Minutes Confirmed on December 2, 2025

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council request the provincial and federal governments to provide additional and sustained capital and operating funding to support progress towards Toronto's Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care expansion targets.

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Children’s Services to continue to prioritize future capital investments and the necessary operating funding from the provincial or federal government to support the expansion of child care services in high-inequity neighbourhoods, in alignment with legislation and provincial guidelines. 

3. City Council direct the General Manager, Children’s Services, in collaboration with community partners, to develop and implement new strategies aimed at building local capacity and interest among not-for-profit organizations to deliver child care in high-inequity neighbourhoods, including through education, support, in-person engagement and targeted outreach.

This report provides an update on expansion of Toronto’s licensed child care system, including progress on the implementation of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system locally; the impact of the cost-based funding formula; and capital expansion planning and progress since the introduction of the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund.

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. City Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, the Chief People Officer, People and Equity, the Executive Director, Financial Planning Division, and the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, in consultation with the City Manager’s Office, the City Solicitor and other relevant divisions and agencies to develop a multi-year Association of Community Centres Facilities and Operations Plan to guide facility planning, asset management and required operational costs to advance existing and any newly created Association of Community Centres, with consideration of the City’s broader Capital Budget and Plan, and report back to the Economic and Community Development Committee in the first quarter of 2028.

2. City Council request the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, in consultation with the Executive Director, Social Development and Corporate Real Estate Management, to explore funding opportunities to support the future growth and expansion of the Association of Community Centres, considering City priorities and available resources.

3. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, in collaboration with the Executive Director, Social Development, to integrate the guidelines and models outlined in the Association of Community Centres Expansion Implementation Strategy into the forthcoming Parks and Recreation Facilities Plan, and incorporate the subsequent multi-year Association of Community Centres Facilities and Operations Plan into future divisional facility plans and designs.

4. City Council request the Board of Toronto Community Housing Corporation to direct the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Community Housing Corporation, in collaboration with the Executive Director, Social Development, to incorporate the Association of Community Centres Expansion Implementation Strategy and the multi-year Association of Community Centres Facilities and Operations Plan in the Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s capital planning and facility design.

The Economic and Community Development Committee viewed a video presentation titled Community Development in Action: Association of Community Centres Making a Difference.

Toronto’s growth and persistent inequities highlight the urgent need for community development infrastructure that fosters inclusion, resilience, and local leadership. Community facilities are linked to improved mental health, stronger social ties, and a greater sense of belonging. In 2024, more than 80% of community organizations reported rising service demand amid escalating financial and real estate pressures. To help address this need, the City can expand its network of community development infrastructure through the proven Association of Community Centres (AOCCs) model.

Currently, there are ten AOCCs, operated by volunteer Boards of Management, delivering local programs and services on behalf of the City.  AOCCs play a critical role in advancing City policies to support equity-deserving communities and strengthen local neighbourhoods. Each Centre functions as a local Board under the City of Toronto Act, 2006, with a Relationship Framework that outlines Council’s expectations and delegated authority. The City provides access to City-owned or leased facilities and core administrative funding, while the AOCC Board generates and oversees program funds through fundraising, space rentals, membership and programming fees.

This report outlines an Implementation Strategy to advance the AOCC Expansion Framework, as directed by Council (2024.EC14.7). It introduces AOCCs as a viable community development option within Toronto's broader network of social infrastructure. The Strategy includes place-based assessment guidelines, scalable facility models, and a multi-year Facilities and Operations Plan to align capital investment and operational planning. These measures will modernize existing AOCCs and integrate new ones into development projects, co-located with municipal services to promote equity, sustainability, and complete communities.

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. City Council state its intention to designate the area described by Attachment 1 to the report (October 2, 2025) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture as the Humber Bay Shores Business Improvement Area (BIA) under Chapter 19 of the City of Toronto Municipal Code.

