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There are two kinds of votes where Council is almost always unanimous: when we are voting to direct city staff to develop a Strategy, and then again when we adopt that Strategy. The debate usually comes when it's time to actually implement it. A great case in point is Toronto's Cycling Network Plan. The plan It’s been a Plan, a 10-Year Map, a 3-Year Map and a Strategy. We just can't seem to make progress in creating great cycling infrastructure in Toronto. At the most recent meeting of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, members were given an update on the current Cycling Network Plan. What the Committee learned shouldn't come as a surprise: that creating cycling infrastructure inspires more people to use their bikes more often. Cyclists on Richmond and Adelaide For example, the large swaths of separated bike lanes along Richmond and Adelaide Streets have been incredibly successful. In September 2013, the average daily cyclist count on Richmond St. W and Adelaide St. W was 400. In September 2018, the average daily count was 4,780 – an increase of 1,095 per cent. That represents 4,780 travelers who would have otherwise crowded onto transit or their cars, increasing your commute time. In the downtown core, the Cycling Plan is focused on connecting the dots, like on Bloor St. W and Sherbourne. The number of car-less downtown dwellers using their bikes and PRESTO cards is growing rapidly, and providing well-connected bike routes will keep cyclists safe while improving the flow of cars. Major city-wide cycling routes What about the suburbs? The Cycling Network Plan is moving a bit more slowly in the suburbs. The map above shows you what is possible in regions like Don Valley North. The plan shares a goal with both the city’s environmental strategy, TransformTO, and the safe pedestrian strategy, Vision Zero. All three plans imagine a city where 75 per cent of all trips under five kilometres are traveled safely by walking or cycling. That requires a lot of work in the suburbs. When I look at the committee members’ motions from Infrastructure and Environment Committee, I see a keen interest and focus on improving downtown routes. But in the same meeting, I see a suburban Councillor (in this case, Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong) slowing things down for the suburbs. Some cyclists in Toronto have taken to attaching pool noodles to their bikes to create a safe distance between themselves and drivers. I don’t mean to personally single out Councillor Minnan-Wong – his motions might have been moved by any of my suburban colleagues. The Councillor wants a warrant system that requires a high number of cyclists on a route before a bike lane can be considered. For cyclists, this means "Risk your life and frustrate car drivers – then we’ll consider a bike lane.” Worse still, Councillor Minnan-Wong is proposing we conduct a pilot project that puts cyclists back on the sidewalk – out of the way of cars but creating open season on pedestrians. Rather than face the controversial meeting that is a feature of each new bike lane implementation, the Councillor’s motions may ensure that no meeting or implementation ever happens. Toronto's cycling bylaw stipulates that no person age 14 and older may ride a bicycle on a sidewalk. Calling DVN cyclists At DVN Connects, our local transit roundtable, the Cycling Network Plan must be part of the conversation. We don't know when or how the provincial government will proceed with building transit on Sheppard Avenue East, but we do know the demand is here. With the growing number of condo and apartment-dwellers, making cycling and walking safe for short trips may be the only way to get through transit limbo. If you have a strong opinion you want to share with me and your community before I am in City Council voting on the future of our Cycling Plan, you are in luck – our Transit Town Hall is this Monday evening, July 8th, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Fairview Library Theatre. Please consider coming by to join the conversation. There will be lots of opportunity to listen, learn and discuss. I want to hear your unique perspectives on cycling, walking, TTC-ing and moving in general.

On Tuesday morning, North York Community Council had a special guest. A representative of the Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC) came to speak on the impact a potential development in Midtown Toronto could have on the local elementary school. It struck me that this discussion could just as easily be about Don Valley North. J. Pitman Patterson, a lawyer for the TLC, spoke about a development application that would build an 11-storey, 76-unit addition right onto an existing apartment building. While certainly not the largest development proposed in Midtown, Mr. Patterson stressed this new building will be just a few doors from Eglinton Junior Public School, which is simply unable to accommodate those new residents. Old news This has been a problem dating back to when Ontario's school boards were amalgamated and brought entirely under provincial control. Toronto was growing rapidly – especially here in Don Valley North where the Sheppard subway was opening – but it was no longer directly responsible for school boards and their expansion. So a few years later, while I was still a TDSB Trustee, we had the Board’s real estate staff design a sign notifying potential homebuyers in new developments that there is no school capacity nearby. This means their children will likely be bused to another school. Beyond these signs, there are very few examples of school boards demanding changes to Ontario's Planning Act to provide school expansion where needed. What needs to happen In my view, two things need to happen: firstly, City Council needs to capitalize more often on opportunities to have developers fund school additions or have them build new schools outright. North Toronto Collegiate Institute is a terrific example – in a deal with the TDSB, Tridel bought land to build The Republic condominium development plus a new, expanded North Toronto Collegiate Institute. And in Don Valley North, when development was underway in Parkway Forest, I helped negotiate $500 per new unit of housing to fund an additional eight classrooms in the existing local elementary school. The recently redeveloped North Toronto Collegiate Institute Secondly, school boards need an official advocate at every LPAT hearing where an applicant proposes adding housing where there is no school capacity. I have been shocked in the recent past when the school board did not appear at hearings to dispute some extreme examples of over-building and under-schooling – because when they do appear they can be very successful. Two good examples are the case of Parkway Forest mentioned above and Jesse Ketchum Public School. In that case, the TDSB appeared as a registered party in an OMB hearing regarding the new Four Seasons Hotel and received funding to enhance the school. Even when they are not as successful, I believe school boards should always get on the record or rules will never change. The good news There is a spot of good news: regular advocacy at LPAT hearings is about to start happening on a regular basis. The Toronto Lands Corporation has now been charged with the task of all TDSB real estate matters and they intend to take a very active approach at hearings. Now that the provincial government has passed Bill 108 – which combines community benefit dollars and development charges, thereby reducing the amount of community infrastructure requirements on any development – the TLC understands they must make a case for new schools at every hearing. In a rapidly-growing city like Toronto, we must keep pressuring provincial bodies to build the school infrastructure our kids depend on.

