Item - 2025.EC22.5

Tracking Status

  • This item will be considered by Economic and Community Development Committee on July 9, 2025. It will be considered by City Council on July 23, 24 and 25, 2025, subject to the actions of the Economic and Community Development Committee .

EC22.5 - Rat Response Plan

Consideration Type:
ACTION
Wards:
All

Origin

(June 24, 2025) Report from the City Manager

Recommendations

The City Manager recommends that:  

 

1. City Council adopt the Rat Response Plan as described in this report.

 

2. City Council request the Executive Director, Development Review, to include a rat management plan within the Construction Management Plan as an advisory comment in the Notice of Approval with Conditions issued through the Site Plan Control application review process.

 

3. City Council request that the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, and other City officials as appropriate, include a requirement for rat management as a component of City-led construction projects.

Summary

This report outlines the City's Rat Response Plan that was developed in response to direction from City Council. The Rat Response Plan is the City’s coordinated, proactive and strategic approach to manage rats. Rats can pose significant issues for residents and businesses, and effective management requires action from the City, private property owners, residents, businesses, and construction site managers.

 

The guiding principles of the Plan emphasize integrated pest management (IPM), focusing on environmental changes that minimize the conditions for rats to thrive, holistic urban pest and wildlife management, data-driven approaches, and leveraging and building on current rat response actions.

 

The objectives and outcomes of the Plan focus on reducing access to food, water, and shelter for rats, delivering municipal services that support a clean city, supporting residents and businesses, prioritizing rat response efforts in high-issue neighborhoods, improving coordination across City divisions and stakeholders, embedding rat response within broader urban wildlife and environmental strategies, and continuously monitoring and evaluating the City's approach.

 

The Plan's actions focus on governance and administration, public education, inspection and enforcement, waste management, maintaining a clean public realm, managing rats on municipal property and data collection, monitoring and evaluation.

Financial Impact

In order to implement the Rat Response Plan, beginning in 2026, Municipal Licensing and Standards will require one Associate Director resource and one Project Coordinator resource with estimated annualized cost of up to $351,000. In addition, an estimate of up to $150,000 will be required annually to support public communication and staff training related to rat management.

 

The financial impact identified above will be treated as a new investment or enhancement to an existing program for consideration by the Mayor during the 2026 budget process.

 

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the information as presented in the Financial Impact Section.

Background Information

(June 24, 2025) Report and Attachments 1 to 3 from the City Manager on Rat Response Plan
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2025/ec/bgrd/backgroundfile-256825.pdf

Communications

(June 30, 2025) Letter from Councillor Paula Fletcher (EC.Main)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2025/ec/comm/communicationfile-194033.pdf
(July 4, 2025) E-mail from Robert Fleming (EC.New)
(July 4, 2025) E-mail from Mohini Grounder (EC.New)
Source: Toronto City Clerk at www.toronto.ca/council