Toronto Council meets today! It’s the final regular meeting before the summer recess so there’s lots to deal with. The mayor has set an item about speeding up Gardiner construction as the first order of business. Streaming live here. I’ll post happenings. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNam...
The news on the Gardiner is that the province is kicking in another $73 million to get work on the current phase done a year earlier (if all goes well — a big if). Would be finished in 2026 versus 2027. www.thestar.com/news/gta/gar...
For a preview of all the other big items on the agenda, including the Science Centre, accountability reports, a bushel of housing-related items and, well, rats, this week’s issue of my newsletter has you covered. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/chw289
Before the agenda gets started this morning, there will be a salute to the city staff that helped in response to the July 16 flooding. Packed gallery of employees here to be recognized.
City Manager Paul Johnson lauds staff at the city’s rec centres. On day of the floods, 38 centres were without power and nine were flooded. But none closed and none asked parents to come pick up kids in camp programs, which would have just added to congestion.
“I’m pleased to share that as of today 85% of all service requests related to the flooding have been attended to, and we won’t stop until that number is 100%,” says the City Manager.
Councillors offer a standing ovation and some pointing for the staff who did the work on the flood day.
Because councillors just got the report on speeding up the Gardiner work this morning, Councillor Bradford asks if the item can be pushed until tomorrow, to give everyone a chance to read it. Chow says no. She says staff will deliver a presentation laying out all the details.
Council votes 11-13 to REJECT a Burnside motion to refer the City Manager’s answer re: how tenants were selected for a modular housing site in Councillor Thompson’s ward to the Planning & Housing Committee. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Mayor Olivia Chow rises to declare August as “Flight of the Monarch Butterfly Month.” There are four people in the chamber dressed as butterflies. They flap their wings in celebration.
The first surprise of this meeting: councillors somehow resisted the urge to talk about rats. Item calling for the development of a rat reduction strategy by Q3 2025 carried unanimously without debate. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
In total, 61 items were held for debate. There are also 25 member motions, with more to be added over the course of the meeting. Councillor Nunziata suggests Council will need three days to deal with this agenda. It’s a cruel summer.
Up first: speeding on construction of this phase of the Gardiner Expressway rehab. Transportation staff say new completion target is April 15, 2026, just before FIFA comes to town. Old target was 2027. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
How can they speed up this work, you ask? Bending the space-time continuum? Alas, no. Instead, the report lists a bunch of things, including extended working hours, more workers, better lighting for night work, and special equipment to allow more work in the winter.
The exact cost increase attached to this acceleration work is being kept confidential because the city is still negotiating with its contractor, but we know from the announcement this morning that the province is kicking in up to $73 million for the effort.
This makes me wonder how many other ongoing major infrastructure projects could be greatly sped up if there was a willingness to spend more money for faster work. Maybe reports could offer a “ludicrous speed” option with estimated costs, just for fun.
For those asking about the Integrity Commissioner reports recommending reprimands (but not suspension of pay) for Bradford and Nunziata, the Bradford report was held by Holyday and the Nunziata report was held by Nunziata. They’ll be up for debate and a vote later.
Credit to the butterfly bunch: rather than fly off, they’ve settled in to watch a technical debate about construction management practices.
Asked about Liberty Village traffic by Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, transportation staff say traffic agents will be posted at Strachan & Liberty, especially on weekends when there are events like TFC games happening. Also some improvements to signal timing on the way.
Staff say they’ll know definitely whether or not they are on track for the new April 2026 finish date for this phase of Gardiner work on Aug 15, 2025. If they’re not, they’ll revert to earlier plan to pause Gardiner construction work during World Cup and finish up afterwards.
Councillor Bradford is questioning Mayor Chow on the Gardiner. “Why wasn’t this the original approach we brought forward?” Chow says the procurement for this work was done in 2022, prior to her time in office. Also before the New Deal, the city was very cost-constrained.
