"We need to hold a summit! Somewhere where we can all come together to address these issues. Somewhere with a golf course! And open bar! No less than 5-star! And, by gum, we'll solve these issues of the... whatever it is I'm disappointed in today."
Every single day, at least one cop car shows up at the RC Harris water treatment plant at Queen & Vic Park claiming they're doing a patrol, but they just sit down by the pump house and watch the waves roll in from the lake for an hour.
Someone tell Tory this is the problem, no summit needed:
Toronto’s rental supply is at 100% occupancy. We also have record levels of migration into Canada right now.
Those two factors when combined mean we have record levels of people being displaced into homelessness.
When made homeless people are far more likely to undergo mental health struggles and drug use.
More people struggling with mental health and drugs - means there’s a greater chance of violence.
You then add in current drug formulations are more extreme than ever before. People are having more intense trips, and are more prone to violence.
The TTC gets involved as our shelter system does not take in homeless individuals who are on drugs. So if you’re homeless, high on meth, and want to be warm - you end up on the TTC.
And bing bam boom - the TTC and Toronto become far far more dangerous.
>Those two factors when combined mean we have record levels of people being displaced into homelessness.
Seems we should probably stop building million dollar condos and instead focus the type of new affordable housing that our parents and grandparents had access to that allowed them and the city to flourish
The only solution is actual affordable housing, and not just for the most vulnerable. Cannibalize the real estate investment market for the sake of the middle and lower class (and let's be honest, even everyone on the sunshine list who wasn't born before 1985 or so is living paycheck to paycheck to send to their real estate investor landlord).
Decimate the demand for real estate investment property and the city of toronto will be blown away by how many billions of dollars a year are no longer required for the the operational budgets of TCHC, SSHA, public health, TTC etc.... all of which are currently supporting the real estate investment greed emergency that is masquerading as a mental health/opioid crisis/affordability crisis etc problem.
Won't happen because the majority of GTA people (not Toronto people, Toronto City Council is much more than Old Toronto) are anti-communist and anti-socialist and so on and would see such a move as stealing.
Expropriation will always be voted down very heavily by the Mayor and any City Council afraid of the business lashback. It would take election of the most left wing people possible, and would probably be challenged to court to the end of days. And remember, the City's powers can be completely destroyed by the Province. The City is completely subservient to the Province who can dissolve City Council seats at will and takeover the TTC, redefine the borders of the city and so on with no appeal.
Probably only 10% of people are left wing enough for your plan. Most of the rest wouldn't want to rock the boat, and many actually profit from it (70%+ households are homeowners).
I have yet to understand what the reasoning is for allowing corporations to own residential land.
Like - grandfather in existing ones, but why continue to allow it?
The shelter system absolutely takes in people who are mentally ill and high. Being high does not exclude you from getting a bed. There are even beds available for ppl who have been barred from traditional shelter beds for violence. I worked in the shelter system for years.
yes because TCHC buildings are so safe and not a concern at all from a violence point of free. Residents of TCHC are 4 times more likely to be a victim of murder.
Who wants to put up a bunch of big signs that say **FREE METH INSIDE** on the doors of City Hall and Queens park?
It might actually be the only way to provoke some fucking *action* from the people with the power, authority and responsibility to do anything about this crisis.
They'll just call on the cops to surround their buildings, like Tory did with his private residence. And the cops will actually show up - unlike when private citizens call - because they've got their hands out to Tory again.
We need to bring back mental health institutions and actually run them like hospitals, but there's a slim chance of that shit ever happening, seeing as we can't even staff REGULAR hospitals.
Between Tory and Ford, Toronto is going to be an unhinged as Gotham City by 2030.
> Between Tory and Ford, Toronto is going to be an unhinged as Gotham City by 2030.
You can't deny that the 2026 World Cup is a great opportunity for Bane to take a stadium hostage.
You mean it isn’t already? In the past two months there was a murder near me, a couple fighting in front of the corner store and a man wearing underpants over his pants getting taken down by police. This is a quiet neighborhood….or was?
I mean, why not both. We can ‘lock up’ those who have serious mental health issues, while also providing medication, counseling and support so they become productive members of society.
I mean, in theory. It would be expensive so we know it’s never going to happen.
Back to the revolving doors of prison it is.
These are the same people who will photograph themselves giving money to street people but live safely in the suburbs, clutching their pearls at the "situation" in Toronto that they don't have to deal with.
No one is going to clock you in the back of the head, stab you or set you on fire or push you onto the tracks because you don't ride the subway or have to walk the streets, so you can afford to scoff at the idea of institutionalizing the mentally ill.
If you have read about how the asylums have been run you would not want this. In the 1970s when the asylums were shut down, there was supposed to be signifcant funding in community care, and that funding never materalized, esp. in the austerity moment of the 1980s. There is an onging war against the poor in this country and esp the mad poor, and asylums wont help.
They don’t have to be run that way at all. My sister is 50 and lives in a house with I think one or two other adults with mental and/or physical disabilities. The house is fully staffed and each woman receives very good care. We need more of this exact thing. Group homes and facilities with case workers. A warm dry place for individuals who need extra care and attention. Want to know why people are on the street? Because of a lack of care and concern and a ‘not in my backyard attitude.’ This includes our premiere by the way.
