Addressing Safety on the TTC
Like so many residents in Eglinton-Lawrence and across the City, I share in the concerns and need for all hands on deck when it comes to safety on the TTC and the random acts of violence we have been seeing increase at an alarming rate.
On this page you can learn about some of the measures already being taken by the City and my calls to action on how we can further address this important issue, including how YOU can take action.
While there are many different and complex issues surrounding safety on the TTC, the City and the TTC continue to prioritize community safety:
In March 2023’s City Council Meeting, $15 million dollars was authorized to be withdrawn from TTC’s Stabilization Reserve to implement any unbudgeted measures to address the health, safety, and security of TTC employees and riders.
City Council also adopted my amendments to the above motion to request the TTC Board and its CEO to work with the City Manager to:
Convene on creating a multi-government Transit & Community Safety Task Force;
Call on Provincial and Federal Government officials to directly participate on the Task Force and share in providing financial resources to deal with the root causes that affect the safety of TTC riders and employees.
Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) is a new, alternative model of crisis response for Toronto residents that launched in early 2022. It provides a community-led solution to respond to mental health crisis calls and wellness checks. Four pilots are operating across the City and in its first 6 months have proven to be succesful.
LOFT Community Services and the City’s Multi-Disciplinary Outreach Team (M-DOT) program are partnering to provide individuals requiring more supports with access to case workers and health care professionals to ensure people are receiving the health and social supports they need long after crisis de-escalation and emergency response are complete.
However, even with these measures and calls-to-action in place there is more to be done. That is why I was disheartened to see that our City was once again shut out by the recent Provincial and Federal budgets.
This includes funding required to improve safety in our City (particularly on the TTC), shelters, supportive housing and funding for refugees, and the overall budget shortfall the City is experiencing due to Covid. The Federal and Provincial governments need to fulfill their obligations their own City of Toronto residents and taxpayers.
In March’s City Council Meeting I stood up to voice my concerns about the urgent needs for increased safety on the TTC while being shut out by the recent budgets from the other two levels of government. There are so many opportunities to improve our City but we need the funding to be able to do it.
Below you can watch the video of those remarks:
I continue to call on you, the residents of Eglinton-Lawrence and across our City, to echo my sentiments by contacting your MP & MPP to also demand that your government of the City of Toronto not be left to solve these challenges alone.
Residents of Eglinton-Lawrence can get involved by clicking the button below to email our MP & MPP:
For those in other Wards you can use the buttons below to find your MP’s & MPP’s contact information to also get involved:
