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At City Council last week, we passed a number of important items aiming to tackle everything from affordable housing, to congestion, to transit, and much more. Below is a rundown on some of the biggest items we considered and how they'll impact our city and our neighbourhoods here in Don Valley North. Generational Transformation of Toronto’s Housing System to Urgently Build More Affordable Homes Council has adopted a new strategy to get a range of affordable housing built. In all honesty, it isn't really new at all. Decades ago, when our population was experiencing an extended post-war population boom, all levels of government were in the housing business. The Federal government was both funding and building housing, while Provincial governments created housing ministries and built housing on all sorts of business models, including social housing. It all worked perfectly well, until the governments that have access to income and sales tax decided to stop building housing and to stop funding the operation and repair of it. Since then, cities and provinces have tried to attract the private sector to build different types of affordable housing using a variety of incentives, from access to prime public land to special allowances to create density. Obviously, this has failed to keep up with demand. Any economic irregularity, like a pandemic or financial crisis, can cause the private sector to slow down or stop building. Each time this happens, Toronto falls further behind, as do most major Canadian cities. So where do we go from here? In a nutshell, Mayor Chow's strategy is to return to the days of the government acting as a public builder, but with one key difference: We would not only build social housing, but also housing that includes a number of market-value units so that there are ongoing profits to invest in maintenance and to fund the creation of more housing. Council has asked for a report back on five potential sites early in the New Year, but this plan is currently unfunded. We need investment from both the Provincial and Federal governments to create much-needed housing and provide construction jobs in a sector currently experiencing a slowdown. Exploring the Potential for Office Conversions - and Affordable Housing - in Downtown Toronto A true new development on the housing front: Council has directed Planning Staff to explore the potential to convert empty office buildings into housing. This type of evaluation is happening in every major city's downtown core post-pandemic. The leader of the pack on this front is Calgary, a city that had a serious office vacancy problem well before the pandemic. But even in Calgary, where they passed broad permissive regulation changes 18 months ago, very few conversions are underway. The challenge we face is that office buildings tend to have what we call "deep floor plates". Where residential homes must include windows in every distinct room but the bathroom, office buildings have tons of space at the interior of the building. Staff will report back in the New Year on how feasible large-scale office conversions would be here in Toronto. Update on the Toronto Community Crisis Service and Proposed Expansion Plan I've written many times about the Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS), a pilot project to develop a non-police response to persons experiencing mental health crises. In the summer of 2020, after the death of Regis Korchinski-Pacquet and the murder of George Floyd, I was militant about the need to create a successful model for community response to mental health crisis calls. Our Executive Director of Social Development, Denise Campbell, approached this assignment with rigour. She took every step necessary to ensure that this program would be successful, and the stats show that her efforts paid off: 78% of calls to the service were handled with no police involvement. We are now ready to scale up the program, which will be offered city-wide by July 2024. If someone you know or love is experiencing a mental health crisis, you should still call 911. A specialist will determine whether a uniformed officer should respond or if another option would be better suited to de-escalate and help them access the right supports. Advancing Waterfront East Light Rail Transit This item saw Council adopt financial recommendations and the design of the Waterfront East LRT. The design is about 60% complete, which is pretty much the point at which we can't make any further changes or tweaks. Some folks see transit as a zero-sum game, and wonder why we move forward with one project over another. This item includes an excellent and multi-faceted business case that shows why this long-overdue project needs the support of our city and the other orders of government. The potential waiting to be unlocked along this route truly is unmatched. The next time you take the DVP right down to the Gardiner, try to sneak a peek at the work going on along the East Waterfront. Once the renaturalization of the mouth of the Don River is done, there will be huge opportunities for housing and community building in the area. Strengthening Toronto’s Public Markets and Mid-Size Food Retail Infrastructure How many of us have dropped by a little pop-up farmers market in the last couple of summers? Maybe you have a family tradition of heading down to St. Lawrence Market once in a while. That's a little bigger, but still a public market. Public markets have sort of grown organically (pardon the pun) throughout the city over the years. The question is, have they been able to realize their full potential? Do they cover the map of the city, or do we need to encourage a few more to fill in some gaps? Earlier this month, the Economic & Community Development committee received a presentation from Marina Queirolo, the founder and steward of MarketCityTO, on Strengthening Toronto's Public Markets. Marina made a very good case for the abundant potential for public markets across the city, and Council has directed staff to draft a strategy to provide fair access to markets and the food security they provide across all wards. Updates on Vision Zero Road Safety Initiatives - New Traffic Calming Policy, Community Safety Zone Criteria, Zebra Marking Policy, Approach to Area-Based Speed Limit Reductions and Related Council Requests This item include a myriad of Vision Zero road safety updates, including expanded criteria for Community Safety Zones, requests to the Province to take greater action on impaired driving, and more. One of the most notable changes to come out of this item is the new process to implement traffic calming measures on a street. Previously, many traffic calming measures required polling on the affected streets, a process that is very time-consuming and can delay the installation of much-needed road safety measures. Now, if a street meets the criteria set out by City staff, our road safety experts, they can be approved at Community Council and installed much more quickly. I know many Don Valley Northerners know how big a change these measures can make for road safety on our streets, and trust that this new process will help the City act more quickly to protect all road users. As always, if you have thoughts or questions about any of the items here, don't hesitate to reply to my E-Blast or contact my office at councillor_carroll@toronto.ca.

As I'm writing this, I can see the first flurries of the season floating down outside my window. Snow always feels magical at this time of year, when it gently dusts tree branches and puts us in the holiday spirit. Unfortunately, the magic fades pretty fast, especially once that first winter storm inevitably hits. A beautiful snowy scene from the East Don Ravine. I know we had some serious challenges with snow clearing in Don Valley North last winter that may be making folks nervous about this season. Today, I want to update you on the action the City is taking to better monitor our winter maintenance contractors and share some helpful reminders for our coldest months. Let's get right into it. REVIEW OF NEW WINTER MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS In March of last year, I wrote a detailed E-Blast about the challenges we encountered with our new winter maintenance contractors. This was the start of a seven-year contract, so it's imperative that we get those kinks ironed out and make sure you are receiving the level of snow-clearing service you deserve. To this end, my Council colleagues and I directed staff to conduct a comprehensive review of the first year of these contracts and report back with concrete steps to improve service this season. Council received a report on this first year of service from our Auditor General back in July, and another update will be considered at Audit Committee tomorrow. The Auditor General has prepared a very handy at-a-glance update on their work to review our winter services, which you can view here: The long and short of it is that we are making progress on improving our winter services, but there are still a number of key recommendations that need to be fully implemented for us to see service levels come up to snuff. In particular, we need to ensure that all contractor equipment is equipped with working GPS for proper tracking. We also need to consistently enforce contract penalties and make sure our field auditors are conducting proper audits to support the enforcement of those penalties. This may sound somewhat technical, but the end goal is to make sure we are keeping tabs on our contractors and employing built-in penalties when they aren't delivering proper service to you. If this is done consistently, it should lead to better service delivery across the city. As I always say, you are our most effective performance evaluators. If you experience a one-off snow clearing issue, your first stop is to contact 311, either by phone or online. The 311 team keeps track of all winter maintenance concerns centrally and this helps us direct contractors to the right place to get those issues solved. If there is a recurring issue with snow clearing on your street this winter, whether that be an unplowed road, sidewalk, or windrows left in front of your driveway for too long, please