Jane and Finch is a neighbourhood located in the northwest end of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, in the district of

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

. Centred at the intersection of

Jane Street Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

and

Finch Avenue West Finch Avenue is an arterial road, arterial thoroughfare that travels east–west in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The road continues west into the Regional Municipality of Peel as List of numbered roads in Peel Region, Regional Road 2 and east in ...

, the area is roughly bounded by Highway 400 to the west, Black Creek to the east, Sheppard Avenue to the south, and

Steeles Avenue Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of Regional Municipality of York, York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area from ...

to the north. The Jane and Finch community is a high density and low-income neighbourhood. It is made up of single-family

detached A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelli ...

and

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...

houses, along with several high-rise apartment buildings.

History

Jane-Finch was originally the rural community of Elia. The area was developed as a model

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

in the 1960s in response to the rapid

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

growth of Toronto. The community was planned to accommodate a socially diverse population and included a substantial amount of public housing, but insufficient thought was given to the social

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

needed to sustain community life. The 1960s development plans spearheaded by the Ontario Housing Corporation (OHC) coincided with North York Planning Department’s goal of creating a more urban-looking suburb. Known for its series of high-rise buildings and, concomitantly, its above average

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

, Jane-Finch experienced astronomical growth from 1961 to 1971 when the population went from 1,300 to 33,000, thereby accounting for more than 40% of the growth in North York. In general, urban planners, local

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

s, residents of Jane-Finch, and others today are of the opinion that the OHC and North York erred seriously, contributing to rapid

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

in the area without anticipating its negative consequences. By 1967, 22.5% of all residential dwellings in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood were designated public housing. Meanwhile, just 3% of North York was designated public housing at the same time. Throughout the 1960s, many of the private and public housing buildings were constructed in the

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

architectural style. The high concentration of public housing units, transformed the area into a high-poverty neighbourhood. South-West of Jane ^ Finch - panoramio

In 1973, a group of dedicated residents, politicians and community workers started identifying ways to address community problems. They concentrated their efforts on improving their neighbourhood’s negative image and creating a sense of community pride. Since then the neighbourhood has developed over 30 grassroots associations, including social and health service organizations, based on principles of mutual aid. Jane-Finch residents managed to create the infra-structure that their community needed to become healthy and

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

. They succeeded in bringing together various sectors to address a wide range of

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, social and

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

al needs. Still, a 1975 study by a planning consulting firm identified the following problems resulting from the rapid growth of the community: overcrowded schools, disconnected social services, inadequate recreation facilities, and a serious issue with youth crime. They also wrote that youth felt a "general malaise…about living in the Jane-Finch area" and that the area had a "poor self-image". The Toronto City Summit Alliance’s Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force identified the Black Creek Neighbourhood as one of the 13 Priority Neighbourhoods across the city, where there are not enough social services to address the growing needs of the community. The United Way "Strong Neighbourhoods: A Call to Action" (2001) Fact Sheet on Black Creek also reports that the Black Creek Neighbourhood, which is encompassed in the catchment region of this project, has a higher rate of racialized groups, immigrants, recent newcomers, children, youth, lone parents, low-

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. For ...

families, low-income unattached individuals, lower

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

income, higher

percentage In mathematics, a percentage (from la, per centum, "by a hundred") is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%", although the abbreviations "pct.", "pct" and sometimes "pc" are also us ...

of households with incomes below $20 000, higher proportion of

rental Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for al ...

households, higher

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

, lower percentage of population with

university education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completio ...

, and higher percentage of population with less than

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

education. In 1983 Jennifer Hodge de Silva, a pioneering filmmaker of the 1970s and 1980s produced the film, ''Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community'' 57 min which revealed tensions between police and area residents. Between 1981 and 2001, the total population of North York grew by 8.7%; higher economic families by 9%, but poor economic families by 80.5%. Poverty intensified in 5 main areas. The most prominent is the Jane-Finch area, where four poor neighbourhoods turned into regions of very high poverty, and a region that previously had low to moderate poverty became classified as having high levels of poverty. By 2001, a major shift had taken place, with the immigrant family population now accounting for 62.4% of the total family population in these communities, and Canadian born families making up the remaining 37.6%. Between 1981 and 2001, the number of

racialized In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is a political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization often arises out of th ...

individuals also increased by 219%. The Toronto City Summit Alliance’
Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force
identified the Black Creek Neighbourhood as one of the 13 Priority Neighbourhoods across the city, where there are not enough social services to address the growing needs of the community. As part of a rebranding strategy in 2008, Toronto City Councillor

Anthony Perruzza Anthony Perruzza ( , ; born 1959 or 1960) is a Canadian politician who has served on Toronto City Council since 2006. He currently represents Ward 7 Humber River—Black Creek. Perruzza was a North York councillor from 1988 to 1990, and served in ...

had banners attached to hundreds of hydro poles in Jane and Finch, calling the area University Heights, referencing the existing name of the neighbourhood in municipal planning documents.

