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Newsstand: February 22, 2013
Last Friday of February! Already, right? In the news: Undocumented workers can find sanctuary in Toronto; development charges may double; the City wants inspection results for health clinics; and shark fin soup is legal... for now.
City council approved a recommendation that Toronto become a sanctuary city, where undocumented residents and workers can access municipal programs and services without fear of being reported to immigration authorities, by a motion of 38-2 on Thursday. As it currently stands, an undocumented person without a criminal record is dealt with according to federal legislation, and Canada has no current amnesty programs. “Research demonstrates that undocumented workers, individuals working in Canada without legal status, face a variety of challenges,” the approved motion reads. “These include: inability to access programs and services available for legal residents, and a limited ability to deal with employment-related issues.” The motion calls for city offices and city-funded agencies to conduct reviews on increasing access to services for undocumented persons, as well as increased training for front-line workers. Council also voted 32-8 against a motion by Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East) to “endorse and support the Canadian government’s efforts to facilitate the legal admission of immigrants and the removal of illegal immigrants.”
Developers are nervous about a possible doubling of development charges for condo and other developments across the 416 region, as the city considers hiking fees as soon as May 1, a year earlier than expected. According to the Toronto Star, that would raise development charges—generally passed on to the buyer—for a one-bedroom condo from $8,356 to $17,351. Developers are worried that the increase will slow sales for the condo industry, which is already struggling due to drops in both sales and prices, but an anonymous source pointed out to the Star that a hike would still leave 416 fees lower than those in the 905 region.
Toronto councillors voted 36-6 on Thursday on a motion to formally request that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario release its inspection data to the public. Councillor Anthony Perruzza (Ward 8, York West) led the motion calling for notices—similar to those used in the DineSafe program for restaurants—to be posted on clinic walls indicating if the location passed, failed, or conditionally passed its most recent inspection. Last month the college passed a bylaw allowing publication of the names of failing clinics, putting information online, and providing inspection data to citizens who call to request it. Mayor Rob Ford was among the six dissenters in the vote, saying that the motion was outside of council’s jurisdiction.
The City’s police union is calling for Ian Scott, director of the Special Investigations Unit, to step down pending an independent review of two court cases that the union sees as contentious. The SIU is a provincial agency, staffed by civilians, that investigates allegations involving the police and the public in cases in murder, serious injury, and sexual assault. “We have no problem with civilian oversight, we totally accept it, but in these two court cases there are some disturbing allegations that make the association concerned about the conduct of the SIU and Mr. Scott,” said Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association.
For the time being, shark-fin soup will be legal to serve and eat in Toronto, as council voted 39-3 to ask the city manager to report back in June on “adverse consequences” Torontonians may face due to the depletion of sea-based food stocks like sharks, as well as options to reduce environmental and welfare concerns that result. That vote came instead of one on appealing a November ruling overturning the shark-fin ban. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who supported the original ban, said that the new motion should result in a narrower ban on shark fins that would survive a court challenge.