contact my office. My team will make sure that these issues are flagged to a supervisor. The earlier you report these challenges to us, the better able we are to get it sorted out early in the season so that you can enjoy proper snow clearing for the rest of winter. I'm cautiously optimistic that the implementation of many of the Auditor General's recommendations will improve winter services this season, but I'll be keeping a critical eye on these services as we move through winter. As Budget Chief, I'm also looking at this with a stronger fiscal lens this year. It's essential that our contractors deliver. If they don't, we need to properly employ the penalties and clauses to help our City recoup some of the costs associated with their shortcomings. If we're putting all of our City departments under a microscope to find efficiencies and save costs in 2024, we have to do the same with our contractors. WINTER MAINTENANCE SERVICE LEVELS: ROADS, SIDEWALKS, & WINDROWS Speaking of reporting concerns, I find it's always helpful to remember the level of service to expect from our winter maintenance teams. Below is a handy chart that shows when different types of roads are salted and plowed, and how long it takes the contractors to complete each round of salting/plowing. Click on the table for more information Note that sidewalks aren't included in that table. That's because they are dealt with separately. The City only clears sidewalks when 2 cm or more of snow has accumulated. Before that, it's up to residents and businesses to clear the sidewalks adjacent to their property within 12 hours of the end of a snowfall. When the City clears sidewalks, we start with the busiest streets, particularly those that connect to schools and transit stops. Small local roads are often the last to receive sidewalk clearing, which can take up to 13 hours to complete and continue for up to 72 hours after snow has stopped falling. You can find all the details on sidewalk clearing below: I also want to take a moment to talk about windrow clearing. This is when a second plow comes by and clears the pile of snow at the end of your driveway after the road has been plowed. According to service standards, windrows are supposed to be cleared within two hours of residential street plowing being fully completed, if the windrow is at least 25 cm high. This can get a bit messy when multiple rounds of plowing are required. Windrow clearing issues were among the top complaints heard by my office last year, so rest assured it's something I'm going to be keeping a close eye on this season. Please let me know if you experience issues with windrow clearing on your street and my team will flag with staff. Our local Bestview Park covered in snow. MAKING THE MOST OF THE WINTER SEASON I want to end off by sharing some of the best things about winter in Toronto. We may have to deal with shovelling and waiting for our roads to be plowed in a storm, but there are also so many great winter activities for all ages to enjoy. There's everything from skating at indoor and outdoor rinks, to tobogganing and skiing on city hills, and so much more. You can find details on all the winter amenities in the city below: If you feel like making the trek downtown, there is also fabulous programming going on this week during the Cavalcade of Lights at Nathan Phillips Square. And speaking of holiday lights, I want to take a second to plug my very own Don Valley North holiday contest. Until December 13, you can email me a photo of your holiday decorations, indoor or outdoor, for the chance to receive a certificate and have your photos shared here in the E-Blast and on my social media channels. I can't wait to see how our neighbourhoods get in the holiday spirit! Enter our DVN Holiday Contest by emailing photos of your indoor or outdoor decorations to councillor_carroll@toronto.ca by December 13. I hope you and your families have a safe and wonderful winter season this year. Remember, my office is always just an email or phone call away should you need any assistance. The DVN team is here to help.

Yesterday, we finalized the 2024 City Budget. I know it has dominated both my E-Blast column and the news over the past month, and for good reason. This budget has a big impact on your life—not just because it affects your property tax bill but because it defines the way you experience life in this city every day. I am proud to say that, after working together to make some key changes to the budget Mayor Chow launched on February 1, there was almost unanimous support for the final budget at Council yesterday. Every tweak and change was a direct result of the feedback my fellow Councillors, the Mayor and I heard from you, our constituents. Thank you for taking the time to engage with this budget, whether you came out to one of our events, phoned into a Telephone Town Hall, or contacted my office to share your thoughts. This Budget is so much stronger as a result of your input. Let's take a look at where the budget sits now that everything is said and done, and some of the key changes that happened on the Council floor yesterday. First, I know that this year's property tax increase is a tough pill to swallow. Council supported the property tax increase of 8% for residential properties, plus the continuation of 1.5% to the City Building Fund created by John Tory. As I've shared in this column before, I would not have supported this increase if I didn't understand just how vital it is to the future of our city. We started this process by poring over every line of the budget and finding over $600 million in savings, the most ever found in a single year. That work never stops. Even with those savings, we needed to stop kicking the can down the road and fully account for the $1.8 billion budget hole we faced at the start of this process. With this increase, we are asking you to invest in this city to get us back on track. Now we need to make good on that investment. You have to see and feel those dollars being put to good use. It's time for my fellow Councillors and I to deliver the positive changes that Toronto so desperately needs. So what will those property tax dollars mean for your day-to-day life here in Toronto? It means you'll spend less time waiting for the bus, and that your TTC fare won't increase. When you take the TTC, you'll see more dedicated station officers to make our transit system safer. It means you'll find more affordable housing both created and preserved as we tackle the housing crisis. Tenants will see more inspectors hard at work to make sure our apartment buildings are up to standard and to help prevent evictions. It means there will be hundreds more firefighters, paramedics, and police officers hired to keep our city safe. If you need to call for help to support someone in mental health crisis, now they can be supported by non-police response anywhere in our city. Those were the big three areas Torontonians told us to focus in on: housing, transit, and safety. I also want to highlight some of the smaller investments that I think, in some ways, mean the most to the daily life of Torontonians. You'll see more roads repaired to keep our city moving. Our parks will be cleaner and more enjoyable to use, with more garbage bins and better access to water fountains and washrooms. We're also expanding fast-growing outdoor recreation like pickleball. These are the things that make life in our city feel good, instead of feeling like we're falling apart at the seams. As I shared at the top of this column, we also made some key changes to the Budget based on your feedback. These were achieved by using a small amount of revenue that came in when actual figures were calculated at the end of January. Chief amongst these changes was the decision to preserve windrow clearing after hearing from many folks across the city, seniors in particular, who rely on this service. There are also funds dedicated to hire more bylaw enforcement officers to deal with issues like noise; to plant and care for more trees; and to invest in youth programs and violence prevention programs that proactively keep our communities safe. Thanks to the Mayor’s focus on partnership with both the Provincial and Federal governments, we are also seeing more funds directed to police to tackle the biggest safety concerns in our communities, such as auto thefts. This resolves the difference between the Police's proposed budget and City staff's proposed budget, and helped achieve consensus amongst Council members. Now, all of these small changes are good investments for our city. As Budget Chief, I do have a responsibility to add a dose of realism. I ask that we all remember that when the 2025 Budget comes around, all of these small programs will have a full-year impact of even higher costs. In order to fund these annualized costs, meet the city's key challenges, and put forward a lower property tax increase, I will once again join City Finance staff in detailed reviews of every program and division. This year, that will include a new, more rigorous approach that is similar to the zero-based budgeting I have worked to implement with the City Manager and Chief Financial Officer. This hunt for savings and prudent financial management never stops. As dedicated E-Blast readers have heard me say before, property taxes were not designed to fund the vast social infrastructure our city now provides. Paying for all of that is wealth redistribution, and needs to come from revenue tools that grow with the economy and tax based on ability to spend, like income and sales tax. That is why it was so essential for both the Provincial and Federal governments to invest in transit, housing, shelter, and safety in our city. I will make sure we are putting those dollars to good use. Your contribution to this year's budget set us on a course to get this city back on track. Moving forward, Council has to be laser-focused on making good on those investments and delivering the services you rely on. I might get on some people's nerves, but I will remind my fellow Councillors of that regularly. Thank you for investing in our city. We can get back the Toronto we miss, and build a city that is green, clean, safe and affordable for all. Now, it's time to get to work.

