If someone had asked me even a couple of months ago whether I thought "defunding the police" was a sound policy choice, I would have likely dismissed it as radical without thinking it was worth much thought. I had also heard of efficiencies, and reallocation, but “defund” was not a word I was accustomed to. [...]

Dear residents, I hope this finds you and your family healthy and well. Although the pandemic’s impact on people has understandably been our focus over the past few weeks, we have actively been working on the many public policy priorities and issues that need our attention in our community. And while the pandemic has been obviously shocking and unprecedented, it [...]

A Call to Reform Ontario's Long Term Care Homes: As Toronto’s Seniors Advocate, I commend the Minister of Long Term Care- Merrilee Fullerton's announcement on a review into Ontario’s long term care system. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been particularly devastating to our elder population, especially in long term care homes where, in too many cases, it has [...]

UPDATE: Midtown Supports New Tenants In Critical Need of Housing In my last e-newsletter update, the email address information for the Republic Residents’ Association (RRA), the group organizing a community drive to collect everyday items to support the new tenants at 55-65 Broadway, was written incorrectly. Fortunately, we were immediately able to register that email address to [...]

A Special Public Service Announcement from Molly Matlow: My daughter Molly asked me to share her latest public service announcement with you all. Please click here to view it. Support Needed for Small & Medium Sized Business Owners and Landlords:  I speak with small and medium sized business owners every day of this crisis, and many of of them [...]

Show Your Support for the Frontline Staff & Residents at Toronto's Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes: As many of you know, COVID-19 has been particularly virulent with elders in our community, especially in long-term care and retirement homes where it has been running rampant. As Toronto’s Seniors Advocate, I’m very concerned about, and deeply saddened [...]

How To Protect Yourself and Others: There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. According to Toronto Public Health, the best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed: Stay home as much as possible Only go out for essentials (e.g. groceries, medications) once a week Practice physical distancing when you are out Wash your hands [...]

Dear residents, I hope this finds you and your family healthy and well under the unprecedented circumstances we all find ourselves in. I’ve been reading the emails in my inbox- the many hundreds of them every day. In the midst of a global pandemic, every person has their own story and real challenges. While it’s [...]

Dear Residents, This a follow-up to my last update to you on the COVID-19 pandemic with recent government announcements and a focus on several of our community's priorities. First of all, I hope this finds you and your family healthy and well. I know that this is an extremely difficult and even surreal experience for us all. But [...]

Dear residents, I know that many of you are feeling anxious about our constantly changing reality with regard to COVID-19. That’s understandable. However, I’m very confident that if we work together, and follow the advice of our public health experts, the world will become far more recognizable again over time. On a personal note, I deeply [...]