Metro Toronto - January 26, 2015

5.2 MB·English

by  Metro International

Monday, January 26, 2015 metronews.ca | twitter.com/metrotoronto | facebook.com/metrotoronto A. Graham
& A. Fontaine
TORONTO Cambridge
Dec. 20
NEWS
WORTH
SHARING.
$2.5 MILLION
WINNERS
Starry night
NHL’s best face off in Ohio. Page 24.
Rate your landlord:
New Toronto site
Housing. R3NTR aims to renting from — or living
Quoted
be the Airbnb for local with, Taaeb said. Like Air-
renters and landlords “Renting a place right bnb, people can rate each
others’ profiles.
now is a very archaic “You know the people
model.” posting them are real, you
ROSEMARY feel safe giving your infor-
WESTWOOD R3NTR CEO and co-founder Ray Taaeb mation to them,” he said.
[email protected] “(We want to) make it posi-
R3NTR will make its tive, where people feel safe
The “Airbnb” for renters and money — it hopes — from going to view a place and
landlords will soon hit To- charging landlords for the not having to go with two
ronto. other features. That means friends.”
And while new startups are paying to accept bids from “Privacy is going to be a
frequently deemed the “new renters and receive rent key concern,” he added.
Airbnb” of something, in this payments. “But R3NTR is confident
case, the description is apt. Other paid features let it can address that need,
R3NTR — a new online tenants use the platform to while improving transpar-
platform — wants to take request repairs or otherwise ency with those we rent to
the rental market off Craig- communicate with their and from.”
slist and Kijiji, just as Airbnb landlords. The beta version is al-
did with vacation rentals. People looking for a ready online, and the com-
“Renting a place right place to live will also get a pany plans to launch in the
now is a very archaic mod- better sense of who they’re GTA in the next few weeks.
el,” said CEO and co-founder
Ray Taaeb. “People have to
go through an agent, you
have to do all this paper-
work just to make an offer
on one place.”
With R3NTR, tenants can
post profiles, upload pertin-
ent information, such as
credit scores and references,
and use the site for free to
browse and find housing.
When renters find proper-
FISH HOOK AND THE SWAN ties they like, they can bid
on them.
Landlords can also create
profiles and upload property
An injured mute swan was found stuck in the ice near Bluffer’s Park in Toronto on Jan. 21. The bird postings for free.
was caught in fishing line and impaled by two fish hooks. Bluffer’s Park is a hot spot for items such “Every profile needs to be
verified before tenants can
as discarded fishing lines and the “garbage” that fishermen leave behind, say officials at the Toronto
make offers and landlords
Wildlife Centre. See story, page 8. ANNE KRAMAR/TORONTO WILDLIFE CENTRE can post listings,” Taaeb R3NTR co-founder and CEO Ray Taaeb, at his rental home in Toronto.
said. DAVID VAN DYKE/METRO
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metronews.ca TORONTO 3
Monday, January 26, 2015
New Greek leader off ers
Church and Carlton
Three stabbed in
little hope, locals say
‘rampage’; Man
faces 20 charges
In a random and unpro-
voked attack, a man “on a
bit of a rampage” stabbed
three pedestrians near Danforth. Victory of
Church and Carlton streets anti-austerity party
Sunday morning, police N
said. met with skepticism
Det. Phil Hibbeln told by Toronto residents
reporters at the scene the
man attacked four people
with a knife near Maple
Leaf Gardens in four separ- GILBERT E
ate incidents. Three victims NGABO
were taken to St. Michael’s [email protected]
Hospital in serious but non-
life-threatening condition. As results from the much-
The fourth person, a anticipated elections in W
woman, was unhurt. Greece were coming in Sun-
“He went for the fourth day, there was a palpable
person but he wasn’t suc- air of hopelessness and un-
cessful,” Hibbert said. certainty in the large Greek
Toronto Paramedic Servi- community in the Danforth
ces said the three injured area.
