Issues of Toronto

As Canada's largest city, Toronto has many issues to solve. These issues include crime, waterfront, computer leasing inquiry, garbage, population growth, traffic gridlock, air quality, greenbelt, and [...] threats.

Crime

Toronto's violent crime rates are low compared to its neighbouring US cities. But gang violence and other crimes have been on the rise. Due to a spike in gun-related crimes/murders over the summer of 2005, largely attributed to the rise of gangs and the failure of Canadian officials to stem the rising tide, concern over gun- and gang-related crimes has received increased local media attention recently. There have been calls for increased policing, gun control, and stiffer sentences to help deal with the problem. Gang violence has been the main reason for the outburst of violence in Toronto, between 1997-2005 over 300 gang-related deaths have occurred.

American gang experts have been brought in and increased funding for programs in troubled neighbourhoods have been recently initiated. Other organizations, including The New York City based group Guardian Angels, have come to Toronto despite the massive displeasure of city residents, city officials, and politicians. Their presence has also received more support from residents if compared to previous initiatives to establish patrols in the city.

There were 52 gun-related murders out of a total of 78 homicides in 2005 (this is a very close number from the previous year(s), as the total number of homicides has barely changed); thus, Toronto had a [...] rate of AbOUT 3.1 per 100,000 - significantly higher than the rate in 1999 (1.3 per 100,000), but less than the peak years of the early 1990s. In 2006, there were 29 gun-related murders out of 69 in total. In one year, the number of total murders slightly declined, however the number of gun-related murders nearly halved.

A recent announcement that the provincial government will Contribute half of the cost of hiring an additional 250 police officers, is viewed as a reactionary move to the increased violence. There has also been an increase in social spending, which is aimed at community projects, and getting businesses to hire "at-risk youth" to get them away from gangs. During the first half of 2006 there was 137 (but only 13 fatal) shooting incidents in the city, down marginally from 164 (19 fatal) in the first half of 2005.

Toronto has a comparable rate of car theft to various U.S. cities, although this is lower than in some other Canadian cities, especially Vancouver. Much of this has been attributed to organized crime, with stolen vehicles ending up being shipped overseas for sale.

Waterfront

For decades, the disuse of the Toronto port lands and lack of development of the Toronto waterfront (also known as the harbourfront, though not to be confused with Harbourfront Centre), has been a major issue. Toronto's central business district is separated from the waterfront by an expanse of open railway and by an elevated highway, the Gardiner Expressway. Many contend that a series of condominium towers built along the waterfront in the 1990s and 2000s contribute to this separation. Parts of the formerly industrial area are now vacant and awaiting redevelopment. In 2004, investments from the Ontario government were made to encourage further development. In the area south of the Keating Channel (outflow for the Don River), known as the "Portlands", there have been many controversial approvals and proposals in the last few years. Because this area was entirely man-made and industrial (some remains so but most is vacant land), soil remediation is necessary before it can be put to other non-industrial uses so the redevelopment process is slow. Currently, a movie studio is being built on the site of the inactive Richard L. Hearn Power Plant and on September 18, 2006 an agreement was signed to build a 340 MW gas fired co-generation plant on the same site run by TransCanada Corp.

On May 31, 2006 a design competition awarded a proposal brought forward by Rotterdam based West 8 architects to revitalize the central waterfront as a place to be and to visit. Among The Key Elements of the proposal, the slips from Bathurst Quay east to York Quay (central waterfront portion) will be extended into the harbour with a NATURAL buffer of trees set back from the slips and it calls for the reduction of Queens Quay from 4 to 2 traffic lanes while maintaining the current Harbourfront LRT route. The proposal also emphasizes the need for stronger north-south connections between the harbour and The Downtown core.

The Toronto Port Authority (acronym TPA), an agency run by the federal government oversaw the construction of the newly improved Ferry Terminal that was completed with much fanfare on June 27, 2005. A customs facility was built in the terminal in conjunction with the Toronto-Rochester Ferry (launched in June 2004 but cancelled after numerous setbacks and financial plagues in December 2005).

After the recent Conservative Party election victory, the TPA announced a new ferry terminal expansion and a double-deck ferry to upgrade the service between the Bathurst Quay and the Toronto City Centre Airport at the west end of the inner harbour. The city's mayor David Miller who cancelled the bridge originally proposed between the mainland and the airport and is against its expansion, is now left with his hands tied to prevent the TPA's move. This announcement will invariably lead to increased aviation traffic at the island airport, which had been falling over the years (already a new airline, Regco has ordered planes).

