REDESIGNING SAFETY FOR ALL
TNGCS is sharing summaries of Toronto’s top mayoral candidates' positions on how to promote community safety. In providing information on candidates' community safety ideas, we do not endorse any candidate but present this information to assist you, our neighbours, in making informed voting decisions. We trust our neighbours and community members will make wise choices at the ballot box that will benefit our city.
On June 26, 2023, Toronto will elect a new Mayor. The Redesigning Community Safety Coalition brings together over 40 different grassroots and multi-service delivery organisations actively connected to a larger network of resident and community groups across Toronto. The goal is simple: To build safer, stronger communities by encouraging mayoral candidates to provide bold leadership through evidence-based solutions.
The Coalition has contacted mayoral candidates and asked them to show their commitment to Redesign Community Safety through three initial actions:
- Reading the City of Toronto’s framework of options laid out in the SafeTO Plan.
- Answering a survey that shows how they will take action on improving community safety.
- Taking the Coalition’s Community Safety Pledge.
The Pledge
I pledge to lead with positive solutions by:
- Strengthening support to the successful Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) through funding expansion and public awareness of the vital service.
- Prioritizing funding towards community-led initiatives that support families and deter youth violence.
- Investing in relationships with non-profit and public housing providers to significantly increase the development of deeply affordable and supportive housing for our unhoused neighbours.
- Promoting accountability and transparency so that Torontonians can evaluate how and whether taxpayer-funded safety investments are benefitting communities.
- Funding and implementing the City of Toronto’s SafeTO plan, a research-backed policy strategy that has languished while safety issues have increased.
Results
Of the surveyed candidates:
- 93% took the pledge
- 86% support crisis intervention teams across Toronto
- 64% would transfer funding from current intervention tactics to crisis intervention teams; 21% would allocate tax revenue to increase crisis intervention teams
Check out the
Survey Responses:
The following candidates took part in the survey:
- Ana Bailao
- Sarah Climenhaga
- Phillip D'Cruze
- Isabella Gamk
- John Letonja
- Josh Matlow
- Michael Nicula
- Robert Shusterman
- Raksheni Sivaneswaran
- Weizhen Tang
- Mitchell Toye
- Jeffery Tunney
- Kiri Vadivelu
What the leading mayoral candidates would do to improve public safety and the Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS):
ANA BAILAO would:
Expand TCCS city-wide:
- Mobile Mental Health Clinics in TTC stations and high-priority neighbourhoods
- $10M for non-profit and co-op pre-development activities
- Related: $5M for gender-based violence
BRAD BRADFORD would:
Increase safety by:
- Creating a new agency with 100 mental health workers to deliver resources across city that combine TCCS with other existing programs
- Ensuring teams work with police and TTC special constables
CHLOE BROWN would:
Increase safety by:
- Redeveloping city properties as ‘Campus of Care” that improve access to housing, and primary/mental health
- Consolidating TCCS with Paramedics, Fire, Neighbourhood Officers & other departments
OLIVIA CHOW would:
Expand TCCS city-wide by:
- Investing $10 million and promoting the service
- Increasing access points
- Increasing call diversion from 911 to 211 to improve wait times
- Expanding crisis response on TTC and in libraries
ANTHONY FUREY would:
Improve safety by:
- Supporting 500 more police officers
- Providing tasers for TTC special constables
- Clearing more encampments
- Continuing to send mental health workers to non-violent incidents
MITZIE HUNTER would:
Increase safety by:
- Pairing social workers with transit officers
- Increasing police presence around TTC stations
- Allowing the police budget to grow with inflation and using pre-approved staffing and recruitment plans
JOSH MATLOW would:
Expand TCCS city-wide by:
- Increasing crisis response on TTC
- Creatig a $115M Community Health and Safety Fund
- Stabilizing the police budget + performing an efficiencies audit
MARK SAUNDERS would:
Increase safety by:
- Adding 200 more TTC special constables and enforce anti-loitering on TTC
- Enhancing mental health training for police
- Increasing mobile crisis response teams
- Cancelling plans to decriminalize drugs
You can take action too!
- Contact the candidates and ask them how they will Redesign Community Safety
- Spread the word!
- Think about how you would Redesign Community Safety to make our neighbourhoods safer.
- Vote for the candidate who you feel has the best vision for community safety.
Resources
Partners
For more information, contact:
Serena Nudel
Director of Community Programs
The Neighbourhood Group Community Services
416.676.9793 or serena.nudel@tngcs.org
The Redesigning Safety initiative is based on Toronto Neighbourhood Centres’ Reimagining Community Safety – A Step Forward for Toronto. This call to action provided resources to non-policing alternatives through specialised community-based responses and services. Find out more about the ReThink Policing campaign.
In providing information on candidates' community safety ideas, we do not endorse any candidate but present this information to assist you, our neighbours, in making informed voting decisions. We trust our neighbours and community members will make wise choices at the ballot box that will benefit our city.