2. The story goes like this: here in Canada,
we survived the recession thanks to the
resilience of our financial system.
But that’s only part of the story.
3. Here in Toronto, we have survived the
recession thanks in great part to the
strength and flexibility of the community
services we provide, and the passion and
intelligence of those who provide them.
And the recession isn’t over for everyone.
For many, in fact, it started well before the
recession.
5. One third of the city’s households are rentals.
46% of renters pay more than a third of their income on rent; many pay more than half.
There are over 60,000 households on the waiting list for affordable housing in Toronto.
Canada has no national housing strategy.
The Province of Ontario has let social assistance rates languish while costs rise and real incomes drop.
Thanks to Provincial downloading on to municipalities, most of the social assistance programs in Toronto,
though legally Provincial jurisdiction, are administered by the City. Yet the City is not given the financial
power to properly fund them.
So long as other levels of government pass their responsibilities, but not their powers, off on to cities, the
most vulnerable will suffer. Joe Pantalone will negotiate, with the moral force of all Torontonians, to change
this. But he will also use what resources the City has to make sure people do not fall further.
HOUSING
6. The Housing Opportunities Toronto plan will:
• Joe is committed to building 1,000 new affordable housing units every year.
• Aim to bring the rent costs of working poor down to 30% of total income or less.
• Fund Housing Help Centres which will provide housing assistance to at-risk households, and and
Neigbhourhood Hubs which will provide food resources.
• Establish a protocol to identify and remedy situations of housing properties left vacant intentionally.
• Encouraging licensing and regulation of safe, clean, well-run rooming houses, thereby increasing the
amount of affordable housing available to single people.
Joe will direct Build Toronto and Invest Toronto to proactively identify and pursue opportunities for
development of properties into affordable housing.
“Inclusive zoning,” which would require a portion of any new development over a certain size to include a
certain percentage of affordable rental housing, will be a priority for Mayor Joe Pantalone.
Joe Pantalone will expand the scope of the successful and award-winning Streets To Homes program to
beyond the downtown core. Housing has been found for 2,400 people. By the end of his term, that number
will be 3,600.
Protection for renters will increase when Joe expands the Multi-Residential Apartment Building (MRAB)
audit and enforcement program to all rental buildings. Connecting renters to City Hall will happen thanks to
increased support of the Tenant Support Grants and the Outreach and Organizing Program.
Making permanent residents in Toronto eligible to vote in municipal elections will give more voice to many
people more likely to be in precarious housing situations. Joe will ensure there is a comprehensive program
to see that tenants are on the voters list, as the voters list we get from the provincial agency often leaves
tenants out in the cold.
HOUSING
8. Cities, like the people of which they are made, are complex organisms. They are interconnected. An action
taken in one place can have repercussions or rewards elsewhere. This is what makes our diverse and growing
city so strong and beautiful. It’s what makes the application of political vision and experience so powerful.
And it’s what makes dishonest stories, thoughtless cuts, and disrespect for the city and those who make it
work so dangerous.
Joe Pantalone is the only Mayoral candidate who has a rapid transit plan that’s affordable, do-able, and able
to reach in to all corners of Toronto.
He’s the only candidate who had the experience to present a balanced budget – and one that doesn’t require
service cuts.
And he’s the only candidate who has a holistic set of policies which address the needs of 21st Century city-
dwellers – not as motorists, taxpayers, cyclists, or consumers, but as people.
URBAN INTERCONNECTION
9. More Seats at the
Table plan for food
prosperity
Complete transporta-
tion for a complete
city
Whole City, Whole
Lives – plan for
seniors
Plan for a Greener
Prosperity - green
economy development
plan
Joe Pantalone’s
balanced budget
and governance
plan
Plan for Cultural
Capital
Housing Plan 29 years of service
at City Hall
Sustainability Local Food Procurement
policy for all City depart-
ments.
120km of European-style
light rapid transit will
give all of Toronto an
alternative to the car
More residents can
afford to keep their
homes and live in
an urban setting
their whole lives
Invest Toronto and
Build Toronto will prioritize
attracting and facilitating
green industry in Prioritiy
Neighbourhoods. Achieve
500 Megawatts of energy
conservation, and 500 MW
of local renewable energy
production.
No cuts to
environmental
programs, parks,
or transit
Developing our
arts industry will
mean more local jobs
The Tower Renewal
Program will rejuvenate
old towers into more
energy efficient buildings,
creating new green jobs
in the process. The Green
Bin program will be
rolled out to tenants of
multiresidential buildings
North America’s first
Green Roof Bylaw
North America’s first
urban wind turbine
Accountability Neighbourhood Hubs
will give information
on food
and health related
resources
Citizen experts will sit
on the Toronto Transit
Commission
Joe will appoint a
new Seniors’ Advocate
on Council
Include local hiring
targets – with special
focus on youth – in all city
projects
Budget control
over certain services
opened up to Community
Councils
Integrating arts into
public services
gives people more
ways to raise their
voice to City Hall
Joe will implement a ten-
ant services strategy for
people who live in social
housing in Toronto, and
fund the Out- reach and
Organizing program for
tenants
Brought annual tree
plantings from 9,500 to
109,000.
Rallied the commu-
nity to make Metrolinx
listen to resident
concerns about plans
for hundreds more
trains through King and
Strachan at street level,
and change track cross-
ing designs.
Affordability Double the number of
community gardens on
City land will increase
the amount of a fordable
food
High-speed rail is 5X less
expensive than subways,
but moves just as many
people – lower costs
means lower fares and
taxes
Property tax freeze
for seniors with
less than $50,000
annual household
income
Expanding the revenue base
allows taxes to rise more
slowly
No loss of City
jobs, property
taxes kept lowest
in the GTA
The film industry
alone generates
$800 M for Toronto
every year
Joe is committed to the
City building 1,000 units
of affordable housing
every year
When Toronto Com-
munity Housing tried to
sell off its “scattered
housing” properties on
Crawford, Joe inter-
vened to make sure the
tenants could stay in
affordable housing.
Liveability Free meals for 40,000
more kids in need at
school
Complete a network of
1000km of bike lanes,
create 50 bicycle parking
corrals, put separated
bike lanes on suitable
roads, cr ate eastwest
bikeway on Richmond
Streets and sidewalks
designed to be more
friendly for those with
reduced mobility, sight,
and hearing
New investment, new jobs,
cleaner air
Maintenance and
growth of quality
services improve
everyone’s quality
of life, and provide
an “equalizer”
Cultural Access
Pass program for
new Canadian
residents will give
free admission for
one year to major
performing arts
companies
Joe will direct Public
Health to create a com-
prehensive new “early
warning and response”
system for bed bugs, and
a new public education
and prevention program.
Joe will expand standards
enforcements for ten-
ants – especially those in
social housing – through
MRAB, the Multi- Resi-
dential Apartment Build-
ing audit
In 1982, Joe fought to
bring a library branch to
Little Italy, though bu-
reaucrats said there was
no point in putting a
branch in an immigrant
community.
URBAN INTERCONNECTION
10. Joe Pantalone wants to build a city which leaves no one behind.
He’s given almost three decades of attention to detail and
passion for city-building to Toronto. His fingerprints are
on every ecological initiative, and his hand guided some of
Toronto’s greatest economic success stories. He’s lived a life of
service, he’s run a campaign of hope, and he welcomes people
all across Toronto to vote with hope, to vote from their hearts
and their heads, and to vote for their principles.
We have a city to build, and that city includes everyone.