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“The rising cost of groceries is putting pressure on families in our City. In Toronto, 28% of food bank clients are children and youth. More children are going to school hungry.” While there are nutritious meal offerings funded by municipal and provincial funding streams, Canada does not have a national, universal student nutrition program.

"Student nutrition programs are community-based initiatives that provide meals or snacks to school-aged elementary and secondary students during the school day…While all students benefit from nutrition programs, they are particularly impactful for those who face inconsistent access to healthy food. In Toronto, child and family poverty has sharply increased, rising to 25.3%, up 8.5 percentage points since 2020, with some areas seeing rates as high as 40–60%. As these trends worsen, school food programs that include a morning meal and lunch can help ease financial strain by saving families $129 to $189 per child each month, or $1,290 to $1,890 annually, with potential annual savings of $2,580 to $3,780 for families with two children. According to the National School Food Program analysis, one school meal a day is expected to save the average participating family with two children as much as $800 a year, or $88 a month in grocery costs. They also offer broader benefits by supporting local economies, creating jobs, and promoting sustainable food systems amid ongoing global trade disruptions."

“Toronto is increasingly experiencing the effects of climate change, including more frequent, prolonged and extreme heat events. Excessive indoor temperatures are a significant concern for many, including residents in multi-unit residential buildings without air conditioning, with the potential for a significant impact on seniors and individuals with health conditions (e.g. chronic heat and lung conditions, asthma, cancer).”

On April 16th, a New York Times article titled “A wellness Company with False Claims, Global Aims and a Toronto Island” pointed out that the development has ‘already exacted a severe toll. The province has razed mature trees, destroying a waterfront recreation space beloved by Torontonians and the habitat of many animals including beavers, minks, foxes, coyotes and over 170 species of birds’. Potential disasters raised in the New York Times Article can still be averted.

“Toronto needs a new arrangement with senior levels of government that ensures we have the independence necessary for 21st century cities to thrive and achieve results for residents… It's time for Canada's largest city to have the tools it needs to effectively chart its own course to decide how we grow, get around, support each other, and improve our quality of life. A City Charter will also assist in making the division of roles and responsibilities between senior levels of government and City Hall more transparent and therefore more accountable to the public.”

“The 777 Victoria Park site will include a range of rental homes, retail and community space at grade and a new purpose-built childcare facility. Importantly the land will remain in public ownership in perpetuity…[This includes] 256 new affordable rental homes (rents at average of 80% City of Toronto’s average market rent) [and] 449 new rent-controlled market homes (with annual rent increases limited at Provincial guideline+2%).” Toronto needs more affordable housing as the impacts of the climate crisis worsen.

Multi-tenant housing, also known as rooming housing, is an essential part of the city as it provides housing for students, seniors, and people leaving homelessness. The City of Toronto wants to protect these homes and improve the living conditions of its tenants. Currently, many of these multi-tenant housing buildings need upgrades and repairs to meet building, fire, and zoning rules. Without assistance, these buildings are at risk of shutting down. The city will set aside $2 million to help fund the Multi-Tennet Houses Renovation Program ,where building owners who accept these funds must keep rent affordable and continue to operate as licensed rooming houses for at least 15 years.

“Gasoline-powered leaf blowers and other types of small engine equipment are powered by inefficient two-stroke engines. The process of incomplete fuel combustion generates dangerous hydrocarbon 500 times that of an average automobile and produces toxic aerosol (including carcinogenic particulates) for us to breathe in.”