Councillor Matlow's City Hall & Community 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. 

It’s time to start fighting for Toronto’s future. You can register to depute or submit written comments at Executive Committee on January 28th here and you can sign our petition to send a message to your local Councillor and Mayor here

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.    

The status quo of Toronto’s governance structure is untenable. In the 2021 Supreme Court decision regarding the legality of Ford’s outrageous council cut, Justices writing for the majority stated that “the province has absolute and unfettered legal power to legislate with respect to municipalities”. Through this ruling, the Supreme Court has confirmed that even large cities can be interfered with and overruled without recourse. If cities are to provide responsible, local governance, they can no longer be subject to the whims and political calculations of a provincial government’s worst instincts.   

The Province has handcuffed our city’s ability to fund needed programs by denying revenue tools, meddled in our local election, removed basic local planning powers, and even passed legislation to decide on how local roads are designed. A new model is needed that allows Toronto to thrive.  Any success that Toronto has had in the past couple of decades has been despite our system of government, not because of it. Regardless of whether a resident agrees or disagrees with a decision City Hall makes, they would expect their mayor and councillors to have the powers and accountability that comes along with being locally elected. Isn’t that true democracy?   

Toronto, along with other 21st century Canadian cities, needs a new arrangement with senior levels of government that ensures we have the autonomy and tools necessary to be successful and achieve results for residents.  

Given the provincial government we have today, a City Charter, or any other measure that would grant Toronto more autonomy, is unlikely to happen immediately given such a move would require support from Queen’s Park. However, it is important to start working now to envision how a stronger local government could be structured, and communicate the benefits to Torontonians, other municipalities, and senior levels of government.    

It’s time to start fighting for Toronto’s future. You can register to depute or submit written comments at Executive Committee on January 28th here and you can sign our petition to send a message to your local Councillor and Mayor here

 

TTC Budget Invests in Service and Safety

 This year’s TTC’s 2025 budget makes critical investments to address service quality and safety, freezes fares to maintain affordability for transit riders, and invests in state-of-good repair backlogs. For far too long under previous City administrations the TTC was allowed to decline, with service reduced and necessary capital investments neglected. I am glad to see a reversal of this trend in this budget.
 
As a part of the TTC Budget process, I spoke directly with transit riders about their priorities for the TTC. What I heard from riders was that they want better service, reliability, safety, and affordability. In fact, not a single person indicated that they were satisfied with the TTC, as delays and safety issues are still far too frequent. While this budget represents a positive step in the right direction, it is clear that much more needs to be done.
 
The root cause of these issues is the lack of a stable and predictable funding framework from higher levels of government. The TTC, more than any other major transit system in the world, relies on the fare box and property taxes for its operating funding – which is why the TTC has some of the most expensive fares in the world. We cannot keep relying on one-off agreements like the New Deal, when a fundamentally new funding model from the province and federal government is necessary. As a TTC Commissioner, I am committed to fighting for these priorities on your behalf. 

Read more about my motion addressing TTC delays at the link here

Click here to listen to my interviews with TTC riders about their priorities ahead of the 2025 budget.
 

Report Show's Ford's Ontario Place Plan will Have Significant Traffic Impacts

This month, a report revealed that Doug Ford’s plan for a private spa at Ontario Place, and to rip the Science Centre out of Flemingdon Park, will lead to even more traffic chaos on Toronto’s waterfront. If Ford calls a snap election, let’s take a stand and fight for our city.

Click here to watch my remarks at Toronto and East York Community Council.
 

The TTC Needs a New Long-Term Funding Model from Higher Levels of Government

Unlike big cities around the world, transit funding in Toronto is unfairly left to the fare box and local residents’ property taxes, without support from senior levels of government. This has to change to deliver the reliable, safe and affordable TTC we all want.

Watch my remarks regarding the importance of transit funding from all levels of government. 
 

Have Your Say on Mayor Olivia Chow’s 2025 City of Toronto Budget

Last week, Mayor Chow and City Staff officially began the 2025 Budget process with a staff-prepared budget with $94 million in new investments in the operating budget and a $9.8 billion increase to the capital budget.

These investments are proposed to be paid for by a 6.9% increase in property taxes (which includes a 1.5% City Building levy for capital investments). The City offers property tax increase relief programs for eligible low-income seniors and people with disabilities. More details about these programs are available on the City’s Tax and Utility Relief website.