victims include a man and “Elections don’t really
a woman in their 20s and matter because it is a really S
another man in his 40s, bad situation right now for
who were taken to hospital the young people,” said Cos-
shortly after 8:30 a.m. tus Bezioulas, as he and his
The three taken to hos- buddies were having an after-
pital each had single stab noon coffee while watching a
wounds to their torsos. soccer match at Café Frappe
One victim took shelter near Danforth and Pape av-
in Ryerson University’s enues.
nearby Mattamy Athletic “Unemployment is a big
Centre before paramed- problem for us. I don’t think
ics arrived, according to a someone will change that
Ryerson spokesperson. situation any time soon. It’s Costus Bezioulas, right, and his two friends at a Danforth café Sunday afternoon. They are not confi dent about any
According to police, the just bad.” real change in Greece, even after the country’s latest elections. GILBERT NGABO/METRO
stabbings happened along Bezioulas, 33, said he de-
Carlton between Church cided to leave Greece two “always controlled” by big but I have no hope any time for the new government, sug-
and Yonge around 8:30 a.m. years ago to came to Canada international institutions soon,” he added. gests Tsiolakis, should be to
Police arrested a man in search of a better life. such as the IMF and the Euro- The head of the radical hold accountable former lead-
shortly after near Yonge and He sees no immediate pean Union. leftist Syriza party Alexis ers who were “corrupt,” and
Carlton without incident. change to the economic The young generation, he Tsipras has vowed to end aus- are responsible for sending
Shawn O’Neill, 62, plight that his native coun- says, wants to be “honour- terity, but some fear it might “Greece into the darkness.”
faces charges including try has been through for the able people, not to be beg- be just empty promises for That’s when the country
four counts of attempted past few years. ging all the time.” electoral gain. can really work towards sus-
murder, four counts of ag- The big issue, he says, is “They are saying this is “He promised too many tainable economic progress
gravated assault, six counts that the country’s future is the most important election, things, too many changes,” and job creation for the
of weapons dangerous and said Tony Tsiolakis, another youth, he added.
six counts of assault with resident of the Danforth “If justice doesn’t work,
Quoted
a weapon. All 20 charges Greek community. “It would democracy doesn’t work,” he
were related to Sunday’s be nice if he can do all that, said.
“He promised too many things, too many changes.”
incident, said police. but I think it will be hard to
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE Tony Tsiolakis, a Danforth-area resident, speaking about the recently-elected Alexis Tsipras, accomplish.” FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE ELECTION IN GREECE,
head of Greek’s radical leftist party Syriza. One of the first priorities SEE PAGE 13.
4 TORONTO metronews.ca
Monday, January 26, 2015
The many faces of global
subway riders on display
Exhibit. Photographs York, Montreal and Toronto, talk in Toronto in the wake
the show spans the history of the Mississauga subway/
come from an array of subway culture and finds, LRT debate (and then-mayor
of cities worldwide, perhaps unsurprisingly, dec- Rob Ford’s rant/chant “Sub-
ades of indifference, at best. ways, subways, subways!”).
including Toronto
Except, of course, that He found images of
lady. grimy subway construction
“Everyone seems to be in 1930s New York, photos
ROSEMARY in their own little world, at of the smushed faces of
WESTWOOD a time when you’re being Tokyo subway riders, and
[email protected] transported side by side,” a gleamy shot of the iconic
observed gallery owner and yellow TTC tiles at Museum
Feeling grumpy on the Sub- curator Stephen Bulger. station, before the renova-
way? “There seems to be very lit- tion.
Well, so are these guys. tle joy on the faces. Some photos show tran-
And those people. “This type of transpor- sit at its “scariest,” Bulger
Okay, except that lady. tation is a real necessity. said, especially in New York
She’s having fun. I think people take it for in the late 1970s and early
A new exhibit at Stephen granted a little bit,” he add- 1980s.
