Recently, the Friends of Allan Gardens (FOAG), in partnership with the City’s Parks and Recreation department, released the newest iteration of the envisioning document that will serve as the masterplan for the future of Allan Gardens. This initiative, "Growing with the City," reflects our shared and ongoing commitment to engagement, fundraising and stewardship in the development of cultural and capital projects within the park and in service of the people that use it.
At the end of March, five safe consumption sites across Toronto are slated to close as a result of the Community Care and Recovery Act, which prohibits safe consumption sites within a 200 metre radius of schools and child care centres. As we prepare for this change, I wanted to provide an update and answers to some frequently asked questions.
I take great pride in the strides we have made here in Ward 13 to connect encampment residents to housing, particularly with the successful resolution of the Allan Gardens encampment last October. To date, Allan Gardens remains free of any new encampments. Our dedicated City staff have displayed remarkable persistence and resolve, and for that, I thank them.
Our Encampment Dashboard provides updates encampments in parks, how we’re managing them, and outlines City’s new encampment protocol.
Toronto now has a new Encampment Protocol with a multi-divisional approach to respond to the complex needs of those living outdoors.
As many of you know, reviving the Historic Queen East BIA is a key priority since it will play a key role in the revitalization and development of
the area.
Our City has been working with the local Indigenous community to develop the Indigenous Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Canada’s largest incubator supporting First Nations (status and non-status), Inuit and Métis entrepreneurs and innovators.
An important part of the City’s legacy from the pandemic is the current conversion of several former hotels into affordable and supportive housing.
In 2023, over 50% of rental units approved for demolition and replacement across the city were in Toronto Centre.
A common complaint is that City bylaws are not sufficiently responsive to climate change and encourage landlords to keep the heat on unnecessarily.