Council is back, finally. And look, I spy the Grey Cup in the chamber. They are set to celebrate the CFL Champion Toronto Argonauts for their football accomplishments.
Mayor Chow takes the lectern and yells "ARRRRRRGOS." Some councillors respond, saying, "Arrrrrgos."
Michael "Pinball" Clemons, GM of the Arrrrrgos, is here. "Tell us the magic - teach us how to win!" Chow asks as she invites him to take the lectern for a few comments.
Pinball tells Chow and Council the secret to winning is to have a great head AND a great heart. He doesn't say anything about other body parts but I think they're useful too.
"Losing is the fast track to winning — know that," says Pinball Clemons. "We learn more oftentimes from our losses than we do from our wins."
He closes by quoting MLK Jr: "Power, at its best, is love. The two are synonymous."
Councillors want to take a photo around the Grey Cup. Councillor Perruzza hoists it on his shoulder. "Don't drop it!" implores Councillor Chris Moise. He doesn't.
Everyone then says cheese or their customary equivalent.
The wins just keep coming. Councillor Matlow announces that Councillor Parthi Kandavel just welcomed a new baby to the family.
Up now: the results are in from the initial application intake for the rental housing incentive program approved at the last Council meeting. Staff are recommending awarding about $458 million worth of incentives for these 17 projects, with 7,175 rentals.
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.CC24.16Agenda Item History 2024.CC24.16
Agenda Item History 2024.CC24.16
With provincial and federal money and financing support, the city says it could approve another 58 submitted applications under the rental incentive program to create 24,450 more homes.
Councillor Bradford when trying to ask questions of housing staff is frustrated after Nunziata shuts off his microphone after his time runs out.
"I gave you an extra minute — and you were not allowing the staff to answer, and you were being very rude," explains Nunziata.
Staff clarify that council already approved, via delegated authority, these applications to the rental incentive program when they approved this program in November. This report is really an FYI plus approval of an extra 528 rentals beyond the original scope.
"Members, congratulations — this is literally the fastest and most successful affordable housing project in the City of Toronto in living memory, if not ever," says Councillor Gord Perks. He congratulates the mayor and staff on a "job well done."
Continuing his victory lap, Perks says groups RESCON & BILD said this program wouldn't work. He says RESCON claimed no one would apply because of requirement to include 20% affordable units.
"A key lesson there - don't believe the industry when they say they need more subsidy."
"The claims from the development industry should be taken not just with a grain of salt, or a lick of salt, but a whole steamboat full of salt," Perks says, arguing city hall housing staff are better at offering real numbers about the cost of building new housing.
In her speech, Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik points out that one of the successful applicants to this rental housing incentive program is phase one of Quayside — the waterfront land formerly eyed for the Sidewalk Toronto "Smart City" scheme. The saga continues.
Councillor Stephen Holyday decries the almost half-billion dollar cost of this rental housing incentive program, arguing this is just subsidizing "selected" developers, some of whom would be building anyway. He calls it an "income redistribution scheme."
Councillor Bradford says Toronto is in the middle of a "housing starts crisis."
"Folks are pretty happy to take a victory lap but I can't square that with the numbers or the lack of progress," he says.
Bradford says with the tight timeline and short application window, he doesn't have confidence the city has identified the best applications that are most likely to actually get built. He's frustrated this report was only published six hours ago.
Bradford says he'd prefer a simpler policy, where the city would simply "waive development charges on a time-limited period for any applicant that wants to come forward and build purpose-built rental."
"Yes, the housing starts have stopped, why? It's because interest rates are too high. It's not because we didn't approve them on time," says Chow. "Financially, it's difficult right now for rental buildings to get started." She says this program "leads the way" to address that.
Chow points out this half-billion in incentives isn't money the city has right now -- it's money the city would theoretically get if these projects all went forward, but, well, they're not going forward. This project encourages them to go forward, by waiving fees.
Bradford asks Chow why this incentive program is better than just providing general relief to development charges and other fees for builders.
