Centre For Local Research into Public Space (CELOS)
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For the cover page of this folder go to the Correspondence about Dufferin Rink (community reactions)
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February 2025
Andrea Adams: I know change needs to happen, and we can't cling to the past. But the new rink situation at Dufferin Grove really does make me sad.
It used to be so lively, with parents and children hanging out. It was a bit rundown but comfortable. There was healthy food, old books, mitten drying. It was bustling and peaceful at the same time. There were warm and comfortable staff helping skaters, families...counters to sit at, places to hang coats so you could spend time inside with other families. Nobody lingers now. How could they? There aren't any table or chairs. No place for coats. No nooks.
Now there is a pretty and clean place with lots of windows that is sterile and patrolled by security guards who are very...not community or family oriented. They sit inside a back room and swagger around. It is just not a nice feeling. Where are the nice rink staff? Where once there was a friendly kitchen you could see into with staff serving hot chocolate and bread and butter for a few coins, there is now, I think, a food programming area? That nobody can see inside? It's like it is too fancy to be seen or used...
Sometimes I have tried going in the morning and there are several staff inside the locked facility with the gas fireplace going and they don't let me is to put on my skates. I mean, I'm sure they are relying on job descriptions and they don't have to let me in. But that's not how it was, nor how it has to be.
I don't know if you were at the official rink openning also Sunday. It was late morning, a time perfect for families. I didnt notice a single child until I was on my way out after 45 min, and then there was one in the rinkhouse but not on the ice. The clay and paper people were there doing their best...to play to a small gathering of middle aged, dispirited looking adults. There was a dj doing his best, but no children or families on the ice.
There was a figure skater that arrived and was lovely to watch, but was chased off the ice because 1) was dangerous for children? Of which there were none? 2) could make chips in the ice. Which is why we have ice maintenance? I mean, the zamboni guy spends most of his just standing there. I've seen other rinks, indoor and outdoor, where they drip a little water on ice chips. When I asked why they had asked the figure skater to leave, the response was not thoughtful, and didn't involve logical discretion. To the contrary, even though I was speaking reasonably, the zamboni guy said he should not have to put up with my "bullshit". What???
This is all so awful the attack on Jutta is just the latest. (police at her door? Of a gentle woman using a cane?) Jutta may be a pain sometimes, but honestly, who are these rink staff??? Are they absolutely without any good sense? No de-escalation skills? How are they placed at a rink that should be serving a wide variety of activity that will inevitably present conflict at times? Where are their thoughtful community building skills? We used to have that there. A couple of non uniformed kind staff who managed the rink back when it was actually busy and had potential for actual conflicts. back then, people used.to flock there to see one another.
The degradation of the rink needs attention. It is depressing there. Clean, sparkly and depressing and oppressive. That place is broken, I am sad to say.
Kathryn Scharf: I was alarmed and saddened– though less surprised than I ought to be– to hear of the altercation between the rink staff at Dufferin Grove and longtime park supporter and activist Jutta Mason. The premise that she was in any way threatening to staff is ludicrous on so many levels– from the fact that she is an older woman with a cane to the fact that it is utterly incompatible with her character and conduct.
Jutta was responsible for leading the drive to create the innovative programs that led to Dufferin Grove winning international awards for its community-building and creative approach. My family and I were so lucky to have benefitted from these over the years when these programs were operating properly, with the critical assistance of front line staff who came to the park precisely because they wanted to see these programs working and be a part of them. Jutta has had to fight many hard battles along the way to propel this work forward, often being opposed and stymied by the petty machinations of the Parks and Recreation bureaucracy, which has seen the work in the park as some sort of existential challenge.
When the renovation of the rink house was launched, many community members saw the writing on the wall. This was an expensive “solution” to a problem that we didn’t see as needing fixing. The building was not the cause of the steady deterioration of the park activities, but rather the diminishment of the staff that had created the culture to make it run as it did, in creative collaboration with community volunteers, foremost among them, Jutta.
I don’t visit the rink often these days. After trying to be involved with the community resource group that was ostensibly convened to consult on the project, I became convinced that only superhero levels of engagement and grit could begin to push back against the barriers put up by Parks and Recreation for true involvement. As predicted, the result that we see now is depressing and sterile. I hear that the staff are at best hands-off and at worst, hostile. This would seem to be borne out by the treatment that Jutta received yesterday.
Sending the police to Jutta’s home and barring her from the rink house is inexcusable, and is frankly harassment. You need to convene a meeting of the parties involved to understand who is involved and responsible, and to take appropriate measures to discipline the staff and reverse the order barring Jutta from the premises. Ideally, this would lead to a deeper level of questioning about what has gone wrong with the rink and the park, and a plan to make changes that would include community members, including but not limited to Jutta, which would aim to restore its operations and culture to something resembling the joyful inclusive place that it used to be.
Andrea Holtslander: There needs to be a meeting about Jutta Mason's treatment by recreation staff, and by implication, higher management in Parks and Recreation, and their interaction with her Feb. 12.
That a 77-year-old woman who walks with a cane has been accused of assault by a 22-year-old man is outrageous. More outrageous is the trespass order against Jutta Mason entering the Dufferin Grove clubhouse when she is behind the great number of wonderful projects at the park which made it the wonderful community gathering place it became.
I say 'became' because its quality has declined, in part due to indifferent park staff. Staff used to know me and my kids' names. Jutta writes, in her email I copied below, that they said things she hopes they "would never say to their grandmother." This is not the park I used to know.
Rachel Bokhout: Nancy Carneiro is the Parks Supervisor for Dufferin Grove Park (and all of Ward 9). I just called her and left a voicemail, and followed up with an email (ccing Councillor Bravo). If you all have time and inclination, you could do the same. I think it's important that Parks & Forestry knows that the neighbourhood isn't going to stand for this nonsense.
Barb Break: I was shocked and disturbed at hearing that one Rec staff made ( in my opinion ) a false allegation that Jutta Mason "pushed" him, that a group of police went to her home and advised her that the city manager had decided she was to be banned from entering the rinkhouse. This is a great and symbolic injustice, and it needs to be resolved. Thank you.
Mary Wood: There have been consistent issues with the rink house this season and based on my own experiences, and it does align with her suggestion that higher ups just might not want her around which is problematic on many levels.
From Feb.7: Hi neighbours, I just spent the last 25 minutes tidying the library and games spot in the clubhouse. I’m not sure how it was organized before but it was full of dried up markers. Mismatched games.In fact Most if the games are unusable with too many pieces missing and boxes broken up.
I asked the guys in the skate lending booth If they knew what was up and they said it was a community initiative so not their responsibility.
.....I suggested to Michelle that the issues with park staff are from the top down.
These young people are the product of an unprecedented pandemic. I said they need extra support and coaching.
And for a community baseline what about city of Toronto posters in all community centres ( they have great campaigns for 911 vs 211 or garage collection)
“Welcome! There are many staff to help you!”
With an illustration of a staffer in uniform and what questions they can answer and services they can provide?
Currently there are rink staff, kitchen staff, security and social worker staff for the encampment, all dressed differently (if in fact they are in uniform) and no one knows who does what….
Having a community knowing who does what and then feeling comfortable asking staff questions might be a first step?
There’s only QR codes in the rink house for the schedule ( and there’s no wifi)….
I’m also wondering if a range of community members have called Michelle with their own concerns.
Diversity of all kinds (age, gender, socio economic background, cultural identity) really matters and really helps those taking the call see that this is something many care about.
Jesica Moore: I'm writing to request a meeting. I write to you as a parent, as someone who has enjoyed Dufferin Grove Park for twenty-five years, and as someone who remembers, and grieves, the way it used to be there - the strength of the community, the strong social fabric, the welcoming of differences. And certainly, the honouring of our elders.
The park has been in very sad decline - in terms of community - for many years now. But this latest incident, where Jutta Mason, long-time advocate for this community - and the strength and energy behind basically everything good that has taken root in Dufferin Grove! - was banished from the park, with absurd allegations made against her. How are these park staff not ashamed to claim they were "assaulted" by a woman in her seventies who can't walk without a cane? I am including her email below.
This shocking treatment of someone who has worked so tirelessly for the community and for including all sorts of people - all ages, economic backgrounds, races, faiths - is a terrible and sad sign of the decline of a once-wonderful park, and these divisive and cold times we are in.
I am asking for a meeting, as soon as possible.
Matt Price:I am writing to protest the appalling treatment of one of Dufferin Grove's most distinguished citizens, which comes as the culmination of a remarkable decay in the culture at Dufferin Grove rink. Once one of the most vibrant and extraordinary places in Toronto, the City has spent millions of dollars to turn it into a drab, joyless place which actively excludes community involvement and spends far more on idle security guards than on programming.
What are you doing? Why have you let this happen? When will you fix it? You have the responsibility to steward this brilliant common good -- and you have turned it from a jewel to a lump of coal. The outrageous treatment of a distinguished senior citizen is on your hands, and I expect you to take action to fix it.
Clement Kent: As the email details copied below show, some of the Parks and Rec staff at Dufferin Grove Park are misbehaving and their conduct needs official enquiry. Jutta Mason, a partly disabled longtime community activist for the park, was mistreated by park staff today and had the police called on her. Someone in staff accused Mason to the police of having shoved them and having "a history of making the staff uncomfortable." Two police cars visited Mason at her home and told her she was barred from the rinkhouse/community centre.
Just to be clear, Jutta Mason is warm-hearted, non-violent, trustworthy person. The behaviour of the parks staff to her detailed below is indefensible and requires a full apology and a formal removal of the ban on her use of the rinkhouse.
I suggest a two step process. Step 1: Councillor Bravo chair a meeting with Jutta Mason and Parks Staff. If the situation can be resolved in this meeting, fine.
Step 2: if the meeting in step 1 doesn't happen by Feb 21 2025 or doesn't result in a mutually acceptable resolution, Councillor Bravo should host a public meeting in the Dufferin Grove community centre by Feb 28. The meeting should be adequately publicized at least 3 days in advance, and not held during working hours so residents can attend. Jutta Mason must be invited to this meeting by the City. I guarantee the meeting will be well attended by community members, many of who donated to and and voted for Councillor Bravo's campaign.
Parks and Rec staff currently have a poor reputation in the Dufferin Grove area. Prior to the Toronto Star exposé, we would often see them sitting for long periods in their trucks in the park. Several times when I have gone into the community centre to inquire about something, the public areas have been empty while the "staff offices" have had closed doors, with staff who did not respond to knocks on their windows, busy texting on their phones.
Dufferin Grove has many amenities due in large part to Jutta Mason's efforts. Up to about 2000, park staff were friendly and helped with these activities. At some time in recent years, their attitude to Ms Mason seems to have hardened and become defensive. Now it seems to have moved into open hostility. NOT what we, the public, want. Fix this, or we will in the court of public opinion.
Belinda Cole: I have just read Jutta Mason's account of the unbelievable nonsense - and outrageous attempts at bullying - that went on today with Dufferin Grove staff and their supervisor.
It's time for an immediate meeting with you both - about this absurd situation, and the shocking abuse of park staff's authority. Also, to attend to the park issues Jutta has recently raised.
Please copy me on all correspondence around how today's outrageous behaviour, allegations by park staff and the abuse of their positions will be both accounted for - and put to rights - along with the park issues which are calling out to be remedied.
Michele Landsberg: I’m writing because I just learned of the ugly and unprovoked incident at Dufferin Grove today when Jutta Mason attempted to park her car on the side street.. (TWO rec and park vehicles were taking up all the space…she has a handicapped sticker.) Why were they sitting there in their cars? Is this another example of parks and rec slackers, getting paid for hanging out instead of working? They objected to her parking there, called their supervisor and subsequently even reported an alleged assault (unbelievable!) to the police.
As you are surely aware, Jutta is one of Toronto’s most exemplary citizens. She single-handedly revolutionized community use of our parks, inspiring one group after another to follow her example to become actively involved in the lively and creative enjoyment of our neglected public spaces. My memories of Jutta’s lovely innovations goes back 20 years, when I took my little grandsons to the sand pit, the wading pool, the pizza dinners at the bake oven. It was thrilling and inspiring to become part of this incredible breakthrough in the use of public spaces….till then, no-one thought of really investing time and energy into their local parks. Toronto was a dour, private place. Jutta’s vision was transformative and, to this day, she has worked tirelessly to forward this progressive vision, always in the most inclusive possible manner.
Over the years, (in my view) under different administrations, the parks and rec staff became bureaucratic, critical, interfering, unsympathetic and even outright hostile to community use.
Now they are attacking and, I am sure, fabricating allegations against one of our most cherished, admired and important grassroots leaders.
Please look into this ugly incident and clear Jutta’s name. The mere thought that Jutta should be banned from the rink house is repulsive and ridiculous —a complete inversion of reality. The rink house belongs to the public, not to hostile staffers. Those staffers should be compelled to apologise publicly for their aggressive behaviour.
Gene Threndyle: I’m writing almost in disbelief that staff from Toronto Parks and Rec have accused Jutta Mason of assault, called the police on her and barred her from rink building at Dufferin Grove Park.
Are we living in a banana republic where community organizers have the police called on them and they get trumped up charges of assault and trespassing? How could a woman in her 70s, who walks with a cane, possibly have assaulted or been any threat to young park workers?
Given Jutta Mason’s long involvement with Dufferin Grove Park, her many, many hours and years of volunteer work making DG the park that it is, it is a travesty that she be treated this way. What is happening in this city? Jutta would like a meeting to talk about this with the community. I feel that she and the Friends of Dufferin Gove deserve an explanation as well as an apology for Jutta. If the person making these accusations worked for me, you can be sure they would be looking for another job.
Toronto parks department continues to go from bad to worse.
Sarena Knapik: Please see below account (albeit one person’s perspective) of a disturbing and most ridiculous rollout of a sequence of events. WT*! is going on with the bozos hired by the City Rec Dept? (And some members of the ‘Planning Dept’ as well!). Somehow, although only one person’s perspective - I tend to believe the voice telling it - given the details of the persons involved & other incidents in the past.
Really? I mean .. really!? What an abuse - of ‘power’, of being a ‘man’, of being a city employee, of a disabled person.
Despicable, out of control behaviour of city employees. Responsibly and accountability are in Very short supply in city administration - this ‘incident’ might be a good place to start to enforce that basic requirement for an effective work force.
I look forward to hearing how this issue is ‘handled’ by the city.
Jane Price
I am a resident of Dufferin Grove neighborhood. I am also the president of the not-for-profit called CELOS-the centre for local research in a public space -which I co-lead along with Jutta Mason and a number of other community leaders.
We created CELOS in part to explore how we to animate and support friendly public spaces. For many years we had a great deal of success in Dufferin Grove, but it seems that things have gone in a very different direction since the rebuilding of the rink house and the change in the attitude at City Hall towards community engagement.
The recent events at Dufferin Grove Rink house, which I’m sure you’re now familiar with -Jutta Mason being harassed by staff and later visited by police alleging that she had assaulted a staff member - leaves me astounded.
I visited the Rink house with Jutta in late January . She and I had a picnic there. I arrived sometime before she did. At that point there was a woman who arrived at the rink and was unfamiliar with the set up and had a series of questions. The woman asked for help from other people in the rink house, and I stepped in and suggested she might want to speak to the staff person. Jason was in the office and while he could clearly hear the conversation, he did not respond to her until I asked him directly if he could answer some of her questions. His attitude was the opposite of helpful. He was very engaged with his phone and not at all with the people in the room.
Subsequently when Jutta and I were eating, the rink supervisor came by and Jutta enquired of him regarding an email she had sent to him asking about putting up a notice on the wall. He responded again with a surprisingly curt attitide saying he was unable to answer her email that day because he had to do payroll but he would get to it when possible.
At that point, I began to wonder does the city of Toronto has service standards? The OPS staff members are expected to respond to email inquiries within 24 hours and to service inquiries as soon as possible. There was no attitude of public service that I saw in the rink house staff that day -what I saw was the opposite.
