UPDATE: Save Our Subway!
In a report to Council this week, the City Manager provided an update on the negotiations with the province over the subway upload. I have previously expressed my concerns to you and Council about the efficacy of sitting at the table with a government that has already, and unilaterally, announced the outcome. Unfortunately, the Mayor and a majority of Council have voted to continue to negotiate with a proven bad faith actor. Along with uploading the subway, the province has already indicated that they are also uploading the TTC's associated assets including land and air-rights. This will directly jeopardize our approved plans to better utilize those assets for City priorities including parks, public squares, affordable housing, and built forms that respect our Official Plan. In the Council meeting, Staff confirmed that the new provincial plans will likely result in further delays in starting construction on transit projects. The province's Ontario Line, which is purportedly to run between the Science Centre and Ontario Place, is only at 2% design while the City's Relief line is at 15%. Further, the province has yet to even share what the new technology is that they are proposing. In Scarborough, the province's plan to revert back to a 3-stop plan, already deemed to be "not a worthwhile use of money" by Metrolinx, will likely result in the subway extension not being opened until 2030. The current Scarborough RT is expected to reach the end of its useful life by 2026, leaving local residents on the bus. If we moved forward now with a 24-stop LRT network for Scarborough, it could still be completed faster and serve more residents at a lower cost. Of further concern, City Staff appear to be advancing ideas that have not been approved by Council. As this article in the Toronto Star notes, City negotiators have floated the idea of a 4-stop subway in Scarborough. The article further reveals that City officials have been working on this plan for a number of years in secret. I intend to find out how this disregard for Council process occurred. For further information on delays to transit projects caused by provincial meddling, please see this article.
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City Council Unanimously Supports Changing the Culture in Toronto's Long-Term Care Homes: More Caring, Respectful and Supportive
For the first time in history, there are now more Torontonians over the age of 65 than children aged 15 and under. Looking ahead, the number of people in Toronto aged 65 and over is expected to almost double by 2041. This growth requires the City of Toronto to proactively implement meaningful change to long-term care, including emotion-centred approaches to care that will meet the diverse and complex needs of residents.
Exploring Partnerships to Create a Vibrant & Sustainable Community Hub at the former Vaughan Road Academy (529 Vaughan Rd.):
The Oakwood Vaughan neighbourhood is a remarkable neighborhood full of promise. However, it also continues to be an under-served and under-resourced neighbourhood. There is a lack of City programs and community spaces to address the needs of the community. Vaughan Road Academy, located at 529 Vaughan Road, is a public high school under the jurisdiction of the Toronto District School Board. While no longer an operating school, the Toronto District School Board voted in February 2017 to retain the building as a core holding, and put it to use for purposes still to-be-negotiated. Currently, the school is being used as an overflow school to accommodate students from other schools that are under construction, such as Davisville. A community based resident organization, Oakwood Vaughan Neighbourhood Action Partnership (OVNAP), has been engaged in discussions to convert the Vaughan Road Academy property into a community hub where, while still under ownership of the Toronto District School Board, the building would house a number of diverse programs and community services accessible to the public. Parks, Forestry and Recreation offers swimming lessons and basketball programs at Vaughan Road Academy and the Learning Enrichment Foundation operates a child care centre on the site. During this week's City Council meeting, I moved a motion that was unanimously adopted to work with the appropriate City Divisions and Agencies, Toronto District School Board representatives, Oakwood Vaughan Neighbourhood Action Partnership, and other appropriate community groups to identify opportunities for creating a vibrant and safe neighborhood supported by a community hub at the Vaughan Road Academy that could help meet the needs of local residents. A community hub at Vaughan Road Academy would help address the need for programming and space in this community and would align with the City's Oakwood Vaughan Strategic Plan. The Plan, adopted by the Community Development and Recreation Committee in May 2015, addresses neighbourhood issues of high unemployment, petty crime and lack of economic development.
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Homelessness crisis in Toronto
Spiraling rents, historically low vacancy rates, long wait lists for social housing, inadequate mental health supports, and other factors, have created a housing and homelessness crisis in Toronto. The City's Public Health Division recorded 145 deaths of individuals experiencing homelessness, from January 1, 2017 to June 30th 2018. Four homeless residents have already lost their lives this year.
Update on Premier Doug Ford’s Upload of Toronto’s Subway
I oppose being drawn into a process to help Premier Ford upload Toronto’s subway system, its land value and potential air rights. I support moving forward to improve the existing system, address overcrowding, repairs & build evidence-based transit to connect our city & region.
Dear residents, It is my heartfelt privilege to serve you as our city councillor for the new Ward 12, Toronto- St. Paul’s. Our community now stretches from Dufferin to Mt. Pleasant, Broadway/Eglinton to the CP rail tracks north of Dupont, and has well over 100,000 residents. To help support the increased population, and to ensure we are able to be responsive to residents needs, Council decided this week to expand the staff budget for constituency assistants. Now that our office has approval for a more sufficient complement of staff, we will be going through a significant transformation during the month of December. Despite the challenges, and the uncertainty of the organizational restructuring, my job now is to make this new reality work as effectively as possible and organize an office that can manage the much higher volume and to serve you well. I look forward to having my new team in place before the end of the month and then be able to have our community office operating in the new year. Meanwhile, I’ve been spending a lot of time getting to know every street, park and the many priorities in our larger community while working on several policy initiatives on our behalf at city hall. My family and I have been attending events across Toronto-St Paul's both to renew our friendships in the neighbourhoods I've already served and to build new relationships while supporting local initiatives. I’ll continue to update you on important issues and community meetings in my monthly update to keep you engaged and informed. I'm also planning some town hall meetings for next year, details of which I'll share with you in upcoming updates. Please also feel welcome to follow my Twitter account https://twitter.com/JoshMatlow. For those of you celebrating this week, I wish you a very Happy Chanukah. And to everyone, I hope to see you out in our community soon!
Doug Ford Makes Surprise Changes to Toronto's Wards and Cancels Current Election With No Public Consultation
Torontonians were shocked to see a report that Doug Ford was set to announce that he will cancel our city's municipal election halfway through, and completely change the ward boundaries without any public consultation. This is unprecedented, anti-democratic and reckless. Candidates have already received donations from voters and have been knocking on doors for months, and the 47 ward boundaries were created after a 5-year expert-driven process that included extensive public consultation and considered quality of representation. To those who support 25 larger wards with larger populations, I respectfully submit that a decision regarding that proposal should be done with expert advice to ensure voter parity, and genuine public consultation- for the people.
City Clerk Toronto City Hall 100 Queen St. W.
Re: Findings of Integrity Commissioner
Dear Mayor & Council, I had hoped for a resolution in the matter of Mr. Byford's Integrity Commissioner Complaint that could be satisfactory to both parties, but I am writing to inform you that I cannot accept the findings in Integrity Commissioner's Report. While I appreciate that providing judgement on this matter was a difficult undertaking, the Report does not provide an accurate portrayal of my actions, omits details that are fundamental to the issues at hand, and asks that I suspend my knowledge of the facts in this matter to avoid penalty. I am providing the following statement of facts for you to assess whether it was reasonable to voice my concerns in the manner that I did. Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the Scarborough Subway, I submit that as representatives of our communities we not only have a right, but a duty to speak out on matters of public interest.
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