November 20, 2025

Friends,

I was thrilled to join the Community Advisory Committee meeting for the Western Beaches Public Realm Plan yesterday evening, as part of Phase 2 of Community Engagement.

The Western Beaches comprises a four kilometer stretch of waterfront, parks and trails, and communities between the mouth of the Humber River and the eastern edge of Marilyn Bell Park. This Public Realm Plan will provide a renewed vision for the Western Beaches, including recommendations and priorities for improvements, that reflects the changing conditions, current priorities and community needs.

The Committee reviewed and shared feedback on emerging recommendations for the future of our Western Beaches at last night’s meeting. It was heartening to hear just how much the Western Beaches meant to the community members present, not just as a recreational area, but also as a place within a larger living system, connected to the lake, river, and surrounding watershed where people, nature, and place are deeply intertwined.

As part of the next step of this process the City is looking for public input on the proposed big moves. I encourage you to register for the virtual public meeting  on November 27, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m., and take the online survey  to provide feedback on the draft recommendations. The survey closes on December 8, 2025.

With your involvement we can develop a plan that reflects our shared values and advances sustainability, visitor experience, and connections and access to water at our Western Beaches.

Sincerely,


In This Week's Newsletter

City-Wide News

  • Toronto Home Energy Network - Webinar on Radiators and Heat Pumps

  • The TTC’s Fair Pass Transit Discount Program

Ward 4 news

  • 1499-1501 Queen St W & 91 Beaty Avenue Development Pre-Application Meeting 
  • 21-29 Oakmount Rd. & 26-36 Mountview Ave Community Consultation Meeting on Dec 1

  • 138 Dowling Ave Zoning By-law Amendment at TEYCC

  • Reminder: Parkdale Hub West Block Community Space – REOI Now Live

  • Bloor West Village Avenue Study

  • Construction Update: Sorauren Ave ( Dundas St W to Queen St W ) Watermain Replacement

  • Reminder: Baby Point Gates BIA Winter Event - Nov 22

  • Window Wonderland Transforms the Junction into a Free Outdoor Art Gallery

City-Wide News

Toronto Home Energy Network - Webinar on Radiators and Heat Pumps

Radiators give off lovely, even heat, and they're part of the charm of old houses. But most radiators are hooked up to gas boilers. Can you keep your radiators and get a clean, efficient heat pump, too? Toronto Home Energy Network and Toronto Hydro will cover your options at the next Electrification (with the Experts) webinar on Tuesday, November 25th, 6:30 pm-7:45 pm.

Bring your boiling questions! There will be a live Q&A.

RSVP and learn more here: https://www.thenetwork.to/event-details/electrification-with-the-experts-radiators-heat-pumps


🏠 The Toronto Home Energy Network builds home electrification community groups across Toronto. These groups provide personalized coaching, technology demonstrations, and make electrification what it should be: a smooth, stress-free way to improve your home's comfort and sustainability.


The TTC’s Fair Pass Transit Discount Program

The Fair Pass Transit Discount Program makes public transit more affordable for residents living on low incomes between the ages of 20 and 64, and provides discounts on all TTC vehicles, including Wheel Trans. Individuals who have aged out of Fair Pass will be notified by the end of November 2025 and will be informed about discounted fares available through the TTC. Learn more about the Fair Pass Transit Discount Program. 


Ward 4 news

1499-1501 Queen St W & 91 Beaty Avenue Development Pre-Application Meeting 

PARC is hosting an in-person community meeting wherein they will present their proposal to redevelop their properties at 1499-1501 Queen Street West and 91 Beaty Avenue to accommodate affordable housing, gathering and support space.

The proposal includes the retention of the historic facades of 1499-1501 Queen Street and the construction of a 10-storey mixed-use building at 1499 Queen West containing 3 storeys of resident and community gathering and support space and 7-storeys of housing above, and a 7-storey residential building at 1501 Queen West. A total of approximately 144 residential units are proposed within the redevelopment.  For more information on PARC, please see their website https://parc.on.ca/

The in-person meeting will be held on Thursday, December 4th, 5 PM to 6:30 PM in the second floor Auditorium at PARC (1499 Queen St West).

PARC’s Architects will provide a presentation on the proposal and will be available, along with their Planning, Heritage and Transportation Consultants and Councillor Gord Perks, for a Q&A about the proposal.


21-29 Oakmount Rd. & 26-36 Mountview Ave Community Consultation Meeting on Dec 1

The City has received a Zoning By-law Amendment application for 21-29 Oakmount Rd. & 26-36 Mountview Ave. and resultantly City Planning has scheduled an in-person Community Consultation Meeting for the evening of December 1st at 6pm.

