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Thank you to TLN Media Group's Antonio Giorgi and Manuel Alejandro García Cantón for this TLN TV special report on the City of Toronto's ugly 4 year old campaign to deny hundreds of vulnerable seniors in the care of Toronto Community Housing their rightful access to protected safe outdoor green space on their majestic treed front lawn at Willowdale Manor seniors home.
The same bureaucrats who claim to value the environment (https://lnkd.in/gQk5NXe6 in practise value neither neither the environment nor the rights of a vulnerable equity deserving community of elderly fragile seniors entrusted to the care of Toronto Community Housing.
The entire Willowdale east community rallied around the seniors and elected local councillor Lily Cheng on her promise to oppose the City's secretly hatched plan. Her motion last year https://lnkd.in/gMMyn688 was dismissed and brushed aside by "officials" who have constantly misled Council and the public as to what was really happening.
In fact, just 3 months ago in June, due to cost overruns the City was in a position to either go or stop the project. Except for Councillor Stephen Holyday, city council including Councillor Lily Cheng supported the project moving forward. SEE City Council Decision City Council on June 26 and 27, 2024
How did the City of Toronto bully Councillor Cheng into supporting a motion to proceed with the project despite fierce opposition by advocates for seniors rights ( including Councillor Cheng's own motions a year early to relocate and/or configure the entire project) and spiralling out of control costs in the tens of millions?
Even worse, on a property that has always been zoned and used for seniors housing, the City has stubbornly refused to dedicate any development on the site to the exclusive use of seniors requiring supportive housing, joining the almost 1,000 seniors residing on these two City-run facilities.
And if the City's behaviour couldn't get any worse, despite there being a pending November 20th ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE hearing date on this entire fiasco, the City is now rushing to cut down dozens of hundred year old trees and destroy the site before the hearing!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Contact your Ontario MPP and express your disapproval of the City's behaviour. And insist that if this beautiful greenspace is to be redeveloped, that any housing built there be dedicated solely for additional seniors housing. Willowdale MPP is Minister Stan Cho 416-733-7878 Email: stan.cho@pc.ola.org
2. Consider donating to our seniors defense fund. Fighting City hall has cost many thousands of dollars and many people have contributed money and helped raise funds. DONATIONS ACCEPTED at https://bayviewcummer.ca/donate/