Real Talk!

New Canadian mortgage rules take effect April 19. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has announced tighter lending standards for mortgages a move he said was needed to “help prevent negative trends from developing.”

Recently, the Vanier institute announced that in 2009, household debt in Canada rose to record levels, with almost two-thirds of families reporting that they would be in financial trouble if their pay cheques were just one week late. Vanier found that the number of mortgage payments more than 90 days in arrears jumped 50% last year. Many economists argue that this figure has been seriously skewed by the Alberta housing boom.

It’s all about the people, not the houses. The Bank of Canada says, "In the Bank of Canada's view, it is premature to talk about a bubble in Canadian housing markets. Recent house price increases do not appear to be out of line with the underlying supply/demand fundamentals.”

The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals says, “The bottom line from the simulations is that even though mortgage payments will probably rise for most borrowers, the increases in incomes will more than offset the increased mortgage payments."

Scotia Capital tells us, “"We expect housing demand will remain strong through the key spring sales season as buyers attempt to pre-empt the inevitable rise in interest rates, and improving labour markets bolster confidence”

“There are no definitive signs of a housing bubble,” Mr. Flaherty said. “We think we're being proactive in the three steps we're taking today.”
In fact, many lenders have already been practicing the measures that have been outlined by Flaherty and it isn’t that much of a surprise. The three basic changes are as follows:

• Borrowers will need to meet qualifying standards for a five-year fixed rate mortgage (even if they opt for a lower rate and shorter term.) This is in order to prepared buyers for the inevitable interest hikes.

• The maximum Canadians can withdraw in refinancing mortgages will now be 90 per cent of the value of their property (currently 95 per cent).

• A minimum down payment of 20 per cent will be required for government-backed insurance on properties purchased on speculations (the owners do not intend to occupy the home).

We haven’t seen much speculative buying in a while, anyway... and there has been recent news that The Bank of Canada's pledge to keep interest rates at the current level will end by June 30th.

Overall, Canada's real estate market remains healthy and strong and the Canadian Real Estate Association predicts that the average price for a home will rise to $337,550 CAN this year, a 5.4% increase from 2009.

Fabian and I were sad to learn that Phil Harris, 53, from the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" has passed away after complications from a stroke he suffered in January- while the crew were offloading crab in Alaska.

Captain of the Cornelia Marie for 18 years, Harris' boat (The Cornelia Marie) is one of a few boats that have been rigged with cameras since 2005 treating fans to a taste of the brutal perils of opilio crab fishing on the Bering Sea.

Since the earliest days of the show, Phil Harris has caught our attention. Big, burly, rusty-voiced and down to earth, Harris could be salty, wrangling the sea with a vigilant eye on the safety of his crew which has included his two sons, Josh and Jake. As Captain Phil said recently on a Larry King episode, "There's a lot goes on out there besides crab fishin'"

One season, his boat was plagued with propeller problems and there was an issue in one main engine, not to mention that Captain Phil faced ongoing medical problems- culminating in a serious crisis from a 2008 hurricane that launched him from his bed, breaking bones and causing a serious blood clot. He has to leave his boat. It was awful!

Through the seasons, we've watched Captain Phil Harris with fascination. Balancing business acumen with a straight shooting attitude, fierce passion and working without sleep, with broken ribs in some of the most dangerous conditions. His love of the sea, devotion to family and loyalty to friends and colleagues was obvious. He was always up for a good practical joke, too. In one interview, Phil said "The pranks – they’re all good, it just depends on who you’re doing them to! The one we did with Sig was funny because he’s Norwegian and I was trying to think of something rare. We’ve put toilets in pots, we’ve dressed a mannequin in rain gear and put him in the pots. It just goes on and on – it’s just endless that we do back and forth. That was probably one of the funniest ones though."

One can only imagine how much you need to have a good laugh to break the serious climate of the frigid sea life. Captain Phil confessed to being scared 3 times in his 33 years on the sea, "I’ve been scared on the water about 3 times in my career, and every one is a bit different but equally scary. We were at the Pribilofs and it was blowing in the area of 150-175 knots, maybe 100 foot seas. We came off a comber and there wasn’t any water on the other side and the boat just free fell about 100 feet. The boat weighs around 700 tons, so it just blasted all of us. It just ripped things off the walls inside the boat — the microwave and stereo went flying, dishes all over the place. We blew off one of our rudders too, and all the alarms were going off. We didn’t know if we’d punctured a hole in the boat or what. We were sideways at this point in 100 foot seas, We got it spun around and I knew I’d done something to the boat because it wouldn’t steer properly. It took a few minutes to get all the alarms shut off. Guys were checking the engines in the engine room to find out if there was structural damage. At that point we were going the same direction as the seas and the waves were so big that I was just terrified. A friend called to see how it looked and for 4 hours, I didn’t even turn around to look. I knew if I did, it would probably give me a heart attack. It was just too big."

