Matt ElliottTime for more snow. Staff say they spent about $119 million on plowing, salting, etc last winter. Adding comprehensive snow removal and storage on top of the existing service could cost about $120 million. Staff are not recommending that — targeted improvements instead.
Burnside, noting there's been much "blame" directed at the Tory administration, mounts a defence, getting staff to acknowledge they could have made improvements ahead of last winter. "So if we had the political will and the foresight, we wouldn't have had to blame the last mayor," Burnside says.
Councillor Jamaal Myers asks if the city plans to use AI to handle 311 calls related to snow. "Artificial Intelligence is not used in the contact centre — yet," says staff. "We are planning for it for next year."
Staff also say they're looking at using AI to predict "patterns" for winter season and to help design snow routes. They're looking at what Montreal is doing with AI and also putting together an industry group to talk about using AI.
Councillor Fletcher is frustrated that councillors have been getting info about snow-clearing plans from lobbyists representing SnowTO — the consortium holding most of the snow contracts. City Manager says he can't control what the contractors do re: lobbying. "That's unsettling," says Fletcher.
Saying "being informed is half the battle", Councillor Lily Cheng moves to examine app-based push notifications as a way to let people know about snowplow plans. "Many people don't even read emails anymore!" she explains.
Councillor Saxe moves to raise the fine for blocking a streetcar with your parked car to $500. She also wants a report on requiring corporate landlords to clear their own sidewalks. "It was a mistake in the first place to relieve that liability and we should put it back."
"There is an issue that I've seen — there's the car, parked to run into the store, with five streetcars backed up behind," says Councillor Fletcher. She says she doesn't think there's enough in this new winter plan addressing that. She says she'll be looking to hear more from staff.
Mayor Olivia Chow thanks staff for making improvements to the snow plan for this winter. "You worked together as a team, and you came up with a proposal that really illustrates what I was talking about this morning: stronger together."
The big pivot the city is making this winter versus last winter appears to be simply making storm response a city-wide concern, instead of just something for the transportation department to deal with. Chow notes workers from all departments could be mobilized to help out with clean-up.
Chow says the fact that her office didn't get a lot of calls about last weekend's snow is a good sign. "Is it 100% perfect? Maybe, maybe not. Probably not. But we will continue to improve, continue to learn, continue to deliver the best service we can to the people of Toronto."
Councillor Mike Colle tells us a tale. 25 years ago, the city bought giant yellow plows dubbed "SnowZilla machines" from Nova Scotia.
"They were supposed to go along our main streets, dig up the snow and melt it on the spot. Well, the god damn machines NEVER WORKED! They got stuck in the traffic!"
Wow, how about that. Snowzilla was real. (From a December 11, 2004 story in the Globe.)
Saxe's motions to increase the fine for blocking streetcar tracks with your car to $500 (currently $200) and to report on requiring corporate landlords to shovel their sidewalks both CARRY 21-4.
All other motions on the snow item CARRY via show of hands. And the snow plan for 2025/2026 is APPROVED via show of hands too.
Because there's a police gala tomorrow night to raise money for charity, Chow moves to extend the meeting to 9 p.m. tonight so they can get more agenda items finished and hopefully avoid going long tomorrow night. Motion to extend CARRIES 19-6.
Up now: a plan to work with MLSE to transform the Weston Lions arena into a launchpad site, replacing the seasonal ice pad with a new multi-sport facility. Some hockey leagues are unhappy about losing ice access, but other community members seem happy about the plan https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.EX27.6
Councillor Holyday moves three motions:
1. Help the Lions Club with the transition
2. Expedite reports on finding replacement ice
3. Affirm general support for hockey
"I just don't think the hockey community were treated very well," says Holyday. He also thinks the Lions Club was left in an "awkward spot" as the City winds down their lease on the Weston Arena and transitions to MLSE.
Holyday says it's very important Toronto as a municipal government support hockey. "If there's no one there to help the hockey community, I don't know how they will survive."
Councillor Brad Bradford is also concerned about the "hockey community." He says hockey is a "pillar for family life in Toronto." He says Toronto should be building more rinks, not closing them.
Councillor Nunziata defends the deal and the process. "Councillor Bradford, you say you want a city of families, but what about the parents out there that can't afford to go into a program, or pay for sports? Are those youth not important to you? Or is it just the hockey that's important to you?"
"Councillor Bradford and Councillor Holyday, I represent my constituents and my youth. Obviously, you don't!" thunders Nunziata. The Weston Lions Arena is in her ward. She points out it was never a city-run facility and they charged significant money for ice access.
Councillor Burnside tires of this. He moves to skip the rest of the debate on the Weston Lions Arena and go straight to the vote. That CARRIES 19-6.
All three of Holyday's motions, including his motion to affirm Council's support for hockey, CARRY via show of hands.
Oh wait, Councillor Bradford wants a recorded vote on whether Council will affirm its support for hockey. But Perks is unhappy with the wording, since Canada actually has TWO national sports — hockey AND lacrosse. He wants a correction.
Sorry lacrosse, the wording stands. Motion to have Toronto City Council affirm its general support for the sport of hockey CARRIES 23-2.
Up now: Wait, SmartTrack? Is that still a thing? It is. Kind of. There are just three stations remaining. And a new report reveals one of them — at St. Clair & Old Weston — will be served by smaller UP Express trains, and not GO Trains as originally contemplated. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.EX27.4
Answering a question from Councillor Paul Ainslie, staff say a GO Train carries about 1,200 people, while a UP Express train carries about 280. Staff also note UP is a premium service, but province has committed to an "integrated fare program" before this new station opens.
