City Hall must treat noise pollution as the menace it is: letters

, Jan. 4 Noise is the new second hand smoke harming our hearts, minds, nervous systems and children. It ruins our hearing and diminishes our quality of life and productivity. Like cancer and COVID, noise pollution is a public health issue, not a business development one. Toronto’s weak noise regulations allow a wealth transfer from our health care, productivity and well being to noisy businesses.

The current bylaw allows lawn care equipment to roar throughout our neighbourhoods until the trees are bare and infill construction noise without decibel limits or noise mitigation measures. Nighttime private garbage collection abruptly jars thousands of residents out of a good night’s sleep. This is dangerous public policy particularly as our public health system has crashed.

Toronto must do better. New York City, for example, requires construction noise mitigation for all building sites. If New York can remain a “vibrant” city with noise mitigation, so can Toronto. It just takes courage and leadership to make Toronto quieter and more livable. City hall must treat noise as a menace, strengthen its regulations and fund response enforcement.

Public education about noise and our health is essential to encourage people to reduce their noise footprint and protect themselves. We must keep pushing city hall to make us safer. Powerful interests are pushing for the status quo. There seems to be a lack of coverage on the upcoming parliamentary vote regarding the establishment of a Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

Bringing public attention to the will enable citizens to write to their MPs and encourage them to vote on electoral reform. MPs will vote on M 86 early in 2024, according to Fair Vote Canada. Given the extensive impact of electoral reform to all who reside in Canada presently and in the future, news organizations should be covering and impartially educating everyone about the National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

There could be good outcomes for both teachers and students, but this could be a big challenge for implementation. Research has shown that where there is an addiction of any kind, just saying you are not allowed to do this anymore does not change the negative behaviours. I suggest that before the cellphone ban takes place, there be discussions with parents about what can be started at home regarding time out for cellphones with their children who are addicted to using their phone frequently.

Most students will require the help of a professional in the school to manage behavioural changes. Start planning and use smart goals for good outcomes. This behaviour will not change overnight just by having the teachers inform students that their phones are no longer allowed in the classroom. Let's work together for good outcomes for families.

I am tired of reading about vacancies and the view that there is “a lack of applicants from diverse groups.” That is simply untrue. There are lots of qualified, capable candidates of diverse backgrounds that keep applying, some of them even being interviewed on more than one occasion, but unfortunately, they lack the political connections and are just simply overlooked.

Being appointed has very little to do with merit as it does about who you know. , Dec. 27 It is completely irresponsible of Ottawa to be sending so many refugees to Toronto when they know we can't support them properly and we already have hundreds of homeless, poor and food bank users who need those resources.

Also, it is an added burden on our health care system and affordable housing which is in crisis right now. Toronto's citizens should not be having to pay for refugees upkeep while so many are barely getting by already. Are you listening, Prime Minister Trudeau? It almost sounds like Olivia Chow is to blame for this transportation mess and should now clean it up.

I see no mention at all of Premier Doug Ford and his "subways" mantra. Actually, wasn't a replacement LRT planned, organized and paid for to be installed some time before the RT was to be retired? But then Ford nixed all that, like so much else no matter what the results and pushed for a subway, with two stops only and no plan for anybody's speedy, or any kind of travels for the many years in between.

This mess belongs to the province, where are Ford's planners? And have they not been collecting from all of us payments toward this construction since its conception? Why are Ontario's doctors allowed to threaten to charge their patient clients $15 to $25 per prescription called in by pharmacies, if the patient has not visited them every three months? All an investigator has to do is to visit doctors' clinics/offices to see such threatening notices featured prominently in patient clients' waiting rooms.

For patients with decades long prescriptions for diabetes, high blood pressure, maintenance for cardiac issues, psoriasis, eczema, maintenance of eye issues, water retention, leg swelling issues, back issues, etc., a visit to the doctor to check on blood testing levels regarding all these long time issues are only required once a year, maybe twice a year for some of it.

Why should OHIP be charged for four visits when one is totally sufficient? Small billings in the thousands amount to a lot of wasted money. The billing processes needs to be examined immediately. What are our elected officials doing to stop dishonesty in health care billing? My best gift for our 50th wedding anniversary was my own bedroom.

A good night's sleep equals a happier and healthier life. , In response to Aldona Satterthwaite assertion that renters do not pay property taxes and thus are not doing their part is very far from the truth. Apartment buildings are indeed taxed at a different, and usually higher, rate than single family homes.

This cost is baked into their rents unless of course the landlord is absorbing the cost. Unlikely, but I suppose possible..