July 19th, 2024 · Comments Off on FORUM: Tackling road congestion, noise, and safety (June 2024)
City council working through the summer
By Dianne Saxe
Thank you to everyone who turned out for our two Environment Days in May and June at Central Technical School and Fred Hamilton Park! I hope you have also enjoyed our first long weekends as we kick off the summer weather. I have managed to plant some cherry tomatoes and herbs in pots this year; so far they are withstanding the hungry rabbits.
Toronto city council had another productive session in May, with progress made on mobility and housing. I’m pleased to see council’s growing consensus in favour of road safety. This allows us to keep approving complete streets, including preliminary approval for Avenue Road from Bloor to Davenport, plus the 2025-2027 Cycling Network Plan. I also worked hard to ensure that the city reached a new financial agreement with the Toronto Parking Authority so that Bike Share and EV charging rollouts can continue as planned.
When there are good alternatives to cars like walking, cycling, or taking transit, we leave more space on our roads for critical vehicles: emergency services, buses, construction trucks, delivery vans and cars on necessary trips. We are also working on slowing traffic in our neighbourhoods: speed humps, red light cameras, and automated speed enforcement where residents request them. Thank you to everyone as well who attended our May town hall on the topic. Check this space next month for a summary of the June and July city council sessions.
I continue to work with other councillors to tackle congestion problems. In most areas, the TTC needs the city to adjust parking rules, turn restrictions, etc… to let the streetcars and buses run on time. In Ward 11, this problem is most acute for the Dundas streetcar between McCaul and Spadina, and immediate action is necessary while the Spadina streetcar line is under construction. For this reason, the city is implementing temporary parking and turning changes on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Spadina for the rest of 2024. Later this year, transportation staff will recommend appropriate long-term parking, loading and turning rules for this area.
Our June town hall took on solutions for noise. We know that noise is a huge health problem, especially in a downtown ward like University-Rosedale. I have been working with city staff and “No More Noise Toronto” to improve bylaws and enforcement, with the first changes going through on July 1. Thank you to everyone who contributed to helping us do this.
On the housing front, council has approved townhouses and six-storey apartment buildings within residential neighbourhoods along our major streets. While standard approvals will still be needed, no official plan or zoning changes will be necessary. This should allow more affordable housing to be built quickly on streets like Christie and Dupont across the city. This is another small but meaningful victory in Toronto’s pursuit of new housing close to transit.
Did you know that we’re building the equivalent of two brand new cities, each with the population of Pickering, near Downsview and East Harbourfront? Toronto city council has just approved the Downsview Secondary Plan. East Harbourfront will come to the June council. I made a key amendment to ensure that the roads for these new communities will be designed to be consistent with TransformTO and a high quality of life, for example, that at least 75 per cent of local trips won’t need a personal vehicle.
The turn of spring to summer is a wonderful time of year in University-Rosedale. The Pride Parade runs through our neighbourhood in June, part of the month’s festivities. I was happy to take in Taste of Little Italy and its delicious food and patios. Ward 11 is also home to the Jazz Festival, which had a successful run at the end of the month. South of the ward, I want to highlight the Na-Me-Res Traditional Pow Wow that took place at Fort York in mid-June. It is the centre piece of the city’s Indigenous celebrations for the summer.
A reminder to everyone that the city’s events and festivals need your support! When you put down the Gleaner, choose a few events in July and August and book your tickets.
Dianne Saxe is city councillor for Ward 11, University-Rosedale.
July 19th, 2024 · Comments Off on FORUM: A view from inside the pink palace (June 2024)
Elections, housing, and schools are the hot topics
By Jessica Bell
Is it election time?
The Conservatives closed the legislature a week early and extended our return date to Oct. 21.
This isn’t a matter of politicians taking a 137-day vacation. MPPs work in their ridings in summer. The issue is it’s harder to hold the government to account if they don’t have to respond to our questions in question period, reporters’ questions in media scrums, and debates in the legislature. And with the RCMP investigation hanging like a specter over Doug Ford, we know they’ve got a lot to hide.