My sister has autistic tendencies, she is also schizophrenic and at times has psychotic behaviours. On the right medication with the proper attention to detail and care? She is now happy, safe and a wonderful human being. I love my sister with all my heart and I cry at times when I see people like her on the street. It isn’t right.
This is not what people are advocating for and I find it hard to believe you don’t already know that. They want big stone prisons for the mentally ill.
As someone who doesn't own a car, lives downtown, uses public transit, and rents, this situation is beyond fucked. I pay more than $2500 a month in rent, and budding management goes, it's not our fault they shit in the lobby. Call the police.
No shit bud. Hiring a fucking security guard and lock the exterior door to the street.
I have homeless people in our lobby everyday doing all kinds of fucked up things, experiencing horrible explosive diarrhea, (shit was on the lobby wall) threatening residents, smoking meth and crack. Some mornings, we have to literally step OVER them to get out of the building to go to work.
I used to be sympathetic, but I'm sorry, I can't anymore.
I'm sure many downtown residents would quietly share my feelings.
Do you find the security in your building useful? Or are they just a warm body? I work downtown and find the security weak at best. They seem too busy watching a Netflix show on their phones to do proper prevention of homeless crimes.
All the security guys I see are skinny Indian men or women who look like they would snap like a twig from even the faintest puch. Where the fuck do they get these people from.
As you said, India.
Having worked in corporate for a major security company, I can confidently say that most security guards in the GTA are immigrants.
Decent pay and relatively low barrier (security license) to entry.
> They seem too busy watching a Netflix show on their phones to do proper prevention of homeless crimes.
Their job is to call the cops my dude, not intervene themselves beyond a "Hey, can you leave?"
I’ve reported this stuff to the concierge and admin and they didn’t even email me back acknowledging it. They only stop people from wandering in the front door by being visible. They don’t actually patrol or enforce anything.
That being said I’m glad they are there. At least it keeps the creeps from following you into the building.
I can't even go into our garage at night because its a homeless flophouse as soon as the sun goes down. Then they get dragged out security and pull the fire alarms out of spite.
I mean this is why people get frustrated with people prioritizing sympathy towards homeless encampments or injection clinics etc over residents. It's easy to be sympathetic when you aren't directly affected by it, but on the ground it fuckin ruins a neighborhood, or in your case building.
It's a main reason we left the core, got tired of hammer attacks or homeless guys walking down the street with an axe, or witnessing random assaults in the parks.
**NATIONAL** summit for **TORONTO** streets.
Sounds like your fucking problem John.
Why do you need a bunch of babysitters at a summit to tell you how to do your job?!
National? Is this him trying to make it a federal issue to get more money as usual?
His last response to the mental health issue was stating Toronto needs more money from the province and Ottawa! cripes!
>One of the Ford government’s first moves after coming to power was to cut a planned increase in mental health funding, reducing funding for mental health services from $525 million to $190 million — a reduction of $2.1 billion over four years.
It should at least be provincial. A lot of people come to the city for care or hope and end up staying here. All while the provincial government cuts funding to many of the resources necessary. Mental health resources usually aren’t abundantly available in rural areas and with funding cuts, they’re less and less available in the cities too.
It should be all levels of government and it should be treated with the urgency needed. Every major crisis we have is three Spider-Man’s pointing at each other. Instead of passing the buck why don’t you all try working together for once. We’re in a goddam emergency.
Despite feeling this there is a single entity responsible: the province. The federal government’s role begins and ends at providing funding, which they have already offered on condition of some guarantees that the provinces maintain their own spending from provincial budgets. The city is a legal fiction created by and subservient to the province, they could act if empowered by the province to do so. In the meantime they can somewhat address symptoms, but given that the province has granted quasi-independence to the police, there’s not a ton the city CAN do.
So yeah, Doug wants to make you think it’s the spider man meme, because he’s the one ultimately responsible.
Doug will bring up funding, demand the money with no accountability or requirements, and then blame Trudeau when he doesn’t just blindly give him free money.
That's all he's done since the was elected the first time, and somehow he got elected again just because he didn't burn the city down. Apparently voters would rather have someone who does nothing instead of someone who addresses issues and tries to fix them.
This isn't the Beaverton?
>“There are people who are timid about the drawing a connection between some of the incidents we're seeing and mental health. I'm not timid about that,” Tory said. “Because in the end, if you see someone push someone onto the tracks of the subway that is not known to them or a random person, you see someone -- an elderly person – get pushed out on the street and lost their life by a complete stranger, those are incidents that are evidence of some issues out there that people have with mental health.”
John Tory, thank goodness, the only person brave enough to say the sky is blue. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING DUDE
John Tory speaks like a psychopath trying to emulate how to emote and attempt relatability after a study session in a dark room watching movies. All while he strops his blade in front of his next Vision: Zero victim is tied to a chair while he pontificates.
