Save Jimmie Simpson group to hold funeral for trees along the Ontario Line on Sunday afternoon

The Save Jimmie Simpson group is holding a Funeral for Our Beloved Trees event on the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 28, to protest plans by Metrolinx for its Ontario Line through East Toronto.

“Join us to celebrate the lives of the trees of our beloved rail corridor urban forest. If Metrolinx gets its way, these glorious trees will all be cut down in their prime – in a matter of weeks – to build the rushed and ill-conceived Ontario Line above ground,” said a release announcing the event.

The Funeral for Our Beloved Trees is set to start at 2 p.m. in Jimmie Simpson Park, 872 Queen St. E.

Those participating are asked to don funeral attire as there will be a march from the Jimmie Simpson Park on the east side of the rail line to Bruce Mackey Park on the west side of the rail line. Participants are then invited to the Ralph Thornton Community Centre, 765 Queen St. E., for light refreshments.

Save Jimmie Simpson is a group protesting the plans by Metrolinx to build the Ontario Line above ground through the East Toronto community as opposed to burying the line underground.

Save Jimmie Simpson says the above-ground plan for the line will devastate local parks, tress and the environment, and impact the health of local residents.

The group is not against the Ontario Line or the expansion of public transit, but is frustrated by Metrolinx’s plans.

“This is a goodbye that doesn’t need to happen,” said organizers of the tree funeral. “We can have the transit lines our city needs without destroying the remaining patches of essential forest and parkland that we desperately need in our urban centres. Metrolinx knows that and won’t explain why they’ve opted to bury our neighbourhood, instead of the line, with a plan that threatens every tree in this strip of urban forest.”

For more info on Sunday’s event, or the Save Jimmie Simpson group, please go to https://www.savejimmiesimpson.ca/

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