Francesco Villi 73 of Vaughan, killed 3 men and 2 women with ‘semi-automatic handgun’ before being shot dead by cops at apartment complex after five-year feud with condo board

• Six people were killed, including the gunman, who was shot by police
• Three men and two women died, with one woman, 66, still in a critical condition
• Police were called to the condo in Vaughan, Ontario, before 7.30pm on Sunday 
• Francesco Villi was embroiled in a five-year dispute with building management  
• Mass shootings are rare in Toronto - a city proud of its longstanding safety
  

Police have confirmed that an angry condo resident shot dead three men and two women during his rampage – after a five-year feud with the apartment board.

Francesco Villi, 73, had filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the building's company claiming electromagnetic waves were making him sick.

Officials have confirmed that the five killed were found in three separate units, and cops had an interaction with Villi before he was shot and killed on the third floor.

Authorities say he used an illegal ‘semi-automatic handgun’ in the incident, with cops declining to confirm a motive for the deaths.

A 66-year-old woman was ‘seriously injured’ in the incident, and remains in the hospital in critical condition.

Canadian police say Villi started shooting at the Bellaria Residences complex in Vaughan, Ontario, shortly before 7.30pm on Sunday night.

Authorities have not released the victims' identities but say three were members of the condo board - adding they are still investigating the motive behind the massacre.

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween confirmed that three men and two women had been shot dead in the violent massacre

Canadian police say the unnamed suspect started shooting at the Bellaria Residences complex in Vaughan, Ontario, shortly before 7.30pm on Sunday night

Villi, who lived in a one-bedroom $476,000 apartment on the ground floor of the building, killed five residents dead in different flats - believed to be condo board members - before being shot by police

The incident took place in the suburb of Vaughan, to the north of Toronto in Ontario

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween confirmed that the five victims and shooter lived in the condo and 'multiple search warrants' were issued. 

He added: 'Officers had an interaction with the shooter, he was a 24-year veteran with York Police and he very likely saved lived by his actions last night. ' 

Villi was confirmed in court as having died on Sunday night, with a judge stating that other details about the case had been reported ‘in the media’.

The senior had brought a case against the condominium corporation, claiming that five named defendants caused him ‘torment and torture’ for over five years.

Villi, who lived in a one-bedroom $476,000 ($649,000 CAD) apartment on the ground floor of the building, killed five residents dead in different flats - believed to be condo board members - before being shot by police.

A $6million ($8million CAD) lawsuit seen by DailyMail.com reveals the row had been ongoing for five years, starting when the corporation tried to restrain Villi from ‘threatening, intimidating and harassing’ the board of directors.

Villi posted several rambling videos on his social media in the days before the spree, accusing lawyers of continuing to ‘torture’ him. 

He is also accused of threatening the property management, workers and residents of the condominium. 

But in 2019 Villi launched his own application, claiming that issues from an electrical room beneath his unit were causing him to have severe breathing issues after he was diagnosed with ‘chronic lung disease’.

A judge ordered him to refrain from recording board members, management, residents, or employees of the Corporation.

He was also banned from making social media posts about the proceedings and to only communicate with the Corporation in writing, except in an emergency.

A lawsuit seen by DailyMail.com reveals the row had been ongoing for five years, starting when the corporation tried to restrain Villi from ‘threatening, intimidating and harassing’ the board of directors 

Villi posted several rambling videos on his social media in the days before the spree, accusing lawyers of continuing to ‘torture’ him

York Regional Police tactical officers stand in the lobby of a condominium building in Vaughan, Ontario

However, in September of last year, he was found to be in contempt of the order for communicating with staff, and he posted several videos to his social media.

Five defendants named in the suit moved to dismiss it and sought partial indemnity costs of approximately $7,995 ($10,900 CAD)  all-inclusive based on full indemnity costs of $13184.31 ($17,973.45 CAD).

According to the lawsuit, Villi was opposed to any order of costs but was ordered to pay $1,833 ($2,500 CAD) within 30 days on August 4 of this year.

