Talk:Whitby, Ontario

Right-Wing Whitby This Week

User:RickHarris deleted the criticism of the town paper for being too right-wing. I personally believe this criticism is valid, as I have heard it repeated by many citizens, as well as in letters to the editor of the paper. Every federal or provincial election, the Whitby This Week has run prominently-placed editorials by the editor of the paper endorsing the Conservative candidate. I think this consistent backing of Conservative candidates reveals a certain bias. Inanechild 17:46, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

This is true, and while I agree that a paper should never be biased, perhaps the Whitby This Week is promoting conservative candidates because the town is largely conservative as shown by Jim Flaherty (Conservative MPP) winning the riding for the past many years. Whitby is definintly an upper-middle class town, and serves as home to many right wingers. The paper, it would seem, is simply giving the people what they want. Now I'm rambling, but I agree that this bias should be noted in the article. --Bouyeeze 06:55, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

What does the paper's bias have to do with the town itself? The reference should be removed and kept out. Daveharr 19:13, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

"Hooliganism"

I deleted the implication that more townhouses, resulting in more lower-income families, are responsible for the rise in youth crime in Whitby. Not only is this an unsourced generalization, but the vast majority of townhouses are being built in affulant suburbs, especially north Whitby, and can hardly be considered low-income developments. Inanechild 16:55, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Local Problems

This section has been temporarily removed from the main article. Sources need to be verified. Relevant information needs to be worked into appropriate sections of the main article. Flibirigit 17:50, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

• Being a bedroom community, Whitby has many of the problems that come with such a status, such as a lack of entertainment options for youth.
  • Counter arguement: recent growth of the AMC Entertainment Centrum. Flibirigit 17:56, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
    • Counter argument: Recent growth of the AMC Entertainment Centrum does not equate to more entertainment options for youth. Cost is a major factor in entertainment options for youths. I would contend that entertainment options for youths are still limited. Unsure of relevance in the article nonetheless. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.106.185.81 (talk) 18:58, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

• Transportation is an increasing problem. Whitby's housing boom has increased pressure on the road system, making Whitby more difficult to get around during rush hour. Due to low density, service by the former Whitby Transit was infrequent and service off-peak was very limited. A new regional system, Durham Region Transit, is hoped to alleviate some of these local transportation issues.
  • Transportation IS an increasing problem in the Town of Whitby. There is no way you'll find a citation that suggests that is so. I would consider this section to be added back to the page. If someone was to research buying a home in Whitby, this would be invaluable information as it is a fact. Only people from the area will update this page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.106.185.81 (talk) 19:02, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

The town is often criticized for its failure to uphold the principles of smart growth, with urban sprawl becoming an increased problem.

• • This paragraph should be incorportated into a Transportation section of the main article. Flibirigit 17:56, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

• Housing prices have increased dramatically, making it more difficult for some young families hoping to purchase their first home.

• Whitby's downtown has become largely neglected. The majority of the downtown businesses cater to those at the lower end of the socio-economic scale as seen by the abundance of check-cashing outlets, pawn shops, rent-to-own stores, tatooo and body rub parlors, and bail bondsmen. Many downtown historical buildings have been demolished.

• Whitby's annual "Mardi Gras" celebration due to an assault on a police officer.

• Schools are close to or are already overpopulated.
  • Education section needed. Flibirigit 17:56, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

Looking at the above, I find it unbelievable that the original editor had so much to whine about. Whitby has numerous sports teams for youth, a skateboard park, a sports complex with a swimming pools, a skating rink, etc. There are also numerous organizations such as Air Cadets, plastic duck race, etc. There are numerous parks, within walking distance of most houses, that have swings, teeter-totters, baseball diamonds, etc. The community has an extensive program of swimming lessons for kids, summer camp, art classes at the local gallery, soccer teams, the list goes on.

Transportation is a problem because of runaway suburban sprawl, but it is unfair to single out Whitby for criticism, given that all of the communities surrounding Toronto (the Greater Toronto Area) have exactly the same thing happening. The problem is that Canada's population is increasing by at least 5000 per week, through immigration, and this causes extreme population and runaway growth in the vicinity of Toronto (which is the largest urban area in Canada).

