City Hall Update: April 2025

Important Progress on our Beautiful City Initiative

Last year, I brought forward a motion that asked City staff to accept that there’s so much more we can do to make Toronto a more beautiful city. I’m pleased to report that under the leadership of Jason Thorne, our new Chief Planner, there has been meaningful progress on this issue. A new report came to Council last week with a cross-divisional action plan to ensure better design of everything from libraries and parks to trash cans and sidewalks.

Toronto can be beautiful if we choose to make it so. But too often, our urban design strives for the height of mediocrity and even falls into disrepair. Our bike lanes are lined with broken flex-posts, our CaféTO patios are surrounded by construction hoarding, and our Astral garbage cans are broken and overflowing. Our public realm can be so much better – and Torontonians deserve that.

I will be sure to update you as there is more progress on implementing this important initiative. Please see this article for more information.

Shocking Ontario Place Revelations:
My Motion to Take Action

The actions by the provincial government to facilitate a private spa by Therme at Ontario Place have already exacted a severe toll. The province has razed mature trees, destroying a waterfront recreation space beloved by Torontonians and the habitat of many animals including beavers, minks, coyotes, foxes and over 170 species of birds. However, another potential disaster raised in an April 16^th New York Times article, can still be averted.

The revelations in the Times article regarding Therme are shocking. The Times reported that the Austrian company misrepresented that they owned and operated 6 spas across Europe, while in reality they only operated 1 in Romania. Therme was able to misrepresent its experience by adopting the same name, and similar logo, of a more established spa company.

Therme used its deal with the Ontario government to secure funding for another project in Manchester and is closing in on deals in Dubai, Washington, and Dallas, which would require $2.5 billion to construct all 4 sites. Given the company was found to only have $1.1 million (USD) in equity, and losing money, there is now significant doubt that Therme would be able to deliver a spa in a reasonable timeframe, if at all.

The new information contained in the Times story has significant implications for the City of Toronto as the only thing worse on a public waterfront site than a private spa is a derelict wasteland fenced off by construction hoarding. The Ontario government’s failure to provide proper due diligence on their spa partner must trigger a reassessment of the City’s role in this project.

That’s why I’m pleased Council supported my motion with Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik last week to take action and explore any possible avenue to protect our public waterfront at Ontario Place.

For more information, please see this article

Time to Scrap Outdated Park Rules
and Allow for Fun and Creativity!

I am pleased to announce that my motion to get rid of Toronto’s outdated park rules was supported at Council last week. Toronto’s parks are some of the most used and cherished public spaces residents have to enjoy. They are places that we use to participate in sports, go for a walk, or just sit with friends and family at a picnic table. For the increasing number of Torontonians that live in highrise buildings, the local park is their backyard. Parks are where we come together. That’s why the City needs to adapt to the changing way parks are being used by residents.

Many of Toronto’s park by-laws are archaic, burdensome, unnecessary, and sometimes even absurd. One sign in a Midtown park prohibits ball playing, kite flying, frisbee throwing, large picnics and, ironically, posting signs. There are also by-laws in place against landing hot air balloons and cursing. This motion requests Staff to review the Parks By-Law to remove measures that unfairly restrict residents from the full enjoyment of our parks.

My motion also requesed Staff to enable more food and beverage offerings in parks, where appropriate. Cities around the world establish kiosks and small cafes that provide enjoyable meeting places for residents to congregate. These could be tailored to the size and use of the parks; from small huts serving hot chocolate and coffee adjacent to outdoor rinks to kiosks serving sandwiches surrounded by picnic tables. There is inspiration from around the world that Toronto can draw on to offer a more enjoyable experience in our parks.

For more information, please see this article

Replacing Sidewalk Snow Plows

A recent article in the Toronto Star showed that only four years after spending millions on a fleet of specialized snow plows to clear downtown sidewalks, the vehicles have broken down so often they need to be replaced early, much before the end of their expected life cycle. The failure of these plows played a big role in the very poor snow clearing Torontonians experienced during February’s storms.

City Council approved purchasing the plows in 2021 in order to expand snow clearing to downtown neighbourhoods where the service hadn’t been historically available, which I strongly advocated for. Staff told council in 2021 that the units would last 15 years, however, the plows have since suffered many failures including corrosion and hydraulic leaks and many need to be replaced early.

Staff have not been forceful or upfront enough about the performance of these plows, and I recognize that they can sometimes feel compelled to put a “positive spin” on things. However, I believe that you always need to be upfront and say that we’ve got a problem, which is that the plow’s don’t work properly and won’t be able to meet expectations, rather than pretending everything is fine. The city is now replacing the plows that are beyond repair and plans to purchase new ones.

While some on Council have used this failure to argue the city shouldn’t be paying for the service, I disagree. Snow clearing is a basic service I believe most residents support investing in, and our sidewalks need to be safe and accessible for everyone. I will continue to advocate for better snow clearing across our city.

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City Hall Update: March 2025

Taking Action to Improve Toronto’s Response to Major Snow Incidents

Toronto is a winter City. Over this past week, Torontonians endured extreme weather and heavy snowfalls with areas in our city receiving up to 50cm of accumulated snow. When it snows, our sidewalks need to be safe and accessible. The TTC needs to be operational, and our city needs to work.

Under the previous two mayors (Ford and Tory), I was successful in advocating for the expansion of sidewalk snow clearing for every Toronto neighborhood. However, I could not convince them to prioritize extreme weather responses. I wont stop pushing until this is done, and done properly.

City Hall Update: February 2025

Taking Action to Improve Toronto’s Response to Major Snow Incidents

City Hall Update: January 2025

Show Your Support for a Charter City - Sign our Petition and Register to Depute

At Executive Committee on Tuesday, January 28th, Councillor Jamaal Myers and I are moving a motion “Toward Municipal Autonomy and Effective Local Governance” and we need your help! Show your support for a charter city by signing our petition, registering to speak, and submitting written comments for the committee meeting.

Doug Ford’s recent and unilateral overreaches into areas that most people consider municipal jurisdiction is another reminder that Canada's constitution not only doesn’t provide cities like Toronto any powers, it doesn’t even mention cities at all. Back when it was written in 1867, Canada was largely an agrarian society and cities were an afterthought, left as “creatures” of the provinces.

City Hall Update: April 2025

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