CAN YOU TAKE AN ACTION TO SUPPORT A BETTER BUDGET FOR TORONTO? Model letter below!

Please write the Mayor and your Councillor: Here’s a draft note, please copy, paste, personalize and send to: Mayor_tory@toronto.ca and your councillor (Councillor_lastname@toronto.ca). Find your councillor here.  

Dear Mayor Tory

I am writing to you with my concerns re Toronto’s budget. 

It is my view that revenue is urgently needed and that a commercial parking levy is something the city can implement as it has been in other cities.

The planned cuts to TTC service and increased fares will take transit in the wrong direction. To meet our social and environmental needs we need to reduce fares and improve service.  Using the commercial parking levy revenue to fund transit will help to accomplish this.

Our funding decisions must take into account our climate goals. This year the City of Toronto will be implementing a climate lens for decisions in all city departments.  It’s time to review the planned rebuild of the Gardiner and to compare the cost of an elevated Gardiner with putting those funds into active transportation (bike and pedestrian infrastructure) and transit instead. We need to shift transportation patterns from cars to bikes, walking and transit.

[Your name and address]

Please bcc lyn@climatefast.ca.

THERE ARE MANY CONCERNS ABOUT THE BUDGET and Social Planning Toronto has social media messages to share! Scroll down for more info.  Toronto needs to have a heart!

Groups are invited to sign on to this letter calling on the city to provide a full account of the costs, and lost revenues, of the June 2015 decision to rebuild the eastern Gardiner Expressway. Sign on via this form.

Albert Koehl published an op-ed in the Toronto Star on February 5th, detailing the problems with the city's plan for the Gardiner. He argues that: 

A mayor in search of a legacy will not want to be remembered for building a waterfront expressway while the earth was beginning to burn. Toronto’s climate plan includes a 2030 goal of converting to walking, cycling, and transit 75 per cent of all trips under five kilometres.

The Gardiner reflects yesterday’s thinking but gobbles up today’s dollars. We deserve to know the (billions of) dollars and cents of what we’re getting into, and what we’re missing out on.

On February 1, Mayor John Tory released his budget. On February 14 — Valentine’s Day — Toronto City Council will vote on it. Over the next couple of weeks we need to tell Mayor Tory and Councillors what loving our city really looks like (and it’s not spending almost $50 million on policing!). Join Social Planning Toronto and their allies in calling on the Mayor and City Council to #HaveAHeartTO!

We’re asking you to send a tweet asking the Mayor and/or your local Councillor to Have a heart and fix/change something in the 2023 City budget!

What would that look like? Maybe something like this:

Have a heart, @JohnTory. Policing poverty won’t make communities safer. Reallocate the police budget increase to community programs and mental health supports instead! #HaveAHeartTO

Try to personalize your tweet — say why you want this budget change. Like this:

Most of my income goes to rent, and I’m struggling to pay for food. I'm desperate to find a place I can afford. Have a heart, @JohnTory, and invest in building affordable housing. #HaveAHeartTO

Remember to:

• Use the hashtag #HaveAHeartTO
• Tag @JohnTory and/or your local Councillor!
• Use this Valentine image if you like.

More examples: 

Have a heart and put money behind the TransformTO climate strategy. For my children. #HaveAHeartTO

Have a heart and help Toronto’s nonprofits help our most vulnerable residents by giving them funding that at least keeps up with inflation. #HaveAHeartTO

Have a heart. Unhoused people are dying, but there’s nothing in the budget about warming centres. #HaveAHeartTO

Have a heart and drop the TTC cuts. I already spend 2 hours just to get to work every day. I’d really like to spend more time with my family. #HaveAHeartTO

Come out in person!  Gather 9 - 9:30 in front of City Hall. The meeting starts at 9:30 am in Council chambers. When we attend in person it sends a message of our concern that the city's financial decisions match our priorities, so join us if you can!

Or you can watch the debate on the city’s livestream.

HOW ARE WE DOING ON OUR EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS?

This graph is included in ClimateFast Co-Chair Lyn Adamson's budget deputation which you can watch here. It shows that our emissions reductions have stalled.  If we are going to achieve our targets we need to ramp up action. Please call on the Mayor (416-397-2489; Mayor_tory@toronto.ca) and your councillor through a short note or a phone call - today. Find your councillor's contact information here.