City Budget Watch Blog
About City Budget Watch
Social Planning Toronto's City Budget Watch is back for the 2020 City of Toronto budget process! We'll be bringing you up-to-date reports and analysis on each step of the City budget process from launch date on Friday, January 10, to final votes at City Council on February 19. We'll let you know how you can learn more, get involved, and have your say on the 2020 budget.

The City Budget Watch Blog is authored by Beth Wilson. Beth is our lead on policy and research at Social Planning Toronto, starting at our organization in 2002. She has a Master of Social Work (MSW), Policy, Organization and Community.
New Research on the U.S. Housing Choice Voucher Program Offers Lessons for Canada
Friday, November 22, 2019 – Today, on National Housing Day, Social Planning Toronto releases its new report, “Learning from Our Neighbours to the South: The U.S. Housing Choice Voucher Program - Evidence and Lessons for Canada.”
This in-depth review of the Housing Choice Voucher Program provides a base of evidence to guide the development of the Canada Housing Benefit, a key component of Canada’s National Housing Strategy. The report offers lessons from the U.S. experience, identifies principles and practices that best support positive outcomes for tenants, and articulates the limitations of portable housing benefits for addressing housing needs.
Read moreNew Videos Highlight Students' Experiences of Academic Streaming
Did you know that major changes are happening to education in Ontario — including funding cuts, increased class sizes, and mandatory e-learning? Last week, Social Planning Toronto, the Coalition for Alternatives to Streaming in Education (CASE), and Working Women Community Centre hosted a panel to discuss how these changes might impact academic streaming, equity, and the state of public education in Ontario.
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Call for Nominations to the Social Planning Toronto Board of Directors
Social Planning Toronto is a non-profit, charitable community organization that works to improve equity, social justice, and quality of life in Toronto through community capacity building, community education and advocacy, policy research and analysis, and social reporting.
Read moreCall for Nominations: The 2019 Frances Lankin Community Service Award
Toronto is a city of leaders. Our neighbourhoods and communities are shaped by people who inspire and connect us. Social Planning Toronto honours these extraordinary individuals with our Frances Lankin Award.
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A City Left Behind: Poverty Reduction, Election Promises, and the 2019 Budget
In the lead up to the 2018 City of Toronto municipal election, Social Planning Toronto, Commitment TO Community, and Faith in the City asked candidates for Mayor and City Council to sign the “Prosperity Pledge”, an election promise to follow through on actions to advance the City’s Poverty Reduction Strategy during the 2018-2022 term of Council. The Pledge included specific, measurable commitments to be met by 2022, with a focus on housing and homelessness, public transit, child care, and recreation.
A total of 73% of the members of the new Council, including Mayor Tory, signed the Pledge. The 2019 City budget offers the first opportunity for Toronto City Council to begin to make good on its election promises to act on poverty.
Read moreHow to Hub: Community Hub Development Toolkit
The “How to Hub: Community Hub Development Toolkit” is a practical guide to support residents, parents and community allies in advocating for a community hub in their neighbourhood. This toolkit offers introductory information on a range of topics relevant to groups that are in the initial stages of developing a community hub or who would like more information before beginning their journey.
Read moreWhat's Going On at Social Planning Toronto?
2018 was a challenging year for Social Planning Toronto. Yet despite a leadership change, our small but mighty organization continued providing sector leadership and putting our noses to the grindstone in communities.
With a difficult year behind us, a new year upon us, and a new Executive Director to lead us (click here for a message from Devika Shah), it seems an appropriate time to share a few highlights of our community planning and research work over the past year.
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