“The procurement was in Oct 2022—you were there. While you were busy collecting emails for your campaign, maybe? I’ve been working very hard right now to get a deal to rebuild the Gardiner faster. You know, these deals don’t just fall out of coconut trees,” Chow says to Bradford.
“At the end of the day, who do you think is responsible for the congestion and the lack of coordination in the City of Toronto? Does that rest with you?” Bradford asks before he runs out of time. That remark draws some jeers.
“That noise — is it raining again? Please don’t rain,” Nunziata says. Her ward contains the neighbourhoods most susceptible to flooding. But it is indeed raining. And council is indeed ready to take a lunch break. Back at 2 pm.
Council is back. Before they get back on the Gardiner, it’s time to celebrate another senior staff departure. Jennifer Dockery, GM for Senior Services and Long-Term Care, is leaving city hall.
“Until I see you again, I want to thank you for your support. You have made me stronger. And of course we’re all stronger together,” says Dockery. She gets a standing ovation from all in the chamber, including the butterflies.
Councillor Chris Moise successfully moves to add an item to the agenda authorizing a new traffic light at Queen East & Sackville Street. A pedestrian and baby were killed by a driver there just last week.
Back on the Gardiner. Councillor Brad Bradford has three motions: to incorporate “lessons learned” on this phase of Gardiner rehab on future construction phases, to have congestion management plans for future phases, and to look at speeding up DVP-Cherry section.
“When this contract was signed in October and did not account for 24/7 construction, it never should have been signed. That was the time to have that negotiation, to work with the contractors, and set that up,” says Bradford, calling it “mismanagement.”
Councillor Saxe rises to point out that ~140K people use the Gardiner each day. “And we’re spending an awful lot of time and money because that’s important, and I just want to remind people that at least three times as many people take Line 2, which is also in serious trouble.”
For the record, timeline for this section of Gardiner construction work: RFQ: Feb 2022 Shortlist: July 2022 RFP Open: October 2022 RFP Close: July 2023 Award: October 2023 secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik has motions. She wants alterations to the Spadina off-ramp, staff to have the authority to close off-ramp at BC Road wen necessary to manage traffic, and a report in Sept on other traffic mitigation measures.
Matlow says this Gardiner money is good news, but wishes the Ford gov would get serious about being a real partner on transit. “Where’s the money to expedite the Eglinton LRT” and Scarborough busway? “Where’s the money for a long-term sustainable operating budget for the TTC?”
On the Eglinton LRT, Councillor Mike Colle says, “It’s not a money problem. It’s a stupidity problem. Because the tracks don’t line up so they can’t get the trains running.”
Colle is fired up about Highway 401. “You can’t move on the 401. So what people do is go to our side streets, our arterials, they go down to the Gardiner to get east and west. Yet nothing is done about the 401. 500,000 vehicles a day … 500,000 exploding trucks every other week!”
Perks says a majority of council voted to keep the full Gardiner with the idea it would “save time on people’s commutes.” “How’s that working out for you? Does everyone feel like we’re saving time on our commutes? No, absolutely not. The lesson here is that roads create traffic”
“The future of the City of Toronto is in walking, cycling and transit — not in pouring more and more and more money into constructing roads,” concludes Councillor Gord Perks.
“Councillor Perks said ‘roads create traffic’, no — actually councillors create traffic,” contends Councillor Stephen Holyday, citing what he sees as traffic-creating projects like the Bloor West bike lanes.
Holyday has a motion. He wants reports on future transportation projects to include an analysis of the cost of construction versus the cost of congestion caused by the construction.
Councillor Alejandra Bravo moves to ensure road safety is included as part of prioritization criteria used by the construction coordination office.
Councillors Holyday and Bradford are questioning whether a construction coordination office actually exists. Staff clarify that they’ve just set up a “Strategic Capital Coordination Office”, so that’s what the motion refers to. Bradford is unconvinced, but Council moves on.