Bulger Gallery on Queen ed. “I think there was a lot
Street West proves that ever The photos have the re- of fear that the subway had
since there have been sub- verse effect of showing how been taken over by hooli-
ways, there have been tired, the mundane morning com- gans.
bored, irritated riders. mute can be a canvas for art. “The subway cars were Clockwise from top left: Tired passengers on the New York subway in 1967, copyright Dave Heath; subway riders in
Pulling on photographs Bulger was inspired by completely littered and cov- the 1970s, copyright André Kertész; the graffitied subway cars of New York City circa 1980, copyright Bruce Davidson;
from Russia to Tokyo, New the onslaught of subway ered with graffiti,” he said. the one very happy rider holding a ‘fun fun’ bag sitting with others in Montreal in 1987, copyright George S. Zimbel.
Japan’s Uniqlo opening two outlets in Toronto
Uniqlo, a leading Japanese that Canada was a terrific mar- At a glance competition with H&M next
clothing retailer, is announcing ket, especially starting in Toron- door. It will be situated in part
Monday that it will open two to. It’s in reasonable proximity of the space at the north end
flagship stores in Toronto in to our New York City flagship (cid:580)(cid:3) Uniqlo sells comfortable, of the Eaton Centre vacated by
the fall of 2016: one at Yorkdale store on 5th (Avenue) and we affordable and stylish Sears Canada. Nordstrom is also
Shopping Centre and one at the thought it would be a natural casual apparel, free of planning to open in part of the
Toronto Eaton Centre. expansion,” said Larry Meyer, logos, for men, women space in the fall of 2016.
Uniqlo has a global pres- chief executive officer of Uniqlo and children, in fabrics Uniqlo at Yorkdale will open
ence, with 1,500 stores in USA and Canada. engineered to perform in a 24,000-square-foot space in
Japan, Australia, China, France, The announcement comes well in different climates the same new wing that will
Germany, Hong Kong, Indo- as Target Canada is in the pro- and weather conditions. house Nordstrom and 27 other
nesia, Malaysia, Philippines, cess of closing 133 stores fol- new tenants, many of them
Russia, Singapore, South Korea, lowing a disastrous attempt to first-to-market.
Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K. and enter the marketplace, a failure stores were closed. More information is avail-
the U.S. that will put 17,600 people out The Eaton Centre Uniqlo, able on Facebook, Twitter and
Customers look at clothes on display at a branch store of Japanese clothing “Uniqlo is growing and I of work in the spring. Last week measuring 28,000 square feet, Instagram using #UniqloCan-
giant Uniqlo in Tokyo on Jan. 15. YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/GETTY IMAGES thought — we all thought — the Starbucks cafes inside the will put Uniqlo into direct ada. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
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6 TORONTO metronews.ca
Monday, January 26, 2015
The trouble with property taxes
BUDGET services and all the stuff we everyone, by the way — includ- Series
get promised during election ing the 50 per cent of Toron-
DECODER campaigns. tonians who rent rather than
To understand, you first own. There aren’t many land- This is the first of five
Day 1. What 2.75% have to know that property lords out there who won’t look columns examining the
more would really taxes are weird — and prob- to pass any kind of increased proposed 2015 Toronto
ably don’t work the way you costs on to their tenants. budget and explaining
mean for Toronto might think. No other major kind of tax what all those numbers are
For instance, this year’s tax works like this. really about.
increase doesn’t mean that When the federal or
your tax bill will be exactly provincial governments want
MATT 2.75 per cent higher than to get more cash from sales or
ELLIOTT it was last year. That actual income taxes, they don’t have rate of inflation because of
[email protected] amount depends on a range to raise the rates — they just $86 million coming in via a
of factors, including the city’s have to get you to buy more provincial loan.
