Council Highlights: Ravine Strategy Update, Supporting Democratic Decision Making, Safety Updates & More
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This week marked the first full City Council meeting of 2026, and it was a long one! We covered an enormous range of topics, from local development files like the redevelopment of the YMCA right through to city-wide debates about democracy and Toronto's right to have a say in the future of Billy Bishop Airport.
I was very happy to support the 2026 Ravine Strategy Update this week and celebrate years of dedicated work by city staff, community partners, and thousands of volunteers who love Toronto's ravines as much as I do.
Since 2020, the results have been remarkable: 3,760 hectares of land have been restored through invasive species management; 521 tonnes of garbage and metal removed from 681 hectares of ravine land; 181 students engaged through employment and training programs; and over 20,000 participants taking part in 265 Ravine Days events. We've delivered 16 capital projects, including wetland restorations, trail upgrades, and improved wayfinding, totalling over $12 million in investment. Perhaps most significantly, the capital investment gap in our Priority Investment Areas has been cut nearly in half, from $104.9 million down to $50.2 million. That is real, measurable progress for our natural environment.
But the achievement I am most personally excited about in this update is the permanent establishment of the Toronto Nature Stewards program. Piloted in 2021, TNS is a community-led restoration initiative hosted by the Institute of Forestry & Conservation at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. In 2025 alone, TNS recruited and trained over 2,000 volunteers to steward 47 sites covering more than 120 hectares of natural area parkland across the city, tackling over 35 invasive plant species. In 2026, they're on track to expand to 52 sites.
I must give a special shout-out to our stewardship group at Newtonbrook Creek Park, they are an extraordinary example of what engaged, passionate community members can accomplish, and we are so proud of everything they have done for that ravine.
If you would like to get involved in cleaning our green spaces, please join my Community Cleanup Day on Apr 25, 2026, at 1:00 PM. We’re meeting on Pineway Blvd at the entrance to the hydro corridor to clean up this beloved green space. You can RSVP here.
This report recommends a comprehensive set of by-law amendments, operational updates, and new studies to improve enforcement, and support climate resilience as we work to strengthen Toronto's tree protection framework.
The recommendation I know residents are most focused on is the proposal to study lowering the size threshold at which private property trees become "protected" — from 30cm trunk diameter down to 20cm. I want to be clear: this report does not implement that change. It directs staff to first report back on the impacts to housing delivery and what the cost implications for residents would be. I support studying this because we need more information before deciding either way, including whether it could meaningfully help protect our mature tree canopy. I'll keep you updated as this work moves forward.
The surge in antisemitism across Toronto is alarming, and I want the Jewish community to know that their fear and anguish are heard. Every person in this city deserves to feel safe and secure.
I was proud to work with my colleagues in creating this motion where Council formally reiterated its condemnation of hate speech and chants at protests and rallies, called for rapid removal of hateful graffiti from TTC vehicles and property, and requested an update on the legal tools available to take stronger action against hate speech in our public spaces and neighbourhoods.
Council also requested that the Toronto Police Service provide a full update on actions taken in response to hate crimes, asked City staff to review and strengthen existing anti-hate policy frameworks, and ensured that bylaw enforcement is properly staffed to respond to noise complaints at protests. Finally, Council asked the city to advocate to the provincial and federal governments for sustainable funding to support the frontline workers who respond to the growing number of protests across our city.
Taken together, these measures reflect a serious and multi-layered commitment to making Toronto safer and more welcoming for Jewish Torontonians and all residents who have been targeted by hate.
Earlier this year, at a community meeting in Henry Farm, a resident asked me whether schools with lower attendance were being threatened with closure. While she was specifically asking about Shaughnessy Public School, it raised an important concern for residents across Don Valley North.
Councillors are not kept in the loop on these decisions, which is why we need our Trustees to be empowered to provide accountability and advocate for local priorities. There is currently real uncertainty around school board governance and representation. This report asked City Council to affirm the role of locally elected trustees in ensuring accountability, representing local priorities, and advocating for the needs of students, and I was proud to support it. Protecting local schools like Shaughnessy is exactly why I got into local politics as a trustee all those years ago.
That said, Council's support is only one piece of the puzzle. We need to hear from parents and residents too. I encourage everyone who cares about this issue to contact the Minister of Education directly and make their voices heard.
I am always grateful to read the Auditor General's Annual Report. It is an important reminder of the vital role accountability officers play in keeping Toronto honest.
