Learn the Art and Science of Esthetics at Everest College in Toronto

Esthetics is the study of beauty. Esthetics is also the name of the relatively new career field dedicated to skin care. Estheticians use various chemicals, masks and devices such as hair removal equipment to enhance facial beauty without the use of invasive surgery.

Today, professional estheticians work in a variety of facilities as employees or as independent freelancers. They can be found in:

Spas and beauty salonsPhotography studiosDestination resortsWellness centresTelevision and motion picture production companiesBridal and special event companies

Esthetics is an art and a science that requires formal training. You can get this training from industry professionals in a workshop setting at Everest College of Business, Technology and Health Care's Toronto College Park campus.

The Everest Esthetics Program

Everest College's Esthetics program takes 10 months to complete. It combines classroom instruction with hands-on practice in a variety of related disciplines, including:

Bacteriology, Sterilization and SanitationCells, Anatomy and Physiology of the SkinDisorders and Diseases of the SkinNutritionBasic Chemistry, Cosmetic Ingredient and Product AnalysisFacialsElectrical Tools for the EstheticianHair RemovalManicures and PedicuresMake-Up ArtistryBusiness Management

Upon completing their coursework, graduates of Everest's Esthetics program can get help transitioning to the workplace from school's Career Services department. Career Services professionals help graduates with resume writing, interview preparation and wardrobe selection, as well as helping them identify and contact local employers.

About the Toronto College Park

Everest College’s Toronto College Park campus is at 424 Yonge Street in downtown Toronto’s College Park urban shopping mall. The campus is close to several metro bus stops and train stations. In addition to Esthetics, the campus offers career education programs in a variety of popular career fields, including Business Administration, Cardiology Technologist, Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician and Pharmacy Assistant.

Occupy Toronto protesters squat in Queen Street West building

Less than one week after being evicted from St. James Park, a small group of Occupy Toronto protesters has quietly moved into a downtown building and constructed barricades inside.

The group’s new home is the basement of 238 Queen Street West, a large brick building that has been the subject of legal dispute between the city and its lessor, Queen St.-Patrick Market Inc.

At around 3 p.m. on Sunday, a handful of men were planning construction of barricades, with hardware and tools littering the space.

According to a member of Occupy Toronto’s food team who uses the pseudonym Antonin Smith, the group plans to eventually use part of the space to prepare food for the homeless. The space also contains roughly half a dozen offices and a large, central room suitable for meetings, which Mr. Smith says could be used by the group’s media, finance, and outreach departments.

First, though, the group will work “to become the legitimate lessor of this place.”

“Possession being nine-tenths of the law, we’ve already done the important part,” said Mr. Smith, adding “We’ll negotiate with the city and relevant authorities to make us the permanent occupier of this lovely location.”

A last-minute injunction following the city’s initial push for eviction on Nov. 15 granted the protesters a brief respite. The city evicted the occupiers from St. James Park on Nov. 23, two days after Justice David Brown found that it was within the city’s rights to do so.

Mr. Smith said the group is in touch with a real estate lawyer regarding their claim to the Queen St. space, but will squat in the hopes of eliciting a discussion with the city. Mayor Rob Ford and his supporters on council have maintained their opposition to the protest.

The group had meagre food supplies when the Globe toured the space on Sunday, but planned to bolster their stores before finishing the barricades.

Mr. Smith said that a core group of seven activists, all involved with food preparation at the St. James encampment, first moved into the space on Friday evening. They found the back door to the building unlocked and have since remained undetected.

The small food court on the main floor is under construction and not heavily patronized.

A report indicates that the city granted Market Inc. a 50-year lease in 1989 based partially on the understanding that it would have “ambience similar to the St. Lawrence Market.” The city, which is supposed to collect 10 per cent of the profit generated by the building’s business, took legal action against Market Inc. over its alleged failure to pay rental arrears.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to seek 2.5-per-cent property-tax hike

Toronto residents will be asked to pay 2.5-per-cent more in property taxes at a time of cuts to city spending as Mayor Rob Ford continues his austerity crusade with the proposed budget for next year.

The mayor is attempting to reverse a steady increase in spending – an especially tall task in municipal government, where Mr. Ford requires buy-in from a majority of council. Toronto residents get their first glance at how Mr. Ford plans to do that when the wraps come off the 2012 budget starting Monday.

Proposed cuts would shave close to $50-million off the city’s total spending, sources familiar with the budget say. At the same time, the city is counting on taxes to cover a greater share of its planned $9.35-billion budget, which also includes revenue from transfer payments, user fees and other sources. A growing assessment base and the proposed tax hike are expected to add close to $100-million to the city’s coffers, sources say.

Mr. Ford has been clear about his desire to shrink the size of Toronto’s government and reduce costs across the board. For too long, he argues, the city has lived beyond its means, relying on one-time revenue and bailouts from the province to balance its books.

But curbing spending is proving to be a greater task than the mayor envisioned when he promised voters he could cut costs and preserve services by finding the “gravy” at city hall – proof his critics say that there is no gravy after all.

