WHAT: First meeting of For A Better Toronto
WHEN: Tuesday, September 11 @ 7pm
WHERE: Lillian H. Smith Library, 239 College Street
Those who believe that Toronto desperately needs the new taxes that city council deferred voting on this summer may be interested in a new group that is forming in support of the “revenue tools.†The group, called For a Better Toronto (FAB TO), will have its first meeting tonight (that’s Tuesday, September 11) from 7:00-8:30pm at the Lillian H. Smith library.
Here’s some more details from FAB TO itself:
On July 16, Toronto City Council voted to defer its decision on new taxes that would enable the City to balance its budget in the short-term and move it toward long-term financial sustainability after intense lobbying from special interests that included the auto and real estate industries.
During the public debate on the new taxes, many residents found it hard to assert their voice because of the bully tactics used by the special interest groups and those who are ideologically and fanatically opposed to the concept of public services that elevate the overall quality of life in Toronto.
For a Better Toronto (FAB TO) has formed a critical mass of residents who believe that these taxes are key ingredients for achieving a liveable, creative and inclusive Toronto now and for years to come.
In addition to supporting the Land Transfer Tax and Vehicle Registration Fee, FAB TO will also encourage residents to “vote for Toronto” in the October 10 provincial election.
The first meeting will be dedicated to developing a campaign strategy and work plan.
All residents who support the new taxes are encouraged to attend this meeting and/or email to be included in future communications from FAB TO, including meeting notices.
8 comments
Glad something is happening to marshall some PRO-City lobbying. Those (our) voices certainly weren’t heard, at least loudly enough this past summer. Will be there tonight.
In a similar, but more local mode, the community group I’m involved with (world19 in the Bloor West Village/High Park area) last week wrote an open letter to our (Ward 13) Councillor, Bill Saundercook who had voted against the taxes.
We wanted to know what his solution was, and also to encourage more public information and involvement. We distributed the letter on our own email news list, as well as to various neighbourhood and city groups and media (and all members of Council).
It’s posted on our website at http://www.world19.com.
We’ll be following up our own public forum on this issue in early October.
I will attend. Is there any way to get this out more widely? Torontoist?
Let’s spread the news! You got your target audience here, but just an FYI: Torontoist readers sounds more and more like future Sun readers if you read the comments section.
Did anyone else go the library and find no signage of where to go for the meeting? I was a few minutes late (I needed a burrito first) so maybe I missed it somehow.
Ben, sorry you missed us but thanks to those folks who were able to make it out last night.
We had a fantastic showing — more than 20 people came out. Some great ideas were generated and we’ll be meeting again next Tuesday, September 18 at 7PM (location TBC).
If you’re interested in receiving meeting notices and a more detailed update on the meeting, please email me at adamcf @ gmail.com.
Because we’re working on a campaign that will last just a few weeks, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done so we need as many hands on deck as possible.
If you can’t make it out to meetings but would still like to contribute, there are many tasks that can be done from a home/office, though many others that we’ll need in-person people power to complete.
There was another group mentioned here as well that was based around the fair share idea. I would love both groups to produce a PDF that can be emailed and printed so we can plaster this info all over.
20 people show up and you describe your opponents as “special interests”.
The next FAB TO meeting has been confirmed for Tuesday, September 18 at 7:00PM. It will be held at the Centre for Social Innovation at 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 120 (2 blocks south of Dundas, east side.)