Feb 10 - Mixed Day of Files Ticking Along

After weeks of sweating over the City Budget Process and the looming Community Council with our big item, we had a full day yesterday of watching various files we are working on tick along.

The Youth Working Group got together to plan our next Broader Consultation evening. The new Toronto Civic Youth Strategy is on its way.

I met with Zoo staff to get an update on progress with the proposal for an exciting new Learning Centre dedicated to education in sustainable development.

I met with Michael Booth to prepare for the first meeting of the City's new Toronto Film Board. This Board hopes to develop a strategy to address the current economic downturn in Toronto film production, currently affecting employment not just in film but an array of ancillary industries. This urgent board convenes for the first meeting this afternoon.

I sat in on the TTC meeting today as they were debating the changes proposed to their budget by my colleagues and I on the Budget Advisory Meeting. The new transferrable weekly pass will proceed, the freeze on Metropass pricing was approved but the dreaded fare hike was also voted in by the commissioners. I wish I could say it was possible to 'not go there' with a fare hike but the Operating Budget of the TTC remains our single biggest pressure. When it comes to the TTC, we all agree we don't even need a New Deal from other levels of government, we would be sustainable with 'The Old Deal'. The days when the TTC was funded by other levels of government by a whopping 75% in Capital and 50% in Operating is now several years and several fare hikes ago.

Last meeting of the day was another planning meeting to prepare for Persian New Year and particularly the Char Chanbeh Soori ceremony. A very strong contingent of Iranian community groups is now working very hard to make the event more organized and more safe than ever before. It's very exciting to be working with this community to make the event a more officially recognized part of Toronto's rich mosaic of multicultural celebrations.