Councilwatch - March 2007
In this issue:(1) Transit City Victory!(2) David Suzuki backs the TEA Community Right to Know campaign(3) TEA Plays Key Role in City's Smog and Climate Change Action Plan(4) Greening Sacred Spaces(5) Thank you Marjorie Nichol and Michael Eisen(1) Transit City Victory!We did it thanks to you! After more than a decade of campaigning for a network of light rail across the city TEA was thrilled with last Friday's big TTC announcement on the Toronto Transit City ' Light Rail Plan.Subway-style service will reach all corners of the city with this plan for Light Rail routes featuring spacious low-floor vehicles with dedicated rights of way and signal priority at intersections. The newly proposed network includes 120 km of service with a cross-town Eglinton route from Kennedy to the Airport north-south routes on Don Mills and Jane as well as service on Morningside Sheppard East Finch West and a West Waterfront route reaching to Long Branch. These routes would add 175 million new riders to the system by 2021.This is the next step TEA has been pressing for since the City/TTC 'Building a Transit City' report was released in 2005. The new Transit City - Light Rail Plan presents a comprehensive vision that the City can now use to begin to leverage the needed investments from higher levels of government.Many thanks go out to our TEA supporters who have backed our transit work over the years signing Calls for Action sending donations and asking pointed questions of their candidates during election campaigns. Your support is paying off and TEA will continue to keep up the pressure on all levels of government to ensure this plan is implemented.The next step is to put pressure on our provincial and federal politicians to make sure enough money is set aside to make Transit City a reality. Contact your MP and MPP to let them know you support Transit City!Details of the new Toronto Transit City ' Light Rail Plan can be seen at http://transitcity.ca(2) David Suzuki backs the TEA Community Right to Know campaign!TEA's campaign for a Community Right-to-Know (CRTK) bylaw is gaining momentum! Now is the time to add your voice in support of your right to know about toxic chemicals in your community.On February 15th influential environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki visited Toronto and along with TEA's Co-Executive Director Katrina Miller met with Councillors and the Mayor to urge quick action on a CRTK bylaw. The city promised such a bylaw seven years ago and still hasn't delivered.Now is the time to take action on this campaign. Click here to see what you can do.(3) TEA Plays Key Role in City's Smog and Climate Change Action PlanOn February 20th TEA was asked by the City of Toronto to participate in the first-ever expert consultation meeting organized by City's Parks and Environment Committee. The Committee asked a select number of expert witnesses to present their ideas about how the City could move forward to cut global warming gases and clean the air (for the presentations see http://www.toronto.ca/taf/pdf/greenhouse-pollutants-022007.pdf) City Councillors were very open to the ideas. Councillor Paula Fletcher the Parks and Environment Chair told the public to expect a staff report at the March 26th Executive Committee meeting which will outline the plan.Two days later TEA convened a Smog and Global Warming Forum to strategize about how to get the best plan adopted by City Council. Environmental activists labour leaders business leaders health care professionals and academics spent the day discussing how best to get the City to adopt a comprehensive smog and climate change action plan and how to work together to achieve this goal. Stay tuned to see some of the fruits of this Forum in the coming weeks.TEA would like to thank Toronto Hydro World Wildlife Fund and Gilbert's LLP for providing financial and