Sankofa Square’s smouldering TTC trash heap really burns candidate up
· Toronto Sun
See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
What a flaming pile of garbage!
Visit afnews.co.za for more information.
Daniel Tate, a candidate for Toronto City Council in Ward 13, said on Friday that he was “infuriated” to see a pile of TTC trash bags ablaze at Sankofa Square in a social media video , shot by the TMU station entrance Thursday night.
“This is a matter of great public interest because we already know that Yonge and Dundas has become a lawless area in the last few years,” he told the Toronto Sun .
Given that the mayhem is hardly “a one-off,” Tate said if he wins in October’s election that he’ll push for a police substation at the square.
The local councillor gets a seat at the board of Sankofa Square, and Tate said if that’s him, “public safety and security are gonna be top of mind.”
“Right now, people don’t feel safe in that area – and especially when they see images of burning trash heaps, like, that just sends the message that Yonge and Dundas is not a welcoming place,” he said.
“That’s the exact opposite of what we need because Yonge and Dundas is supposed to be the most exciting, inviting place in Toronto – and it used to be, but it certainly isn’t that anymore.”
Toronto’s ‘garbage and litter problem’
It’s unclear how the bags caught fire.
Toronto Police said they couldn’t comment on the video but that they weren’t called to any trash fire at the square Thursday.
The square’s operators said their security team worked with TTC staff and firefighters and the blaze was resolved quickly and safely, but further questions should go to Toronto Fire Services (TFS) and the transit agency.
While the Toronto Sun asked the TTC about the fire and why so many garbage bags would be piled up at a local landmark, it deferred all questions to City Hall.
City hall, meanwhile, said questions should instead go to the police and TFS.
Toronto Fire said it responded at about 9:50 p.m., at which time the blaze was already out. Police were notified and any questions about the cause should go to them, a TFS spokesman told the Sun .
“So everyone’s passing the buck,” Tate said, adding with all the cameras in that area, he can only imagine that if someone lit the fire deliberately, the city has images of them.
Tate said the video was indicative not just of Toronto’s struggles with petty crime, but also cleanliness.
“We already have a garbage and litter problem in Toronto,” he said. “I walk the streets of Toronto every day and I’m seeing more and more people dump garbage.”
The fact that the bags, piled up in the heart of the city, had “TTC” written on them is a real “bad look” for Toronto, Tate added.
‘Renaming of the renaming’
Tate’s call for a police box at the downtown square follows a pledge this week by Brad Bradford, one of the favoured candidates in the mayoral race, to increase the TPS presence with a substation at Union Station. Bradford has also previously called for a substation at Sankofa Square.
Tate rose to political prominence in his ward, Toronto Centre, by publicly sparring with the incumbent, rookie councillor Chris Moise.
City Council renamed Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa as part of an effort to rebrand Toronto assets bearing the name of 18th-century Scottish politician Henry Dundas, who some view as either an opponent or pragmatist on the abolition of slavery.
Moise became something of a city spokesman for the change. Tate, meanwhile, sold T-shirts online that featured the landmark’s old logo in an act of civic protest.
While Tate agrees with Bradford about setting up a permanent police presence at Sankofa, he differs on the “renaming of the renaming,” as he put it.
Bradford has suggested City Hall go from Sankofa – a Ghanaian word that refers to an act of reflection – to Toronto Square . Tate said that’s “a big upgrade,” but it would be better to consult the community.
“I think ultimately the people should be given the opportunity to rename the square to something that would be uniquely Canadian and uniquely unifying,” he said. “If we do have a new council and potentially a new mayor, we actually have a great opportunity to rectify that wrong and find a name that’ll truly bring people together.”