This week my focus has been almost solely on transit in Toronto. I’m not complaining – it's been one of the most fascinating parts of my work since becoming a councillor in 2003. I am primarily a car-driver, but I didn’t get my driver's license until I was 33 years old and had two kids to schlep around. Nowadays, I have your average suburban family – getting where we need to be often means using a combination of cars, buses, trains and taxis. Our local transit roundtable, DVN Connects, gathered for their first meeting on Tuesday On Tuesday night, my team and I gathered members of the DVN Connects roundtable for their first meeting. They are a broadly-representative group of Don Valley North residents who, like my family, use different ways to get around the city, including cycling and Wheel-Trans. They're going to work with us throughout the year to do the deep dive necessary to develop solutions. Improving bus travel At the same time, the Toronto Transit Commission is working on its five and ten-year strategic plan. At our commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday, we saw a preview of the work. I saw real signs that the TTC is adjusting its focus to give us the best bang for our buck given the Premier’s plan to take over development of rail lines. The TTC's presentation zoomed in on bus travel. The TTC planning team is looking at bold solutions to bus travel. Solutions like this Brooklyn bus route may be piloted within the next five years. In all of Canada and the United States, there are 23 bus routes that sometimes exceed 60,000 riders a day. More than half of these – 12, to be exact – are TTC routes. This should come as no surprise in Don Valley North because two of these are the 25 Don Mills, 39 Finch and 85 Sheppard series. Those are the kinds of ridership numbers that justify building LRT and even subways – neither of which can happen quickly. That is why the five-year plan will take a look at best practices on how to improve bus travel on these routes. The five-year plan will focus on improving these routes with ridership of over 30K customers per weekday. In the case of Don Mills and Finch it's sometimes over 60K. Engagement As part of their public engagement on this plan, TTC staff will do pop-ups in subway stations to catch riders on their way to the bus terminals. They'll be in Don Mills Station on July 4th from 3-6 PM. I'm a big fan of this direct type of consultation. Often, public meetings in the suburbs start too early and are only easily accessible by car. When proposing to alter roadways, we want to hear from car drivers, of course – but we need to make a special effort to reach transit riders. For example: back in 2008, when the Transit City plan was being finalized, I insisted we visit Don Mills Station to ask riders how they would make the mode change from the Sheppard subway onto an LRT to continue into Scarborough. The now-scrapped Transit City plan proposed a Sheppard East LRT extending from Don Mills Station. There was debate about stacking the tracks on top of each other or extending the subway track so switching vehicles could happen on one platform. Riders hands-down chose the second option, even if it meant having to close down the subway platform for construction. Some may find this response surprising, which is exactly why it's important to meet people where they are to learn about their experiences. Where you fit in Torontonians have become pretty knowledgeable about transit because of the political football played with it. But you may be wondering where you fit into this great debate about transit in Toronto. Well – DVN Connects needs to hear from you and so do I. That's why we want you to join us for a big town hall this coming Monday. We're making this one special – you will be able to pinpoint your transit needs by adding to an interactive map. We'll also have a presentation from a couple of transit experts before giving you the floor. Please come by to tell us how you move around Toronto. We need to know your journey as the DVN Connects roundtable develops advice on how to best plan for mobility in Don Valley North.

