Late baseball owner loomed large over amateur sports scene

By R.S. Konjek

As local lore will have it, the Toronto sports scene was forever changed one afternoon in the summer of 1968.

A newspaper man – on the sales side, not the writing side – happened to drive past Christie Pits Park on Bloor Street.  Circling the curious sunken playgrounds, he cast his gaze over the baseball diamond nestled in the northeast corner of the park. 

“That’s where I want my team to play,” Jack Dominico announced.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were not his team quite yet.  Pieced together from the remains of the Triple-A International League ballclub that left town for Louisville, Kentucky after 1967, a new team bearing the same “Maple Leafs” name would begin play as the amateur Intercounty Baseball League’s newest franchise in 1969.  

Alex Stanley, a local amateur baseball star, led the ownership group that brought the new Leafs into existence.  Dominico was involved from the start, handling the advertising side of things.  

The ballclub needed a new home.  The departed team had played in Maple Leaf Stadium at the corner of Lakeshore and Bathurst.  Old and rickety, the stadium was demolished in early 1968.

Whether Dominico’s fateful spin around the Pits is apocryphal or not, the new Leafs took the field in May, 1969, and Christie Pits has been their home ever since.

Dominico and his wife Lynne assumed full ownership in 1970. They operated all facets of the club together: recruitment and player signings, advertising and sponsorships, publications and game-day operations.

Playing in a public park instead of an enclosed private stadium kept the Leafs from charging admission to games, a situation that remains to this day.  From the very beginning the onus was on Dominico to keep the club afloat.  A relentless hustler, he sold ad space in club publications and on banners that hung on the outfield fences at the diamond.  Not only did he keep the club afloat, he kept it profitable, year after year.

Lynne passed away in 2008 and Jack continued as sole owner of the club until he died on January 11 at the age of 82.

Dominico loomed large over Christie Pits, literally.  On game days, his customary place was inside the press box perched on top of the hillside behind home plate.  From there he was master of all he surveyed, and he let everyone know it.

He was an assertive salesman and skillful organizer, but as soon as the first pitch hit the catcher’s mitt, Dominico became a fan like anyone else.  Not a game went by – sometimes not an inning – without hearing his booming voice react to the action below.  

If an umpire (in his opinion) blew a call, they heard about it.  If one of his players messed up, they heard about it.  If his manager let a game slip away, they heard about it.  His trademark groans and gripes rang around the Pits without needing the PA system.

“It was mostly an act,” said longtime Leafs raffle ticket seller Alan Ross.

Dominico’s outbursts may have been part of the game day entertainment, but to many, he had a heart of gold.

“He found jobs for many players,” said Ross.  “Even people who didn’t like him agreed that without Jack there wouldn’t be a league.”

While overseeing the league’s flagship franchise, Dominico quietly steered financial support to struggling clubs.  He did so without seeking fanfare, but to keep the league going in tough times.

“He knew everybody,” said Ross, citing an example from late in the 2021 season, which lasted deep into September and far beyond its usual ending point.  

The Leafs were playing in the IBL’s championship series, but the City of Toronto kept to its seasonal parks maintenance schedule and removed the portable restrooms at the park just before a game at Christie Pits.  Ross raised the issue with Dominico, who placed one phone call.  The following day, the port-a-potties were back.

In 2010, in recognition of his contributions to local sports, the city officially named the Leaf’s home Dominico Field at Christie Pits. 

The trophy presented to the IBL champions at the end of each season also bears Dominico’s name, in tribute to his unparalleled contributions to the league’s success.

In recent years, ailing health limited Dominico’s mobility and his final appearance at the ballpark was in 2019.

He maintained communications with his staff and players by phone, doting over them like a father figure.

Dominico may be gone but the Leafs will go on.  Damon Topolie, the club’s general manager, will continue to assemble the roster and manage the team on the field.  Christie Pits will be the home of Leafs baseball this summer, as it has since 1969.

In the long term it remains to be seen what will become of Dominico’s estate, including the ownership of the Leafs.  One thing for certain is that his vision for baseball at Christie Pits changed Toronto sports history.

Side-by-side condo tower development on Davenport

By Nicole Stoffman

A new condo neighbourhood is rising on Davenport Road between Dupont Street and Avenue Road. With the completion of the 35-storey AYC condos and townhouses at Bedford Road, and another seven builds ranging in size from 7 to 35 storeys, the L-shaped curve at the northeastern edge of the Annex is set to boom.  But the Annex Residents’ Association is concerned that a liveable neighbourhood has not been planned for.  

