Latest news with #AmberMorley
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Rat response plan up for debate at Toronto City Hall
A large rat feasts on leftover food scraps outside of the Burrard SkyTrain Station in Vancouver on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns Toronto's plan to tackle its growing rat population will go before a municipal committee on Wednesday. City Manager Paul Johnson released the city's 'Rat Response Plan' last month, following a motion last year by Coun. Alejandra Bravo and Deputy Mayor Amber Morley to address what the pair described at the time as the 'increasing challenge' of large rat populations in Toronto. The plan, which is being reviewed by the Economic and Community Development Committee this morning, would launch in 2026 and include, among other things, the creation of a 'Rat Response' coordination team, responsible for supporting the improved coordination of rat management across the city. Also included is a proposed requirement for contractors to prevent and manage rat infestations at city-led construction sites when they're displaced into neighbuoring properties. Private construction sites, as well as Metrolinx-led projects, would also be advised on how to implement proper pest management and reduce the impact of rats. In a letter published last month, Coun. Paula Fletcher said she's heard from Toronto-Danforth residents near the Ontario Line construction about 'rodent infestations' in and around their homes following the project's start. 'Currently, the pest control process is largely reactive and difficult for residents to access. As the city explores a comprehensive rat management strategy, it is imperative that Metrolinx-led transit projects align with these standards and adopt a preventative approach,' she wrote at the time. The city's plan would cost up to $351,000 to hire two people to implement it, as well as $150,000 for public communication and staff training. Rat-related complaints have more than doubled The report notes that rats in Toronto are not a public health issue, as there is no evidence of disease transmission linked to rats in Toronto, and the rodents should be treated 'as a nuisance.' 'However, they can still pose health risks in food establishments and may contribute to mental health impacts for residents dealing with infestations,' the report read. According to the city, there is no reliable method to estimate the number of rats in any city, so municipalities rely on service request or complaints about rodents to inform their pest management strategy. However, from 2015 to 2024, city data shows that the number of rodent-related complaints climbed from 1,165 to 2,523. As well, a 12-year report released earlier this year found that Toronto has seen a significant increase to its rat population, ranking third among the 16 cities studied, with warming temperatures, growing urban centres, and ongoing construction projects listed as contributing factors.
CBC
07-06-2025
- CBC
Toronto marks National Day Against Gun Violence days after Lawrence Heights shooting
Social Sharing Toronto officials marked the National Day Against Gun Violence with a city hall event on Friday that came after a week in which a shooting left one person dead and five others injured. Mayor Olivia Chow told a gathering at the city's Indigenous Spirit Garden that the national day represents a call for peace and aims to bring awareness to the causes and effects of gun violence and the need for prevention and healing. Chow was joined by Deputy Mayor Amber Morley, Spadina-Fort York MPP Chris Glover and Don Valley North MP Maggie Chi. "The impact of gun violence is far-reaching. It impacts all of us," Chow said. On Tuesday evening, a shooting in Toronto's Lawrence Heights neighbourhood left Yahya Ahmed-Mohamoud, 31, of Toronto, dead. Police identified him in a news release on Friday. Ahmed-Mohamoud suffered life-threatening injuries in the shooting in the area of Ranee Avenue and Varna Drive and and was pronounced dead in hospital. Five others, three men, a woman and a youth, suffered non-life threatening injuries. Toronto police are seeking three suspects in the shooting. Chow said the shooting in Lawrence Heights has shaken the neighbourhood and all of Toronto. Chow, Deputy Mayor Mike Colle and Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw went to the area on Thursday to speak to community members, friends of the victims and neighbourhood activists about the gun violence. "There's a lot of grief, a lot of trauma, people who are afraid in their neighbourhood. They are scared for their kids. But one thing — because they showed up, they will not let fear dictate their lives. They believe that change is possible," Chow said. Chow said she and the police chief were urged to come back to the community to work together for peace. She said she was told: "We are disappointed. We are devastated. But we have not given up." Chow said she is committed to return to the community in a couple of weeks. 'We are here and I am feeling your pain' Shondelle Reis, whose son Joshua Bernard-Reis, 21, died due to gun violence, also spoke at the event. On Sept. 24, 2023, her son was on his way home after helping his sister move some furniture when he got out of his car near his Scarborough home and climbed up some stairs. He was hit by two bullets. He was rushed to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and later removed from life support. Reis said the tragedy tore her family apart. Now she organizes programs and projects for others to help them heal. "I am here this morning, not speaking for myself, but speaking on behalf of all mothers who have lost their children to gun violence. We are here and I am feeling your pain. I am standing in your silence and I am standing in your strength," Reis said. "Today, as I prepare to lay flowers on behalf of families that have lost their children to gun violence, I want to say, I remember you, honour you, and I carry you in my spirit," she said. "Joshua, they thought when they took you that they were going to erase your legacy and your name. But I am here to rewrite your story with ink that will never be erased." Reis said in an interview later her experience is something that no mother should go through. "Because when families have been impacted by gun violence, sometimes those families ... get left behind. They feel like they are the one that committed the crime because no one seems to pay them no mind," Reis said. Last June, the federal government proclaimed the first Friday of June as the National Day Against Gun Violence in Canada.