When Mayor John Tory an- average assessment value and stuff or make more money. That’s not a sustainable
nounced last week at Toronto’s your property class. But for the most part, strategy, and it demonstrates
budget launch that residential Nor would it be right to Toronto’s municipal govern- just how squeezed the city’s
property taxes will go up 2.75 think, hey, Toronto real estate ment won’t see a dollar in new finances are.
per cent this year, you’d be values are increasing a lot, so property tax revenue year-over- With the inherent limita-
forgiven for assuming that the Tory shouldn’t need to increase year unless it hikes taxes. tions of property taxes, which
city will be getting a chunk of property taxes at all. The That’s an important thing account for 38 per cent of
new money from taxpayers municipal government sees no to understand, especially in gross operating spending, the
over the next year. extra revenue from assessment the context of politicians who city budget is really a ques-
But that’s not really true. increases, per se. promise to keep property tax tion of priorities: Should we
In inflation-adjusted terms, In simplified terms, all the increases at or below the rate keep our property taxes low
this city this year will take 2.75 per cent figure means is of inflation. or should we invest in things
in less money from property that the municipal govern- It’s a risky proposition. The like transit, housing, shelters
taxes than it did last year — as ment plans to raise about 2.75 2015 budget stands as proof. and infrastructure as the city
it has done most years since per cent more revenue via Trying to balance fiscal grows?
amalgamation. That makes property taxes this year than restraint with new spending, Because it’s looking more
it hard for council to deliver last year. Tory’s first budget only delivers and more like Toronto can’t Deputy City Manager Roberto Rossini adjusts his tie while talking with City
on housing, transit, social That revenue comes from a tax increase below Toronto’s have it both ways. Manager Joe Pennachetti at city hall on Jan. 20. BERNARD WEIL/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Critics say Wilson’s TDSB reforms would hurt, not heal
They were tough words for an one happy.
Quoted
unruly school board that few Still, Wilson criticized TDSB
would deny needed a little trustees for generally having
“The thrust of the
tough love. a “full-time mindset” on a
But since trouble-shooter recommendations are part-time salary — something
Margaret Wilson called for a off-balance; it’s excessive Wiseman said just sounds like
rollback of trustee powers at taxpayers “getting more bang
finger-pointing at trust-
the Toronto District School for their buck.”
Board — starting trustees ees as being the problem Del Grande believes a “full-
and staff on a scramble to do in the whole mix.” time mindset” is partly the re-
that in the four short weeks sult of the role of trustee not
Queen’s Park has given them Ryerson political science Prof. Myer being defined clearly enough
— some are asking if all of Wil- Siemiatycki by the provincial government.
son’s criticisms were fair, and “Just as you have people
whether her reforms will fix Wilson wrote about a “culture who go over and above do-
the real problem. of fear” among principals, be- ing full-time work, you have
Some, in fact, warn Wil- cause some of the dozen TDSB some people who do less than
son’s fix for dysfunction could principals she interviewed part-time work and who don’t
deal a blow to local democracy. complained of trustees having show up.”
At least 80 members of the too much power over people’s Wilson caught many by sur-
public have signed up to ad- careers. prise by recommending TDSB
dress her recommendations In particular, Wilson scold- trustees start dealing with
Monday night at a special ed some trustees for getting in- under-enrolled schools — an
board meeting to allow public volved in hiring superintend- issue few had expected as part
input. ents or principals. But John of her review. Teachers and To-
“The thrust of the recom- Del Grande, a former trustee ronto labour unions have since
mendations are off-balance; Margaret Wilson at a news conference at Queen’s Park announcing recommendations and reforms to the troubled with the Toronto Catholic Dis- argued Wilson overstepped
it’s excessive finger-pointing at TDSB on Jan. 15. COLIN MCCONNELL/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE trict School Board, said having her mandate and made her
trustees as being the problem trustees involved in principal report “as much about clos-
in the whole mix,” said Ryer- school trustees — and now the are just part of being an elect- That language doesn’t both- appointments can be a good ing schools and reducing the
son political science Prof. Myer province wants to clip them ed official, argued former trust- er political science Prof. Nelson check-and-balance because “a democratic role of trustees as
Siemiatycki. back even more? It’s a big mis- ee Josh Matlow: “Ms. Wilson is Wiseman of the University of principal can make or break a it is about fixing the dysfunc-
“We’re talking about ma- take to go down that path.” critical of a structure that the Toronto. school community.” tional relationships.”
