City Hall Update: July 2024

Save the Ontario Science Centre

Last spring, the Provincial Government announced their intention to move the Ontario Science Centre to a much smaller location at Ontario Place. This announcement was done without consultation with residents of Thorncliffe and Flemingdon Park who rely on the Centre for employment and education opportunities. Then, in late June, the government opportunistically used the pretense of roof repairs to unilaterally close the Science Centre for good - even though a closer inspection of the report shows that the roof could be fixed for a relatively modest cost. 

I doubt that there is anybody who has a child or has been a child themselves in Ontario since 1969 who does not love the Ontario Science Centre. This is a place that has spurred our creativity, our imagination, our sense of childhood, and our sense of wonder. It is an incredibly important place and an important economic driver for the local community as it brings visitors from across the city and around the world to Don Mills and Eglinton. It would be a real blow to this community to lose the Science Centre just as the opening of the Eglinton Crosstown’s “Science Centre” station is about to make the attraction more accessible to the entire city. 

When the government first announced their plans to close the Science Centre, I was proud to successfully move a motion at City Council requesting Staff explore avenues to have the Province continue operating the Don Mills and Eglinton site and, if necessary, the feasibility of the City operating the Science Centre. At this most recent Council meeting, I again moved a motion asking staff to explore the province’s contractual obligations to keep the building open and in good repair, as well to connect with the many philanthropists and community members who have offered their time and money to help keep the Science Centre operational. We are expecting an update on staff’s work in the coming weeks, and we will continue to fight to keep this important part of our city up and running. For more information, please see this article and my speech at Council. 

The 512 St. Clair Streetcar Returns to Service!

In Toronto, we’re not used to transit construction finishing on time. It was a pleasure to work with Councillor Alejandra Bravo and TTC Chair Jamaal Myers to get the St. Clair streetcar up and running earlier than planned. Initially supposed to last the whole summer, work was completed early and the 512 was running by June 23! The St. Clair West Station loop will take some more time to complete, and in the meantime passengers can board at the Tichester and Bathurst stops. 

Taking Action to Combat Antisemitism

I believe that it is vital for all of us in leadership roles to take an unequivocal stand against accepting antisemitism on our streets and in our neighbourhoods as the new normal. The continued rise of antisemitism in our city continues to be unacceptable and alarming, and is leaving many in the Jewish community feeling understandably afraid and vulnerable. The past weeks have seen schools and places of worship attacked, the vandalism of Jewish businesses, and graffiti and signs showing swastikas and hateful antisemitic tropes.

Last month at City Council, I moved a motion to develop a new action plan to protect targeted religious minorities and places of culture and worship from antisemitism and hate. The motion requested that the City Manager, the City Solicitor, the Toronto Police Service and other relevant divisions work together to ensure individuals and groups committing hate crimes are stopped. Please click here to see my earlier statements regarding my motion and why its important to use the existing laws we have more effectively. 

I am pleased to announce that, as a result of my motion last month, staff have taken action on several initiatives aimed at combatting hate. The City of Toronto’s Emergency Management division has begun weekly meetings with the Toronto Police as well as other relevant divisions and agencies to discuss their emergency responses. Additionally, the Emergency Management division has begun providing staff liaisons to the Police’s Major Incident Command Centre in response to hate activities and incidents. 

The Police and city staff have also begun new initiatives specifically aimed at improving community safety around places of worship and cultural gathering spaces. A working group including members of the Police, Fire, Paramedics and City Staff has been created to study the risk of, and provide security from, potential vehicle-based attacks. Further, Toronto Police have confirmed that they have increased patrols in Jewish communities and expanded their visible presence at vulnerable places of worship across the city. Toronto city staff have been conducting engagement with communities most impacted by violence and have been providing relevant information both to the Toronto Police and the Community Crisis Response Program.

I am pleased to see that staff and the police have begun taking a more collaborative and proactive approach that recognizes the urgency and importance of this issue. I will continue meeting with senior City Officials, the Chief of Police and Jewish community leaders to ensure that our concerns are addressed. 

Creating a More Beautiful City

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 flexposts, 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. 

That’s why I moved a motion at City Council this month exploring creating unified public realm design standards across City divisions and the public realm portions of private developments, so that our public spaces can match those in great cities around the world. I also asked City Staff to explore the creation of a new position, a City Architect and Designer, responsible for implementing and coordinating these standards across every corner of our city.

I’m happy to say my motion was adopted by Council, and we will be working closely with staff to make these goals a reality. When we move into a new home, the first thing we do is design it in a way we can be inspired by and proud of. We should treat our city the same way. 

Taking Action on Fighting Gridlock

Traffic on our city streets is bad and is only getting worst. Time we spend stuck in gridlock not only prevents us from getting to work or school on time, it's valuable time that could instead be spent with our friends, families and loved ones. That’s why I’m actively supporting work at City Council to alleviate congestion on our roads. In addition to accelerating the reconstruction of the Gardiner Expressway, staff are currently studying a variety of city-wide options, including increasing permit fees for developers who block active lanes of traffic, streamlining the delivery of goods and services to minimize disruption, and better coordinating construction and road work. I also successfully moved a motion to study increasing fines for selfish people who block rush hour traffic to run in for their morning cup of coffee. I will continue to work closely with my colleagues on Council to get our city moving. 

