Temporary garbage drop-off 
Permanent garbage drop-off
The strike by Toronto's municipal workers has entered its second week, and although all sides are still talking, some residents are showing their frustration with the most visible sign of the labour dispute: the mounting piles of garbage.
Children play at Sunday's protest against the use of Christie Pits as a temporary dump. (Contributed by Monica Gupta) About 24,000 city workers walked off the job on June 22 to back their demands for a new contract.
Two Canadian Union of Public Employees locals are on strike — Local 416, which represents outside workers, and Local 79, which mostly represents inside workers.
The union and management negotiating teams continue to meet, but no details have been released on the progress of the talks.
A sticking point in the negotiations is said to be the city's insistence on removing a number of benefits from the existing collective agreements, including the ability of some union members to bank sick-leave days.
"We're not any closer to resolving this issue," CUPE spokesperson Pat Daley said.
A number of municipal services have been cancelled, including city-run daycares, parks and recreation programs, city-sponsored day camps, and many Canada Day celebrations.
To try to deal with the garbage mess, the city has asked residents to take their own garbage to any of 26 dump sites in Toronto — 19 of them temporary sites located mostly in city parks.
At at least one location, people are complaining, loudly, about the measure.
About 100 people showed up at a park in the city's west end on Sunday evening to protest.
Monica Gupta, of Friends of Christie Pits Park, said in an email to CBC News that the demonstration was held so people could show their "collective disappointment over the new temporary dump site in the park."
The park has a dump on the concrete surface of its outdoor hockey rink.
Although the temporary site has only been open since Friday, already half the surface of the rink is filled with green garbage bags up to the top of the boards.
Nearby residents say the dump is starting to have an impact on people's lives. The smell from the refuse, they say, is starting to creep across the park and into the surrounding neighbourhoods.
Edward Kuszelewski held his shirt over his face when he arrived early Monday morning to take part in a "boot camp" exercise program being held in the park.
In spite of the obvious displeasure from the odour, he was philosophical about the problem.
"The workout will make you [sick] before the garbage does, I'll tell you that much," he said.
But Mariko Timiki, who was also arriving to participate in the early-morning class, said it was a "nasty" trek downhill to the workout spot.
"Upwind, I saw some lady walking her dog who was about to be sick," Timiki said.
The class's instructor said she intends to move to another part of the park until the strike is over.
Sunday's protesters want the city to move the garbage out of the park and to pick another temporary garbage site.
But others in the neighbourhood say at least the garbage is being contained inside the hockey rink and isn't on the grass.