jor public institutions using While few would dispute trustees are a part of whether “Of course you should He recalled one occasion But Wilson said addressing
public funding that need to be the board table had become they like it or not.” be talking in terms of (‘my where trustees held off ap- under-enrolled schools was
accountable, and at this point almost paralyzed by constant Take Wilson’s condemna- schools’)” if trustees are elect- proving a principal transfer “absolutely within what I was
the only way we’ve figured out scandals, questions are being tion of trustees’ use of the ed in particular wards, said because parents were opposed. instructed to do.... The report
how to do that is through elect- raised about whether Wilson phrase “my schools” when Wiseman. “But it doesn’t pre- Del Grande said he acted like makes the point that the board
ed officials. The irony is, you has gone too far in her bid to talking about their ward, clude you from talking about a mediator, sat down with should have a three-year plan
can’t find a more powerless, rein in bad actors. which she suggested shows system-wide issues. You should community members and the and look at surplus properties
marginalized group of elected Many of the hands-on trust- they treat their wards like be doing both.” superintendent and worked — not the wholesale closing of
officials in the country than ee behaviours she criticized “fiefdoms.” In her blistering report, out a solution that made every- schools.” TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE

8 TORONTO metronews.ca
Monday, January 26, 2015
Litter threatens city’s fauna: Advocates
Bluffer’s Park. Threats to wildlife
Group warns visitors
Fighting the
to be careful when year, the centre treats count-
perils of litter less birds impaled on fish
discarding litter
hooks and skunks caught
in peanut-butter jars or Mc-
Later this year, the Toronto Donald’s McFlurry lids.
LUKE Wildlife Centre will be “McFlurry lids are really
SIMCOE launching a campaign common,” Karvonen said.
[email protected] aimed at local litterbugs. “They’re exactly the perfect
Executive director Nath- size for a skunk head.”
Inattentive anglers are putting alie Karvonen said litter is To report a wildlife
the swans of Bluffer’s Park in one of the biggest threats emergency, call 416-631-
peril, says the Toronto Wildlife to wildlife in Toronto. Every 0662.
Centre (TWC).
Staff at the centre are nurs-
ing a swan back to health after “There needs to be more The wildlife centre receives
it was pulled from the ice near awareness. We’re constantly calls about waterfowl in dis-
the park’s shore last week. The picking up big tangles of fish- tress throughout the year, but
bird was tangled in fishing ing line,” said Tracy Horvath, the wintry weather can exacer-
line and impaled by not one founder of the local conserva- bate the situation. Birds im-
but two discarded fish hooks. tion group The Wild Bluffs. mobilized by fishing line are
“Bluffer’s Park is a hot By the time it arrived at more prone to hypothermia
spot for things like discarded TWC last Wednesday, the and can even become stuck in
fishing line, hooks, sinkers swan had lost a lot of blood ice as the water freezes.
and the garbage that fisher- and suffered serious abrasions Karvonen said the public
men can leave behind,” said to its mouth. Staff at the cen- can lend a hand by notifying
director Nathalie Karvonen. tre are also testing the bird for TWC of animals in distress. In
“Any kind of water bird can lead poisoning, in case it ate a particular, she said residents
be affected by it.... In the case fishing lure or sinker. should be concerned about
of swans, they could be nib- “That’s the problem: these water birds that appear toler-
bling the line up with the food things persist in the environ- ant of human contact.