21st century (2001–present)

By 2002, the area had "one of the highest proportions of youth, sole-supported families,

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

and

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, low-income earners and public housing tenants of any community in Toronto".p. 5, A Report of the Jane-Finch Street Involved Youth Issues Coalition, December 2002 That year, only 70% of people in the neighbourhood had proper

indoor plumbing Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a Tap (valve), tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used fo ...

(compared to 95% of Canadians), and brownouts were common. Over half of the neighbourhood's residents lived below the poverty line. The United Way’s “Poverty by Postal Code-The Geography of Neighbourhood Poverty: 1981–2001” (2004) report explained that by 2001, there were more high-poverty neighbourhoods in the former City of

than in any of the other former cities. Several community-based organizations, businesses, community residents and city staff have joined together to form the Black Creek West Community Capacity Building Project. Funded by the City of Toronto, the project aims to "improve the quality of life for residents living in the Black Creek West community by placing emphasis on building on assets and capacities, prevention, community involvement, diversity and community well-being." There are also a number of other organizations and networks that have come together to develop programs and solutions to the problems that have been identified in the various reports. In December 2017, an extension of the western branch of the

Line 1 Yonge-University Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

subway line was opened, with a station; , at

Keele Street Keele Street is a north–south road in Toronto, Vaughan and King in Ontario, Canada. It stretches , running from Bloor Street in Toronto to the Holland Marsh. South of Bloor Street, the roadway is today known as Parkside Drive, but was originally ...

, about 1.5 km east of the neighbourhood.

Culture

Being one of the most visible minority-concentrated communities in the City of Toronto, the Jane-Finch community hosts a number of cultural activities.

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

– The Jane-Finch community is an active participant in International Women's Day. For example, in 2004, Driftwood Community Centre hosted the event for the community, the theme of which was "Balancing Family and Work." Several community organizations sponsored the event, such as Doorsteps Neighbourhood Services, Delta Family Resource Centre, Driftwood Community Centre and the Jane/Finch Community & Family Centre. Other participating agencies included Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, Costi and the North York Women's Centre. Activities of the day included a "Women & Work" resource table, parenting seminars, child care and poetry readings from award-winning poet Lillian Allen. Women were also treated to manicures, hair-braiding and

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

. The Black Creek Community Health Centre also participates in the planning and organizing of International Women's Day, through a Planning Group that hosts a series of community-based planning workshops. The International Women's Day conference provides the opportunity for women in the community to build relationships, develop a

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

across differences and gain skills related to civic participation.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws; 69 people ...

– The Jane-Finch community gets involved in the ‘’International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination." In 1999,

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

hosted a Stop Racism Video Competition, accepting 320 entries nationwide. One of the top ten winners included

Paul Nguyen Paul Nguyen, (born February 23, 1980) is a Canadian filmmaker, politician and social activist. In 2012, he was among the first 60 Canadians to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal at the inaugural presentation ceremony at Rideau ...

, a Jane-Finch community member and creator of Jane-Finch.com, and his team members Helen Vong and Chris Williams. At the awards show on March 3, 1999, the team was awarded various prizes by Dr. Hedy Fry, Minister of Multiculturalism. Toronto Caribbean Carnival Parade Kids’ Carnival – A part of Toronto's celebrated annual ‘’ Caribbean Carnival Parade" (Caribana) is the Junior Parade for children ages 4–16. This "Kiddie's Carnival" parade and Caribbean marketplace are held in the heart of the Jane-Finch community and are open to the public. Children spend the day proudly showing off their colourful costumes, dancing to festive music, competing for prizes and crowns, and celebrating a sense of pride in their

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and community. Canadian Hispanic Day Parade – Run by a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that aims to promote the

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...

of the

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n people of Canada, the Canadian Hispanic Day Parade is an annual event held in the Jane-Finch community. In 2006, the 6th annual parade was held on August 26 and 27, beginning at the Jane and Sheppard Mall and ending at the John Booth Arena (Jane and Shoreham). The parade gives the Latin community an opportunity to come together, celebrate a sense of belonging and share Latin culture and

