By the time this reaches your doorsteps, council will have completed our last legislative cycle before the election period begins, and the agenda is as busy as ever. Top of mind for me is continuing to work toward correcting the service deficiencies many residents have been noticing as the weather has warmed and people are engaging with our public spaces and services.

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The provincial PCs handily won another majority at Queen’s Park. The progressive parties split the vote and Doug Ford walked up the middle with his “get it done” message. It’s a simple and catchy phrase that Ford could utter authentically. A key plank in their plan is building Highway 413, but it appears that getting it done might not be so simple.

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We need to update and winterize our facilities, build new washrooms, and work at a lightning pace to get our fountains and facilities operational as quickly as possible. Anything less is a failure of the city to meet the needs of residents.

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On any given night in Toronto, close to 10,000 people are experiencing homelessness, and the provincial budget announced on April 28 did nothing to help the problem.

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The Annex Residents’ Association (ARA) held their annual general meeting on April 21 via Zoom. Those in attendance included members of the ARA, residents and representatives from development teams, city council and Toronto Police Service. The most notable discussions were about improving safety on Avenue Road, the West Annex Heritage Project, vandalism at St. Alban’s […]

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Shaw Street, Toronto’s first street with more bikes than cars  By Mike Layton When we think of ways to improve Toronto’s cycling network, grand projects such as the bike lanes across the city’s core on Bloor Street or Danforth Avenue, typically come to mind.  While some of the smaller, quieter changes also improve road safety […]

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The City of Toronto has been talking about garden suites for years, and on Feb. 2, council agreed to a policy that allows homeowners to build a detached suite in their backyards. 

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The 2022 budget process concluded in late February, followed by a few quick council meetings to address regular business. With the help of my colleagues, and the advocacy of many of you, we achieved notable improvements to a budget that began with glaring gaps in services, while continuing to work to improve safety in our communities. 

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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.

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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. 

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Moving into 2022, and as hard as things are right now, I am incredibly grateful to represent a community that is full of people who work so hard to take care of their families, their neighbours, and everyone in our city. As I write this, I know that many of you are facing the stress of another hard winter season with rising COVID-19 cases and frequently changing plans when we were all really looking forward to time in the New Year with loved ones after another long year.

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All levels of government must be engaged in a solution By Mike Layton Years ago, I moved a motion asking the city to begin its work to tackle climate change and the request for this report became TransformTO. The first report was received in 2016 with regular report-backs scheduled in the years ahead, but never […]

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