This Thursday's e-blast topic was determined weeks ago – we knew that by today, my team and I would have attended two different meetings about the various ways you and your family can be safer. On Monday afternoon, during Toronto's historic Raptors rally, family safety took on an entirely new meaning. Over 1 million people gathered in the downtown core last Monday to celebrate the Raptors. I was standing with my three grandchildren in a space reserved for MLSE guests and City staff, overlooking the crowd of over one million people, when a shooting occurred just south of us. As a mass of people surged towards us to flee the area, I grabbed my grandkids' hands and raced back to my office. Later, when speaking with my daughter, we realized we didn't have a thorough safety plan for incidents where our family could be separated in a crowd. Turns out my husband, Sandy, had a plan – hours later, my daughter discovered he had tucked away my phone number into each kid's pocket. My grandkids consider themselves Raptors superfans, but they got to meet THE Superfan, Nav Bhatia, during the celebrations. After Monday's events, my family is working together to come up with a concrete safety plan, and I urge you to do the same. Sadly, we found ourselves in lockdown inside City Hall for long enough that it became impossible to get our supplies – and ourselves – up to Don Valley North in time for our Transit Town Hall. We have re-booked the meeting for Monday, July 8th – see our updated poster below for more detail. Loaded night A week ago, we attended two meetings before racing home to watch the Raptors win the NBA Championship. We started at Pineway Public School where traffic and pedestrian safety is top of mind. Everyone in the surrounding neighbourhood agrees that Pineway Boulevard has become far too popular as a shortcut for drivers, creating a dangerous environment for schoolchildren and pedestrians. The problem is there are differing opinions when it comes improving the situation. In their meeting with 8 80 Cities, residents expressed their thoughts and concerns about Pineway Blvd. We brought a community not-for profit organization to meet with the neighbourhood and work with them to pilot traffic-calming solutions. 8 80 Cities is a respected organization with a global reputation. Their philosophy is: "...if everything we do in our public spaces is great for an 8 year old and an 80 year old, then it will be great for all people." Together, 8 80 and Pineway residents will be designing temporary features to calm traffic that you will see in practice when school resumes this fall. Theft prevention After Pineway, I raced over to Bayview Village where Division 33 police officers were discussing crime prevention with residents. The Bayview Village Association decided to host this event because there has been concern among residents about home break-ins and car theft. There, Officer Lesley Henry reminded me of safety tips I should know but still need to be reminded of. Number one on the list: use your garage for your car! If you don't use your garage and have a couple of cars coming or going, any decent crook can figure out your schedule and break into your home. He can also quietly slip into your car and drive away even without a key. Bayview Village resident Melany Moss had her Lexus SUV stolen in March. The neighbourhood association has been alerting residents to car thefts in the area. - Dan Pearce/Torstar Car thieves use devices that read and mimic your key fob and they can do it right through your front door. Don’t drop your fob on the table right inside the door. The best strategy is to bring it further into your home and place it into something metal, like a coffee can or flower pot. Protecting your home It's finally warm out but don’t leave your home with the windows open. Thieves love to work in the daytime – in fact, 70 per cent of home theft occurs between 9 and 11 AM. If no one’s home, they’ll slip around back and find that window you left open after breakfast. Once in the backyard, your neighbour won’t even notice as the thief cuts through the window screen and into your home. They may not be attractive, but police say these stickers are effective deterrents for potential thieves. Lots of people have alarm systems these days but most of us don’t want to spoil the curb appeal of our homes with a big ugly alarm company sticker. My advice? Just use the darn sticker. Police officers will tell you these things are actually quite effective deterrents. A combined effort Police officers spend a tremendous amount of time on these types of crimes. At the meeting last week, police assured residents they will continue to take home and vehicle thefts very seriously, but they need us to do our part, too. That means making an effort to eliminate the opportunity for these crimes in the first place. You can check out this link to the Toronto Police Services crime prevention page for more pointers like the ones I outlined here. If you would like police to bring a similar presentation to your association, condo board or community group, let us know. My team and I are dedicated to making sure your family and your communities feel safe.

After last week’s e-blast, I received a number of insightful follow-up messages. One in particular encompassed everything in one email. I won't reveal the writer's name but they raised good points - let's take a look. The reader asks: "You mentioned that KPMG asked each department a number of questions about keeping costs in line. Are the departments asked if they entertain quotes from non-union suppliers in Toronto? I recall when part of the city garbage collection was contracted out. When the possibility of expanding the area was being looked at, the city union(s) asked to be able to compete. What happened to that? Does the city monitor the number of user licenses they pay for with the various software programs they use? Is the Repairs and Maintenance expense monitored for the Ambulance Services to make sure only necessary work is done? Does the city have control of who uses city credit cards?" That's a lot to cover - I know many of you share these same questions, so let me break them down for you. Non-union suppliers In most departments of the City, there is a mix of non-union, union and management-level staff. Every department executes their capital budget work (state-of-good-repair work, expanding or building new facilities, purchasing vehicles) by tendering the work to contractors in the private sector. Not all of our contractors are required to use unionized employees but they do have to pay a fair wage based on a rate set by the City. Toronto's paramedics are represented by municipal worker's union CUPE Local 416. Contracted garbage pickup Even before Green For Life (GFL) became the City’s contractor for curb-side garbage collection west of Yonge Street, a large part of Solid Waste Management Services had become non-union. This includes hauling garbage to landfills, state-of-good-repair work and some collection at high-rise buildings are contracted out. Three years after GFL started collecting from homes west of Yonge Street, City staff studied waste collection across the City. What they found was that the cost was the same, on a per house basis, whether private or union employees did waste collection. Staff recommended that we keep this 50/50 model because the dynamic tension between the two types of employees creates a motivation for savings and efficient service on both sides of Yonge St. GFL is a contractor for solid waste collection west of Yonge Street. The missing piece I’ll combine the rest of the questions because they all pertain to City audits. These questions all arise from reports from the Auditor General. The reality is that Toronto's public service is larger than most provinces - large governments need independent auditors and accountability officers to combat waste and breaches of integrity. The resident’s question demonstrates one missing piece in our accountability system - our communication. When our Auditor General unearths something inappropriate, it makes headlines. What never makes the news are the actions taken after. We need to do a better job of communicating the good news to set your mind at ease. Toronto's Auditor General sounded the alarm last April regarding the work forestry contractors do for the City. What you don't hear about When the Auditor General exposes wrongdoing, consequences such as dismissals, contract cancellations and even seeking damages in court happen regularly. Often, a quick resolution is contingent on both sides agreeing to confidentiality. Sometimes, when you see Council recessing its public meetings to go in camera, or in private, it is because we are receiving information about these consequences from our City Solicitor. Always feel free to ask me about these matters. One thing I always make sure of when my colleagues and I are in these private meetings is to ask what exactly I can share with you - because you need and deserve that assurance from your representatives.