2. City Council direct the City Clerk to send out a notice of City Council’s intention to pass a by-law designating the area described by Attachment 1 to the report (October 2, 2025) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture as a Business Improvement Area (BIA), in accordance with Chapter 19 of the City of Toronto Municipal Code.

3. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to prepare designation by-law maps of the area as described by Attachment 1 to the report (October 2, 2025) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture and submit them to the City Solicitor.

This report recommends that the City Clerk conduct a poll to determine if there is sufficient support to designate the area Southeast from the CN Rail Corridor from Mimico Creek to Humber Bay River and connecting with Humber Bay Park East and West side areas as the Humber Bay Shores Business Improvement Area (BIA).

Upon completion of the poll, the General Manager of Economic Development and Culture will report on the results to City Council through the Economic and Community Development Committee.  Subject to a positive poll result, staff shall prepare the necessary by-laws and bills to give effect thereto.

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1. Deferred consideration of this item until such time as the staff report on 2025-2030 strategic priorities for the Toronto Film Office is brought forward to the Economic and Community Development Committee, by the second quarter of 2026.

At its meeting on September 15, 2025, Film, Television and Digital Media Advisory Board considered Item FB8.1 and made recommendations to the Economic and Community Development Committee.

 
Summary from the report (September 15, 2025) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture:
 
The film and television industry is a key economic and cultural driver, producing an annual direct spend as high as $2.6 billion and meaningfully contributing to Toronto's cultural vibrancy. As the Economic Development and Culture Division develops a five-year Film Strategy in alignment with the priorities identified in both Sidewalks to Skylines: An Action Plan for Toronto's Economy and Culture Connects: An Action Plan for Culture in Toronto, it retained the services of Olsberg SPI Ltd., to ensure an informed approach based on the current industry and economic landscape. This report includes their key findings, based on comprehensive research, an analysis of the current state of film production in Toronto, and extensive engagement – including 7 roundtables with 43 stakeholders, 25 one-on-one consultations with senior executives, and a sector-wide survey that reached 200 industry professionals.

The City acknowledges receipt of Olsberg SPI Ltd.'s report and the significant amount of research and insight from subject matter experts and industry leaders reflected in the report. This report was commissioned in order to inform Toronto's Film Strategy. The report is included as Attachment 1.

Marguerite Pigott, Film Commissioner and Director of Entertainment Industries, Economic Development and Culture Division, City of Toronto will give a presentation on Film Strategy Recommendations.

The presentation will cover recommendations to support Toronto’s Film Sector from Toronto’s Screen Future – A Strategic Framework for Continued Growth 2025-2030, for discussion by the Film Board.

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1. Referred Item EC24.5 to the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture in order to finalize costs for the London and Dublin Mission as outlined in Attachment C to the report (September 15, 2025) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture.

At its meeting on September 15, 2025, Film, Television and Digital Media Advisory Board considered Item FB8.2 and made a recommendation to the Economic and Community Development Committee.
 
Summary from the report (September 15, 2025) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture:
 
From July 7 to 11, 2025, Mayor Olivia Chow led a delegation of 8 Toronto screen industry organizations to Dublin and London to foster new relationships with screen industry organizations based in the United Kingdom and Ireland in order to encourage co-production with Toronto-based companies.

This report provides an overview of the Mayor's Dublin and London Mission, including key activities, objectives, and outcomes of the Mission.

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1. Requested the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit, Social Development to invite Toronto Community Housing to provide to the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee a presentation on initiatives to collect and analyze disaggregated race-based data on evictions, arrears, and tenant relocations.

2. Requested the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit, Social Development to invite Toronto Community Housing and the Housing Secretariat to provide to the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee a presentation and a summary of programs currently addressing evictions by the first quarter of 2026, including equity-based data, including race and gender, collected through various Toronto Community Housing and other social housing programs.

At its meeting on September 3, 2025, the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee considered item CR7.3 and made recommendations to Economic and Community Development Committee.