Corinna Prior, planner at the City of Toronto, would disagree with that assessment. The qualities of a liveable neighbourhood, such as appropriate built form, community services, a welcoming public realm, and “the creation of a comfortable microclimate,” have been planned for, she told the Gleaner in an email. 

When reviewing applications along this stretch of Davenport, the city was guided by the 2019 Downtown Plan which concluded that there is sufficient social infrastructure, like schools and libraries, to accommodate growth, she said. Planning staff also referenced the 2018 Davenport Triangle Guiding Principles, a 2018 vision statement for the triangle bounded by Dupont Street, Davenport, Bedford Road, and Designer’s Walk Lane. 

However, the Davenport Triangle Guiding Principles were at times overruled by the province, and a 22-storey tower was approved for the northwest corner of Davenport and Bedford, even though the principles advocated only midrise buildings for the triangle. 

“This is a classic example of spot zoning,” said Henry Wiercinski, co-chair of the Annex Residents’ Association’s planning and development committee. “This is site by site. No vision.” The ARA prides itself on working with developers to ensure builds that contribute to the neighbourhood, “We are not anti-development,” said Wiercinski. But without a visioning study for this stretch of Davenport, he thinks there’s been a lack of construction management logistics. “You wouldn’t have one [building] under construction and three that will be in construction in a short period of time,” had such a study been done, he said.

The city adopted a motion on Jan 19, 2021, to remove parking minimums in new developments, to reduce dependence on cars and promote affordable housing (parking is expensive to build and the cost gets passed onto the buyer.) Yet two of the new towers on Davenport will have four levels of underground parking each, and another will have three levels. Wiercinski thinks Davenport is a good candidate for increased density, but doubts the roads will be able to accommodate such a dramatic increase in traffic. Prior said planners coordinate with other city divisions, such as transportation, when reviewing planning applications.

He would like to have seen a visioning study for Davenport similar to the one adopted in 2011 for Dupont between Kendal and Ossington. Developers are adhering to its nine-storey height limit and public realm considerations, he said, because the developers took part in the negotiations between the city and residents. 

Councillor Layton told the Gleaner that there is already a backlog of planning study requests to his office. City staff take adjacent guidelines and apply them to applications along this stretch of Davenport. Like Prior, he cited the Davenport Triangle Guiding Principles as well as the Annex Heritage Conservation District. 

“This area of Ward 11 is exceeding the provincial targets,” adds Layton. Furthermore, three of the four corners at Davenport and Bedford will have high rises, which the ARA thinks represent too much density. 

However, when checked against the 2020 density target as set out in the provincial Growth Plan, “A Place to Grow,” the davenport condo boom seems to be underachieving. The minimum density target set out for downtown Toronto is 400 people and jobs per hectare by 2031. This is the same target from the previous 2015 Growth Plan put in place by the Liberal government. There will be a total of approximately 1,200 new residents along this 550-metre stretch of Davenport, when all 7 builds are complete. Therefore, the growth target would be 4,000 for this 5.5 hectare stretch of arterial road, assuming five hectares of land on each side.

Nonetheless, Oren Tamir in the city planning division confirmed Councillor Layton’s observation in an email to the Gleaner: “If the density trends continue, it is likely that Downtown will exceed the Urban Growth Centre density target well before 2031.”

Consideration has been given to the public realm on Davenport, despite the lack of a visioning study, in the form of Joseph Tough Park and two publicly accessible spaces on Pears Avenue and Designers Walk Lane. Prior told the Gleaner it adds up to “more than $2.5 million in-kind contributions toward public realm improvements.”

Improvements have also been made to social services in the area, thanks to the $1.8 million collected in cash contributions since 2016 from Section 37 funds. These were spent on improvements to food security, health services, and amenity spaces in local social housing, such as at 250 Davenport Road. “Additional public benefits are anticipated in connection with other applications still under review in the area,” Prior told the Gleaner.

Of a total of over 800 units, there are no affordable units confirmed among the 7 new builds. The one exception is the 35-storey tower at 148 Avenue Rd. Planner Bruce Hawkins told the Gleaner in an email that the developer has not yet proposed any affordable units, but that the city is exploring opportunities for incorporating affordable housing into the proposal. 

The target markets for these dwellings range from mid-market to luxury. For example, 321 Davenport by the Alterra Group is aimed at “affluent end-users and downsizers,” said Dagmar Caine, Assistant Marketing Manager. “It is people looking for a lifestyle change and the comfort and security condominium living provides while also maintaining their current luxuries.”