We hear the premier might call an early election, possibly this fall or spring. Our response is bring it on. In the last election, the Conservatives did not tell voters they planned to build on the Greenbelt and further privatize surgery delivery and primary care, even though that’s what the government did after they won. Voters deserve to vote for the government’s true legislative record.
It’s time for a cell phone ban
I recently visited a civics class at a school in our riding, and it was an eye-opener.
We talked to the students about politics, how Queen’s Park affects their lives, and how to influence what happens at Queen’s Park by working together. The power of politics got personal when we discussed the government’s move to ban cell phones in classrooms.
Every student in this class had a cell phone. Almost all of them checked their phone at least once during class, and two students spent literally the entire class looking at their phones, doing their makeup, and taking pictures of themselves.
I fully support a cell phone ban in classrooms. The TDSB is inviting parents to provide input into their new cell phone policy right now. We all know how addicted many children—and adults, including this one—are to their cell phones. It is hard for any teacher to compete with the lure of Instagram for a student’s attention. Cell phones in the classroom harm learning.
That said, we need to do a lot more than ban cell phones if we want kids to succeed at school. I asked the students what they would like to see changed in their school, and one student immediately raised her hand and said, “I want soap in our bathrooms.”
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about how the lack of resources is affecting our schools. I recently spoke to another teacher who said she brought her own paper to the photocopy machine because paper was rationed, and there was frequently no toilet paper in the bathrooms at her high school.
The lack of investment in our schools has gotten that bad. And it could get worse because the TDSB has a budget deficit of over $20 million dollars for the coming year.
To improve education outcomes for our kids, we need to invest in our public schools, lower class sizes, hire more teachers and staff, fix our school buildings, and yes, ban cell phones in classrooms.
Housing issues
This month, the Ontario NDP debated a bill called the “EV-Ready Homes Act,” which calls for changes to the building code to require all new homes to have rough-ins for electrical vehicle charging stations. Installing these rough-ins during construction is significantly cheaper than retrofitting homes later.
Ontario needs to complement its electric vehicle-manufacturing program with measures to transition the vehicles Ontarians use from gas-powered to electric. Although the government voted against our bill, I believe these changes to the building code will eventually be made into law because demand for electric vehicles is surging.
The Conservatives have responded to our call to expand the power of the Condo Authority Tribunal so the tribunal can adjudicate disputes about condo board governance.
Many condo residents in University-Rosedale have worked with our office to advocate for a cheap and effective way to deal with issues they have had with their condo board, including undemocratic elections and infrequent condo board meetings.
We will continue to call for broader reform to Ontario’s condominium rules to ensure condo buildings are well-managed and well-maintained places to live.
Please reach out to our office if you have questions or concerns, or would like to invite me to an event or meeting.
Jessica Bell is the MPP for University-Rosedale. She can be reached at jbell@ndp.on.ca or 416-535-7206.
July 19th, 2024 · Comments Off on ARTS: Wheeling Through Toronto book launch (June 2024)
Albert Koehl launches first book
The book launch for Wheeling Through Toronto by Albert Koehl took place on May 27 at L’Espresso Bar Mercurio at 321 Bloor St. W. COURTESY BRAD MARLIN
By Meredith Poirier
The groovy L’Espresso Bar Mecurio, a bright Italian cafe at the intersection of Bloor and St. George streets hosted Albert Koehl’s book launch on May 27.
The location was fitting, as Albert, along with members of Community Bikeways Coalition, helped make the installation of bike lanes on Bloor Street possible.
L’Espresso Bar Mecurio quickly filled up with attendees all there to support Albert and his new book.
The crowd of 155 people, composed mainly of those over 40, as well as many families, was a testament to the community Albert has created around biking, bike safety, community justice, and more.
Among the crowd were Albert’s neighbours, family members and friends, and those with whom he collaborated or volunteered throughout his advocacy work. Many bike helmets littered the café, as many people chose to bike to the event, which is very on brand and perhaps because of Albert’s influence.
Wheeling Through Toronto was on sale throughout the night. It was being sold by the University of Toronto Press (UTP).