Summary from the Letter (May 27, 2025) from Walied Khogali Ali:

The Ombudsman Toronto report (Item CC30.3, May 22, 2025) underscores gaps in tenant protection in multi-tenant homes, disproportionately affecting Black, Indigenous, and racialized residents. Disaggregated race-based data collection is essential for identifying systemic barriers and informing equitable housing policy. The Confronting Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee has a mandate to advance data-driven approaches that address anti-Black racism.

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to extend the Red Tape Hotline pilot by a period of 2 months to January 30, 2026 and enhance marketing efforts of the Red Tape Hotline over the fourth quarter of 2025, in consultation with local Councillors to ensure uptake in their wards.
 

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to report back on the Red Tape Hotline for businesses as part of the progress report on the Action Plan for Toronto’s Economy in the second quarter of 2026, with a plan to make the program permanent within existing resources.
 

3. City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards to review recommendations generated from the Red Tape Hotline that are specific to business licensing regulations and include as part of its report back on the Business Licence and Permit Applications Action Plan in the second quarter of 2026 any related bylaw amendments or other operational improvements where feasible.

4. City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services and the Deputy City Manager, Community and Emergency Services to report back to Economic and Community Development on February 24, 2026, on:

a. A more business-friendly approach and protocols for small business licenses and permits with a focus on compliance rather than enforcement and issuing a summons for these simple matters;

b. An outline for a cross divisional training and education plan by Municipal Licensing and Standards and Economic Development for small business owners and operators; and

c. Updates and a timeline for operation on the Small Business Solutions Office, the one-stop-shop for small business services contemplated in the Action Plan for Toronto’s Economy, including the promotion and accessibility of the Office’s services for small business owners and operators.

City Council on October 8 and October 9, 2025, referred Item EC23.10 to the Economic and Community Development Committee for consideration.

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Seniors Services and Long-Term Care to collaborate with community and sector partners on the long-term care home at 4610 Finch Avenue East to:

a. Develop specialized care, services, and programs focused on the needs and well-being of seniors who identify as Black and/or with the Caribbean and/or African diasporas; and,

b. Create a Long-Term Care setting with a focus on improving access and outcomes for residents who identify as Black and/or with the Caribbean and/or African diasporas.

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Seniors Services and Long-Term Care, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Executive Director, Social Development to explore options to apply the Community Benefits Framework to the long-term care home project at 4610 Finch Avenue East, in order to support social development and environmental stewardship within the Brimley Forest neighbourhood, which lies between Brimley Road in the west, McCowan Road in the east, Finch Avenue East on the south and the Finch Hydro Corridor in the north.

The City of Toronto’s Seniors Services and Long-Term Care (SSLTC) Division is responsible for service planning and strategic integration of services for seniors, which includes key caregiving programs within our communities, and direct operation of ten long-term, resident-focused care homes. As part of the Capital Renewal Plan, five of the City’s Long-Term Care (LTC) homes (1,232 beds) are being redeveloped to modernize operations. One of these projects is a 378-bed long-term care home in Scarborough North, 4610 Finch Avenue East, at Brimley Road.

SSLTC Division is guided by the shared values of compassion, accountability, respect, and excellence; these values are a natural fit with the City’s Community Benefits Framework, which applies to this project. The City commonly utilizes hard targets to maximize the social, economic, community or environmental impact of large civic infrastructure projects like this one.

SSLTC has a track-record in building ground-breaking inclusive programs, care, and services, alongside community partners and clients:

- Leading and Learning with Pride for 2SLGBTQI+ Seniors;

- CareTO is informed by evidence-based research to enhance the experiences of those who live, work, and visit LTC;

- Toronto Seniors’ Strategy to prepare City services for the future, including those who are Indigenous, Black, and who belong to equity-deserving groups.

Given the demographics of Scarborough, there is an opportunity to respond to the Ministry’s Long-Term Care Homes Cultural Pilot in order to better support applicants on the waitlist, those living in LTC, and also their loved ones and caregivers experience the best possible quality of life, while also having a positive and enduring impact on the surrounding community.