It is totally incorrect to say that the downtown has been "neglected", given that it has undergone a major facelift and beautification recently. There is also an impressive new library. The problem with the downtown is that there is very little parking, and the available parking is expensive. There are many large shopping centres and strip malls, with free parking, and this has drawn away customers from the downtown. There is no "neglect" involved, just economic reality.

The "Mardi Gras" is not an event in Whitby. It means nothing. The local pubs sometimes have a party for it, and some of the community groups use the theme for their bake sales, but this is in the private sector, and has nothing to do with the city.

The only problem in Whitby is that there are sometimes incidents on the weekends, in the summer, when the bars close, and the local drunken youth pour out into the streets and cause a disturbance.77Mike77 (talk) 22:47, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

Population

The population of Whitby listed disagrees with itself in the opening paragraph and the infobox. Also, it is referred to as both a city and a town in the same article. (it is officially "The Town of Whitby"; I do not know if it has the population to be a Census Metropolitan Area which makes it a city no matter what they want to call it) --72.137.11.195 03:46, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing that out. I have changed the population to 116,000 estimated in 2005, according to the Town of Whitby web site. Unfortunately the 2006 Census results are not yet published. Flibirigit 05:14, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

• Pat Perkins in a Whitby This Week article(June 2010) revealed that signage around Whitby will be updated with a population of 120,000. This should be taken into consideration.

The question is what would such a change be based upon. Whose estimate is it? Can we provide the world with a reference/citation? We don't bother with population signs because they're always general estimates, and sometimes disagree between each other. On the other hand, if the Town of Whitby has posted an estimate, then it's worth considering. PKT(alk) 20:46, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

History

Is there a source for the following statement in the article?

"When the township was originally surveyed in 1792, the surveyor, from the northern part of England, named the townships east of Toronto after towns in North Eastern England: York, Scarborough, Pickering, Whitby and Darlington."

It disagrees with the following cited statement from the Scarborough article:

"The area was named after Scarborough, Yorkshire, England by Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. The bluffs along Scarborough's Lake Ontario shores reminded her of the limestone cliffs in Scarborough, England. On 4 August 1793, she wrote in her diary, "The shore is extremely bold, and has the appearance of chalk cliffs, but I believe they are only white sand. They appeared so well that we talked of building a summer residence there and calling it Scarborough."[3] Before then, the area was named Glasgow, after the Scottish community.[4]"

Growing up in Scarborough, I was also taught in school that Scarborough was named by Elizabeth Simcoe, not by a surveyor. JeffHagan (talk) 16:54, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Fair point. I have a source, and it says that York, Scarborough et al were named by the surveyor, but there's another book outlining place names in Ontario that goes with the Simcoe story. I'll try to dig a bit. Blotto adrift (talk) 16:06, 23 October 2013 (UTC)

Test/Andrew Martin

Shouldn't the listing for 'famous residents' for Andrew Martin be "Andrew Martin", and not his ring name, "Test"? I think it ought to be anyway. Nonpoint74 (talk) 15:03, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

Suburb of Oshawa?

Whitby may or may not be a suburb of Oshawa, but if we're disputing it we should be citing a reference to back it up. Please do so rather than starting up some pointless edit war.

Personally, I think it's a stretch---Whitby's population isn't much smaller than Oshawa's, and (these days especially) it's considered a bedroom community of Toronto. Acidtoyman (talk) 11:33, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

There are four centres east of Toronto: (West to East) Pickering - Ajax - Whitby - Oshawa. There is no "ranking" to these, i.e. none is the suburb of another. Today, the entire area is built up, and one cannot distinguish where one ends and the next one begins. Whitby was considered a "bedroom" community of Toronto in the 1980s, but there are many local businesses, and many people work at the General Motors plant in nearby Oshawa. I think that people who live in Toronto think that everywhere north of Eglinton Ave. is "bedroom country", but the people who actually live in the GTA laugh at them for thinking that.77Mike77 (talk) 22:56, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

Transportation

Durham Region Transit does under-serve many parts of Whitby and runs to few buses many main routes. it is noit vandalism to point this out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.243.106.99 (talk) 21:08, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

The service should probably be improved, but calling the service "abysmal" is either unencyclopedic or vandalism - take your pick. The better approach from Wikipedia's perspective is to find and use a reference from the town or a local newspaper that backs up your point. PKT(alk) 22:34, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

I would if there was even discussion of it, the vast majority of people whop live in Whitby own 2.5 cars last time I checked. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.243.106.99 (talk) 05:35, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

The point that keeps going over your head is that Wikipedia is not the place to point these things out. It's all about verifiability, not necessarily "truth".