So many people bought copies that UTP sold out, and Albert had to grab more copies for them to continue selling. Throughout the night, Albert was the main attraction, and everyone wanted a chance to congratulate him and get him to sign their books. It’s a rare treat to meet an author and have them sign your book.
About halfway through the event, the crowd moved to the lovely outdoor patio to hear Albert and his wife Emily give speeches.
Emily started the speeches off and shared her gratitude for all the support that Albert has received. She also shared her immense pride in her husband and the feat it is to write a book. “I’ve watched Albert write this book and it takes courage. The biggest obstacle in life is belief in yourself.”
Albert then got up to share his speech and thanks.
He started off with a land acknowledgement. He spoke with grace and warmth as he shared his thanks.
It was clear to anyone in the audience how passionate Albert is about cycling, his community, and climate justice.
He shared an anecdote about learning to ride a bike on his back lawn as a child: “All of a sudden I could fly.”
His book aims to recreate the feeling we all had as children learning to ride bikes. Readers will certainly feel inspiration and awe when reading Wheeling Through Toronto.
The book itself is an in-depth look at the history of the bicycle in Toronto and a discussion about the role of the bicycle in the way forward in the climate crisis.
The book is a historical timeline. It starts in 1896 and takes readers all the way to the 2020s, including the pandemic. It ends in 2023.
His discussion of the history of the bicycle includes archival footage, photographs, excerpts from Albert’s own experiences, and more.
Readers won’t find a more in-depth and engaging book about cycling in Toronto.
If you’re passionate about cycling, climate justice, Toronto, or community, this book will not disappoint.
Grab a copy through the University of Toronto Press website or take a bike ride to your favourite local bookstore to grab a copy!
June 14th, 2024 · Comments Off on ON THE COVER (May 2024)
Justin Marra slides home to score a run for the Toronto Maple Leafs at Christie Pits on May 12. The Leafs dropped their Intercounty Baseball League home opener to the London Majors, 7-5. COURTESY CRAIG AIKEN
June 14th, 2024 · Comments Off on NEWS: Plan to protect Kensington Market (May 2024)
Land trust aims to preserve affordability of unique neigbourhood
By Merideth Poirier
At Cafe Pamenar, located in the heart of Kensington Market, community members came out in droves to support the Kensington Community Bond Campaign.
The Kensington Market Community Land Trust had weather on its side on Monday, April 29, as they hosted their Community Bond Campaign launch party on the lovely back patio at Cafe Pamenar, a mainstay cafe and bar in Kensington Market. The Kensington Market Community Land Trust (KMCLT) is an organization with the simple goal of “protecting the social and economic diversity of the neighbourhood.”
The KMCLT comes out of the Friends of Kensington Market organization. Friends of Kensington was founded by Dominique Russel, co-chair of KMCLT, in 2013. The Friends of Kensington and the organizations that have come since are run by community members who simply want their neighbours to have safe affordable homes to live in and to keep big corporations out of Kensington Market. The energy and drive of the KMCLT comes from fighting for neighbours and residents, but also working to build support and momentum. Dominique Russel shared some history of the work. “Initially it [the KMCLT] was really around the commercial, we [wanted to] protect the vibrant commercial part of the market, and then some of our neighbours got their doors ripped off. The housing crisis just reached into the neighbourhood, [as did] Airbnb and displacement and [the] violent disruption of people’s lives.”
The housing crisis in Kensington and the almost overnight changes are what caused the KMCLT to start to focus on residential properties as well.
In 2019, the KMCLT was supporting neighbours living at 54-56 Kensington Ave. who were being threatened with eviction. The KMCLT, along with the Friends of Kensington Market, Kensington Bellwoods Legal Clinic, the provincial MPP at the time, as well city councillor (at the time) Mike Layton fought on behalf of the residents and told them not to move. The tenants didn’t move, and two years later (2021), the building went up for sale and was bought by the KMCLT. This building has 12 residential units and five commercial units.
