City of Toronto Reviews 6

Around 9:30 am on Dec 23, 2025, I had no choice but to approach & bother live staff for help at this Toronto Employment & Social Services site inside Yorkgate Mall after multiple fax failures with their all-in one machines accessible free for members of the public on site. After being kicked around for minutes, I finally found myself being crossed examined & very much interrogated by a staff person named "Joanna".

My request was very simple------fax out a one-page bank application to a local fax number. Joanna looked over my document repeatedly while questioning me. I told her if their machines are not disabled the fax feature for at least months, I do not want to bother someone like her to begin with for a very simple tiny favour.

I am not a technical person & to me personally, this small request would not take more than 10-15 seconds & it is free in terms of paper & ink other than maybe 2 cents of electricity to help a real, no risk favour of a real human being in need.

Instead , Joanna would spend minutes interrogating me, looking through my personal information over & over again including my name, account number, the dollar figure on the document, name of my bank, etc. & after all these, Joanna would still turned down my request & told me to go somewhere else to send my fax. If I remember correctly, Joanna also tried to convince me that they do not have a fax machine or they cannot send fax for clients, & so on.

Well, my understanding is this is an open to the public city service facility. We taxpayers fund their payroll & all benefits that they & their families enjoy. All equipment & resources are also funded by each & all of us taxpayers they really have rules like refusing & turning away people with legit reasons & needs for assistance from NOT THEIR OWN PERSONAL BUT PUBLIC EQUIPMENT & RESOURCES, then these rules are all ridiculous & insulting to members of the public who require help from these people & to us taxpayers.

Joanna appeared to be telling me that they have rules preventing them from helping even little things for whatever reason!! AMAZING INSULTING RULES! Joanna also put up much resistance & more of her interrogations when I requested for her name, availability & name of her supervisor, & so on.

I realize for decades that this is no longer the Canada I fall in love with 40 years ago. I am now stuck in this city of increasing heartlessness, alienation, interpersonal indifference & uncaring & no help attitude & aptitude amongst so many of us. I am incapable of moving elsewhere again, not even to relocate to perhaps other part of Canada that I could still find the very much historical Canadian humanity & caring & values.....................

Ever since I was a kid back in the late 1970's, I always passed by this park whether by bus or foot since I lived just a few short blocks away from it and Never visited it up until Now!

As I got much older, I started to become more interested in learning about this park since I thought that it was just a plain dam and that was all.

Boy was I wrong!

I was very fortunate to have Utkarsh Atmaram as my Guide.

Together we walked all the way from Bathurst Street and Sheppard at 8:00 a.m. and eventually made it to this park after passing through Earl Bales Park on the way.

Here is some background information about the G. Ross Lord Park:

This extensive parkland, located in the West Don River valley north of Finch Avenue, was assembled in 1972 primarily for flood control purposes. The park was named after Dr. G. Ross Lord, P. Eng., in recognition of his service as the chairman of the former Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority from 1958 to 1972. He advanced the cause of conservation for a further six years as a provincial appointee at the Authority. Dr. Lord was also one of Canada's foremost hydraulic and flood control engineers. A naturalization plan has been established for G.Ross Lord Park.

During our visit we not only saw the dam, but we walked all the way around the dam. It was a little bit complicated, but we made it !

During our walk, we passed by many birds and saw some Russian Fisherman trying to catch their Carp for the day. Some actually did catch fish and we did take pictures to prove it!

We also walked around some trails and even passed through the Westminster Cemetery in order to get around the dam, believe it or Not and Yes, the Cemetery was beautiful as well!

During our Five (5) hour walk, we also saw a private horse stable too which came as a surprise since it was Not expected!

I am just so glad that I went on this hike with Utkarsh Atmaram who is a highly qualified guide who has visited this park several times before.

Thank you so much for Making My Sunday A Great Day!

Sincerely yours,

Howard Paul Shore
Hiker
Along With Utkarsh Atmaram, My Guide