Toronto City Council is holding a huge 3-day meeting right now

Jul 4 2017, 9:12 pm

Imagine walking into a meeting with 275 items to discuss. That’s what Toronto City Council will be doing in their last scheduled meeting of the summer.

Scheduled over the next three days, July 4 to 6, Council’s next meeting is not until October. So this week’s agenda is heavy and ranges from transit, to taxation, and climate change.

Here are some of the topics being discussed this week:

TransformTO

This was deferred by City Council during May’s meeting. The City’s Parks and Environment Committee is recommending that council approve long-term goals and pursue necessary measures to realize a low-carbon Toronto in 2050 that achieves an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions against 1990 levels. The report states that our current pace of change is insufficient to achieve the emission reduction goal, and the price tag on this is $6.7 million in 2018.

Proposed King Street Transit Pilot

After several public presentations, City Council will either vote to proceed with implementation of the proposed King Street Transit Pilot between Bathurst Street and Jarvis Street, or shut it down. The pilot will put streetcars first on the busy downtown route.

Vacant Home Tax

While still in its early stages, Council will be looking at the direction of different study options on how best to approach the Vacant Home Tax, and the studies will be looked at in the fall.

Action Plan for Transgender Youth

Although the City is making some positive gender-inclusive steps, this report states that there remains a gap in fully addressing the important complex needs of trans-identified youth and recommends the development of a targeted action plan focused on equitable access and service delivery to ensure that trans youth experience the wellbeing, safety and opportunities afforded to all Torontonians.

Inclusion of Movie Nights

One of the most popular activities in the summer is watching movies outdoors at one of Toronto’s many parks. The City’s Park and Environment committee wants to make it more accessible for groups to host movie nights, and are recommending to add the activity to the “Arts in the Park” permit category, while eliminating financial and administrative barriers.

Streetcar Service on Queen Street

During a city hall committee meeting in June, a vote passed to explore the possibility of the transit change along one of downtown’s busiest streets. This report requests that upon completion of the construction projects that have resulted in the removal of the 501 Queen Streetcar route from service for Summer 2017 that the TTC holds off on the streetcar running for two weeks to collect data for a comparison study.

Damages sustained at the Toronto Islands due to flooding

The usually bustling Toronto Island has a projected revenue loss of $4.9 million for its closure between May 4 and July 31 due to flooding. The Parks department is recommending City Council to authorize the temporarily suspension of rent and licence fees from Island tenants or licensees as deemed appropriate.

Reinstating the City’s LGBTQ2S+ Community Advisory Committee

Toronto arguably has the country’s largest and most diverse LGBTQ2S+ community, according to councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who is recommending the establishment of a new Community Advisory Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Two-Spirited Issues. The last such committee was dissolved in 2006.

Affirming Council Support for the Toronto Police Service

It’s been a rough several months for the Toronto Police Service, according to councillor Giorgio Mammoliti. Mammoliti is recommending that Council express its full support for the Toronto Police Service, after they were removed from this year’s Pride Parade (in uniform), and after a meeting was held to remove the School Resource Officer program at the Toronto District School board.

All City Council meetings are streamed live, so you can get in on all the action here:

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