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

with others. It is the only such parade in Canada. Members of the Hispanic Day Parade/Super Latin World Arts Festival Inc. organizing committee(s) also work to support Jane-Finch youth by raising funds through various

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

activities. These funds aim to increase youth accessibility to

bursaries A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awa ...

provided by the

Toronto Board of Education The Toronto Board of Education (TBE; commonly known as School District 15), officially known as the Board of Education for the City of Toronto, is the former secular school district serving the pre-merged city of Toronto. The board offices were l ...

and 31 Division, which are offered to 10 students in the Jane Finch community who have been identified as community leaders by the Board of Education. These youth must be pursuing post-secondary education and must be paying a portion of their

tuition Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

independently from the bursary. Recognizing that this is not possible for some community youth, members of Hispanic Day Parade/Super Latin World Arts Festival organizing committee(s) raise funds that are held in trust by the Jane-Finch Community and Family Centre and disbursed to selected youth within the community.

Demographics

Two city neighbourhoods cover the area commonly known as Jane and Finch. From Finch north to Steeles is considered part of the Black Creek community while from Finch south to Sheppard is called Glenfield-Jane Heights. The population of Jane and Finch has generally been in decline since the 1996 census.

North Jane & Finch (Black Creek)

As of 2016, the northern half of the neighbourhood had a population of 21,737. Major ethnic populations (2016): * 29.0%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

; '' 9.6% Jamaican'' * 19.0%

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

; '' 7.2%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

'' * 11.9%

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

; '' 10.6%

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

'' * 11.7%

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...

; '' 6.9% East Indian'' * 8.2%

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

(of any race)

South Jane & Finch (Glenfield-Jane Heights)

As of 2016, the southern half of the neighbourhood had a population of 30,491. Major ethnic populations (2016): * 24.2%

; '' 10.0% Jamaican'' * 23.2%

; '' 14.1%

'' * 12.0%

(of any race) * 13.0%

; '' 11.7%

'' * 7.4%

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

* 7.0%

; '' 6.5% East Indian''

Education

Two

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

s operate schools in Jane and Finch, the separate

Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. I ...

(TCDSB), and the

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

(TDSB). Before 1998, they were overseen by the Metropolitan Separate School Board (MSSB) and

North York Board of Education The North York Board of Education (NYBE, commonly known as School District 13), officially the Board of Education for the City of North York is the former public school board for the former city of North York in Ontario, Canada. In 1998, the pro ...

(NYBE) respectively. Both TCDSB, and TDSB operate public

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

institutions in the neighbourhood, including: * Blacksmith Public School (TDSB) * Blessed Margherita of Cittá di Castello School (TCDSB) * Brookview Middle School (TDSB) * Driftwood Public School (TDSB) * Firgrove Public School (TDSB) * Oakdale Park Middle School (TDSB) * Shoreham Public Sports and Wellness Academy (formerly known as Shoreham Public School) (TDSB) * St. Charles Garnier Catholic School (TCDSB) * St. Francis De Sales Catholic School (TCDSB) * St. Jane Frances Catholic School (TCDSB) * Stanley Public School (TDSB) * Topcliff Public School (TDSB) * Yorkwoods Public School (TDSB) In addition to public primary education institutions, TDSB also operate two public

secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Westview Centennial Secondary School Westview Centennial Secondary School (Westview Centennial SS, WCSS, or Westview in short) is a semestered public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has a student body of about 920 students located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada under the sa ...

and

C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute is a semestered public secondary school in the Keele and Finch area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History The school was founded in 1965. It was named after Charles William Jefferys, a Canadian artist whose work ...

. TCDSB currently does not operate a regular

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in the neighbourhood as of , with TCDSB secondary school students residing in Jane and Finch attending institutions in adjacent neighbourhoods. However, the board previously operated

Regina Pacis Catholic Secondary School Regina Pacis Catholic Secondary School (Regina Pacis CSS, RPCSS, Regina Pacis High, or Pacis in short) is a former Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1980 to 2002, it was operated by the Toronto Catholic District School ...

, opened in 1980 until its closure in 2002. The building has been occupied by

Monsignor Fraser College Monsignor Fraser College (also called Monsignor Fraser, MFC, or Fraser) is a Roman Catholic specialized dual-track Alternative and Adult Secondary School run by the Toronto Catholic District School Board in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school ...