Time to vote. The new staff recommendation to accelerate this phase of Gardiner construction, targeting a finish date in 2026 instead of 2027, CARRIES 23-1.
Bradford’s motion to consider “lessons learned” from this phase of the Gardiner construction, develop a congestion management plan for future phases, etc CARRIES 24-0.
Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik’s motion to make changes to the Spadina off-ramp and authorize temporary ramp closures at BC Road to ease congestion CARRIES 24-0.
Holyday’s motion to analyze cost of transportation projects versus potential congestion impacts arising from construction FAILS 9-15.
Councillor Bravo’s motion for the new construction coordination office to consider road safety CARRIES 24-0.
And the Gardiner speed-up item as amended CARRIES 24-0. The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding.
Apologies for the black bar on these vote results screens. It is beyond my control. Jennifer Forkes, if you are reading this, maybe try dragging it to the bottom of the screen.
Council is staying on the Gardiner for a little while longer. The next item is about allocating the $1.9 billion in capital plan savings from the Gardiner upload. Councillor Holyday moves to ensure a “significant portion” goes to road repair. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillors Carroll and Perks are concerned about the specificity of the Holyday motion. During questioning, CFO Stephen Conforti says this kind of line-by-line direction of funds should probably come during the budget process, not today.
Holyday’s motion to direct funds from the Gardiner/DVP upload specifically to road repair FAILS 2-22. Staff recommendation CARRIES via show of hands.
Up now: The Science Centre. The city may have powers under the terms of the land lease to take possession of the building but staff say the cost of the city assuming operations are too high. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
To recap: the recommendation on the Science Centre to come out of Chow’s executive committee was to create a working group with the province to look at their lease obligations and opportunities to work together on a future for the building.
“Is there any singular report indicating or recommending the permanent closure of the Ontario Science Centre?” asks Councillor Parthi Kandavel. Staff say not that they’ve seen — and they’ve reviewed all the public reports.
Mayor Olivia Chow moves to extend the meeting tonight to 8:30 p.m., with a 30-minute dinner break at 6 p.m. That CARRIES 18-6.
Councillor Paul Ainslie, chair of the Toronto Zoo Board, moves to include the Toronto Zoo as part of the working group to discuss the future of the Science Centre. He says the zoo already operates a lot of scientific programming so there could be a natural partnership.
Dealing with some quick items before the dinner break now, Council votes 19-4 to APPROVE rezoning for a development on Antibes Drives in Councillor James Pasternak’s ward. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Speaking about the item from the Integrity Commissioner recommending a reprimand for his use of constituent emails in his campaign for mayor, Councillor Brad Bradford apologizes and says he made a mistake. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Council votes 22-0 to adopt the findings of the Integrity Commish and officially reprimand Councillor Brad Bradford for using constituent emails in his mayoral election campaign. If Bradford does something like this again, he could face harsher penalties.
Time for Councillor Nunziata’s turn to speak to her Integrity Commissioner report, which also recommends a reprimand for using constituent emails in her council reelection campaign. “I cannot overstate my deep and sincere regret,” she says. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
“At no time did I instruct nor approve the use of these emails for the campaign and I was assured it was not the case,” says Nunziata. She apologizes to the Integrity Commish for misinforming him at the outset of the investigation.
“It was a significant error of judgement on the part of my staff not to advise me that indeed these emails were used inappropriately and not to explain the details relating to the inappropriate use,” says Nunziata about the Integrity Commissioner report.
Councillor Michael Thompson moves to receive the Integrity Commissioner report on Nunziata’s conduct. If approved, this would mean Nunziata does NOT get an official reprimand. Councillor Perks says he wants to debate that motion.
To be continued. Council will break for 30 minutes then come back to finish debates on the Nunziata integrity commissioner report, the Science Centre, and any other items they can squeeze in before 8:30 p.m.