they’re trying to eat.” ment for an incredibly long “Friendly is absolutely not
The threat posed to the time,” Karvonen said. “So if friendly,” she said. “It usually
city’s fauna by litter — ranging you see fishing garbage, clean means they’re extremely sick
from fishing gear to food con- it up. You might even be help- or weak. That swan is like: ‘I
tainers — has prompted TWC ing a wild animal 20 years can’t get away from this scary Toronto Wildlife Centre workers rescued this injured swan at Bluffer’s Park on Jan. 21. Staff at the centre are also
to launch a campaign. down the road.” human.’” testing the bird for lead poisoning, in case it ate a fishing lure or sinker. COURTESY ANNE KRAMAR/TORONTO WILDLIFE CENTRE
Skating tradition at Toronto Island popular again
Whenever skaters head out on The police push off in their starts up its motor. Yet each sea- They start tentatively in the la-
the ice in the Toronto Harbour, amphibious air boat, which has son, Klunder reports, at least goons between the islands, and
people in the condo towers a big fan on the back and can one person goes through the if it gets cold enough, they’ll
lining the waterfront freak out. climb up onto the ice, to inform ice and needs to be rescued. venture onto the harbour. Most
The Toronto Police Marine the skaters of the risks. Toronto has a long history skaters also carry special ice
Unit gets “calls galore,” says The skaters fear the police of skating on the harbour that picks around their neck to help
Sgt. Gerry Klunder, and they’re boat and avoid it at all costs. includes ice-boat races and pull themselves out should
obliged to send out officers to They report being told to get New Year’s Eve balls on the they punch through.
make sure the skaters are safe. off the ice or asked to wear life ice. Those traditions live on in Word of Toronto Island skat-
“The ice is always shifting jackets. Some claim to have a reduced form, preserved by ing has spread the last few win-
around in the harbour,” Klun- been threatened with tickets. a small community of people ters, and more and more people
Mariah Millen, right, skates circles around her friend Lilly Flawn on Toronto der said. “So it’s not safe from The cat-and-mouse game plays who live on the Toronto Island. are heading from the city to
Harbour on Saturday. The girls grew up on the island and say they’ve been the point of view that there out every winter, with skaters Each winter they watch enjoy the wonders of skating on
skating since they could walk. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE could be cracks that open up.” turning tail every time the boat the weather and check the ice. natural ice. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
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metronews.ca TORONTO 9
Monday, January 26, 2015
Party’s over
for Toronto’s
‘superclubs’
Nightlife. People now Last call
prefer smaller-scale
Charles Khabouth is the owner of The Guvernment nightclub and a menagerie of other Toronto clubs and restaurants. The closure of the Guvernment is
establishments to clubs marking the end of one of the city’s biggest nightclubs. CARLOS OSORIO/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
The last show at the Gu-
like the Guvernment vernment was on Jan. 25.
Teardown is slated to begin
Jan. 26 and the place is
scheduled to be completely
On a raging Friday night with vacated on Jan. 31.
“200 taxis around the corner, WITH 7 MOISTURIZERS
cars coming and going and AND 3 VITAMINS
people being dropped off,” space growing scarce amid the
Charles Khabouth loved rolling condo boom, an influx in de-
up to Lower Jarvis Street and velopment and stricter zoning
Queens Quay East. laws. The situation has become
The intersection is where exacerbated since city council
his famed club the Guvernment tried to clamp down on the U L T I M A T E
sits and, on a busy evening in venues.
the late ’90s, he says, you could In 2009, a bylaw banned
feel the excitement in people’s new restaurants, bars and, ef-
footsteps as they scrambled to fectively, nightclubs more than
get inside. 2,421 square feet from open-
DAILY LOTIONS
But those days are ending, ing on Ossington Avenue in
Khabouth told Torstar News Ser- between Queen and Dundas
vice recently as he sat in his gold- streets.