In the midst of all the craziness that is Budget season, we do have a regular business session of City Council. It always feels like the calm before the storm. We'll have our special Council meeting to finalize the Budget on Valentine's Day next week. For now, let's take a look at the important matters we tackled at Council this week. EX11.1 - MUNICIPAL NON-RESIDENT SPECULATION TAX ON FOREIGN BUYERS OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY As part of the updated Long-Term Financial Plan adopted last summer, City Council directed staff to report back with a new land transfer tax on foreign buyers of residential property in Toronto. This report recommends one, and dubs it the "Municipal Non-Resident Speculation Tax". You can call it a foreign buyers tax for short, and it will be applicable on certain residential properties effective January 1, 2025. The primary objective of this tax is to increase the availability of housing and keep it more affordable by discouraging international buyers, particularly those who do not intend to live on the property. The Province of Ontario currently levies its own Non-Resident Speculation Tax, which is 25% of the purchase price of residential property located anywhere in Ontario. City staff are recommending adding a municipal foreign buyers levy of 10% on the purchase price for residential properties in Toronto. When coupled with other land transfer tax impacts, this rate is expected to deter the kind of international real estate speculation that jacks up housing prices in our city. By mirroring Provincial rules, we are also able to piggyback on their collection method, making this a very efficient tax to implement. EX11.5 & EX11.6 - APPLICATIONS TO & REVIEW OF THE IMAGINATION, MANUFACTURING, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (IMIT) PROPERTY TAX INCENTIVE PROGRAM In addition to my role as Budget Chief, I'm serving as the Mayor's Economic Development & Culture Champion. Delving into the world of economic development has been quite a journey for me, dating all the way back to 2007 when I joined what was then called "The Mayor's Economic Competitiveness Committee". That group was established to deal with our neglected downtown core. An incentive was established to attract new office development to the core, called "The Imagination, Manufacturing, Innovation, and Technology Property Tax Incentive Program" (IMIT). It worked very well, using property tax reductions to attract investment and then phasing the rates back to normal. IMIT has generated enough new investment to net us almost $120 million in additional tax revenue each year, once the IMIT reductions have been phased out.Council has asked staff to report back with an updated incentive program that will cost fewer dollars upfront and respond to the new post-pandemic reality we're facing. We need to find new ways to incentivize occupancy of vacant office space as opposed to building new offices. I'll be working closely with staff on this so that it can be a feature of Toronto's updated Economic Action Plan that will be launched later this year. EC9.4 - HOMELESSNESS SERVICES CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY (HSCIS) Back in November, City Council approved a "Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy" that lays out a long-term, proactive approach for Toronto Shelter and Support Services.  We need to improve the stability of the shelter system we are responsible for and, in partnership with the other orders of government, address the unprecedented demand for shelter beds we're currently facing. This strategy focuses on developing purpose-built shelters and gradually transitioning out of COVID-19 shelter hotels. We know that smaller shelters are better. Using hotels with far too many separate rooms to supervise and support cannot be a permanent state. The strategy directs staff to find 16 potential permanent sites over the next ten years that would accommodate an average of 80 residents per site. This strategy will take high priority in the City’s overall Capital Plan, as vacating the temporary shelter hotels is the goal for all of us. The hotel facilities are far more expensive to run than serving the same clients in purpose-built, right-sized facilities. EC9.5 - IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW OF THE NOISE BY-LAW Here's something we all know: A fast-paced and growing city of 3 million people is a noisy place to live. While we can't eliminate all noise, there need to be limits. Moreover, those limits have to be revisited from time to time as new noise challenges arise. The device used to measure decibel levels. In this report, staff have recommended a number of wording changes and other measures that tighten up the City's ability to enforce the noise bylaw and prosecute where necessary. These amendments are based on staff experiences as well as community input. A special shout out to the many community leaders who advocated on this issue, including No More Noise TO and Gasbusters. I’m looking forward to continuing our dialogue to make sure these new measures are properly enforced. There was also a big discussion at Council on vehicle noise. It seems Don Valley Northerners are not the only ones suffering from speed-racing racket at night. This is a difficult one to tackle, as bylaw officers have limited authority over moving vehicles. However, staff have agreed to report back on this matter in isolation at an upcoming Economic & Community Development Committee meeting. We'll also be hearing back from staff on noise from power devices at Infrastructure & Environment Committee later this year. IE10.1 - ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY SYSTEM FOR RED LIGHT CAMERA AND AUTOMATED SPEED ENFORCEMENT VIOLATIONS Toronto already has an administrative penalty system (APS) for parking violations that has been in place for some time. This stops the lower courts from being clogged up with people trying to challenge their parking tickets. Instead, people can fill out an online form to dispute a ticket and no courtroom is necessary. Now that we increasingly rely on automated cameras to enforce moving violations, such as running a red light or speeding, we're finding that fewer people are disputing tickets. It's hard to argue when you get a photograph of your own car committing the act. This means an APS with an online tribunal can probably replace yet another court lineup, both allowing for more efficient use of limited Provincial court time and reducing the number of police officers who need to use valuable hours to appear in court. I often get calls asking for new automated cameras to be installed in certain parts of our neighbourhood. The APS will allow us to save money that can then be invested into more cameras and the staff needed to review the footage. There are a few more cameras being installed around the city this year, and still more will hit the road in 2025. This moves us closer to our Vision Zero goals and saves our police the time needed to enforce unsafe driving—a real win-win. It was another productive Council session, and now I'm right back into the final week of Budget season. As I mentioned at the top of the column, the Budget will be finalized at Council next week. As always, I'll give a full rundown in this E-Blast. Stay tuned.

It's been a while since I shared a comprehensive transit update in this column. With an important report adopted at Executive Committee earlier this week and conversations swirling about a few of our soon-to-be rapid transit lines, this felt like the perfect week to do it. While the majority of our transit planning efforts here in Toronto are focused on supporting Provincial projects for higher-order transit, like subways and LRTs (Light-Rail Transit on Eglinton and Finch West), bus and streetcar routes are the true backbone of our city. These surface routes are essential to getting riders to the subway, and are especially important here in the inner suburbs. Currently, 70% of all TTC journeys include a bus or streetcar trip. That's why so many transit riders are frustrated that RapidTO, the City's plan to improve bus and streetcar routes, is turning out to be not quite rapid enough. Improving the reliability of bus transit in particular supports the City's priority of keeping Toronto moving. In our part of the city, a reliable bus network is what gets us to work, school, shopping, sports and cultural events, and to each other, allowing us to leave the car at home when possible. It's also an essential part of several other important goals to improve the wellbeing of Torontonians. Improving transit services in the inner suburbs is a key recommendation of the City's Poverty Reduction Strategy. It is also critical to meeting our TransformTO Net Zero Strategy goal of ensuring that 75% of trips under 5 km are walked, biked, or taken by transit by 2030, allowing us to reach our climate targets. At Executive Committee earlier this week, we adopted RapidTO in principle. This plan aims to create a comprehensive network of bus priority corridors along arterial roads, using tools such as reserved lanes, intersection and signal improvements, and improved frequency. All of these measures take cars off the road so that you can get where you need to be faster. A bus stop that is part of a RapidTO service route. Fans of the plan are frustrated that implementation across the city has been slow. To be fair, much of the initial execution of this plan started in Scarborough to plan for the closing of the Scarborough RT for subway construction. The plan does aim to improve surface transit across the city, and the report at Executive Committee moves us closer to that goal. Some readers may recall an early RapidTO virtual consultation here in Don Valley North. In that consultation, staff proposed potential routes for RapidTO treatments and the community was very concerned about Bayview Avenue becoming a transit priority route. The latest RapidTO report shows that Bayview Avenue is not recommended for priority, but it will continue to be studied long-term for overall traffic flow. Finch Avenue East, on the other hand, is included as a RapidTO route. This is an essential route for transit riders in Don Valley North, many of whom start their day with a long wait for a 39 bus with enough space to get on. Then, there is a very long ride to get over to Yonge Street. While the priority focus for RapidTO on Finch is east of Victoria Park, staff will eventually undertake a study to extend these measures west to Yonge Street. When I asked questions of Transit Planning Staff about this proposal at Executive Committee, I made sure that they are fully appreciative of the pinch point on Finch between Bayview Avenue and Yonge, where Finch loses its turning lanes. Staff assured me that they will take this into account along with up-to-date car volumes. This is a challenge on a few RapidTO candidate routes, and in these cases they may recommend implementation of bus priority lanes for only certain stretches of road. Once there is a concrete design proposal, it will come back out to us for consultation. The 39 Finch bus. Now, let's take a look at one of our soon-to-be rapid transit