Back from the break, Councillor Michael Thompson moves to withdraw his motion to “receive” the item, which would have spared Nunziata a reprimand. All righty then.
Council votes 14-0 to REPRIMAND Councillor Frances Nunziata for using constituent emails in her council re-election campaign. She won the race by just 94 votes.
On a FIFA item, Council votes 18-2 to accelerate the design of transit priority lanes on Dufferin and Bathurst to help get people to BMO Field
Back to the Science Centre. Councillor Cheng moves to request the province accept donations to “prevent the rotting out” of the Science Centre, and to reserve their decision to close it. Aspirational.
Some are asking about what Nunziata’s reprimand means. It means it will be recorded in the council minutes that was reprimanded. That’s all. Just words. And conceivably, if she’s ever found to have broken the rules in the future, she’ll face a harsher penalty.
Councillor McKelvie says she can’t support Cheng’s motions on the Science Centre. “I think that we can’t give people false hope.” “I think we’re doing the community a disservice by leading them down a path that’s not achievable.” She does support establishing a working group.
Time to vote. Councillor Ainslie’s motion to include the Toronto Zoo in the working group on the future of the Science Centre CARRIES 18-4.
Councillor Cheng’s motion to request the provincial government accept donations to fix the Science Centre CARRIES 12-10.
Cheng’s motion to request the province reverse their decision to close the Science Centre and to work with Toronto to keep it open CARRIES 17-5.
Recommendation for the working group to look at ways the province and the city can work together with community on the future of the Science Centre CARRIES 19-3.
Recommendation to establish a working group involving province, city, TRCA and zoo to discuss lease obligations and the future of the Science Centre CARRIES 19-3.
On an item about the operating budget, Budget Chief Shelley Carroll issues a warning: “I’m going to start voting ‘no’ to a lot of things. I am going to start to be a Debbie Downer.” She says there’s lots of good things in this year’s budget, but there’s not room to be adding more
Council votes 21-1 to refund about $400K in development charges paid by the developer of 100 Thorncliffe Park Drive. The developer complained, arguing their ground-floor plans had been improperly classified as commercial and not industrial. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Council votes via show of hands to ADOPT a report on working with the school boards to look for more places where people can play cricket. Part of an ongoing cricket strategy. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Up now: an auditor general report on paramedic response times. They have gone up across all categories of calls which is not ideal. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor Jennifer McKelvie says these increasing paramedic response times “aren’t because our paramedics are failing. It’s because our health system is failing.” In-hospital time accounts for 60% of paramedic service time.
Council votes to adopt the auditor general report. And pays quick tribute to their sergeant-at-arms as it is International Security Officers’ Day, apparently. And then they wrap up for the night. Back tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., with 67 items left to deal with.
Council is just about ready to start day two. Before they face off with the rest of their agenda, the mayor is set to celebrate the first season of Toronto’s PWHL Team. Chow’s got a jersey on. Streaming live here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ro...
Chow invites Nurse up to the lectern. “Thank you for being such a great role model … you’re a lot taller than me,” the mayor notes. “We’re so excited for year two, and bringing a championship back to Toronto,” Nurse says. She presents the mayor with a team-signed jersey.
A new addition to the agenda: Councillor Moise’s motion to install a new traffic signal at Queen East & Sackville Street also directs staff to report on converting several other pedestrian crossovers in the ward to traffic signals. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Council votes via show of hands and without debate to REJECT a development at 1875 Steeles West in Pasternak’s ward, against the advice of planning staff. Vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur and local community groups objected. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Up now: a report on Chow’s housing plan, and efforts to speed it up. Here’s the latest sched for the five “city-led” sites approved by council last year. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Ever-watchful housing advocates HousingNowTO have sent along recent photos of the sites. Housing sure seems like a big upgrade over these current uses. www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis... (PDF)
Mayor Chow shares a personal story about her father, who experienced mental health episodes and later dementia. “He could have easily become homeless, because he was disruptive, but he had shelter over his head and as a result was able to live to a ripe old age in his mid-90s.”
