(sharing from Social Planning Toronto (SPT))
On February 11, Toronto City Council will be voting on the 2025 City Budget. Social Planning Toronto and partners are organizing a community rally outside City Hall to let Council know this is no time for cuts.
This year's proposed budget includes increased investments into vital community services such as affordable housing, transit, and a student nutrition program, but this funding won’t be guaranteed unless City Council votes to support it. It’s time to send a strong message: we need to fund a city where everyone can thrive.
You can RSVP and find more information on their website FUND OUR CITY: Toronto Budget Rally - Social Planning Toronto
SPT has also created a joint letter to Toronto City Council: encouraging organizations to sign on. The letter urges city councillors to invest more in programs and services that enhance neighbourhoods and address the root causes of poverty, this includes:
protecting tenants facing homelessness, safeguarding and expanding affordable housing, assisting unhoused residents (particularly women+ and people with disabilities), reducing homelessness, and supporting our neighbours and workers affected by the provincial closure of supervised consumption sites;
supporting community-based agencies, specifically grassroots groups and organizations focused on Black, Indigenous, and other racialized and newcomer communities, including expanding access to employment, training and mentoring opportunities for youth;
Making life better for low-income families and workers by investing in the school food program, increasing childcare subsidies, freezing transit fares and recreation fees, expanding library hours with staffing levels to meet the needs of our communities, and ensuring workersin recreation, long-term care, and child care are adequately paid.
More details regarding the letter can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPmV9HxBEN_gjKDJBjEZdUhWFzL7nB91j5sw1VLUKmaZEYqA/viewform
For individuals: SPT has created a letter template that you can use to e-mail City Council to urge them to invest in a city for all. Simply input your name and address, and a copy of the letter will be sent to your local Councillor and to Mayor Olivia Chow.
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