Does anyone remember eight years ago when the City of Toronto went through an “outside auditor" efficiency hunt? It was called the Core Service Review and it was conducted by world-renowned third-party auditors, KPMG. KPMG spent four months hunting through divisions of the City of Toronto looking for efficiencies. The auditors asked in every area of service: What do you do and with what resources? Who directed you to do it: Council or the City Manager, and why? Is it still necessary? If so, is it being done as cost-effectively as possible? What they found was that these questions were already being asked annually during our budget process – the harmonizing of services had largely taken place in the first decade of the Mega City. The auditors were satisfied that issues of fraud or waste seemed to be getting surfaced and stamped out through the robust audit process of Toronto’s own independent Auditor General if they hadn’t come to light in the budget process. So instead, KPMG made a long list of suggestions on what we should stop doing or do less often. The City erupted in controversy and residents lined up in the hundreds to speak to Mayor Ford and his Executive Committee. Twice that summer, meetings ran 22 hours long – leaving councillors to listen all night, grab some breakfast and then start another day. Anika Tabovaradan, a modest 14-year-old who hates public speaking, was the emotional high point of the 22-hour executive meeting. KPMG's recommendations Here's a sampling of what KPMG recommended we cut or scale-back: • Toronto's target of 70 per cent waste diversion from landfill is "very aggressive." A slowdown could yield savings. • Toronto currently conducts street sweeping throughout the summer. The report suggested only sweeping residential streets in the spring. • Elimination of windrow clearing of snow and introducing higher thresholds for all snow-plowing operations. • Elimination of the fluoridation of Toronto water. • Elimination of Community Environment Days (held jointly by City councillors and Solid Waste Management staff to facilitate pick-up of hazardous waste). • Elimination of the four free overflow bags of garbage each household is allotted per year. • Elimination of commercial waste collection for small businesses. • Reduction of the scale of cycling infrastructure throughout the city. • Consider reducing the number of libraries or their hours of operation. • Consider sale of the Toronto Zoo. • Consider sale of heritage attractions such as the Zion School House and Gibson House. • Consider sale of all three of the City’s theatres. One of the areas the external auditors suggested we cut was winter road maintenance, including windrow clearing. All over again And now, in a Groundhog Day exercise, Premier Doug Ford is offering up $7.5 million in cash for any Ontario city to repeat that whole process. It promises to be just as superficial as the exercise his brother ordered eight years ago. In 2011, KPMG freely admitted there was not a lot they could find in a complex organization without hurting services. They were impressed with our Auditor General office and its fraud and waste hotline. That’s because the AG’s investigations can get quite forensic and they take as long as is necessary. Two current-day examples are the tree-trimming invoice issue that recently made headlines and the issue of fare evasion at the TTC. Each investigation took at least a year but the findings are conclusive and the City is able to confidently take the recommended actions. Millions of dollars will be saved – but not enough to replace the immediate $178 million that the Premier wants to cut from city services in time for next year’s City budget. Toronto's Auditor General, Beverly Romeo-Beehler, reports quarterly to Council through the Audit Committee, identifying savings, operational efficiencies, and policies to keep staff and Council accountable to the taxpayers of Toronto. Why not? Where we struggle is that we are running out of places to make big savings. We have already privatized areas that yield savings. Eliminating duplication of services left over from amalgamation used to make it possible to find $60 to $80 million in efficiencies in just one budget year. Now, those opportunities have all been realized and we are finding efficiencies of $10 or $15 million per year. Mayor Tory has indicated he would be happy to talk about the City’s operations and welcomes any auditor to have a look. But an outside auditor will ask the same basic questions that Councillors and the Auditor General already ask every year – are we doing everything as cost-effectively as possible? Answering that question always takes time. Can we combine administration for Fire and Paramedic services? The answer is yes – and we are doing this gradually, over the course of several years. Can we sell our theatres? Not without taking away all their valuable community uses people rely on. And we have amalgamated all three theatres under one board of directors, one CEO and one administration, making them more viable. These are lasting savings and when auditors recommend them, your Mayor and Council act on them with rational, steady hands. So if we have to go through this process again – with outside auditors suggesting to eliminate a city service you can't live without – I’ll be happy to stay awake for another 24 hours to listen to you and defend the services that make Toronto your home.

