Levine Associates
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Shelley Levine talks about some of the differences between Immigration and Refugee Law

Everyone at Levine Associates congratulates Lev Abramovitch on his recent victory at Federal Court https://www.pressreader.com//toro/20181026/281509342176261

We're winning cases and hockey games!!

briefly quoted in this article http://nationalpost.com//afc198ea-5755-4434-87ee-b00ed64dd

http://nationalpost.com//afc198ea-5755-4434-87ee-b00ed64dd

Best Small Public Spaces #1 Berczy Park Located in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood of Toronto and situated just east of the iconic flatiron building and its famous mural, Berczy park is a pie shaped gem that has just undergone a complete makeover.... Like many of the green spaces listed here, Berczy park was not originally planned as a park but instead evolved into one after a series of disconnected events. Originally, the space was occupied by a number of turn of the century buildings which were later demolished and replaced with a parking lot. In 1966 the city expropriated the land and then designated it a public park in the early 1970s and named the park in honour of William Berczy, a German born pioneer who is credited with being one of the co-founders of the Town of York (Toronto). The newest rendition of Berczy park improves upon many of the same features which locals had grown to appreciate over the decades. Many of the trees in the old park were either unhealthy or dying and have now been replaced with fewer trees but planted using the innovative Silva Cell growing chambers, which manages both soil and storm water to ensure that that the new trees will grow into a healthy canopy for this urban park over the decades to come. The central feature of the new park is a two-tiered dog themed fountain with a trough at the bottom where pets can drink; a clear tribute to the thousands of dogs and their owners who visit the park each day. In the spring of 2017 Luis Jacob’s art piece Jacob’s Ladder will be installed at the western end of the park. The park also features green space where children can play and a central plaza paved with a granite mosaic. Berczy park hits the top spot because it reflects the importance of progressive city planning that looks to the long term. City planners who expropriated the cement parking lot more than 50 years could only dream that their decision would one day would evolve into a public space that doesn’t just contribute but transforms the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood into one the best urban spots in the city.

Best Small Public Spaces #2 Toronto Music Garden Clients seeking to immigrate to Canada often ask me why they should choose Toronto. In response to these frequent queries I thought I would create some top 10 lists of my favourite things in Toronto. These lists won’t include the typical tourist sights which anyone can Google, but rather the places and things that are off the beaten track and make Toronto special. These spaces and things are not necessarily "destinations" but i...nstead moments of respite on a busy day Toronto Music Garden Located at the foot of Queen’s Quay between Bathurst and Spadina, this park was established in 1999 and is a unique attempt to pair landscape design with music. Set to Bach’s Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major for unaccompanied cello, BWV 1007 and designed by world renowned Cellist YoYo Ma along with landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy, the park has remained one of the finest public spaces along the waterfront. Each movement within Bach's Suite corresponds to a different section of the park. The best way to enjoy this park is to plug in some buds, turn on Bach and make your way through the park by following the posted signs which explain how each garden relates to the work. If you want more structure, there are free-guided tours in the summer hosted by the Toronto Botanical Society. In addition, the park hosts free classical music concerts, which take place in a small amphitheater, which has been incorporated into the park. This park makes our list because of its unique effort to combine music and public space, the fact that it has maintained its mandate of providing a free venue for music concerts for nearly 20 years and the simple fact that it is beautiful.

Best Small Public Spaces #3 Underpass Park Clients seeking to immigrate to Canada often ask me why they should choose Toronto. In response to these frequent queries I thought I would create some top 10 lists of my favourite things in Toronto. These lists won’t include the typical tourist sights which anyone can Google, but rather the places and things that are off the beaten track and make Toronto special. These spaces and things are not necessarily "destinations" but instea...d moments of respite on a busy day #3 Underpass Park This relatively new urban park opened in 2012 and is located in the area of the West DonLands neighbourhood on the way to Corktown Commons running just east of River Street south of King Street. What makes this park unique and the first of its kind in Toronto, and why it makes our list, is because it is built on reclaimed land. This park sits beneath the Gardiner Expressway overpass, which was built in the 1950s and early 1960s. For the past 60 odd years this space sat derelict as industrial land, abandoned fields and in some cases car parks. Underpass Park was developed as part of Waterfront Toronto’s 2005 mandate to transform neglected urban spaces into valued public spaces. The park includes playgrounds, basketball courts, and a skateboard park. Perhaps the most impressive feature is the series of murals which have been painted by artist Paul Raff, on the expressway support beams. The paintings are numerous and to Toronto’s credit have thus far remained graffiti free. As the park continues to evolve there are plans to add more greenery.

Best Small Public Spaces #4 Cloud Gardens Conservatory... Clients seeking to immigrate to Canada often ask me why they should choose Toronto. In response to these frequent queries I thought I would create some top 10 lists of my favourite things in Toronto. These lists won’t include the typical tourist sights which anyone can Google, but rather the places and things that are off the beaten track and make Toronto special. These spaces and things are not necessarily "destinations" but instead moments of respite on a busy day #4 Cloud Gardens Conservatory Though the name is somewhat grandiose, this park makes our list because it is one of the few green spaces in the financial district and the fact that it represents what can be achieved when the city and private developers work in tandem to create public spaces. In the 1980s when the Bay Adelaide Centre 1.0 was given the green light this park space was given to the city in exchange for the right to increase density. The park is located east of Yonge Street between Richmond and Temperance Streets. There are several elements, which makes this park unique. The east side of the park butts up against a building making up part of the Bay Adelaide Centre and uses the wall as a backdrop for both an urban waterfall and art piece consisting of a steel structure made up of squares each of which symbolizes a different building trade. The Centre of the park consists of green space and paths filled with trees and shrubs. The most unique feature of the park is a greenhouse, which gives the park its name. The greenhouse is designed to maintain the same humidity level as a cloud forest. The plants in the green house are all varieties that grow in cloud forest environments. Access to the Greenhouse is free.