Date: Monday, December 1, 2025

Time: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Location: Auditorium in Western Technical Commercial School located at 125 Evelyn Crescent, Toronto, ON M6P 3J7

A plan has been proposed to permit residential rental buildings in the form of two towers of 41 storeys and 39 storeys over a shared 6 storey podium, containing 873 residential units (including 11 rental replacement units), 537 bike parking spaces, and 78 vehicle parking spaces (including 10 for visitors). Next month's meeting, consisting of a short presentation of the proposal by City Planning Staff, followed by a presentation from the applicant, and concluding with a Q&A session, will allow you to view the proposal and share your thoughts.

Councillor Perks, City Planning staff, and the applicant will be in attendance to help answer any questions that may arise.

Further information on the project and what is being proposed can be found on the City's Application Information Centre website here: http://www.toronto.ca/26MountviewAve.


138 Dowling Ave, Zoning By-law Amendment

On Thursday, November 27th, Toronto and East York Community Council will consider TE27.2 - 138 Dowling Avenue - Zoning By-law Amendment - Decision Report – Approval.

The application proposes to permit a 16-storey apartment building with 145 purpose-built rental units at 138 Dowling Ave.

The staff report (available here) recommends approval of a Zoning By-law amendment. The application is consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement (2024) and conforms to the City’s Official Plan. Further, information submitted to the City by the applicant is available for your review on the City's Application Information Centre here.

Councillor Perks will follow staff recommendation and vote to approve the application.

A pre-application community meeting was held by the applicant at the request of Councillor Perks on November 19, 2024 and a Community Consultation Meeting was held May 7, 2025. The current application was submitted on March 13, 2025 and deemed complete on April 11, 2025.

You can register to speak or provide written comment through [email protected].

This item will be heard on November 27th after 10am.


Parkdale Hub Community Space – Apply Now!

 The City of Toronto is launching a new community space at 1337 Queen Street West as part of the Parkdale Hub redevelopment. The West Block will offer 23,300 sq. ft. of community space across three floors, featuring meeting rooms, shared kitchens, and office spaces for not-for-profit organizations to lease at a below-market rate, with occupancy expected in early 2029. Agencies interested in applying for tenancy must attend one mandatory online information session and submit a Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) application.

Sessions will be held on: Nov 20, 2025; Dec 4, 2025; and Jan 15, 2026. To register, email [email protected]. The application deadline is Feb 27, 2026, and Mar 13 for Indigenous- and Black-led organizations.

Learn more and apply by visiting: https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/community-partners/community-hubs


Bloor West Village Avenue Study

The City has completed an Avenue Study to assess the land uses, transportation and servicing infrastructure, community services and facilities, built form character and redevelopment potential for Bloor Street West between Keele Street and the Humber River. The Bloor West Village Avenue Study included extensive community consultation and technical review in order to evaluate existing conditions, develop a vision for the study area and set out recommendations for an area-specific planning framework that will guide future development and infrastructure improvements.

Following the completion of this study a set of guidelines have been created to shape future development in the area. These outcomes, which are available on the City website with additional information here: Bloor West Village Avenue Study – City of Toronto, are being reported to Toronto and East York Community Council on November 27th in Council chambers for consideration.

Should this item move forward to City Council, this will be the final opportunity for the community to provide input. Past engagement opportunities are listed here: Meetings & Events: Bloor West Village Avenue Study – City of Toronto.

If you wish to participate in the Council hearing, instructions on how to do so can be found here: Have Your Say at Council & Committee Meetings – City of Toronto.

Information on this item will be found here: Toronto and East York Community Council - Meeting 27 - TMMIS, once the agenda has been uploaded, closer to the date of the meeting.


Transit Priority Measures to Support the 505 Dundas 6-Minute Network

At the Toronto & East York Community Council on Thursday, November 27, 2025, Transportation Services will be requesting approval, on behalf of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), to install transit priority measures (TPMs) to support 6-minute headways on the 505 Dundas streetcar route from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, with these service improvements to 6-minute headways beginning in November 2025. If approved, the TPMs to support the 6-minute headways would be implemented January 2026. For the full report please see the following link Transit Priority Measures to Support the 505 Dundas 6-Minute Network. If you would like to speak on this item, please click the “Request to Speak” bar at the top of the agenda page Agenda Item History - 2025.TE27.51


Construction Update: Sorauren Ave ( Dundas St W to Queen St W ) Watermain Replacement

Week of November 17th The City of Toronto’s contractor is currently working to complete watermain installation from Queen St W to Dundas on Sorauren Ave.   