He's also said, “You’ve got to be a little twisted to do this job and you have to like to live on the edge.”

Uh huh. Still, we've watched each season and always look forward to seeing Phil Harris. We've rooted for him during illness, disaster, weather and quotas. We've watched him in interviews, exhibiting a frank sense of humility, love for his friends and family, and a warm sense of comaraderie. Captain Phil was someone you wished you knew, personally. He was so real.

I would like to share a couple more quotes from the captain...

At the end of a Discovery Channel 2008 online live chat:

"I want to thank every single person that was on here tonight that supports me, takes time out from what they’re doing to even care. I guess that’s one of the best perks of this whole job is having people like you guys to sit down and talk with. Sometimes there’s some really interesting stuff. Especially thanks to the people that sent gifts and cards. It doesn’t get better than that. I’m a fortunate guy to have people do that. It’s a very neat feeling and something that I’ll always hold dear to me, if after this is all said and done, the show goes away and we’re just back doing our thing this is something I can reflect on that was pretty damned cool. I want to thank everybody, that means more to me than anything.

There’s a couple people I would like to thank that have been great and without them, this whole thing wouldn’t have been possible for me, Bonnie Rasmussen and Skip, and my manager Russ, and my partner on the crab boat. Everybody else, I could start naming names but we’d be here all night. Bonnie is exceptionally dear to me, just the sweetest thing in the world. Laura and the people who take care of my T-shirts and Roger from Kicker have been nice to me and helped me through tough times when I was sick. I want to thank them. Especially Bonnie, she’s a sweet lately and she does great work for me."

and in another interview, when asked about what lesson he hoped he'd given his boys, Phil Harris said, "I don’t know if there’s one lesson, but in general, if I died tonight and was gone, I hope they’d have the integrity to do what they say, be honest, and do honest work for an honest wage and not short change themselves or anyone else. To be honest about how they live and work. Don’t sidestep things or try to cut corners. Do an honest hard job, and do it to the best of their ability."

Dec. 21, 1956- Feb. 10, 2010
Bon Voyage Captain Phil
Rest in Peace

Originally broadcast January 8, 2010 on CBC-TV "Grow Up Coverup" with Erica Johnson and Mike Holmes, of Holmes on Homes, who in 2006 was recognized in Canada’s House of Commons for his promotion of skilled trades and for his advocacy for improved building standards.

Mike Holmes lives by a very simple motto: "Make It Right". He believes in that slogan so strongly that he has it tattooed on his right arm.

I've had a crush on Mike Holmes for an awfully long time... way way way before he received that marriage proposal from Ellen DeGeneres.

I've been a fan since I first saw the man that a 2006 Calgary Herald writer described as, "... big and he wears overalls with a sleeveless undershirt, a gold chain, bracelets and an earring. He has tattoos and a spiky brush cut."

Back, also in 2006, Mike Holmes wrote an article for the Toronto Globe and Mail: "Inspections need closer scrutiny" in which he said:

When buying an existing home, it's a good idea to also buy some peace of mind by first having it looked over by an independent professional, to make sure it's as good as it looks. The first person buyers often look for is a certified home inspector, and often your real estate agent will recommend one.

But keep these points in mind: Your real estate agent wants to make a sale. The amount of your real estate agent's commission is also based on the final price. Your home inspection report can be used to renegotiate or lower the final price. It's not impossible to imagine some home inspectors turning a blind eye to certain problems, in order to keep the selling price up and a good relationship with the realtors who give them referrals. You might start to see why it's best to have a separation between these two parties, the realtor and the home inspector. There could be a conflict of interest and you need to have independent, unbiased advice.

and

If you want to know if the house you are thinking about buying is safe and sound, spend time looking for your own certified home inspector, or hire licensed contractors. Not only can they tell you that the house “looks right,” but they can verify with a higher level of certainty that it “is right.” Whether it's electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing or even mould evaluation, a licensed contractor is qualified to make sure it meets proper building code and safety guidelines.