The KMCLT is looking to raise $2 million to be able to acquire another property in Kensington Market to continue their mission; however, support is needed from the community to raise these funds. This is where the Community Bond Campaign comes in. The KMCLT is offering neighbours and community members the opportunity to purchase a bond to invest in the purchase of the property. Their purchase of a bond will be an investment and will put money back in community members’ pockets once the piece of property is acquired. A community bond is a unique and innovative way for non-profits to get support from those who have the financial ability to contribute. The community bond can be purchased by individuals or organizations, and they will earn a fixed interest rate. , Promotors of this initiative say it’s a way for people to invest in their communities while earning income.
A range of people were at the event at Cafe Pamenar. The crowd of about 60 was composed mainly of twenty-somethings and folks over the age of 60. Everyone was abuzz with excitement around this new campaign and many connections were being made between people of all ages and backgrounds.
Declan Inghan, 28, a community member and a union researcher with CUPE, spoke about the importance of this event and why he chose to attend. “I’m excited about the decommodification of housing and property in Toronto. I feel like our city is sort of under an onslaught of a housing crisis that makes it increasingly unaffordable for working people to live. I was really excited about what the land trust is doing.”
Attendees were willing and eager to do what they could to help with the campaign. A donation jar was passed around and people gave their spare change and bills to make donations to the campaign. More importantly though, many attendees spoke to staff members of the KMCLT to figure out how they could purchase a bond and make the best financial decision for them.
James, 25, an IT worker in Toronto spoke about what community members can do. “So, the most immediate and obvious opportunity is to invest and purchase bonds if you have the means available to you. Volunteer efforts are always appreciated, and always important. But at the end of the day, this is a game of money and having the money to purchase sites to invest in the land trust is what makes this thing run.”
The KMCLT has two full-time staff members: Zack Bradley, development manager, and Angela Ho, community investment manager. Zack and Angela were incredibly busy throughout the launch party, speaking to community members and sharing their excitement about the Community Bond Campaign.
Angela shared the campaign’s status and hopes for the future. “I’m really excited for where we’re going to go with this campaign. It seems really promising. We have already raised $100,000 in investments so far, and almost $300,000 [has been] committed from community members. So, it’s really exciting to see, you know, where this campaign will take us. And I’m hopeful that we will be able to buy a second building in the fall.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Kensington Market Community Land Trust or the Community Bond campaign, check out the KMCLTs website at: https://kmclt.ca/.
June 14th, 2024 · Comments Off on NEWS: Should vape stores be near high schools? (May 2024)
Vape World on Bloor parks itself on pathway to Central Technical High School
By Ammara Khan and Meredith Poirier
High school students stroll past Vape World location. BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS
Central Technical High School is conveniently located about a 5-minute walk from Bathurst Station in downtown Toronto. Many students commute to the school via subway. On their walk from Bathurst Station to school each morning students will pass by Vape World. Vape World, located on the corner of Bloor Street West and Bathurst Street, is one of 350 vape stores in Ontario. Toronto is littered with vape shops. It seems every corner you turn there’s somewhere to get your vapes. Vape World is open from 8:00 am – 2:30 a.m. which coincides nicely with when high school students would be heading to school to beat the morning bell.
Central Tech High School students were interviewed for this story, and they say that it is not uncommon for their peers to be vaping. The familiar shapes and bright colours of vape pods fill garbage cans around the school.
Paupers Pub, located very close to Vape World, at 539 Bloor St. W., is managed by Chris Haslett. He has two teenage sons aged 15 and 17, and he has strong opinions about the product being retailed so close to a high school.
“We are in a truly terrible place,” said Haslett. He feels that the federal government made a mistake legalizing these products. “I think the fact that there are flavours geared exclusively towards children and people that are in high school, we should adopt the same policies as Quebec has now, where it is only tobacco flavoured products and nothing else. I just think that our governments have failed us completely on this product,” he said.
Though the federal government legalized vaping products as a cessation strategy, it left the provinces and municipalities to regulate their sale. Nothing in Ontario or City of Toronto regulations prevents a specialized vaping retailer, such as Vape World, from putting itself near a high school. Something interesting to note is that there are restrictions around vape shops within university and college settings. One cannot sell tobacco or vapour products in areas that are owned or leased by a postsecondary institution. As many postsecondary schools span large areas of the cities they are in, this leads to vape stores being further from a university or college than they are from high schools, as we see with Vape World.