It is unclear if he made any payments, with a court hearing on December 19 confirming that the case had been closed. 

The lawsuit states: ‘Mr. Villi believes that the electrical room which sits beneath his unit is improperly constructed, resulting in the emission of electromagnetic waves which have caused him significant pain and suffering over the years.

‘Mr. Villi believes that the board members of the Corporation have actively engaged in efforts to intentionally harm him, likely at the behest of the powerful developer who built the condominium.

‘Mr. Villi believes that all the individuals involved have not only conspired to harm him but have also conspired to ensure that the truth of the matter never surfaces.’

Resident John Santoro said he served on the condo board for about a year several years ago, telling reporters that the situation is ‘tragic’.

He added that he heard a ‘commotion’ in the corridor and when he opened the door he saw police with ‘rifles right outside the door in the elevator lobby.’

Resident John Santoro said he served on the condo board for about a year several years ago, telling reporters that the situation is ‘tragic’

Five killed in Toronto shooting: police

York Regional Police say 5 people have been killed in a #shooting tonight at a condo building in Vaughan, Ontario, north of #Toronto #Canada pic.twitter.com/Nqcf0Kz1Ew

— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) December 19, 2022

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca called the shooting a 'horrific act' and offered condolences to the victims’ families

The horrific incident took place in the suburbs 30km (20 miles) north of downtown Toronto, a city that prides itself on its longstanding safety.

The type of weapon used in the latest incident has not been disclosed by police - the sale of handguns was banned in Canada earlier this year in response to a mass shooting that saw 22 people killed in Nova Scotia in April 2020.

Chief James MacSween, of York Regional Police, said: 'There is no further threat to the community at this point. We offer our sincere condolences to the victims and their families.' 

Police located one woman at the condo who had been shot in the face. She is believed to be one of the deceased, reports City News Toronto.  

Ontario´s Special Investigations Unit, which gets involved when there is a death or serious injury involving police, is investigating. 

Armed police were seen storming the building following the reports of gunfire. 

Emergency services teams then locked off the apartment building while ambulances worked to help surviving victims.

York Regional Police tactical officers work the scene of a fatal shooting in Vaughan, Ontario

A police officer walks with a weapon after a fatal mass shooting at a condominium building in the Toronto suburb of Vaughan

Police said multiple people are dead, including the suspect, after a shooting in an apartment building

An ambulance is parked outside the lobby of a condominium building following a fatal shooting in Vaughn, Ontario

Constable Laura Nicolle, who was at the scene, told CNN it was the 'most terrible call I’ve seen in my entire career'.

She added that it appeared the victims had been found in different apartments in the building.

Cops evacuated the building but MacSween said there is no further threat to the community. He said they hoped to have residents back in their units within hours.

Mass shootings are rare in Canada and Toronto has long prided itself as being one of the safest big cities in the world.

Canadians are nervous about anything that might indicate they are moving closer to U.S. experiences with gun violence.

It has recently experienced an upsurge in gun violence, sparking the introduction of legislation to ban handguns.

In April 2020, a gunman disguised as a policeman killed 22 people in the eastern province of Nova Scotia, Canada's worst mass shooting.

The perpetrator, Gabriel Wortman, 51, a millionaire alcoholic whose denture business was shuttered by coronavirus, was shot dead by police after the 12-hour killing and arson spree.

Police stand in the lobby of a condominium building following the shooting

Authorities said multiple people were shot and killed in a unit of the building in the Toronto suburb and the gunman was killed by police

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween updates the media at the scene of a shooting in Vaughan, Ontario

In July this year three people, including the gunman, were killed in shootings in the City of Langley in British Columbia (BC).

Jordan Goggin, from Surrey, BC, was killed in a shootout with police after targetting homeless people.

In September this year, a man killed 11 people and stabbed 18 others, mainly in an isolated indigenous community in Saskatchewan province.

