7 questions to ask your Toronto councillor before they officially take office

This is a big question for people east of Yonge Street where garbage is currently collected by city workers, but even in the west, where a single contractor is collecting residential garbage, it’s relevant. The move could — and probably will — save money compared to the cost of maintaining a fleet of trucks and paying unionized city workers to do the work. It will also mean that nowhere in the city will be vulnerable to a garbage strike. But critics say it could lead to increased costs down the road, as contractors note the city has no way to resume providing the service itself if the price were going to go up.

2: How does your councillor feel about John Tory’s SmartTrack plan?

It is unlikely that Toronto’s fourth mayor will back down on his No. 1 campaign priority, and the idea of a frequent-service commuter rail line stretching from Scarborough to downtown Toronto to Etobicoke is a compelling one. But there is the money question: Tory says that tax increment financing – whereby the city’s share of the $8 billion line is paid for by borrowing against possible future property tax revenues from new development — will work, but there are plenty of examples of that very financing model falling apart and saddling taxpayers with a big liability. How do they feel about that?

3: What’s their feeling on Metrolinx’s plans to build surface light rail lines along Sheppard Avenue East and Finch Avenue West?

As Metroland Media Toronto’s Mike Adler reported, many Scarborough councillors are in favour of abandoning the Scarborough light rail line and working on building a subway there instead — as Mayor Rob Ford promised and failed to deliver in the 2010 election. On Finch, soon-to-be-Ward-2 Councillor Rob Ford has made it clear he wants no part of the Finch West light rail line — and neighbouring councillors Giorgio Mammoliti and Vince Crisanti told Metroland Media Toronto’s David Nickle they feel the same way. If your councillor hasn’t already said, ask them how they feel about that.

4: Jets or not?

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Ask your councillor whether they think there ought to be modifications made to the Billy Bishop Island Airport to allow jet aircraft to land there. This is coming up in early 2015, after the previous council deferred deciding on whether the request from Porter Airlines was worth pursuing. If the city goes along with it, then in a few years travellers could board planes flying to destinations across North America without leaving downtown Toronto. That’s a big boost for tourism and economic development, and plain old convenience for frequent travellers. There are environmental and other risks that go along with the decision. How does your councillor weigh those against the possible benefits?

5: How does your councillor weigh in on the subject of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid and the city’s Pride Parade?

Mayor-elect John Tory has said he wouldn’t be comfortable putting tax dollars to a parade that allowed what he felt to be hateful speech targeted at Israel. The last time this came up at Toronto council, city staff indicated the group’s participation didn’t violate either city policy or law. But there are strong feelings on both side of the issue that are likely to emerge again this term. How’s your councillor feel about that?

6: John Tory didn’t get elected on an explicit social-justice platform, but he made it clear he’s in favour of offering help and opportunity to residents in neighbourhoods facing economic and social problems.

How does doing so rank as a priority for your councillor — and if it is a priority, what does your councillor think the city’s role should be in giving effect to it?

7: Bicycles or cars, or some combination of both?

Nothing gets a city council’s dander up like a debate over bike lanes on a popular thoroughfare. Tory recently took his first downtown bicycle ride with cycling advocates and has come away with a pledge to build a sensible number of bicycle lanes — fully separated — and balance that with the needs of pedestrians and motorists. In the past, talk of bike lanes have been fighting words. If it’s to be a fight, which side is your councillor on?