's Norfinch Campus is also situated in the neighbourhood. Monsignor Fraser College is a

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

institution operated by TCDSB as a specialized dual-track

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

and

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

secondary school. The French

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

public secular school board,

Conseil scolaire Viamonde The Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV) is a public-secular French first language school board, and manages elementary and secondary schools in the Ontario Peninsula and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board operates 41 elementary schools and ...

, and it separate counterpart,

Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir ( en, My Future Catholic School Board) is a Roman Catholic French first language public- separate school board that manages elementary and secondary schools in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board o ...

also offer schooling to applicable residents of Jane and Finch, although they do not operate a school in the neighbourhood. CSCM and CSV students attend schools situated in other neighbourhoods in Toronto.

Recreation

Several municipal parks are situated in Jane and Finch, including Fennimore Park, Driftwood Park, Edgeley Park, Hullmar Park, Oakdale Park, Remberto Navia Sports Field, Silvio Colella Park, and Topcliff Park. Several municipal parks are situated near the Black Creek, a tributary of the Humber River. The Black Creek, and its valleys, forms a part of the larger

Toronto ravine system The Toronto ravine system is a distinctive feature of the city's geography, consisting of a network of deep ravines, which forms a large urban forest that runs through most of Toronto. The ravine system is the largest in any city in the world, w ...

. Municipal parks in Jane and Finch are maintained by the

Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation (PFR) is the division of Toronto's municipal government responsible for maintaining the municipal park system and natural spaces, regulation of and provision of urban forestry services, and the delivery of recre ...

. The division also operates several

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

s in the neighbourhood, including Driftwood Community Centre, Domenico DiLuca Community Recreation Centre, Northwood Community Centre, Oakdale Community Centre. Two branches of the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

also operate from the neighbourhood, York Woods branch, and Jane/Sheppard branch.

Black Creek Pioneer Village Black Creek Pioneer Village, previously Dalziel Pioneer Park, is an open-air heritage museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The village is located in the North York district of Toronto, just west of York University and southeast of the Jane and ...

, located in the northeast of the neighbourhood next to Black Creek, is an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

of 19th-century Ontario life.

Transportation

Several major roadways bound the neighbourhood, including the two namesake streets that form its core; Jane Street and Finch Avenue. Other major thoroughfares that pass through the neighbourhood are Steeles Avenue to the north, Sheppard Avenue to the south, and Highway 400 to the west. Highway 400 is a

controlled access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

that forms a part of the province's

400-series highways The 400-series highways are a network of controlled-access highways throughout the southern portion of the Canadian province of Ontario, forming a special subset of the provincial highway system. They are analogous to the Interstate Highway ...

Public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

in the neighbourhood is provided by the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...

(TTC). The TTC operates several

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

in the neighbourhood.

Finch West station Finch West is a subway station on the Line 1 Yonge–University of the Toronto subway. It is located under Keele Street, north of Finch Avenue West. When Line 6 Finch West opens in 2023, it will serve as the eastern terminus of that line. Descri ...

, on the western branch of Line 1 of the

Toronto subway The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system serving Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is a multimodal transport, multimodal rail network consisting of three Pa ...

, is located at Keele Street, 2 km east of the Jane-Finch intersection, and is accessed via the 36 Finch West bus. Construction of a light rail line through the neighbourhood, the Finch West LRT, is presently underway with the line expected to open in 2023. In conjunction with the Finch West LRT, construction of a new community hub is planned to be built in the Jane and Finch area.

Notable people

*Chuckie Akenz, hip hop musician *Anthony Bennett (basketball), Anthony Bennett, List of first overall NBA draft picks, top overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers *Jully Black, R&B musician *Denham Brown, professional basketball player *Junior Cadougan, professional basketball player *Dream Warriors (band), Dream Warriors, hip hop group *Dwight Drummond, broadcaster *Olu Famutimi, professional basketball player *Louis Ferreira, actor *Melanie Fiona, R&B musician *Winston LaRose, community activist profiled in the 2019 documentary film ''Mr. Jane and Finch'' *Glenn Lewis, R&B musician *Michie Mee, hip hop musician *Carlos Newton, former UFC Welterweight Champion *Pressa (rapper), Pressa, rap musician *

, community activist *Jessie Reyez, R&B/pop musician *Cabbie Richards, Cabral "Cabbie" Richards, TV personality *Mark Simms, community activist *Nora Fatehi, Bollywood actress/International Star

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jane And Finch Black Canadian culture in Toronto Black Canadian settlements Neighbourhoods in Toronto North York Poverty in Canada Urban decay in Canada