It remains to be seen if this stretch of Davenport Road will feel like a complete community, but some will welcome it with open arms. “I happen to love higher density development,” said John De Porter, owner of Misto Lino Linen Shop on Avenue Road. 

“This area is not the most vibrant, so a new project, like a very tall, glass tower, brings in a lot of excitement and a lot of buzz, so I’m all for it.” 

READ MORE:

• NEWS: Report urges reduction of traffic lanes on Avenue Road (Aug. 2021)
• NEWS: 45 land parcels for Green Line (Feb. 2021)
• DEVELOPINGS: Developments at your doorstep (Jan. 2021)
• CHATTER: A new green space within the Annex (Jan. 2021)
• NEWS: Seven storeys proposed for Davenport/Dupont (Dec. 2020)
• NEWS: Boutique condos planned for Davenport (July 2020)
• NEWS: 15 storeys planned for Davenport & Bedford (Mar. 2020)
• NEWS: Creating a friendlier Dupont (May 2019)
• CHATTER: Dupont Station construction delayed by a year (Summer 2018)
• FOCUS: Davenport development goes to mediation (Spring 2018)
• NEWS: Dupont decision sets precedent (March 2018)
• NEWS: Reclaiming the Anishinaabe past (APRIL 2017)
• ON THE COVER: Tracking history in the Annex (April 2016)
• NEWS: A Walmart on Dupont? RioCan purchases 1.4 acres in Dupont-Christie area (May 2011)

New Small Business tax class see property taxes drop by 15%

By Carly Penrose

The benches outside Emily Rose Café at Palmerston Square and Follis Avenue were filled with patrons. Mothers and daughters, friends coming together over food. Although it was late November and the café had yet to introduce indoor seating, patrons were undeterred by the cold late-fall air as they waited patiently for their coffees and baked goods.

The toasty smell of coffee greeted customers at Emily Rose at almost the same time owner Alessia Peluso did. Interrupted by a beeping oven, she removed a tray of blueberry white chocolate scones between hellos. 

The success of Emily Rose comes after delays in getting city permissions that rescheduled the café’s opening from summer 2019 to January 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Support local” has been a COVID rallying cry, but business groups say owners like Peluso faced bureaucratic and financial challenges before the pandemic. And they are saying the city’s new 15-per-cent property tax reduction goes some way toward addressing barriers for small businesses and repairing a strained relationship with the city—but it’s only a start.

“This is good news. This is progress, and I hope it’s the beginning of redress, where we’re not going to overtax businesses,” said Brian Burchell, chair of the Bloor Annex BIA (and publisher of this newspaper), which represents 250 small businesses in University-Rosedale. 

John Kiru, executive director of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) says small businesses’ challenges date back to 1998, when changes to Toronto tax laws disproportionately affected the commercial class. After 23 years advocating for small business tax reform, in November 2020, the province opened the door for municipalities to offer property tax relief to local businesses. 

Kiru said TABIA worked alongside the city, quickly creating a policy to benefit small businesses, though it wasn’t easy. “Trying to define a small business is like herding cats, just when you think you’ve got everybody in there, you’ll find one or two outliers,” he said.

In the end, geography and property size were used. The city predicts approximately 25,000 small businesses in Toronto will receive the benefit in 2022. 

In the Bloor Annex area, the most recent property value assessment says the average commercial property is valued at $2.4 million, with property taxes of roughly $49,000. A 15 per cent reduction would mean $7,300 in savings per year. “That’s not a drop in the bucket,” said Burchell.

The tricky part, Burchell says, is whether any of the savings will be passed on to tenants. While city staff say most commercial leases display property tax costs in tenants’ rent, others don’t. “The key here is to ensure the landlords communicate the savings,” said Burchell, who says some members have told him they’ve never seen a tax bill for the property they rent.

The city promises to release a list of properties eligible for relief so owners can address inconsistencies with their landlord. 

But Burchell says the relationship between tenants and landlords is complex and this isn’t necessarily a solution. “There’s all kinds of reasons why they may not want to have a confrontational conversation with the property owner,” he said. 

The owners of commercial properties will automatically qualify for the new tax break so neither applications nor overwhelming amounts of paperwork are required, which Burchell said was true for previous municipal programs.

Kiru acknowledges the policy is imperfect, but it and a concurrent bylaw in Ottawa are the first of their kind in Canada. 

