Posts in paper
How to Make Rent

“Hey Jenn! How’s it going? Seems like the art career is going well on Instagram.” “It’s funny you should say that. That’s just the illusion of social media. Here’s how I paid my rent this month…”

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Pet of the Month: Charlie

Charlie had toyed with the idea idea of running off to explore the neighbourhood, but, unlike many cats, he’s not much of a climber or a jumper. Shannon was always able to stop him before he got too far. But then, this April 15, everything lined up just right.

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paperMicah Toubtoronto, pet
Neglected for years, Black business owners in Little Jamaica are saving themselves

For much of Little Jamaica’s history, Black business owners felt they couldn’t count on the three BIAs that cover the neighbourhood. Now, things are finally changing.

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“No doctor is going to take care of me”

These immigrants have spent a quarter-century in Canada, yet they have no access to publicly funded health care. Why advocates are urging Ontario to bring back recently gutted health-care coverage for the uninsured.

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The Dewey Decibel System

Last year, music lovers checked out almost half a million CDs tucked away in Toronto Public Library branches. Meet a few committed, long-time stack hunters and the man in charge of growing the collection.

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Devil in the Details

Last June, Ontario brought Doug Ford’s Conservative government back for a second term. In this issue, WEP looks at the 7 key ways his party’s policies have put the squeeze on neighbourhoods across the province during five years in office – and meets a growing contingent of people pushing back to protect what’s left.

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An ongoing battle over the Bloor Street bike lane

As a motion to extend the lane through Bloor West Village reaches council, a rogue group has emerged, pushing to see the protected lane dismantled.

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Homing Instincts

Our new mayor must put the housing issue first, writes Tim Harper, who scoured the frontrunners' plans for proof of a progressive, workable way forward.

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33 Songs from Here

Kipling to Kensington, Trinity Bellwoods to Black Creek, these songs have soundtracked the neighbourhood for 40+ years and counting.

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BEHIND THE COUNTER: This guy shreds

Death metal bassist Miguel Angel Garcia recently expanded his made-from-home churros business into a commercial kitchen in the back of Steadfast Brewing, where he preps killer birria tacos, tamales and other Mexican street-food classics. When he works, he says, he’s always blasting music. “I like to feel like I’m at a party”

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Renters on the brink

Illegal increases, ramshackle conditions, bullying tactics from landlords – renters in Toronto are facing a free fall. For almost half of the city's population, finding and keeping a decent rental has become nearly impossible. And as housing prices skyrocket, their ranks can only grow.

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Punching Tomorrow

At a boxing gym in the Junction Triangle, a free program is teaching young people from underserved communities how to cope with the challenges life throws at them.

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Shooting Three

This year, the Toronto Raptors teamed up with Room Up Front, a grassroots group that connects early-career BIPOC photojournalists with mentors. They gave WEP a sneak peek at the work Norma Ibarra, Lucy Lu and Adetona Omokanye have been producing at Raptors and Raptors 905 games, documenting the action.

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"HE SAT IN THE KITCHEN WITH A GLUE DISPENSER AND SCISSORS, QUIETLY ORGANIZING HIS CULINARY LOVE LETTERS"

My mom learned to cook Jewish to win over her in-laws. In the decades that followed, my dad, a newspaper man, spent decades clipping recipes and assembling them in big black binders for her - the best way he knew to show his thanks.

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MIXING MASA

We work in the sky, in an unfinished highrise. The ground floors are almost ready, but higher up, where there are no windows or walls, the building is open to the sky. We are deep in the belly of the beast, building towers in the financial district, building restaurants we can’t afford to eat in, condos we can’t afford to live in.

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HOW THE HOUSING CRISIS TAKES A TURN

The solution to Toronto’s housing woes isn’t to build more supply, according to a group of experts who sketch a picture for writer Leslie Sinclair of what a healthier housing landscape looks like. As they see it, it’s about tipping the balance: clamping down on units designed as commodities for investors and increasing the flow of housing that meets a wider swath of residents’ needs.

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STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE

In a playful series he produced for WEP, photographer Kotama Bouabane confronts his younger self’s longing for fast food and his older self’s impulse to clean up his act.

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"NOBODY TALKS ABOUT IT"

At the height of the pandemic, South Asians reported the poorest mental health outcomes of any racialized community in Canada. But finding the words to discuss what’s happening to them — not to mention finding a South Asian therapist to provide culturally relevant care — can be a significant barrier to treatment.

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DELIVERING CARE AT THE END OF THE LINE

Palliative doctor Joshua Wales describes what it’s like to be on call and travelling to patients at all hours of the night.

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GHOSTED: LIGHTS OUT AT LOJA DO ESPIRITO SANTO

There was always something unsettling about the lack of shadows in this puppetless terrarium, where a few outfits remain with faded price tags. Now a handmade sign has been added to the display: “Everything must go.” And more urgently, “This is the last month.”

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