Building Rent Controlled Affordable Housing

With Toronto facing an unprecedented housing crisis, there is a critical need for purpose-built affordable rental buildings. A recent report before City Council recommended the allocation of $350 million to 18 purpose-built affordable rental projects, many of which are being built on City land. Unfortunately, several of these projects, even those being built on City-owned land, were not covered by rent-control guidelines in the original report. While shamefully Doug Ford has removed rent control on all new buildings in Ontario, the City of Toronto can take action on its own property if it chooses to. Toronto City Council has taken a strong stand to demand that the Provincial government only allow inflationary rent increases in new builds, but to date has not consistently applied those same standards to development on land we control. 
 
To address this, I worked closely with advocacy organizations including the York-South Weston Tenant Union, the Federation of Metro Tenant Associations and ACORN. Together, we successfully advocated for City Council to adopt a motion that would study establishing rent-control on already approved buildings and requiring it in all future calls for development on city-owned land. I will continue to work with community advocates and my colleagues on Council to create much-needed affordable housing.

Protecting Tenants from being Renovicted 

Renovictions, when a landlord evicts tenants in bad faith by claiming they will complete renovations, are a critical issue that affects tenants across Toronto. While the Province of Ontario regulates evictions through the Residential Tenancies Act, municipalities have the ability to regulate renovictions through building permits. The City of Toronto has been consulting on a renoviction bylaw since 2019, inspired by the work done by the City of Hamilton. Unfortunately, a report before June’s Planning and Housing Committee recommended further consultation and delay rather than moving ahead to protect tenants now.

To address this, I worked closely with my colleague Councillor Fletcher, tenant advocates, and city staff to move a series of motions that will expedite the renoviction bylaw. Under the bylaw, landlords will be required apply for a renovation licence with the city for approval, must pay for tenants moving costs and alternative accommodation, and will have to provide adequate notice to tenants before they are renovicted. City Staff will be reporting on the implementation of the by-law in the fall, which represents a major success for tenants in their fight for protections from illegal evictions.

Putting the Brakes on Auto Theft: Immediate Action Needed to Keep Our Neighbourhoods Safe

The surge in auto theft and home invasions are significantly impacting our city’s neighbourhoods. I know many of you are going to bed not knowing what you’ll find when you wake up - and often fear that your families will be victimized by home invasions. Many believe auto thieves have the upper hand and that this issue isn’t being taken seriously enough. This has even led to, in some cases, residents hiring private security at their expense- personally spending tens of thousands of dollars in enhancing security measures for their own properties and those of their neighbours.
 
I remain in close communication with our Toronto Police Service and commend our local 53 Division’s recent work on identifying and arresting members of a suspected auto theft ring responsible for re-vinning stolen vehicles in Toronto.
 
I’ve also met with the Vice President of the Insurance Bureau of Canada to learn more about their advocacy calls for policy and regulatory changes. Currently, auto theft costs Ontarians hundreds of millions in insurance claims and premiums per year. This doesn’t include court, policing, legal, and out-of pocket costs, such as deductibles.
 
While there have been increased measures at our national borders and ports, and additional funding has been allocated and spent to help curb auto theft, there is much more that needs to be done.
 
This is why, at July’s City Council meeting, I’ll be moving a motion, seconded by Councillor Jon Burnside, on the following recommendations requested to the federal and provincial governments:
 

1. Updating current and mandating new technological standards and security features for all vehicle manufacturers. Canada’s technology standards for vehicles haven’t been updated by the Government of Canada since 2008. All vehicle manufacturers should be mandated to heighten the technology and security features in vehicles.
2. The Ministry of Transportation should eliminate the ability for any citizen to register a vehicle on another person’s behalf except for certain legitimate exceptions. Re-vinning stolen vehicles has been a major play in criminals’ playbooks. Removing this and granting access for certain legitimate exceptions will restrict criminals from being able to fly under the radar.
3. The Ministry of Transportation should ban the public from relying on a New Vehicle Information Statement (NVIS) to register a vehicle, limiting this registration mechanisms to only licensed dealers. This is another way of creating VIN numbers. Restricting access from the public and granting access only to licensed dealers will, once again, deter criminals from being overlooked.
4. Expedite outgoing screenings at all ports. While increased measures has been taken at the Port of Montreal, there has been a significant increase of illegal activity at the Port of Halifax. More resources need to be allocated to all Canadian ports to accelerate the screening process of all outgoing items.

 
I’m actively working to ensure more action is being taken to curb auto theft and support safety in our neighbourhoods.

Davisville Avenue Traffic Safety Update

As many of you are aware, recently there was a serious incident when two of our neighbours, a mom and her daughter, were struck by a driver and injured at the Pedestrian Crossover (PXO) at Davisville Avenue and Acacia Road. Thankfully, they are both recovering.
 
Taking immediate action, I was able to successfully move a motion to have a new crossing guard installed at Davisville and Acacia. While this is an important first step action in ensuring greater safety for pedestrians, it is not enough to remedy the fact that pedestrian crossovers with four lanes of traffic create a false sense of security. Even if the driver in the curb lane comes to a full stop, far too often the driver in the second lane continues throughout the crosswalk. That can’t be allowed to happen again.
 
Therefore, I have requested that both PXOs (crosswalks) in front of Davisville/Spectrum Public School and at Acacia & Davisville be reduced to a single lane. I have received confirmation from City staff that this will be done before the start of the school year in September.
 
I’ll be hosting a wider community meeting in the Fall with Davisville/Spectrum Public School, TDSB, City transportation staff, and community stakeholders to move forward with next steps to redesign Davisville Avenue into a street that is functional, beautiful, and most importantly safe for all road users. Once arranged, we’ll be certain to provide you an update on the date and location.
 
I’ll be certain to keep our community updated through my e-newsletter. You can sign up for it at joshmatlow.ca.