Toronto was actually the first Canadian city to employ an independent Auditor General, a direct response to the MFP Computer Leasing Scandal (for those of you too young to remember, you can read about it here). That history matters, because it shows that when things go wrong, Toronto has been willing to build the institutions needed to make sure they don't go wrong again.
I know there is a perception that the city doesn't do enough to hold contractors and City staff accountable when things go wrong. The Auditor General is how we do that. Two cases from the past year stand out. We suspended a sewer services contractor after our internal controls and the Auditor General's Fraud and Waste Hotline identified intentional overbilling of at least $1.1 million on a major City sewer project. A second investigation uncovered inconsistencies and deficiencies in how the city was managing park inspections and maintenance. The resulting report led to real improvements: an overhauled work order system, new staff training, and better processes for addressing complaints, monitoring repairs, conducting park inspections, creating better value, and saving taxpayers money.
This is the kind of work that doesn't always make headlines, but it matters enormously. I encourage you to read the Auditor General's full report. It gives me real confidence that the city is well looked after, and I think it will give you that confidence too.
We all know that snow clearing and removal was challenging this winter, and Toronto was far from alone. New York City's newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani made international headlines in February when he launched an emergency snow removal initiative, paying New Yorkers $30 an hour, rising to $45 after 40 hours, to clear bus stops, crosswalks, and fire hydrants following a 20-inch blizzard. The program employed 1,400 people to accelerate cleanup efforts, and similar approaches have been used successfully in Minneapolis and Montreal.
This week, City Council voted to ask staff to look at a made-in-Toronto version of this program for the 2026-2027 winter season, drawing on the best practices and lessons learned from these other cities. I will want to see the price tag and how this could responsibly managed before we continue to add on to our snow plans.
This week I was proud to support the passage of Toronto's Festival Strategy (2026-2031), the next chapter in the work I launched in October 2024 with Culture Connects: An Action Plan for Culture in Toronto. Toronto is home to approximately 300 festivals, and as a sector, they generate more than $1 billion in GDP across Canada. That's a huge economic powerhouse. This strategy provides 17 concrete actions to strengthen festival sector development, sustainability, and resilience ensuring Torontonians can access free, inclusive, and diverse cultural experiences in their own neighbourhoods, while keeping Toronto globally competitive as a destination city.
As the City's Economic Development & Culture Champion, the City Councillor charged with overseeing Economic Development & Culture, I'm thrilled to see festivals get the structural support they deserve, while continuing to engage the private sector and philanthropy to fill the gaps that government can’t and shouldn’t fill on our own. A vibrant festival sector means vibrant main streets, stronger communities, and a city people are proud to call home.
This motion from Deputy Mayor Malik and Mayor Chow asks Council to take the position that other orders of government must include Toronto residents and their elected municipal representatives in any decisions about the future of our city, including our waterfront. That means no unilateral expropriation of land within Toronto, full stop.
Now, I want to be clear about what this is and isn't about. The province has not put forward a formal proposal on jets at Billy Bishop, so I cannot tell you whether jet service is a good idea or a bad one. The airport is a vital economic engine for the city and for tourism, but there are a number of key questions that need to be asked. What would it cost taxpayers to extend the runway? What would it mean for people living nearby? What does it do to the future development potential of the Portlands? I don't have those answers, and neither does anyone else right now. What I do know is that Toronto, as a member of the tripartite agreement, has every right to be part of that conversation before any decisions are made.
Whatever you think about jets at Billy Bishop, I think we can all agree on this: our city's future should not be decided without us.
This application to redevelop the YMCA at Bayview and Sheppard was deferred from the December City Council meeting to allow more time to work with the applicant and City staff on key outstanding issues. Unfortunately, City Planning and the Applicant could not come to an agreement and the applicant appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal. I moved to direct staff to object to this application at the OLT.
I strongly value our YMCA, and I want to see the delivery of a modern YMCA facility and new housing, but I continue to have serious concerns about the traffic impacts of having over a thousand units awkwardly pour out between highway ramps and the intersection and the overall organization of the site, particularly given the very real congestion challenges at Bayview and Sheppard.
As always, it was a full and meaningful week at City Hall. From protecting our ravines and urban forest, to defending Toronto's right to have a voice on decisions that affect our city, these are the issues that matter to the people of Don Valley North and they matter deeply to me.
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns about anything covered in this update or anything else on your mind.