At the east side of the downtown waterfront, south of the Keating Channel (the outflow for the Don River), there is the expansive land-reclaimed area known as the "Portlands". There have been many controversial approvals and proposals regarding this land in the last few years. Because this area was entirely industrial (some remains so but most is vacant land brownfields), soil remediation is necessary before much of the land there can be put to other non-industrial uses. Currently, the Portlands has a mishmash of uses including movie production, scrap metal operations, wastewater and refuse management facilities, and aquatic clubs. Construction will begin in 2007 to build a gas-fired power generation facility at the inactive Richard L. Hearn Generating Station.

Computer leasing inquiry

A dominant issue in Toronto's municipal politics in recent years has been the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry, which investigated allegations of impropriety involving computer contracts between the city and MFP Financial Services. The inquiry, headed by Madam Justice (Denise) Bellamy, lasted three years and cost over $19.2 million CAD. The final report, handed down in September of 2005, concluded that there was credible evidence that a former City of Toronto budget chief accepted a payoff from MFP, and that senior city staff were unduly influenced by sales tactics in the guise of entertainment and favours. Most recently, following The Release of the report, Mayor David Miller has requested a criminal probe into the scandal.

Garbage

Another important issue is the city's garbage. As the city's last remaining landfill site, Keele Valley, neared capacity during the 1990s, it was found that no other municipality in Southern Ontario was willing to accept the garbage, but there was also no political support for a change to incineration. A deal was eventually made to ship Toronto's garbage to the Adams Mine, an abandoned open pit mine in Northern Ontario, once the Keele Valley site closed. But objections grew into vociferous controversy as the time neared, and eventually the agreement was cancelled.

By the time the Keele Valley site closed at the end of 2002, the city had made a new deal: its garbage is now shipped by truck to a site in Michigan.

In September 2006, Toronto City council agreed to purchase the privately owned Green Lane landfill site near London, Ontario. The contract to ship household garbage to Michigan is due to end in 2010 when the Green Lane landfill will be used. Jane Pitfield who ran (and lost) against Mayor Miller in the November 2006 election has advocated incineration as an alternative method of disposing of waste. This is opposed by many Toronto environmental groups but supported by others who point out that the technology has improved and incineration is now less polluting.

Concerns with the border, and opposition from residents in Michigan prompted the need to look for alternate sites or expand the city's recycling programs. Toronto's contract with Michigan lasts until 2008, and includes an option to expand to 2010, but the city is actively seeking options to close the contract sooner. Even the current contract could be in jeopardy following a vote in February 2006 by the Michigan House of Representatives to ban out-of-state garbage from being shipped to the state from Ontario and other U.S. states, but this requires approval by the US federal government before it can be enforced by Michigan. In May 2006, Carelton Farms, the garbage dump in Michigan that is under contract with the city of Toronto announced it would not be accepting waste SLUDGE as of August 1, 2006, but would continue to receive household waste.

Even with 60% diversion through the green bin and recycling programs, residual waste from the Greater Toronto Area would amass 2,200 tonnes (2,425 tons) a day or 800,000 tonnes (882,000 tons) a year.

In 2005, Toronto switched from a "blue box" (plastic and metal) and "grey box" (paper) program to a unified recycling system. The city also introduced in 2005 a green bin program to recover compostable materials. However, the green bin program has come under criticism by watch groups due to its cost, which is three times per tonne more to operate than currently shipping to Michigan.

There has long been heavy opposition from many Torontonians to waste incineration due to the perceived toxic emissions that result. However, a recent poll conducted in November 2006 shows that a majority of its citizens would now consider iniceration as an alternative, which the current mayor Miller opposes. There is currently an incinerator operating in Brampton in adjacent Peel Region, in operation since 1992, which meets the environment ministry's emission guidelines as well as producing power to serve around 5,000 homes.

Recently the Ottawa-based Plasco Energy Group has formulated A Plan to process garbage, turning it into a synthetic gas. Plasco claims that by using an 8,000-degree CELSIUS (14,400 °F) plasma flame, 100,000 tonnes of trash can ultimately produce 12 megawatts of power. Emissions are filtered with active carbon; the waste byproduct of this process is slag, which can be mixed with asphalt and used in road construction. According to a Toronto Star article (linked below), other companies offer similar technologies. Although a plan has yet to be approved, consent has been given to build a demonstration facility in Ottawa, and some Toronto city councillors have indicated their support for the program. 1

In June 2006, surbuban York Region and Durham Region announced they were jointly teaming up to procure an inceration site to be built by 2011 that will potentially power up to 200,000 homes but this does not include the city of Toronto.

In September 2006, city council approved an agreement to ship Toronto garbage to the Green Lane Waste Facility near St. Thomas, Ontario. Councillors opposed to the agremment have accused Mayor Miller of pushing through a secretive deal and there has also been strong reaction from residents and MP's from the London-St. Thomas area.

Population growth

Population growth is the force behind some of the other issues (such as traffic gridlock, infrastructure requirements, and the greenbelt topics). According to the federal government, Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world2, and 43% of new immigrants settle in the Greater Toronto Area. This has raised concerns about Toronto's ability to support the population growth3.