In view of that experience and Jutta’s experience last week with rink house staff I want to hear your views on what you, as counsellor and an elected representative expect of Park staff on a city premises? I had thought that the rink house was supposed to be a public amenity open to city dwellers to use and make use of. Along the same lines I had thought that the obligation of the staff was to try to support the visitors and to be civil ?
If agree with this, then as you are hearing from me and others and based on Jutta’s recent experience-this public amenity experience is not happening -so what can be done?And how have things sunk to such a disastrous low?
I’m sure you know Jutta well enough to be confident that she does not engage in ‘ shoving.’ And I also expect you can see the absurdity of the suggestion that she assaulted the young man in question( notably this is the same young man who was not eager to be of assistance the day I visited the Rink house in January) .
What troubles me beyond the absurd suggestion that Jutta assaulted this young man, is the fact that the staff person and his pal actually felt confident enough to to harass Jutta with verbal profanity and to bully her physically making it impossible for her to leave. This conduct by the way I am absolutely confident fulfils the definition of assault under the criminal code definition.
What is even more shocking is that the young men engaging this behaviour did so whilst on the phone with their supervisor! I find it unspeakable that the supervisor did not intervene immediately, call a halt to this behaviour and speak directly to Jutta . Instead -as we now know-the supervisor called in the police, never reached out directly to Jutta and supported the staff in making specious allegations against her.
This suggests that there is something terribly amiss at that rink house, something I intuited back in my visit in January: at the dufferin rink right now there are two teams -the rink house staff, and the users.
To rink house staff, the users are a bother if we ask for any support at all unless perhaps if we are paying for a permit. The rest of us are seen as too demanding if we want anything at all that requires effort from the staff person. And if we are perceived as demanding or out of order by the staff, then look out!
What will happen if I somehow offend one of these staff? Will they box me in, swear at me and make it impossible for me to leave ? Or should we assume that this behaviour is only reserved for people who ask a lot of questions and have evident physical challenges? Where does the city draw the line on unacceptable conduct from staff?
I am actually flummoxed about how to proceed here. The city has spent a fortune rebuilding a rink house and the outcome is a shiny new centre that is largely unusable for members of the community unless we pay for a permit. What’s more the place is staffed by people who at best seem to be entirely disinterested in helping those attending the building and at worse are willing to harass, intimidate and lie about their interactions with users they dislike.
I am a lawyer by training and of course it occurs to me that we could explore taking action against the staff persons involved and up the line but of course that is not how this problem is going to be solved.
What I would like to do is engage in a conversation about what’s going on here. I would like to understand from you what you expect to happen at that rink house and what you expect from staff . And I would like to understand from you what your vision is for the use of public space and in this case, of course the rink house in particular. I would like to meet with you by phone or in person at your earliest convenience.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Maria Brum
Hello Community Neighbours and Councillor Bravo
The behavior of the ParknRec, staff, was outright deplorable and very disturbing, towards you Jutta. It needs to stop! Towards you and others.
These behaviors and events are so heavy handed !!!!!!!!
Why would anyone want to go to the park.
The park, no longer has the feeling of FUN and the feeling of PEACE. How sad.
Now ART is being is suppressed?
Whose Park is this anyway????
I think and feel it is high time, all of us, no matter what background you are from, politically, religiously and economically, ask ourselves this, whose park is this,anyway?
The next question,should be what are we going to do about it ? Not what are we doing about it, Obviously, things aren't working out right now.
I would love, to feel, the fun and peace, from within and from the outside of the park again.
The park belongs to the EARTH we humans, humbly take care of it, on its behalf, for all of us to enjoy.
We have so much going on in our nation and world...could we make the park fun and peaceful again?
M.S.
My balcony overlooks the skating rinks at Dufferin Grove Park and I find it amusing that this same staff that is making accusations against you can often be seen outside of the rink house "misbehaving" or acting unprofessional.
Several times I have seen them on the rink throwing the plastic supports (which are used mainly by children in order to learn to skate) at each other. I am amazed at this as I'm sure this could be considered vandalism and that these are not inexpensive to replace.
I have also noted many times when staff seem to have nothing or very little to occupy their time. Is there no site supervisor on duty? I should think with a staff of this number that there should be someone on site all of the time to ensure that staff are doing what they're supposed to be doing. It seems that Toronto's Park & Rec department recently has faced similar issues with staff not doing what they're supposed to be doing with their time (trimming trees, etc.). This department needs to be far more accountable to the taxpayers of the GTA.