“Any new policy is going to have some flaws in it,” Kiru said, adding that he didn’t want to sacrifice 25,000 small businesses by drawing out the process in Toronto.

Kiru says there are ways to improve upon the tax measure. 

He says that an appeals process should be put in place so businesses that do not currently qualify for relief, like stores in strip malls, can apply to be considered. 

This tax cut is being funded within the commercial class, meaning larger businesses will see tax increases to pay for it. Kiru recommended increasing residential taxes to provide support, though acknowledged it would be a politically unpopular move.

“The average home would pay 26 dollars more per year to fund the benefit being given to small businesses,” said Kiru. “I would suggest for many of those people that live next to iconic main streets like the Danforth, Little Italy…$26 is not too much to pay.” 

Business owners, meanwhile, are less concerned with the ins and outs of city policy and more focused on their daily operations.

Rebecca Daniels, co-owner of First Kiss Vintage and Tattoo on Bloor Street, said she’s had challenges receiving municipal relief in the past. “When COVID hit, the only commercial rent relief was the responsibility of the landlord to apply for it. Ours did not. From what I understand most other commercial landlords also didn’t.” 

A business owner and mother of one, Daniels says she doesn’t have time to closely monitor city initiatives. “I haven’t done a ton of research to find out what’s available. If there are resources, they have not been made clear to me at all.” 

Daniels’ complaints about the challenges involved with city bureaucracy aren’t unique.

Peluso, for instance, said her problems began before the COVID-19 pandemic when she found the location for Emily Rose Café.  

She had to apply for a “minor variance” to rezone the property for interior alterations and an outdoor patio. The application, approved 14 months after she found the property, was long and costly, she said, adding she had to hire a lawyer and architect to navigate municipal policies. “You get the feeling no one is on your side,” said Peluso.    

Burchell, for his part, said an announcement the city made prior to the most recent COVID-19 outbreak, calling itself a “model” for bringing all municipal employees back to physical workspaces in January was eye-opening. “It struck me the city might be a bit [out of touch] on the subject for the rest of us who have been coming in to work every day, for 18 months,” he said.

Burchell says business owners’ frustrations with the city are real. “People have their hearts and souls sunk into their businesses… They are deeply financially, emotionally intertwined with them.” 

This bylaw reducing costs for small businesses may begin to repair the relationship.

READ MORE:

• FOCUS: Revitalization of Robert St. Field (Mar. 2021)
• FOCUS: Robert Street Field site of geothermal energy (Mar. 2020)
• FROM THE ARCHIVES: University no longer fielding exemplary behaviour (Mar. 2020)
• NEWS: Ten Editions Bookstore calls it a day (Spring 2019)
• NEWS: Students argue for new residence (FALL 2017)
• CHATTER: University to appeal Ten Editions heritage designation (MAY 2017)
• NEWS: New chapter for student residence? (February 2017)
• NEWS: Preventing a wall of towers (October 2016)
• CHATTER: Two new rezoning applications submitted to city (September 2016)
• NEWS: 698, 700, 702, and 704 Spadina Ave. (April 2015)

Did you sleep through history class? Never fear — this month there’s a lot that you can catch up on, particularly in commemoration of Black History Month. Prepare to explore the stories you thought you knew alongside the ones you were never told through books, movies, and coins. 

Your first stop should be A Different Booklist (ADBCC) at 779 Bathurst St. to pick up “literary gems from Canada’s cultural mosaic” that will keep you reading until next this time next year. Unfortunately, you will have to order these online, but fortunately, finding the perfect books you didn’t know you were looking for will be easy because the online store has carefully curated categories such as: juvenile, pandemic-related, Black feminist, gender, Black History month 2022, and more. 

While exploring the site before placing your order, be sure to register to attend one of the upcoming events hosted by the bookstore and cultural hub. There’s sure to be a fabulous lineup for March, April, and May.

Next, if you do not yet have a Hot Docs account, you will get one. You’ll make some popcorn and settle in to explore The Black Light Series: A Celebration of Canadian Filmmakers. Maybe you already know John Ware’s story, but filmmaker Cheryl Foggo seeks to set his story free in John Ware Reclaimed. Maybe, you got caught up in Olympic fever this month, and need to keep the excitement rolling. You’ll find it in Charles Officer’s film, Mighty Jerome. Maybe, you feel like digging into family history. In that case, you’ll want to watch Finding Sally, about filmmaker Tamara Dawlit’s search for her long-lost Aunt; or Hardwood, by Hubert Davis, which explores his father – Harlem Globe Trotter Mel Davis – and the impact of his choices on the family.