Chow hits back against critics who accuse the city of always mismanaging big projects. “Remember Housing Now? Well, we relied on just the private [sector], and it didn’t completely work.” She says under her plan city is doing both — pursuing both public and private plans.
“Public builder? Public developer? Who gives a damn what you call it. Let’s build the damn houses, and not get into what to call them. There’s no alternative. We know people are lined up to find a place to live,” says Councillor Mike Colle.
“We have TCH sites with 200 — two hundred! — committee of adjustment applications in Lawrence Heights. We have not expedited ANYTHING. So this is the most important thing we’re going to do for housing people in 25 years,” Fletcher says, of report on accelerating housing plan.
Council votes 22-1 to APPROVE the report about ongoing efforts to speed up their housing plan. Next report on the plan will come in Q3 this year.
Onto an item about a new agreement with the province re: the Ontario Line, Eg West LRT, Yonge Extension and Scarb Subway. On questioning from TTC chair Myers, staff confirm province will retain ownership and be responsible for ongoing maintenance costs. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
On the transit item, Councillor Paula Fletcher moves to send a request to Metrolinx to review the construction plan for Pape Station on the Ontario Line, in light of a recent meeting with the Greektown BIA.
Councillor McKelvie has a motion to ask Metrolinx again to build the Scarborough Subway such that it can support a connection at Kennedy Station to the future Eglinton East LRT, and to talk about a funding agreement to make sure it happens, with city kicking in cash.
Fletcher’s motion to request Metrolinx review their Pape Station construction plan on the Ontario Line, responding to BIA and community concerns, CARRIES 25-0.
McKelvie’s motion to request Metrolinx make sure Scarborough Subway plan supports a connection at Kennedy for future Eglinton East LRT CARRIES 25-0.
Up now: the contract to buy two new electric ferries to serve Toronto Islands. Cost is up to about $92 million. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
In questions to staff, Councillor Paula Fletcher points out two electric ferries from the same shipbuilder were purchased to serve Wolfe Island near Kingston and have had some significant issues. Less than ideal. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
In addition to the $92 million from the new electric ferries, the city is also looking at about $42 million to install charging infrastructure at the ferry docks. That’ll support up to four electric vessels, but funding to replace the other two existing ferries needs to be found
The new electric ferries are expected to cost about $1 million per year (net) to operate, based on projected passenger levels over first five years. $0 for fuel, though.
Mayor Olivia Chow wants to know if there’s anything in this ferry contract award that incentivizes early delivery or penalizes late delivery of the new vessels. The City Solicitor says that’s a question that can’t be answered in public session.
Here’s what the new e-ferries are supposed to look like, by the way. They’re currently known as “Pax” and “RoPax” but will be renamed before they enter service. Maybe something like Ferry McFerryface. TBD.
Councillor Brad Bradford has withdrawn his member motion asking for more monitoring of the new bike lanes on Avenue Road. He says he’s been told staff already have plans to monitor impacts.
Councillor Cheng wants to introduce an urgent member motion calling for a review of a “hub-based model” for recreation facilities. Councillors are skeptical that it’s really urgent. Vote to add it to the agenda FAILS 17-6. It needed 18 votes. (Result wasn’t displayed.)
Council breaks for lunch with 65 items left on the agenda, including 38 member motions. Back at 2 p.m. to run through those member motions, finish the ferry debate and talk about flood mitigation.
And they’re back. Or trying to come back, anyway. Council does not appear to have quorum after the lunch break.
There we go. There are enough councillors here to make this meeting official. Without debate, a report on the merits of single stair egress in four-storey apartment buildings is APPROVED by Council, 20-1. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
An item calling for a review of city policies for off-road vehicles in parks CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Time to run through the member motions. A Matlow motion calling on other govs to do things to reduce car theft CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor McKelvie’s motion re: renaming streets as Taylor Swift Way is added to the agenda. “Welcome to Tayloronto,” McKelvie says. She gives a speech with approximately ten million Swift song title references. She tells us Rogers has agreed to cover cost of street signs.
