Item - 2023.EX3.13

That:

1. City Council endorse the ongoing work by the Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto Police, and City of Toronto staff to ensure the Toronto Transit Commission is safe and that the Toronto Transit Commission must be safe for all riders and all transit workers.

2. City Council call on the other orders of government to assist the City in addressing community safety and complex social issues on the transit system by:

a. joining the provincial and territorial premiers, as well as the Chief of Police and the Toronto Police Services Board’s call to urge the Federal government to take immediate action to strengthen Canada’s bail system to better protect the public and first responders;

b. requesting that the Federal government amend Criminal Code section 269.01 to include all transit workers in the provisions;

c. requesting the Province ensure proper release plans are made for individuals to be released from custody and reintegrated into the community;

d. requesting that both the Provincial and Federal governments increase investments in social supports to address the root causes of violence, to invest in mental health and addiction treatment, as well as increasing investments in community safety and enforcement;

e. request that the Federal government honour the election promise it made to the City of Toronto and provide 2022 operating funding for the City's continuing COVID-19 costs largely to support the transit system and homelessness response; and

f. requesting that the Provincial and Federal governments work with the City on addressing its 2023 COVID-19 costs, including for transit and for homelessness so that the City can continue to provide additional shelter capacity for vulnerable residents and transit service far in excess of demand as a result of the lingering impacts of the pandemic.

3. City Council call on all cellphone providers to help our efforts to keep the Toronto Transit Commission safe and ensure cell service for all cellphones is available across our subway system as soon as possible.

4. City Council forward this decision to the Provincial and Federal governments.

That:

1. City Council request the City Manager, in consultation with the Toronto Police Services and the Toronto Transit Commission, to report to City Council by July 2023 with a plan on how to reinstate a dedicated Police transit enforcement unit of at least 80 officers, and how the unit could cooperate or harmonize with the existing transit special constables, and within the report provide options for funding offsets in the City budget.

That:

1. City Council request the City Manager to investigate steps taken in other Cities, including the City of New York, in addressing transit security and public safety concerns, and report to City Council with options for consideration.

That:

1. City Council request that Toronto Transit Commission staff and the Board Commisioners be guided in their approach by the best practices outlined in the Ombudsman’s Investigation into the City’s Clearing of Encampments.

2. City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to report to the appropriate committee on the impediments to full cellular access on the subway.

That:

1. City Council request the General Manager, Social Development and Finance Administration to report to the July 6, 2023 meeting of the Economic and Community Development Committee with a strategy, including recommendations to ensure it is fully resourced, to address safety on the Toronto Transit Commission that considers wraparound community services, including an expansion of the Multi-Disciplinary Outreach Team (M-DOT) program, frontline Toronto Transit Commission staff, mental health crisis response, Youth Equity Strategy, Poverty Reduction Strategy, and other best practices to address the root causes of violence on the Toronto Transit Commission and in our community.

That:

1. City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to:

a. direct Toronto Transit Commission leadership to purposefully engage with community groups, organizations, and experts in homelessness and mental health to co-develop a comprehensive 5-year System Safety and Wellbeing Strategy and plan for the Toronto Transit Commission;

b. direct Toronto Transit Commission leadership to apply an equity impact analysis to all elements of said System Safety and Wellbeing Strategy, with Toronto Transit Commission staff from divisions/teams specifically tasked with Equity, Research and Analytics, and Community Engagement mandates to be key internal contributors;

c. direct Toronto Transit Commission leadership to further explore opportunities to augment current capacity to service and support customers who may be homeless or are dealing with or exhibiting signs of poor mental health or distress, including significantly increasing the number of Toronto Transit Commission staff with specific experience (including lived experience) and expertise supporting these particular vulnerable populations;

d. direct Toronto Transit Commission leadership to establish a permanent System Safety and Wellbeing Advisory Committee, which includes residents with current or recent lived experience, advocates, and experts, to advise on the development, implementation, evaluation, and ongoing monitoring of the 5-year System Safety and Wellbeing Strategy; and

e. direct Toronto Transit Commission leadership to develop guidelines for the collection of identity-based data with regards to incidents of compromised passenger safety and wellbeing on the Toronto Transit Commission, with the intention of providing regular reports to Council.