The horrific killing spree, which sparked a massive four-day manhunt, was ended after the deaths of the brothers Damien and Myles Sanderson, with the latter appearing to commit suicide in police custody.

Firearms-related violent crimes account for less than three percent of all violent crimes in Canada - but since 2009 the per capita rate of guns being fired with intent to kill or wound has increased five-fold.

A 2021 analysis by the University of Washington’s (IHME) said Canada’s rate of firearm homicides is 0.5 per 100,000 people, versus the United States’ rate of 4.12, the New York Post reports.

Canada banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms in May 2020, days after the Nova Scotia shooting.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is yet to comment on the latest mass shooting.

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Properties in GTA greenbelt owned by companies linked to De Gasperis family slated for housing

Seven companies controlled by members of the De Gasperis family, long-time homebuilders based in Vaughan, own 28 properties around this parcel of farmland the Ontario government wants to remove from the Greenbelt in Pickering. (Giuseppe Fiorino/CBC)

Days after reporting a family of prominent Ontario developers are primary owners of protected Greenbelt land that could soon be opened for housing development, CBC Toronto has linked additional properties to the De Gasperis family.

The Ford government is currently consulting the public on a plan to remove approximately 2,995 hectares of land from the Greenbelt, which was created in 2005 to permanently protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area from development. The government says it's needed to build 55,000 homes.

The biggest parcel of land on which the province is proposing to allow housing construction includes around 1,900 hectares of mostly farmland in and around the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve (DRAP) in north Pickering.

CBC previously reported that companies listing brothers Silvio, Carlo and Michael De Gasperis as directors own land in three of the 15 areas proposed for removal in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), including 16 properties in the DRAP.

• Wealthy Ontario developer close to winning long battle to build homes on protected Greenbelt

• Who are the GTA developers set to benefit from Ford government's Greenbelt land swap?

However, following additional research into property and corporate records, CBC has now identified 28 properties in the DRAP, covering a total of 718 hectares, that are owned by seven different holding companies controlled by the De Gasperis brothers.

The 28 lots were bought for more than $21.5 million, and 24 were purchased before the Greenbelt was created.

The four properties bought after the Greenbelt's creation include two purchased together for $1.7 million in 2016 and two others bought separately in 2020 for $7.9 million and $3.5 million each.

(CBC News)

Long fight over DRAP

The De Gasperis family founded the Tacc Group of companies, which includes Tacc Developments, Tacc Construction, Arista Homes, Opus Homes and Decast Ltd., among others, and are known for building homes in planned subdivisions across the GTA.

The brothers and their companies have been prolific political contributors to Ontario political parties, with the majority of donations made since 2014 going to the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and its politicians, Elections Ontario records show. Tacc companies have also hired lobbyists with tied to the PC government, the lobbyist registry shows, although none of the records indicate they were hired to influence decisions on the Greenbelt.

CBC reached out to Tacc Developments to request an interview but did not immediately receive a response.

Last week, the Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA), of which Tacc is a member, issued a statement voicing its support for the government's plan.

"We are in the midst of a housing crisis. When the Greenbelt was created, its boundaries encompassed not just environmentally sensitive lands but also farmland and land that had previously been designated for growth for housing and employment spaces," the OHBA said in an email statement.

"The lands being removed from the Greenbelt are close to, and in some cases adjacent to, existing developments and servicing. The lands will be subject to strict timelines for building to commence, which will enable the timely addition of desperately needed additional supply."

WATCH | Here's what Doug Ford has said about developing Ontario's Greenbelt: 

Here’s what Doug Ford has said over the years about developing Ontario’s Greenbelt

16 days ago

Duration0:40

From pledging to never build on it in 2018 to saying it's part of the solution to Ontario's housing crisis in 2022, here's how the premier's position on the controversial issue has changed.

CBC reported earlier this week on how Silvio De Gasperis started buying up parcels of farmland in the DRAP in 2003 with hopes of one day transforming them into subdivisions. But those plans were dashed when then-Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government included the area in the Greenbelt and later passed a law protecting the land's agricultural status.

