Item - 2026.EX29.13
Tracking Status
- City Council adopted this item on March 25 and 26, 2026 with amendments.
- This item was considered by Executive Committee on March 10, 2026 and was adopted with amendments. It will be considered by City Council on March 25 and 26, 2026.
EX29.13 - Winter Surge Capacity Snow Shovellers
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Amended
- Wards:
- All
Caution: Motions and votes are shown below. Any motions or votes should not be considered final until the meeting is complete, and the decisions for this meeting have been confirmed.
Committee Recommendations
The Executive Committee recommends that:
1. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, in coordination with the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Chief People Officer and the City Solicitor, to develop a paid surge capacity sidewalk shovelling program modelled on the successful approach in New York City, Minneapolis, and Montreal for implementation of best practices through their experiences, as soon as possible and no later than the 2026-2027 winter season.
Background Information (Committee)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2026/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-284950.pdf
Communications (Committee)
(March 10, 2026) E-mail from Nicole Corrado (EX.New)
(March 10, 2026) E-mail from Adam Rodgers (EX.New)
(March 10, 2026) E-mail from Ryan Endoh (EX.New)
Motions (City Council)
That:
1, City Council amend Executive Committee Recommendation 1 by adding the words "and Local 416" after the words "City Solicitor" so that it now reads as follows:
1. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, in coordination with the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Chief People Officer and the City Solicitor and Local 416, to develop a paid surge capacity sidewalk shovelling program modelled on the successful approach in New York City, Minneapolis, and Montreal for implementation of best practices through their experiences, as soon as possible and no later than the 2026-2027 winter season.
Vote (Amend Motion) Mar-26-2026 11:45 AM
| Result: Carried | Majority Required - EX29.13 - Saxe - motion 1 |
|---|---|
| Total members that voted Yes: 21 | Members that voted Yes are Paul Ainslie, Brad Bradford, Alejandra Bravo, Jon Burnside, Shelley Carroll, Lily Cheng, Rachel Chernos Lin, Olivia Chow, Paula Fletcher, Parthi Kandavel, Ausma Malik, Nick Mantas, Josh Matlow, Chris Moise, Amber Morley, Jamaal Myers, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, Dianne Saxe, Neethan Shan, Michael Thompson |
| Total members that voted No: 5 | Members that voted No are Mike Colle, Vincent Crisanti, Stephen Holyday, Frances Nunziata (Chair), James Pasternak |
| Total members that were Absent: 0 | Members that were absent are |
Vote (Adopt Item as Amended) Mar-25-2026
| Result: Carried | Majority Required - EX29.13 - Adopt the item as amended |
|---|---|
| Total members that voted Yes: 17 | Members that voted Yes are Paul Ainslie, Brad Bradford, Alejandra Bravo, Shelley Carroll, Lily Cheng, Rachel Chernos Lin, Olivia Chow, Paula Fletcher, Ausma Malik, Nick Mantas, Amber Morley, Jamaal Myers, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, Dianne Saxe, Neethan Shan, Michael Thompson |
| Total members that voted No: 9 | Members that voted No are Jon Burnside, Mike Colle, Vincent Crisanti, Stephen Holyday, Parthi Kandavel, Josh Matlow, Chris Moise, Frances Nunziata (Chair), James Pasternak |
| Total members that were Absent: 0 | Members that were absent are |
EX29.13 - Winter Surge Capacity Snow Shovellers
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Amended
- Wards:
- All
Committee Recommendations
The Executive Committee recommends that:
1. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, in coordination with the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Chief People Officer and the City Solicitor, to develop a paid surge capacity sidewalk shovelling program modelled on the successful approach in New York City, Minneapolis, and Montreal for implementation of best practices through their experiences, as soon as possible and no later than the 2026-2027 winter season.
Origin
Summary
In 2021, City Council voted to expand sidewalk snow plowing to include all sidewalks in the City of Toronto. Prior to this change, property owners were responsible for shovelling their own sidewalks in much of the old city of Toronto.
During significant snowfalls, the City has encountered challenges with our sidewalk plows, and clearing sidewalks has continued to be a point of frustration. Last year, I brought a motion to direct staff to buy new, better sidewalk plows capable of moving larger quantities of snow without getting bogged down or breaking down. While this is an improvement, there is still more we can do to get Toronto moving after extreme storms.
At our regular snow operations meetings throughout January and February, I asked City staff to explore options to pay Torontonians to help our city dig out from the snow. Staff identified challenges with legal liability and operational considerations at the time. Instead, we pursued other creative avenues we could implement more quickly, like securing the Province’s highway snow removal crews to allow our crews to focus on local streets.
Cities do best when we learn from each other and adopt best practices from other cities. We now have the opportunity to engage our counterparts in New York City on their recent success with a paid relief snow shovelling program, and implement lessons learned right here in Toronto.
I have had several productive conversations with the City Manager and our winter operations team about continuing to improve winter service operations and I am confident City staff will work to get it done.
Background Information
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2026/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-284950.pdf
Communications
(March 10, 2026) E-mail from Nicole Corrado (EX.New)
(March 10, 2026) E-mail from Adam Rodgers (EX.New)
(March 10, 2026) E-mail from Ryan Endoh (EX.New)
Speakers
Motions
That Executive Committee amend the Recommendation to read as follows:
1. City Council direct the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, in coordination with the General Manager, Transportation Services, the Chief People Officer and the City Solicitor, to develop a paid surge capacity sidewalk shovelling program modelled on the successful approach in New York City, Minneapolis, and Montreal for implementation of best practices through their experiences, as soon as possible and no later than the 2026-2027 winter season.