 

What work has been completed to date:

  • Installation of new watermain is ongoing
  • Some sections of the street have already undergone watermain chlorination

What’s happening over next two weeks  ( November 24th to December 5th )

  • The City’s contractor will continue to install new watermain on Sorauren working northbound
  • Work will continue on Virtue Street until the end of next week
  • Some water service connections will be made at intersections   

What residents can expect

  • Residents at the north end of Sorauren should expect delays when travelling on Sorauren, access will be maintained by our contractor however due to the nature of watermain replacement and the construction equipment needed,  traffic delays should be expected. Traffic personnel and paid duty police officers will be directing traffic.
  • Emergency breaks can occur during water main installation. These breaks are random and cause water service disruptions. The contractor will contact impacted homes and inform them of anticipated repair time if another break occurs.
  • Side streets between Dundas St W and Wright Ave should expect water service disruptions over the next two weeks. For any scheduled water shut offs our contractor will provide 48hrs notice of water service disruption, this includes the Condo and office spaces at the north end of Sorauren Ave.
  • Residents should continue to expect heavy truck traffic on the north end of Sorauren and at the intersections after Wight Ave.
  • Toronto Hydro is coordinating emergency works on Wright Ave – this work is not related to the City watermain work. For questions about this work please contact

416 542-8000 / https://www.torontohydro.com/contact-us

Anticipated timeline for 2025

  • All construction activities on Sorauren Ave will end as of December 19th . Our contractor will be demobilizing all construction related road equipment and materials until spring 2026. The construction trailer will remain at the present location until the end of this project .

Questions about this work


Baby Point Gates BIA Winter Event - Nov 22

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Friends,

As part of the George Street Revitalization (GSR) project, the City continues to relocate existing shelter programs to new and enhanced facilities across Toronto. The 2299 Dundas St. W. Men’s Shelter will create a safe space for 80 men experiencing homelessness. This program will provide case management to assist clients in securing permanent housing and access to onsite healthcare and mental health supports, including a Managed Alcohol Program. The anticipated construction completion date for this shelter is Winter 2026.

The shelter will be staffed 24-hours a day, seven days a week and offer specialized programs that will provide health and housing support to help residents improve their health and move toward permanent housing.

Services and features of the shelter will include:
• Onsite healthcare, including personal support workers, nursing, medication support, and access to an in-house physician.
• Access to health services, including a Managed Alcohol Program (MAP) and the Annex Infirmary program which provides short-term medical observation, care, and recovery support to clients experiencing health challenges.
• Case management to support clients secure permanent and supportive housing.
• Mental health services and referrals to a wide range of additional community supports

Shelters in our city provide essential support to individuals in immediate housing crisis, act as a stepping stone to permanent housing, reduce reliance on other high-cost services (e.g emergency rooms), and bring people indoors, by providing an alternative to sleeping in parks, sidewalks, or transit shelters.

If you are interested in supporting the shelter, through the offer of programs that benefit shelter residents, participating in community events or partnerships, or donating goods, please email [email protected].

There will be a community event to welcome the shelter to the neighbourhood once construction is completed. Updates will continue to be shared as the project progresses on the City’s webpage at toronto.ca/2299dundas.

If you would like to receive future updates, ask a question or share an idea, you can reach the project team at [email protected] .

 

Sincerely,

Gord


In This Week's Newsletter

City-Wide News

  • TRCA Flood Safety Information
  • CultureLink Career Workshop
  • Grassy Narrows River Run Rally Save the Date

Ward 4 news

  • Pat Capponi Parkette Opening Event
  • Toronto East York Community Council
    • 1464 King Street West and 10 to 12 Maynard Avenue
    • 1497 and 1501 Queen Street West and 89 and 91 Beaty Avenue
    • 1 & 3 Close Ave & 78 Springhurst Ave
    • 1730 Bloor Street West
    • 2273, 2277 and 2279 Bloor Street West
    • 34 to 50 Southport Street
    • Renaming Close-Springhurst Parkette in Honour of Diane Rajaram
    • Transportation Items
      • CNE Traffic and Parking Regulations
      • King Street Construction
      • Armadale and Mayfield - All-Way Stop
      • Traffic Calming Various Streets
      • St. John's Road - Additional Speed Humps
  • Parkdale Parking Restrictions during FIFA  

Friends,

On June 10, 2026, the Infrastructure and Environment Committee voted in favour of urging the Ontario government to immediately implement a deposit-return program for non-alcoholic beverage containers.

Currently, Ontario operates a successful deposit return system for alcohol, seeing an average of 75 percent of all empties returned to Beer Stores each year. The deposit return provides a consumer incentive to consciously recycle. This system must be expanded to include all beverage containers.

