COVID has had a devastating impact on the city’s budget, increasing costs and reducing revenue. Although the federal and provincial governments have provided funding to cover some of the costs, Toronto has been left with a budget hole of almost $1 Billion.

We are, thankfully, legally obliged to approve a balanced budget, with no deficit for operating expenses. So the Budget Committee, which begins deliberations next week, needs to find a way to fill the whole.

Certainly, we expect the other levels of government to cover the …

On Tuesday, the Ford Government tabled legislation that if passed would repeal the ability of Ontario cities to run elections using ranked ballots. Ranked ballots allow voters to select candidates in a preferred order and would require a candidate to get a majority of the overall vote to be declared the winner. The “first past the post” system, simply requiring more votes anyone else to win, can lead to the election of candidates with relatively few votes in a crowded field. Most political parties, including …

Throughout the pandemic, there has been a rise in incidents of racism against all East Asian communities in Toronto, including in our community in Willowdale.

There have been over 150 incidents of anti-East Asian Racism across the city, since the start of the pandemic. That’s why the City launched a social media campaign to bring attention to the need to combat racism in our city, including anti-East Asian racism earlier this week.

The campaign includes a video that showcases the real impact racism has on the lives …