De Gasperis undertook a campaign to hinder plans for the Greenbelt, working with Pickering to develop the preserve land anyway, and eventually took the province to court. His efforts failed and the agricultural land has remained protected ever since.

It's unclear what the fate of the preserve lands will be going forward, but if it is removed from the Greenbelt, the Ford government has said it expects landowners to prepare housing plans quickly, with construction to begin no later than 2025.

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How much will developers profit from their lands being removed from Ontario’s Greenbelt?

The provincial opposition is calling for an investigation into how much property owners stand to benefit from the Ontario government’s proposal to open up thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive Greenbelt lands for development.

In a release Friday, NDP MPP Marit Stiles said she wants Ontario’s auditor general to conduct a “value-for-money audit investigating how much wealth would be increased for property owners when their lands are removed from the Greenbelt,” and if “this wealth transfer is in the public interest.”

Stiles also asked the AG to consider “conflicts of interest and sharing of insider information” and “refer any evidence of misconduct to the appropriate authorities.”

In an email, a spokesperson for Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark said the NDP was “opposing homes getting built.”

“We will continue to explore every possible option to get more homes built faster so more Ontarians can find a home that meets their needs and budget,” said Chris Poulos.

The AG’s office confirmed it received the letter but “a decision has not yet been made” on whether it would investigate.

The request comes after a Toronto Star/Narwhal investigation into the Greenbelt lands Premier Doug Ford’s government is proposing to open up for development. Last month, the province announced it would remove a total of 7,400 acres from 15 areas of the Greenbelt, expediting development on those lands to help address the housing shortage.

The Star/Narwhal investigation found that of the 15 areas to be opened for development, eight included properties purchased in the four years since Ford was elected.

The Star/Narwhal investigation also found that nine of the developers who stand to benefit most from Ford’s Greenbelt land swap have donated significant sums to the Ontario Progressive Conservative party, totalling $572,000 since 2014.

In one case, a company associated with developer Michael Rice purchased nearly 700 acres in the Greenbelt in the Township of King for $80 million, just two months before the government announcement.

In her letter, Stiles questions the “suspicious timing of recent purchases of Greenbelt land” by landowners with donor and political ties to the PC Party, and references “powerful” developers Rice and Silvio De Gasperis by name.

Beginning in 2003, companies run by De Gasperis have bought at least 1,300 acres of land in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve.

De Gasperis — either through his own development company TACC or a consortium — owns land in four of the 15 areas of the Greenbelt slated to be opened for development.

Neither Rice nor De Gasperis responded to questions from the Star about Stiles’ letter by deadline.

Stiles is also asking the auditor general to “investigate the economic and environmental impacts on agricultural and natural systems.”

“The removal of Greenbelt lands also has several significant long-term environmental consequences, including threatening the integrity of interconnected natural and agricultural systems,” said Stiles.

“Environmental experts warn that removing pieces of the Greenbelt threatens all of it.”

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'MASSIVE DISTRACTION': Torstar co-owners say focused on 'quick divorce'

Speaking for the first time publicly since their business relationship soured, Torstar Corp. owners Paul Rivett and Jordan Bitove confirmed there was no reconciliation ahead as their approaches to business were too different.

The two, speaking at the launch of a TVO documentary about the Toronto Star newspaper Thursday evening, were however in agreement that they hope to resolve the split of their partnership as quickly as possible.

Rivett and Bitove are equal partners in Nordstar Capital Inc., an investment company that purchased Torstar in 2020 for $60 million, and controls all of its assets, including the Toronto Star newspaper.
In September, Rivett filed an application to the Ontario Superior Court seeking a court order to wind up the media company, citing “irreparable” damage to his relationship with Bitove, while in October the two agreed to move their dispute to meditation-arbitration.

