We have a duty to keep our communities safe, and the planned increase in the 2023 budget to Toronto Police Services of $48.3 million announced by the Mayor on Tuesday will not necessarily make people safer, but there are concrete investments we can make right now to increase community safety.
Racialized people, and those with low incomes are overpoliced in Toronto. The Ontario Human Rights Commission's 2021 report states “the current model of policing is not sustainable.” In 2022, Toronto’s Auditor General found that 40% of the calls for police service could be handled by an alternative response. This makes up 85,000 hours over five years, and created longer response times for officers in emergency situations like life in danger. Investing in alternative responses are investments in our public safety.
The Toronto Community Crisis Service has been successful in taking a community-based approach in responding to mental health crises without involving the police. This program must be expanded to every neighbourhood to create a safer Toronto.
As a City, we must treat investments in affordable housing, education and employment as investments in our safety and well-being, and we have an opportunity to prioritize these in the upcoming budget.
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Reference:
https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/framework-change-address-systemic-racism-policing
https://www.torontoauditor.ca/report/review-of-toronto-police-service-opportunities-to-support-more-effective-responses-to-calls-for-service/
We wrapped the final City Council session of 2025 this week, signaling the start of the holidays here around City Hall.
This week, I joined many holiday shoppers, Mayor Olivia Chow, and current and past organizers of the One of a Kind Show to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary! For five decades, they’ve celebrated Canadian artisans and encouraged shopping local and Canadian.
Whether we are participating in sports, supporting from the sidelines, or gathering with friends to watch the game, in Toronto we know what it means to play as a team. Here in Spadina-Fort York (Ward 10), our greatest teams are made up of you!
Whether you are getting ready to trick or treat or joining a Blue Jays’ World Series watch party (or both!) there is lots to do in our community.
Next up in our October holidays is Halloween! Join my pre-Halloween party on Friday, October 24 at the new East Bayfront Community Recreation Centre.
This week, I joined all levels of government to cut the ribbon on the newest heat pump plant to provide low-carbon heating to our downtown buildings.
As the weather has cooled down this week, I’m getting ready for September and all that it brings: back to school for kids; the return of our committee and council meetings for me; and our city’s many fall days of recognition, festivals, and events.
We are now in August and there is still lots of time to make the most of our warm summer evenings and our great public spaces. And to me, there is nothing better on a summer evening than enjoying an outdoor movie night in our parks with my neighbours and friends.
The July council meeting is always a busy one and this one was no different! We had many important issues on our agenda this week, focused on making sure we can get around, expanding housing options across the city, and improving our City’s services to serve you better.
The school year is wrapping up and I have many graduations and fun fairs in my calendar over the next week. I’m looking forward to celebrating with you all! And, this week at Executive Committee, we approved expanding a universal school food program across Toronto.
June is here and there is lots to celebrate - the good weather and communities across the city.
Toronto is feeling busy with some of our big markers of spring coming back. All this good weather means that construction season is underway, but we are seeing the important work we’ve done at the City to better coordinate construction and speed up projects pay off.Just this week, construction at Bathurst St and Lake Shore Blvd wrapped up two months ahead of schedule.
As the sun stays out longer and the temperature (finally!) rises, I’m excited to share a few ways to enjoy our parks this spring. This weekend, we have our first Community Environment Day on Sunday, April 27, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Stanley Park South (700 Wellington St). Two neighbours are joining us to run workshops!
We’ve protected vital arts, culture and community space at Youngplace! Working together, we helped 5 organizations purchase their units that were put at risk by the Artscape receivership process and completed the first acquisition by a cultural land trust in Canada for 2 units, through partnership between Inspirit Foundation and the Community & Cultural Spaces Trust. I was proud to move over $1.2 million dollars of local Section 37 money to contribute to these purchases.