City Council made progress in addressing the housing crisis at its meeting on November 13 and 14 by implementing a Rental Renovation Licence By-law and expanding incentives for purpose-built rental housing. They also had important conversations about the City’s economy and cultural plan.
On Friday, October 18, City staff cleared the remaining encampments from Allan Gardens after nearly two years of outreach and relationship building. Over that time, 98 people were permanently housed and a further 433 people were connected to indoor shelter accommodation. This is a huge milestone and I am proud of the humanitarian approach we took to get here, but the work does not end with Allan Gardens. Encampments remain across the ward, most notably in Moss Park, St. James Park and Trinity Square Park.
While much of City Council’s first session back from recess was spent discussing Billy Bishop Airport, there were also updates on the Student Nutrition Program, Vacant Home Tax and Congestion Management.
The weather may have cooled, but the work of improving Toronto Centre continues to keep us active. Thank you so much to everyone who attended one of our six Neighbourhood Town Halls in September and October. They are an incredible amount of work to organize, but my team continues to rise to the occasion and create new opportunities for you to meet and connect with me and my office. I hope to see you at our 2025 town halls!
The encampment at Allan Gardens has remained one of the most difficult files to navigate since I took office here in Toronto Centre. It has been a long and arduous journey but I am glad to say as of today, that every occupant has been offered housing or indoor accommodations and that the encampment is being cleared.
Every month, I send out an e-newsletter to constituents that includes a topical letter to residents. This letter has been exclusive to e-newsletter subscribers, meaning a lot of people do not receive it. Moving forward, I will be uploading these "welcome letters" onto my website, and have uploaded September 2024 (on Supervised Consumption Serivces) and October 2024 (on cycling infrastructure)'s letters here as they are both still topical.
The Laneway Projects organization is asking you to identify some laneways in Ward 13 that needs love!
Every month, I send out an e-newsletter to constituents that includes a topical letter to residents. This letter has been exclusive to e-newsletter subscribers, meaning a lot of people do not receive it. Moving forward, I will be uploading these "welcome letters" onto my website, and have uploaded September 2024 (on Supervised Consumption Serivces) and October 2024 (on cycling infrastructure)'s letters here as they are both still topical.
We have come a long way since the summer of 2023 when Allan Gardens was the largest encampment in the city.
I'm proud to once again be coming back to our community for this year's Neighbourhood Town Hall series!
Over the course of the summer we have seen encampments pop up in parks across Toronto Centre. I wanted to provide an update in response to the concerns I have heard and the questions about what can be done to make our parks accessible to everyone.