“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…”
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
These videos, examining the housing crisis in Toronto through a human-rights lens, were made by the West End Phoenix with the support of the Maytree Foundation. In them, we meet locals advocating for solutions in an affordability climate that’s pushing residents to the brink.
Read More
Kipling to Kensington, Trinity Bellwoods to Black Creek, these songs have soundtracked the neighbourhood for 40+ years and counting.
Read More
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”
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
Palliative doctor Joshua Wales describes what it’s like to be on call and travelling to patients at all hours of the night.
Read More