Bitove, who is publisher of the Toronto Star, emphasized at Thursday’s event the importance of the paper as a civic institution and its adherence to its guiding social principles, while Rivett pushed on the need to diversify revenue streams through experiments like the company’s foray into online gambling because the organization is losing about $1 million a week.
Bitove said the dispute was a “massive distraction” from efforts to turn operations around.

“What kills me inside is we had such great momentum … the best thing is a quick divorce so we can allow our team to move forward,” he said.

Rivett, speaking at a press scrum after the event, said the two were working as fast as they could to get it resolved, with a likely resolution in weeks rather than months.

“Divorces aren’t great, they’re a distraction for sure, and that’s why we’re trying to get it done as quickly as possible. It causes confusion, it causes anxiety.”
He said it was crucial for the company to improve search engine optimization and the delivery of online content, noting that while the New York Times has a margin of around 10 per cent, there are digital content businesses with margins of 80 per cent.

He said that for a news organization like the Star to succeed, there also needs to be more collaboration between the sales and news sides of the business.

“If we want to have advertising on snow tires, we can’t just be constantly writing that we shouldn’t have cars.”

Rivett was previously president at Fairfax Financial, while Bitove was part of the ownership consortium that built the SkyDome, now the Rogers Centre.

********************************************************************************

NordStar Capital owners Paul Rivett and Jordan Bitove entered into arbitration Wednesday after mediation talks failed to resolve a fractious dispute between the two former business partners, according to three people familiar with the matter, as the duo seek to divvy up assets that include the Toronto Star newspaper.

Mr. Rivett and Mr. Bitove held two mediation sessions in late October, after Mr. Rivett went to court claiming he and his partner were deadlocked and could no longer work together. He asked the court to dissolve NordStar, a private equity firm in which they are equal partners, and proposed an auction process for splitting up its assets. At a brief hearing on Oct. 3, lawyers on both sides agreed to resolve the matter outside of court and pursue mediation and arbitration, which is conducted privately.

Mr. Rivett and a spokesperson for Mr. Bitove declined to comment.

Even with the assistance of a mediator, the sources say the two owners have so far been unable to agree on how to split up NordStar’s assets, which also include Metroland Media Group and investment stakes in VerticalScope Holdings Inc. FORA-T and Blue Ant Media Inc. The final outcome could now be in the hands of arbitrator J. Douglas Cunningham, a former justice with the Ontario Superior Court.

The Globe and Mail previously reported that Mr. Rivett and Mr. Bitove hoped to resolve the matter by the end of the year. The Globe is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

One complicating issue has been the sharp drop in the share price of VerticalScope, a digital media company that operates some 1,200 online communities. NordStar owns a 37-per-cent stake in VerticalScope, which went public last year, and the value of its shareholding hit more than $260-million in September, 2021. It has since fallen to roughly $47-million amid a deep rout for technology stocks.

Mr. Rivett and Mr. Bitove partnered in 2020 to purchase Torstar Corp., the parent firm of the Toronto Star, for $60-million, and pursued new revenue streams to fund journalism, such as launching an online casino and sportsbook when Ontario opened the market to private operators this year.

But the relationship quickly unravelled, as detailed in a court application Mr. Rivett filed in September through companies he controls. He claimed he and his partner had agreed on cost-cutting measures, but Mr. Bitove refused to carry out the plans at the Toronto Star, where he also serves as publisher.

Mr. Bitove also allegedly refused to provide financing for some of NordStar’s early-stage ventures, and reneged on an agreement to sell real estate assets to pay down debt.

As the disagreements deepened, Mr. Bitove attempted to sideline his partner by moving to appoint himself to the boards of various subsidiaries in a bid for greater control, according to the court application.

After The Globe reported on the court filing, Mr. Bitove responded with a statement through communications firm Navigator Ltd., saying he would make no apologies for his decisions at the Toronto Star, while implying Mr. Rivett preferred to “cut costs to the bone.”

