Item - 2025.EX28.6

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, the General Manager, Transportation Services and the General Manager Toronto Water to work with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and report back to the Executive Committee in the third quarter of 2027 with a progress update on delivery of the Scarborough Waterfront Project and the Scarborough Bluffs West Comprehensive Environmental Assessment, including funding requirements and a next steps action plan.  

2. City Council direct the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, the General Manager, Transportation Services and the General Manager Toronto Water to work with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to advance a planning process for the Etobicoke Waterfront from Etobicoke Creek to the Humber River to identify, prioritize and coordinate potential projects for funding and delivery.

3. City Council direct the City Manager, in consultation with the Director, Waterfront Secretariat and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to continue pursuit of intergovernmental funding opportunities to advance wider waterfront projects.

This report responds to MM24.20 (December 2024), where City Council requested that staff, in collaboration with the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and Waterfront Toronto, report back on opportunities to advance wider waterfront initiatives outside of the central waterfront and Designated Waterfront Area, "including City and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority joint projects on the Scarborough and Etobicoke portions of the Lake Ontario Waterfront that could benefit from funding from senior levels of government so as to inform inter-governmental discussions and funding requests, and 2026 budget deliberations."

The waterfront has been of great public interest for a long time. Published in 2000, Our Toronto Waterfront: Gateway to the New Canada (Gateway Report) provided the original vision for Toronto's waterfront.

The Next Phase of Waterfront Revitalization report that was approved by City Council in 2022 directed staff to actively advance and pursue intergovernmental support for projects in the full 43-kilometer “wider waterfront”, extending from Etobicoke Creek in Etobicoke to the Rouge River in Scarborough which for areas needing investment in parks, natural heritage, active transportation and environmental protection and resilience.

As directed, staff have continued intergovernmental dialogue on wider waterfront funding priorities as a part of discussions on the Next Phase of Waterfront Revitalization. As noted in EX19.2, all governments continue to be focussed on the need to invest in enabling infrastructure that would advance significant housing opportunities in the central waterfront. The Next Phase of Waterfront Revitalization resulted in $5 million of funding being secured for wider waterfront initiatives in recognition of its alignment with the original vision for city-wide waterfront revitalization. Funding will be used to advance preliminary studies and design necessary to establish shovel ready projects for future capital funding opportunities. Advancing projects to be ready for future federal and provincial funding opportunities is a key priority of the Wider Waterfront Coordination Table which was established to improve coordination between and across the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and City divisions.

While the needs identified by the Wider Waterfront Coordination Table are large, a substantial set of projects have been completed or are currently underway in Scarborough, the Toronto Island Park, the Western Beaches and Etobicoke. This report outlines progress underway and recommends direction to staff that will further enable implementation.

Specifically, it is recommended that City Council direct staff to undertake a comprehensive waterfront planning exercise for the Etobicoke Waterfront, between the Etobicoke Creek and the Humber River. Staff would undertake this vision/ strategy beginning in 2026 and report back in 2027. This work would be led by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority with support from the Waterfront Secretariat and staff in various divisions including City Planning, Development Review, Parks and Recreation, Transportation Services and Toronto Water.

Overall, the work described in this report will continue to be coordinated through the Wider Waterfront Coordination Table and will be conducted in collaboration with local Councillors and include public and Indigenous engagement. Together, the implementation of ongoing projects and launching the work program as recommended in this report will set the stage for new revitalization opportunities, improved public access and more resilient natural systems along the 43-km waterfront from Etobicoke Creek to the Rouge River.