Stop the City from ignoring lead, mercury, arsenic, methane - 21 Windermere, Swansea Mews
The Issue
The Issue: Severe Contamination Found
Lead: 30 times the legal residential safety limit.
Toxins: Mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and methane exceed provincial thresholds.
Proof: Confirmed by Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) lab contractors.
Procedural Failures
Concealed Data : City adopted a motion to build 35 and 20 storey towers, plus a cluster of mid-rises, without disclosing this contamination to the Planning and Housing Committee and city Council. And yet it was rubber stamped by the Councillors as reported in the Toronto Star. The Proposal was promoted by the Ward 4 Councillor, Gord Perk who is also the Chair of Planning and Housing Committee and sits on the Board of TCHC, which is a clear conflict of interest. He is retiring in October and leaving behind the problem in his wake.
Missing Mandatory Report: City Council directed a Stage 2 Actions Report in April 2025. It is a required assessment of all built forms, funding mechanisms, and community impacts that must be adopted before Toronto Community Housing Corporation can commence redevelopment. It was due December 2025. The Housing Secretariat has confirmed in writing it will be produced an yet has no delivery date. Despite this, Site Plan Approval is being pushed forward, again by the promotion of a Proposal by the Councillor.
Double Standards: Council unanimously deferred a smaller, less contaminated site four weeks later without debate, in the Ward of Brad Bradford.
No Safety Clearance: No Record of Site Condition, the legal instrument that certifies land is safe for residential construction, has been filed. This is unacceptable.
Advancing Regardless: On August 14, 2026, TCHC confirmed in writing it is continuing to advance the project. Demolition signage from a licensed contractor appeared on the site fences in August without the legally required permits and neighbour notifications. The community formally advised the Chief Building Official on August 11. His office acknowledged it the same day and is doing a fulsome investigation in order to report back 'shortly'. The timelines and deadlines remain mysterious.
ONGOING Jurisdictional Deflection: The Province refers the community to the City. The City does not respond. Both levels of government have a responsibility they are not exercising. The Province is responsible under Ontario environmental law for ensuring residential construction on severely contaminated land meets provincial standards. The City is responsible for producing the Stage 2 Report its own Council directed and its own staff confirmed must be adopted first.
Displaced Families: 108 displaced Swansea Mews families are being denied a safer, faster, cheaper housing alternative , Swansea Park, swanseapark.ca, which they have never been shown as the Councillor has pretended it doesn't exist. It does.
We demand that the City of Toronto halt all approvals until:
1) The complete environmental findings are presented transparently to the Planning Committee, the city Council and the public.
2) The Stage 2 Actions Report, directed by Council in April 2025, is produced and adopted, assessing all built forms, all funding mechanisms, and all community impacts. SwanseaPark falls into that category as would other built forms, or other uses of the land like seniors' residences, daycare, schooling, a walk-in clinic or other prudent community enhancing opportunities.
3) A Record of Site Condition is lawfully filed so that people can know what they are being asked to live on.
Take Action Now - If the City can bypass safety laws in Swansea, they can do it in any ward.
Mayor Chow petitioned Torontonians to protect the waterfront. She organized. She marched. The federal government listened. She has been formally advised about Swansea Mews in writing. The parallels are obvious and yet she continues to ignore the problem. We are asking her to apply her own standard, to our city, on her own watch.
Sign the Petition:
Share: Forward this to five people — neighbours, family, friends, anyone who drinks Toronto tap water or walks in High Park.
Full record: SwanseaMatters.com efforts to keep you informed.
Thank you for caring and providing your support.
Every voice matters!!
773
The Issue
The Issue: Severe Contamination Found
Lead: 30 times the legal residential safety limit.
Toxins: Mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and methane exceed provincial thresholds.
Proof: Confirmed by Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) lab contractors.
Procedural Failures
Concealed Data : City adopted a motion to build 35 and 20 storey towers, plus a cluster of mid-rises, without disclosing this contamination to the Planning and Housing Committee and city Council. And yet it was rubber stamped by the Councillors as reported in the Toronto Star. The Proposal was promoted by the Ward 4 Councillor, Gord Perk who is also the Chair of Planning and Housing Committee and sits on the Board of TCHC, which is a clear conflict of interest. He is retiring in October and leaving behind the problem in his wake.
Missing Mandatory Report: City Council directed a Stage 2 Actions Report in April 2025. It is a required assessment of all built forms, funding mechanisms, and community impacts that must be adopted before Toronto Community Housing Corporation can commence redevelopment. It was due December 2025. The Housing Secretariat has confirmed in writing it will be produced an yet has no delivery date. Despite this, Site Plan Approval is being pushed forward, again by the promotion of a Proposal by the Councillor.
Double Standards: Council unanimously deferred a smaller, less contaminated site four weeks later without debate, in the Ward of Brad Bradford.
No Safety Clearance: No Record of Site Condition, the legal instrument that certifies land is safe for residential construction, has been filed. This is unacceptable.
Advancing Regardless: On August 14, 2026, TCHC confirmed in writing it is continuing to advance the project. Demolition signage from a licensed contractor appeared on the site fences in August without the legally required permits and neighbour notifications. The community formally advised the Chief Building Official on August 11. His office acknowledged it the same day and is doing a fulsome investigation in order to report back 'shortly'. The timelines and deadlines remain mysterious.
ONGOING Jurisdictional Deflection: The Province refers the community to the City. The City does not respond. Both levels of government have a responsibility they are not exercising. The Province is responsible under Ontario environmental law for ensuring residential construction on severely contaminated land meets provincial standards. The City is responsible for producing the Stage 2 Report its own Council directed and its own staff confirmed must be adopted first.
Displaced Families: 108 displaced Swansea Mews families are being denied a safer, faster, cheaper housing alternative , Swansea Park, swanseapark.ca, which they have never been shown as the Councillor has pretended it doesn't exist. It does.
We demand that the City of Toronto halt all approvals until:
1) The complete environmental findings are presented transparently to the Planning Committee, the city Council and the public.
2) The Stage 2 Actions Report, directed by Council in April 2025, is produced and adopted, assessing all built forms, all funding mechanisms, and all community impacts. SwanseaPark falls into that category as would other built forms, or other uses of the land like seniors' residences, daycare, schooling, a walk-in clinic or other prudent community enhancing opportunities.
3) A Record of Site Condition is lawfully filed so that people can know what they are being asked to live on.
Take Action Now - If the City can bypass safety laws in Swansea, they can do it in any ward.
Mayor Chow petitioned Torontonians to protect the waterfront. She organized. She marched. The federal government listened. She has been formally advised about Swansea Mews in writing. The parallels are obvious and yet she continues to ignore the problem. We are asking her to apply her own standard, to our city, on her own watch.
Sign the Petition:
Share: Forward this to five people — neighbours, family, friends, anyone who drinks Toronto tap water or walks in High Park.
Full record: SwanseaMatters.com efforts to keep you informed.
Thank you for caring and providing your support.
Every voice matters!!
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Petition created on May 3, 2026