“Will you be inviting her to one of our council meetings?” Nunziata asks. “Taylor is welcome anytime,” McKelvie says, holding up a shirt she hopes Swift will wear while singing “22.”
Motion to temporarily designate Taylor Swift Way CARRIES 21-1. (“Councillor Matlow does not like her songs,” Nunziata notes.)
Councillor Dianne Saxe’s motion requesting TPA allow 16 and 17 year olds to use Bike Share — use is currently technically restricted to those 18+ — CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor Amber Morley’s motion to revitalize the historic Mimico train station CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor Brad Bradford’s motion to look at ways to make it easier to use outdoor ovens in parks CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor Lily Cheng’s motion (seconded by the mayor) calling for a review of intergovernmental relationships for other cities around the world and how they compare to Toronto CARRIES 23-1. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Deputy Mayor Malik’s motion calling for a traffic plan for Liberty Village gets added to the agenda via show of hands. Malik holds it for debate. They’ll come back to it. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor Michael Thompson’s motion declaring April 11 to 17, 2025 as Black Maternal Health Week CARRIES 24-0. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor Chris Moise’s motion to install a traffic signal at Queen East & Sackville and to look at converting other pedestrian crossovers to traffic signals is held by Holyday. They’ll come back to it. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
After that flurry of activity, there are now just 31 items left on the agenda. It looks like Council will power through and try to finish this today. They’re now back to the e-ferry item. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
On the ferry item, Councillor Paula Fletcher moves for a “comprehensive work plan” for the plan to design and install the dock infrastructure for the new electric ferries. She wants to avoid the Kingston problem where they’ve had trouble docking their new electric vessels.
“If anybody thinks we need to put a bridge across the eastern gap from the port to a TRCA environmentally-sensitive area, I’ve done the numbers on the number of ships that travel there — it’s 200. So economic-wise, let’s just put that puppy to bed right now,” says Fletcher.
Mayor Olivia Chow moves to look at obtaining some “relief vessels” to provide more ferry service while we wait for these new electric ferries.
Noting the first electric ferry isn’t due until the end of 2026, Chow says city should be looking at any options to rent or lease more boats in the interim to get people over to the island. “Instead of having them wait for an hour-plus in the hot sun with screaming kids.”
“In the meantime, I urge our parks staff to bring more food trucks, some entertainment — maybe clowns, whatever it might be, buskers — to entertain some of those folks who are unfortunately lining up to get over to the island,” says Chow.
“Is this like a really big boat or a little boat that you envision?” Holyday asks Chow. She says she’s not an expert on boat size. She just wants to reduce wait times during peak times.
Chow’s motion to look at leasing more boats to provide additional island ferry service as we wait for the new electric vessels CARRIES 21-1.
Council votes 20-2 to APPROVE moving forward with purchase of two new electric ferries for about $92 million. First delivery due in fall 2026.
Time for this month's edition of Where in the World is Anthony Perruzza. A parking garage, maybe?
Up now: flood mitigation. Toronto’s been pretty soggy lately. The mayor and council would like to find ways to make the city’s infrastructure less susceptible to flood damage. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Staff have some maps about last week’s storms. A heat map showing calls to the city about basement flooding, and rainfall totals across the city. The west side of the city got hit a lot harder than the east.
“I looked at your chart, once again Scarborough got less than everybody — but in this case we’ll take it,” jokes Scarborough councillor Paul Ainslie.
“Does your advice still remain to keep as much permeable surface as possible?” Councillor Fletcher asks the head of Toronto Water. “Our advice is keep as much green as you can,” says Toronto Water GM Lou Di Gironimo.
