The little strip along Spadina is as famed for its trash-speckled sidewalks and unpleasant odours as it is for its dumpling houses, knick-knacks and discount DVDs. Recently, the local BIA declared war on yet another irksome issue: the rats. We wish them good luck, and we’re pretty sure they’ll need it. Here, a history of valiant (if ill-fated) attempts to give Chinatown a spit and polish.

2000
Who: The City of Toronto
The target: A gag-inducing trash pileup.
The attack: Photos of sidewalk-clogging garbage piles in Chinatown initiate a city-wide $2.3-million cleanup campaign. The plan calls for 500 new garbage bins, 13 enforcement officers and 40 trash-sweeping students.
The victor: Need we declare one? Pungent garbage continues to keep the faint of nostril far from Spadina.

2001
Who: Olivia Chow and the bylaw brigade
The target: Garlic Grannies (the old Chinese ladies who sell herbs and anything else they can get their hands on) and other sidewalk vendors.
The attack: Chow unleashes bylaw officers, who issue tickets and confiscate merchandise.
The victor: The grannies. Senior citizens still travel from Scarborough to sell herbs for a buck. Some victory.

2002
Who: Wildlife agencies
The target: Chinatown pharmacies that engage in the illegal sale of black bear gallbladders, an Asian cure-all.
The attack: Wildlife officers raid 100 homes and businesses in Ontario and Quebec, seizing more than 200 of the coveted contraband organs.
The victor: Sadly, it’s not the bears. Gallbladders remain a backroom staple, if you know where to look.

2002
Who: The health inspector
The target: Hanging pork and duck displays (a bacteria breeding ground).
The attack: Setting a North American precedent, Chinatown restaurants agree to a maximum four-hour hang time and temperature regulations.
The victor: The dining public—excepting vegetarians and those who’d rather ignore the carcass-to-tabletop connection.

2004
Who: The health inspector (part two)
The target: Chinatown Centre Food Court.
The attack: After discovering an infestation of rodents and cockroaches, inspectors destroy 500 pounds of contaminated food and close six restaurants.
The victor: At least two of the six are still open for business, and diminutive wildlife is alive and well on the strip.