This year, residents from the Bay-Cloverhill, Church Wellesley and Upper Jarvis Neighbourhoods of Cluster 1, St. Lawrence of Cluster 5 and Corktown and Canary District Neighbourhoods of Clusters 6 are invited to join us for this in-person Participatory Budgeting Ideation Workshop!
On April 5, the Saturday Farmers’ Market moves to the newly opened St. Lawrence Market North Building, located at 92 Front Street East. A Toronto tradition since 1803, the market remains a vibrant hub for fresh, local food and historic charm. Visitors can support local farmers and be part of this exciting new chapter.
Friends and neighbours,
As your Councillor, I'm building a Toronto that's safe, livable, affordable, and commutable - for all of us.
After hearing from you at the door, on the street, at community events, at our town halls, and from letters and emails you’ve sent to me, my team and I are working hard to deliver.
Here's how this year's City budget will work for all of us:
For 12 years, Toronto’s property tax rates were kept artificially low: by being at or below the rate of inflation, it ate into our bottom line and tied our City’s hands financially. City services fell behind, and the state of our parks, transit, and infrastructure has slowly declined. We have a plan that makes real improvements to our parks, our transit, our streets, and our infrastructure over the next three years. It means there will be a modest property tax increase of 6.9% this year, which on average is an increase of $198 for households in our Ward – compared to an average of $268 city-wide. There are Property Tax Relief programs for Seniors and Persons Living with a Disability, Registered Charities, Small Business Property Tax Subclass, Ethnocultural Centres, and Heritage Properties. The income eligibility thresholds have been raised to a combined household income of $60,000 or less.
The Provincial Government’s elimination of rent control has led to unprecedented levels of homelessness: more than 80,000 people in 2024, projected to reach 300,000 by 2035 if significant investments in affordable and supportive housing aren’t made immediately.
Our budget increases investments in the Rent Bank, Toronto Tenant Support, and the Eviction Prevention in Community (EPIC) program totalling over $19.8-million. We’re also creating the Rental Renoviction License Program to prevent renovictions, and I have secured a housing worker for St. James Town and have been hosting Housing Clinics to assist residents with affordable housing.
In this budget, we’ve secured funds for The 519 to sustain their 24/7 security. We’re also hiring 25 new Traffic Wardens and deploying 75 new Automated Speed Enforcement cameras to enhance safety. The Downtown Community Outreach Response and Engagement (CORE) Program, in partnership with Toronto Public Health Nurses and Toronto Police, continues to proactively support vulnerable people. Additionally, we’re investing in a new Homelessness and Addictions Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub, and have created a Downtown East Leadership Table, and are recalibrating our safety networks across the Ward.
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.
In 2024, our collective efforts to address encampments at the City led to meaningful progress in Ward 13, with resolutions to the encampments in Allan Gardens and Moss Park. However, as we step into 2025, encampment challenges persist in Trinity Square and St James Park.
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.
With the new Public Developer Delivery Model for housing, the City is working to increase supply of public, not for profit & co-op homes being built on city-owned lands.
In 2023, over 50% of rental units approved for demolition and replacement across the city were in Toronto Centre.
