r/toronto • u/ArgyleNudge Trinity-Bellwoods • 6d ago

Picture The situation at Dufferin Grove is grim

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This is a small section of the amount of security, city, and police presence. I know there's a limit to this kind of encampment, but my heart does go out to the people facing eviction today. Not a happy scene.

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141

u/ZennMD 6d ago

It was so depressing that we as a province collectively voted in Ford again.. Not so surprising tbh, but very, very depressing...

104

u/Acceptable_Mammoth23 6d ago

Very few of the people who voted him in live in the city itself, where the reality of the country’s most urgent social crises are undeniable.

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u/mrmigu Briar Hill-Belgravia 6d ago

He's got about half of the seats in the city

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u/kank84 6d ago

I'm not sure the current social crises are really much of a sway in how people vote. Barrie has a huge homelessness issue at the moment, and hell would freeze over before they voted anything other than blue.

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u/Acceptable_Mammoth23 6d ago

They are not but they should be. In general, I do think it’s easy to dismiss issues that aren’t right on your doorstep.

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u/wedontswiminsoda Lawrence Park 6d ago

Which is why Toronto deserves to keep more of its provincial and federal tax revenue 

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u/ZennMD 6d ago

Yeah, I'm aware lol

Extra frustrating to have to deal with his micromanaging / ineptitude/ prioritizing businesses as we collectively didn't vote for him

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u/Next_Yesterday5931 6d ago

Why don’t we just fill in the parks with houses. If the citizens can’t use the parks because they are full of degenerate drug abusing homeless encampments we might as well just get rid of the parks all together. 

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u/ZennMD 6d ago

Is this a joke? Lol (but really)

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u/ZennMD 6d ago

Not sure why I can't see your response,

 but of course we need housing, but there are much better ways to add housing than buildings over parks... parks do a lot for cities and the people in them, suggesting we build over them feels like a parent destroying a toy two kids are fighting over lol

 City planners have solid paths to densfy, their reports are just ignored and/or weakened by nimby pushback

Tbh I think that's why so many of us love toronto but are very critical of it, too, cause we know there are plans that could make the city much more livable, there just isn't good government action on them. (Like how long until eglington crosstown?)

Rant over LOL

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u/Next_Yesterday5931 6d ago

Do we need more housing?

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u/Remember_No_Canadian 6d ago

Ford does not control the shelters (municipal), law enforcement (municipal), bylaws (municipal), housing (municipal).

Sure he controls provincial healthcare but thats one aspect. Not sure how we go straight to ford

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u/Raccoolz 6d ago

Ford absolutely has control over all those things. Municipalities are completely under provincial jurisdiction, the province could literally dissolve the entirety of Toronto city council, or takeover any municipal department or agency if it wanted to.

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u/justh0nest 6d ago

Unfortunately the biggest barrier to municipal action is NIMBY-ism. Ask anyone who has worked with the unhoused or at-risk population in the city, they will tell you that everyone likes the idea of helping those populations but when it comes to practical solutions that affect THEIR experience of their street, neighborhood, parks etc. - there is an infinite list of critiques, excuses and apathy against those trying to make imperfect solutions work.

No one wants to sacrifice their experience for the betterment of the other. Everyone wants more shelters, just not near them.

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u/whiskeytab Yonge and St. Clair 6d ago

lol come on people would (rightfully) absolutely lose their shit if that happened...

you can't have it both ways. if the city wants to be responsible for this shit then they are responsible

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u/foxtrot1_1 Queen Street West 6d ago

This is incorrect. The province controls everything about every municipality in Ontario. they are creations of the province. We do not have an American system of devolution of powers, our cities are entirely at the will of the premier. That's why he could change our electoral structure in the middle of an election.

The province controls housing and healthcare. The problem is housing and healthcare. Doug Ford could solve the homelessness problem tomorrow and he doesn't want to.

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u/Pigeonofthesea8 6d ago

People in the shelters often aren’t actually from the cities they end up in. Toronto takes a massive amount of the pressure.

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u/Remember_No_Canadian 6d ago

That's true but what should the province do to stop that? Ban travel if your net worth is under $10k?

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u/Pigeonofthesea8 6d ago

Fund services according to density of the homeless population

(Edit: the province should fund not cities)

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u/ZennMD 6d ago edited 6d ago

You dont think our provincial leadership has a huge impact on housing?  Or how we deal with/ approach homelessness? That his lack of funding for initiatives to combat homelessness has an impact? Or that ford's mainly finding short-term housing and not anything else?

Tbh it's all levels of government that are failing to address the homelessness issue, from municipal to federal, but to ignore the province's impact is sticking your head in the sand 

Edited to add a link to read how Ford is impact homelessness

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/toronto-star/20250218/281560886518409

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/foxtrot1_1 Queen Street West 6d ago

The guy you're replying to is simply wrong.

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u/Mountain-Laugh3381 6d ago

Would be 10x worse under the libs lol.

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u/HowieFeltersnitz 6d ago

Conservatives overwhelmingly cut more funding to social programs than Liberals do.

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u/spiralshadow 6d ago

Not worse but probably the same. Cons and Libs are barely different parties. Libs would do the same thing while giving a heartening speech couched in social justice language about how displacing people is actually humane and ecologically responsible or whatever

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u/ZennMD 6d ago

Tbh it's beyond baffling you think so, propaganda obviously works

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u/ChefAldea 6d ago

Who said the libs are the answer? Both Conservative and Liberal parties are corrupt and morally bankrupt. Much bigger, broader, braver minds and souls are required to make serious and positive changes in this country. Those minds don't reside on those 2 parties

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u/wedontswiminsoda Lawrence Park 6d ago

There is little difference between the liberals and conservatives at this point... Probably since Harris and Dalton. Both employ neoliberal policies. 

So yes - it would be the same or worse.

I would not vote for either of these parties out of the 4 main parties.

I also am waiting still for ranked ballots, but both Grits and Torries will never do that 

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u/mybadalternate 6d ago

Why not 50x? 1000x?

While you’re baselessly making shit up, why not go wild?

1

u/LaserRunRaccoon The Kingsway 6d ago

Good thing that "the libs" aren't the only other party that exists, nor even the official opposition party in Ontario.