lines, the Finch West LRT. Once operational, this line will run from Keele to Highway 27 before dipping down to connect with Humber College. Executive Committee members were asked to adopt a legal operating agreement so that the TTC will be ready to operate the Finch West LRT on its potential opening date this fall. We were all a bit surprised when we read the report on this agreement. It seems hard to believe that the Province might be able to complete the Finch West LRT before the Eglinton Crosstown, even though work on Eglinton started a good seven years earlier than Finch. There is good reason for that: The Finch West LRT benefits from the fact that the subway expansion at Finch and Keele was constructed with a connection to the LRT in mind. That was not the case at the decades-old Eglinton Station when it came time to install an underground Crosstown LRT connection. While there is still quite a ways to go out on Finch Avenue West, and timelines can (and often do) change on such a big project, things are proceeding nicely on the Finch West LRT, we are told. We are very grateful for the Provincial New Deal funding that will support Toronto in operating this LRT line, along with the Eglinton Crosstown. Once the lines are ready to roll, the TTC has the budget to operate them. The Finch West LRT. My last update concerning inner suburban transit is quite a doozy, as my mom used to say. You may have heard the Mayor talk about the Scarborough Busway in her Budget announcement today. It occurred to me that I've never delved into the Busway in this column. If you aren't familiar with the Scarborough Busway, it's easy to describe. Transit activists and some Scarborough residents want the former Scarborough RT (Line 3) track to be removed and replaced with a dedicated rapid bus route. Staff have been working on the design of the Busway for a little over a year. Now, you may scroll up to the beginning of this column to make sure you weren't seeing things. Wasn't the point of prioritizing RapidTO priority bus lanes in Scarborough to account for the closing of the RT? Yes, you're right. As I already explained, the TTC worked with our Transportation staff to install a network of dedicated RapidTO bus lanes to provide reliable transit service for Scarborough commuters while the RT is closed and the Scarborough subway is not yet complete. You may have seen these red bus lanes if you've made a trip over to Highland Farms on Ellesmere for groceries, as I know many of you do. A RapidTO priority bus lane in Scarborough. I am very skeptical of the cost assumptions for this Busway. Currently, the cost is estimated at $67.9 million with only 60% of the design complete. Costs will include everything from demolishing the elevated track, to retrofitting the stations, re-grading and repaving the entire route, fencing and protecting riders from the adjacent GO Train tracks, and securing the right number of buses and operators for service that is frequent and therefore worthwhile. We also have to hope that ridership on this busway doesn't tank when the Province's Scarborough Subway opens up. That subway will, after all, deliver riders to the exact same destination without requiring a transfer to a bus. This is where the design process becomes very helpful, so long as people are prepared to listen to its findings. By the time we see a design that is 100% complete and costed, all of the above concerns will be taken into account and the viability will be evaluated. I'm in favour of letting the design process be completed and I am prepared to live by its professional findings. BUDGET UPDATE To close out, you probably know by now that Mayor Chow has launched her official Budget and has incorporated much of the advice of the Budget Committee. This budget addresses the most pressing needs facing residents across the city: protecting services, making critical investments in affordable housing, transit, and community safety, and getting our city back on track. This budget comes with some welcome news. The Mayor and I have heard Torontonians and taken steps to address the affordability concerns so many of us are struggling with. This includes a reduced property tax increase of 8% and 1.5% for the City Building Fund. There have also been some significant funding announcements from the Provincial and Federal governments in the past few days that have large implications for our budget and our city. I am thrilled to see Premier Ford and the Federal government come together and take much-needed action to tackle auto thefts in our city. This is a pressing issue in our communities and needs the coordinated response of all three orders of government. Coupled with the historic investments being made in Toronto's police and emergency services in the 2024 City Budget, we are seeing real steps being taken to make sure all Torontonians feel safer in our city. We have also heard an announcement from the Federal government that they will be providing funding to the City regarding the Federal refugee claimants stuck in our shelter system. While this announcement is a step in the right direction, we need clarity on the numbers to ensure that the Liberals have made a clear decision to deliver for Torontonians. Details should be forthcoming shortly. I look forward to continuing to work with Mayor Chow and my Council colleagues in the weeks ahead to ensure that we deliver for Torontonians. Of course, I will write a comprehensive update in this column once Council adopts the final Budget on February 14th.

We're still very much in the thick of the budget process. Earlier this week, my fellow Budget Committee members and I listened to two days of public deputations from residents across the city. I want to thank everyone who took the time to come out—the deputations we heard will help shape our recommendations to the Mayor when we formally wrap up the first phase of the Budget process at Budget Committee tomorrow. Mayor Chow will present her Budget on February 1, so I'll be back with a comprehensive update on that in next week's E-Blast. In this week's column, I want to share some reminders of the many things that are happening here in Don Valley North and across the city in the coming weeks. From upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations to vaccine clinics and another year of our fabulous Winterlicious program, there are so many reasons to get out and enjoy all our city has to offer this winter. WINTERLICIOUS This year marks the 20th anniversary of our Winterlicious program, which helps boost Toronto's restaurant industry during slower times of the year.  Starting tomorrow and until February 8, you can enjoy a three-course menu at over 200 fabulous restaurants across the city. I always say this is the perfect time to try out a new restaurant you've been eyeing or explore a new neighbourhood. Menus are prix fixe (meaning they offer all three courses for a set price), and range from $20 to $55 for lunch and $25 to $75 for dinner. Here in Don Valley North, we have four restaurants participating, all at Bayview Village Mall: Parcheggio, POPA Burmese Kitchen, Goa Indian Farm Kitchen, and Tabule. There are also some great spots over on Yonge Street, south on Don Mills Road, and, of course, dozens of Winterlicious locations downtown if you want to make the trip. You can view the full list of restaurants and a handy map at the link below: It's wonderful to see just how successful our Winterlicious and Summerlicious programs have been over the past two decades. Since starting in 2003, the program has generated over $350 million in economic activity. Toronto's incredible array of restaurants really is a key driver of our local economy, so be sure to get out and enjoy a Winterlicious meal while you can! FAIRVIEW LIBRARY THEATRE Some of you might not know that we have a live theatre right here in Don Valley North! Fairview Library Theatre has a great season lined up. They're kicking off 2024 with The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, a play about five women who met on their college swim team and have spent an August long weekend together every year since. It's "a hilarious and touching comedy about friendship that lasts forever." The play has its first performance tonight and runs until February 3. You can learn more and see Fairview Library Theatre's full schedule below: VACCINE CLINICS While we made it through the thick of the pandemic, COVID cases are still very much happening and it's important to stay up-to-date on your vaccinations. My office has heard from some parents and grandparents who have had trouble finding vaccines for children under five. I'm happy to report that Toronto Public Health is stepping in to fill that need. Toronto Public Health will offer pediatric COVID-19 vaccines at community clinics, as well as Novavax vaccines.  Operating on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 6:30 PM, community clinics are available throughout the school year at three locations: North York Civic Centre, 5100 Yonge St. Scarborough Civic Centre, 150 Borough Dr. Etobicoke Civic Centre, 399 The West Mall Appointments are required to get a vaccine at these community clinics. The pediatric vaccine is available to children five years of age and younger. The Novavax vaccine is available to anyone 12 years of age and older who is unable (due to allergies) or unwilling to get an mRNA vaccine. For children over 12 and adults looking for a regular booster, you can do so at pharmacies and select doctor's offices. Learn more about the Toronto Public Health clinics and book an appointment at the link below: LUNAR NEW YEAR While it's still a couple of weeks away, I always look forward to the wonderful Lunar New Year celebrations that our community puts on here in Don Valley North. This year marks the Year of the Dragon—the Wood Dragon, to be specific. The Wood Dragon represents creativity, calm, and confidence. We could all use some of that in our lives this year, along with the extra luck and prosperity that comes with any Year of the Dragon. I can't wait to join a number of Lunar New Year events in Don Valley North and across the city in the coming weeks. Fairview Mall puts on a wonderful celebration every year. I'll be joining their event on Sunday, February 11 at 2 PM to hand out red pockets and join in the festivities with the neighbourhood. I hope to see you there! WINTER STATIONS Many of us up in North York don't get down to the Beaches very often, but it's worth making the trip for the annual Winter Stations art installations. Winter Stations sees a number of art installations designed around the lifeguard towers on Kew and Woodbine beaches. These sculptures are often interactive, and they absolutely transform our city beaches. This year, the exhibition begins on February 19 and can be a great Family Day adventure for all ages to enjoy. Most of us can think of a thousand things to do in Toronto on a sunny summer afternoon, but it's worth remembering that our city is still buzzing with life in the winter. If you know of any other great events or activities happening in Don Valley North, North York, or Toronto, feel free to share them with me so that I can promote them right here in the E-Blast.