Councillor Myers: "Just so I have it clear, the city is paying $1.5 billion for these GO Train stations. Who's going to own these assets when they're complete?"
The province, says staff.
Myers: "So the City of Toronto has paid $1.5 billion to build assets for the province."
Staff confirm, yes.
The City CFO jumps in to clarify the numbers. He says the total SmartTrack budget is $1.689 billion. Of that, the city's share is $878 million. Rest comes from the federal government.
Myers: "Who brought this — was this a direction from the province to build GO Train stations? Or was this something initiated by the city?"
Staff: "This was initiated by the former mayor."
Councillor Bravo moves to have Metrolinx fully fund the widening of St. Clair Ave to improve streetcar service. She also moves to get the province to include the UP Express in the One Fare Program to make it more affordable.
Bravo calls SmartTrack a "back of the napkin" plan where "somehow, the people of Toronto were convinced that we should put municipal tax dollars, from the property tax base, to subsidize and fund a provincial transit expansion program ... just to fulfill a campaign promise by our former mayor."
Councillor Amber Morley takes an opportunity to reiterate the need for a Park Lawn GO Station. She says developers are acting like the station is a done deal and bringing dense project applications, but there is no clear understanding of when and how the station will get built.
"The province of Ontario cannot and should not be trusted to build transit and operate it in urban areas," says Councillor Perks. He says John Tory didn't learn that lesson. "These are the same guys colliding trains up on the Eglinton Crosstown right now."
"This nonsense about running the City of Toronto like a business. This is what Mayor Tory would tell us. I will tell you, you would not last very long making business deals like this," says Perks of the SmartTrack situation.
Councillor Bravo's motion to request the province integrate the UP Express with the One Fare program, making it more affordable, before this new St. Clair - Weston Station opens, CARRIES 21-1.
Bravo's motion to request the province fund the widening of St. Clair West and bundle the work in with the construction of the new station CARRIES 22-0.
Council APPROVES the change to the St. Clair & Old Weston Station, making it an UP Express Station, 20-2.
After Councillor Amber Morley notes she was able to get a "unit cap" reducing the number of units in the project, Council votes 20-1 to APPROVE a six-storey development on Islington Road. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.EY26.2
Council votes 20-1 to APPROVE a 12-storey proposal for Lake Shore West. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.EY26.4
Council votes 20-1 to APPROVE a 42-storey proposal for 5280 Dundas Street West. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.EY26.5
After dispensing with a few minor items, Council breaks for dinner. Back at 6:30 p.m.
There are 35 items left on the agenda, which is actually pretty darn good, relatively speaking.
Council is back, but can't seem to figure out what they want to debate next. They settle on childcare. There's an update on the $10-a-day program, which asks Council to support a request for more provincial and federal funding. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.EC24.1
On the childcare item, Mayor Olivia Chow moves to "identify areas of inequity" for childcare expansion.
Councillor Bravo asks for a report in Q2 2026 on breaking down the barriers to expanding childcare in high-priority wards.
The motions on the childcare item all CARRY via show of hands. So does the item as amended. The city will ask the provincial and federal governments for more funding.
Up now: the Auditor General's workplan for 2026. Councillor Jamaal Myers has been eyeing an audit on SmartTrack.
"The cost of this program is approximately $878 million. Would it be of public concern if a significant amount of that money was spent designing stations that were never built?" he asks
The AG says her mandate doesn't allow her to audit provincial programs, which SmartTrack basically is. Myers asks if she could just audit the money the city spent. She says she could consider it.
Councillor Perks and Councillor Bravo are both speaking in favour of a SmartTrack audit as part of the 2026 AG work plan. Seems like that might be less than ideal for a potential mayoral candidate.
Myers formally moves to request a SmartTrack audit in 2026. This builds on a similar motion he passed at committee, and makes a more direct request to the auditor general. (The AG is independent, though, so she can just ignore the request if she wants.)
"I think there's a lot of genuine questions about how this program came about, how money was spent, and how decisions were made. And we still don't have a clear answer. It's almost like we spent almost a billion dollars and no one can explain how we got here," says Myers of Tory's SmartTrack project
Nunziata: Councillor Fletcher, did you just call me?
Fletcher: No.
Nunziata: Oh, I thought you said, 'Oh lord.'
Late-night Council's got jokes.
Councillor Myers' motion to request a SmartTrack audit as part of the Auditor General's 2026 work plan CARRIES 16-3.
(Somewhat notable: The mayor was chatting with staff in the gallery during that vote, so she was marked as absent. She returned to the council floor right after.)
Council has been spending some time heralding a report about expanding the number of "Association of Community Centres", or AOCCs (Pronounced eh-ocks — fun acronym). They're community centres managed by private boards, like the 519 Community Centre. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.EC24.2
During a discussion of this report about Toronto's "circular economy", Councillor Lily Cheng reveals she's had to replace her refrigerator three times in the last six years. That... seems like a lot. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.IE25.1
On to a progress report on Toronto's Housing Plan. Perks moves to hold off on any changes to housing programs while negotiations with Ottawa and Queen's Park continue. Morley wants to extend tower renewal program eligibility to co-ops. Thompson wants consultation with Black residents.
Part of the housing progress report, a recommendation to request the federal gov provide $163 million to create 230 supportive homes CARRIES 18-1. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.PH25.4
Michael Gemar@GraphicMatt It’s EXACTLY like that.