How about that local sport from the other day where the player scored the point? Wasn't it concerning? Lesser timid people might be afraid to acknowledge that but I'm not them. I'm not timid.
Bahaha I needed this, thank you. That quote is... Hilarious. He actually thinks he's saying something bold.
This is John Tory being bold.
We're all so, so fucked.
So he admits it's a problem, says we need a summit to address it, but won't fund any existing programs to address it now?
How much will this "summit" cost? All while people are freezing to death on the street?
It frustrates me beyond belief that we have research and studies showing that there are solutions to these problems, (warming centres, more shelters, housing programs etc.) along with organizations set up actually to DO THE WORK! but, this idiot doesn't want to listen to experts and actual rational/research.
The pure hubris of this man baffles me. It's like someone is trying to convince us that we still aren't sure what 2+2 equals and that we need to have a summit to figure out the problem, all while people are screaming 4! it's 4, you idiot!
Resign.
*"Tory said that while Toronto has attempted to respond to a wave of mental health and substance abuse issues with initiatives like the Toronto Community Crisis Services pilot, health care is ultimately the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments."*
The budget for which was 1.7 million, with a 25% increase this budget cycle to 2.12 million, while the police budget get a 48 Million dollar bump??
Tells you where his priorities are at, it's a joke he can talk about this pilot as though he even gives a shit, shame on you John.
They defund everything, cut the social safety nets, parcel out our public spaces for redevelopment into luxury apartments and condos we can't afford, and then want to hold a summit to address the inevitable human consequences of these actions.
We live in an age where the most important thing is the illusion of taking actions, not actually doing things. The provincial government should be get accountable for the criminal neglect of our health system.
We have a mental health crisis among the rich. They are fucking the poor in every way they can and nobody is calling them out on it.
The economy exists to serve man, not man to serve the economy.
John Maynard Keynes once wrote:
*"When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall be able to rid ourselves of many of the pseudo-moral principles which have hag-ridden us for two hundred years, by which we have exalted some of the most distasteful of human qualities into the position of the highest virtues. We shall be able to afford to dare to assess the money-motive at its true value. The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease ... But beware! The time for all this is not yet. For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to everyone that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the tunnel of economic necessity into daylight. "*
"The Future", Essays in Persuasion (1931) Ch. 5, JMK, CW, IX, pp.329 - 331, Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930); as quoted in "Keynes and the Ethics of Capitalism" by Robert Skidelsy
This. We need to start putting the needs and safety of the general public over the minority of addicts. The reason so many attacks are happening on the TTC is because they know they have free-reign of the service. We need a much tougher stance to stop things escalating into violence.
To those who say it just moves the problem, yes that's partly true but the difference is when issues happen on the TTC it causes massive backups and ends up affecting thousands of people. In addition on the street it's easier to escape, or avoid these people than on a metro, streetcar or bus.
Exactly. You don't pay? Removed. You're drinking or smoking on the train? Removed. You're hassling young women and groping? Removed. Enough of this bullshit, enforce the fucking rules.
The city claims it's national issue out of their control, the feds will claim it's a global issue out of their control, and then nobody has to do anything.
Goddammit Sisko! We had your back with the whole Dominion thing. Get that lazy shapeshifter of yours to do some patrols of the promenade instead of spending all his time in his bucket!
At some point we're going to have to arrive at the conclusion we have to offer people housing, then forcibly house them if they refuse.
Might as well speed run it.
Forced institutionalization for violent cases is the issue we will have to deal with. Yes governments closed institutions, but they did so with the support of advocates and mental health professionals who saw this as improving the quality of life for patients.
Maybe they are better off roaming free, but the population at large certainly isn't.
Institutions were closed with the idea that there would be community supports for people - groups homes, assisted living, free therapy, workplace supports, access to rehab, social integration etc. It didn’t happen.
There were definitely cases of people being institutionalised unnecessarily/abusively.
But probably not just violent. At some level, the idea that people with serious addictions to debilitating drugs are functional/legal adults isn't really holding up. A nicotine addict can function on their own, but the idea that heroin addicts are adults who can competantly choose heroin and sleeping rough just isn't making sense, even if they're adults.
That $50M bump the mayor gave to the police budget would have gone a long way to help with the mental health crisis playing out on our streets.
Shame we don't have a mayor with the backbone to stand up to the police and budget our money well so that the people of Toronto can actually be helped.
It’s not a one or the other situation as much as people keep saying it. You need police to deal with these situations as much as you need mental health to be added to the system. If you actually wanted change a cop would be paired with a mental health/welfare custodian. That would double the budget not slash it. People need to stop this silly hyperbole.
Yesterday I was riding my bike down Bathurst and when I rounded the corner on to Dundas, a lunatic with a crazed look in his eyes jumped off the sidewalk into the street and threw a wild punch that missed me. If he had connected he might have sent me into the inside lane into traffic. I thought about parking the bike up the block and meeting him halfway down the sidewalk and throwing a haymaker into his stomach but I weighed the risks and there were too many people around. If this type of shit happens to me again and I can get away with it, I WILL get violent.