And finally, make your celebration of Black history (Canadian history) a life long commitment by considering the Royal Canadian Mint’s coin commemorating the Underground Railroad, released February 1. The image on the coin was designed by Toronto artist Kwame Delfish.

—Meribeth Deen/Gleaner News

SEE MORE BY BRETT LAMB:

• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Jan. 2022)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Dec. 2021)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Fall 2021)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: Fourth wave funnies! (Aug. 2021)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Jul. 2021)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Apr. 2021)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: Pandemic Response (Mar. 2021)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Feb. 2021)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Jan. 2021)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice! (Dec. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Nov. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Oct. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Aug. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (July 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Apr. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Mar. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Feb. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Election Special 2018)
• FORUM: Celebrating 20 years of cartoonist Brett Lamb (April 2017)

Policing is largely a provincial matter, but faced with massive trucks and bouncy castles clogging up central Ottawa, plus blockades at key border crossings, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had to invoke the Emergencies Act. As usual, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was too focused on the next election to do his job, and he should have to answer for it.

Any invocation of the Emergencies Act requires Parliament to “check” the government’s action. This comes in two forms: a quick look by a parliamentary committee and an in-depth look that could take many months. Both reviews should subpoena Mr. Ford and ask him why Ontario required the federal government to employ powers beyond the scope of existing criminal law, provincial statutes and regulations, municipal by-laws, court orders, and the province’s own emergency powers. 

The longer inquiry should seek to determine the chain of events that led to the blockade of Ottawa and how the Ottawa Police Service allowed it to be established and failed to dismantle it even after three weeks. Ontario delegates powers to local police services who report to local police service boards appointed by municipal governments but these are all creatures of the province. 

At its core, this so called “freedom convoy” was nothing but a prolonged fit by those upset that the government is encouraging them to spend a little time and energy to help keep their own communities safe. They don’t have to get the jab, of course, but if they did not they have a duty to not risk harm to others. 

These people are not suffering, nor are they protesting some historical injustice against an authoritative regime. This protest does not compare to advocacy for abortion rights, indigenous rights, or equal marriage. In comparison, this convoy is simply an embarrassment. Social media and the power of rage gave these actions faux legitimacy and Ford was apparently afraid to confront it.

Ontario, like other provinces, is supposed to have a ladder of responses to emergencies. A local police chief who feels overwhelmed can seek help from the OPP commissioner. The OPP can, in turn, brief the solicitor general, and the solicitor general then briefs the premier and provincial cabinet. 

What is clear is that while all this was happening, Doug Ford decided to cajole Ottawa’s occupiers with, “come on folks, enough is enough, time to go home.” He also thought it would be a good time to relieve Ontario of the need for license stickers and dropped tolls on some highways. In other words: while the crisis rose to a boiling point, he sought to distract Ontarians with shiny objects.

One way that the Province of Ontario could have helped is to pressure heavy tow truck operators to heed the request from the Ottawa Police Service to help remove trucks. Apparently, these operators refused as it would adversely impact their future business relationships with truckers. Under his own emergency orders, he could have forced this provincially regulated industry to do its job. Ford instead waited until the situation in Ottawa had become an international embarrassment and let the federal government do the heavy lifting on the file. A leader he is not.

Our premier is focused one thing only: re-election in June. He wants to keep everyone happy including anti-vaxxers who reside in his base, perhaps especially them. Order and good governance are not his focus and perhaps never have been, Ford’s inaction on this file makes this glaringly obvious.  If Ford had done his job, it is doubtful that the Emergencies Act would have been invoked.

READ MORE EDITORIALS: 