I'm originally form Whitby, by the way. I saw how the buses went from twice an hour to once an hour while the population skyrocketed. Yes, Durham Transit sucks, it's one of the reasons I moved away years ago, but unless the papers or something have been writing up about how much it sucks, so you can reference it, then it just simply doesn't belong on Wikipedia. Please understand this. CüRlyTüRkey^Talk_Contribs 05:52, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

Another fact (for which there are no references available) is that the local buses are usually running either empty or with only a few passengers. One of the reasons service was reduced, from what I recall reading in the local paper, is that it was a money drain which very few people were actually using. I suppose that the half dozen people in Whitby who use it in the off-peak hours will complain when service is cut, but the taxpayers can't afford to chauffeur these people around. Any public transit requires time to build up a base of regular users. In the morning and late-day rush hours, students and commuters use it, but the service is sparse in between because of lack of demand. Whitby is a largely residential community with shopping centres with parking lots, and so the people tend to drive.77Mike77 (talk) 23:04, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

Boat pictures only?

It is true that Whitby is on Lake Ontario, and that there is a marina for recreational boaters, but it is not a commercial port, and probably the vast majority of the population have never been to the marina, and may not even know that there is one.

The only two pictures show pictures of boats. There is a nice-looking new library, and the downtown core has heritage buildings that are scenic in the summer weather. Having pictures of boats, only, gives an unrepresentative impression of Whitby. The two boat pictures are fine, but there should be a few others. There is a new addition to the major sports complex which is photogenic. Maybe somebody could add some more pictures that are not pictures of boats. 77Mike77 (talk) 03:24, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Please feel free to take photos and add them. Blotto adrift (talk) 21:34, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Whitby Police 1867 Racial Tensions

User:Magnolia677 deleted this paragraph from the history section "In April of 1867 a police office was established in Whitby with Alexander Cameron as Chief Constable. Later that year Cameron was suspended for leading a group of men to burn down a black man's house. Some Whitby council members protested his suspension claiming he "had done the town a good service in removing such a nuisance."" Here is a link to this citation http://www.ourroots.ca/e/page.aspx?id=1018829

Magnolia677 claims that "this edit is misleading and without context; the source doesn't specify the "nuisance," the man or the shanty?"

However, considering the man is specifically referred to as a negro, it is clear that his race was a determining factor for why the illegal mob, lead by the police Chief Constable, burned down his shanty. If the Whitby councillors were defending the police Chief merely because the shanty was a nuisance, why would they not have dealt with the nuisance through the property owner? Clearly the police Chief was acting extra-judiciously with racist intentions, and the fact that some Whitby councillors defended his actions supports their complicity in racism. It is therefore not controversial or biased to merely state the facts found in a historical book written by one of Whitby's historians. Brian Winter's work is cited elsewhere in this article so I do not know why this particular paragraph is being censored. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deeve420 (talk • contribs) 01:17, 6 June 2016 (UTC)

User:Deeve420 unearthed this historic article listing 12 obscure items of trivia about Whitby (one item was of a women who hanged herself in jail because of "temporary insanity due to temperance"). User:Deeve420 then cherrypicked a racist anecdote to include in this article about Whitby. The truth of this edit will need additional sources to verify, otherwise it is WP:UNDUE and incorrectly adds a racist tone to the history of Whitby. Do not revert until a consensus is reached! Magnolia677 (talk) 00:23, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

Indigenous History

This article begins with European settlement in the area and lacks any background on what came before Whitby, how the lands were acquired, or who the original residents of the land are. Maybe somebody who knows more about this than me could make those relevant additions. 99.237.71.86 (talk) 19:37, 19 January 2018 (UTC)John McGowan