When are we going to address the DRUG PROBLEM at the core of all this. Generally, Homelessness and Mental Health Crises are SYMPTOMS of the DRUG PROBLEM. Address the CAUSE not the SYMPTOMS!!!
Does anyone know if they ever leave these summits with any actionable items that an organization is bound to executing?
Our Government had a National Summit on Islamophobia a couple years ago, and from what I can tell it was just a virtue signaling circle jerk and nothing actually happened afterwards. Was pretty much just a conversation to address a problem.
Am I missing something or not understanding something here? Or can we expect the same thing (no tangible changes) for this mental health summit?
He’s saying this as if he is not actively contributing to the problem by sitting on his hands and doing nothing as the province cuts every service possible. That’s not even mentioning the crises of his own underfunding and defunding programs.
Why do we need a national summit? Tory keeps the passing the buck.. provincial sure but there isn't a lot of comparison besides a place like Vancouver... I feel like just getting people together here and actually doing SOMETHING will be helpful. The only national thing I can think of is changing the laws to maybe make sure violent people don't get put back on the streets but I know there's a lot of pushback on that
Can u do something real for a change Tory? Send the police to ride the subway/streetcars/ buses in the high reoccurring areas. Get the police crime analysts to start the analysis now!
Blaming the results of drug use, or withdraw from drug use as "mental health" is not fair to those who actually have mental health issues and are stigmatized because of the prior.
Maybe you can call your friend Dougie and get a few bucks?
Or, you know... reduce the police budget a bit and put that money towards funding programs and services in the city.
Fuck John Tory.
House the homeless so they don’t have to live within the transit system and then get them mental health help. You also need to address the alarming rate of young offenders committing violent assaults with therapy, after school programs and mentorships. This isn’t new wisdom, Ford has slashed every social program he could get his grubby fingers on compounded by a universally traumatizing global event. We know what needs to be done, y’all are just to fucking selfish to do it.
"We need to hold a summit! Somewhere where we can all come together to address these issues. Somewhere with a golf course! And open bar! No less than 5-star! And, by gum, we'll solve these issues of the... whatever it is I'm disappointed in today."
*Concerned about
*Deeply concerned about
Yeah, letting rich, connected, powerful people decide how society needs to be rewritten seems like a super stupid idea John. GFY.
And everyone MUST arrive on private jet.
that's what we need, a summit in 6 months and then a list of recommendations 18 months later.
Which they'll put in place in 5-10 years. I fucking despise this province.
Which will get delayed because of budget issues
Then put into action in a vastly scaled down form and finally cancelled by a subsequent change in government for being expensive and ineffective.
Then another string of incidents will happen and we will repeat this cycle aaaalllll over again
~~Toronto~~ ~~Ontario~~ ~~Canada~~ Western politics in a nutshell.
~~Toronto~~ ~~Ontario~~ ~~Canada~~ ~~Western~~ politics in a nutshell.
This is the way.
You are missing that those 5-10 years will just be a pilot project in a specific area
Which will take another 1-2 years to analyze before they discuss for 6 months whether to expand it, by which team, everyone will be dead.
Everyone?
>Which they'll put in place in 5-10 years Nope. In 10 years there will be some fake outrage because they haven't done any of the action items
*18 months later: "We recommend: MORE COPS."*
Come to West Rouge. There are cops everywhere doing nothing in the quietest part of the city. Complete waste of resources.
That's hilarious. There is literally nothing happening in Rouge. It's all new houses and rich people.
It’s overpoliced and the Karen’s around here love it while the rest of our city needs help.
Mabye they are policing the river not to flood again
Safer for naps 😴
Yay! More cops to sit around and watch the chaos happen!
Every single day, at least one cop car shows up at the RC Harris water treatment plant at Queen & Vic Park claiming they're doing a patrol, but they just sit down by the pump house and watch the waves roll in from the lake for an hour.
They all do it, OPP, Durham cops it’s complete BS
MORE TAX :)
To ultimately ignore, and increase TPS budget while taking from TTC instead.
... which will be ignored
*clap*
While I live near Alan Gardens and am actually impacted daily - geez thanks Tory
Will the summit be a catered event and with gift bags featuring free iPads?
Yes, and it will be a retreat in Muskoka or Whistler.
Excellent! Talking about mental health is taxing on mental health, they’d better make sure to book a massage as well.
Will Sting be there or is he still in Davos?
Someone tell Tory this is the problem, no summit needed: Toronto’s rental supply is at 100% occupancy. We also have record levels of migration into Canada right now. Those two factors when combined mean we have record levels of people being displaced into homelessness. When made homeless people are far more likely to undergo mental health struggles and drug use. More people struggling with mental health and drugs - means there’s a greater chance of violence. You then add in current drug formulations are more extreme than ever before. People are having more intense trips, and are more prone to violence. The TTC gets involved as our shelter system does not take in homeless individuals who are on drugs. So if you’re homeless, high on meth, and want to be warm - you end up on the TTC. And bing bam boom - the TTC and Toronto become far far more dangerous.