Ontario is one of Canada’s only provinces without a deposit-return program for non-alcoholic beverages. As a result, Ontario has the lowest beverage container recovery rate in Canada—at roughly 50% of containers being recycled. Other provinces such as Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia have an expanded deposit return program and see recovery rates 50% higher than Ontario. The Ontario government proposed expanding the deposit return program to include non-alcoholic containers in 2023 but has yet to do so.

The City of Toronto will join the Peel Region, the City of Waterloo, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative in urging the Ontario government to immediately implement a deposit-return program for non-alcoholic beverage containers.

The IEC Committee received a letter of support from the Canadian Beverage Association to expand the Deposit Return Program as the current mixed recycling system is inefficient, resulting in higher cost for producers with worse outcomes.

You can hear my comments on the matter at the IEC meeting here: https://youtu.be/73ZTlD1yDIU

As we push for ways to be more sustainable, I encourage you to participate in the Plastic Free July challenge, a global campaign encouraging individuals and communities to cut down on single use plastics throughout the month of July.  We can use this movement to make incremental changes in individual habits but also to mobilize as a community to influence our governments and businesses to adopt sustainable practices.

 

Sincerely,

Gord


In This Week's Newsletter

City-Wide News

  • FIFA Related Nighttime Waste Collection Changes

Ward 4 news

  • Sorauren Construction Progress Update – June 18,2026  
  • Swansea Town Hall: Clean Indoor Air Toronto
  • Summer Fest - Baby Point Gates BIACommunity Environment Day - June 27
  • Community Environment Day - June 27
  • Parkside Live: A Summer Music Series
  • Taste of the Junction 2026
  • Parkdale Parking Restrictions during FIFA  

Friends,

This week at City Council we adopted a landmark funding deal in which $1.5 billion in funding will be provided to the City of Toronto to reduce development charges in partnership with the provincial and federal governments. The full City Council agenda can be reviewed here: City Council - Meeting 42 - TMMIS

The City can now reduce its residential development charges by 40 to 60 per cent for the next three years, and use this funding to pay for major infrastructure projects including our road network, water infrastructure, and enhanced transit capacity to support a growing population.  These reductions will apply across the board for residential development. Deeper development charge discounts (60 per cent) will be offered to units with two or more bedrooms, to help incentivize building more housing for families.

At a time when our housing market has slowed down, these development charge reductions will help make projects more financially viable, build more of the kind of housing we need, and make homes more affordable for residents. It will also help generate an estimated 143,000 jobs through construction and related industries.

This funding deal was inspired by the City’s successful Purpose-Built Rental Housing Incentives program.

The first phase of the program, launched in fall 2024 with more than $1.2 billion in financial contributions from the City of Toronto, supported more than 8,000 rental homes, including more than 2,000 affordable homes.

Building on that success, with the greater financial stability provided through the $1.5 billion in federal and provincial infrastructure funding, the City of Toronto is now in a position to launch a new phase of Purpose-Built Rental Incentives.

The second phase of the program will support up to 10,000 new rental homes, including a minimum of 2,000 affordable rental homes. We will prioritize shovel-ready projects and City staff will review and approve applications on a rolling basis over the coming weeks and months.

We are proving as a city that there is a crucial role for government to steer development towards building housing that Torontonians can afford to live in.  In doing so as a municipal government, we are influencing other orders of government to invest in Toronto with us.

 

Sincerely,

Gord


In This Week's Newsletter

City-Wide News

  • Celebrate Canada Day
  • Pride Weekend
  • Outdoor Swimming Pools
  • FIFA Related Nighttime Waste Collection Changes

Ward 4 news

  • Toronto East York Community Council
    • 1464 King Street West and 10 to 12 Maynard Avenue
    • 1497 and 1501 Queen Street West and 89 and 91 Beaty Avenue
    • 1 & 3 Close Ave & 78 Springhurst Ave
    • 1730 Bloor Street West
    • 2273, 2277 and 2279 Bloor Street West
    • 34 to 50 Southport Street
    • Renaming Close-Springhurst Parkette in Honour of Diane Rajaram
    • Transportation Items
  • Sorauren Ave Construction Update
  • Celebration of Compassion at Roncesvalles United Church
  • Celebrate Around the World on Roncy in Roncesvalles Village!
  • Swansea Town Hall: Clean Indoor Air Toronto
  • Summer Fest - Baby Point Gates BIA Community Environment Day - June 27
  • Community Environment Day - June 27
  • Parkside Live: A Summer Music Series
  • Taste of the Junction 2026
  • Parkdale Parking Restrictions during FIFA  

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