The NDP, which is the official opposition party in Ontario, has strong feelings about the regulations surrounding vaping in Ontario; in fact, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas reintroduced a bill in May of 2023 titled Vaping is not for kids. There are a few different aspects to this bill, but of note is that it would change the minimum age from 19 to 21, and it would prohibit the promotion of vaping products.
According to Statistics Canada’s Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine 2022 Survey, 30 per cent of youth (aged 15-19) have tried vaping once in their lifetime. Vaping has been prevalent among youth, and the numbers have stayed consistent since 2021.
The Preventing kids and teens from smoking and vaping section of the Government of Canada website lists the dangers of vaping for adolescents. While vapes are a healthier substitute for the more dangerous tobacco cigarettes, they contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance which can lead to physical dependance, especially for youth. It also can interfere with the healthy development of a teen brain. Once a person grows physically dependent on the substance, it becomes extremely difficult to quit. At Vape World they carry both nicotine and non-nicotine products. They offer pods with 0mg, 10mg, or 20mg of nicotine.
Vape World does not break any regulations as set out by the City of Toronto for a vapour product retailer. They have a sign outside the entrance that clearly states shoppers must be 19 and over to enter, and they do not display their products in display windows or outside the building. If it weren’t for the large Vape World sign, passersby likely wouldn’t even notice the store. However, even though the store doesn’t break any regulations, there’s leniency around the rules depending on who’s working. Upon entering the store, the writers of this story (who could easily pass for “school age” individuals) were not asked for ID. Attempts to reach Vape World head office for comment on this story were not successful.
Students outside Central Tech said that some of their peers do manage to make purchases from retailers when they are not asked for identification. In addition to vape stores, students also described the ease with which they can access weed shops, some of which are on Bloor Street West near their school.
While vape product companies do not intend to market their products to youth, the products have become attractive due to the colourful packaging, the interesting flavours, and the lack of education and warning surrounding the dangers of its use.
It can’t help but be noted that not only do the flavours and the packaging appeal to youth, but also the convenience with which they can access weed shops, some of which are on Bloor Street West near their school. While vape product companies in theory do not intend to market their products for youth, the products have become attractive due to the colourful packaging, the interesting flavours, and the lack of education and warning surrounding the dangers of its use.
Comments Off on NEWS: Should vape stores be near high schools? (May 2024)Tags:Annex · News
June 14th, 2024 · Comments Off on HISTORY: Lane name pays tribute to a mare named Crestfallen (May 2024)
Early vaccine for diphtheria developed in local laneway
The Annex laneway where Dr. Fitzgerald kept a stable and developed a diphtheria vaccine. MIA KESKINEN/GLEANER NEWS
By Mia Keskinen
Crestfallen Lane, located between Bathurst and Christie streets, north of Bloor, has a unique history, and its name pays homage to a horse, a doctor, and a vaccine. The lane name commemorates a mare named Crestfallen, a “miracle in a stable” purchased in 1913 by Dr. John G. Fitzgerald, who played a pivotal role in solving a public health crisis and developing vaccines.
More than 100 years ago, John Fitzgerald returned to Toronto after studying abroad and found the city amid a public health crisis: a diphtheria epidemic.
At the turn of the 20th century, diphtheria was considered the single greatest killer of children. Respiratory diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness which is sometimes deadly and causes serious health issues later in life.
The lower classes suffered the most; medicines imported from the United States were priced at extortionate costs, leaving many without means to fight the virus. “The city was rife with infectious diseases. Canadians forget how bad it was,” said Dr. FitzGerald’s grandson, James FitzGerald, in a Toronto Star article published in 2014.
Crestfallen, the famous mare. COURTESY OF JAMES FITZGERALDSite of stable where experiments occurred. COURTESY OF JAMES FITZGERALDDr. John G. Fitzgerald in 1912. COURTESY OF JAMES FITZGERALD
Fitzgerald was determined to help the public in their time of need. He began by pitching his vision to the University of Toronto. He hoped to create a diphtheria antitoxin and distribute it freely to all Canadians as a public health service.
