SPT is currently creating a new communications plan, and we’re committed to ensuring that the voices of all of our supporters and community partners are heard in our communications work.

On the eve of final votes on the 2024 City Budget, SPT and 64 other community-based organizations and grassroots groups sent a joint letter to Toronto City Council, calling on all members to support the Mayor’s budget, including a property tax rate increase of 9.5% and no cuts to any of the service enhancements.

The 2024 federal budget presents an important opportunity for the Government of Canada to make substantial progress on its poverty reduction goals. Action in this area is desperately needed, much overdue, and depends on meaningful investments.

Across Canada, and in Toronto in particular, too many residents are struggling to make ends meet and afford the cost of living. Even though Toronto is one of the wealthiest cities in the world and contributes 21 percent towards Canada’s GDP, more than 1 in 5 residents live in poverty.¹ The Government of Canada must do its part to ensure that Toronto is a place of prosperity and belonging.

Social Planning Toronto calls on the Government of Ontario to make bold investments in the 2024 Budget to reduce the prevalence of poverty and its effects. To ensure that Ontario is a place where everyone can thrive and prosper, we recommend that the 2024 Budget focus on five key areas: improving social assistance, prioritizing decent work, investing in affordable housing and child care, and supporting municipal finances.

"I made a promise to you that I wouldn't touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise and for that, I’m very, very sorry. It was a mistake to open the Greenbelt. It was a mistake to establish a process that moved too fast. This process, it left too much room for some people to benefit over others. It caused people to question our motives. As a first step to earn back your trust, I’ll be reversing the changes we made and won’t make any changes to the Greenbelt in the future."

— Ontario Premier Doug Ford, September 21, 2023

As Toronto voters head to the polls on Monday, June 26, they will need to consider more than a candidate’s vision for Toronto. The City is facing major financial challenges with troubling implications for residents. Our next Mayor must have a credible plan to deliver on that vision and address the City’s fiscal challenges.

Help us make an impact. Social Planning Toronto (SPT) and Dr. Naomi Lightman of Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) are conducting a research study entitled “Caring about Care Workers: The Experience of Immigrant Women PSWs in Toronto’s Home Care Sector in the COVID-19 Context.“ The study examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods, health, and well-being of immigrant women who work as PSWs in home care. This research recognizes that immigrant women PSWs are vulnerable due to the front-line nature of their employment. We are seeking 25 immigrant women PSWs to participate in this study.

After 35 years of dedicated service, SPT Director of Operations Maria Serrano is retiring. As many of you know, Maria has been the rock and the heart of Social Planning Toronto for decades. Her leadership, her expertise, and her tenacity ensured the survival of the organization through turbulent times and made possible the continued success of SPT to this day.

“The overall result was significant unfairness in how the City planned, engaged stakeholders, and communicated about the encampment clearings. The City showed a lack of commitment to honouring its pledge to a human rights approach and to serving this vulnerable population with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

— Ombudsman Toronto, Investigation into the City’s Clearing of Encampments in 2021, final report, March 24, 2023

The City of Toronto Community Crisis Response Program (CCRP) works directly with local safety networks and a diverse set of stakeholders to coordinate trauma-informed and culturally responsive crisis response and recovery supports for those most affected by violent and traumatic incidents. CCRP has co-developed and supported over 26 informal and formal Safety Networks across the City of Toronto. The purpose of this enhanced safety network model is to have a community led network that is geared towards preventative measures of safety initiatives. The size and composition of these informal and formal networks varies across neighbourhoods, with many of them relying heavily on the support and coordination from the City’s Community Crisis Response Program (CCRP) Community Development Officers (CDO’s).