Join David Moscrop with Ted Aivalis, CUPE 416 Vice President and co-host of Left Looking In, with guests Shelley Carroll, Toronto City Councillor and Budget Committee Chair and David Amborski, Professor at TMU’s School of Urban and Regional Planning as they dive deep into the heart of Toronto’s future.

For the past two nights, I've been joining Mayor Chow to host the City's first-ever Budget Telephone Town Halls. As I shared when I took on the role of Budget Chief, the most important thing to me is that we are constantly in conversation with the community about the budget. That's why we held 16 pre-budget consultations back in November, and it's why we're hosting these Telephone Town Halls this week. I want to hear from you so we can build the future of our city together. Me with Mayor Chow, Chief Financial Officer Stephen Conforti (left) and City Manager Paul Johnson (right) at our first Telephone Town Hall on Tuesday evening. So far, tens of thousands of Torontonians have joined to listen in and share their thoughts, questions, and concerns about the proposed budget. Our final Telephone Town Hall is taking place tonight at 7 PM. If you want to take part, all you have to do is call 1-833-490-0778 (toll-free) at 7 PM and you'll be patched in. You'll hear from me, Mayor Chow, our Chief Financial Officer Stephen Conforti, and our City Manager Paul Johnson. There are opportunities to ask questions and share your feedback live on air, and hear from folks across the city. The great thing about these Telephone Town Halls is that they really are a snapshot of how the whole city is feeling. Folks are calling in from every corner of Toronto. I'm going to share the most common questions we've gotten and their answers in this column today, as I'm sure many Don Valley Northerners have similar ones. Let's dive into it. We start each Telephone Town Hall with a poll question that everyone answers with their phone. The question is: In our pre-budget consultations, residents identified three key areas for investment. Let’s see if this group agrees. Please select what service you think is most important to invest in, when the mayor delivers her budget on February 1? Affordable housing and shelters Good, affordable, reliable transit Police and making our city safer Other priorities for investment The pie chart below shows the answers we've gotten to that question so far: Overall, this is very much in line with what we heard during the Pre-Budget conversations back in November, and it's why this budget proposes strategic investments in those three priority areas. We're investing in multiple affordable housing initiatives, budgeting to hire over 300 more first responders across our police, fire, and paramedic services, and investing in safety measures on the TTC while freezing transit fares to get people back riding our buses, subways and streetcars. After the poll, we got into resident questions. I'm going to spell a few of them out below and share the answers provided by myself, Mayor Chow, CFO Stephen Conforti and our City Manager Paul Johnson. "Why is there $1 billion more spending in this budget?" – Celia from Etobicoke When we compare total spending in 2024 to 2023, there is $700 million more this year than last. However, most of that increase doesn't come from our property tax-supported operating budget. It comes from both of our rate-supported programs, Toronto Water and Solid Waste Management (mostly to support their capital work building infrastructure), and our flow-through and cost-shared social services that are delivered on behalf of the other orders of government. This includes things like the Federal childcare expansion and an increase to Employment and Social Services, whose caseloads are going up as more Torontonians access Ontario Works and ODSP. "How will seniors on fixed incomes be impacted by this tax increase?" – Elaine from High Park A few folks have contacted my office with this question as well. I want to make sure everyone knows about the City's Property Tax Increase Deferral and Cancellation programs. Seniors and people with disabilities with a household income of $55,000/year and under are eligible to have their property tax increase either deferred on cancelled. Our income threshold for this program is much higher than neighbouring municipalities like Markham, who only provide this support to households with an income of $40,000 or lower and individuals with an income of $23,000 or lower. This service is in place to make sure property tax increases don't increase the burden for people living on fixed incomes. You can learn more about the program and how to apply at the website below, or by calling 311. "Has City Council reviewed all department budgets for savings?" – Giuseppe from Scarborough We started a detailed, line-by-line review of every division in June 2023, a process that identified $620 million in offsets and savings. This isn't always about service cuts, it's about how we deliver service to be as efficient as possible. For example, we can look at things like how we procure medical supplies. We need to stock our long-term care homes and our various Toronto Public Health clinics. By bulk buying and then distributing to the divisions, we can save your property tax dollars. "In light of increased crime rates, with incidents up by 15-20% and 911 wait times upwards of 20 minutes, how do you propose to balance police resources for crime prevention and community safety?" – Sarah from North York This question became even more relevant today, when Budget Committee did our public review of the Toronto Police Services budget. Safety is one of the top priorities of this Budget, which is why we are increasing the police budget by $25 million. This is enough money to hire about 300 new staff. The Chief of Police and Board will decide how to deploy those positions—it could be 300 new officers on the ground or a mix of officers and civilian staff. This is a similar level of investment as was made in the 2023 Budget, which saw 200 new officers, 90 special constables, and 20 new 911 operators hired. This was the highest infusion of your property taxes into the police budget in one year since 2012, and we're making a similar investment this year. You may have seen that the budget increase we've proposed is lower than what the Toronto Police Services Board has requested. The difference is about $12.6 million. We've asked every department to tighten their belt this year given our financial challenges, and are also very mindful of the fact that the Toronto Police Association will bargain for salary increases later this year, which are not included at the budget we're looking at today. Safety in our community is always top of mind here at City Hall. I'm confident that the strategic investments in Police, as well as Fire, Paramedics, and our new Toronto Community Crisis Service, will improve emergency response times and help make sure all Torontonians feel safer in our city. "In addition to raising taxes, what other major sources of revenue have been considered? Have we been creative, like asking corporate donors to make big, one-time donations?" – Anne from Downtown While I've long been an advocate for diversifying our revenue streams, we have to be careful about how we go about it. One-time revenue is a problem because then we have to go back and find a way to raise that money again every single year. Instead, we need access to ongoing, stable revenue tools that grow with our economy, such as a Municipal Sales Tax, which could raise north of $800 million for our city every year. Many options like this were presented through the City's Long-Term Financial Plan, which was released last summer. Some of the bigger revenue tools like a sales tax require permission from the Province. They've been great partners through the New Deal, and have committed to continuing the conversation about Toronto's long-term financial position in the months ahead. This is a sample of the questions that have been asked over the past two evenings, and I look forward to another engaging conversation tonight. If you aren't able to take part in tonight's Telephone Town Hall, rest assured there are still many opportunities to get involved, including public deputations next week and our very own Don Valley North Budget Town Hall on Monday, February 5, 2023. I've included the links with more info to both below. Remember, this is the time to weigh in and have your voice heard to get our city back on track and start building the Toronto we all want to see.