Given the University’s hesitance, the doctor took matters into his own hands.
In 1913, Fitzgerald took $3000 from his wife’s dowry and built a horse stable with a lab for developing an antitoxin on 145 Barton Avenue. He then saved several elderly horses from a local glue factory. He named one of the horses Crestfallen because of her sad eyes.
On Dec. 11, 1913, Fitzgerald injected Crestfallen with a small dose of diphtheria. The horse built an immunity to diphtheria over four months due to gradual injections of diphtheria.
The blood was processed to create an antitoxin and tested on guinea pigs. After positive testing on humans, the vaccine was distributed to the lower classes as a public health service.
Fitzgerald single-handedly solved the diphtheria epidemic, and his work in the Canadian health-care industry helped to change the system.
James Fitzgerald said that “my grandfather’s inspired vision was transforming Canada’s public health system into a world leader.”
In 2014, the neighbourhood between Bathurst and Christie streets where the original lab was built, faced a public safety concern.
The houses within this neighborhood were built with little space separating each building, so homeowners accessed their properties through laneways behind their houses, each of which were unnamed.
When a house in the residential area caught fire, emergency crews struggled to find the location of the burning building, given the confusing labyrinth of unnamed laneways. Following this incident, several arsons occurred, and firefighters again struggled to find the location of the fire.
This prompted the Seaton Village Residents’ Association to create the Seaton Village Lane Naming Project. Local residents felt it was important to create street names that commemorated the historic significance of the neighbourhood. In 2014, after a local resident read James Fitzgerald’s book, the lane was officially named Crestfallen Lane to commemorate the memory of Dr. John G. Fitzgerald, Crestfallen the mare, the “miracle in a stable.”
Comments Off on HISTORY: Lane name pays tribute to a mare named Crestfallen (May 2024)Tags:Annex · History · Life
June 14th, 2024 · Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Ford needs to step up and lead for once (May 2024)
The competing notions of treating illicit drug use as a health issue versus a criminal one is at the heart of a divide between the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario. The city wants to decriminalize and help people who are addicted and the province thinks it can arrest its way out of the problem.
Five hundred people a year die in Toronto from preventable overdoes and that number is growing. The drug toxicity problem is so acute that being an addict without access to a safe supply or a supportive place to use it is extremely hazardous. Those who overdose outside those safe zones and are thankfully rescued by emergency medical services occupy hospital emergency wards. But of course, these beds displace other equally needy patients seeking help for other reasons. It adds pressure to an already overburdened system.
The debate over decriminalization is a red herring as the number of charges laid for simple possession are very low in Toronto, and prosecutors rarely take these cases anyway. It seems that Toronto police and the Crown attorney’s office are on the same page here and have decided there is nothing to gain in trying to jail people for their addiction issues.
The federal government is stuck on the issue as it controls the heavy hammer of the criminal code but lacks the constitutional role of providing health care. It refused to heed the city’s recent request to decriminalize while the province sits on its hands and refuses to come to the table. The Doug Ford government is stuck in a 1980s Nancy Reagan “Just Say No” era and of course has no plan to help those dealing with addiction. Federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks in denying Toronto’s request cited the “lack of support from key players including the province of Ontario.”
In a way Ford was right, for all the wrong reasons of course, to ask Ottawa to oppose the city’s request. It’s simply not enough to make possession not a crime. Effective harm reduction measures require a broad approach to treating addiction such as treatment beds, detox programs, rehab, counselling, a safe supply, a place to inject, and a promise not to incarcerate you for doing so. British Columbia (BC) tried this latter approach and it failed. Protections need to be in place, the public needs to be considered around these sites, needles need be collected and youth need to be out of harms way. A mother of two young children was caught in the cross fire and killed by a stray bullet outside a safe injection site in Leslieville last summer.
In BC, police found that the safe supply had migrated into the black market, which begs questions about how organized crime was able to infiltrate a government sponsored program. So BC’s approach was not perfect. But they tried and they will learn from it. We could learn from their experience too and develop a better program. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says that in recent years, more than 2,500 have died each year as a result of drug toxicity alone, and opioid deaths among teens have tripled.