It's getting more and more difficult to not dedicate each of these weekly e-blasts to provincial politics instead of City Hall. Every day we learn of a new action by the provincial government that impacts the way my team and I are trying to serve you. This week in Council On Tuesday, Council reviewed a report from the City Manager and motions from Mayor Tory on the $177 million the province wants to rip out of our City's 2019 Budget. The provincial government wants Toronto to continue delivering Public Health, Childcare services and Ambulance services while they claw back an enormous share of the costs, leaving us with a gaping hole in our Budget. While we were discussing this up in the Council chamber, the phones began to ring and emails started pouring in to our Ward 17 office. Parents whose children attend the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Saturday School hosted in Forest Manor Public School were calling us in a panic. The TDSB hosts Saturday language schools across Toronto and have done so for years – now they are facing $42 million in cuts from the province as well as inflationary pressures that bring the total cut to $67.8 million. This means so-called "nice-to-haves" like Saturday language schools will have to go. Never mind that these programs build intellectual capacity while helping children strengthen healthy ties to their own family heritage. Bill 108 On Wednesday, calls and emails continued to pour in from the Armenian community while I went up to the Chambers for day two of our Council meeting. I had to leave Ani Dergalstanian in our office working on a course of action to help our Armenian community, as I needed most of the day to grapple with a presentation from the City’s Chief Planner on the impacts of Ontario's Bill 108. I believe Housing Minister Steve Clark is simply hoping you won't be interested in a piece of legislation detailing how planners and developers interact. It's even titled "More Homes, More Choice" so that you might not even bother with it. I think you'll feel differently once you read between the lines – look at this visual of just one major change the Bill proposes: Current regulations Toronto has done nothing but absorb growth, especially over the past decade. It's been a challenge for everyone, but we have been effective in using planning regulations to make sure growth pays for growth. That's because currently, developers make their profits even after they pay for infrastructure in three different ways: 1 Firstly, we collect development charges that are pooled and used to build hard infrastructure city-wide. This is so things as basic as water pipes and transit stations can be improved for everyone's benefit. 2 Second, we collect spaces for parks either in the form of the land itself or through cash that can be used to create more green space in the area. This is because we believe all density needs to be balanced with livable green space. 3 Lastly, we collect Section 37 funds which are then used very locally to mitigate the impact of new development in the immediate neighbourhood. Bill 108 removes the fairness of the three approaches above and replaces them with just one Community Benefit calculation that is still unclear. If applied literally, it exposes almost a billion dollars a year in current growth benefits to reduction or outright elimination. Proposed changes I need you to join myself and my neighbouring councillors, John Filion and Jaye Robinson, to learn more about this. There is an urgent notice below for a community meeting we are holding on May 27th. Oh, and if you were planning on giving this meeting a pass, I'll let you know one more thing. Any resident living along the Sheppard subway line had long wished for the elimination of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). This tribunal existed so that developers could appeal and have a tribunal override any planning decisions by City Council. When the OMB was finally replaced in 2017 with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), we breathed a sigh of relief. LPAT was designed to force cities and developers to achieve a mutual settlement. It also worked to improve resident participation, providing them with a dedicated legal support centre. The LPAT residents’ support centre was removed shortly after the provincial election and now, Bill 108 re-instates the tribunal’s right to override City Council in favour of developers. In a particularly deceptive move, it will continue to be called the LPAT, but it will function exactly like the OMB did. Bill 108 is being rushed through the legislative process without consultation. If you care about managing growth in our community, you need to attend our meeting on Monday, May 27th to learn all about it. We’ll also be joined by our Chief Planner, Greg Lintern. Afterwards, we’ll help you reach your MPP and the Premier. Don Valley North is one of Toronto's fastest-growing communities. We need to ensure that growth is managed responsibly and collaboratively – if you agree, I need you at this meeting.

