Each week, we round up the latest news, views, and rumours from City Hall.
HEADLINES
Bye bye bullets?
Councillor Adam Vaughan‘s suggestion (first reported in NOW) that Toronto should ban the sale of bullets in order to reduce gun crime has met with little support, and not a few comparisons to a Chris Rock standup routine. But true to form, the outspoken councillor from Trinity Spadina is sticking to his, well, not guns exactly… but he’s not backing down. He’s determined to make it as difficult as possible to own and use guns in Toronto, despite the objections of sports shooters who say their gunplay has nothing to do with crime. “I’m tired of the violence and I’m tired of dealing with a bunch of privileged people that complain their hobby is being impacted,” Vaughan said this week. “Their hobby is too bloody dangerous.”
Jarvis lanes not done just yet
The second annual Ride for Jarvis rolled through Toronto on Wednesday, as cycling advocates continue to protest the removal of the street’s well traveled bike lanes. With time running out, Cycle Toronto is asking the province to intervene, which is essentially the equivalent of a hail mary pass in the world of Toronto politics. But bikers could be in line for some an unexpected reprieve, courtesy of yet another unpredictable council reversal. According to a report in the Toronto Star Thursday, councillors who hope to save the lanes are only three votes shy of having the power to do so in September. Public works chair Denzil Minnan-Wong (Don Valley East) has been reluctant to publicly wade back into the issue, but in a Friday tweet he reiterated his support for removing the lanes. A sign he’s on the defensive?
BULLETINS
- Jewish LGBTQ group Kulanu filed a complaint with Pride Toronto last Friday over Queers Against Israeli Apartheid’s participation in the festival, only to announce a week later they were withdrawing it after the dispute resolution chair allegedly gave a copy of the complaint to Xtra
- The survival of Riverdale Farm appears to be assured after Mayor Rob Ford’s executive committee voted on Tuesday to continue funding the family attraction indefinitely, while also accepting donations and memberships to help with its $500,000 annual operating costs
- Ford’s executive also voted on Tuesday to form a working group to look into how to fund transit expansion, which some commentators are taking as a sign that the mayor’s anti-tax administration has tacitly acknowledged we need to investigate controversial revenue tools like road tolls if we’re going to build subways, subway, subways
#TOPOLI DOCS
Do you enjoy reading reports on transit system performance indicators? Want to place yourself at the centre of a stubborn bureaucracy? Or finally get a chance to hang out with Raymond Cho, the 76-year-old councillor from Scarborough Rouge River? Then don’t waste another second, fill out this form to become a citizen member of the TTC board! Word of warning though: if you’re in a “conjugal relationship” with a city councillor, you’re disqualified.
MEETINGS, MOTIONS, AND MINUTES
Good news for the handful of Torontonians who drive plug-in electric cars. On Thursday, the public works committee approved a one-year pilot project to install five free re-charging stations for the high voltage rides in the downtown core. The goal is to learn more about how to deliver infrastructure for electric vehicles, which are expected to make up five per cent of cars on Toronto roads by 2020.
COUNCILLOR OF THE WEEK
Councillor Adam Vaughan (Trinity Spadina) was the undisputed centre of #TOpoli attention this week with his controversial bullet ban proposal.
CITY SOUND BITE
“If (McGuinty) calls the election, I’ll be gone in about 10 seconds”
– In an interview with Toronto Sun reporter Don Peat, Councillor Doug Ford (Etobicoke North) demonstrates a less-than-ironclad commitment to his constituents and vows to run for MPP if the current budget flap at Queen’s Park leads to an election this year.
NEXT WEEK’S AGENDA
On Monday, Rob and Doug Ford are supposed to take to the scales for the final instalment of their on-again, off-again Weight Loss Challenge, but with the mayor having cancelled most of his weekly weigh-ins to date, who knows if they’ll actually show up.
The Metrolinx board of directors will meet next Thursday and provide an update on Toronto transit projects. The full agenda hasn’t been published yet, but we look forward to another bombshell in the city’s interminable transit drama.