That:

1. City Council request the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission to provide a comprehensive Briefing Note to the City Manager on the building and operating of its publicly accessible wifi and telecommunications network used throughout the transit system.

2. City Council request the City Manager to submit a report that includes the Briefing Note to the June 6, 2023 meeting of the Executive Committee.

That:

1. City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to request the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission, to work with the City Manager to convene on an urgent basis, a multi-government Transit and Community Safety Task Force to create a co-ordinated strategy and response to address the unprecedented growing safety and security crisis on the Toronto Transit Commission.
 

2. City Council request the City Manager to invite the appropriate Provincial and Federal officials to directly participate on the Task Force.
 

3. City Council call upon Provincial and Federal governments to share in providing financial resources to respond to this unprecedented violence and the underlying root causes that put the safety of Toronto Transit Commission riders and employees at risk.
 

4. City Council direct the Transit and Community Safety Task Force to seek input from the City's Interdivisional Table and the SafeTO Advisory Table on the City's contribution to the proposed Task Force.

That:

1. City Council delete Recommendation 1.

Recommendation to be deleted:

"1. City Council authorize the withdrawal of up to $15 million from the Toronto Transit Commission Stabilization Reserve."

and, adopt instead the following new Recommendation 1:

"1. City Council authorize City Manager to withdraw up to $15 million from the Property Tax Stabilization Reserve for the following purposes:

a. additional housing allowances for people leaving shelters;

b. enhanced daytime drop in funding; and

c. the creation of dedicated shelter beds for people leaving incarceration."

2. City Council direct the City Manager write to the Federal Government and ask them to reimburse any costs resulting from this expenditure.

That:

1. City Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration and the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, in consultation with Toronto Transit Commission, to provide a summary of data collected relating to the unhoused on the Toronto Transit Commission over the past three years and report to City Council by the third quarter of 2023.

2. Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration and the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to work with Toronto Transit Commission staff to investigate the feasibility of creating a hub in partnership with a not-for-profit where underhoused individuals can get support and be referred to appropriate services on a year-round basis within or in close proximity to Toronto Transit Commission stations and report to City Council in the fourth quarter of 2023.

That:

1. City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board, as part of its Community Safety Issues and Response and in consultation with appropriate community stakeholders, to:

a. develop a strategy to educate transit riders in appropriate and demographically-targeted languages, how they can report incidents of Anti-Asian hate experienced while riding Toronto Transit Commission vehicles or within Toronto Transit Commission properties; and

b. produce clear and easy to understand signage in appropriate languages that will be posted in prominent locations in Toronto Transit Commission stations and vehicles as part of this strategy.

2.  City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to direct Toronto Transit Commission leadership to report to the appropriate committee on the current training that Toronto Transit Commission staff receive on documenting and responding to incidents of Anti-Asian hate aboard Toronto Transit Commission vehicles or within Toronto Transit Commission properties.

That Recommendation 2 in the motion by Councillor Myers be amended to read as follows:
            

2.  City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to direct Toronto Transit Commission leadership to report to the appropriate committee on the current training that Toronto Transit Commission staff receive on documenting and responding to incidents of Anti-Asian hate, and other forms of targeted hate based on ethnicity, culture, language, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation aboard Toronto Transit Commission vehicles or within Toronto Transit Commission properties.

2. Add a new Recommendation 3:

3. City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to further explore, in consultation with appropriate community stakeholders, a strategy to educate transit riders in appropriate ways how they can report incidents of targeted hate, including but not limited to, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Anti-Indigenous racism, and Anti-Black racism while riding Toronto Transit Commission vehicles or within Toronto Transit Commission properties.

That:

1. City Council request the Provincial Government to increase resources and supports for public safety in Toronto by:

a. investing additional resources into probation and parole officers within Toronto;

b. dedicating specialized Community Reintegration Officers to work collaboratively with justice and community safety sector on enhanced supports in Toronto; and

c. facilitating increased information and data sharing between the Provincial justice system and frontline Toronto Police officers.

That:

1. City Council request, in considering the various directions to the City Manager and City staff on this matter, the City Manager, to the extent that is possible, coordinate the reporting back such that Council can consider the requested reports at the same time, in a wholistic fashion.