It's time for me to deliver on one of my campaign promises to you – our official Transit Roundtable! Last fall, when candidates for City Councillor were campaigning at your door, they would often pledge to build transit along Sheppard Avenue East. When I arrived at the door, residents would tell me what other candidates had said and asked what my own plan was for Sheppard. My plan Whenever this came up, I would be brutally honest – I think you’ve had enough snake oil. It simply made no sense to promise anything in the last city election due to sweeping governance changes. Additionally, the future of the Sheppard Line had already been taken over by the provincial government back in 2012. Instead, I committed to something I could actually deliver on: a transit roundtable with Don Valley North residents. And after months of planning, we're finally ready to launch DVN Connects. I described my roundtable idea at every opportunity during the election campaign. I suggested that instead of waiting for the new provincial government to make proposals without our consultation, I would gather a broadly representative group of residents to discuss our transportation needs. The group would learn about the best options for Sheppard and other routes in a constructive and collaborative environment. The landscape A couple of weeks ago, Premier Ford presented a new map of transit plans for Toronto. I'll admit to ranting about it on social media – it could potentially waste a lot of money if the plan doesn't make use of the engineering studies we have already done on the Scarborough subway and Downtown Relief Line. But I am interested in the dashed lines on Ford's transit map below: There is a line that extends east from the Sheppard subway. The line is dashed, which means it's "not currently funded" and there is no description of what type of transit the line will be. My office called Metrolinx right away and learned there is no design or plan for Sheppard for at least a few years. That creates the perfect blank canvas to begin our own discussion. How it works Here is how DVN Connects will work: until May 31st, you can go to my website and apply to be a part of the roundtable at shelleycarroll.ca/dvn-connects. Using a name-blind process, we will review the applications and put together a group of people that includes daily TTC riders, commuters with mobility challenges, daily car commuters, business owners, retirees and youth with as much socio-economic and cultural diversity as possible. Over a series of meetings, these folks will hear from transit experts and discuss our vision on how to best move our community. At the same time, the broader community will also get loads of opportunities to provide their feedback and ideas. Throughout the summer, whenever we have a community event, we will have a DVN Connects table where you can share your thoughts. We’ll also have a dedicated Transit Town Hall on June 17th. So, be sure to mark that date and plan to attend. Here are the details: Don Valley North Transit Town Hall Date: Monday, June 17th Time: 6:30-8:30 PM Location: Fairview Library Theatre By that time we will have chosen our roundtable members. Their first exercise will be to attend the Town Hall and listen to your thoughts and feedback, which will form the basis of their work from then on. A couple of years from now, the provincial government and Metrolinx will arrive in Don Valley North to consult with us on their transit vision – they'll be surprised to find a community that is fully engaged and loaded with information on how to build our vision.

Our office has received a few calls recently about the cost of garbage pickup. There was talk about the proposed cost increase of Toronto’s Solid Waste Management Services during budget season. But with so much going on lately between battles for education, public health, childcare and transit, who could possibly remember details from months ago? The former Keele Valley Landfill, once the largest in Canada Background In the old days, unsorted garbage was loaded on a buggy and driven to the edge of town to be dumped. There was plenty of room out there and with no plastics, foils or even polyester, garbage would break down pretty quickly. Now, we must carefully sort garbage and reduce our reliance on landfills because our planet is running out of waste disposal options. Alternatives to landfills are now outrageously expensive – if we changed over from traditional landfilling, we would still need to reduce our garbage footprint to make it affordable. At the City, we have a nickname for the staff team over at Solid Waste Management Services – we call them "The Measurers". No other city service is so weighed, measured and studied. The Measurers are constantly evaluating ways to control garbage volume at homes, businesses and at the manufacturing source to control costs and reduce harm to our environment. That is how garbage came to be removed from your property tax bill and moved to your utility bill, along with your water. At the BVA Community Spring Cleanup last weekend A few years ago, we pulled the cost of garbage off your property tax bill and made it a utility so you could see it on your water bill. Both of these services are based on how much you consume. Services that are purely consumption-based, in my view, shouldn’t be taxed based on the value of your house. A family who diligently reduces/reuses/recycles may live in the largest home on the block – and they should be rewarded for their efforts. Today When we first started charging for waste as a utility, we applied a rebate of $200 per household from the property tax pot because moving every budget item to do with solid waste took time. What you see on your bill now is the true and total cost of Solid Waste Management Services. All its costs are now moved over to the utility and like Toronto Water, running debt-free. We want to incentivize homeowners to switch to the smallest bin they can so the old $200 rebate is being phased out gradually in the order of largest to smallest. Here’s where the bin charges and rebates stand currently Your bin fee is still an amazing bargain: it manages all our curb-side collection every week, all eight transfer stations, the cost of shipping recyclables to international markets, organics to multiple processors, mulching yard waste to compost, trucking residual garbage to the Green Lane Landfill near London, and all the administration of bin programs and bills. The numbers Look at it this way – my house has three adults with regular visits from another adult and three grandkids. With proper sorting, we use a small black bin. This year it will cost us $1.92 a week and even after that rebate is removed in future years, a small bin will cost $5 a week. My extra-large blue bin and green bin come at no charge. I’m a real "Sorting Cop" as my family will attest. Even if we slacked off a bit and went up to a medium bin it would still only set my bustling family back $4.65 per week. If you need a large or extra-large black bin, these cost $8.23 and $9.53 per week, respectively. These sizes are no longer rebated. If you need these bigger bins it's often because you don't sort your waste properly or because you have a large number of people in your home. If it’s the latter, consider how many people are being served weekly for that amount. But I’ll bet it's possible to change your sorting habits to reduce the size of your black bin. The city has lots of resources to help you, like the Waste Wizard. I’m happy to help as well. Come and see me at the following events – let's talk about it! You may be closer to achieving zero waste goals than you ever thought possible. Don Valley North Compost Days Pick up compost for your garden, meet your Councillor and local organizations, and have your say on your community! Saturday, May 18th from 10am-12pm at Clydesdale Park Saturday, May 25th from 10am-12pm at Bayview Village Park If you have any questions, send us a message at councillor_carroll@toronto.ca.

