How Don Valley West was won, Mayor fights Ford, Council funds FIFA, police review use of force
The Week at Toronto City Hall for November 11 through 15, featuring a preview of the November 2024 Council meeting, firearm stats from the police board, disappearing former councillors and more
Hey there! Well, that was a week. But the sun is still coming up. And life goes on. So does City Hall. Here’s a look at what’s ahead, including a preview of a Council meeting where Mayor Olivia Chow will plot a plan to fight Premier Doug Ford. — Matt Elliott
What happened this week
🗳️ NO FUREY ROAD: Voters in Ward 15 Don Valley West on Monday elected Rachel Chernos Lin as their next councillor. She’ll succeed the late Jaye Robinson.
The race got a lot of attention due to the candidacy of Anthony Furey, who turned some heads by securing a strong fourth-place finish in the 2023 mayoral by-election. There was talk early on that his name recognition, conservative policies and a crowded field of centre-left candidates would make him the clear favourite.
In the end, though, it wasn’t close. Chernos Lin, the TDSB Board Chair, posted one of the most decisive wins of any councillor elected in a by-election since 2016. She received 12,899 votes, while Furey got 7,343. Sam Robinson, Jaye’s son, finished third with 1,271. Architect Sheena Sharp took the fourth spot, with 575.
Don Valley West voters also turned out. You always hope for more, but at an estimated 32%, the turnout for this race was well above the 24% average for recent by-elections and was in-line with the 34% turnout in the 2022 general election.
Chernos Lin saw her most success in the southern part of the ward.
The strength of get-out-the-vote and persuasion effort from advocacy group Progress Toronto shows up in some of the data. Furey’s support in the early vote stood at 37%, still well behind Chernos Lin’s 51% but conceivably within striking distance. On election day, however, the gap widened, with Chernos Lin’s percentage increasing to 56% verus Furey’s 30%.
There was also another election this week.
Monday, November 11
🌺 It’s Remembrance Day. No meetings scheduled. There will be ceremonies held at Old City Hall and other locations starting at 10:45 a.m. The City has posted a list.
Tuesday, November 12
🚔 The Police Service Board meets at Police HQ at 9 a.m.FORCING IT: The Board will consider the annual report on the police use of force.
Toronto cops fired their guns 24 times in 2023, down from 28 in 2022. In a majority of those instances — about 54% — the guns were used to shoot animals, mostly to end suffering after an injury.
In 19.2% of incidents, the report says, guns were fired at people holding knives or edged weapons. In 11.5% of cases, guns were fired at people in vehicles. In 7.7% of cases, guns were fired accidentally. Whoops.
In aggregate, police use of force — which includes firearms, tasers, pepper spray and physical restraint — has held relatively steady over the last five years, with a slight downward trend. That trend is notable because the city’s population and calls for service are both up signifcantly over the same time period.
BODY CAM SLAM: An auditor’s report on the police use of body cameras in 2023 has revealed some notable rates of non-compliance with policy.
In 28% of cases, officers were found to have unjustifiably not informed the public they were being recorded, as is required.
In 8% of cases, officers were found, without justification, to have not turned on their body camera prior to interacting with a member of the public.
In another 8% of cases, officers ended the recording early, for no justifiable reason.
In 7% of cases, officers were found, without justification, to have muted the microphone on their camera.
In 4% of cases, the camera lens was obstructed for no justifiable reason.
Aside from the stats related to informing the public that they are being recorded, the report describes these non-compliance numbers as small, but the police have thousands of interactions with the public in a year, so small percentages can represent big numbers.
✅ The Compliance Audit Committee meets at City Hall at 1 p.m.WHERE’S LORENZO? In a strange, sad story, the Compliance Audit Committee will consider the case of Lorenzo Berardinetti, who ran for councillor in Scarborough Southwest (Ward 20) in 2022 and finished fourth. He then never filed the required financial statement.
This was somewhat surprising as Berardinetti is far from a political newbie. The 63-year-old served as a Scarborough councillor in the pre-amalgamation times, then as a full-on City councillor from 1997 to 2003. He was then a four-term Liberal MPP at Queen’s Park until 2018.
Now, though, he’s proven to be really hard to track down. A report from BDO Canada says they could not locate Berardinetti despite several attempts via letters and phone calls. They eventually hired a private investigation firm, who were able to locate Berardinetti at a “temporary living facility” in Ajax. Here’s what he told the private investigator:
The Candidate stated that he had been homeless since November 2023 and confirmed his home address at that time was the address indicated on the Candidate’s nomination form. He stated that he no longer had access to any records that could support his campaign finances as much of his property was destroyed since he was evicted from his rented accommodation.
It’ll be up to the Committee whether they want to pursue any penalty for his failure to file his campaign finances.
Previously, in City Hall Watcher
For paid subscribers of City Hall Watcher, this week’s issue has:
LOBBYIST WATCH for October 2024, with tidbits about some island airport lobbying baggage, the hotel tax and modular housing.
Next week:
A closer look at some items on Council’s agenda, including Premier Doug Ford’s contentious bike lane legislation — as we learn more about how the mayor might battle back.
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Wednesday, November 13
🏟️ Council meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m.FORD FIGHTER: As Premier Doug Ford’s government works quickly to pass legislation that’ll require municipalities to seek approval before installing some bike lanes — and associated regulations to remove bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue — Mayor Olivia Chow has added an item to the agenda to allow Council some room to discuss tactics.
For her part, Chow says she is “working with City Staff to review the City's options and will provide recommendations.” She also writes that Bill 212, the anti-bike lane bill, means “one government would, at tremendous cost to the taxpayer and without collaboration, undo another government's work.”
