Latest news with #TorontoCityCouncil
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WARMINGTON: Forget the lights and cameras, mayor, we need action in Toronto
Yes, that was Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow you saw on location for this movie production. The scene for this Toronto movie script is being written in Dublin and London. Starring Toronto's dancing and dressup mayor, this project is not being produced at our City Hall but ones in Ireland and England. But funded by Toronto taxpayers. 'This trade mission is about supporting more economic opportunities for Toronto workers and businesses, including export diversification and foreign direct investment attraction,' Chow said in a news release on the rationale of going across the pond for film industry trade discussions until Saturday. It may feel like a comedy, but it's being sold as a business trip. 'I am pleased to be joined by leaders from Toronto's film industry to highlight one of the many sectors in which Toronto is home to a world-class industry,' said Chow, who is expected to meet with Dublin Mayor Ray McAdam and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. With McAdam not tweeting about Chow's visit and the Irish press not seeming to mention it, this feels more like a prime-time summer getaway at a time when Torontonians are struggling to pay for lodging and facing crime, high taxes and long waits for emergency services. Apparently that stuff can wait. 'It comes down to a question of priorities,' said Councillor Brad Bradford. 'And I certainly think there's lots for the mayor and council to be working on on this side of the Atlantic.' Turns out, though, that U.S. President Donald Trump is being written in as the villain. 'At a time of historic uncertainty, reliable trade partners have never been more important,' said Chow. Is Tory's Texas trip taxpayer money well spent? WARMINGTON: Only in Toronto would swimming pools be closed because it's too hot First Carney was taking Canadian trade to Europe and now it's Chow. 'The city is leading collaborative, export-focused initiatives that enhance Toronto's role as a global trade player,' said a release. 'In addition to trade missions, Toronto is also delivering city-led and partner-driven programs that address key gaps especially for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) with a focus on three core areas: Education and capacity building, strategic market access through trade missions and targeted support for priority sectors.' Say what? Move over Eglinton-Crosstown! 'I can appreciate the need to diversify our relationships, looking for new partnerships and investment,' said Bradford. 'But as a local councillor, I hear about all the challenges facing the city right here at home. I hear from Torontonians struggling to make ends meet in a city that's less and less affordable, gridlock that has made commutes unbearable and has ground the city to halt, parents who are concerned about safety in our park and safety on transit.' It's unclear how many people are on the Toronto tab for this trip, how much the bill will be and if there will be any economic benefit. But what is known is July is not a cheap time to visit the United Kingdom or Ireland. 'It's peak season,' said Bradford. 'Why now?' It's my view that nobody from city hall should be there and that no grants, funding or tax credits to foreign entertainment or business ventures should be offered. This includes the World Cup of soccer, which the elite should pay for with their own hundreds of millions. If the mayor or council want to go to the U.K, they should pay for expenses themselves – like late mayor Rob Ford did when he went to Austin, Texas, to check out the live music industry in 2013. 'I paid my own way and for my staff. I think it was $9,000,' Ford told me at the time. There should be no municipal taxpayer money used to fund international soccer tournaments or concert stadiums or movies or basketball practice facilities. If the show they are putting on is good enough – like Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, which put on six soldout shows here in 2024 with no subsidies – then it benefits Toronto. If it needs to be propped up by families who can't make ends meet, it's not helping Toronto. Local governments should stick to roads and public safety. I don't want to ruin Chow's excellent adventure, but with food bank lines around the block, she should get back here and do the job she's elected and paid well to do. However, Chow's news release argues 'Toronto's economic relationship with Ireland, as the only English-speaking country in the European Union, is a gateway into the EU single market for Toronto businesses.' There may be a debate if this movie's plot is fictional, but there's no debating England and Ireland are nice in July – especially when someone else pays.
National Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Chris Selley: No municipal bylaw will calm the anti-Israel rabble
On Thursday Toronto city council passed a bylaw allowing schools, daycares and places of worship to apply for a 50-metre 'bubble zone' in which protesting would be prohibited. The impetus, obviously, is the anti-Israel protesters who have been targeting synagogues since Oct. 7, 2003. They and their supporters naturally complained bitterly about this new bylaw — a violation of the Charter, they said confidently. (Typically, council voted down a motion that would have made public the legal advice it had received on the matter.) Article content Article content Article content That said, it seems doubtful any of the synagogue protesters are much worried about this development. Several have proven themselves perfectly willing to be arrested for their cause (though Crown prosecutors have often been uninterested in pursuing charges). The idea they would defer to Toronto's bylaw officers is risible. Article content Article content The idea Toronto bylaw officers would even wade into this is somewhat dubious, frankly, though council approved funding for 12 new officers. 'Toronto bylaw officer' is not a byword for 'robust, consistent and judicious enforcement.' In an extraordinary illustration of who really runs City Hall, in January, Toronto's executive director of licensing and standards announced to council's budget committee that he was thenceforth refusing to have bylaw officers deal with unlicensed marijuana retailers. 'These officers do not have arrest powers and are not permitted or trained to use force while carrying out enforcement activities,' Carleton Grant, who remains in his position, told the committee. 'This makes the enforcement of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries challenging and presents health and safety risks to officers.' Article content Article content And wading into a baying mob demanding global intifada 40 metres in front of a bubble-zoned synagogue is … what, exactly? A fun day out? Article content Article content But Jewish Canadians have freedom of association as well, not to mention freedom of worship. On its face, a 50-metre no-go zone seems reasonable. If it's unreasonable, then the Criminal Code is also unreasonable — perhaps even more so. Section 176 reads as follows: 'Everyone who wilfully disturbs or interrupts an assemblage of persons met for religious worship or for a moral, social or benevolent purpose is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.'
CTV News
20-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Chow's office calls lower estimate for provincial FIFA cash for Toronto a ‘clawback'
The Toronto sign outside city hall is shown in this file photo. (Chris Fox/ Mayor Olivia Chow's office says a new, lower estimate for the amount of money Toronto will receive from the province to offset its costs for hosting six FIFA World Cup games next year amounts to a 'clawback.' Toronto could now be on the hook for more money than expected to host the six games, according to a new report set to go before Toronto City Council this week. Earlier this month, Chow's Executive Committee asked Sharon Bollenbach, the executive director of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat, to report directly to City Council on the status of intergovernmental funding related to hosting six of the games. The estimated cost of holding six FIFA matches in the city is $380 million. Of that, the federal government has agreed to kick in $104.3 million, while the province is providing $97 million. The city is picking up $178.7 million of the cost. While the city was hoping that much of the provincial contribution would be in the form of cash to offset tournament expenses, the $97 million also includes services being provided by the province, such as policing, transportation and health care. In a statement, a spokesperson for Ontario's Minister of Sport Neil Lumsden said that the Ford government's 'investment of $97M to support hosting the 2026 FIFA world Cup in Toronto remains unchanged.' 'We are in constant contact with the city to ensure the successful delivery of this once-in-a-lifetime event,' he said. Costs 'substantially higher than budgeted,' says executive director of FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat The cost of some of those provincially-provided services, however, are 'substantially higher than budgeted,' a report from Bollenbach says. In some cases, the provincial services are 'completely unbudgeted' so far, the report states. The latest estimate for provincial services which are still being negotiated pegs those costs at around $39 million, leaving less cash than expected to offset city expenses. 'We understood the province would account for some of their costs in the $97 million they committed, but $40 million is a much larger clawback than expected, and for a broader range of services than expected, such as healthcare,' Chow's office said in a statement to CP24. 'Mayor Chow wishes to continue to negotiation with the province to free up those funds or will alternatively start looking to cut $40 million from the FIFA budget as a result of the provincial funding change.' The estimated provincial costs include $15 million from the Ministry of Health for paramedics and surge capacity; $2.5 million from the Ministry of Sport for project management and staffing; $6.6 million from the Ministry of Transportation for additional transit, free transit for volunteers, and additional security for highways; and $14 million for Ontario Provincial Police costs. The estimate does not include the full cost of provincial services that would be needed in the case of any emergency incidents arising out of the games. 'While negotiations continue to be productive, provincial service costs are still substantially higher than budgeted, and in some cases completely unbudgeted,' Bollenbach wrote. FIFA's World Cup 2026 office in Toronto The entrance to FIFA's World Cup 2026 office in Toronto with a display of match balls from FIFA World Cups dating back to the 1970 men's tournament is shown on Monday Dec. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Neil Davidson Her report did not say exactly how much cash the city could be short due to the higher cost estimates for provincial services. A separate report on procurement for the games found an $18 million funding gap, as of April 25, that the city is hoping to make up through donations, merchandise sales, music royalties, hospitality sales at the stadium, and opportunities around the FIFA Fan Festival. Bollenbach noted that an economic impact assessment conducted by Deloitte Canada estimated the games would contribute billions of dollars to Canada's economy, as well as 'substantial tax revenues' for the federal and provincial governments. 'FWC26 Toronto Secretariat will stay diligent in continuing negotiations with the province to reduce uncertainties around scope and lowering ministry service costs back to the City,' Bollenbach wrote. 'It is staff's intention to maintain as much of the $97 million contribution in cash to offset the City's hosting responsibilities while maintaining the approved budget envelop of $380 million approved by City Council.' The report is set to go before council later this week.