Neither the police, the courts, or the health care system alone can address this issue; it takes all three levels of government acting in concert. But without the resolve of the Ontario premier, who has seen the effects of addiction and drug abuse in his own family, we cannot find that community-wide solution. Ford just wants to conjure up tired old “war on drugs, tough on crime” narratives and wishes the problem would bury itself in a jail cell or a morgue.
As the issues of drug addiction, and drug toxicity increase, it touches more and more Ontario families, more and more voting families. It’s a lack of Ford’s willingness to govern for all the people that is most frustrating. As this health care pandemic grows, Ford may be motivated to try and find meaningful solutions that do not include sticking his head in the sand. Why not learn from BC’s initiative and develop an even better program for Ontario?
June 14th, 2024 · Comments Off on FORUM: Undoing vacant home tax debacle (May 2024)
Booze in parks gets green light, revamp of recycling on the horizon
By Dianne Saxe
Spring arrived early this year with turbulent weather in April and sunshine in May. It’s also been an eventful season: I hope you had a chance to enjoy the total solar eclipse, the Easter parades, Earth Day’s 45th anniversary, Toronto’s luscious bounty of cherry blossoms, and holiday meals with friends and family.
April’s council was dominated by a determination to fix the vacant home tax. I’m sure you’ve all heard moving stories about the over 65,000 Torontonians who received large, frightening tax bills for the homes they live in. No wonder so many of you wrote to our office for help! All of the incorrect bills should now have been reversed, and staff are working overtime to resolve the thousands of complaints. Toronto city council waived late declaration fees and instructed the city’s finance staff to completely rework the program for next year, possibly including my suggestion to allow residents to show occupancy through their utility data.
Second, Toronto city council relaunched the city’s climate resilience program which was dropped during COVID. We know that climate “weirding” is already costing the city heavily, with much more coming, and that planning ahead will soften the blow.
Third, it’s now clear that provincial rules will hand Toronto’s recycling system to the private sector on Jan. 1, 2026 and will cut the number of public recycling bins in half. I expect a bumpy rollout, especially if the new operator keeps using the city’s green bins marked with our logo. Staff are working to minimize the impact.
Fourth, Toronto city council has collaborated on fixing several loopholes that are used to cheat our short-term rentals bylaw to create things like “ghost hotels” while preserving income opportunities for legitimate hosts. For example, hosts will have to provide better evidence that a proposed short-term rental is their primary residence and must properly register to advertise. If you rent out your entire home, you can do so for up to 180 nights per year. A spare bedroom in your home can be rented out as often as you like. If you think there is an illegal short-term rental near you, we’ll be glad to ask staff to check.
Fifth, following the success of last year’s alcohol in parks pilot, I am glad that the policy has been made permanent for select locations. Staff reported high public satisfaction and no evidence that the policy caused increased harm. Toronto city council has therefore decided that there must now be a park in every ward where people can share a bottle of wine or beer with friends. We know this is especially good news for the half of my constituents who have been denied this opportunity as they don’t have private yards. I would be happy to add more Ward 11 parks to the list, in addition to the current permissions for Queen’s Park and Christie Pits. Residents’ associations and local groups may propose additional parks so long as they have washrooms.
One of my motions last year has now brought parking fines up to date across the city, effective August 1. Most parking fines were adjusted upward to match inflation since the last time rates were set. Fines for a small number of offences (like blocking EV charging sites or bike lanes) were increased through a motion of mine.
The spring calendar has included several engaging events in and around the Annex. We had a hugely successful first Community Environment Day at Central Technical School in May with residents donating, recycling, and disposing of books, clothing, electronics, hazardous waste, etc. The second will take place at Fred Hamilton Park on Sunday, June 23. First comers are entitled to two bags of free compost for their household!
I was proud to join the mayor and community organizers at the opening of a permanent home for the Blackhurst Culture Centre on Bathurst Street which will serve as a revitalized community space and bookshop in the Annex. I also enjoyed joining friends at the Centre for Social Innovation to celebrate Tapestry Community Capital’s sixth anniversary and the impact of their community bonds.