“We know climate change is real. We know there will be more storms,” says Chow. “We know we need to deal with these impacts.” She says her motion is about asking staff to take stock of all stormwater mitigation programs to review what’s working and what else the city can do.
Chow points to the third part of her flood mitigation motion, that ties in with ongoing work on the development of a potential commercial parking levy. She wants to consult with large commercial property owners specifically about stormwater strategies.
Councillor Holyday asks Chow how she intends to pay for more flood mitigation. Chow says money could come via the water bill, or as a stormwater charge. She says she’s not in favour of a stormwater charge for small homeowners, but is for looking at large commercial properties.
Councillor McKelvie has a two-part motion, calling for debrief sessions on lessons learned from the flooding, and to look at ways to fix erosion damage caused by the storm.
Councillor Jamaal Myers, the TTC chair, moves to request the TTC look at what other transit systems are doing to prevent stormwater damage.
Fletcher takes opportunity to push back against critics who said Port Lands plan was not dense enough, citing “negativity” from “articles in the Globe & Mail” and “groups like More Neighbours.” “We need to guard space green space for the environment [and] for water filtration.”
Councillor Mike Colle moves to request TDSB allow the construction of a mid-town storm sewer relief project on their property. He says the school board has been holding it up for years.
Councillor Dianne Saxe has a motion that tweaks the language of part of Chow’s motion and requests a report back by the end of the year. She says, “it’s time to get on with these long-awaited consultations for a stormwater charge.”
Saxe also has a motion to ensure all new buildings adhere to the Green Standard and for a report back on what it would take to “meaningfully reduce basement flooding across Toronto.”
Councillor Stephen Holyday moves to request Chow accelerate the basement flooding protection program in the 2025 city budget.
Councillor Carroll says doing nothing on flood mitigation and stormwater comes at a cost. Motions today will give councillors info on what it’ll cost to protect people’s homes, and then “we’re all going to have to put our heads together and decide how we’re going to pay for it.”
Where in the World is Anthony Perruzza? In the chamber, showing colleagues this map. He criticize the design. “Big red hotspots — they should be BLUE, because they represent WATER, not FIRE.”
Councillor Saxe’s motion for a report in Q4 on findings from consultations re: reducing stormwater runoff from non-residential properties CARRIES 22-3.
All other motions on the mayor’s flood mitigation item CARRY via show of hands. Item as amended is ADOPTED 25-0. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor Moise’s motion to install a traffic signal at Queen East & Sackville and look at converting other pedestrian crossovers in Ward 13 to traffic signals CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Mayor Olivia Chow moves to extend the meeting tonight until 8 p.m. to see about finishing the damn thing. That CARRIES via show of hands.
Councillor Lily Cheng makes an announcement about SnackShareTO, council’s informal snack sharing collective. Todays’ snacks are baked goods from a bakery in Thompson’s ward and fresh fruit from the market brought by Saxe.
Council is now going into private session to consider this item about a medical facility and seniors residence in Pasternak’s ward. No media allowed to watch. I’ll be back when they’re back. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Council is returning to public session. During the private session, they discussed a proposal to allow residential uses in an area zoned for employment at 4646 Dufferin. Toronto & York Region Labour Council is opposed. Councillor Pasternak, supportive, has moved to request an MZO
Pasternak formally moves to request the MZO from the provincial housing minister, calling this an “excellent proposal.” It would allow for a minimum of 770 units. He says this request will be contingent on the developer dropping an appeal to the Land Tribunal.
“I realize that [employment area] conversions are not popular, but neither is homelessness, neither is poverty, neither is people without a home,” says Pasternak.
Councillor Amber Morley moves to call the question — pre-empting further debate and skipping right to the vote — but Nunziata rules she can’t do that because she spoke briefly before making the motion. So Councillor Perks, next in line, calls the question.
Perks’ motion (on behalf of Morley) to call the question on the 4646 Dufferin item CARRIES 16-6.