A licensed contractor can offer two valuable bits of information: Does the system meet minimum building code standards? If the answer is “no,” what will it cost to bring the home up to safe standards? This is real information you can use for renegotiating the final price — the right price — of the home. Hiring a licensed contractor maximizes your chances of getting a fair and unbiased evaluation, not just a surface inspection.

As a real estate professional, if my clients ask me to recommend an inspector, I give them a handful of choices. I want them to hear the truth. In fact, I try to get my seller's to have one done, so they can get their home up to snuff before listing. I haven't had one do it, yet. Still, I try.

I can only hope that home inspectors don't fudge any information on my account. I am an honest person and I expect honest, professional service.

Back in 2007, Holmes was interviewed on MarketPlace by Wendy Mesley in "How Not to Get Nailed" about unsavory "contractors" and their shoddy, if not criminal and crooked renovations.

I watch all of his shows. I believe in Mike Holmes.

I have often wondered about "home inspections" and "home inspectors". The trend began as a consumer service in the early 1970's. The Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors (CAHPI) was formed in 1982 and OAHI (The Ontario chapter) in 1984. Their website www.oahi.com is interesting.

The CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.) website says:

Home inspectors and related industry and consumer groups consider a home inspection to be a worthwhile part of the resale process for the following key reasons:

•It provides the buyer with a list of repairs including time frames and other recommendations.
•It discloses conditions not readily apparent or understood by a non-technical buyer, or that may have been misrepresented.
•It reduces the liability of the realtor and meets the realtor’s need to disclose material facts and act in their client’s best interests.

Mike Holmes has a home inspection service. He is also back with a home inspection television program and if you have:

- Purchased a home in the past 18 months in the Toronto area.

- Used a Home Inspection Service before purchase

- A written Home Inspection Report

- Found issues with their home that were not accounted for in the inspection report.

visit http://makeitright.ca/Mike_Holmes_Online/Home_Inspection_Stories.php

They may want your story!

"NB Career Surf" has published an interview with Mike Holmes. His answer to the question: What do you love most about your job? was "I love being in construction and I have had many rewarding experiences. Helping families improve their homes is one of the most rewarding parts of my job."

Helping families with their homes is a very rewarding part of my job, too.

A MarketPlace Blog, after the recent airing of the piece on home inspectors that featured Mike Holmes, offers this advice:

Since hiring a home inspector is not equivalent to a warranty, and inspector liability is usually limited to the fee you paid or a similar amount, you could be stuck with repair costs above that. The financial stakes could be high if you rely on an inspection that turns out to be incomplete, so here are some questions to help you inspect your home inspector beforehand:

What kind of experience do they have? If the inspector doesn't have much of an answer, that's a big red flag. Experience and the right kind of training is key, since even if someone is an engineer, it doesn't mean they are qualified to inspect a home.

Can they provide references? A large, satisfied client base is always a good sign. Get as many as possible from the inspector and call them all.

Are they independent? A home inspector is there to offer an unbiased assessment, and shouldn't be part of any construction or homebuilder group or offer repair services themselves.

What kind of equipment do they use? A pen and paper are simply not enough. Do they bring binoculars, a ladder, or an infrared camera? A thorough inspection includes hard-to-reach places like the roof and chimney.

Can you follow them around during the inspection? A good inspector will encourage you to take part and will clearly communicate any serious problems, and not bury them in a checklist.

Some things to think about:

Ontario's rural population has risen by about 450,000 people (33 per cent) since 1971… and it continues to rise.

Rural areas account for over 95% of land in Ontario.

Ontario has the smallest proportion of rural populations of all Canadian provinces and territories, but the second largest in numbers (1.5 M). Still, it was one of only three provinces to experience rural population growth between 1996 and 2001.

Rural and small town residents have a more polarized age structure (and therefore a higher dependency ratio) with slightly higher proportions of the population falling within the lowest (children) and highest (seniors) age categories.

Residents in these areas have concerns and perspectives that are particular to living in the rural area of the province. These include: agriculture, transportation, policy issues, rural business, service-delivery, line fences, animal husbandry, the use of ATV's, snowmobiles, firearms and communication.

Rural is home to fewer newer Canadians and its residents generally tend to have lower incomes than those living in urban areas.

Rural has a rich and diverse heritage and an abundance of natural resources. It is a significant driver of the economy and the well being of all citizens. Our rural communities are significant to the health and vitality of the province.