accented office with a sprawling Then, in 2013, the Toronto
view of Yorkville. After 18 years, and East York Community
00
his 22,000-square-foot goliath Council unanimously passed ALWAYS GIVE THEIR
club is closing its doors, signal- another law slashing the num-
ling what some believe to be ber of bars and restaurants to
the death of “superclubs” in 25 per cent of businesses in
Toronto. four sections of Queen Street %
Gone is the heyday where West between Roncesvalles
nights were planned around Avenue and Dufferin Street in
who was playing the now- Parkdale.
defunct John Street megaclub The 60 clubs that some
Circa or what records would be had calculated were sprinkled
spun on the all-retro weekends along Queen and King streets
at the three-floor Whiskey Sai- west rapidly shrank to a dozen
gon. or two and former city council-
Instead, locals are moving lor Adam Vaughan pronounced
toward smaller city clubs such that “it’s no longer the cool
as Coda, Product (formerly This thing to go to a night club the
is London) and Uniun that are size of a Walmart.”
lesser in profile, but not always In a city where clubs had
in size. Even hot spots on the once dominated nightlife, sud-
outskirts of town such as Sugar denly the Guvernment was the
Daddy’s in Mississauga or Luxy last big one standing.
in Vaughan and supper clubs, The rising popularity of
where dancing and dining go smaller venues never shook
hand-in-hand, are experiencing Khabouth. He says people
a surge in popularity. have always liked small clubs
Why the shift? because they are the kind of
TO MOISTURIZE YOUR SKIN
Matt Casselman, a former places where everyone knows
Toronto DJ and the owner of your name and the small pool
now-extinct Industry night- of staff quickly learn the orders 7 DAYS A WEEK
club, casts part of the blame on and musical tastes of the regu-
online dating. lars.
“Superclubs used to be a “A good club is a good club
place to pick up and meet your regardless of size. It all de-
next boyfriend or girlfriend,” pends on the operator,” he says.
he recalls. “Now that you have “There will always be room for
better odds doing online dat- the small clubs, but unfortu-
ing, I think venue size of choice nately, bigger space gives you
has shrunk.” bigger opportunities to get bet-
Others point the finger at ter talent.” TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Quoted
“A good club is a good club regardless of size. It all Visit goldbond.ca to get your coupon
depends on the operator.”
Charles Khabouth, owner of Guvernment nightclub
10 TORONTO metronews.ca
Monday, January 26, 2015
High-tech bike to roll out in spring
Cycling. Toronto- sensors for blind-spot detec- Tracking your ride
tion, a GPS-equipped acceler-
designed Vanhawks
ator and LED indicator lights.
Valour comes with The company was hoping Vanhawks is not the first to
to raise $100,000 on crowd- use technology to help pre-
anti-theft technology
funding platform Kickstart- vent theft and return stolen
er, but garnered more than bikes to their rightful riders.
eight times that goal, giving
it $820,083 for prototypes (cid:580)(cid:3) (cid:83)(cid:254)(cid:292)(cid:229)(cid:229)(cid:575)(cid:289)(cid:229)(cid:292)(cid:296)(cid:279)(cid:274)(cid:3)(cid:78)(cid:209)(cid:274)(cid:302)(cid:209)(cid:3)(cid:17)(cid:268)(cid:209)(cid:292)(cid:209)(cid:550)(cid:3)
A high-tech bike created and development. (cid:17)(cid:209)(cid:268)(cid:255)(cid:238)(cid:553)(cid:550)(cid:3)(cid:296)(cid:302)(cid:209)(cid:292)(cid:302)(cid:575)(cid:305)(cid:289)(cid:3)(cid:96)(cid:255)(cid:575)(cid:55)(cid:55)(cid:3)(cid:255)(cid:296)(cid:3)
in Toronto is hitting the “The response we got was selling a motion sensor-
pavement this spring after overwhelming,” said Van- equipped alarm that
years of development and a hawks co-founder Niv Yahel, can be hidden in a bike’s
crowdfunding campaign that noting that the company has water bottle holder.
