An independent review into the police investigations of eight gay men who went missing from the Village, and were later discovered murdered, found deep systemic failings in the Toronto Police Service and made 151 recommendations to address these weaknesses.

Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi, Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, Dean Lisowick, Selim Esen and Andrew Kinsman went missing between 2010 and 2017.  Bruce McArthur was arrested in January 2018 and pleaded guilty to eight counts of first degree murder in January 2019. 

The review also investigated the mishandling of missing persons reports for Tess Richey and Alloura Wells,  both found deceased in 2017.  

The independent review, launched in 2018, found that investigators could have identified McArthur as a suspect years before he was arrested, but failed to do so. 

It also found that marginalized populations, including LGBTQ+ people;  Indigenous and racialized communities; the homeless; those who struggle with mental illness and addictions; sex workers; and migrants have been overpoliced and underserviced. 

The Toronto Police Service stated that it would implement all of the recommendations in the report. 

The full report is here. 

On February 17 the City hosted a second online public consultation regarding the revitalization of  George Hislop and Norman Jewison Parks and Alexander Street Parkette.

The first (online) public consultation took place on November 5.  At the February 17 meeting City staff presented the preferred concept plans, informed by the community feedback in November and stakeholder meetings in November and February. 

A master plan for the three connected parks parallel to Yonge Street (George Hislop, Norman Jewison and James Canning Gardens) was completed in 2017 and James Canning Gardens is now being renovated in line with that plan.

Alexander Street Parkette, which was not included in the 2017 master plan, has been added to the scope of the project. 

According to the City's Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division, the consultation process will "refresh and build on engagement completed to date for the linear parks, and provide opportunities for additional input during the design process."

"George Hislop Park will also have an integrated public art/design element that celebrates LGBTQ2S+ history, leadership, excellence and resilience - a new feature that was not identified in the [2017] master plan."
 
The consultations, held between late 2020 and early 2021, included: 

• two online stakeholder (Community Resource Group) meetings. CWNA was a participant.
• two online public information meetings
• physically distant interviews with vulnerable communities / park users
• public feedback via email, phone, mail and  online survey 

George Hislop Park is currently closed and will be the first of the three parks to be rebuilt. Parks & Foresty's most optimistic estimate for George Hislop is a start date of mid-2021 with completion in late 2021 or summer 2022.  The other parks will follow.  

Ongoing updates are being posted on the City's web page, Yonge Street Linear Park Improvements. You can view a pdf of the Feb. 17 online presentation here. 

Interest has been voiced to form a Friends of Barbara Hall Park group. Community park groups in Toronto engage in  various activities, including organizing volunteers to green and care for their local park, advocating for park improvements and hosting events. 

There are no formal rules or guidelines on how a community park group should be organized and operated. Just as every park is unique, every park group is unique and part of the process will be finding a structure that works best for  Friends of Barbara Hall Park.   Some features of a successful park group, according to Park People, are inclusivity, transparency, community engagement and a spirit of cooperation.

The Park People website offers many resources for new and established park groups, including:  

• How to Start Your Community Park Group 
• Resources (links for "Activities and Events" and "Organizational Planning")

If you are interested in being part of this initiative, please provide your contact information to be invited to a virtual founding meeting.  We look forward to hearing from you. ​

The Working Group on Graywood Development's proposal for a 15-storey midrise at 506-516 Church Street (Crews / Tangos), met for a second time on January 18. 

The group, of which CWNA is a member, is discussing the proposal and site plan from the economic and cultural perspective of the Church Wellesley Village, with the aim of preserving and protecting the historical significance, character and culture of the Village. 

According the group's Terms of Reference, it "will review the Zoning Application, which involves the review of the building’s height, massing, setbacks, angular plane, cultural and heritage conservation, and land use designations. The Working Group will also review the Site Plan application, when submitted, which involves the review  of features such as the building design and materials, site access and servicing, lighting and safety, waste storage, parking, loading and landscaping."

The first Working Group meeting was held on December 1. The January 18 meeting followed up on several aspects of the proposal that had been brought up at the December meeting, notably the relationship of the building to the streetscape and feel of the Village.  Graywood proposes that the Crews / Tangos building be partially preserved to a depth of 5 metres.  A bar / restaurant space remains a part of the plan.  