While agriculture has been the traditional economic driver in rural Ontario, the rural economy has evolved into a diverse economic system. The population base has also changed to include a greater number of non-farm rural residents who either work in their community or commute to larger urban centres. Statistics show that while non-farmers make up 85 per cent of the province's rural population- there are 57,000 farms in Ontario and they account for about ¼ of the countries agricultural revenues.

Also, Ontario contains 17% of the countries forests (about 2% of the world’s forests)… and over 250,000 lakes and numerous rivers and streams- which accounts for a significant amount of the world’s fresh water resources.

The ability of rural residents to integrate and seek greater economic ties to non-traditional industries has risen with the expansion of the information economy and the development of telecommunications technology.

Many rural residents have made the conscious choice to live rurally and most of them know all about the advantages of living in a country setting- they've known them for a long time.

There are over one million people living in eastern Ontario. Over three quarters of which live in Ottawa along the Ottawa River to the north. The rural part of eastern Ontario has over 600 small towns, villages, hamlets, and settlements. In the rural part of Ottawa, about 5% live on farms, 53% in country lot subdivisions and scattered lots, and 42% live in one of the 26 villages.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the population of eastern Ontario is expected to grow to 1,526,790 by 2031, based on 1999 post-censal population estimates. The proportion of seniors in eastern Ontario is expected to grow at a greater rate than other areas of Ontario due to the wealth of health care amenities in the area and a preference to settle in bedroom communities . In Ontario, the population age 65 and over more than doubled from 1.6 million or 12.8 per cent of the population in 2005 and will climb to 3.6 million or 22 per cent in 2031.

The country or rural lifestyle remains a popular choice for Ontarians… and as for real estate prices, in most rural areas they remain far more stable than those in urban centers.

According to a recent poll by Nanos Research, Canadians are four times more likely to expect the economy to improve in the next six months, with 49% saying so compared with only 12% who expect it to worsen.

"A key driver for the optimistic mood relates to perceptions of real estate," Nanos said in a release accompanying its survey.

"Canadians are six times more likely to say the value of real estate in their neighbourhoods will increase (46%) in the next six months compared to those who say it will decrease (7.6%)."

Canadians are confident housing prices won't drop even though they remain nervous about economic stability. "Canadians clearly believe that the worst of the recession is behind them and that the real estate market is on the path to sustainable recovery," says Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage.

Certainly, Canada's leading economic indicators show positive growth for the first time in two years.

However, the miraculous rebound in Canada's real estate markets continues to fuel speculation about whether a bubble is forming and a small, but growing minority of experts is now warning of a more severe real estate bust in Canada.

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney says excessive household debts pose the biggest threat to the recovery… people are taking on too much credit.

Carney says Canadians have been taking advantage of low interest rates and borrowing at a high rate. He warned banks and homeowners about the consequences they could face in the event of an interest rate increase.

"The combination of sustained growth of household debt relative to income and a rising interest rate environment could increase the vulnerability of households to an adverse shock," Carney told a business audience in Toronto.

There is already some indication that Canadians are mismanaging their debt, he said.

CIBC World Markets says that less than 4 percent of households are vulnerable to a rate shock, not the 5.9 percent predicted by the central bank.

Economist Sheryl King of Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch said there's no bubble yet but, citing variable-rate mortgages, acknowledged the seeds are there.

In a note titled “It's beginning to look a lot like a bubble,” Douglas Porter of BMO Nesbitt Burns said recently: “Before officially declaring this a Bubble with a capital B, we would again painstakingly point out that the reported price change is skewed by the surge in Vancouver and Toronto sales, two of the priciest markets.”

Porter also says, “We are on the bubble of a bubble. We could see a bit of a buying frenzy this spring followed by a pop in 2011. This will be but the first in a string of China style gains for Canadian home sales and prices,” Porter, of course, comparing the situation to that in China where the government is taking measures to cool the country's real estate market.

In a recent Globe and Mail column, economist David Rosenberg, chief strategist at Toronto-based Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc., raised the spectre of a Canadian housing bubble that is on the verge of collapse. He figures prices are 15 to 35 per cent overvalued, based on relative rental rates and incomes.

“Canadians should pay attention”, says Mr. Rosenberg, a former Merrill Lynch economist, who was among the first on Wall Street to warn of a housing-led recession in the United States. He knows what a housing correction looks like.