• EDITORIAL: Ford stalls, families suffer (Jan. 2022)
• EDITORIAL: Ford rolls dice with 413 (Dec. 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Doug Ford, the chaos king (Fall 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Ford’s flawed passport (Aug. 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Ford’s school plan is a fail (July 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Doug Ford plays the joker card (June 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Ford chooses wrong path, again (May 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Ford must resign (Apr. 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Organization, not talk, needed for vaccine roll-out (Mar. 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Legislated dignity for the greater good (Feb. 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Ford’s half measures (Jan. 2021)
• EDITORIAL: Ford attacks watershed protectors (Dec. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Ford flailing as COVID numbers spike (Nov. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Confusion reigns in COVID-19 response (Oct. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: When “expert” plans look more like a gamble (Aug. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Ford turns on tenants (July 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Ontario gets a failing grade (May 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Local heroes (Apr. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Modelling healthy behaviour (Mar. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Fictions, falsehoods and a crisis in leadership (Feb. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Bat crazy (Jan. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Ford “proud” of cancelling green energy contracts (Dec. 2019)
• EDITORIAL: Don Cherry’s deeply revealing words (Nov. 2019)
• EDITORIAL: The hidden cost of Conservative climate plans (Oct. 2019)
• EDITORIAL: How not to manage the retail sale of pot (Sept. 2019)
• EDITORIAL: Let cabinet do its job (August 2019)
• EDITORIAL: Time for Ford to press “eject” (Summer 2019)
• EDITORIAL: Ford’s angry budget (May 2019)
• EDITORIAL: It’s not your private police force, Mr. Ford (Spring 2019)
• EDITORIAL: It’s hardly ‘for the students’ (Winter 2019)
• EDITORIAL: Blowing smoke on the climate file (Dec. 2018)
• EDITORIAL: This premier is not for the people (City Election 2018)
• EDITORIAL: Eight weeks lost to Ford’s madness (October 2018)
• EDITORIAL: A lost cause worth fighting for (Aug./Sept. 2018)
• EDITORIAL: Reclaiming our city (Summer 2018)
• EDITORIAL: City staff ignore bike lanes (July 2018)
• EDITORIAL: The market has no moral compass (Election Special 2018)
• EDITORIAL: Lessons to be learned from Excessive Force (Spring 2018)
• EDITORIAL: A social contract is a precious thing (March 2018)
• EDITORIAL: Intolerance leading to Quebec’s decline (Dec. 2017)
• EDITORIAL: Student safety suffers as trustees cave (Nov. 2017)
• EDITORIAL: Pandering to religious intolerance (October 2017)
• EDITORIAL: Bike lanes, good for business (Fall 2017)
• EDITORIAL: Don’t sacrifice safety for political gain (August 2017)

Affordable housing, climate initiatives, road safety all on the agenda

By Mike Layton

The 2022 budget process will have wrapped up by the time this publication goes to print, but I still thought I could provide an update on some of the policy pieces I have been working on advancing through my role on the budget committee. 

My focus in budget committee has not wavered from working to ensure we are building a more just, green, safe, and equitable city.

Some things that have already been accomplished include the expansion of services to Indigenous residents in Ward 11, and by extension city-wide through 2 projects. 

First, we are looking to build Indigenous affordable housing in the parking lot at 19 Spadina Road (and I will have more information about this in future updates) and secondly, plans for the Thunder Woman Healing Lodge, a little further north on Spadina, are close to being fully realized.

On climate, council has agreed to, as part of developing a climate lens on budget decisions, establish a process for identifying projects that produce net positive and net negative climate impacts. 

I still need to work to have council support funding for more city planners assigned to improving the Toronto Green Standard and ensuring our future builds are as green as possible.

Unfortunately, there are still major holes in the budget when it comes to housing and road safety. 

The need for affordable and supportive housing units has never been greater and the province must provide the City of Toronto with the funding necessary to meet our targets. 

While council has a commitment to ensure these funds are available to us, I worry about what will happen should the province decide not to fund our supportive and affordable housing targets, and the budget has no contingency built in to support this. 

Safety in existing units continues to be a concern for many tenants and I tried to increase funding for RentSafeTO enforcement, but this failed on a vote of 5-1. 

Council must stop pretending that renters and tenants do not exist and start funding the services they need properly. 

We must also be looking to further expand the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program to support the acquisition of housing by community agencies in order to provide housing.

I attempted to remove $2.6 million from the Toronto Police Services budget to put toward enforcement of poor rental property standards and protection of the health and safety of Toronto’s tenants. Unfortunately, this did not pass. 

Throughout the budget deputations from the public, I consistently heard calls to address the police budget, but council has not yet shown any indication or willingness to decrease this budget. 

We must work to fund alternative service response models.

Lastly, road safety continues to be a priority in every transportation related decision I make. 

While the budget continues to prioritize Gardiner rehabilitation over the majority of other capital needs on our road infrastructure, there are actions council can take to limit the danger and exposure on our roads by increasing Automated Speed Enforcement and lowering speed limits. 

Council will be looking to expand Community Safety Zones on all arterials in all of Toronto, but a study is not truly action. 

We must find creative ways to hold those driving dangerously to account.