By now, you'll have seen the news of the 2024 City Budget as prepared by City staff. Regular readers of this E-Blast have seen me spell out the deep challenges our city has faced over the past few years. In the coming weeks, my task is to engage with as many Torontonians as possible through the Budget process so we all understand exactly where we stand. Let's take a look back at how we got here. We started this budget process with a glaring $1.8 billion operating budget shortfall. For those who need a quick refresher, our operating budget covers all of the day-to-day services our city delivers: everything from transit, police, and shelter services to long-term care, waste collection, and libraries. To put that $1.8 billion number into perspective, we could have completely eliminated transit service in Toronto and gotten rid of all of our libraries and we'd still have a shortfall of over $300 million to deal with. A slide from City staff's 2024 Budget presentation outlining our budget challenge this year. Click to view a larger version. When I took on the role of Budget Chief, my first priority was to use every avenue available to bring that number down. Working closely with our Chief Financial Officer and City Finance staff, we found over $600 million in cost savings and avoidance for the 2024 Budget, including a hiring freeze and absorbing staff departures. While that $600 million was mostly achieved through efficiencies, it does include a few proposed cuts. One of those is to stop offering windrow snow clearing starting next winter season. I know this service hasn't been delivered to your expectation for many years now and that, at the same time, many North Yorkers miss the old service we used to enjoy pre-amalgamation. Staff have advised that by cutting windrow clearing, contractors can better focus on the other snow clearing services they provide. Let's discuss in the weeks ahead. Mayor Chow also announced a historic New Deal with Premier Ford back in November, which included nearly $400 million in operating funding for this year alone. Even with all the savings we found and the support of the Province, we knew that there were still going to be some very tough choices to make. That's why we came to you, the community, for a series of Pre-Budget consultations back in November. A slide from City staff's 2024 Budget presentation showing what is proposed to close the $1.8 billion gap. Click to view a larger version. What we heard loud and clear from residents in every corner of the city is that you expect us to protect the city services you rely on. We need to keep transit safe and running, keep our emergency services well-funded to make sure they get to you quickly and keep you safe, and keep working to make housing more affordable. This budget makes key investments in those priority areas. We're investing in community safety by increasing the police budget and investing $25 million to expand the Toronto Community Crisis Service city-wide. We are freezing TTC fares in 2024 to keep transit affordable for riders and get folks back riding the system. We're continuing to push forward to make housing affordable, all while continuing careful reviews of every division to make sure their operations are as efficient as possible. It was the conversations we had with the community on these key issues that shaped the budget presented by staff yesterday. That budget includes a 9% property tax increase on the operating side to eliminate this year's massive shortfall, and a 1.5% increase to the City Building Levy, which invests in essential capital projects in our city, particularly transit and housing. This fund is set aside every year because when the Provincial and Federal government announce big investments in Toronto capital projects, the City has to pay for one third of the cost. I know that this year's property tax increase is much higher than people are used to. For the average household, this increase means an additional $30 per month, or about $1 per day. As your Councillor and a homeowner who's supporting a family of my own, I would never accept this proposal from staff if I didn't deeply understand just how hard it was to get the number down to 9% to close the $1.8 billion gap. We can't keep kicking this can down the road. As your Budget Chief, it is my responsibility to present a responsible, balanced budget. To put this increase in context, Toronto has long had some of the lowest property taxes in the GTHA. While this year's percentage increase might be slightly higher than our Ontario neighbours, it brings our property taxes to middle of the pack of what other homeowners pay in real dollars. Major cities across Canada are also coming forward with larger than usual property taxes this year. My hope as Budget Chief is that by facing this shortfall head-on this year, we can start to see it really come down and put our city back on track for the years ahead. A clip from CBC outlining the property tax increases being presented across Canada. I also want to remind folks that the City has Property Tax Increase Deferral and Cancellation Programs for seniors and others living on fixed incomes. If you have questions or need support applying for this program, my office is always available. Now, let's talk about the one outstanding item. We continue to call on the Federal government to cover the cost of Federal refugees stuck in our shelter system. We are doing all we can to settle and house these new residents, but the number of refugee claimants moving through the City's system has increased from the usual 500 to over 5800. This is the result of Federal policies, which means the $250 million required annually to serve and settle these refugees is squarely a Federal responsibility. The Mayor has been working hard to get an answer from the Feds on this issue for months now. If the Federal government does not make a decision on how to proceed by the time we wrap up this Budget process, we will have to ask staff to bring forward an additional 6% Federal Impacts Levy to cover the cost, or risk devastating cuts that will make our city less safe and increase congestion. Federal refugees outside of an overcapacity shelter on Peter Street last summer. Long-time readers of this E-Blast know that there is another conversation we need to have, and that revolves around the fact that, ultimately, a city of our size should not be relying on property tax alone to fund the wide array of services we now offer. Last year, City staff released a new Long-Term Financial Plan that spelled out a number of routes we can take to address our structural financial challenges. Conversations with our Provincial partners continue on some of the long-term tools we need to put our city on a path to true financial stability. I also hope to see us reach a New Deal with our Federal counterparts, as we were so grateful to have reached with the Province last year. This Budget launch is just the beginning of the budget process. This year, that includes more opportunities than ever before for you to engage and share your feedback. I'll be joining Mayor Chow to host three city-wide Telephone Town Halls next week. I'll also be joining Budget Town Halls across the City and hosting our very own Town Hall here in Don Valley North on Monday, February 5th (more details below the column). Of course, there is also the usual series of public deputations and you can always submit your comments by emailing the Budget Committee or my office. You can find more information about how to get involved using the buttons below, and also find all of the Budget documents and presentations. This is a fully transparent process. I know that folks have real concerns about affordability these days. When times are tough, people need to be able to count on their city to deliver and protect the services they rely on most. I firmly believe that we can't keep pushing off our financial struggles for future Councils and future generations to deal with. As I always say, I want to build a city that my grandkids can proudly call home and one that gives them all the supports they need to succeed. That is what this Budget aims to do: preserve the most essential services, finally dig Toronto out of the hole we've been sitting in for far too long, and get our city back on track. A NOTE ON THE DUNDAS RENAMING Over the past few weeks, my office has receive a number of emails and calls about City Council's decision to rename Yonge-Dundas Square. I want to reiterate the full details so that you understand where I stand and what is happening next. Mayor Chow led City Council in shelving the previous $13-million proposal to rename Dundas Street in light of our significant financial challenges. While Yonge-Dundas Square is being renamed, the cost will be entirely paid for by Section 37 funds from the local ward, which are collected from developers and must be spent on local capital projects. It will have zero impact on our operating budget and is not being paid for by your tax dollars. I voted in favour of this much more modest proposal as it balances our financial reality and the need for prudent spending with our City's commitment to confronting anti-Black racism and building a more inclusive and equitable city.

