The Cheat Sheet: November 13 City Council

In case you’ve been living under a rock: since the last City Council meeting, Rob Ford’s friend, occasional driver, and probable drug dealer Sandro Lisi was arrested on extortion charges; the heavily redacted search warrant was released, revealing (among many other things) the highly incriminating details of police surveillance of the Mayor; police chief Bill Blair announced that police had recovered the crack video; Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack but refused to step down; the Star purchased and posted a video of a highly intoxicated Rob Ford uttering angry death threats; and comments by his brother, mother and sister revealed the truly shocking degree to which they enable the mayor’s substance abuse.

Amidst all of this, the business of running the city is still quietly going on. The full agenda is here; here’s some items of interest.

The big ticket

I think it’s a reasonable prediction that Rob Ford drama will overshadow the meeting. There are a few items directly concerning him on the agenda:

• Cllr Minnan-Wong has a motion asking the Mayor to apologize for his shady behaviour, co-operate with the police, and take a leave of absence. Don Peat writes that it is to be one of the Mayor’s key items, and “while council can’t force Ford to do anything, it will be very public and very embarrassing.”

• Cllr Filion has a motion which would strip the Mayor of the few powers particular to the office — appointing the Deputy Mayor and committee chairs — for the rest of the term. Because this sort of motion requires advance notice, it will not actually be on the table until the December council meeting.

• The Integrity Commissioner reports that the Mayor previously broke the Code of Conduct by using City letterhead his staff and the office’s constituency database (thanks for the correction, Jude Macdonald) to solicit donations. (This came to light earlier this year when two lobbyists reported receiving fundraising letters.) However, as he has since stopped doing it, she doesn’t recommend imposing any sanctions. Now, Council could nevertheless disregard her advice and use this as a way to, say, financially penalize the Mayor. Technically. If they wanted to. Just saying.

• In a further attempt to chip away at the mayor’s power, Cllr Matlow is continuing his Quixotic quest to remove Ford Nation buzzwords from the City news release boilerplate. Apparently the mayor’s staff is to blame for holding up the process.

• There’s also been some discussion of whether, given the circumstances, it’s ethical for the mayor to vote on the police budget.

Transit

• Cllr Matlow wants to speed up the process of building the Downtown Relief Line, the much-needed subway line which would run from the East End to the downtown core and take pressure off the commuter-clogged Yonge line. He’s dropped the “Downtown”, a smart move — the “DRL” name gives the impression that the subway would primarily benefit effete latte-swillers rather than suburban commuters.

• The City is still looking into making the BIXI bike-share program financially viable. The details have been confidential up till now, but we will hopefully learn more when the General Manager of Transportation Services reports.

• Cyclists have long agitated for bike lanes on Bloor, and there’s still hope that it will happen! Staff are recommending that a planned environmental assessment for a Dupont bike lane be expanded to include Bloor as well.

• Edit: The Toronto & East York Community Council wants to put a consistent 30 km/h speed limit on Shaw to complement the soon-to-be-installed bike lane.

Housing & poverty

• The plans for developing the East Bayfront call for 20% of new housing to be affordable, and the City proposes integrating 71 affordable rental units into one of the new condos. The Mayor has been staunchly opposed because poors should only live in gross slums where they can’t get their poor germs on taxpayers.

• Cllr McConnell, who has long been involved with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, wants the City to endorse FCM’s call for a proper federal housing plan. There’s also a similar motion coming from Executive Committee. It’s quite a pressing issue — ask me about the Co-opocalypse some time.

• It’s grant time! The City is disbursing money from all levels of government to community agencies that serve the homeless. Check out the report (PDF) to see who got what. As well, the Rent Bank program, which provides interest-free loans to low-income tenants at risk of eviction, is getting a cool million in funding.

• The process of phasing out the “welfare cheque” for a modern electronic card continues. Staff also raise the possibility of creating a similar drug benefits card (right now, it’s a paper slip mailed out monthly) that social assistance recipients could use to pay for medication and other health supports.

Health & disability

• The Board of Health wants to make more public spaces smoke-free, including restaurant patios, public squares, and building entrances.

• The Parks and Environment Committee, not to be outdone, also wants smoking banned for beaches, sports fields in public parks, and the waiting line for the ferry. Is nothing sacred?!

• Cllr McMahon proposes creating a Hoarding Co-ordination Office that would centralize and streamline anti-hoarding services across City departments.

• Cllr Pasternak wants more resources to help city councillors comply with the AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) — for example, hiring ASL interpreters for community meetings.

The great outdoors

• Toronto Water is in a bit of a bind. Thanks to awareness of environmental issues, water consumption is declining — which means less money for Toronto Water to re-invest in a system under stress from increasingly common extreme weather.

• In the aftermath of the July 8 flood, Executive Committee wants the City to improve its emergency response strategy and co-ordinate communication between 311, hydro services, and Toronto Water.

• Parkdale is getting a new park! The City is buying up property on Dufferin in order to expand the rather cramped parkette behind the McDonald’s on King.

• Edit: A reader points out that the matter of the Highland Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, deferred at last month’s meeting, is before Council again. The incinerators at the plant have been a contentious issue for years, with residents and activists demanding environmentally friendly alternatives.

• Cllr Layton really loves the Great Lakes.

Food

• Sadly, the most notable thing about Toronto’s street food is how shitty it is. Public consultations and a harmonized by-law are on the way — but first, the Licensing & Standards Committee recommends scrapping the Refreshment Vehicle Assistant License.

• The City is finding ways to promote urban agriculture, including establishing a new steering committee and looking into getting a geographical indication to label grown-in-Toronto food.

Miscellaneous

• Liberty Entertainment Group, who runs the upscale Liberty Grand on the Exhibition grounds, is taking over Casa Loma. The north buildings are still up for grabs — perhaps for a Toronto museum?

• If Council gives the go-ahead, Downton Abbey costumes will be coming to Spadina Museum as part of a new exhibit.

• Cllr Vaughan doesn’t want the Chinatown board game café to get a liquor license. Risk destroys enough friendships without alcohol involved.

• Cllr Mihevc wants to look into creating an online petition system on the City website, similar to petitions.whitehouse.gov. I look forward to disgruntled citizens getting an entirely ineffectual new outlet to safely express their grievances.

• Edit: Council’s shutting the door on casino development in May means that, under a new agreement, the OLG can’t expand gambling at Woodbine.

• Edit: The Community Development & Recreation Committee is recommending that the City provide universal access to recreation services. This is great news for the many folks who have been fighting to maintain community and youth spaces in Toronto, like [Community Recreation for All](http://communityrecreationforall.ca] and the Toronto Youth Cabinet.

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p>Did I miss something important? Let me know. I’ll see you on Wednesday.