What’s New in Toronto Centre
Enhancing Safety and Security at Festivals
In light of the tragic van attack that killed eleven people at a festival in Vancouver in April, the City will be providing $2.1 million to increase security measures at festivals this year through the Special Events Stabilization Initiative. To boost the total supports available, Council has requested that both the Federal and Provincial governments allocate additional funding for the creation of new funding programs for enhanced festival safety and security, similar to the Federal government’s Canada Community Security Program and the Provincial government’s Ontario Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant.
Piloting a Red Tape Hotline for Businesses
While well-intentioned, the City’s policies and processes can often be difficult to navigate and are sometimes outdated, particularly for businesses. As the Mayor’s Small Business Champion, I’ve partnered with Councillor Shelley Carroll to direct the creation of a Red Tape Hotline pilot program. The Pilot will run for a period of four months to allow Toronto businesses and entrepreneurs to report unnecessary or burdensome municipal rules, regulations, and permitting requirements.The General Manager of Economic Development and Culture will report back in advance of the 2026 budget process with a summary of the issues reported through the hotline, recommendations for ways to reduce burdens on businesses and an evaluation of the pilot’s effectiveness with options for continuation or expansion.
Development of a Demonstrations Bylaw
In December 2024, City Council directed the City Manager to report to City Council in the first quarter of 2025 with a proposed bylaw, with an emphasis on protecting vulnerable institutions such as places of worship and schools. The intention was to support the City's commitment to keeping Torontonians safe from hate while nominally protecting Charter rights for demonstrators who are protesting outside of these institutions.
When this proposed bylaw came back to Council last month, I remained steadfast in my opposition to any bylaw that could limit our Charter-protected rights. I moved a deferral on the item until the federal government takes necessary legislative actions. Unfortunately, that motion did not pass.
Nearly a whole day was spent debating this item and fielding amendments from several councillors. To summarize the outcome, the bylaw creates what are called “Access Areas” – 50 metre zones around social infrastructure (schools, child care centres or places or places of worship) in which no person may:
- perform or attempt to perform an act of disapproval concerning a person’s attendance at, use of, or attempts to attend or use Social Infrastructure;
- persistently request that a person refrain from accessing Social Infrastructure;
- obstruct, hinder or interfere or attempt to obstruct, hinder or interfere with another person’s access of or attempt to access Social Infrastructure; or
- express an objection or disapproval towards any person based on race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion/creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability or the receipt of public assistance by any means, including graphic, verbal, or written means.
The regulations associated with Access Areas apply to any City property within the 50 metre radius. The owner of a social infrastructure can request the creation of an Access Area if they attest that they reasonably believe a prohibited activity may occur on any City Property located within 50 metres from the boundaries of the property on which their Social Infrastructure is located.
Ultimately, I voted against the adoption of this bylaw because I firmly believe that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms already provides robust protection for both the freedom to worship and the right to protest peacefully. It's important that we uphold these rights, which are the cornerstone of our democracy.
From a practical standpoint, our municipality simply does not have the resources or capacity to enforce such a bylaw effectively. The distinction between feeling unsafe or uncomfortable and being unsafe is vital here, and it's a nuance that must be understood when discussing enforcement and resource allocation.
I encourage you to read the item for yourself to wholly understand the significance of what has been adopted and will go into effect on July 2 of this year.
ArcGIS Bubble Zones||V3__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
Map of potential bubble zones in Toronto Centre.