The economic impact of immigration to Canada is also a concern as landed immigrants in Canada have a 37% unemployment rate4, causing significant expense to governments5. A paper published by Statistics Canada noted that "Over the 1990s (1990 to 2000) the city’s low-income rate rose 1.9 percentage points. All of this increase was associated with deteriorating outcomes among immigrants, which tended to increase the city’s low-income rate by 2.8 percentage points."6 As such, immigration was one of the key issues in the New Deal for Cities that was negotiated between Toronto, Ontario, and the federal government7. The needs of immigrants has also been identified as a top priorty by the United Way of Greater Toronto in the $100 million 2006 campaign8.

Traffic gridlock

Over the last couple of decades, vehicle and (in particular) highway traffic has been increasing steadily in the Greater Toronto Area; however, road and transit investments have been limited to small projects such as on the 404, the 407, Sheppard subway, and York Region's VIVA bus service. Urban sprawl is a major factor: some commuters travel significant distances within the city and GTA for employment. Another major issue is the discontinuity between transit authorities across various municipalities or perceived inefficiency of transit as a viable alternative for commuting. This contributes to gridlock: many single-occupant vehicles idle en route, adding to travel times and smog. A recent study showed that gridlock costs the GTA's economy approximately $6 billion annually in lost revenue. Agencies such as the CAA, OTA (Ontario Trucking Association), other commercial transportation interests and some citizens believe that much of the current congestion can be traced to the fact that Toronto's ultimate freeway system as proposed originally was never completed. This camp believes today's network includes huge gaps, and after cancellation of the north-south Spadina Expressway in 1971, successive "anti-car" city councils have not addressed the issue, electing instead to direct funding to transit initiatives and encourage greater pedestrian/cycling/transit usage.

In March 2004, the Ontario government announced the creation of the "Greater Toronto Transit Authority" (GTTA - not to be confused with GTAA, acronym for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority) with the goal of facilitating improved integration between the city and suburban transport systems. One key element to this integration would be a single ticket or fare to better synchronise transfers between neighbouring transit systems and lower the costs commuters by having a "single fare" ticket. At that time, the federal, provincial, and municipal governments jointly announced a tripartite funding infusion of $1 billion for the TTC. In May 2004 the Ontario government, in partnership with the federal government, announced a $1 billion plus investment in the expansion of GO Transit. Although the TTC and has seen a relative stagnation in ridership over the past few years, GO Transit (serving mostly automobile-dependent suburbs and exurbs) has experienced gains in ridership. The Ontario government is set to release the provincial budget on March 23, 2006 which will include funding for the long anticipated TTC subway extension northward of the Spadina Line to the York University campus and beyond into the proposed Vaughan Corporate Centre at Hwy. 7 & Jane St. in neighbouring Vaughan, York Region. When completed, it will be the first extension of the TTC subway system beyond the current municipal border of Toronto 1.

Air Quality

Toronto's vehicle emissions testing program, known as Ontario's Drive Clean began in 1999, and has had a minimal impact on smog in Toronto. 2005 was Toronto's worst year on record for smog with a total of 48 smog alert days. The Ontario Medical Association estimated in 2005 that total air pollution (from all sources) would cause some 5,800 deaths and 17,000 hospital admissions that year.

Greenbelt

In March 2005, the provincial government unveiled the boundaries of a greenbelt around the Greater Toronto Area, a 7,200 km² (2,780 mi²) area stretching from Niagara Falls to Peterborough. The greenbelt is designed to curb urban sprawl and to preserve valuable farmland surrounding the city. The decision remains controversial, as farmers and other critics say that the "development embargo" being placed on such lands forces down the value of farmland within the greenbelt, without providing compensation to its owners. Many cities have implemented growth boundaries of some kind, including Ottawa; Portland, Oregon; Frankfurt, Germany; Melbourne, Australia; Seoul, Korea and London, England; as a method of restricting urban growth.

Threats of [...]

As of June 2006, threats of [...] have also been increased. On June 3, RCMP and CSIS investigators arrested twelve men and five youths in connection with plotting [...] attacks in Canada, the largest sweep since 9/11, in the Toronto area. Officials have declared that these individuals had purchased three tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a key ingredient found in homemade explosive devices, with the intent to target unnamed areas in Southern Ontario. While public security is concerned, especially with public transit, investigators have assured that danger is at a minimum. The suspected attacks are thought to be in connection with the Taliban's opposition to Canadian presence in Afghanistan, as Canadian troops have recently come under more frequent attacks, and Taliban officials issuing warnings directly to Canada for the first time since the beginning of the War on Terror (Friday June 2, 2006 - The Globe and Mail).