Chow ambitious as mayor enters 2nd year on job: ‘We can do a lot more’

On Friday, Olivia Chow marked her one-year day arsenic Toronto’s mayor, a twelvemonth that has been filled pinch awesome triumphs successful pushing nan metropolis towards a amended financial outlook but besides marred by increasing pains for a politician who came onto nan occupation respective months aft a instruction would typically begin.

The abrupt scandal-plagued departure of John Tory from nan mayor’s agency saw a hotly contested byelection wherever Chow emerged victorious by pitching a change-based connection to amended metropolis services.

In an question and reply pinch Global News, Chow said she’s still moving connected making life amended for Torontonians, including plans to push guardant much affordable and rental housing, but acknowledged location person been immoderate missteps that will require attraction successful her adjacent year.

Chow quickly developed a beardown moving narration pinch Premier Doug Ford, which included successful negotiations to upload nan Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to nan provincial government.

The move efficaciously took billions of dollars of superior costs disconnected nan city’s beleaguered books that it tin nonstop to different areas — money that is now opening to flow.

“That money that we’re capable to free up from uploading nan Gardiner and nan DVP is truthful precious,” Chow said.

“But we request to do more.”

The metropolis remains successful a financial pit, particularly erstwhile it comes to aging infrastructure, which is seeing galore cardinal metropolis assets participate nan reddish area erstwhile it comes to their semipermanent reliability.

Chow said while nan state provided 3 years’ worthy of operating backing for nan TTC, she said ongoing talks pinch precocious levels of authorities request to reside nan adjacent stage.

A awesome rumor that has gripped metropolis streets and feels for illustration it’s getting worse by nan period is postulation congestion.

“At nan guidelines of it is not capable nationalist transit,” said Chow, who conceded nan metropolis isn’t doing capable to make it better.

But Chow said she’s expecting that a awesome study owed successful September will laic retired a broad scheme focusing connected co-ordinating building projects and adding much postulation agents to make improvements.

“We are taking steps towards it and yes, we tin do a batch more,” she said.

Another study Chow said she’s looking guardant to will outline changes to nan city’s problematic vacant location taxation policy, which has proven to beryllium nan biggest ungraded successful her clip successful office. The botched rollout of nan programme successful its 2nd twelvemonth saw tens of thousands of mistakes connected spot bills, raising nan ire of residents and metropolis councillors alike.

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It prompted not only an apology from nan metropolis but besides days of in-person efforts to rectify nan mistakes.

Chow said nan blasted was partially connected nan creation of nan program, which occurred nether nan watch of Tory’s office, but nan subordinate yet stops pinch her.

“The creation of nan programme was nan erstwhile administration,” she said. “But hey, I’m now nan mayor.”

Chow is guaranteeing nan process will beryllium amended adjacent twelvemonth and said she’ll beryllium getting a briefing from unit connected adjacent year’s rollout soon.

Still, Beaches-East York Coun. Brad Bradford said Chow should person taken statement of informing signs spotted successful nan first twelvemonth of nan programme and paused it earlier needlessly creating worry for taxpayers.

Bradford said it wasn’t nan only misstep made by Chow successful her first twelvemonth and said different issues she’s made priorities haven’t made life easier for residents.

“When there’s a problem, she’s very speedy to retreat and opportunity ‘I inherited this mess’ and for astir group that doesn’t square,” he said.

Despite his assertion that nan honeymoon shape whitethorn beryllium complete for nan mayor, a caller canvass from Liaison Strategies recovered 59 per cent of respondents were happy pinch Chow’s performance, while 32 per cent disapproved.

Chow said nan occupation of moving nan metropolis isn’t conscionable astir her and pointed to nan years of acquisition metropolis councillors have.

“They cognize what needs to beryllium done,” she said.

“There is besides room for improvement, but we’re stronger together.”

That is why nan politician is looking up to nan adjacent 2 years connected nan job, overmuch for illustration she began, pinch nan tone of moving together to make nan metropolis a amended place.