Last July, as Councillors were on the campaign trail, there was quite a bit of talk at doors about 311 services. This is common in the summertime – when the days grow longer and people venture outdoors more, the number of 311 calls, emails and tweets naturally go up. That's because people notice more things that need to be brought to the City’s attention. As a result, response times at 311 can become a challenge. Toronto's 311 call centre received over 1 million calls in 2018 Councillors acted on complaints about 311 response times with a motion requesting a review of its services. The report has come back this week (you can read it here) and I think you'll find the results interesting. Findings The central 311 system is best known as a phone-in service. Most people never find themselves calling until there is an extreme case like a bad storm or flood, at which point they discover the phone lines are totally swamped. However, the recent review shows 311 users are starting to use the email platform, the self-service web page and even Twitter to initiate service requests. 311 responded to a record number of calls during the ice storm in 2013 The review also shows that in a majority of cases, 311 staff are responding and addressing issues within the service levels councillors voted for in the last few Budgets. This means simple cases are solved quickly and more complex ones can take a few days. Fortunately, staff have improved the way residents can check on the status of their cases by going online. If you haven't yet taken the time to familiarize yourself with the 311 Toronto website, you should. Their emailand Twitter platforms see far less volume than the phone lines and are very user-friendly. If you do want to stick to the phone, consider calling later at night. The report Now, the most interesting reading in the report is Appendix C at the very end. It lists all the various calls that flood the lines at 311, sorted by division and then by wards. Staff use this type of data to determine which services they need to invest time and energy in improving. Councillors can also use the chart to determine the services their constituents need most and advocate for them at City Council. Requests to fill potholes are one of the most common calls to 311 across the city The 311 data is provided in public documents like this for you to scrutinize, as well. I invite you to do the backstroke through Appendix C. You will get an idea of the kinds of things that are perfectly fine to call in for. You may see something that gets you thinking and want to give feedback on the improvements I should be demanding for you. Unfortunately, I can't be everywhere at once – so when you call 311 or my team with a concern, you are playing an important role as our much-appreciated eyes on the street.

Every year when the Ontario Budget is announced, the hallways at City Hall get eerily quiet. Anyone who is not already in a meeting runs towards the nearest TV to watch the announcement. That’s because there are so many services the City delivers to you through shared costs that it's fair to say our province's budget is as important as our own. How Ontario's budget affects Toronto Why is Ontario's budget so important for Toronto? Here's an example: while the provincial government contributes nothing to the operation of our low-income housing and day-to-day transit operations, we rely on their contribution to build those housing and transit systems. We also rely on the province to partner with us on major state of good repair work in both housing and transit, even though their contributions have been scarce for decades. The 2019 Ontario Budget is titled "Protecting what matters most." Toronto also delivers preventative health care programs, addiction services and disease control on behalf of the province through Toronto Public Health. We operate nine long term care homes in partnership with the province as well as 49 childcare centres, 21 employment and social service offices and all our shelters and supportive housing. Transit You already know the Premier plans to build new transit in Toronto. What gets far less media attention is his silence on State of Good Repair. We know that over the next 10 years, the TTC system needs about $20 billion in track replacements, vehicle purchases, signal updates and bus garage overhauls. Many of those repairs were going to be funded by revenue from a provincial gas tax – now that Premier Ford cancelled any increase to that tax, it's unclear how we will close the gap. A TTC subway work car - our system needs about $20B in upkeep over the next 10 years Health care Toronto Public Health delivers 75 per cent of its programming through provincial funds and the other 25 per cent through property taxes. This has been the formula since just after the SARS epidemic. Now, the province wants to reduce its contribution to Toronto Public Health by $200 million and adjust its funding formula – I can tell you right now your property taxes can't pick up the slack. EDITOR'S NOTE: Just one hour before this publication,Premier Ford's government announced a $1 billion cut to Toronto Public Health over the next 10 years, effective immediately. Affected programs will include disease prevention, water quality, immunizations, overdose prevention, infectious disease control, food safety, student nutrition and more. Click here for a full statement by Joe Cressy, Chair of the Board of Health. Child care There are deep concerns for our childcare system. The province announced an enhanced child tax credit for parents and yet the overall ministry budget was cut by 2.2 per cent. The budget alludes to increasing opportunities for for-profit childcare in public schools, but there is no mention of increasing subsidies for low-income families using public childcare. Last year, Toronto Children's Services and City Council made commitments on three fronts: adding more subsidies to lift families out of poverty, leveling off or decreasing costs for parents paying full costs and lastly, improving the training and pay rates for childcare workers. We made our contribution to these goals in our City Budget but there is no mention of this from our provincial partner. Social services In Toronto Employment