Councillor Pasternak’s motion to request an MZO permitting residential uses in the employment area at 4646 Dufferin FAILS 7-15.
On an item about delegating responsibilities to the newly-created position of Director of Development Review, Councillor Perruzza moves to require the director to consult with local councillors before making decisions on site plan applications. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
“If you simply capitulate, then, my friends, we are LOST,” thunders Perruzza, encouraging everybody to support his motion. Nunziata rules his motion out of order, as it is contrary to advice from city legal staff. Perruzza challenges her ruling. Nunziata is upheld 18-2.
With that out of the way, council votes 20-1 to APPROVE delegating a bunch of responsibilities to the new Director of Development Review.
On to an item about childcare. On questioning from Councillor Bravo, staff confirm they were told last week that the Minister of Education had cancelled plans for 48 childcare centres — ~3,000 spaces — that would have been located in schools. Seems bad. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Bravo moves to request the province reverse the cancellation of 48 childcare centres. If they don’t, she moves for them to reallocate funding for those centres to TDSB and TCDSB to create spaces. If they don’t do that, she moves for them to give money to the city for childcare.
Bravo’s motion to get the province to fund childcare spaces CARRIES 21-0. She even got Holyday on board.
Up now: the Toronto Island Park Master Plan. Notably, there’s been a revision to a page in the plan about the island airport. New text on the left, old text on the right. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Councillor Paula Fletcher says she has “gone and done her homework” on potentially building a bridge over the eastern gap. “There are over 250 large freighters and boats … major economic contributors to Toronto’s economy that travel there.”
“If we think of building [a bridge], I think first question is, ‘how high would it have to be?’, ‘what’s the cost of lifting and not lifting?’ because we are talking about a ship a day,” says Fletcher. She also cites recent issues with Cherry Street lift bridge as a concern.
Fletcher says any bridge over the eastern gap would also need to be accessible, which could be challenging if the bridge has to be built high enough to accommodate the Great Lakes cruise ships. She notes the new ferries will be accessible.
Mayor Olivia Chow says she has done a “very rough poll” of council members and believes no one wants to come back tomorrow. She moves to extend the meeting to finish the last 11 items left to deal with. That CARRIES via show of hands. Ride or die.
Council votes 20-1 to request a report in 2025 on installing a permanent safety barrier on Leaside Bridge.
Up next: affordable housing at 777 Victoria Park. The site, currently a TTC parking lot, will have 705 rental homes, including 256 affordable rental homes. Local councillor Parthi Kandavel says “the biggest concern for many in my ward is access to the commuter parking lot.”
CreateCEO Vic Gupta says they’re working to identify opportunities to replace the parking spaces on other properties. Staff say they’re also working to secure an agreement to allow commuter parking at the Dentonia Park Golf Course.
“Unless and until we actually have higher orders of transit and more frequent transit, it is challenging for many in our community to see changes that impact their daily lives,” says Kandavel about the plan to redevelop the TTC parking lot into affordable housing.
New redevelopment plan for the TTC lot at 777 Victoria Park Ave into a housing project with affordable rental homes is APPROVED 19-1.
Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik’s motion to develop a Liberty Village Traffic Action Plan — LVTAP for short, I guess — CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
On an item about expanding permitted uses in laneway and garden suites, Councillor Paula Fletcher moves for a zoning by-law amendment to remove permissions for garden suites that back onto Craven Road. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Fletcher’s motion CARRIES via show of hands. Original request for a report on allowing group homes, care homes and other uses in laneway and garden suites CARRIES 20-1.
Up now: creating a temporary southbound bus lane on Spadina while the streetcar right-of-way is out of service. On questioning from Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, transportation staff say they’ve studied it and “we’re anticipating relatively minimal impact” on car traffic congestion.
Council APPROVES the temporary bus lane on Spadina via a show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
Looks like we made it. There are no items left on the agenda. Council has finished its July 2024 agenda. There are no more regular council meetings until October. Summer begins now.
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