We always have a busy Council session in October. This month, Council moved motions on everything from revamping the Vacant Home Tax, to managing congestion, expanding student nutrition programs, increasing access to pickleball, and more. Let’s dive into it.
Every day, tens of thousands of children in Toronto’s public and Catholic schools receive a nutritious snack or a light breakfast. This program has faced many changes and challenges over the years. Thanks to an amazing collaboration between the previous Provincial government, Toronto Public Health, and charitable foundations, snack and breakfast programs are currently available in about 73% of publicly funded Toronto schools.
In April 2024, the Federal government announced the creation of a National School Food Program. This includes an investment of $1 billion nationally over five years. With food insecurity affecting one in four households in Toronto, it’s essential that we expand these programs to every Toronto school as soon as we can. Mayor Chow’s motion will ensure Council receives regular updates on the intergovernmental progress towards this important goal.
I wrote in-depth about the proposed improvements to the Vacant Home Tax declaration process in this E-Blast a few weeks back. I know that this was a frustrating process for many of you last year. This tax is very important for the future of our city, as it will help us get more homes back onto the housing market. This means we must make the declaration process easy, accessible, and widely communicated so we can move forward as smoothly as possible this year.
The Vacant Home Tax declaration redesign was adopted by Council, so keep an eye out for a letter in your mailbox early this November. This letter will be personalized with all the account information you need to submit your declaration. It will also outline the options you have to declare, including online or by phone. You’ll see and hear reminders to declare on the radio, transit shelters, social media, and more. As always, my team is here to answer your questions, help you with the declaration process, and hear your feedback on the new system.
This was the most contentious item discussed at this Council session. The Billy Bishop airport operates on Toronto Island under a three-way lease agreement, or tripartite agreement, between the City of Toronto, Ports Toronto, and Transport Canada. The lease was originally set to expire in 2033, and there is a wide range of opinions on the future of the island airport. At Council, however, we needed to focus on a more immediate issue: ensuring Billy Bishop airport can update its runway to meet new Federal safety requirements.
After a long and drawn-out debate, Council reached what I would call a healthy compromise as we consider the future of the island airport. Council authorized a Runway End Safety Area plan that aligns with Federal requirements, and agreed to a lease extension of 12 years to facilitate its implementation. Extending the island airport’s lease to 2045 allows Ports Toronto to negotiate the financing they’ll need to pay for these required Runway End Safety Areas.
This also gives us more time to negotiate the next lease agreement in the coming years. Lease negotiations at this site have historically taken years due to the unique nature of the island airport. Extending the lease to 2045 leaves ample time for these discussions, including research, community consultation, and Council feedback. In the meantime, the island runway will receive Runway End Safety Areas as the law requires.
The Capital Variance Report tells Council which projects have deviated from their budget so far this year. Within this report is a note on the cost of the West Toronto Railpath Extension, a multi-use trail that runs adjacent to the Kitchener Line GO Rail Corridor. My fellow Councillors and I heard many concerns from you, our residents, about the drastic cost increase to this project. This prompted all of us to take a detailed look at the plan.
Councillors Alejandra Bravo and Brad Bradford both moved motions requesting more detail about the ballooned cost of this project. Metrolinx, the Provincial transit agency, has quoted the cost of installing this two-kilometre trail extension at $150 million. City staff’s original estimate had pegged it at $30 million in our capital plan. Councillor Bravo’s motion asks City staff to report on the project costs, while Councillor Bradford’s requested that the Auditor General weigh in. The Auditor General is an independent authority, so she will decide if her team needs to investigate this project. In the meantime, I’ve had a long talk with the General Manager of Transportation Services to understand the value-for-money calculation in proceeding with this path. I’ll continue to investigate this further as we approach the 2025 budget drafts in the coming weeks.
This item was the subject of last week’s E-Blast. There were plenty of questions from Councillors, but in the end the main points of the Congestion Management Plan were fully supported. Work continues to ensure better coordination of on-street capital work, ensure developers are paying for disruptions to traffic they cause, and investigate options for more automated enforcement to keep our streets safe and moving.
Our work to improve access to housing in Toronto is never-ending and multi-faceted. Here at the City, we take full advantage of every partnership opportunity with the other orders of government to tackle our housing crisis. That includes everything from creating more space for refugee claimants in our shelter system, facilitating rental subsidies and working to build more rental housing, and providing supportive housing options to help folks as they transition out of homelessness.
The Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, Councillor Perks, summed this work up well at Council:
“A lot of people say we’re not doing enough. And that’s true. Some people say we’re not doing anything. And that’s not true. The City of Toronto made lives better for over 100,000 people with better housing just in the last year. Let’s take a moment and think about the hard work we do, and the hard work the Toronto public service does.”
Member Motions:
There were also a number of notable member motions at last week’s Council session:
Colle moved a motion asking the Province to scrap their plans for a tunnel highway beneath the 401 and focus on a regional high-speed train instead.
Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie and Mayor Chow moved a motion calling on the Provincial government to take greater action on the intersecting crises of mental health, addiction, and homelessness. This comes after they returned from the Ontario Big City Mayors’ Caucus, where every city reported serious challenges tackling these issues. It’s worth noting that it has been two years since the Province’s own Auditor General called on the government to develop an Ontario-wide homelessness strategy, with no action thus far.
Councillor Ainslie moved a motion to ensure that seniors and those without access to computers will be able to register for Toronto recreation programming once the new online registration tool launches soon. Centres in every region of the City will provide early registration to these groups to ensure fair access.
I seconded a motion from Councillor Fletcher to investigate options for indoor pickleball facilities here in Toronto. I know demand for this sport just keeps growing and it’s important that we have public programs to support it. There is no money attached to this idea yet, but I would love to hear your thoughts.
As always, I will keep you updated on these and other important items through this weekly E-Blast, so stay tuned.