Relative to income, homes are now less affordable in Canada than they've even been. So while Canada's banks may be financially sound, it appears that homeowners are not following suit. Many appear to be blindly following a path of excessive debt, enticed by low rates.

The ratio of mortgage debt to household incomes in Canada are reported to have recently hit a record 70 per cent, up from 65 per cent a year ago and 40 per cent of homebuyers have opted for short-term, variable-rate mortgages…

Rates will eventually ratchet up… and this may leave some owners facing financial trouble…

Personally, I remember the mid 90s all to clearly… it wasn’t fun having to tell financially strapped cottage owners that they would have to list for 40% of what they had recently paid for their properties- fortunately THAT downslide didn’t last for very long and those who were able to hang on soon gained back their equity.

My advice… do your homework… engage the services of a good Realtor ® don’t get caught overpaying for your cottage or country property and don’t rely on the currently low interest rates to help you carry the costs. Be practical- afterall, that’s what country life is all about!

Carolyn Connolly, was fatally stabbed sometime between midnight and 1 a.m. on Aug. 2, 2008, in the Seaton St. laneway behind her apartment at Dundas and Sherbourne Sts.

Found dead in an alley behind a Sherbourne St. highrise near Shuter St, her bloodied body sprawled on the sidewalk shortly after 7:30 a.m. The alley, which sits behind 191 Sherbourne St., is tree lined and bordered by neat fences and tended gardens.

The autopsy showed Carolyn had been beaten to a pulp and then when she was on the ground, unable to defend herself anymore, she was stabbed multiple times in her heart.

Later, it was discovered that Carolyn's screams had been so loud they could be heard for three blocks.

Police said Connolly was wearing black pants, a blue top with thin straps and red flip-flops embedded with rhinestones.

Connolly, 54, was an Ojibwa woman originally from Curve Lake First Nation, near Peterborough. Connolly was a mother and grandmother, but also a surrogate mom to dozens of girls on the street, helping to steer them away from drugs and into housing.

It is quite likely -- unreported until now -- that Carolyn Connolly's killer or killers are walking around today with a souvenir trophy from their kill, a pendant that Carolyn Connolly always wore on the key chain around her neck that was a gift from her young grandson.

When she was found, the 54-year-old grandmother and crack addict had nothing on her body: No money, no cigarettes and no house keys, and this despite the fact she always carried her keys on a neck chain that had a miniature pink shoe on it, and a medallion that read, "I love Ryan."

It is quite likely that Carolyn Connolly's killer or killers are walking around today with a souvenir trophy from their kill, a pendant that Carolyn Connolly always wore on the key chain around her neck that was a gift from her young grandson.

There is a brief Metro Most Wanted sequence you can view at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsOi6NfgqQE

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Michael Barsky at 416-808-7422,
Detective Peter Code at 416-808-7393, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS
(8477), or online at www.222tips.com.

Toronto Murders 2008:

Jan. 1: Stefanie Rengel, 14, Denvale Rd.-Northdale Blvd. According to a police source, the city's first murder victim of '08 was ordered stabbed in the stomach by a 17-year-old boy out of "jealousy" from his 15-year-old girlfriend.


Jan. 12: John O'Keefe, 42, Yonge and Bloor Sts. The father of a nine-year-old boy is hit by a stray bullet late at night as he walks toward the subway just outside the Brass Rail strip club.


Jan. 17: Hou Chang Mao, 47, Gerrard St.-Broadview Ave. No arrests have yet been made in the killing of Hou, who was gunned down while stocking fruit outside the Fu Yao Supermarket.

Jan. 24: Shawn McLean, 22, Jane St.-Wilson Ave. Found in front of a church with no pulse, paramedics revive McLean -- who was shot in the neck -- yet he dies in hospital two days later with his mother by his bedside.

Feb. 1: Tyler Roulston, 18, and Adrian McFarlane, 19, Brimley Rd.-Eglinton Ave. E. A gun-and-knife fight at a highrise complex leaves two men dead and one critically injured. Autopsies confirm Roulston was shot to death and McFarlane died of stab wounds.

Feb. 17: Tristan Wright, 23, Neilson and Finch Aves. Police believe dozens of witnesses saw the unsolved killing of Wright, who was shot several times in the head outside a weekend house party in Scarborough.

Feb. 23: Jonathan Rodrigues, 21, Lawrence Ave. E.-Markham Rd. Police said Rodrigues was answering the door of a friend's east-end bungalow when several men started a confrontation and shot him dead.