Carolyn Oei
Let me say from the outset that I feel unsafe.
First of all and very worryingly, City staff have weaponized themselves by using the police. Calling the police on an elderly partially disabled woman is akin, in my opinion, to calling the cops on a racialized person. I am a racialized person, a POC and a new migrant. These tactics smack of bullying behaviour that I have witnessed in my own country of origin, a situation I was not expecting when I moved here. And because it is now a police investigation, which is preposterous to me in any case, no one can talk about it. Everyone has been gagged.
With regard to the trespass order against Jutta, my understanding is it had to do with her making members of staff feel uncomfortable. On that note, I recall an extremely good point that was made by a community member during the community meeting you held on January 8, Councillor, about the encampments. To paraphrase, there is a very big difference between feeling uncomfortable and feeling unsafe and it is crucial that the difference is made clear.
Under these circumstances, as a POC new migrant with opinions and a genuine love for community, I feel unsafe to be anywhere near the rinkhouse staff – Michelle, that would include you and Adam – who could potentially call the police on anyone who makes them feel uncomfortable. This impedes my participation in community activities. No one should be made to feel unsafe.
As a new migrant wanting to know more about the community I was joining, a community that welcomed me warmly into their arms and hearts, I naturally did my homework. There is a WEALTH of information on the internet about Dufferin Grove Park and Jutta Mason if only people cared to take the time to read. I’m glad I put in the effort to do my research and to educate myself. It is plain to see from the archives and from my real-life observations now that much has changed in the last 30 years. Mindsets, ways of being, understanding of what community means. Individualism, isolation and toxic corporate styles of management have changed people. Factors such as these have had a negative impact on how we treat one another.
I have a real question for the City of Toronto. What do you want? Community or customers? If you want customers who come and go without being involved with how things are run, please bear this in mind: the customer is always right, even in a unionized society like Canada. The customer is demanding and wants only the best quality service. The customer wants to see productivity, not employees gathering during office hours like they’re on a perpetual coffee break. The customer does not want to be told, “That’s not my job.” If the employee is being paid to serve, then their only job is to serve. The customer wants leadership to be present and accessible at all times.
If the customer requests for broken tables to be replaced, the customer expects broken tables to be replaced quickly and efficiently. I’ve been told that requests for replacement tables in the rinkhouse have yet to be addressed some two months later.
Personally, I hope the City doesn't want customers, although I already see signs of these deep fissures.
Community is people and it is the only way we can get through the hard times. Community makes things better because of all our different skills, talents, ideas, opinions and practices.
The City’s websites tout “community” as if it is a concept it understands. Being in community requires that people put their personal insecurities aside and be open to suggestions and offers of help to make improvements for everyone’s benefit.
Quite unfortunately, however, the City, through its representatives, has behaved extremely poorly and should be held to account. I look forward to your thoughts and to the community meeting
March correspondence
From Tamara Romanchuck
The one onsite supervisor sits in an office behind a locked door with his back to the room. When he leaves, as witnessed by David and I on countless occasions, the young staff workers entertain friends in the skate sign-out room, turning up music to blast it in the rinkhouse space with community members, families present, getting their skates on, taking a break from skating, etc. We have also on occasion witnessed children who look like they're ten years old also hanging out with the young park workers in the skate room. When this has been brought to the onsite supervisor's attention we have been told that no one, only staff are allowed in the skate room. And yet the behaviour continued through the rest of the skating season. Of course this is only one example of many where complaints have been made around lack of staff maturity and professionalism to have nothing changed.
Community distrust of Rec workers and skepticism about the Rec Dept's lack of transparency and accountability is only growing. It's truly scandalous how these young people are NOT being set up for success, but allowed to think that a lack of focus, commitment, maturity, leadership, integrity, and disconnection to the community, are okay and normal. I also don't think cameras are going to address these quite real and substantial problems and I say this on behalf of Clay and Paper Theatre, even as we had our work vandalized last week as it hung in the rinkhouse.