Despite the apparent animosity between them, the former partners are scheduled to appear on stage together Thursday evening as part of a panel discussion following the screening of a documentary about the Toronto Star. The film, titled Viral News and produced by TVO, follows the newspaper during a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and features interviews with Mr. Rivett and Mr. Bitove before their public split.

https://www.tvo.org/video/documentaries/viral-news

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100+ gang members living in York Region, police say

Some of the 27 firearms seized during Project Monarch, led by YRP. Elizabeth Keith/NewmarketToday

A migration of Toronto gang members into more suburban areas has resulted in more than 100 gang members living in York Region, intelligence from York Regional Police said. 

The migration is a result of gang members accumulating wealth through crime and having the means to buy or rent property in the suburbs, according to a report on Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction. The report was presented by Insp. Ahmad Salhia, Det. Sgt. Rich Gaudet, intelligence analyst Sue Dunlop to the police board at its monthly meeting Nov. 7. 

Intelligence shows more than 100 members of 37 different gangs are living in the region. It also highlights that there have been 32 incidents involving gang members in the region this year alone. 

YRP said there has been a "marked increase in gun and gang violence across the Greater Toronto Area. Gang-related activity transcends regional borders." 

So far in 2022, YRP has made 37 front-line firearm seizures and is on track to seize about 50 by the end of the year. This only accounts for guns seized during traffic stops or interactions with individuals and not through investigations. 

Once a gun is seized, it is traced to determine its origins, the report said. Of the 37 guns seized on the front line, 68 per cent were traced to the U.S. while 32 per cent are unknown, which could mean the serial number was obliterated or it's still being traced. 

On top of seizures, the hold-up unit seized 23 guns, of which 92 per cent were traced to the U.S. The homicide unit seized three, with one traced to the U.S., and the guns, gangs and drug enforcement unit seized 42 with 81 per cent traced to the U.S. 

"Contextualized, out of 107 firearms that you see, 83 of them were successfully traced. Of those 83 guns that were traced, 100 per cent of them were identified as illicit firearms coming in from the United States and into Canada," Salhia said. 

When it comes to enforcement, the report highlights Project Monarch, a multi-jurisdictional joint forces operation led by York Regional Police. It resulted in 400 charges being laid, 22 arrests, and a large number of drugs and guns seized. 

It also identified a possible point of entry for illicit firearms into Canada from the U.S. at Walpole Island, a First Nation community on the St. Clair River, right across from Port Huron, Michigan in the U.S. 

"At its narrowest point there's an 800 metre gap and as you can see, it's very easy for organized crime and other criminals to import illicit contraband into the country," Salhia said. 

He said building partnerships with the Indigenous community there and with other police services in Ontario is key to addressing the flow of illegal firearms.  

The report also touched on Bill C-21, which went into effect Oct. 22 and involves a national freeze on buying, selling and transferring handguns, limits access to firearms for people involved with domestic violence or self-harm, introduces new penalties and investigative measures, as well as some anti-smuggling measures. 

While YRP said it supports any measures to enhance and protect public safety, it added that the bill doesn't go far enough to disrupt the entry of illicit firearms to Canada from the U.S. 

Locally, the report said YRP will continue to combat guns, gangs, and violence through its reduction strategy which includes four pillars: intelligence, suppression, enforcement, and community mobilization.

"Anytime we can seize a gun, we know that we are saving a life," Salhia said. "Our commitment to our community will continue and is unwavering."

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The death of Toronto’s alternative weeklies: NOW, EYE Weekly, Grid

I remember, back in Ye Olden Days when I was a boy, you had to pay for music. Not just because you wanted to support artists. But because buying music was the only way you could listen to it.

I mean, back before we all had the internet in our pocket — back before many of us even had the internet in our homes — there were radios, often playing music for free. Music videos on TV. Sure. But if you wanted to listen to a particular song at the time of your choosing, or hear a band that didn’t have any hits on the charts, you had to go out and buy their record. Or, if they were in town, buy a ticket to see them play a show live.

So here’s the thing: back then, I was broke. Too broke to buy very much music. Worse, I was still at an age when it seemed important to me to know what all the new hot music was about.

