Toronto Area Council Launch Sat March 27th

This is the culmination of a lot of work, and could be an important vehicle for ensuring our local priorities are being heard:

Friends, New Democrats are doing exciting things in Toronto. After Cathy Crowe's exciting campaign in Toronto-Centre, we're organizing to keep setting the agenda. The Toronto Area Council is holding their first meeting this Saturday March 27th. A full agenda for the inaugural meeting is copied below and background information on the council is available on their website www.torontondp.ca. I hope you will join me, members of my caucus and special guests for a "Members' Levee" - an evening of entertainment and a free social following the business portion of the meeting at 5pm. Andrea Horwath

INAUGURAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TORONTO AREA COUNCIL SATURDAY MARCH 27, 2010 STEEL HALL 25 Cecil Street Toronto, Ontario

10:00   Registration Opens 11:00  Establishing the Toronto Area Council: How can it help?  What can it do? ·       Working groups break-out sessions 1:00     Lunch ·       Light lunch will be provided 2:00    Business Meeting ·       Elections and adoption of by-laws 5:00    Social ·       Cash bar and entertainment

Voters in Eglinton-Lawrence have been getting a lot of these. Will we start to feel lonely or less-appreciated if the steady stream of mail from random Conservative MP's stops?

MPs vote to stop mailing flyers outside ridings on taxpayers' dime

OTTAWA–MPs have voted to put a stop to the practice of mailing taxpayer-funded political flyers to voters outside their own ridings.

In a surprisingly close result Tuesday, MPs passed a Liberal motion to scrap the so-called 10-percenters by a vote of 140-137.

New Democrats, who had argued in favour of retaining the right to communicate with voters all across the country, ended up supporting the motion, which included several other proposals aimed at saving the government more than $1 billion annually.

The Bloc Québécois also supported it while Conservatives, who've made the most use of the mailouts, were opposed.

The controversial 10-percenters – so named because MPs can send one-page flyers to distant voters in numbers equal to 10 per cent of the electors in their own ridings – are estimated to cost up to $10 million each year.

Unlike other opposition motions that the government can ignore, Liberals maintain Tuesday's motion is binding. It was worded as a directive to the Speaker of the House of Commons and the board of internal economy, which set the rules for MPs' mailing privileges.

The flyers have been the source of considerable tension among the various parties over the last couple of years. They've been used increasingly to launch vicious partisan attacks against political opponents.

 

Community Consultation Meeting: Proposed Yonge-Eglinton Urban Growth Centre Boundaries

For those in the east half of our riding, and especially those down towards Yonge & Eg, there's a "community consultation" coming up tomorrow:

Community Consultation Meeting

 

Wednesday March 3^rd, 2010

7:00PM

North Toronto Memorial Community Centre

200 Eglinton Avenue, West

Main Floor Meeting Room

 
 

Proposed Yonge-Eglinton Urban Growth Centre Boundaries

 

The Planning Department and Councillors Stintz, Walker and Jenkins invite you to a public consultation meeting to discuss the proposed boundaries of the Yonge-Eglinton Urban Growth Centre and necessary amendments to the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan.

 

The Provincial Growth Plan identifies areas of intensification called Urban Growth Centres in cities throughout Ontario.  In Toronto the Province has identified 5 Urban Growth Centres: Downtown/Waterfront, Scarborough Centre, North York Centre, Etobicoke Centre and Yonge-Eglinton Centre.  In 2008 the Province released their boundaries for these Centres which the City must incorporate into its Official Plan in order to comply with the Provincial Growth Plan.

 

The City does have the ability to make only minor adjustments to the Yonge-Eglinton Growth Centre boundaries established by the Province.  As can be seen from the small map the Provincial boundaries extend east of Yonge Street to include most the area roughly bounded by Yonge St. on the east, Mt. Pleasant on the west, a line north of Erskine Avenue on the north, and a line north of Soudan on the south.   The Growth Centre extends just west of Yonge Street between Orchard View and Berwick.  After consultations with community representatives staff are recommending only two minor changes to the Yonge-Eglinton Urban Growth Centre boundaries established by the Province.   Amendments to the Secondary Plan policies would seek to concentrate development with the highest heights and density at the four quadrants of the Yonge-Eglinton intersection, with descending heights and densities on Eglinton Avenue East as one gets farther from Yonge Street.  The 'Apartment Neighbourhoods' east of Yonge Street would be considered to be stable areas with compatible infill permitted on truly underutilized sites with existing apartment buildings.  Development on Yonge Street north of Roehampton and Mount Pleasant Road south of Eglinton would be mid-rise buildings with retail at-grade.

 

In addition, in response to the suggestions of community representatives to strengthen the Secondary Plan, some of the policies that have now been put in place for the 'four corners' of the Yonge-Eglinton quadrant that deserve broader applicability, are proposed to be extended to apply to the entire Secondary Plan Area.  These include: encouraging sustainable transportation initiatives, providing adequate parking supply, encouraging bicycle linkages to the City's bike route network, having new development improve the streetscape and sidewalks, encouraging mid-block connections on large blocks, providing community services in a timely manner, promoting community services that are flexible and multi-purpose, pursuing opportunities arising from development to develop new parkland, and identifying priorities for community benefits under Section 37 of the Planning Act.

 

If you cannot attend the meeting, you can still make your views known by emailing cgiles@toronto.ca or by fax to 416-397-4080 or by writing Christian Giles, Planner, Policy and Research, 55 John Street, 23^rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3C6.

 

Looking for more information? Please call Christian Giles at 416-392-0881 or visit the following web sites for more information about this initiative.

 

January 5, 2009 Report to Planning and Growth Management Committee (direction to undertake consultations RE: Yonge-Eglinton UGC): http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/pg/bgrd/backgroundfile-18454.pdf

 

Province of Ontario Places to Grow Program and Growth Plan:

http://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php?lang=eng

http://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=14

 

City of Toronto Official Plan:

http://www.toronto.ca/planning/official_plan/introduction.htm