Each week, we round up the latest news, views, and rumours from City Hall.
HEADLINES
Transit troubles go on
A plan for the largest TTC expansion in Toronto’s history is flagging badly this weekend before a crucial vote at council next week. By the time TTC chair Karen Stintz‘s OneCity proposal gets to the chamber floor, it could be whittled down to a much less visionary scheme than when it was unveiled to much fanfare 10 days ago. The mayor’s allies hate it because it would create a dedicated transit tax, and councillors on the left who had been expected to fall in line are pointing out myriad problems with Stintz’s blueprint. According to Councillor Josh Colle (Eglinton Lawrence), who helped draft the plan, Stintz’s group is considering dropping the transit tax idea in order to win over council’s right, which critics say would leave Toronto yet again with lots of colourful lines on a map, but now way to pay for them.
Mammoliti, problem-solver
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (York West) is on a roll. This week he wrapped up his work on the childcare taskforce by recommending the city stop providing childcare, and followed that up by launching the homelessness task force, which he says will recommend outlawing homelessness. He suggests Toronto’s poor would be best served if all the city’s shelters were shut down and homeless people were rounded up and forced against their will into apartment-style transitional housing. Problem solved, right?
If you’re hoping Mammoliti will think better of his plan after consulting with his taskforce, don’t hold your breath. He says only people who agree with his conclusions should be recruited to the advisory body.
BULLETINS
- Thinking of going downtown in the next two weeks? Well, don’t, because the city has announced that starting Monday the Queen and Spadina intersection will be shut in all directions for streetcar track work, and won’t open again until July 23
- Following accusations from Councillor Adam Vaughan (Trinity Spadina) that Toronto has a “part-time mayor,” Rob Ford’s staffer Mark Towhey tweeted photographic proof (above) that the mayor does indeed show up for work, which in turn prompted a satirical response from at least one councillor
- The Toronto Sun reported that Ford has asked the city manager to plan for a property tax freeze in 2014 and 2015, which is a pretty confident move for an increasingly unpopular politician who still needs to win re-election in two years’ time
- Ford’s well-respected chief of staff, Amir Remtulla, has resigned to take a job with the PanAm Games, renewing speculation of disorder within the mayor’s administration
#TOPOLI DOCS
For all the confusion over the future of Toronto transit, one rail line that is definitely getting built is the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. With tunnelling of the underground section of the line expected to begin later this year, Metrolinx has released a neat little video about how its boring machines will perform the massive task of digging the 11-km route beneath downtown. According to the video, the machines will move an average of 10 m a day, and will excavate enough dirt to fill the Air Canada Centre to a height of 580 m.
MEETINGS, MOTIONS, AND MINUTES
On Thursday the Toronto Zoo board approved the creation of the Giant Panda Outreach Task Force, which is probably a lot less fun than it sounds. The group, headed by Councillor Raymond Cho (Scarborough – Rouge River), is being asked to come up with special events and marketing strategies to maximize visits to the zoo’s panda exhibit, which will open in 2013 and hopefully give the city-owned attraction a much-needed financial boost.
COUNCILLOR OF THE WEEK
Giorgio Mammoliti is again making headlines with incendiary suggestions, this time about childcare and homelessness.
CITY SOUND BITE
“I don’t even know who Metrolinx is.”
– TTC vice-chair Councillor Glenn de Baeremaeker (Scarborough Centre) is either prone to hyperbole or shockingly unaware of the provincial agency in charge of Toronto-area transit
NEXT WEEK’S AGENDA
City council will meet for at least two days starting on Wednesday, and while the big ticket item will be the OneCity transit plan, other motions of note include a business plan to keep Riverdale Farm running, Adam Vaughan‘s attempt to ban bullets, a report on the closing of the Schoolhouse shelter, the redevelopment of the Alexandra Park housing project, and regulations that would allow street vendors to offer an expanded menu of food choices.
