Laura Dean

The housing system is complex and interconnected. More housing supply will help drive affordability but market housing alone will not solve the current crisis. Toronto must use the funds recently provided by the federal government to invest in deeply affordable housing including supportive housing and co-ops. To speed up construction, I would establish an internal process to ensure that once developments are approved, building permits can be issued quickly. Success would be measured by completed projects, not approvals.

Public transit should be the most convenient and attractive way to get around Toronto. Reliability is currently the number one problem with our transit system. It does not move Torontonians as fast as it should. I would ensure signal priority is finally implemented on street cars, subway slow zones are fixed and more frequent bus service, especially in the east end.

Life in Toronto is increasingly unaffordable and many Torontonians are stretched too thin. I will ensure better accountability for tax dollars by reporting on outcomes. The budget must account for the services that Torontonians want and need while making necessary capital investments. The mayor must be honest about the amount of money it takes to keep the City functioning and must not saddle the next generation with problems caused by poor fiscal management.

Nearly one out of every five dollars (about 18.6%) of Toronto's property tax revenue goes toward policing, making it the second-largest city expenditure behind the TTC. Despite this funding, Torontonians still report not feeling safe in the City. Feelings of insecurity arise from the very visible homelessness, mental health and addictions crisis in the City. The City needs to be investing more in housing, community crisis workers and treatment-based solutions. Social service providers and police can bridge services as required to address the complex issue of public safety in this city.

When transit is reliable, people will leave their cars at home. Reliable transit is good climate policy. The City should incentivize builders to meet Toronto Green Standard performance measures by prioritizing compliant projects for review and approval over those that do not meet the standard. This will ensure that well-meaning climate policy for buildings does not further delay the development of necessary housing.