​Graywood will now take away comments from the second Working Group meeting and resubmit a revised plan to the City.   A community consultation, open to the public,  will be scheduled to follow the resubmission. 

On February 2, City Council approved the final report on a revitalized downtown Yonge Street, dubbed YongeTOmorrow.

YongeTOmorrow proposes a full and flexible redesign of the street from Queen Street north to College Street, where sidewalks will be expanded, vehicle lanes modified, restaurant patios extended and street furniture and streetscape elements added.

The Yonge TOmorrow Environmental Study Report (ESR) will now be finalized and submitted to the Ontario Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks and will be subject to a 30-day public review period. Following provincial approval, the project will then develop a detailed design along with construction phasing and schedules.  Construction is expected to start in 2023. 

Looking further forward, the redesign of Yonge Street north between College Street and Davenport Road, as well as the redesign of Church Street are one step closer. 

See the final report here. 

The fate of 2 Carlton Street, which was first proposed for re-development in 2016, will soon be determined. 

The proposal calls for a 73-storey tower replacing the heritage listed mid-century modern 18-storey office tower that currently stands there. The City opposed the application and it was appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT, formerly the OMB) by the developer, Northam Realty Advisors (Carlton Tower Limited). 

During the development application process, two Working Group meetings focussing on the site plan were held with affected parties, including the CWNA; a third meeting is to be scheduled. 

On January 4, 2021, the City received a settlement offer from the developer. A case management conference/settlement hearing has been scheduled at the LPAT for March 18, 2021.

The Working Group, struck by Councillor Wong-Tam, regarding Graywood Development's proposal for a 15-storey midrise at 506-516 Church Street, met for a second time on January 18.

The group, of which CWNA is a member, is discussing the development proposal and site plan from the economic and cultural perspective of the Church Wellesley Village, with the aim of preserving and protecting the historical significance, character and culture of the Village. 

According the group's Terms of Reference, it "will review the Zoning Application, which involves the review of the building’s height, massing, setbacks, angular plane, cultural and heritage conservation, and land use designations. The Working Group will also review the Site Plan application, when submitted, which involves the review  of features such as the building design and materials, site access and servicing, lighting and safety, waste storage, parking, loading and landscaping."

The first Working Group meeting was held on Dec. 1 and allowed for participants to share opinions with the developer on various aspects of the proposal.  CWNA subsequently submitted a number of recommendations.

The Working Group meetings are separate and apart from broader public consultations, which will be held later this year.  We will keep you posted as the Working Group continues its discussions.

In October 2019, PlazaCorp proposed a 45-storey condominium tower at 20 to 26 Maitland Street, where the former Catholic Children's Aid building and a Victorian house (since demolished) stood. 

In March 2020, before the City had made a decision, PlazaCorp appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). The LPAT hearing is scheduled for April 15, 2021. The City Solicitor and City Planning staff will attend the hearing to oppose the proposal. 

 A community consultation meeting has not yet been held, due in part to limitations imposed by Covid-19, but one will be held  prior to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal hearing.  In the meantime, City Planning and Legal staff prepare their case for a more appropriate building on the site.  

City Reports and Supporting Documents

Toronto Staff Preliminary Report (Dec. 11, 2019)

Toronto Staff Request for Direction Report (Sept. 21, 2020) 

City Council Decision on Direction Report (Oct. 27, 2020)

​LPAT Hearing Order (Oct. 28, 2020)

Development Application Information Centre - supporting documentation including architectural plans and shadow study.

In 2017, CAPRIET Limited Partnership, the owner of the 28-storey rental apartment building at 100 Wellesley Street East, applied to build a new 10-storey building wrapped around its Jarvis, Wellesley and Cawthra Square frontages.

The preliminary  City staff report rejected the proposal as an over-development of the site.  CAPRIET appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. In 2020, the owner and the City reached a settlement agreement resulting in the same number of units but wrapping only around the Jarvis and Cawthra Square frontages, leaving the Wellesley Street frontage as open space.  The agreement also provides for a Privately-Owned Publicly Accessible Space (POPS) on the east side of the property and adjacent to Barbara Hall Park.

The City will host a second online public consultation regarding the revitalization of  George Hislop and Norman Jewison Parks and Alexander Street Parkette on February 17. [register]