At City Hall
Last week, City Council met for the first time since July. It was a long meeting (162 items!) where we covered a number of important topics, from traffic congestion to bail reform. Below are some items my staff and I kept our eyes on.
City Council
First off, I was happy to second Councillor Burnside’s motion on complete communities at the Science Centre site in Don Mills (MM22.3). As we are forced to look to the future of the Science Centre’s Don Mills location, the city needs to do its part to ensure that public educational amenities remain available in a rapidly densifying and growing area. Currently, the OSC’s site is slated for a new set of developments that will bring much-needed housing to our city and more commercial amenities to the area. To complement this growth, this motion ensures that valuable public educational and recreational resources will remain at Don Mills. You can read my Tweet thread on the topic here.
I also supported a motion to call for a public inquiry into Metrolinx’s Crosstown LRT delays (MM22.20). We’re all tired of hearing the province’s excuses for a project that is massively delayed and over budget. This motion calls for an open and public inquest into the specifics of the delays, hopefully delivering much-needed answers from Metrolinx and bringing some accountability to the project. We need to send a clear message to the province – it’s time for transparency from Metrolinx. Read my Tweet thread on the topic here.
As a former teacher and TDSB Trustee, Achieving a Universal Student Nutrition Program (EX17.1) is particularly important to me, and I’m glad it passed. The City-School Boards Advisory Committee, which I Chair, will play a role in its implementation and development. Good nutrition is key for student success, and I commend Mayor Chow for her action on this issue. Now it’s time for the work to start and for us to ensure that this program is implemented effectively.
Another significant item was the Redesigning the Vacant Home Tax Program (EX17.4). When I was first elected, I heard firsthand about headache the VHT declaration process caused for residents. By expanding the number of staff on-hand for the filing period and fixing problems with the online declaration system, this redesign will help make a smoother, faster process and remove the undue onus on residents to navigate the process. The importance of the VHT is clear – last year, it generated $55 million in income for the City and helped encourage residents to alleviate the housing crisis by occupying or renting their homes. The fixes implemented by this motion will ensure the program continues being a revenue-generator for the City and a force in solving our housing crisis.
Council also discussed issues surrounding the Billy Bishop Airport Runway End Safety Areas (EX17.5). This was the most high-profile item on the agenda, and Council voted to partially extend the airport’s lease to allow federally-mandated runway extensions to be built. This is a huge win for the airport and for our city – as well as being a convenient alternative to Pearson, Billy Bishop is an economic engine for our city that deserves our support. I’m happy that this passed and that our airport will keep helping Toronto grow.
Council also passed a motion Reinstating Service Standard Performance for Toronto Animal Services and Wildlife Cadaver Removal (MM22.12). Earlier this year, the City raised the target response time for cadaver removal from 48 hours to five business days – despite this, it has had the lowest Municipal Licensing Standards response time performance. This motion reinstates the 48 hour response time by reevaluating budgetary commitments to Toronto Animal Services and addressing seasonal spikes in demand.
Finally, pickleball (MM22.22)! I voted to support this motion that expands permanent indoor pickleball infrastructure across the city. Since the pandemic, pickleball has become one of Toronto’s most popular sports, and this motion reflects the City’s need to build in-demand infrastructure. This motion will allow pickleball to become a year-round sport as well as mitigate sound complaints from outdoor courts. I’m looking forward to working with Parks & Recreation to implement this in Scarborough!
Click here to see the full list of motions that came before City Council this week. Search the codes mentioned above to quickly find them.
You can watch the City Council livestream here.
Committees
This Monday, the City-School Boards Advisory Committee met. Made up of Councillors, community members, and TDSB representatives, this is an important committee that improves communication between the City and TDSB on relevant topics such as school safety, recreation, and more.