"We don't have the financial capacity to do so," Chow says.
Holyday asks Chow about how the city is going to pay for infrastructure needs if we're letting these developers off the hook from development charges and reducing their property taxes.
"Ah, I thought you're from a school of thought that believes in 'axing the tax!'" Chow says.
The update to the rental housing incentive program, which we now know has approved 17 applications with 7,175 rental units, is APPROVED 22-3.
Council has jumped back to the earlier item about the city setting up a housing development office.
Holyday has concerns. "If the for-profit development industry is struggling so much, how are we supposed to give it a go ourselves as a public entity?"
Councillor Mike Colle has a long five-part motion. Among other things, it asks the mayor to look at whether there's any opportunity to use her 'strong mayor' powers to expedite the delivery of housing.
Councillor Gord Perks lauds this report and public developer process. He says previously the city was "frustrated and unable to move on affordable housing", but now it's moving toward being "quite possibly, itself, the biggest developer in the country."
"Government isn't slow. Government is fast and effective," says Perks. "By relying on the private market, as we did for the last 20 years, we built too much of the wrong thing and not enough of what Torontonians actually need."
"The public builder approach is an ideological one," says Bradford. He disagrees that you need to build bureaucracy to build housing. "Government never does it faster and for less money."
"It's a lot of talk but not a lot of action," he says. Sounds like a campaign slogan.
Colle's motion for a report back and more consultation on the new housing development office CARRIES 24-1.
Colle's motion to request Chow look at ways to use her strong mayor powers to expedite the delivery of affordable housing CARRIES 16-9.
And the housing development office item CARRIES 22-3.
Council votes 24-0 to APPROVE a land lease deal to bring a non-profit School of Music to the Jane-Finch neighbourhood.
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.EX19.21Agenda Item History 2024.EX19.21
Agenda Item History 2024.EX19.21
Council is now debating the Auditor General's 2025 workplan. Councillors Fletcher and Perks aren't happy that a follow-up forensic investigation into the PayIt procurement isn't in the plan. AG says that investigation is subject to her office getting an extra $150K in the budget.
"I need to be able to convince the people that I represent that we not only spend money wisely and efficiently here, but that we spend it without corruption. And as of today, I cannot tell the people I represent that," says Perks, of the need for a deeper audit into PayIt.
Auditor General workplan is APPROVED 19-5. Forensic investigation into the PayIt deal will remain contingent on a budget enhancement.
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.AU7.1Agenda Item History 2024.AU7.1
Agenda Item History 2024.AU7.1
Council is motoring through this agenda. They just approved the new EDGE business incentive program, a replacement for the old IMIT business incentive program, with no debate via a show-of-hands vote.
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.PH17.1Agenda Item History 2024.PH17.1
Agenda Item History 2024.PH17.1
Up now: a report on temperature standards for rental units. The city has long required landlords to maintain an indoor temperature minimum. This report recommends commissioning analysis of the potential to also implement a maximum temp of 26 degrees.
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2024.PH17.5Agenda Item History 2024.PH17.5
Agenda Item History 2024.PH17.5
"We don't accept that there should be rats in people's soup, right?" asks Councillor Matlow to the Medical Officer of Health.
Dr. de Villa says yes, no rats in soup.
Matlow is arguing that a potential maximum temp bylaw would be similar — a reasonable rule for public health
Councillor Holyday points to stats in the report showing that while only 8.2% of rental buildings provide AC, most (94%) allow tenants to install window units. He's worried a maximum temperature bylaw will just add more regulation for landlords.
This temperature debate gets put on ice. Council has to break for the evening because there's a Hannukah reception in the city hall rotunda starting at 6 p.m.
Council will return tomorrow at 9:30 a.m, with 60 items left on this agenda.
First order of business will be... a tribute to the workers and other people who helped things run smoothly when Taylor Swift was in town.
Sure, okay! See you back here then, for that.
Matt Elliott
Chu 朱
Chris Johnson
Raphael (he/him)