Councillor Matlow's City Hall & Community Update: June 2025

Far too often, when I request road safety installations on behalf of the community, we are left without clear or transparent timelines for implementation by city staff. The delivery of this infrastructure often takes years, and leaves the onus on the community to continue to follow up with staff.

That’s why at Council, I moved a motion to implement ‘Service Level Timeframes’ for installing Vision Zero road safety infrastructure such as crosswalks, traffic control signals, speed humps, curb extensions, and high visibility signage.

People deserve to have their basic expectations about the delivery of essential safety installations met. We need to speed up Vision Zero, so we can slow down and save lives in our neighbourhoods.

Fighting for Subway Safety and
Reliability with Platform Edge Doors 

At the TTC board, I advocated for a plan to provide platform edge doors starting at Dundas Station, with more stations hopefully to come subject to funding availability. Platform edge doors are used by transit systems around the world and it's time Toronto did the same. They provide a barrier between subway tracks and the platform to prevent trespassing and tragedies. I believe the TTC has a responsibility to both keep people safe and to prevent trespassing onto the tracks which contributes to the delays riders experience, making the TTC less reliable and safe. 

Cities around the world already have them, and it’s time Toronto did the same. The TTC has a responsibility to prevent tragedies. We also know that trespassing onto the tracks contributes to the delays riders experience and makes the TTC less safe and reliable. 

While the staff report suggested that the price tag could be high, there are examples around the world where the cost is lower per station. The long term benefits to safety and reliability make platform edge doors a smart and worthwhile investment. 

Creating a TTC Store

At the TTC board, as a part of the TTC’s long term “Non Fare Revenue” strategy to generate income beyond fares, I moved a motion that asks the TTC to explore creating a brick and mortar TTC merchandise store.

Many other transit systems such as London and New York already do this. It encourages pride in our system, and can help generate much needed revenue. While it will admittedly never be expected to bring in the billions of dollars we need to fix our transit system, every additional dollar helps to lessen the burden on riders who pay the fares and all property tax payers. 

Ford Government Pushes Through Controversial Bill 5

Doug Ford’s Bill 5 is a destructive power grab. It allows the government to declare “special economic zones" that exempt companies or projects from complying with basic provincial environment and labour laws, and tramples over indigenous rights.

Trump’s tariffs and the resulting economic uncertainty underscores the importance of taking urgent action to protect and grow our economy. However, in the rush to get infrastructure and resource projects built, we should not be giving governments the unilateral power to unconditionally override our laws when they see fit. 

As a result of Bill 5, Ford can now take a sledgehammer to long-standing rules that protect people and greenspaces from the sometimes narrow interests of companies and his own government whenever he sees fit. The cronyism and favouritism we saw at Ontario Place is now legal across the province.

Bill 5 throws the door wide open for abuse and influence-peddling with no regard for Ontarians or our land. These are powers that autocrats and dictators have in other parts of the world and has no place in Canada or any democratic society.

School Board Votes to Keep Pools Afloat

Thanks to your advocacy, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) voted last week to keep school pools open for at least the next year! This pause on ending swim programs in our public schools was in large part due to the over 10,000 concerned parents, students, and community members who signed our petition. 

While we celebrate this victory it is important to note that the pools have not been saved long term. We will be in the same position next year if long term, stable funding is not secured. 

A TDSB report identifies a $9.6 million gap between revenues and operating expenses that must be closed for the continued operation of swim programs. The report also notes that the Ministry does not provide any funding for associated capital or maintenance costs. The provincial government should recognize that learning to swim is an essential part of a child’s education and properly fund these vital educational assets.

I will provide an update in September on our ongoing efforts to save Toronto’s school pools and how you and your neighbours can continue to be involved in this fight!