April and May are the classic months for spring cleaning, and in that spirit, I want to extend a big thank you to every neighbourhood group who cleaned up their parks and ravines for Earth Day, especially to those who held events on Sunday so I could attend. I was touched to plant pansies and paint flowerpots with the preschoolers at U of T Family Services’ rooftop garden at Charles and Bay. Finally, it’s great to see people of all ages enjoying the new exercise equipment at Jean Sibelius Square.
Have a wonderful conclusion to the spring season.
Dianne Saxe is city councillor for Ward 11, University-Rosedale.
June 14th, 2024 · Comments Off on FORUM: Queen’s Park roundup (May 2024)
Underfunding schools, justice system, and interference at colleges & universities
By Jessica Bell
It’s been a very busy period at Queen’s Park. Here are the highlights.
Parents stand up to pending school budget cuts
On May 8, I joined parents, students, teachers, and residents outside Kensington School for a rally to demand better funding for our public schools.
We hosted this rally because caring and dedicated parents at the school contacted our office to tell us Kensington is losing two teachers and will create a 4-5-6 split class in the 2024-2025 school year.
“The decision to have a three-grade split at our school is not based on learning outcomes. It doesn’t account for all of the range of abilities in the classroom. And it’s definitely not supportive of teachers,” said Rebecca Osolen, a parent at the school.
One of the reasons why schools are being forced to make tough choices like creating a grade 4-5-6 split is because of Toronto District School Board (TDSB) funding cuts.
The TDSB has already cut $64.7 million from its spending, and earlier this month, trustees approved an additional reduction of $17 million. Despite these cuts, the school board is still facing a $26.5 million shortfall for the upcoming 2025/2026 school year.
I want our kids to receive an excellent public-school education. Excellent public schools require investment from the provincial government, smaller class sizes, and more staffing; yet, so far, under the current government, per-student funding has fallen by $1,347 when factoring in inflation.
We are organizing events with other schools in the area to draw attention to how the cuts are affecting our children’s education.
The Conservatives want to rewrite campus anti-hate laws
We have received calls and emails about Government Bill 166. This bill requires universities and colleges to have anti-discrimination and mental health policies and gives the minister of Colleges and Universities the power to intervene in these policies.
Let’s be clear. Every university and college should have a comprehensive, balanced, and well-executed plan to support student mental health and address racism and hate on campus. This is especially important, given the very concerning rise in antisemitism, islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian racism in our city.
In committee, we heard from the post-secondary community that the vast majority of universities and colleges already have policies and services in place, but decades of chronic underfunding have compromised their ability to enact these policies.
I believe postsecondary policies should be developed through a process of broad consultation and engagement with those directly affected—students, faculty, staff, and communities—and informed by the best available evidence and subject matter expertise. I doubt overt political intervention on policies will improve student or worker safety on campus.
Our backlogged courts are denying people justice
My colleague, MPP Catherine Fife, has been working on Bill 198 Lydia’s Law for nearly two years. She wrote the law to draw attention to the experience of Lydia, a young woman who had her sexual assault case against her perpetrator thrown out after two years because of court delays.
This isn’t a one off event: 1,326 sexual assault trails were withdrawn or stayed across Ontario in 2022 alone. Too many cases are being dropped because courts do not have the staff or funding to try cases in a timely way.
Lydia’s Law would require the attorney general to provide statistics to the legislative assembly on the progress of sexual assault cases that have been in the system for eight months and not heard, and report on why.
Survivors from across Ontario had planned to watch the debate on Bill 198 this week in person, but that moment was taken away when the government sent the committee without debate or vote. The Conservatives occasionally send bills to committee to have them languish and die.
Despite the political games, survivors from across Ontario attended Queen’s Park to hold the government to account. I felt deep anger and a sense of injustice listening to their harrowing experiences at court. These survivors of violence are not going to give up until our courts are reformed, and neither will we.
Jessica Bell is the MPP for University-Rosedale and the Official Opposition’s Housing Critic. She can be reached at jbell@ndp.on.ca or 416-535-7206.