The proposed cut to next year’s budget represents about half a per cent of total expenditures. Balancing the city’s books will depend on one-time windfalls, such as the sale of real estate and the city’s interest in Enwave, Toronto’s downtown district heating and cooling system, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Gaining council’s approval for this budget is a key test for the mayor. The prospect of cuts to libraries and transit service has prompted strong push-back from the public. A review of core services this summer came up with $27.7-million in cost savings to which councillors could agree and the mayor’s closest allies outvoted him earlier this month on a money-saving measure to stop the collection of extra recycling placed beside blue bins.

Labour costs also will be a factor. Staff cuts are a certainty, with pink slips already being delivered in some departments. In addition, management are being trained to drive Zambonis and deliver front-line services in anticipation of a possible lengthy labour disruption next year.

In selling his budget, Mr. Ford is expected to emphasize the need to hold the line on spending, stressing that a dollar directed to save one service must be balanced by a dollar cut elsewhere.

“This is where the city needs to go,” said a source close to the administration. “This is all about resetting the foundation.”

A city-wide directive asked for 10-per-cent savings in all areas. But some, such as police services, failed to reach that number, meaning others will face even more reductions. “Not all departments are essential,” said the source, characterizing the 10-per-cent request as a “management tool,” used to push staff to find savings.

Using the cost-cutting efforts of other governments as a guide, economist Eric Lascelles predicts lowering Toronto’s spending will be tough. Inflation and a growing population naturally drive up expenditures by about 3-per-cent annually, he said, even without new programs, so holding the line or reducing the money going out generally means fewer services.

“It’s difficult to avoid,” said Mr. Lascelles, chief economist for RBC Global Asset Management, pointing to the federal budgets of Paul Martin as an example. “You have to be out there actively cutting and that’s the challenge. It’s very unpopular and politicians don’t like to be unpopular. That’s what makes it so difficult,” he said.

Critics of Mr. Ford, among them former budget chair Shelley Carroll, argue there is no need to cut spending in a city with a growing population and tax base like Toronto. “We are not that broke,” Councillor Carroll said. “You should be efficient, but rein in spending? There is nothing to rein in here.”

Waterfront Toronto open to fast-tracking Port Lands development

It may not lead to Ferris wheels or mega-malls, but the man overseeing development on the Port Lands says he is open to new ideas for fast-tracking development on the derelict stretch of eastern waterfront.

John Campbell, head of Waterfront Toronto, said the agency and the city are working together to generate fresh ideas for the entire 1,000-acre site that stretches from the inner harbour to Leslie Street south of Lakeshore Boulevard. That could include a departure from the existing plan for a mixed use residential neighbourhood, he said, and a move to more commercial development or even a “tourist destination.”

A $634-million plan to naturalize the mouth of the Don River also is on the table, with Mr. Campbell saying less expensive options that “build value” and are part of an existing environmental assessment are under consideration.

“The hand cuffs are off, ” Mr. Campbell told reporters on Friday. “We will be looking at solutions that are more doable and we will be looking at this whole project, the overall Port Lands, with an eye to making it happen faster.”

This new beginning comes with plenty of baggage and is the latest outcome of a compromise struck in September after Councillor Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, began promoting his vision for the site – captured in a glitzy presentation to the city’s executive committee – which included a waterfront hotel, Ferris wheel, monorail and large shopping mall right where the new riverside park was planned.

Waterfront Toronto, the three-government agency charged with overseeing development, planned to start building on the Port Lands in a decade, but agreed to accelerate its plans. Mr. Ford had also wanted the city to take back control of planning for the site from Waterfront Toronto, but public outrage and opposition from council derailed that.

Mr. Campbell and the city’s deputy manager, John Livey, would not put a new date on the fast-tracked Port Lands makeover, saying on Friday they will wait for the results of the review, which council is due to receive in June. Public consultations are part of that study starting with a meeting on Dec. 12 at Toronto’s Central Reference Library.

“We have to wait and see what the study shows. We are also engaging the public,” Mr. Campbell said when asked if a large shopping centre is still an option. “We are starting with a bit of a blank sheet.”

Councillor Ford has already indicated he’d like to see private sector involvement and new office space as part of that plan.

“What we are looking for is a developer to come in and develop office space,” Mr. Ford said earlier this week. “I am getting the word out there. Come knock on our door.”

A recent market study, he said, shows that selling city owned land in the Port Lands could put an extra $2-billion to $3-billion in Toronto’s coffers.

“We need to develop the Port Lands,’ he said. “We need the revenue. We need to collect the $2-billion to $3-billion. It would be great for the city and our bottom line.”

Local Councillor Paul Fletcher worries that such talk will lead to more grand plans like the ones floated this summer. She also is concerned that money from selling property in the Port Lands would not be reinvested in the waterfront as planned, but be used to finance other projects like the mayor’s promised Sheppard Avenue subway extension.

“We cannot strip the value out of the Port Lands and move it to other areas of the city,” she said.

As for the type of development that might one day fill the massive site, Mr. Livey said, office space is an option. “I would very much like to see whether we could have a viable office presence, more than is currently there,” he said.

Asked if a Ferris wheel has been ruled out, Mr. Campbell said he had no comment, but called a tourist destination “fair game.”

“An entertainment precinct down there, that is quite possible,’ he said.