The way I would solve that problem is that every Thursday, I would pick up the free alternative weekly newspapers — Now magazine and Eye Weekly — and read all the record reviews and all the live show reviews and all the previews. That obviously wasn’t the same as hearing all the music, but it gave me a sense of what these bands were doing, what passionate people thought of them, what the music scene in this city was like.

And I would read the rest of those free weeklies the same way, and for much the same purpose: the news section told me what activist countercultural types were thinking about issues that went beyond the topics of the main political parties and nightly newscasts; the theatre section gave me an overview of drama productions big and small; the movie reviews offered buying advice for Hollywood fare but also made me conversant in obscure foreign and indie films I knew I’d never likely see.

The back pages offered sex advice columns that were more blunt and spicy — and often more inclusive — than anything you’d read in your family newspaper. The classifieds seemed like the place to find a great job for a young person or an ideal student apartment. The “missed connection” ads in the personals were whole mini-narratives of romances that could have been — and a weekly ritual of imagining you might recognize yourself as a character in one.

And those papers were a resource when I was looking to leave the house and maybe spend some money: pages and pages of listings of events, and ads from bars telling you who was playing where, and a coupon that would get you into the Dance Cave without paying the cover.

For the young and broke, those papers were a one-stop city guide: advice for living, ammunition for fighting about politics, intel for discussing the arts. They let you know what was going on — not in the corridors of power, which you might learn from a daily paper, but in the streets where we lived and in the spots we wanted to hang out. Sometimes they were funny. Sometimes they were weird. They were usually a reliable way to pass the time in a coffee shop or on a subway ride. And they were free, which was the right price for my budget.

Later, I got my start in this business working at the free weeklies. It was as much fun as it looked.

I’ve missed them as they’ve slowly died off. Eye Weekly (where I worked) died long ago, and its successor the Grid (where I also worked) folded a few years after that. Now magazine has been visibly wasting away for most of a decade, and after the public quitting of all its remaining staff (who say they had not been paid for months) in September, it seemed to have reached the end. The same has happened in other cities across North America.

So I was excited to see the announcement of the launch of the Grind, a new “alt-weekly style” publication financed by its editors and launched earlier this month. It’s available in print at some Toronto bookstores and subway station newsstands. It isn’t available online. I ran out to find it.

“There’s a void in this city, especially with Now magazine seemingly out of print,” the editors write in the inaugural issue of what for now seems to be a bimonthly. “Toronto needs a gritty free magazine now as much as ever.” Agreed there.

It isn’t what those old free weeklies were, and it isn’t trying to be. It’s focused nearly exclusively, in its first issue, on political issues, with essays and reports mostly reprinted from leftist online spaces like Canadian Dimension, Press Progress and briarpatch.

It has no arts coverage or listings, which were always such an essential part of the link alt-weeklies gave readers to their cities — though the inaugural editor’s letter says they plan to expand arts and culture content. Even without it, the Grind remains dedicated to serving the young and the broke. Loudly, proudly, this is a paper for the working class, advocating on their behalf, telling their stories.

It doesn’t completely scratch my itch for the old, familiar alt weeklies. But then why should it? I’m a middle-class, middle-aged guy, employed gainfully in the mainstream media. It’s not made for me. It’s made as an alternative to me.

I hope they grow and thrive.

And reading it, getting the newsprint on my fingertips, reminded me to renew my subscription to the West End Phoenix, the other print-based inheritor of the alt weekly tradition in Toronto. Dave Bidini, who was both a contributor to and (with his band the Rheostatics) subject of coverage in those old alt weeklies, founded the Phoenix as a community paper, but in my mind it fills some of the same alt weekly hole, giving smaller, neighbourhood-level street coverage of the city’s faces and places, and celebrating local arts and artists.

The world is a different place, things change. Alt weeklies might not be coming back. But as much as both the Grind and West End Phoenix are working to keep their spirited newsprint tradition alive, I’ll be rooting for them. And reading them.

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