My hope is that by the time this is published, in addition to all of the above, council will have approved: waiving library late fees; increasing the senior’s digital literacy program; capital funding for the TTC to expand their fleet; providing free menstrual products across all service agencies; reallocating resources from the Toronto Police Service to support community services and alternative response models. We will see.

I provide more frequent and timely updates through my e-newsletter and encourage everyone to visit www.mikelayton.to and sign up to receive bi-weekly updates on the goings-on in Ward 11.

As always, please contact me at councillor_layton@toronto.ca if you have any questions, or concerns.

Mike Layton is city councillor for Ward 11, University–Rosedale.

READ MORE BY MIKE LAYTON:

• FORUM: Many achievements despite the pandemic (Jan. 2022)
• FORUM: Tackling the climate crisis at a city level (Dec. 2021)
• FORUM: Status quo streets unsustainable (Fall 2021)
• FORUM: Looking to the feds to save cities (Aug. 2021)
• FORUM: Excessive force will not solve a housing crisis (July 2021)
• FORUM: It’s time to walk the walk (June 2021)
• FORUM: Exclusionary planning must stop (May 2021)
• FORUM: A victory for affordable housing in Kensington (Apr. 2021)
• FORUM: CaféTO and ActiveTO city programs coming back (Mar. 2021)
• FORUM: Defund police gains traction (Feb. 2021)
• FORUM: Vigilance is key, though the vaccine is here (Jan. 2021)
• FORUM: Find ways to support local businesses (Dec. 2020)
• FORUM: City budget a real challenge but we can work together (Nov. 2020)
• FORUM: Inclusionary zoning is the answer (Oct. 2020)
• FORUM: Making it green (Aug. 2020)
• FORUM: Finding positive outcomes (July 2020)
• FORUM: We are here to support you (May 2020)
• FORUM: We will get through this together (Apr. 2020)
• FORUM: Budget challenges at City Hall (Feb. 2020)
• FORUM: Build a more livable city, together (Jan. 2020)
• FORUM: Layton laments city’s snow job (Spring 2019)
• FORUM: Moving forward in the new reality (Dec. 2018)
• FORUM: Celebrate citizen activists (July 2018)
• FORUM: Provincial government is developer-friendly (Spring 2018)
• FORUM: Establishing a new Indigenous Affairs Office (Nov. 2017)
• FORUM: Building a better Bickford Park (Oct. 2017)
• FORUM: Recognize and reconcile Canada at 150 (July 2017)
• FORUM: San Francisco a model to follow (April 2017)
• FORUM: Tolls, taxes, and Toronto (February 2017)
• FORUM: Seeing our neighbourhood through new eyes (December 2016)
• FORUM: We can do better: Dangerous summer for Toronto pedestrians and cyclists (October 2016)
• FORUM: Curious story of Christie Pits pool liner ends in extended hours at Alex Duff (August 2016)
• FORUM: A tribute to a friend (June 2016)
• FORUM: Large problem, small solution (March 2016)
• FORUM: Happy New Year from a new Dad with a new perspective (January 2016)

MPPs return to Queen’s Park in final controversial legislative session

By Jessica Bell

Canadian-content rules lowered for Ontario Line

Premier Ford is allowing companies who would like to build vehicles for the Ontario Line to cut their Canadian-manufactured content from 25 per cent to 10 per cent.  

Fewer government dollars will now go to creating good green jobs at Ontario’s public transit manufacturing plants in Kingston and Thunder Bay.  

Despite the rhetoric and the colourful maps, Premier Ford’s track record on improving transit is poor. 

The government canceled the shovel-ready Relief Line in 2019, has allocated minimal funding to building its four priority transit projects, and has done nothing to reform the provincial transit agency, Metrolinx, by making it more accountable, transparent and cost-effective. 

To build a prosperous green economy and a green transportation sector, Ontario must fairly fund public transit, build new transit lines and ensure that Ontario dollars are directed to creating good green jobs in Ontario. 

The Ontario Line also needs to be built right, which means choosing a route that serves our city, and not just big developers, delivering the project using the public delivery model, and fully integrating the new transit line with the TTC so it costs a TTC fare to ride.

Housing affordability task force doesn’t address affordability 

Ontarians are being crushed by the skyrocketing price of housing. With just four months left of their mandate, in January the government-backed Housing Affordability Task Force released a report on how to address housing affordability in Ontario.  

The report includes 55 recommendations to speed up the construction of new homes, Lands Tribunal reform, giving the province greater power over construction and planning approvals, increasing density, and opening up farmland to urban sprawl.