Feb. 23: Xin Lei Huang, 40-days-old, Queen-Bathurst Sts. Cops charge the newborn's 38-year-old mother with second-degree murder, but it is later dropped when her confession is deemed unreliable in court and no definitive cause of death is found.

Feb. 25: Edyta Lewandowski, 32, Danforth Ave.-Main St. Picking up her two-year-old, Lewandowski is shot in the head near the door of her estranged husband's Morton Rd. home. Three months later, the man is charged with first-degree murder.

Feb. 28: Felicia Hosany, 51, Wilson Heights Blvd.-Sheppard Ave. W. Hosany dies of suffocation inside her flower shop when burglars completely wrap her head in duct tape. Police said the murder was likely a robbery gone awry.

March 14: Abdikarim Ahmed Abdikarim, 18, Lawrence Ave. W.-Allen Rd. Cameras catch the entire murder of the son of a former Somali soccer star, who was gunned down when a man approached his group of friends and opened fire, wounding five others in the shootout.

March 18: Ranjdida Khairi, Dundas St. W.-The West Mall. A 60-year-old man was arrested at the bloody murder scene of a mother of five grown children. Reports suggest her throat had been slashed.

March 18: Sasha Haroutiun, 35, Dundas St. E.-Carlaw Ave. After being shot in the stomach, Haroutiun crawls back into his apartment to call 911, but dies shortly after arriving at St. Michael's Hospital.

April 17: Joseph Samai, 29, Dupont St.-Lansdowne Ave. Following 28 murder-free days in the city, Samai is stabbed repeatedly in the upper torso with a hunting knife. He dies later in hospital.

April 24: Ricardo Erik Kelly, 22, Markham Rd.-Eglinton Ave. E. A highrise fight breaks out just after midnight and Kelly is fatally stabbed in the hallway outside his 20th-floor apartment.

April 30: Ronald Koci, 47, Keele St.-Junction Rd. A roominghouse tenant was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Koci, who is knifed to death just before midnight.

May 4: Mahamed Adbi Warsame, 16, Markham Rd.-Eglinton Ave. E. Just 10 days after another man is fatally stabbed in the same building, Warsame, a Grade 11 student, is beaten to death inside the complex's ninth-story stairwell.

May 17: No name released, 70, and no name released, 46, Don Mills Rd.-Eglinton Ave. E. After finding three bodies in a house destroyed by a North York fire, police conclude a grisly double murder-suicide has taken place. Before dying of smoke inhalation, cops allege a 41-year-old man stabbed his wife through the heart and then strangled her mother. The names of the three were not released to protect the identity of a three-year-old child, left orphaned by the crime.

May 28: Tina Picoulas, 19, Rexdale Blvd.-Hwy. 27. Found dead in a room at the Comfort Hotel, the teenaged stripper's death is initially ruled accidental. Months later, on Aug. 27, the Coroner's Office finds the Niagara Falls girl was murdered.

May 28: Shammal Ramsay, 19, Sewells Rd.-McLevin Ave. Witnesses said they saw Ramsay walking down the street with his killer as if everything was normal before the gunman stepped in front of the teen, turned and riddled him with bullets.

May 28: Levis Taylor, 17, Kennedy Rd.-Sheppard Ave. E. In hysterics near the crime scene of a gunned-down teen, Carol Taylor calls her son's cellphone in hopes the boy dead on the pavement is not hers. When the phone rings, she faints and is hospitalized before having to ID the body.

May 30: O'Neil Dockery, 35, Victoria Park and Eglinton Aves. E. The father of a baby girl was shot in the head after an argument with his killer, just inside the back door of his East York townhouse.

June 13: Dylan Ellis and Oliver Martin, both 25, Richmond and Bathurst Sts. Sitting in a parked SUV after watching the NBA Finals at a friend's house, the longtime pals from Rosedale are shot dead when an unknown gunman walked up to their vehicle and opened fire, seemingly at random.

June 15: Claudio Andres Alamos, 19, Jane St.-St. Clair Ave. W. Eating a pizza slice around 1:30 a.m., Alamos is shot in the neck while sitting on a steel barrier outside a 2-4-1 Pizza store.

June 22: Ruth Hall, 89, Danforth and Victoria Park Aves. Initially ruled the result of a medical condition, an autopsy determined the great-grandmother died of a head injury at an east-end nursing home.