This debate will be a tricky balancing act for the mayor. It likely doesn’t help her much if this turns into yet another Council debate about the merits of bike infrastructure. Instead, her goal will be to get even ardent bike lane opposers like Councillor Stephen Holyday to agree that decisions about local issues should be made by the local government.
It is unclear how the Ministry of Transportation will be in a better position than municipalities to make decisions about local transportation matters. Rather than micromanaging bike lanes, the Ministry of Transportation could focus on accelerating its own approval processes to help support new housing.
There have been recent examples of unintended consequences when the province has tried to take over local decision-making. We urge the province to respect local decision-making when considering transportation improvements, and not repeat its mistakes of the past.
FUNDING FIFA: Council will vote on whether to approve a temporary hike to the Municipal Accommodation Tax — City Hall’s tax on stays in hotels and short-term rentals like Airbnb — to fund costs related to the World Cup.
The increase on the table would raise the tax rate from 6% to 8.5% between June 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026.
The World Cup cost has held steady at about $380 million. After a combined $201 million in support from Queen’s Park and Ottawa, the City is on the hook for $179 million. The hotel tax hike, if approved, is expected to raise about $56.6 million. Staff continue to look for other revenue opportunities like sponsorship and premium ticket sales.
INTERESTING INCENTIVES: Council will vote on a new incentives program to try to kickstart the building of 20,000 new rental units. The plan has faced some criticism because it’s really two plans in one.
In the first plan, the City outlines a path toward building about 7,000 units using own-source funding and CMHC support. That’s not nothing, but it’s also not a lot in the context of a ten-year target of 285,000 units.
The second phase, which would build another 13,000 units, is conditional on financial support from the provincial and federal governments. I’d expect some councillors will be asking Mayor Olivia Chow how she plans to secure that support — and quick.
ADVANCING AVENUES: Mayor Olivia Chow is calling for more allowed density along the City’s main streets. On October 29, responding to a report on allowing more mid-rise permissions on streets designated avenues, the mayor wrote a letter to the Planning & Housing Committee calling for planners to think bigger:
“It’s a big step in the right direction, but I believe we can go further. We can allow for even more homes along these Avenues and give more people the opportunity to live in our city,” she wrote.
We’ll see if the rest of Council is willing to think big too.
DIRECTIONS ON RENOVICTIONS: After it received unanimous support at the October 30 meeting of the Planning & Housing Committee, Council will decide whether to implement a new licensing system designed to prevent renovictions, starting on July 31, 2025.
The licensing system would require landlords to secure a renovation license as part of seeking an N13 eviction — a notice to a tenant to vacate due to renovation. To get the license, they’d need to produce a report by a "qualified person” that the renovation can’t be completed without vacant possession of the unit. They’ll also need to provide copies of building permits and compensate the tenant.
AND ALSO:
In an item deferred from last month, Council will decide whether to request a report on allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in the neighbourhood polls routinely conducted by the City on matters like whether streets should get speed bumps. Advocacy organization Vote 16 Toronto argues the move will help with civic engagement.
Council will consider a recent report from the Auditor General on parks operations that found parks workers were spending a lot of time parked at plazas and not, well, in parks. A report breaking down the findings by ward is due ahead of the meeting.
In another audit item, Council will consider the report on the PayIt software deal. The AG flagged issues with the procurement process and the roll-out. At committee, Councillor Paula Fletcher moved to move on from PayIt by decommissioning the service following the end of the current contract year next June. Council will decide whether to charge forward.
If you like glossy long-term plans for things, this Council agenda has two of them. One on culture and one on the economy.
In an item put at risk by provincial government’s anti-bike lane legislation, Council will decide whether to endorse the principles of a “road safety project” for Parkside Drive, where there have been 1,487 collisions over the last decade. The plan calls for bike lanes on the west side of the street — a move that will slow traffic by narrowing the roadway. Odds seem pretty good this will end up subject to provincial approval, but maybe Council could opt to put a rush on it.
🏆 The Bid Award Panel meets via videoconference at 2 p.m.CONTRACT AWARD OF THE WEEK: $3.9 million to abandon some watermains.
Thursday, November 14
🏟️ Council meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m.Starting around 2 p.m., councillors will consider member motions. Some notables:
Following reporting from the Toronto Star’s Ben Spurr that a report recommending pay hikes for members of Council was quietly buried by Mayor Olivia Chow last year, Councillor James Pasternak is calling for some transparency. He’d like a report in December on “an updated comparative review of Councillor compensation.”
Noting the cost of the crossing guard program have ballooned from about $8 million annually in 2017 to $30 million today, Budget Chief Councillor Shelley Carroll is calling for a look at “alternative delivery models.” She wants a review on potentially using volunteers or technology solutions. Robo-guards?
After City Hall Watcher noted in September that Yonge & Eglinton had taken the crown as the busiest pedestrian intersection in recent City counts, Councillor Josh Matlow is moving for a report on installing a pedestrian scramble to allow for more efficient diagonal crossing.
In another item related to Premier Doug Ford’s bike lane bill, Councillor Dianne Saxe would like City Manager Paul Johnson to write a letter protesting the overreach of Bill 212.
Friday, November 15
🏟️ Council meets at City Hall at 9:30 a.m., if necessarySo far this year, Council hasn’t yet had to run over to a third day to finish an agenda. I think they should keep that streak going.
🪧 The Sign Variance Committee meets via videoconference at 9:30 a.m.The Sign Squad will get a staff presentation about recent changes to the sign bylaw.
The Week After Next
The General Government Committee meets on Wednesday, November 20.
The Far-Flung Future
Council’s next meeting starts on Tuesday, December 17.
Feedback? Tip? Email Matt Elliott. For advertising inquiries, email Sean Hansel.
Are there any updates on Toronto pursuing Charter City status?