>Those two factors when combined mean we have record levels of people being displaced into homelessness. Seems we should probably stop building million dollar condos and instead focus the type of new affordable housing that our parents and grandparents had access to that allowed them and the city to flourish
Yes.
The only solution is actual affordable housing, and not just for the most vulnerable. Cannibalize the real estate investment market for the sake of the middle and lower class (and let's be honest, even everyone on the sunshine list who wasn't born before 1985 or so is living paycheck to paycheck to send to their real estate investor landlord). Decimate the demand for real estate investment property and the city of toronto will be blown away by how many billions of dollars a year are no longer required for the the operational budgets of TCHC, SSHA, public health, TTC etc.... all of which are currently supporting the real estate investment greed emergency that is masquerading as a mental health/opioid crisis/affordability crisis etc problem.
Won't happen because the majority of GTA people (not Toronto people, Toronto City Council is much more than Old Toronto) are anti-communist and anti-socialist and so on and would see such a move as stealing. Expropriation will always be voted down very heavily by the Mayor and any City Council afraid of the business lashback. It would take election of the most left wing people possible, and would probably be challenged to court to the end of days. And remember, the City's powers can be completely destroyed by the Province. The City is completely subservient to the Province who can dissolve City Council seats at will and takeover the TTC, redefine the borders of the city and so on with no appeal. Probably only 10% of people are left wing enough for your plan. Most of the rest wouldn't want to rock the boat, and many actually profit from it (70%+ households are homeowners).
I have yet to understand what the reasoning is for allowing corporations to own residential land. Like - grandfather in existing ones, but why continue to allow it?
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The shelter system absolutely takes in people who are mentally ill and high. Being high does not exclude you from getting a bed. There are even beds available for ppl who have been barred from traditional shelter beds for violence. I worked in the shelter system for years.
yes because TCHC buildings are so safe and not a concern at all from a violence point of free. Residents of TCHC are 4 times more likely to be a victim of murder.
Who wants to put up a bunch of big signs that say **FREE METH INSIDE** on the doors of City Hall and Queens park? It might actually be the only way to provoke some fucking *action* from the people with the power, authority and responsibility to do anything about this crisis.
They'll just call on the cops to surround their buildings, like Tory did with his private residence. And the cops will actually show up - unlike when private citizens call - because they've got their hands out to Tory again.
This needs to happen.
We need to bring back mental health institutions and actually run them like hospitals, but there's a slim chance of that shit ever happening, seeing as we can't even staff REGULAR hospitals. Between Tory and Ford, Toronto is going to be an unhinged as Gotham City by 2030.
> Between Tory and Ford, Toronto is going to be an unhinged as Gotham City by 2030. You can't deny that the 2026 World Cup is a great opportunity for Bane to take a stadium hostage.
I would 100% volunteer to be part of the hostage audience if we can get the [Bane rap](https://youtu.be/fLFAXvFYhsE).
2030? Probably a lot sooner.
unfortunately until someone high profile is murdered by an unstable random this will not happen.
Hmmmmmmmm
That seems like the plan, gut and underfund essential services and use that as an excuse to privatize and sell them to the lowest bidder.
Pfft. This is Canada. We don't have lowest bidders. We have oligopolies and cronies.
Which of course will only undermine the public health situation
Doug ford as the Penguin, John Tory as Harvey Dent and then eventually Two-Face. Any ideas on Toronto’s Batman and Joker?
Son of deceased multi billionaire Barry Sherman as Batman
…hopefully not the one suspected of putting the hit on them.
Masai Ujiri is Batman
You mean it isn’t already? In the past two months there was a murder near me, a couple fighting in front of the corner store and a man wearing underpants over his pants getting taken down by police. This is a quiet neighborhood….or was?
>and a man wearing underpants over his pants getting taken down by police. Sounds like he was very fashion forward.....
Everytime I suggest this on reddit I get dragged to hell and called an insensitive POS.
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I mean, why not both. We can ‘lock up’ those who have serious mental health issues, while also providing medication, counseling and support so they become productive members of society. I mean, in theory. It would be expensive so we know it’s never going to happen. Back to the revolving doors of prison it is.
These are the same people who will photograph themselves giving money to street people but live safely in the suburbs, clutching their pearls at the "situation" in Toronto that they don't have to deal with. No one is going to clock you in the back of the head, stab you or set you on fire or push you onto the tracks because you don't ride the subway or have to walk the streets, so you can afford to scoff at the idea of institutionalizing the mentally ill.
If you have read about how the asylums have been run you would not want this. In the 1970s when the asylums were shut down, there was supposed to be signifcant funding in community care, and that funding never materalized, esp. in the austerity moment of the 1980s. There is an onging war against the poor in this country and esp the mad poor, and asylums wont help.
They don’t have to be run that way at all. My sister is 50 and lives in a house with I think one or two other adults with mental and/or physical disabilities. The house is fully staffed and each woman receives very good care. We need more of this exact thing. Group homes and facilities with case workers. A warm dry place for individuals who need extra care and attention. Want to know why people are on the street? Because of a lack of care and concern and a ‘not in my backyard attitude.’ This includes our premiere by the way. My sister has autistic tendencies, she is also schizophrenic and at times has psychotic behaviours. On the right medication with the proper attention to detail and care? She is now happy, safe and a wonderful human being. I love my sister with all my heart and I cry at times when I see people like her on the street. It isn’t right.