June 23: Donald Cuthbertson, 74, Danforth and St. Clair Aves. A retired cab driver, Cuthbertson is killed by blunt force trauma to the head after the patio door to his apartment was forced open. His 40-year-old son, who also lived in the unit, was charged with the murder.

July 9: Justin Brunet, 21, Victoria Park and Lawrence Aves. Shot several times, Brunet is left for dead by up to seven males seen fleeing the scene. Amidst rumours of retaliation, the prime suspect in Brunet's murder is shot in the head at close range weeks later.

July 14: William Magill, 64, Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. The beloved interior designer was stabbed several times following an argument after opening his apartment door to a pair of young men late at night.

July 17: Shazad Khawaja, 17, Finch and Victoria Park Aves. Having been called by someone just before he was shot dead, Khawaja's father, Waheed, said at the time he believed his son was set up by a gang that controls his Mornelle Ct. apartment complex.

July 19: Michael Watson, 28, Sheppard Ave. E. and Kingston Rd. Watson is felled by a gunshot to the head while at The Inner Circle, a restaurant-nightclub at the Abbey Lanes Shopping Centre in Scarborough.

July 20: Adrian Inglis Bannerman, 29, Aaron Brendan Macdonald, 20, and Kurt Atiba, 27, Kipling and Evans Aves. The first of two triple murders this year, the three young men are shot dead while sitting in an SUV by at least two gunmen. Homicide cops said the victims, who were at the Fluid Lounge downtown earlier that night, were followed and ambushed.

July 26: Devon Wynter, 40, Jane St.-Hwy. 401. Gunfire erupted at a dance inside the Disciples Revival Church that left Wynter dead and another wounded. Police said more than 200 bystanders were nearby when the gunman opened fire.

July 26: Dominic Shearer-Hanomansingh, 20, Eglinton Ave. W.-Keele St. Shot in the head at close range by a suspect wearing a bandana. Many speculate Shearer-Hanomansingh's death was in retaliation to Justin Brunet's July 9 murder -- one police concluded the 20-year-old was responsible for.

Aug. 2: Carolyn Connolly, 54, Sherbourne and Shuter Sts. Stabbed several times in a downtown alley, the fatal stab wound pierced the heart of Connolly, who was left sprawled on the ground.

Aug. 3: Katelynn Sampson, 7, Queen St. W.-Lansdowne Ave. In a story that dominated headlines, Sampson is found beaten to death inside a Parkdale apartment, allegedly by her legal guardians. Mourners who attended her open-casket visitation days later said the little girl had been "brutalized."

Aug. 3: Andre Paquet, 45, Dundas Ave.-Kingston Rd. Paquet is stabbed to death at an east-end lowrise apartment complex. Police arrest a suspect days later during a fight at a local bar.

Aug. 10: Ryan St. Christopher Rowe-Reid, 20, McCowan Rd.-Sheppard Ave. E. A gunfight in a Scarborough apartment complex parking lot left the 20-year-old dead, another man wounded and a third on the run.

Aug. 24: Evan Andrew Rouse, 22, Sheppard Ave. W.-Bathurst St. Rouse is found shot to death on a North York bike path behind the Bathurst Jewish Community Centre. "We have no sense of what Evan was doing there," cops said at the time.

Aug. 27: Caxtons Kyeremeh, 19, Markham Rd.-Finch Ave. E. Kyeremeh is found dead of gunshot wounds on Bon Echo Dr. in Scarborough.

Aug. 27: Andre Pelliccione, 42, Lakeshore Blvd.-Cherry St. Cops believe Pelliccione, who was savagely beaten and dumped in an industrial-sized recycling bin, may have been killed up to five days before his body was found.

Aug. 28: Tahmina Yeasmin, 23, Spadina Ave.-Dundas St. W. Pending her autopsy results, it wasn't determined until Nov. 18 that Yeasmin had been strangled. An arrest warrant was issued for a 23-year-old man, who was picked up in London, Ont. a day later.

Sept. 2: Yuan "Tracy" Tian, 31, Bayview and Sheppard Aves. Tian is found in her North York apartment, bound and dead from multiple stab wounds. Cops don't rule out the possibility of a random attack.

Sept. 8: Stephen Barton, 18, Eglinton Ave. W.-Glenhaven St. Standing by a bus stop waiting for the TTC, Barton is shot twice in broad daylight just steps from Gramma's Place Childcare.

Sept. 8: Haleema "Nadia" Kasana, 21, Finch Ave.-Weston Rd. Less than a week after a 31-year-old was bound and stabbed to death, Kasana is found with multiple stab wounds inside her North York apartment.