Well, we've officially made it through the most unusual first year of any Council term ever. Our final Council session of year one held last week started out with 221 items on the agenda. We spent most of the first day on just a few items, including unanimously receiving the New Deal with the Provincial Government, but by day two we had blown through almost 150 of them. We got through almost all the rest on Friday, only needing to defer two items to the New Year. Let's take a look at the biggest items we tackled last week. FEDERAL HOUSING ACCELERATOR FUND - SUPPORTING GENERATIONAL TRANSFORMATION OF TORONTO’S HOUSING SYSTEM This Council decision is a major milestone in securing ongoing support from the Federal government for the creation of housing. They will provide almost $120 million per year to create affordable rental homes in Toronto. Current economic conditions have led many developers to put approved affordable housing projects on hold. The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) will help jump-start these projects and create more affordable units across the city. The HAF will also support the City's Multi-Unit Rental Acquisition Program (MURA). Through MURA, non-profit housing providers, co-ops, Indigenous housing providers, and Community Land Trusts can acquire existing private-sector apartment buildings of up to 60 units. After acquiring these buildings, the non-profits improve their conditions and provide affordable, rent-geared-to-income homes in them. The Federal Housing Accelerator Fund can be used by MURA, which means that much more of our existing housing stock can be transformed into affordable rental housing in the years to come. CONFRONTING THE LEGACY OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE: RENAMING CIVIC ASSETS BEARING THE HENRY DUNDAS NAME This was one of the most talked-about items from this Council session. Last term, Council created a citizen-led Community Advisory Committee of Black and Indigenous community leaders to consider the renaming of Dundas Street and other City assets with the Dundas name based on Henry Dundas's role in prolonging the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. I believe Council proceeded with a very good path forward—one that honours the work of the Advisory Committee and acknowledges the reality of our current economic conditions. The renaming of Dundas Street is not recommended at this time given its significant price tag. Instead, we will rename four civic assets that bear the Dundas name: Yonge-Dundas Square will adopt the new name "Sankofa Square", as recommended by the Community Advisory Committee. Sankofa is a Ghanaian term that is perfect for what's happening at this point in history. It's hard to translate literally, but the word means to reflect on and reclaim teachings from the past, and then to move forward together. Dundas Subway Station will be renamed in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University, who have committed to covering the full cost of that renaming. Dundas West Station will be updated through a TTC-led renaming process and will be coordinated with upcoming capital work, which will reduce costs and allow time for community input. The Jane-Dundas Library will be renamed through the Toronto Public Library's Operating Budget. All in all, the City's Chief Financial Officer estimates the net cost of these recommendations at $700,000 for the City, much lower than the $12.7 million estimated to rename the full street. CUMMER STATION - RESPONSE TO COUNCIL MOTIONS Over the years, there have been motions moved at Council asking City staff to develop a business case for a new subway station at Yonge Street and Cummer Avenue along Line 1. The creation of new transit rests in the hands of the Provincial government, and they have been very clear that they will not be including a Cummer Station. I supported a motion from Councillor Cheng to ask the Provincial Government to hear the community's input on this issue. A letter has been sent to the Province, including local MPP Stan Cho and Premier Ford, asking them to respond to our staff's business case and to include it in their community consultations. While I do not support adding City dollars to the tune of half a billion dollars to this Provincial project, I can heartily support asking the Province to hear what local residents have to say on this proposal. SUPPORTING THE GROWTH OF THE NIGHT ECONOMY AND AMENDMENTS TO ZONING & LICENSING FOR BARS, RESTAURANTS, AND ENTERTAINMENT VENUES AS PART OF THE NIGHT ECONOMY REVIEW The three items listed above tighten up the rules around how and where a night club can happen in Toronto. Up until now, the conditions to become a night club were murky at best. Throughout the city, especially in the suburbs, problem night clubs have been known to crop up in residential neighbourhoods with little to no police scrutiny until the club becomes notorious. We can't pretend that there is no need for night life anywhere in Etobicoke, North York or Scarborough. Without proper regulation, night life happens anyways, but it happens in places where law enforcement has great difficulty serving and protecting us. The bylaws and zoning rules adopted last week will ensure that people have access to the night economy in all four quadrants of the city, and that these clubs will be well-regulated. I also added an amendment aimed at repeat offenders of our noise and last call bylaws. At Committee, deputants spoke about a licensed night club that does not play by the rules and has admitted that the fines they pay when they break the rules are a "cost of doing business." I suggested an escalating fine regime so that each subsequent infraction from the same club results in a higher fine until it is no longer feasible to ignore. Council supported this and our City staff are now hard at working developing this new bylaw. GRAB-BAG: Below are quick updates on a few more significant items we considered at Council last week: We considered an Update and Action Plan on the Single-Use and Takeaway Items Reduction Strategy, which aimed to require that businesses ask customers before providing disposable cups and paper bags. Staff will be further studying some of the recommendations in this update at various Councillors' requests, but Toronto businesses will be required to accept reusable cups brought by customers to their stores in an effort to reduce single-use items. We approved various changes to the CafeTO Program. The main goal was to make the application process simpler and more streamlined for business owners and operators, which will hopefully create more outdoor dining options in our city next patio season. We also requested that the General Manager of Transportation Services provide a detailed report to the Audit Committee on the performance of our winter maintenance contractors after the 2023-2024 season to see the impact of the new contract terms on service delivery. As always, the goal is to ensure you are receiving the level of service you expect and deserve. RENAMING THE STADIUM AT CENTENNIAL PARK Finally, I want to address the decision to rename the Centennial Park Football Stadium after late Mayor Rob Ford. I received many emails from people who are disappointed that I agreed to second this motion by Councillor Ainslie. Rob Ford and I did not share politics at all, but I can acknowledge that his support was spread across every borough and every culture of this diverse city. The Ford family has continued to request that something be named after him, as we have done for every mayor that has come before him. They asked for something distinctly local to the neighbourhood where Rob grew up, and one that reflects one of his true passions in life as a volunteer football coach. I agreed to second Councillor Ainslie's motion because this choice of venue is so local and so supported in the area. For those who loved Rob, still love Rob, and feel pain because of how troubled he was despite his undeniable ability to connect with people on a deeply local level, I hope this helps. For those who remain angry about his time as mayor and disagreed with his politics, I hope we can move forward and focus on making our city a better place, because the road ahead is the most challenging one yet. Holiday Office Closure We're taking a break from the E-Blast next week, as my office will be closed for the holidays. My team will be keeping an eye out for any urgent phone calls or emails, and we will be fully re-opened for regular service on Wednesday, January 3. Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

Last week, Premier Ford and Mayor Chow stood together and announced a New Deal for Toronto. This was the biggest announcement for our city in quite some time. Everywhere I went for the rest of the week, people would stop me and say, "Well, you must be relieved! Problem solved, eh?" These well-meaning friends knew that chairing the City Budget process for 2024 is the biggest challenge of my career. Premier Ford and Mayor Chow shake hands at the New Deal announcement last Monday, November 27, 2023. The Province did come forward with solutions to some of our financial challenges. Our City Manager and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), both of whom were part of the New Deal Working Group, reported that these table discussions were some of the most productive intergovernmental talks they've been a part of, and that the City's concerns were heard more than ever before. They achieved a lot for Toronto. Let me give you a sneak peak of what they will report at Council next week: Across three years: $330 million in operating support for new integrated provincial transit projects, starting in 2024.These funds will be used to bring the Finch West LRT and Eglinton Crosstown LRT online. This is very good news, because hiring staff and training starts in 2024. One-time funding: $300 million for subway and transit safety, recovery, and sustainable operations.Conditional upon: Toronto establishing a new transit rider safety committee.This money would need to go towards increasing the presence of police or safety officers at stations and on transit vehicles. Additional safety officers are already requested in the 2024 draft budget, so this is also welcome news. Across three years: $600 million in shelter and homelessness support for non-refugees.Conditional upon: The Federal government providing operating funding support for refugees and asylum seekers.This funding would build upon the Province's existing homelessness prevention program and support services, which are already relying far too much on the property tax base. Procurement funding of $758 million to modernize subway trains on Line 2.Conditional upon: Matching funds from the Federal government. (The City has already committed to our share).This money would go towards the purchase of 55 new subway trains to replace those near the end of their life on the Bloor-Danforth line. Good news, because Line 2 needs to be modernized before the Scarborough subway expansion can be integrated with it. Across three years: Up to $342 million through the Building Faster Fund.Conditional upon: Toronto achieving 125% of its annual housing targets in 2024, 2025, and 2026.Council has committed to exceeding the provincial target every year and is taking aggressive steps right now to get that underway, so I trust that we will be able to access these funds every year. After reading that list, you might be thinking that there are an awful lot of strings attached. You're right. I don't mind, because the strings align with the Mayor and Council's needs and goals. Where funding is conditional upon Federal support, these are urgent asks that have already been made to Ottawa. These committed funds from the Province only make our case to the Government of Canada even stronger. There is one other major piece of the New Deal that I haven't touched on yet. It really represents the biggest change and it is something the City has been struggling with for decades. The oversight of two major Toronto highways—the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway—is being uploaded to the Provincial government. Mayor Chow put it well at the press conference last Monday: "By uploading the Gardiner and DVP, the City will be able to spend billions more on affordable housing, fixing transit, and building communities. Over the next few years, we will continue to examine the City's finances and work together on Toronto's long-term financial sustainability. It's a beginning of a journey, it's a wonderful first step." As part of the New Deal, the City is also allowing the Province to take over responsibility for the entirety of Ontario Place (the City owns a small sliver of the land). This paves the way for the Province's controversial redevelopment of the site. While I know some aren't happy about this part of the agreement, it is the price we pay for the billions of dollars in operating and capital support the City now has for years to come. You might be wondering what happened to the new revenue streams that were contemplated last summer in our Long-Term Financial Plan, and written about extensively in this E-Blast. There was a potential sales tax, commercial parking levy, and other smaller tools. These are very much still open for discussion. The financial teams at both the Province and here at the City have committed to continue exploring these tools and what they would mean for our city. Ultimately, the New Deal was only achieved as quickly as it was because all parties agreed to set aside new taxes and fees given the state of the economy, but those discussions continue. So what did I have to say to all of those kind people who patted me on the back and said that the City's financial problems are solved? I'm afraid I had to say, "Not so fast.' You've heard me say many times that the City is staring down a $1.5 billion operating shortfall for 2024. The New Deal only covers about $400 million of that hole. That is not chump change, and the same amount will be available for the next three years. However, it still means that we have a $1.1 billion shortfall to contend with. Our Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and I are hard at work to dig for the rest of the shortfall in our municipal sofa cushions. That's only fair. Hunting for efficiencies must never stop. What I'm most looking forward to when the City Manager and CFO present their New Deal report to Council is the financial room created by the upload of the Gardiner and DVP. This represents billions in capital expenditures over the next several years, but also saves us significant operating dollars that are usually spent on emergency repairs. We will now be able to use the Budget process to reprioritize those capital resources towards many other important projects in the city, perhaps including the creation of affordable housing. One last thought: Don't forget about those all-important conditions attached to some of the New Deal funding. You may be in a position to help us with that. We need the Federal government to step up and provide the funding our city desperately needs, particularly to support the over 4000 refugee claimants and asylum seekers in our shelter system. If you have the time, reach out to your local MP and tell them that your property taxes are the entirely wrong funding source for immigration shelter supports. Politely ask them to consider that Premier Ford has put $600 million on the table for homelessness, but it all goes away if the Federal government won't pay their fair share. My sincere thanks go out to our Mayor and Premier for reaching this historic deal for our city. The 2024 Budget will still be a challenging process, but this deal puts Toronto on much more solid footing for the years ahead. Of course, the question of the City's long-term financial sustainability is still very much unanswered, but most of the players are at the table to start that essential conversation. Rest assured I will keep you fully updated on all things budget in 2024 and onwards.

