Ontario Construction News staff writer
For the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario (CDC), Toronto’s City Building Fund is good news.
“Carpenters have been strong advocates for transit funding and for affordable housing funding for years,” CDC president Mike Yorke said in an interview.
“When we see someone stepping up to the plate as Mayor John Tory is doing, we are obligated to stand up and support him.”
Ontario Construction News will provide an update on Toronto City Council’s vote today.
You can view it as it happens here. (Meeting starts at 9:30 a.m.)
Toronto Mayor John Tory will present a plan to extend an increase the City Building Fund to council tomorrow. If approved, property taxes across the city will increase by an additional one percent in 2020 and 1.5 percent in each of the following five years. Funds will be dedicated to transit and affordable housing projects.
The CDC issued a media release last week announced their support for Tory’s plan.
“I see every day the need for transit investment in the city and, as well, I see the need for affordable housing,” Yorke said. “That really concerns our members.”
Toronto’s recent designation as the fastest growing city in North America means the city needs funding approved badly needed infrastructure, he added.
Yorke and CDC members applaud Tory for his “bold leadership” to get transit moving and additional affordable housing built.
“Our organization has built this city and we have a commitment to the city,” York said. “Our economy is very strong right now and we can’t ignore people and their needs. We live in a city that can afford to raise the standards for all … and we can afford to give back a little.”
The CDC is composed of 16 affiliated local unions of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners across the province. In total, they represent over 20,000 women and men working in a wide range of skilled trades including carpentry, drywall, resilient flooring, concrete formwork, underwater construction, welding, scaffolding, and other construction-related work.
In addition, the union represents many industrial workers and hundreds of highly skilled workers in Ontario’s healthcare sector.
Yorke said he recently spent time in San Francisco where he was shocked by the number of homeless people on the city streets.
“That shouldn’t be happening,” he said. “Not in a city like San Francisco. It was terrible to see.”
“We are pleased to see John take the bold leadership steps necessary to make sure (Toronto) remains a strong and healthy city.”
CDC members across the province are hopeful that the new funds will yield results for the city, because they are dedicated to transit and affordable housing – “and won’t get swallowed up in other city budgets in what is termed general revenue.”
“These new city infrastructure funds are clearly earmarked so that residents – and the rest of the province — can see real, concrete results,” he said.
They are also hopeful that the city will start a trend across the province, with Toronto city council leading the way for other municipal governments to find ways to fund improvements to their infrastructure.
Toronto’s unprecedented growth in population is expected to continue and, combined with the failure of other attempts to increase infrastructure funding, makes the expansion of the City Building Fund necessary.
“This is what the Mayor can do right here, right now in order to get it done.”
A recent independent study on affordable housing from Toronto developer Greenwin Inc. concluded that creating affordable housing options “leads to savings in police and healthcare budgets and reduces the need for homeless people to seek shelter at hospital emergency departments.”
“Infrastructure investment creates a ripple effect and is a win-win for jobs, the economy, and the city,” Yorke said.
[…] Carpenters’ Union supports Toronto’s City Building Fund […]