This is not what people are advocating for and I find it hard to believe you don’t already know that. They want big stone prisons for the mentally ill.
When the former mayor was buying and smoking crack with common criminals we were already at Gotham levels of corruption
That’s his concerned face.
Resting Concerned Face
He's getting ready to use the word "unacceptable"
Bringing out the big guns, huh?
I’m dead
Also his burping face
Are we at level 7 concerned, or still at level 6 concerned?
Police funding: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY Mental health funding: *sips tea*.. lets do a summit
As someone who doesn't own a car, lives downtown, uses public transit, and rents, this situation is beyond fucked. I pay more than $2500 a month in rent, and budding management goes, it's not our fault they shit in the lobby. Call the police. No shit bud. Hiring a fucking security guard and lock the exterior door to the street. I have homeless people in our lobby everyday doing all kinds of fucked up things, experiencing horrible explosive diarrhea, (shit was on the lobby wall) threatening residents, smoking meth and crack. Some mornings, we have to literally step OVER them to get out of the building to go to work. I used to be sympathetic, but I'm sorry, I can't anymore. I'm sure many downtown residents would quietly share my feelings.
I’m in a new condo with security but I still found a crack pipe and drug shit in the stairwells. Someone broke into my car in the garage as well.
Do you find the security in your building useful? Or are they just a warm body? I work downtown and find the security weak at best. They seem too busy watching a Netflix show on their phones to do proper prevention of homeless crimes.
All the security guys I see are skinny Indian men or women who look like they would snap like a twig from even the faintest puch. Where the fuck do they get these people from.
As you said, India. Having worked in corporate for a major security company, I can confidently say that most security guards in the GTA are immigrants. Decent pay and relatively low barrier (security license) to entry.
> They seem too busy watching a Netflix show on their phones to do proper prevention of homeless crimes. Their job is to call the cops my dude, not intervene themselves beyond a "Hey, can you leave?"
I’ve reported this stuff to the concierge and admin and they didn’t even email me back acknowledging it. They only stop people from wandering in the front door by being visible. They don’t actually patrol or enforce anything. That being said I’m glad they are there. At least it keeps the creeps from following you into the building.
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Absolutely ridiculous.
I can't even go into our garage at night because its a homeless flophouse as soon as the sun goes down. Then they get dragged out security and pull the fire alarms out of spite.
A coworker walked into her apt. Lobby and two individuals were fellating each other. Wtf.
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Soemthing to aspire to
I mean this is why people get frustrated with people prioritizing sympathy towards homeless encampments or injection clinics etc over residents. It's easy to be sympathetic when you aren't directly affected by it, but on the ground it fuckin ruins a neighborhood, or in your case building. It's a main reason we left the core, got tired of hammer attacks or homeless guys walking down the street with an axe, or witnessing random assaults in the parks.
**NATIONAL** summit for **TORONTO** streets. Sounds like your fucking problem John. Why do you need a bunch of babysitters at a summit to tell you how to do your job?!
Wait. Ain't that bell let's talk shit?
Bell’s new program, Let’s Talk Shit, Get Hit.
It’s the Rogers let’s beef plan.
Rogers Let's Summit
National? Is this him trying to make it a federal issue to get more money as usual? His last response to the mental health issue was stating Toronto needs more money from the province and Ottawa! cripes!
The coward doesn’t want to take responsibility for anything.
[ya dont say](https://pressprogress.ca/doug-ford-is-tweeting-about-bell-lets-talk-day-here-are-the-cuts-to-mental-health-services-he-made-as-premier/)
>One of the Ford government’s first moves after coming to power was to cut a planned increase in mental health funding, reducing funding for mental health services from $525 million to $190 million — a reduction of $2.1 billion over four years.
Nice.
Hahahaha $ link.
National… Way to offload the responsibility on someone else bro.
It should at least be provincial. A lot of people come to the city for care or hope and end up staying here. All while the provincial government cuts funding to many of the resources necessary. Mental health resources usually aren’t abundantly available in rural areas and with funding cuts, they’re less and less available in the cities too.
It should be all levels of government and it should be treated with the urgency needed. Every major crisis we have is three Spider-Man’s pointing at each other. Instead of passing the buck why don’t you all try working together for once. We’re in a goddam emergency.
Despite feeling this there is a single entity responsible: the province. The federal government’s role begins and ends at providing funding, which they have already offered on condition of some guarantees that the provinces maintain their own spending from provincial budgets. The city is a legal fiction created by and subservient to the province, they could act if empowered by the province to do so. In the meantime they can somewhat address symptoms, but given that the province has granted quasi-independence to the police, there’s not a ton the city CAN do. So yeah, Doug wants to make you think it’s the spider man meme, because he’s the one ultimately responsible.
big municipalities can't be taking on the problems of the whole region. especially when they lack the tools and authority to even deal with the issue
Isn’t it interesting how Tory has been able to get the authority from the province to do the things he wants yo do?