In total, the staff-prepared operating budget of $18.8 billion and a 2025-2034 capital budget and plan totaling $59.6 billion presented to the City’s Budget Committee includes funding to:

  • Feed 8,000 more students through school food programs 
  • Support 300 more households through the Rent Bank program 
  • Increase transit service hours by 5.8 per cent (approximately half a million hours)  
  • Add more Traffic Agents to address blocked intersections, improve travel times in key corridors and decrease collisions
  • Add 276 more Emergency Services positions (fire, police and paramedics)  
  • Invest in youth violence prevention programs 
  • Expand road safety programs 
  • Extend Sunday service hours at 67 Toronto Public Libraries 
  • Expand hours for outdoor pools by two hours daily 
To learn more and attend the Mayor's public meetings and telephone town hall, please click here
 


Join Us! Councillor Matlow's Community Skating Party - Sunday, February 9th


 



Celebrating Hanukkah!

As Hanukkah was being celebrated in Jewish homes throughout our city, I was happy to celebrate with our Jewish community while we take a stand against antisemitism together. And throughout Midtown, we came together to light the Menorah as a community. I was delighted to work with the Chabad of Midtown in Toronto-St. Paul’s to ensure these celebrations could happen. Thank you so much to our partners at the TTC and Midtown Yonge BIA!


 



Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization (OVCO) Children's Programing

Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization (OVCO) is building kids’ programming in our Hub in the former Vaughan Road Academy. We will be having an "Introduction to Bicycle Mechanics: Be Ready for the Spring" course for ages 10-16. Six Tuesday sessions for $150, between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.: 12 hours of hands-on bicycle mechanics.

Participants will get a chance to deconstruct bicycles of different types to understand their mechanics. This workshop teaches skills that participants can use to repair, maintain and build their own bicycles. Tools and bicycles will be provided for participants to work on. Contact Arthur Gron, [email protected].


 



Celebrating Tamil Heritage Month

It was a great pleasure to join our city’s Tamil community in Scarborough to celebrate the beginning of Tamil Heritage Month. A story of immigration, resilience, language, culture and strength. I deeply appreciate our friendship.


 



Provide Your Input: Toronto Seniors Strategy 

During my first year as a City Councillor, I initiated the City of Toronto’s Seniors Strategy: a proactive, holistic, and inclusive initiative that seeks to create a truly accessible, respectful, and age-friendly Toronto. In this spirit, Toronto Seniors Strategy 2.0 was unanimously adopted by City Council in 2018.

As the City of Toronto works to develop the third Toronto Seniors Strategy, Seniors Services and Long-Term Care (SSLTC) will be launching an online survey launching on January 30, 2025.

The third Toronto Seniors Strategy will build on the successes of the first two Toronto Seniors Strategies by continuing to develop and adapt municipal programs, policies, and strategic initiatives that are delivered by the City of Toronto to better support seniors and older adults. 

The survey is part of a broader Council-approved community consultation process that SSLTC is undertaking to develop the third Toronto Seniors Strategy and to enhance the City’s understanding of the priorities of seniors and older adults in Toronto. In addition to the survey, the consultation process includes workshops, small group discussions, and key informant interviews.

Beginning on January 30, 2025, Toronto residents will be invited to participate in a 10-15-minute survey that will be available in English, French and the 10 languages most commonly spoken by Toronto residents over the age of 65. You can learn more at the link here.

 



Upcoming Repair and Upcycling Events in Midtown Toronto 

Work-in-Progress eco art collective is hosting a series of FREE repair and upcycling events in midtown Toronto, open to all, no experience necessary. This is part of the Winter of Care and Repair 2024 project. This project is supported by the City of Toronto through Live Green Toronto and the Neighbourhood Climate Action Grants program.
 
January 25th 11-1 pm at the Northern District Library, 40 Orchardview Blvd (REPAIR ADVICE and TOOLS PLUS coiling basket workshop + bring household linens to donate/swap)
 
February 22 11-1 pm at Glebe Road United Church 20 Glebe Road east (REPAIR ADVICE and TOOLS PLUS booster/pillow making workshop + movement demo + bring scrap material to donate/swap/stuff)
 
March 15th 11-2 pm CLOTHING SWAP (all ages) 20 Glebe Road east (including a maker swap and REPAIR ADVICE)


 



Celebrating Armenian New Year

Every time Toronto’s Armenian community invites me to a gathering at the community centre, I feel like I’m with family. Their new years event celebrating friendship was beautiful.


 



Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization (OVCO) Tenant Solidarity Program: Upcoming Events

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Councillor Matlow's City Hall & Community Update: December 2024

Focusing on Real Solutions to Toronto's Traffic Gridlock

Every day, too many Torontonians find themselves stuck in traffic gridlock, this is unacceptable. While there are many reasons for this, such as a lack of much-needed transit expansion over generations, along with the continuing need to provide people with more options to get around. I am actively calling for change. Far too many of our city's curb lanes are occupied for 2 or 3 years at a time for construction staging. I don't believe this is acceptable and I am calling for change.

Please read this thoughtful Toronto Star story about this priority.

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