Sept. 10: Dayne Rose, 29, Hwy. 401-Keele St. According to witnesses, Rose tried to jump out of his car along the traffic-congested highway, but was pulled back in by a gunman and shot to death.

Sept. 16: William Junior Appiah, 18, Jane St.-Finch Ave. W. Cops said Appiah, a reputed drug dealer, was shot down on a basketball court just across from the Driftwood Community Centre.

Sept. 16: Daniel Boakye, 19, Sheppard Ave. E.-Kennedy Rd. After a fight with two men, Boakye is stabbed to death outside his Scarborough apartment building.

Sept. 22: Darnell Grant, 31, Jane St.-Finch Ave. W. The father of a four-year-old daughter, Grant is gunned down by two men on Driftwood Ct., less than a week after an 18-year-old was killed in the same neighbourhood.

Oct. 3: Boris Cikovic, 17, Royal York Rd.-Eglinton Ave. W. With a group of friends, Cikovic is approached by three or four gunmen who demand he give up his backpack. He was then shot dead trying to get it back, his parents said later.

Oct. 7: Chi Ngu Ngo, 47, Hwy. 27-Major Mackenzie Dr. Remains of the North York father of three are found in Vaughan, the victim of "foul play," police said. Cops are forced to identify the man by his fingerprints.

Oct. 9: Burrell Bennett, 26, Wilson Ave.-Jane St. Bennett, a father of a three-year-old girl who was not known to police, was shot in the parking lot of the Sheridan Mall in North York. Bennett dies two days later in hospital.

Oct. 11: George Ngo, 22, Bathurst St.-Queens Quay. Ngo is killed along with Colman Leung, also 22, when their minivan is driven at high speeds into Lake Ontario. Ngo, a passenger in the van, dies trying to swim to shore in what police rule an apparent murder-suicide.

Oct. 13: Susan John, 43, and Saramma Varughese, 65, Meadowvale Rd.-Sheppard Ave. E. Varughese was allegedly being raped by her 31-year-old neighbour when John, her daughter, ran in to help her. After a violent struggle, both women are stabbed to death.

Oct. 14: Andre Moore, 27, Eglinton Ave. E.-Markham Rd. Moore, who police said shot and wounded a cop in 2001, is blasted in the head by a gunman inside a blue Honda Civic.

Oct. 25: Bailey Zaveda, 23, Leslie and Queen Sts. Just out for a cigarette at the Duke of York Tavern in Leslieville, Zaveda is a bystander in gunfire that takes her life and wounds five others.

Oct. 26: Gary Anthony Mitchell, 31, Sheppard Ave. W.-Bathurst St. Mitchell was found shot to death inside his 2006 Infiniti by a North York neighbour out walking her dog.

Nov. 19: Richard Delong, 38, Wanda Delong, 64, and Elizabeth Tompkins, 44, Markham and Ellesmere Rds. A grisly domestic violence case that rocked a Scarborough neighbourhood, autopsies confirmed Keith Delong killed his wife, son and daughter with a knife before shooting himself dead. The bodies were discovered by Elizabeth's common-law husband, James Tompkins, who found a note tacked to the Welwyn Ave. home's front door saying, "Do not enter. Call police."

Nov. 23: Miksa "Max" Fischer, 83, Rathburn Rd.-The West Mall. The elderly man was found beaten in the west-end home he shared with his wife, Carmen. His son, David, was charged with manslaughter.

Nov. 26: Youssef Faad, 22, Victoria Park and Lawrence Aves. Toronto cops believe the young man was ambushed as he arrived home to his family's Scarborough highrise, where he was shot after a confrontation with two men.

Dec. 3: Richard Clements, 72, 10th St.-Lakeshore Blvd. A "nice ... lovely man," neighbours said, Clements was found stabbed in his west-end apartment around lunch time.

Dec. 6: Zdenka Praljak, 53, Keele St.-Eglinton Ave. W. Police answered a 911 call from the victim's mother to find Praljak dead from a stab wound to the chest. Her husband, Mladen, was charged with her murder and held under police guard in hospital with "self-inflicted injuries to his arms," cops said.

Dec. 25: Kurt Gonsalves, 49, Birchmount Rd.-Eglinton Ave. E. A night of heavy drinking ended in a murder when one of three friends allegedly snapped, beat his friend to death and stomped a second man who tried to stop the assault.