Best Small Public Spaces #5 Sugar Beach Clients seeking to immigrate to Canada often ask me why they should choose Toronto. In response to these frequent queries I thought I would create some top 10 lists of my favourite things in Toronto. These lists won’t include the typical tourist sights which anyone can Google, but rather the places and things that are off the beaten track and make Toronto special. These spaces and things are not necessarily "destinations" but instead mo...ments of respite on a busy day Best Small Public Spaces #5 Sugar Beach Sugar Beach makes the list because, quite literally, it was previously a parking lot which has been unpaved to put up a little paradise. On the basis of that reversal of fortune alone, I give this tiny beach a spot on my list. Sugar Beach, is a relatively recent addition to Toronto’s waterfront and opened in 2010. Located at Queen’s Quay and Lower Jarvis, the beach gets its name from its proximity to the Redpath Sugar Refinery which is located just to the west. The beach consists of a sandy beach, big pink umbrellas, Muskoka chairs, a water feature and a long promenade leading to the beach. There are also large granite rocks surrounding the beach which were brought in from northern Quebec and actually sawed into pieces and then re-assembled at the beach. Swimming is not allowed in the area but there is plenty of relaxation going on.

Best Small Public Spaces #6 Sherbourne Common Clients seeking to immigrate to Canada often ask me why they should choose Toronto. In response to these frequent queries I thought I would create some top 10 lists of my favourite things in Toronto. These lists won’t include the typical tourist sights which anyone can Google, but rather the places and things that are off the beaten track and make Toronto special. These spaces and things are not necessarily "destinations" but inst...ead moments of respite on a busy day Best Small Public Spaces #6 Sherbourne Common Sherbourne Common, https://goo.gl/maps/HCe2U8XUgcm along Lower Sherbourne Street at Queen Quay opened in 2010, and like Corktown Commons is a former industrial area. This unique space, designed by award winning landscape architects, PFS Studios, is at first blush just a lovely park providing much needed green space for a new area of residential development. The park itself has some noteworthy modern sculpture and water features. (pictured) In addition there is a large water pad which doubles as a skating rink in the winter with a pavilion (also award winning design) for change rooms and toilets. However, what makes this park truly unique is that it is the first of its kind in Canada, to incorporate the neighbourhood’s storm-water treatment facility with the park itself. Rather than creating a dull industrial treatment plant, the water features and sculptures are actually part of the water treatment system, which purifies and filters storm water by using UV light which takes place in the basement of the pavilion. All of this is powered by renewable energy sources. Once purified, the 240 metre long canal running through the park, returns water to lake Ontario. This is urban planning and design at its best and a fabulous addition to Toronto’s the waterfront.

Best Small Public Spaces #7 Ryerson Community Park Clients seeking to immigrate to Canada often ask me why they should choose Toronto. In response to these frequent queries I thought I would create some top 10 lists of my favourite things in Toronto. These lists won’t include the typical tourist sights which anyone can Google, but rather the places and things that are off the beaten track and make Toronto special. These spaces and things are not necessarily "destinations" but... instead moments of respite on a busy day Best Small Public Spaces #7 Ryerson Community Park Sandwiched between Gerrard Street on the north and Gould Street on the south, just west of Church Street is a hidden green oasis. The Ryerson Community Park is surrounded by Ryerson buildings and only if you are curious enough to pass through one of the entrances are you lucky enough to see the park that sits inside the gates. I am not a fan of demolishing century old buildings but this park does redeem the offence to some degree. The park is the original location of the Toronto Normal School, which is the predecessor of the world renowned Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). The Toronto Normal School was established in 1847 by Egerton Ryerson, as Upper Canada’s first teacher’s college. The façade in the accompanying photograph is what remains of the buildings, which once stood here. Interestingly, the site was used to re-train armed forces returning from WWII duty. Subsequently, in 1948 the Ryerson Institute of Technology was established thus carrying forward Egerton Ryerson’s connection to the site which now dates back more than 170 years.

Best Small Public Spaces #8 Corktown Commons Clients seeking to immigrate to Canada often ask me why they should choose Toronto. In response to these frequent queries I thought I would create some top 10 lists of my favourite things in Toronto. These lists won’t include the typical tourist sights which anyone can Google, but rather the places and things that are off the beaten track and make Toronto special. These spaces and things are not necessarily "destinations" but inste...ad moments of respite on a busy day Best Small Public Spaces #8 Corktown Commons Coming in at #8, some could fairly argue that the Corktown Commons is not a small space given its 18 acre size, however there are so many great little pockets of interest within the park that I think individually they meet the definition. Corktown Common is situated on former industrial lands. The revitalization of the land began as far back as the 1980s but finally came to fruition with the addition of Waterfront Canada partnering with the province and city to finance the project. This is brand new public space where none existed before. Situated just east of the Distillery and accessible from the Don Valley bike/walking path, the area is chock full of great small spaces. The Corktown Commons includes new forested areas, wetlands, a playground and splash pad overlooking the city and much more. In addition to all these great attractions, the area itself was designed to double as a flood prevention zone. Why Corktown? One theory has it named after cork manufactures located in the area which supported local breweries.