Mitzie Hunter championing restored, improved basic city services we all count on

Dangerous intersections fixed, traffic flow improved, TTC service restored, library hours expanded, more parks, better snow clearance, more potholes filled

Toronto - Mitzie Hunter is the only mayoral candidate with a workable and comprehensive plan to restore and  improve basic city services that we all count on so Toronto can become a city that works for everyone.

Hunter’s five-point plan will:

• Make our streets safer
• Restore TTC service
• Extend Toronto Public Library hours
• Strengthen public health
• Improve and enhance parks

“People deserve the basic city services that we all count on,” says Hunter.

“As mayor, I will bring the energy, experience and workable plan that takes us forward to a better city that works for everyone.”

Olivia Chow says she can avoid cutting city services by leveraging her opposition experience to somehow compel the federal government to the table to get a “better deal” to pay for her promises, ignoring that the federal government is itself hundreds of billions of dollars in debt and is not about to offer a bailout to one city to help it balance its operating budget.

 “No one believes the federal government is going to borrow money and take on more debt to provide a bailout so Toronto can balance its budget,” says Hunter.

“In contrast, I have a fully-costed and fully-funded plan that ensures that everyone has the basic services that we all count on.”

Here’s how Hunter’s plan works:

Safer and cleaner streets:

• Clear our streets of snow faster by increasing the budget for snow clearance by more than 10 per cent and investing in more modern snow clearing equipment.
• Fill potholes faster by doubling the budget for pothole maintenance and investing in modern equipment to repair roads.
• Make roads safer by fixing the most dangerous intersections and roads where the most accidents happen by boosting the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan.
• Reduce road congestion by strictly-enforcing road restrictions across the city through traffic agents and an empowered Office of Traffic Management that will resolve bottlenecks and better coordinate restriction scheduling and enforcement. 

TTC service restored and improved:

• Eliminating all TTC fares for seniors and Wheel-Trans users to help those living on fixed incomes with the rising cost of living and boost ridership.
• Reversing the TTC fare hikes that took effect in April 2023 to save transit riders more than $20 million a year.
• Reversing TTC service cuts that reduced service frequency by about 10 per cent and increasing Wheel-Trans service to accommodate increased demand
• Implementing a five-point safety plan, which includes increased police patrols around stations as well as pairing TTC officers with social workers to assist vulnerable people, a community ambassador program to do safety audits, implementing sliding safety doors, consulting with TTC workers about their safety, and data collection to track success.
• Opening subways earlier at 5:30 am Monday to Saturday to help shift workers.

Stronger libraries:

• Extend Sunday service from 11 am through 5 pm.
• Open 16 new youth hubs that offer welcoming drop-in places for teens after school and in the summer, to bring the total citywide to 40.
• Use our libraries as community hubs for Hunter’s Housing Support Program that doubles Street Outreach Programs and supports five Housing Outreach Program Collaboration teams.
• Create ConnectTO which will be a municipal broadband network that encourages competition to lower prices for all and provides low-cost internet services to high-priority communities.
• Distribute 1,000 free Internet Connectivity Kits of laptop and hotspot each year.

Strengthen public health:

• Create 74 new satellite officesfor the delivery of services by Toronto Public Health.
• Improved family health services, including supports for preconception, pregnancy, newborn, child, youth, parental, and family health programs including, breastfeeding clinics, healthy sexual health promotion and education.
• Improved oral health for children an young people including oral health screening and treatment programs. 

Improve and enhance parks:

• Winterize washrooms and keep them open year-round.
• Greater local control over our park programming.
• More trees through the neighbourhood shade tree program and reverse recent cuts to the tree maintenance budget.
• Add more than 17 acres of new parks and green space at 68 sites across the city through the new Toronto Affordable Housing Corporation.
• Add 34 new on-site playgroundsfor building residents and local neighbours.
• Add 34 new larger parkettes offering green space, exercise stations and playgrounds for building residents and local neighbours.

“Toronto deserves basic city services that we can all count on,” says Hunter. “My plan will achieve that.”

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Contact:

Charmain Emerson charmain@culturedcommunications.ca

Remarks by Mitzie Hunter on her plan to restore and improve basic city services, June 20, 2023:

• Since the beginning of this campaign I have systematically laid out my priorities.

• Building more affordable housing… for buyers and renters alike. 

• Decreasing homelessness… so everyone has a safe and secure place to live.

• My Safety and Affordability Action Plan for Seniors… 

• My practical and pragmatic game plan… to help Toronto close the $4.3-billion hole in its operating budget. 

• Today I am talking about basic city services. 

• I am concerned that the city seems unable to provide the basic services that we all count on. 

• Olivia Chow says she can avoid cutting city services… 

• She will leverage her opposition experience to somehow compel the federal government to get a “better deal” to pay for her promises. 

• Ignoring that the federal government is itself hundreds of billions of dollars in debt.

• No one believes the federal government is going to borrow money and take on more debt to provide a bailout to Olivia so she can pay for her promises.

• Montreal… Calgary… Vancouver…. And every other large city in Canada would be demanding the same.

• Let’s face it. It’s not happening.

• In contrast, I have a fully-costed and fully-funded plan that ensures that everyone has the basic services… that we all count on.

• Investing more in city services… so the city works better.

• More potholes filled… better snow clearance…

• TTC service restored…

• And seniors and Wheels Trans services ride free on the TTC.

• Stronger libraries…

• Strengthened public health…
• Enhanced and improved neighbourhood parks…
• Streets that are safer… cleaner… and less congested… for a more beautiful city that moves. 

• As mayor, I will bring the energy… experience and plan that provides a way forward… to a better city that works for everyone. 

• Toronto is at a turning point, we can’t let it become a breaking point.

• I want to turn Toronto around for the better. 

• Toronto needs a new leader… with broader experience… and a fresh perspective -- not the same faces from the same places. 

• It’s time we bring more people on the outside… to the inside of City Hall. 

• That’s who I am… and what I’ve done.

• In Scarborough… In business… 

• At Toronto housing...

• And as cabinet minister in really tough portfolios. 

• Let’s choose to do better.

• That’s why I am running for mayor. 

• Because I want to lead Toronto’s revival as a city that works for everyone, everywhere. 

• Join me. I ask for your support. Let’s Fix the Six… Together.

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