Business as Usual is Not Enough
Speaking Notes for Jasmine Ramze Rezaee, Manager of Advocacy
January 20, 2020

Good morning:

My name is Jasmine Ramze Rezaee, and I am the Manager of Advocacy at YWCA Toronto, which is the city’s largest multi-service women’s organization.

YWCA Toronto serves over 13,000 women, girls, trans and non-binary individuals every year from Etobicoke to Scarborough. We focus on the economic empowerment of women through employment and training services, support the safety of women through affordable housing and emergency shelter programs, cultivate the leadership potential of girls, and offer supportive programs for women who have experienced violence. We also engage in systemic advocacy to create a just and equitable city for all residents.

As you may know, we are a strong partner of the City of Toronto, particularly in providing housing and shelter for women and their families. We are encouraged by the City’s housing strategy for the next ten years, the HousingTO 2020-2030 action plan, and the City’s commitment to increase our affordable and deeply affordable housing stock, including the 10,000 new affordable rental and supportive homes slated for women and girls.

In terms of Budget 2020, we are also encouraged by the move to increase property taxes beyond the rate of inflation in 2020 and over the next six years. We have repeatedly advocated for the adoption of new revenue tools, so we see this development as a step in the right direction.

However, we implore you to take bolder action because the gap between the rich and the poor in our city, which is increasingly taking on gendered, racial and neighborhood dimensions, is rapidly expanding. Steps are not enough, we need leaps.

As a recent report by Social Planning Toronto points out, a decade of austerity has disproportionately impacted equity seeking communities. More than 17,000 children are waiting for a subsidized child care spot, and Toronto continues to have the most expensive infant and preschool fees in Canada. More than 1 in 5 tenant households are paying 50% or more of their income on rent, leaving many one paycheck away from homelessness. The social housing waitlist has grown by more than 50% and stands at more than a 110,000 households today. The use of family shelters has more than tripled.

Because women are concentrated in lower-paying jobs and tend to be the primary caregivers of their families, women and children are disproportionately impacted by these inequities. It is the poverty of women that is behind the poverty of so many children in our city. Life for Black, Indigenous, racialized and newcomer women, women with disabilities, and senior women is harder than ever before — business as usual is simply not sufficient.

We urge you to critically examine your budget priorities and strategies, have tough conversations, and come up with principled solutions because right now the City is failing to protect its most vulnerable residents.

For example, the 10 cent fare increase included in Toronto Transit Commission's Operating Budget will increase financial barriers to public transit for low income communities. Fares have risen roughly 42% over the last ten years, approximately three times the rate of inflation, contributing an additional $295 million more each year to the City’s budget. But this burden is borne by working class communities and women who disproportionately rely on public transit to get their children to school and to get to work. This is not a long-term solution to the transit commission’s operating budget shortfall.

Instead, we urge you to explore other potential sources of city revenue such as an Alcohol Beverage Tax, a Parking Levy, a Vacant Home Tax, the re-introduction of the Vehicle Registration Tax, and/or increasing the Municipal Land Transfer Tax for luxury homes. Analysis conducted by KPMG, SPT and economists suggests these types of public benefit taxes could produce hundreds of millions of revenue dollars for the city.

The demand for public services is rising and investment has not kept up so cracks will continue to widen unless drastic action is taken. This requires courage and determination on your part to do the right thing.

We are encouraged by the creation of a new Gender Equity unit at the city, but concerned about the monumental task this unit faces in implementing an intersectional gender equity strategy with the resources it has been allocated, and we want to ensure that adequate funds are in the budget for community consultations. We hope you will continue equity responsive budgeting and particularly integrate gender-responsive budgeting in the context of the ongoing Budget Modernization project.

As mentioned in the City’s Equity notes, strong equity impact analysis can support evidence-based decision-making and optimize the use of City resources to achieve Council approved equity priorities. There are too many City strategies not properly resourced — a strategy is only as good as its budget.

In conclusion, we are facing considerable and growing challenges. YWCA Toronto urges you to listen to the concerns of residents and community groups today and tomorrow, and to critically evaluate your budget allocations and priorities with equity considerations in mind.

Thank you.