We support building new homes to meet the needs of Ontarians. We have long called for zoning reform to increase density and spur the construction of thousands of missing middle homes within existing neighborhoods and municipal boundaries. 

The government-backed report fails to address affordability. The report makes no recommendations to build new affordable housing, stabilize rent, help renters get repairs done, or protect renters from eviction. 

Nor does the report make any recommendations to address foreign and domestic speculation, even though investors are the biggest purchaser of homes in Ontario today. 

We expect the government to introduce legislation this session to enact some of the recommendations in the government-backed report, and I look forward to working with University-Rosedale residents to ensure housing affordability is a priority. 

Licence plate fees ending

The Ontario government has introduced legislation – Bill 84 – to end the license plate sticker renewal fee of $120 a year, resulting in a loss of almost $1 billion in government revenue. 

This is revenue that should continue to be used for health care, education, and public transit so Ontario can transition to a green transportation sector.  The cancellation of license plate fees is a decision that I do not support. 

Health care surgery backlog described as catastrophic

We are lucky to have some of Canada’s best hospitals near us, including Princess Margaret, Toronto General, Toronto Western, Mount Sinai, Sick Kids, and Women’s College. University-Rosedale is also home to many of the health care workers who are responsible for healing us when we are sick.  Thank you. 

I’m very concerned about the state of health care today. 

Up to 400,000 Ontarians are waiting too long for necessary surgery – a surgery backlog that doctors are describing as catastrophic.  

This means people are experiencing anxiety, pain and a reduced quality of life as they wait too long for cataract surgery, MRIs, hip replacements, heart bypass surgery, and even cancer surgery.  

We support the Financial Accountability Office’s recommendation to invest $1.3 billion to address the surgery backlog. 

Instead of investing, the Conservatives continue to underfund health care and suppress health care workers’ wages well below the rate of inflation.  

The exodus of exhausted and demoralized health care workers and nurses will continue until Bill 124 is repealed and health care staff are properly paid for their heroic work.  

We are a healthier and more prosperous province when we all have access to universal public health care when we need it.  

As your MPP, it’s my job to fight for this vision. 

Please reach out to our office if you need help, or have questions or concerns.

Jessica Bell is MPP for University–Rosedale.

READ MORE BY JESSICA BELL:

• FORUM: Omicron demands leadership, not indecision (Jan. 2022)
• FORUM: Premier Ford gets an “F” (Dec. 2021)
• FORUM: A wasted election, now Mr. Trudeau please deliver (Fall 2021)
• FORUM: Five provincial issues to follow this fall (Aug. 2021)
• FORUM: Leaders must take real action on climate (July 2021)
• FORUM: Ford is no friend of affordable housing (June 2021)
• FORUM: Premier Ford’s land use planning agenda is a big worry (May 2021)
• FORUM: Mr. Ford cuts into the future of public services (Apr. 2021)
• FORUM: Vaccines, development, judicial reform dominate Queen’s Park(Mar. 2021)
• FORUM: To curb COVID-19, Ontario must protect workers (Feb. 2021)
• FORUM: St. George Community Living was a preventable tragedy (Jan. 2021)
• FORUM: Ford’s fall agenda deeply flawed (Dec. 2020)
• FORUM: How will Doug Ford’s 2020 budget impact us? (Nov. 2020)
• FORUM: Waiting on a second-wave plan from Mr. Ford (Oct. 2020)
• FORUM: What can we do to fight for safe public education? (Aug. 2020)
• FORUM: Ford failing to address homelessness, racism, schooling (July 2020)
• FORUM: COVID-19 has exposed issues in long-term care homes (May 2020)
• FORUM: Pandemic brings out the best in humanity (Apr. 2020)
• FORUM: We need to do our part (Mar. 2020)
• FORUM: Catastrophic climate change is here. How do we respond? (Feb. 2020)
• FORUM: University-Rosedale has a housing affordability crisis (Jan. 2020)
• FORUM: Ford plows ahead with cuts (Dec. 2019)
• FORUM: Ford’s backtracks show our resistance is working (Nov. 2019)
• FORUM: Our streets should be safer (Oct. 2019)
• FORUM: Top takeaways for our community from Ontario’s 2019 budget (Summer 2019)
• FORUM: Taking a stand against Ford’s cuts to education (May 2019)
• FORUM: With people-power there is hope (Winter 2019)
• FORUM: Take back Toronto on the 22nd (City Election 2018)