordsworth "A deep distress hath humanized my soul." It seems fitting that the songs on Hard Won The Final Recordings sound a little on the somber side (Prince's "Little Red Corvette" has been slowed to the pace of a hearse.) Not everything in this life is all "happy, happy, joy, joy." This album honours those times. "This album took us two years to write and a lifetime to live. We've never pushed ourselves so hard as writers, and never been more excited with the results," said drummer Kurt Dahl. "We feel like this album will be a game changer, and can't wait to share these songs with the world!" The band, known for their in-your-face stage presence have sold out multiple tours in Canada and have opened for popular rock and heavy metal acts including Buckcherry, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Monster Truck, Papa Roach, Three Days Grace and Crash Karma. The following video "Raging Bull" was the first single off their new album Made In The Name Of Rock N Roll, (I spent my Saturday night listening to the album twice through. Going back for thirds. #NoRegrets) With the new album comes a tour. Their tour (which starts later today in Red Deer, Alberta) will come to the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto on November 16th, 2017. The GCHRCC (Governance, Communications, Human Resources, and Compensation Committee {Certainly I am not the only one that thinks this should be divided up into smaller committees?]) met today at TCHC's main office. Topics of discussion included an update on their insurance coverage, rethinking their practice of matching employee donations to United Way, modifying their current Conflict of Interest policy, and implementing a new board evaluation process
I'm going to do us both a favour and admit that I am not an expert on insurance. By the sound of it though TCHC may be investigating options. Last year they paid three million dollars in premiums. Yet they only had claims amounting to $1.2 million. TCHC would be looking to equalize those numbers. Reviewing the supporting documentation would alert anyone to the fact that there are a number of outstanding claims. That could potentially equalize those numbers toward the amount that TCHC is actually paying. . . The next order of business was the discussion about cancelling the annual tradition of TCHC matching the annual donations made by employees to United Way. The reason being that as long as there are Capital projects that need to be completed TCHC should be putting every penny towards those costs If they want to look at partnering with United Way in other ways how about offering them space at a reduced rate within our communities to run test pilots of new projects that would be beneficial to our tenants. Never mind looking for yet another cause to support on a corporate level. Capital repairs will always need more money. Employees are free to contribute to whatever charitable organization they choose. But, TCHC, as a corporation, will no longer automatically match those donations. Now I am dumbfounded by the Conflict of Interest policy conflicts. Apparently, one unnamed member of the TCHC Board of Directors sits on upwards of a hundred plus other boards. In order to avoid the notion of impropriety that the governance committee is seeking should this board member not simply step down? Was there not full disclosure on his part before his appointment to the TCHC Board of Directors? As the Chair said today if there is an appearance of impropriety it is, in all likelihood, already too late. It's not just the fact that there could not possibly have been full disclosure before this individuals appointment (at least I hope not) but he also wants to keep his conflicts confidential between himself and the Chair or CEO. Being on a hundred other anythings should automatically mean you are not qualified to even apply to be a TCHC Board of Director. I don't care if those other positions are quote unquote "just on paper". Finally, I guess it is somewhat expected that even though the concept of a board evaluation is a mandatory requirement there would be discussion about the who (Google Forum or Survey Monkey should have the honours of hosting the surveys/commentary), what (whether the survey will remain constant or will become a "living" document), when (annually, during the fall ASAP), where (the information will be analyzed), and how (the information will be distributed). It will be interesting to note whether or not this item makes it to the Board of Directors meeting at the end of this month. FYI ... The main reason I tuned in to this meeting, in the first place, was because I was informed, last week by a TCHC staffer, that the Governance portion of this meeting would be discussing modifications to the current tenant engagement system. Thank goodness I wasn't holding my breathe. First Row (L-R): on the spot winner Kalsey Kulyk, ole VP Creative John Ozier Second Row (L-R): ole Senior Creative Director Ben Strain, ole Chairman & CEO Robert Ott, ole Creative Director Emily Mueller Olson, ole songwriter Gavin Slate, ole Senior Creative Director Mike Whelan, ole VP Corporate Affairs and Development Gilles Godard TORONTO, ON - ole, the world's fastest-growing independent music publishing and rights management company, announced today that singer-songwriter Kalsey Kulyk was named the winner of ole's 3rd annual on the spot competition, held during PotashCorp Canadian Country Music Week on September 9 at Village Guitar & Amp Co. in Saskatoon, SK. After an impressive showcase before a panel of expert judges including, John Ozier, Mike Whelan, Ben Strain, Emily Olson, and Gavin Slate, the Hudson Bay, SK native won a deal with artist development label red dot worth up to $40,000 that includes music publishing, EP recording production, YouTube audio-visual management, and support from ole's world-class creative staff. SASKATOON, SK - Canada's leading music education charity MusiCounts, celebrated the start of Country Music Week, with an announcement that the Gord Bamford Foundation is renewing its commitment to MusiCounts with a $100,000 donation. The Gord Bamford Foundation had previously made a generous donation of $100,000 in 2014. A non-profit organization, the Gord Bamford Foundation is passionate about supporting youth. Through their ongoing partnership with MusiCounts they will be able to provide musical instruments to children who need them for years to come.
"I believe that keeping music education alive in schools is important on so many levels. As an activity it builds confidence and can often spark a lifelong passion for a child to pursue. A natural fit for the Gord Bamford Foundation, I'm so very proud to announce this donation today," said Gord Bamford. "Thanks to the renewed and amazing support from the Gord Bamford Foundation, MusiCounts is able to give more Canadian youth access to the transformational power of music," said Kristy Fletcher, Director of MusiCounts. "We are honoured to have the continued support of the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) and the country music community.". This is the one music event of the season that I absolutely refuse to miss. This years headliners included DRU, Peter Jackson, and Choclair. Other highlights of this years event included another stellar dance performance by Scarborough's own Mini Militia (always a crowd favourite), a fashion show by 100 MILES clothing company (who is celebrating 25 years of success), and of course you can't have an all day party without food provided by a food truck alley) and beverages (from the beer tent). .Consider this your personal invitation to next years family friendly event that willl take place over Labour Day weekend at Yonge and Dundas Square. #PackTheSquare #TDOTFest
Registration is already open for home grown talent wanting to perform on the same stage with some award winning Toronto musicians Enjoy this years pics! |