Three Toronto councilors who have a combined 80 years of public service are attending their final city council meeting today.
Denzil Minnan-Wong, Ana Bailão and John Filion have decided not to seek re-election in the upcoming municipal elections this fall.
Mayor John Tory, during his opening remarks, took a few minutes to recognize them for their decades of service and commitment to this city.
He also recognized former councilmembers Kristyn Wong-Tam, Michael Ford and Joe Cressy, who left their jobs this year to pursue other opportunities. Wong-Tam and Ford ran provincially in June and won, while Cressy resigned to pursue a new opportunity at George Brown College.
“I tell people that (being mayor of Toronto is) the most interesting, challenging and rewarding job I’ve ever had, and I’m sure you all feel the same way,” he said. city council on Tuesday morning, adding that choosing to run for public office is not an easy decision and one made by few.
Choosing to leave can be just as difficult, he said.
“The decision not to seek re-election can be just as difficult because I think these jobs are so rewarding, challenging and interesting that it’s very difficult to quit.”
Tory said that Minnan-Wong, Bailao and Filion, despite their “difficult decision to retire,” continue to make “great contributions and are at the top of their game.”
He began by thanking Minnan-Wong, one of the city’s deputy mayors for the past eight years, for his nearly three decades of public service.
“If you look at that timeline alone, it’s an extraordinary commitment of one’s career and life to public service and I think that in and of itself deserves recognition,” said Tory, who highlighted Minnan-Wong’s continued efforts. to fight for the interests of his North York constituents.
Tory said the Don Valley East councilman worked hard over the years to keep property taxes low and ensure life remains affordable and government efficient. He also recognized Minnan-Wong’s good work as chairman of the collective bargaining committee.
Calling Bailao both an advocate for Davenport residents and a housing advocate, Tory said he was a “spectacle to behold” when it came to working with other levels of government and within the city and getting things done.
He said that without Bailao, the progress Toronto has made in recent years on the housing file would not have happened, in particular securing funding to repair Toronto Community Housing and build new supportive housing.
Tory said Filion, a 40-year-old local politician, is someone who has “led changes and initiatives that have benefited all residents of the city of Toronto.”
The mayor, who acknowledged that he and Filion have had times when they don’t always see eye-to-eye, said he has long respected Willowdale for being “relentless” and “absolutely tireless in his efforts to make sure things in what he believed and wanted to see accomplished during his time in office.”
Tory also mentioned Wong-Tam and Ford saying their new roles are “a good thing for us.”
“The more we can have that kind of cross-pollination of knowledge and cross-pollination of experience and understanding of the issues, I think the better. And I know that having Kristyn Wong-Tam and Michael Ford in Queen’s Park will help us as we move forward. They are not there to help us, but I guess in some ways they are, as they both represent Toronto constituencies and I hope they are there as a positive force for us to advance the interests of the city of Toronto.”
Tory also recognized the former Earl. Joe Cressy for his leadership as chairman of the Toronto Board of Health, in particular for his work in helping navigate the city through the COVID-19 pandemic. Tory spoke at length about Cressy’s contributions to the city during the last City Council meeting. He said the pandemic was “probably the most extraordinary challenge presented to any city administration in the last 100 years.”
Cressy, who has represented Spadina-Fort York since 2014, announced she would not seek re-election last October.
Addressing councilors Tuesday morning, Minnan-Wong said it has been a privilege to serve the people of North York and Toronto for 28 years, adding that she hopes Toronto City Council will continue to be an “arena of ideas,” a place where everyone works together with respect. find “different ways to solve the problems of the city”.
Alluding to tough times ahead, the deputy mayor urged councilors to keep homeowners in mind when making decisions.
“Next year is going to be really tough for this council. I will talk about the tax rate, (which) is likely, if we go to the inflation rate, it will be five, six percent (annually),” he said, adding that the revenue from the Municipal Land Transfer Tax will also decrease. . .
“That’s something the residents of this city haven’t seen in a long, long time.”
Minnan-Wong said the “real challenge” for councilors will be the “pressure to do a lot” with less.
He said he expects the residents of his neighborhood and all suburban neighborhoods to be the hardest hit.
“We are going to have to make some tough decisions next term about rooming houses. I will keep an eye on that. We have done second suites. We are going to have to do the number of units, how many units will there be,” Minnan-Wong said.
“There are all kinds of real challenges and what I hope this council will take into consideration is not only the tenants but also the owners.”
In an emotional farewell message, Bailao said that some days her 12-year tenure as councilwoman felt like 100 years. Other days, the Davenport councilwoman said it was as if she was “just yesterday” when she first walked into the city council chambers.
Bailao, who has served as deputy mayor of Toronto and East York since 2017, said her job as chair of the city’s affordable housing committee was possible because she had the backing of a mayor who “believed in it.” That support was key, Bailao said, as she devoted “a lot of political capital” to the dossier.
“There is nothing more fundamental to the success of an individual, and therefore the success of communities, than for someone to know where they are going to sleep at night or to make sure that they are not spending all their money on their rent, which is going to have money to educate their children, to take care of their health and so on,” said Bailao, who came to Canada from Portugal when he was 15 years old and said he always felt that Toronto was a place of opportunity.
Despite leaving the city council, Bailao promises to continue working to open doors for others.
Experiencing feelings of déjà vu, Filion, who resigned and then successfully ran for another term in 2018, promised the Toronto council that he is “really going for real” this time.
Thanking everyone for their help and support over the years, Filion said that as a local politician, his intention was “to make changes without anyone realizing he’s doing it.”