Well, I'm halfway through our marathon road tour of Pre-Budget Consultations. As Budget Chief, I'm joining our Chief Financial Officer to present Toronto's financial position and options to you, our residents, and then standing back to listen to what you have to say. It was great to talk with residents about their priorities at the first Pre-Budget Town Hall this past Monday. I've wanted the budget process to include these early conversations for a very long time now. I truly believe that if we had made more of an effort this past decade to help you deeply understand our financial pickle, then you, the community, would be our best advisors. We've already stopped by Scarborough and Etobicoke this week, and held the first virtual Pre-Budget Consultation earlier this afternoon. We'll be coming to North York on Monday, November 27 and I hope to see Don Valley North come out strong to share your perspectives. Here is a taste of what you'll experience if you join us for the remaining events over the next week: SETTING THE STAGE My job, before I hand the mic to our Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Stephen Conforti, is to demystify some of the accounting language we toss around in the media when we discuss the budget. I promise you I do this pretty quickly, but it really does help when everyone in the room is on the same page and knows what we're talking about. Next, our CFO explains what has created the current pressure on our City's finances as clearly as possible. We're starting this year's budget process from a $1.5 billion operating shortfall. He also breaks down what we mean when we talk about debt and deficits at the City. A sizeable crowd at the Pre-Budget Town Hall in Scarborough. THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT We spend a bit of time explaining Toronto's chronic structural financial deficit. This is very important to understand, especially as the Mayor gets closer to achieving a Financial New Deal with the Provincial government. The funds we hope to receive from the New Deal will need to be applied to addressing these structural financial challenges before we start to treat the new dollars as if Christmas has come early. The long and short of it is, Toronto is currently funding much more than was ever intended to be covered through property tax alone. We have a mega-city transit system and tens of thousands of rent-geared-to-income social housing units, both of which used to be funded by the other orders of government that had the means to support these types of programs. Long ago in our history, the Provincial and Federal governments decided that they could drive Canada's economy beyond natural resource extraction and agriculture if they invested in cities. They were right. In Toronto, they built a city with mobility and a social safety net, and it became the economic engine of the nation. The major social supports our city enjoyed were supported by the Provincial and Federal governments that had access to income and sales tax to pay the bills. Everything changed in the 1990s. In 1995, a new Provincial government took office in Ontario and immediately withdrew support from Toronto's transit operating budget. Soon after, they walked away from the management of social housing. These two things are not meant to be sustained by property taxes, and the absence of other government funding for transit and housing operating budgets has created a permanent structural deficit. It started as a $550 million hole, and has only grown since then. For many years, City Hall looked for efficiencies to fill this hole. There were cuts, reductions in staff, and services contracted out. There was digitizing, re-imagining, centralizing, de-centralizing, anything that might reduce overhead. All the while, the city was growing and so was the number of people needing services. All of this growth has happened faster than our ability to address it while also filling that structural hole each year. There is reason to be optimistic about the working table where City financial officials and Provincial ministry officials are trying to hammer out a New Deal for Toronto. The Federal government has even sent a representative to join the work. But make no mistake—the challenge has grown so much during the pandemic years that we will still need to deliver a very strict budget even with new funds from other orders of government. While the New Deal may attempt to provide a solution, we will want to spread that out over the next few years. The other orders of government will be watching to see how responsible we can be with the new dollars, and you should be too. Mayor Chow and I spoke with reporters about the Pre-Budget Town Halls and the work she's doing to secure a New Deal for Toronto. WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS On this Pre-Budget tour, the real magic happens after our cautionary presentation is wrapped up. That's when you gather around some "kitchen tables" we have set up and talk about what you want to see in the 2024 budget. Each table has at least one of our most senior members of City staff or wonderful facilitators to lead the discussion and take down diligent notes. No need to worry that your group will be ordered to choose a leader and a note taker, it's taken care of. It's been wonderful to see how lively the discussions have been at the consultations so far. Folks really do have a lot to say when we lay the facts and questions down on the table and let them share their perspectives without a budget already locked in. It's also been wonderful to watch these discussions because I get to see our staff connecting with residents in real time. It is so important for the staff who design and deliver our programs to feel connected to the people they are serving. We haven't given them this opportunity to connect before the budget is launched since 2007. When we did this process over 15 years ago, it was illuminating for Councillors as well. We all gained an understanding of the many ways our neighbourhoods were aligned and connected. No matter what corner of the city residents lived in, so many of them had shared priorities. This made it easier for Councillors to agree on common goals. When you have goals in common, there is more potential to set politics aside and simply push hard to get things done. And that sounds a lot like what we've heard so far: get roads paved, get homes built, get transit moving safely and reliably. Every session, we learn more and more about what matters most to you. Our Pre-Budget Town Hall in Etobicoke. I have to make it clear: This is going to be a very challenging budget. There are going to be cuts and there is going to be a tax increase. There's just no way out of it. We need to prioritize our most urgent needs, and those are going to be chosen based on what we take away from these Pre-Budget conversations. So, share your ideas. Come out to an in-person or virtual meeting, or participate in the online survey. I've outlined all the ways to get involved below. This will be a challenging budget and a challenging year, and the best way to tackle it is together. When we can come from a place of shared understanding, there is no obstacle we can't overcome. PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATIONS Below, find a list of the remaining Pre-Budget Consultation dates and other ways to get involved: Saturday, November 25, 12 - 1:30 PM & 1:30 - 3 PM, Toronto Reference Library Monday, November 27, 7 - 8:30 PM & 8:30 - 10 PM, North York Memorial Hall Tuesday, November 28, 7 - 8:30 PM & 8:30 - 10 PM, Virtual Wednesday, November 29, 7 - 8:30 PM & 8:30 - 10 PM, Rexdale Hub Thursday, November 30, 7 - 8:30 PM & 8:30 - 10 PM, Virtual As Budget Chief, I will be attending every single session and hope to see you there. We want to hear from you on what matters most and how we can work together to build a safe, caring, and affordable city where everyone belongs. You can also complete an online survey to share your feedback. Find the survey and registration for consultation sessions at the link below: