We’re asking all Mayor and Council Candidates to sign the following pledge:
Given that:
- Toronto has the highest rates of child and adult poverty among large cities in Canada
- Poverty costs Toronto $5 billion a year in health and social service costs, and lost taxes
- Indigenous People, people of colour, people with disabilities, women, LGBTQ+ and newcomers experience particularly high levels of poverty
- Thousands of residents wait years for housing, child care and recreation programs
- Torontonians face economic difficulties and have trouble making ends meet.
I PLEDGE, if elected to Toronto Council, to work with community, business and faith leaders to reduce poverty and inequality in Toronto, and to support the full funding and full implementation of Toronto’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (TO Prosperity) and other Council-approved equity initiatives over the 2019-2022 term, including the following approved actions:
- 7,200 new supportive housing units, at least 8,000 new deeply affordable rental housing units, and 1,000 new shelter spaces
- Reduced TTC fares for an additional 157,000 lower-income adults
- 11,500 new child care spaces, including 5,000 subsidized spaces
- 40,000 new recreation program spaces
Click here to download the full pledge form.
Please mail, fax or scan/email your completed pledge, by August 31, 2018, to:
Israt Ahmed, 2 Carlton Street, Suite 1001, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1J3, Fax: (416) 351-0107, [email protected]
Commitment TO Community (CommitmentTO.com) is a coalition of individuals and groups that support engagement and advocacy by thousands of residents across Toronto on local priorities.
Faith in the City (faithinthecity.ca) is an alliance of leaders from various faith traditions who share issues of common social concern.