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. City Council request the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards to explore similar consumer protection enforcement activities for upcoming major sporting events, including the World Series games and FIFA World Cup events, as was employed during the Taylor Swift 2024 concert events in Toronto, to ensure commercial operators are fully complying with municipal bylaws and rules for businesses such as commercial parking lots and street vending.

2. City Council request the Government of Ontario to introduce legislative changes to combat predatory pricing and fraud, including restricting the re-sale of tickets at above face value.

Dear Members of the Economic and Community Development Committee,

Sporting events are historic occasions. Whether it’s the Blue Jays facing off in the World Series, or the six upcoming FIFA World Cup soccer matches, Toronto is abuzz with excitement. But these events come with predatory price-gouging for fans. A ticket to the World Series game in Toronto in 1993 cost less than $32 – now, resale tickets are going for up to $10,000.

Other provinces have made progress on price-gouging. In Quebec, tickets cannot be resold for any price higher than face-value. But in 2019, Ontario Premier Doug Ford scrapped implementation of legislation that would have started to address sky-high resale prices.

Everyone should get a fair shot at participating in these historic moments in our city. Fans have a right to fair prices, both in the resale ticket market and other costs around the games, like parking and vending. I’m asking the members of the Committee to call on the Province of Ontario to do the right thing and stand up for fairness, and for the City of Toronto’s bylaw enforcement teams to do our part and help with enforcement in the areas we can.

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. City Council request the Association of Municipalities of Ontario to convene a province-wide research collaborative to prepare forecasts, models, and estimates for the province-wide impacts of Bill 60 on reducing housing stability and the need for municipal shelter and housing services.

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1. Directed the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, in collaboration with the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and other relevant divisions, to report to the November 12, 2025 meeting of City Council with analysis on the potential impacts of Bill 60 on housing stability for Toronto renters, including the increased financial burden for tenants facing eviction; the potential cost to the City for enhanced emergency shelter services, and housing and legal supports; and the contemplated changes to “security of tenure” or a further weakening of rent control.

On October 23, 2025, the provincial government introduced Bill 60: Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, which includes concerning changes to tenancy rights and eviction protections. This legislation has sweeping consequences for Toronto renters and threatens to deepen the homelessness crisis in our city.

It is a good sign that the province has backed away from their initial proposal to also look at changing or ending “security of tenure” after outcries and organizing from tenants across the province. For the sake of Torontonians, we need to make sure this isn’t contemplated again in the future.

Earlier this year, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario reported that over 80,000 people are experiencing homelessness across our province in 2024. In Toronto, the 2024 Street Needs Assessment showed significant increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness since 2018, with demand for City shelter and housing services at a record high. Critically, 42% of people surveyed in the Street Needs Assessment said that information about their legal rights as tenants could have prevented their loss of housing.

If the provincial government’s proposals to erode tenant rights and make it easier to evict Torontonians becomes law, we could see a significant increase in renters losing their housing, becoming homeless, and requiring access to already-stretched City shelter and housing services. My recommendations request that City staff provide analysis on the potential impacts of Bill 60 on homelessness in Toronto so that we can be prepared.

Announcements

The Chair acknowledged that the Economic and Community Development Committee was meeting on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. The Chair also acknowledged that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

The Chair acknowledged that the City of Toronto acknowledges all Treaty peoples – including those who came here as settlers – as migrants either in this generation or in generations past - and those who came here involuntarily, particularly those brought to these lands as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery. We pay tribute to those ancestors of African origin and descent.

The Chair, on behalf of the Economic and Community Development Committee, welcomed Councillor Neethan Shan to the Committee.

Where the Members of the Economic and Community Development Committee listed in the attendance for this meeting participated remotely, they were counted for quorum as permitted by Section 189(4.2) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, and City Council's Procedures.