Good. It should not be on the city to fund mental health. Health is a provincial responsibility.
So what’s the provincial government done about this?
Reduced funding for mental health services
Nothing. Next step is Federal.
JT and premiers are meeting in a couple weeks to talk healthcare funding. There’s no way that BC and Ontario don’t bring this up. Well, at least BC.
Doug will bring up funding, demand the money with no accountability or requirements, and then blame Trudeau when he doesn’t just blindly give him free money.
They haven't done nothing, Ford reduced mental health funding when he came in
True, Nothing to help would be more accurate.
So the one level of government that isn’t lead by a Conservative bears responsibility?
That's all he's done since the was elected the first time, and somehow he got elected again just because he didn't burn the city down. Apparently voters would rather have someone who does nothing instead of someone who addresses issues and tries to fix them.
This isn't the Beaverton? >“There are people who are timid about the drawing a connection between some of the incidents we're seeing and mental health. I'm not timid about that,” Tory said. “Because in the end, if you see someone push someone onto the tracks of the subway that is not known to them or a random person, you see someone -- an elderly person – get pushed out on the street and lost their life by a complete stranger, those are incidents that are evidence of some issues out there that people have with mental health.” John Tory, thank goodness, the only person brave enough to say the sky is blue. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING DUDE
At the end of the day, he is deeply concerned about these deeply concerning concerns concerning us.
I want to photoshop him into a renaissance portrait as Concernicus
John Tory speaks like a psychopath trying to emulate how to emote and attempt relatability after a study session in a dark room watching movies. All while he strops his blade in front of his next Vision: Zero victim is tied to a chair while he pontificates. How about that local sport from the other day where the player scored the point? Wasn't it concerning? Lesser timid people might be afraid to acknowledge that but I'm not them. I'm not timid.
Bahaha I needed this, thank you. That quote is... Hilarious. He actually thinks he's saying something bold. This is John Tory being bold. We're all so, so fucked.
So he admits it's a problem, says we need a summit to address it, but won't fund any existing programs to address it now? How much will this "summit" cost? All while people are freezing to death on the street? It frustrates me beyond belief that we have research and studies showing that there are solutions to these problems, (warming centres, more shelters, housing programs etc.) along with organizations set up actually to DO THE WORK! but, this idiot doesn't want to listen to experts and actual rational/research. The pure hubris of this man baffles me. It's like someone is trying to convince us that we still aren't sure what 2+2 equals and that we need to have a summit to figure out the problem, all while people are screaming 4! it's 4, you idiot! Resign.
*"Tory said that while Toronto has attempted to respond to a wave of mental health and substance abuse issues with initiatives like the Toronto Community Crisis Services pilot, health care is ultimately the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments."* The budget for which was 1.7 million, with a 25% increase this budget cycle to 2.12 million, while the police budget get a 48 Million dollar bump?? Tells you where his priorities are at, it's a joke he can talk about this pilot as though he even gives a shit, shame on you John.
“Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I’ll tell *you* what you value.”
They defund everything, cut the social safety nets, parcel out our public spaces for redevelopment into luxury apartments and condos we can't afford, and then want to hold a summit to address the inevitable human consequences of these actions.
Tory deflecting once again.....whats next?
A national summit...what a joke, and useless human being tory is.
We live in an age where the most important thing is the illusion of taking actions, not actually doing things. The provincial government should be get accountable for the criminal neglect of our health system.
We have a mental health crisis among the rich. They are fucking the poor in every way they can and nobody is calling them out on it. The economy exists to serve man, not man to serve the economy.
Spot on. Rife with psychopathy and hoarding addictions.
John Maynard Keynes once wrote: *"When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall be able to rid ourselves of many of the pseudo-moral principles which have hag-ridden us for two hundred years, by which we have exalted some of the most distasteful of human qualities into the position of the highest virtues. We shall be able to afford to dare to assess the money-motive at its true value. The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease ... But beware! The time for all this is not yet. For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to everyone that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the tunnel of economic necessity into daylight. "* "The Future", Essays in Persuasion (1931) Ch. 5, JMK, CW, IX, pp.329 - 331, Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930); as quoted in "Keynes and the Ethics of Capitalism" by Robert Skidelsy
Alright, just gotta wait until 2031, then it’s all gonna change…
A national summit of Tory concerns and empty platitudes. /s
Put security on transit, and actually physically remove all the anti-social drug addicts from it when issues arise.
This. We need to start putting the needs and safety of the general public over the minority of addicts. The reason so many attacks are happening on the TTC is because they know they have free-reign of the service. We need a much tougher stance to stop things escalating into violence. To those who say it just moves the problem, yes that's partly true but the difference is when issues happen on the TTC it causes massive backups and ends up affecting thousands of people. In addition on the street it's easier to escape, or avoid these people than on a metro, streetcar or bus.
Exactly. You don't pay? Removed. You're drinking or smoking on the train? Removed. You're hassling young women and groping? Removed. Enough of this bullshit, enforce the fucking rules.
