As volunteers got ready to hand out hot meals and groceries to those in need in a Toronto park on Thanksgiving weekend, city bylaw officers showed up and handed out fines — a total of $1,200 to the two non-profits operating the weekly event.
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officers → get → event
“It was horrible,” said Gurbir Bal, who, along with Jaswinder Khosa, serves up hot meals in Allan Gardens every Sunday.
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who → say → Gardens
“People were lined up and they were hungry.
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they → line → ?
Then this guy came and he wouldn’t let us set up.
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us → come → ?
We had tons of food that was getting cold.”
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that → have → food
17 Years of Sunday meals, now under threat
For the past 17 years, the duo have woken up as early as 3 a.m. to cook enough food to serve more than 350 people and make the 40-minute drive from their restaurant, Seva Kitchen Canada in Mississauga, to set up for the 12 p.m. lunch rush in the park.
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duo → wake → park
Though this past weekend went off without a hitch, the fines loom over the volunteers.
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fines → go → volunteers
“We never take a day off — rain, shine, snowstorms,” said Khosa.
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Khosa → take → day
“We feel really sad and bad.”
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We → feel → ?
In a statement to the Star, the city confirmed the fines were for multiple violations, including holding an event of more than 25 people without a permit, driving a vehicle off a roadway without a permit and putting up a tent without a permit.
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fines → confirm → permit
The city added that its initial goal was to “work with the organizers to help them continue their operations while meeting the requirements that apply to all organized events in city parks.”
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that → add → parks
It went on, “after those efforts did not result in the required permit being obtained, bylaw enforcement officers attended the site.
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officers → go → site
Officers first provided education and sought voluntary compliance before charges were issued.
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charges → provide → compliance
But Bal disputes this, saying they did try to work with the bylaw officers.
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they → dispute → officers
She said they had a permit when they first started the operation 17 years ago and had forgotten to renew it.
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they → say → it
She said the bylaw officers could have given them more leeway.
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officers → say → leeway
“At least say, ‘OK, we’ll give you a week or whatever to get your stuff together then we’ll come back,’” she said.
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she → say → stuff
The food bank that operates opposite them in the park was also fined.
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that → operate → park
Like Bal and Khosa’s hot food service, the food bank has operated in the park for a number of years.
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bank → operate → years
Stefanos Lialias, who’s volunteered with the food bank for more than a year, said his group also tried to work with the officers.
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group → volunteer → officers
“I said, ‘Look, can we just have a meeting about this?’”
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we → say → this
He said the officer had no interest in working with them.
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officer → say → them
They said, ‘Nope, we’ve got to give you a ticket.’”
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we → say → ticket
Its website describes it as a “volunteer grassroots movement” dedicated to ending world hunger and “nonviolent social change.”
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website → describe → hunger
They hand out about 120 bags of groceries every week.
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They → hand → groceries
The items are donated by local grocery stores, including small independent shops and large chains like No Frills.
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items → donate → Frills
The culinary school at George Brown College also donates food.
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school → donate → food
When a bylaw officer asked who was in charge, Lialias explained that due to the loose nature of the organization, there isn’t really one person in charge.
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Lialias → ask → charge
But the officer said someone needed to take the fine, so one of the volunteers, who did not wish to be named, took responsibility for the violation, and like Bal and Khosa, was given two fines of $300 each.
Lialias said they don’t have permits because of the cost and the onerous process of getting one.
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they → say → one
According to the city’s website, a permit for a “social gathering” of more than 25 people costs a little over $112.
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permit → accord → 112
The cost of a permit for a tent depends on its size.
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cost → depend → size
Food bank visits hit record highs
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visits → hit → highs
The fines for the Allan Gardens non-profits come as the affordability crisis has forced an increasing number of Torontonians to rely on food banks as a primary source of basic goods.
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crisis → come → goods
A 2025 study from the Daily Bread Food Bank and North York Harvest found that one in 10 Toronto residents relied on food banks.
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residents → find → banks
Between 2024 and 2025, the number of Torontonians using food banks increased by 18 per cent.
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number → use → cent
In response to a request for a statement, Olivia Chow’s office said it was in contact with municipal licensing and standards and parks staff about the incident.
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it → say → incident
The statement pointed to a number of initiatives championed by Chow in her term as mayor, including declaring food insecurity an emergency in Toronto.
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insecurity → point → Toronto
Mayoral candidate Brad Bradford said in a statement that, “when community groups say the permit process is too costly and too complicated, city hall should listen.”
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hall → say → statement
He pointed to several of his campaign promises that he says will help alleviate the affordability crisis.
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he → point → crisis
Lialias said when he first started volunteering last summer, he was reluctant to give up his Sundays.
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he → say → Sundays
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
