Dear Scarborough-Guildwood Residents
On Tuesday February 18th I held a Town Hall meeting in the South Cedarbrae Community. At this meeting we discussed community safety concerns, traffic concerns, community involvement and resources available to the neighbourhood.
In attendance were guests speakers from Toronto Police Services (TPS) and officers of its 43 Division. We spoke heavily on community safety and the resources that are available to residents such as the non-emergency number 416-808-2222 and online resources to report issues and view open data. We learned of the importance utilizing the non-emergency number in community engagement and data collection to help determine where resources are needed. Also available, are Community Officers from TPS’ 43 Division who are embedded in a few of Ward 24’s neighbourhoods. These officers work together with first responders to attend to community needs.
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. Please contact my office for any questions or concerns.
On Wednesday February 19th Toronto City Council gathered for a special meeting for a final discussion in the 2020 City Budget process. City Council unanimously approved a 2020 tax-supported operating budget of $11.6 billion and a 10-year tax-supported capital budget of $27.9 billion. The budget ensures that the City is able to preserve all 150-plus existing services, while making new investments in key capital infrastructure, including funding for transit and housing.
I am proud to report that the Cities for Digital Rights motion that myself and Councillor Joe Cressy put forward has been approved. This motion supports a new position for the Toronto Public Library to lead Digital Safety and Literacy Programming.
This Digital Safety and Literacy Programming aligns with and supports Toronto’s Poverty Reduction Strategy goals to expand digital access and literacy to ensure residents can effectively access programs and services online and to increase services access and availability. This new position focuses on providing accurate information about the technological, algorithmic and artificial intelligence systems that impact the lives of Torontonians and providing training and access to supporting technologies for library customers. More details on the 2020 City Budget can be found here.
I would like to wish everyone good weekend!
All my Best,
Paul W. Ainslie