raised nearly $1 million. more than 1,000 orders for (cid:96)(cid:254)(cid:229)(cid:274)(cid:3)(cid:296)(cid:279)(cid:273)(cid:229)(cid:279)(cid:274)(cid:229)(cid:3)(cid:209)(cid:302)(cid:302)(cid:229)(cid:273)(cid:289)(cid:302)(cid:296)(cid:3)
Makers of the Vanhawks the bike. “We never expected (cid:302)(cid:279)(cid:3)(cid:296)(cid:315)(cid:255)(cid:289)(cid:229)(cid:3)(cid:209)(cid:3)(cid:292)(cid:255)(cid:225)(cid:229)(cid:550)(cid:3)(cid:209)(cid:3)(cid:296)(cid:255)(cid:292)(cid:229)(cid:274)(cid:3)
Valour, a carbon-fibre bike to get as much as we did.” goes off and the owner
that tracks cycling habits on They’ll be busy over the (cid:292)(cid:229)(cid:221)(cid:229)(cid:255)(cid:314)(cid:229)(cid:296)(cid:3)(cid:209)(cid:3)(cid:302)(cid:229)(cid:316)(cid:302)(cid:3)(cid:296)(cid:209)(cid:317)(cid:255)(cid:274)(cid:251)(cid:550)(cid:3)
a mobile application, say the next few months finishing “your bike is being stolen
as you read this mes-
bicycle is still in production, production and process-
sage.”
and will ship later this year. ing orders from all over the
“We are just finalizing world, including the Nether-
(cid:580)(cid:3) (cid:34)(cid:268)(cid:317)(cid:48)(cid:268)(cid:317)(cid:550)(cid:3)(cid:209)(cid:3)(cid:56)(cid:229)(cid:315)(cid:3)(cid:98)(cid:279)(cid:292)(cid:266)(cid:575)(cid:220)(cid:209)(cid:296)(cid:229)(cid:225)(cid:3)
how things are manufac- lands and Singapore.
(cid:221)(cid:279)(cid:273)(cid:289)(cid:209)(cid:274)(cid:317)(cid:550)(cid:3)(cid:292)(cid:229)(cid:291)(cid:305)(cid:255)(cid:292)(cid:229)(cid:296)(cid:3)(cid:305)(cid:296)(cid:229)(cid:292)(cid:296)(cid:3)
tured and how things fit Simon Whitfield, a Can-
of its bikes to register
together,” said Devin Mc- adian triathlete and Olympic
online and create a
Donald, Vanhawks’ director gold and silver medallist,
of operations. “We are work- has even given the Valour a Chief manufacturing officer Adil Aftab Iqbal, front, and chief operating officer Ali Zahid from Vanhawks have created the pincode that allows them
to unlock their bike using
ing through the final kinks.” thumbs-up. Valour, the first smart connected bike. Simon Whitfield has given the Valour a thumbs-up. ANNE-MARIE JACKSON/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
(cid:209)(cid:3)(cid:273)(cid:279)(cid:220)(cid:255)(cid:268)(cid:229)(cid:3)(cid:289)(cid:254)(cid:279)(cid:274)(cid:229)(cid:3)(cid:209)(cid:289)(cid:289)(cid:553)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:254)(cid:229)(cid:3)
The release will come a “I’ve been talking about
bikes are also outfitted
year after 802 funders put it with my housemate and to build a smart bike net- struction and blocked roads. senses when two Valours with tracking and detec-
forward cash to become we have both completely work.” The connection would are within six kilometres of tion software to help the
early adopters of the bike’s geeked out over it,” he said That network would con- also allow Vanhawks to each other, the company will owner find it in case one
technology, which includes in an interview for the com- nect all Valour bikes, col- tackle a growing problem in be able to track a bike’s last is stolen anyway.
a Bluetooth connection that pany’s blog, noting that he lecting information so riders Toronto — bike theft. known location.
gives turn-by-turn directions, was excited by the “potential are warned of potholes, con- Based on technology that TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
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