PLATFORM

Life is better with Mayor McVie

Sarah is demanding something different: 

• Accountability to residents.

• Power to residents.

• Resources to residents.

Our leaders need to keep power and profit in residents' pockets. That’s structural change that will unlock real improvements in the economy, public safety, affordability, and political accountability. That’s why life is better with Mayor McVie. 

Mayor McVie

Livable

Infrastructure Investment

Fiscal Responsibility

Engaged and Educated Residents

LIVABLE

Commitment: Inventory City-owned buildings for housing redevelopment (first 60 days), to be released for cooperative ownership models (co-ops), clear the co-op housing waitlist, and pilot grocery co-ops and vertical farms.

Pitch: Even full-time workers struggle to afford the basics and poverty is putting a larger strain on healthcare that costs us all much more. Through unlocking all viable city-owned land and prioritizing non-market infill development we will clear the cooperative housing waitlist and redirect resources towards permanently affordable housing. Grocery affordability will also shift solutions to cooperative, locally owned models, along with piloting vertical farming initiatives like hydroponic towers which grow without soil and use roughly 95% less water than a conventional farm.

Detail: 110,000 people are on the cooperative housing waitlist, this is an immediate demand for permanently affordable units that we can satisfy. Working with credit unions, land trusts, non-profits and citizen developers we will optimize the application process for infill development for cooperative and non-market housing. Approximately 100 City-owned sites sit empty and will be unlocked for infill development. New government transfer funding for housing must direct at least ⅔ of funding to non-market projects (only ⅓ of the recent Federal government transfer is dedicated to affordable housing; 1.8 billion was given to private developers and just 310 million was allocated to non-market and non-profit projects). By scaling-up the non-market housing sector, analysis shows we would boost productivity by 5.7-9.3%, adding between $67b to $136b to Canada’s GDP. To maximize this GDP boost, we will ensure a portion of cooperative new units can accommodate live/work and affordable rehearsal spaces for craftspeople which brings $29.00 for every $1.00 invested to major cities. 

Instead of studying the viability of city-run grocery stores, we will immediately work with existing food banks to pilot grocery cooperatives, hydroponic vertical farming towers as well as increasing community gardens by returning existing City-owned buildings and land. By pooling resources, making overhead cheaper and introducing local supply we can achieve economies of scale to compete with the grocery monopolies. When communities and food banks work together to co-manage these stores and gardens, engaged residents take control of their own food security and the City is prevented from taking on an operational burden it’s not prepared for. Breaking the grocery monopoly requires diversifying with viable alternatives in supply and distribution of our food. Innovation in hydroponic vertical farming towers will keep supply and shipping costs low. Cooperative-run grocery stores will directly compete with private monopolies and circulate more money locally. 

Cooperative models will keep people housed and fed at below market, permanently affordable rates and empower residents to take ownership of their shared resources. This is the foundation for a quality of life that will solve Toronto’s poverty, healthcare, and crime problems.

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

Commitment: Partner with all levels of government to upgrade Toronto's infrastructure, create jobs, train workers, and transform the decommissioned RT into the Scarborough Sky Line park. 

Pitch: Partner with all levels of government on mass infrastructure maintenance and upgrade projects, creating jobs and training workers for the future. In Toronto, we will lead projects on road and transit maintenance; accessibility and safety initiatives; upgrade our outdated combined sewer system; create waste-to-energy biogas hubs and grey water capture for industrial use; and implement innovative flood mitigation using stream daylighting and constructed wetlands that will clean our natural water supply. We will immediately launch a public-rivate partnership to transform the decommissioned raised RT rail line into a year-round outdoor urban park and recreation space called the Scarborough Sky Line that attracts tourism similar to the immensely successful High Line in Manhattan.

Detail: Canada's backlog of deferred maintenance and needed construction – roads, water, transit, housing – is estimated at a minimum of $150 billion and possibly up to $1 trillion. A shortage of skilled workers in the Infrastructure Sector is driving project costs even higher.  Toronto residents experience the frustration of this backlog every day but the property taxes, current transfers, and user fees don’t come close to covering the work needed across the City. We’re in a trap of band-aid solutions.

Together, all levels of government are aligned to prioritize building a Canada that’s prepared for the future. As mayor, Sarah will lead projects to upgrade our outdated one-pipe system; accessibility and safety initiatives; road and transit maintenance; more biogas energy capture like the successful ZooShare Biogas facility; grey water capture that can be sold to industry instead of our potable supply; and flood mitigation through daylighting streams like in Zurich that will also clean our natural water supply. To kick off this massive venture, Sarah will immediately launch a public-private partnership to transform the RT tracks into a raised urban park. Building on the success of the Rail Path, The Bentway, and New York City’s High Line, “Scarborough Sky Line” will bring excitement, economic stimulation, youth employment, environmental infrastructure and year-round recreational activity to Toronto’s east end. 

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Commitment: Freeze property taxes for two years, conduct a core services review to streamline services, and diversify municipal revenue streams. 

We will freeze property taxes for two years, conduct a core services review to streamline spending, and diversify revenues through corporate congestion charges, stormwater fees, waste-to-energy capture, and a 7% VHT (Vacant Home Tax), while piloting Free TTC Fridays to boost local economic activity.

Pitch: Property taxes are high enough and residents aren’t seeing the value of their dollar. The last core service review was in 2011 and we are increasingly dependent on taxes and transfers to finance the budget. We will institute a two-year freeze on property taxes while conducting a core services review to streamline services and diversify municipal revenue streams with a rideshare congestion charge paid directly by the corporate provider, stormwater fees, waste-to-energy capture and monetization, and increasing the VHT to 7%. We will also pilot Free TTC Fridays to stimulate economic growth by encouraging residents and tourists to explore all areas of the city.

Aligning a core review with new municipal revenue streams and preventative infrastructure upgrades in partnership with the Province and Federal government is the responsible approach to municipal management. 

Detail: The last four years have seen a 28.6% cumulative tax increase and a growing infrastructure deficit. Core services reviews are controversial because they cost time, money, and cause political friction, but avoiding the work for 15 years while the budget has more than doubled is irresponsible. The city is unaffordable for the working class and increasingly the middle class as well. When budgets get tight, we know how to streamline our household spending line-by-line, be resourceful, and find practical solutions to get by. The housing, transit, arts, and other government transfers we’ve been promised sound great but the majority of residents will be taxed or priced out before they see those dollars work for them. While we invest in the future, residents need to see the City doing the the practical and difficult work of streamlining services and diversifying municipal revenue streams with congestion charges like a Transportation Network Charge (TNC) paid by the corporation, stormwater fees, biogas energy capture, grey water collection and monetization, increasing the Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) to 7%. We will also pilot Free TTC Fridays to stimulate economic growth by encouraging residents and tourists to explore other areas of the city.

EDUCATED AND ENGAGED RESIDENTS

Commitment: Fund community-led planning City-wide by 2030, launch engaging public awareness education campaigns, and publish transparent performance dashboards with clear targets on congestion, housing, transit, repairs, and service times.

Pitch: Top-down planning and performative consultations are failing neighbourhoods as residents continue to do the work of caring for their communities and organizing around critical issues. We are committed to funding community-led planning for all neighbourhoods by 2030 that will empower residents and local organizations to direct resources where they are most needed. Cost-effective education campaigns on transportation safety and surveillance pricing will empower people to protect themselves. To restore broken trust, Sarah will develop transparent public reporting tools for transit, parking, and construction updates, setting clear targets for congestion, housing availability, transit reliability, infrastructure repair and city-service response times.

Detail: A simple starting place includes cost-effective education campaigns that teach us how to safely commute together, how to avoid being price-surveilled at the grocery store, the complicated history behind our placenames, how to run a sub-pump when the City sewer backs up in your basement, and so much more. Imagine promoting Toronto’s star talent to keep residents engaged and informed about the issues that affect them every day at a fraction of the cost of studies and performative fighting. 

The City can further invest in communication tools for informing residents on transit, parking, construction updates, and more to bring about social cohesion. In some cases that means simply releasing transit arrival or road closure data to mapping apps like Google. In other cases it means developing innovative tools and making sure they’re clear, up to date, and easy to access. To restore broken trust between residents and City Hall, we must set clear targets for congestion, construction, transit reliability, infrastructure repair and city-service response times with transparent public reporting on the results. 

In our most underserved neighbourhoods, trust is not only broken, but the ability to identify and plan out daily needs has been compromised by top-down planning approaches that neglect their quality of life. Beginning with these neighbourhoods, but expanding all over the city by 2030, we are committed to funding community-led planning that empowers residents to direct the flow of resources where they are most needed. Residents need to feel secure in long-term planning and growth. City Hall’s planning approach has failed to serve all residents with dignity and with Bill 98 municipalities lose even more planning control to the Province. Residents need real control to respond to this overreach and plan for their future. Performative consultations don’t work. By returning assets and power back to communities and restoring the social contract, Toronto can be the beacon of culturally rich and dignified democratic governance that attracts investment, tourism, and admiration from all over the world.