As city councillor for Ward 16, my priority would be to restore access to communication between the councilor and constituents by opening a constituency office in the Ward. The people should have access to their elected officials, not just a knock on the door or a flier when the candidate needs the vote. Additionally, renters' rights have been neglected; I would work with like-minded councilors to advocate for more by-laws to prevent renoviction and rent increase caps in collaboration with the province.

As city councilor for Ward 16, I would advocate for and support the creation of a City of Toronto housing commissioner, which would leverage specialized knowledge and collaboration with all levels of government for mid and long-term housing strategies. In the short term, I would support projects such as the construction of affordable rental housing in underutilized city-owned properties in ward 16, specifically in the Don Mills and Eglinton area. Why? Because we are in the midst of a housing crisis, creative/collaborative ideas are urgent.

Promoting, providing, and maintaining adequate public transportation, including TTC, is key to combating climate change through emission reduction. How? Providing support for users in need, for example, free or reduced fares for people 12-18 years old and on social assistance. Additionally, bike lanes should be created in Ward 16 where feasible (where data shows there would not be a negative impact on traffic fluidity), as this would encourage people to use their bikes and reduce vehicle usage.

Affordability right now is the most significant barrier to getting around safely and efficiently, especially for the poor. Facilitating access to TTC via fare reduction or fare elimination for those in vital need of support (people on social assistance and youth) while fighting any fare increases and efforts for privatization or transfer of TTC control to the province is another significant step. Lastly, leveraging existing/future studies of signal lights may be a cost-effective way of retiming these lights to make them transit more effective.

I find it urgent to study the effects of privatization of certain services such as garbage collection. Preliminary research indicates that instead of the city saving money, it costs more to the city for private garbage collection west of Yonge street. We need to examine those contracts on a case-by-case basis, and when the arrangements are ready for renewal, if it saves the city money, we need to bring those services back to the city.

I think a professional police force is necessary to maintain law and order. I also believe most police officers are honorable women and men, but we should not dismiss the concerns of racialized Canadians. Many racialized Canadians have expressed to me during canvassing that sometimes they feel wrongfully targeted or profiled. Still, some out-of-the-box alternatives to policing should be explored, such as non-police responses in cases of mental health or addiction issues.

Improve the quality of life for Torontonians by minimizing their taxes, providing safety and security, and the requisite services and infrastructure which have traditionally enhanced our neighborhoods and enabled families to raise their children and to age in place in harmony and dignity. The tax exempt will be encouraged to contribute to their communities and to the City. New housing developments must be accompanied by concurrent investments in health services, education, recreation, transportation, and employment opportunities.

1. To increase the supply of affordable housing, allow private property owners to explore creative options compliant with the Building Code and Fire Code; 2. Work with the Province to loosen restrictive legislation choking the rental housing market; 3. Restructure municipal land holdings to free-up hundreds of acres to showcase environmentally sustainable, 21st-century model communities promoting net zero, single-family homes; 4. Revise ambitious, inflationary net zero targets for existing buildings; 5. Encourage housing on tax exempt sites.

The question implies invalid assumptions about climate change. Accept it. Live with it. Move on. Canadians should rejoice in the eventual rejuvenation of Axel Heiberg Island, the reforestation of a desolate Arctic, and all the opportunities that will present themselves with the revival of the Arctic Archipelago, its expanding biodiversity, and the prospects for human habitation. Toronto City Council should leave climate change to nature and focus on solutions to our urban dilemmas in a city where people have heart attacks shoveling the snow.

1. Install traffic signals where needed; 2. Install sidewalks where needed; 3. Investigate the potential of the public right-of-ways abutting roads to accommodate bike lanes; 4. New developments should have building setback requirements dedicated to road expansion, bike lanes, wider sidewalks; 5. Provide frequent, reliable, accessible, and safe public transit; 6. Expand road network with elevated roads and highways; 7. Proper planning for future growth. Fund it from development charges, the reallocation of resources, and provincial transfers.

1. Freeze property tax rates. They are not related to income and erode housing affordability; 2. Negotiate higher head and bed levies; 3. Eliminate transfers to tax exempt organizations that can generate donation revenue from the private sector. They were granted tax exempt status to assume responsibility for funding and supporting community services. Stop duplication; 4. Where conventions signed by Ottawa prevent City from collecting property taxes, Ottawa should transfer equivalent amount to City.

1. Maintain visible police presence on local roads, in parks, and on trails; 2. Impose consequences that deter criminal activity; 3. Shut revolving door of the courts; 4. Work with educators to build respect for rule of law, respect for others, and for the property of others; 5. After-school programs to foster sportsmanship and provide physical workout; 6. Boot camp in the High Arctic. Community safety and crime reduction promote business investment, job opportunities, education and career advancement, family stability, and social harmony.

As Ward 16’s City Councillor, making living in Toronto more affordable will be my number one priority. The housing crisis our city is facing has not come out of nowhere, but is a result of deliberate policy choices supported by our elected representatives for the past decade and before. Our inability to build enough housing to accommodate the growth is taking its toll on the pocketbooks of both new residents and existing homeowners. We need to increase supply and incentivize developers to build affordable housing at every opportunity.

We need to reform zoning rules to peel back exclusionary zoning along major arterial roads. We should extend existing inclusionary zoning policies to reward developers who include affordable housing in larger developments with additional allowances for density. These policies will allow us to build the ‘missing middle’ of mid rise housing that we rarely see, and through allowing more supply on the market we can best combat the rising cost of housing. I would also focus to see how council can get the cities HousingNow initiatives back on track.