CBC
26-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Etobicoke businesses file lawsuit over Bloor Street bike lanes consultation
More than 40 Etobicoke businesses have filed a lawsuit against the City of Toronto, its transportation manager and a local councillor over bike lanes they allege were installed on Bloor Street W. without proper consultation. The group is suing the city for $10 million in damages for "negligence and nuisance" allegedly caused by a five-kilometre bike lane that connects Bloor West Village to the Kingsway neighbourhood. It's also suing Etobicoke-Lakeshore Coun. Amber Morley and Barbara Gray, Toronto's general manager of transportation services, for "misfeasance of public office." The lawsuit was filed Friday in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice. None of the claims have been tested in court. The city and Coun. Morley both say they have received the claim, but declined to comment as the matter is before the court. The group, which consists of a variety of businesses, including retailers, restaurants and professional offices, is also seeking an injunction that would require bike lanes to be removed to make way for motor vehicles. The lawsuit alleges that the Bloor Street W. bike lane extension, put in place between Runnymede and Resurrection roads in 2023 and 2024, has negatively impacted business and caused "run-away traffic congestion issues." WATCH | Fact-checking claims that bike lanes cause traffic problems: Cyclists and congestion: Will removing bike lanes ease city traffic? 4 months ago Duration 6:17 The city's planning, consultation and implementation were "willfully lacking in candour, frankness and impartiality," according to the statement of claim, and failed to meet the duty of care owed to the group of businesses. "We felt like we were dismissed. It was like they were checking boxes when they met with us," said Sam Pappas, owner of the Crooked Cue, part of the group of businesses that filed the lawsuit. The group alleges the defendants "manipulated the public consultation process to minimize opposition and exaggerate support" for the bike lane extension by, among other things, "stacking" public meetings with cycling advocates and failing to conduct door-to-door consultations with local businesses. The statement of claim alleges that Coun. Morley gave preferential treatment to advocacy group CycleTO over the voices of local businesses, and deliberately misrepresented and overstated the nature and extent of consultations on the project. It also alleges that Gray, the city's transportation manager, was being unlawfully lobbied by CycleTO during consultations, and that she deliberately misrepresented or ignored study data, bicycle counts and potential impacts related to the bike lanes. Mayor Olivia Chow told CBC Radio's Metro Morning Wednesday that she's met with the business owners who launched the lawsuit. She said the city is looking at ways to redesign the bike lanes in question so that a motor vehicle lane could be restored without removing cycling infrastructure. Province already threatening to remove bike lanes Alison Stewart, CycleTO's director of advocacy and public policy, says CycleTO was surprised by the lawsuit. Coun. Morley was elected to office in October 2022, after the extension was approved, she says, and the province already introduced a law last year that threatens to remove bike lanes from Bloor Street W. and other parts of the city. CycleTO filed a constitutional challenge against that law in January. "It seems unnecessary for these businesses to target [these bike lanes] separately," Stewart said. WATCH | Toronto cyclists launch court challenge against Ontario bike lane removal legislation: Toronto cyclists launch court challenge against Ontario bike lane removal legislation 3 months ago Duration 2:44 A group of cyclists are leading a court challenge against the Ontario government's legislation to remove municipal bike lanes. They argue the province's plan infringes on bike riders' Charter rights to life and security. CBC's Ali Chiasson has the details. She says the city conducted thorough consultations on the project, and just because businesses aren't happy with the bike lanes, it doesn't mean the city failed to do its due diligence. She said complaints from businesses feel premature, as the lane extensions were only completed last year. "Change takes time," Stewart said. Business owner says bike lanes are costing sales The owner of one of the businesses involved in the lawsuit says the lanes have been a "disaster" for her store, saying sales have gone down 20 to 25 per cent since they were installed. "[Customers] can't park, so they're not going to come. They go home," said Henny Varga, owner of Simply Chic on Bloor Street W. "If they don't move them, we're losing a lot of retailers," Varga said. "It's not worth it for us to be here." The lawsuit alleges that the city has failed to properly monitor the impacts of the bike lanes, including how they affect emergency response times, which businesses claim have slowed as a result. The statement of claim says bike lanes have also eroded the character of the neighbourhood, decreased surrounding property values and reduced business and foot traffic in the area. "The Plaintiffs plead that the foregoing harms were a foreseeable consequence of the Bike Lanes Extension, and that the Defendants nonetheless dogmatically pursued the project," according to the statement of claim.