and Social Services, we expect the province will continue to pay their 80 per cent share of welfare cheques as well as 50 per cent of the administration costs for the program. However, there will be no inflationary increases to either welfare or disability support cheques. The province wants to reduce costs in this department by 21 per cent with "details to follow," so we expect job placement and support programs we deliver for the province will suffer. A snapshot of some of the services provided by TESS Senior care There is a bright spot: it should come as no surprise (given the campaign promises of all three provincial parties during the 2018 election) that there is investment in seniors' care. Ontario is promised 15,000 new long-term care beds and as many upgrades to existing beds. There is also a new dental care program for low-income seniors – Toronto can help deliver this. We have dental care centres in schools and at the North York Civic Centre. It was my own motion as a first-term councillor that turned Mayor Mel Lastman’s spacious North York office into a dental clinic upon his retirement. Carefree Lodge at Bayview and Finch We also have a shovel-ready facility in Scarborough that will deliver 128 new long-term care beds. We hope to soon have details on how many of the existing beds in nine city-run homes can be upgraded with the new funds. Toronto city staff have a detailed index of upgrades they can move on immediately – Carefree Lodge in Don Valley North, for example, is ready for upgrades if funded. Conclusion I’ll end by speaking about education and healthcare – these two mega-ministries are described in optimistic terms in the provincial budget, but both received increases below the rate of inflation. While municipal governments do not deliver these services, under-funding them is cause for concern in any city that wants to remain liveable. Thousands of people packed Queen's Park earlier this month to protest education cuts Our economy is driven by the good health and knowledge capacity of our citizens. Our most vulnerable citizens are made even more so when these ministries fail them. And in the long run, that costs us all. I’ll be standing with students, patients, healthcare workers and education workers who are vocal about losing much-needed supports. Our City depends on them to deliver.

It's been an eventful week – massive provincial announcements aside, my team and I met with three different communities in Don Valley North to discuss playground renewal projects and school traffic safety proposals. We also welcomed the curious and brilliant Grade 5 students of Arbor Glen Public School to discuss how City Hall works – and let me tell you, if those students are any indication, the future of Toronto is in good hands! The Grade 5 students of Arbor Glen P.S visiting City Hall earlier this week Speaking of the future of our City – earlier this week, I joined my colleague Councillor Stephen Holyday on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Steve added Gabriel Eidelman, an Assistant Professor at the Munk School's Global Affairs and Public Policy program. Together, we discussed how Toronto’s governance system has been impacted six months after the major changes imposed on us by the new provincial government. I'm going to expand on our discussion, but if you missed the program you can tune in here: On The Agenda discussing the impact of our downsized City Council What's changed? So, what has changed? The short answer is that councillors are a lot busier now. Most of us have double the number of constituents to serve and more committee assignments at City Hall. On the surface that may not seem like a bad thing, and there's no argument that with fewer members Council and committee meetings go by much quicker now. But the impact of downsizing City Council goes beyond simple efficiencies. It boils down to representation and the level of access you have to your councillor. The Premier's thinking is that a councillor's job is the same as an MPP or MP's, but it's fundamentally different – we deliver the hard services you use every day. That's why it's been a huge adjustment to go from serving 60,000 to over 120,000 residents. Monitoring the increased load of city facilities, agencies, subway stops and city repair projects has been a challenge. These are just a handful of the many core services your councillor delivers Looking ahead The silver lining is that Torontonians are finally talking about how much representation matters on the municipal level. Tomorrow morning, Councillor Holyday will Chair a meeting of the Special Governance Committee, of which I am a member. Our mandate is to take public input on methods to refine and improve the hastily-formed 25 member structure. We will receive a draft work plan from City Staff proposing a way to complete our task over the course of three more meetings by November 2019. The first time this Committee met in February, Chair Holyday invited citizens to present their ideas about what we ought to focus on. There were a surprising number of speakers who came to request that we look at election and campaign finance reforms to remove the huge advantage incumbents have. There are well-founded concerns about fairness in future super-ward elections like the last one I met with residents to discuss traffic safety at Arbor Glen P.S. It's important to me to have frequent meetings like this one so you feel heard and well-represented Now, I am an incumbent but I believe you should only ever be re-elected for doing a good job. That's why making an effort to remove incumbent advantage shouldn't be a concern to any hard-working councillor. I’ll be pushing hard tomorrow morning for the Special Governance Committee to dedicate a portion of its work to reforms such as ranked balloting, similar to San Francisco, and fundraising grants like the ones used in New York City elections. Community members have been asking for changes like these for many years now. You can take a look at a review of governance suggestions presented by Toronto residents here. I'm pretty certain we won’t achieve the perfect model of governance in just three more Committee meetings – but we owe it to the residents of Toronto to finally take a serious look.