I believe the most effective way the city can make an impact is by strengthening our existing transit system, increasing TTC ridership, and expanding the RapidTO bus service program so that we can move people around the city in an efficient, environmentally friendly way. Not only is increased usage of public transit better for the environment, it also allows for less car traffic on the roads so those who have to drive spend less time on their commute. Less time spent idling in traffic means less air pollutants overall.

As a part of the next City Council I would seek to explore other revenue tools to help sustainably fund city services including requesting the province to allow the City to look at implementing a Land Value Tax. Implementing such a tax would allow the taxation of land without being as closely subject to the volatility of the value of property on the land. As an alternative to a property tax hike, a land value tax would not create a disincentive to property owners from improving the property on their land through renovations or densification.

I am a believer in Vision Zero, and want to be a part of the mission to make traffic fatalities no longer a commonplace occurrence in our city. Cyclist safety also needs prioritization and cannot be done by simply adding some paint to a road shared by cars and calling it an exclusive bike lane. We need protected bike lanes not only to ensure the safety of cyclists but to make our infrastructure easier to navigate for anyone getting around our city. Massive change can be achieved if we shift our thinking, and make road safety a priority.

As gun violence rises we need to do more to fund programs with an alternative model for crisis response like the SafeTO initiative to shift our focus to prevention rather than reacting after violent incidents occur. Support for victims and community stakeholders to improve the success of these pilot programs is key as well as ensuring accountability for where TPS resources are focused. I also believe there needs to be support focused on investigating the rapid rise in car thefts in communities like Don Mills as well as North York.

As Councillor, my top priority would be to advocate for a "Back to Basics" approach to municipal service delivery. This means setting benchmarks for City staff and agencies, and those contracted by the City, to perform their basic responsibilities to the highest quality and in a timely manner--such as ensuring that roads & sidewalks are in good repair, subways & buses run on time, grass is cut, and litter is picked up. Similarly, I want to ensure that infrastructure and services are adequately planned and keep up with rapid residential growth.

Ensuring adequate and affordable housing is undoubtedly the main challenge facing Toronto today. While the senior levels of government play a major role in funding & facilitating affordable housing, there are a number of things Council can do on its own to increase the city's housing supply. This includes expanding inclusionary zoning to more areas of Toronto, which requires that a percentage of units in any new housing development be below market rates, and simplifying the planning application process for affordable housing on transit routes.

Enhancing public transit options is perhaps the most effective means for Council to mitigate climate change in Toronto. This means not only maintaining but also expanding transit (especially rapid transit) routes and infrastructure across the entire city so that commuters can reach almost anywhere easily and quickly on transit instead of by car. Toronto has consistently failed to engage in long-term transit planning (partly for lack of provincial & federal funding) and so is many decades behind other cities in providing fast & reliable transit.

Enhancing public transit options is essential to improving the ability of the people of Toronto to get around safely and efficiently. As the population of Toronto continues to grow, our roads will increasingly run out of capacity to handle more cars. Efficient rapid transit covering the entire city--not just oriented toward bringing people to Toronto's downtown--means people will have options other than their car for travel. And, for the many Torontonians without a car, access to an extensive network of rapid transit is an absolute necessity.

Provincial legislation gives Toronto, like all municipalities, relatively few options to raise needed revenue to pay for services. The next Council will therefore have limited ability to make substantive changes to tax rates or fees. Property taxes will need to increase but should be kept to the rate of inflation. A large decrease in City spending would require a provincial policy change, such as transferring the cost of transit and anti-poverty & housing programs/services to the Province, to be funded through the broader, provincial tax base.

Council needs to advocate for continued reforms to the Toronto Police Service's budget that better focus police resources on deterring and solving violent crime as well as property crimes that currently go unanswered. This means expanding non-police community emergency response initiatives such as the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team that deploys unarmed, medically-trained personnel to respond to non-violent emergency calls and people in crisis. It also means redeploying police away from administrative-type tasks toward more community policing.

Mabe my priority has already been addressed by the former councilor but housing will be my top priority, it is very important for all residents here in don valley east. to have affordable housing and we have a great deal of crown land that we can use without harming the environment.

Well, We obviously need more because the city is growing and we see that instead of building houses horizontal we are building vertically to accommodate much more people than ever before and I am sure we can use crown land without disturbing the environment and wildlife around us

Well, We are building the LRT, more electric cars are on the way, The city should be a leader walk the walk and talk we all need to play a part As a former city employee i know from experience that everything is slow and takes time, especially at city hall to implement. So The city should have all its fleet as hybrid and i am sure the public will.We are planting more trees and cleaning our beaches. Education and constantly reminding each other of the importance of the effects of climate change,it affects us all whether we like it or not

We should make more ramps, more lighting in the evenings near major intersections when people go with scooters,More accessible taxi vans as partners of the city,Actually we were until uber came into the picture, and we scrapped it.evey store entrance shold have a accessible ramp and push button. I know these are all expenses but we are talking about human beings who have a need.

Well taxes are and have been a hot topic for all of us and inflation amongst other things is what brings taxes up. To be honest the city may hold off for 1,2 mabe 3 years but eventually go up. The city has a budget and taxes are a big source of the budget income revenue City services have dramatically fallen since covid . You can no longer go to a city-run facility, only by appointment and that appointment may take 2 to 3 weeks in some cases. People need face-to-face contact. The language barrier the e-mails the phone calls none work.

policing is a community effort. the police can not do anything without the communities effort. community approach is the key in reducing crime and if possible cameras near high crime areas, but if the community os not together the police can not do much feel his is a team effort we are strenth in numbers