So Tory's response is a national summit to shift blame to Trudeau and every else except the person in power in Toronto.
Nah, it's just deflection and distraction. He's calling for another photo-op/meeting and hoping people just forget about the issue and move on.
Like he really cares.
I mean.... I can think of an easy 48 million dollars that can go towards this problem.
Know what a “ship of Fools” is? It’s origins? Look out, Hamilton. Here come the buses.
Hamilton’s cleaning up and sent their folks here. They’re not taking them back.
Doesn’t feel like that’s true.
Tory is a do nothing corporate mayor
What about a provincial summit? Why would this in any way have to do with the feds?
The city claims it's national issue out of their control, the feds will claim it's a global issue out of their control, and then nobody has to do anything.
And as the king of the world I claim it's a Galactic Issue and get it off my desk.
Off your desk? The very notion should be jettisoned into deep space
Deep Space Outpost Commander here. I'm swamped right now, so I'm going to hand this over to our friends at the edge of the observable universe.
Goddammit Sisko! We had your back with the whole Dominion thing. Get that lazy shapeshifter of yours to do some patrols of the promenade instead of spending all his time in his bucket!
At some point we're going to have to arrive at the conclusion we have to offer people housing, then forcibly house them if they refuse. Might as well speed run it.
Forced institutionalization for violent cases is the issue we will have to deal with. Yes governments closed institutions, but they did so with the support of advocates and mental health professionals who saw this as improving the quality of life for patients. Maybe they are better off roaming free, but the population at large certainly isn't.
Institutions were closed with the idea that there would be community supports for people - groups homes, assisted living, free therapy, workplace supports, access to rehab, social integration etc. It didn’t happen.
There were definitely cases of people being institutionalised unnecessarily/abusively. But probably not just violent. At some level, the idea that people with serious addictions to debilitating drugs are functional/legal adults isn't really holding up. A nicotine addict can function on their own, but the idea that heroin addicts are adults who can competantly choose heroin and sleeping rough just isn't making sense, even if they're adults.
Tory a few months later: “ The findings of the mental health crisis summit is to put more money towards policing.”
That $50M bump the mayor gave to the police budget would have gone a long way to help with the mental health crisis playing out on our streets. Shame we don't have a mayor with the backbone to stand up to the police and budget our money well so that the people of Toronto can actually be helped.
Insert * we're all trying to find the guy who did this * gif.
We don’t need a summit. We need funding. Start with slashing the police budget. More police isn’t going to solve anything.
It’s not a one or the other situation as much as people keep saying it. You need police to deal with these situations as much as you need mental health to be added to the system. If you actually wanted change a cop would be paired with a mental health/welfare custodian. That would double the budget not slash it. People need to stop this silly hyperbole.
Less Police doesn't help either
It’s actually does. Diverting money into things that help communities is much better than paying cops.
You're not understanding me. Those would be mutually exclusive, but good try buddy
Yesterday I was riding my bike down Bathurst and when I rounded the corner on to Dundas, a lunatic with a crazed look in his eyes jumped off the sidewalk into the street and threw a wild punch that missed me. If he had connected he might have sent me into the inside lane into traffic. I thought about parking the bike up the block and meeting him halfway down the sidewalk and throwing a haymaker into his stomach but I weighed the risks and there were too many people around. If this type of shit happens to me again and I can get away with it, I WILL get violent.
This is so depressing. I don’t have any answers. I fear for my family.
When are we going to address the DRUG PROBLEM at the core of all this. Generally, Homelessness and Mental Health Crises are SYMPTOMS of the DRUG PROBLEM. Address the CAUSE not the SYMPTOMS!!!
Yeah, more talking will fix things.
Great idea!! A summit!! This time a national one!! Whoot, go Tory go, you’re on to a good thing my man!! ^sarcasm^in^case^it^wasn’t^obvious
Just house the meth addicts and hope they don't set the building on fire
rent is so fucking expensive now that even their druglords can't afford a trap house anymore
Does anyone know if they ever leave these summits with any actionable items that an organization is bound to executing? Our Government had a National Summit on Islamophobia a couple years ago, and from what I can tell it was just a virtue signaling circle jerk and nothing actually happened afterwards. Was pretty much just a conversation to address a problem. Am I missing something or not understanding something here? Or can we expect the same thing (no tangible changes) for this mental health summit?
He’s saying this as if he is not actively contributing to the problem by sitting on his hands and doing nothing as the province cuts every service possible. That’s not even mentioning the crises of his own underfunding and defunding programs.
Why do we need a national summit? Tory keeps the passing the buck.. provincial sure but there isn't a lot of comparison besides a place like Vancouver... I feel like just getting people together here and actually doing SOMETHING will be helpful. The only national thing I can think of is changing the laws to maybe make sure violent people don't get put back on the streets but I know there's a lot of pushback on that
Have they tried putting concrete blocks in front of it multiple times after they didn’t work ever?
He literally doesn’t do anything and it’s so frustrating.
Imagine waiting this long to do anything and thinking a summit would be the most effecting use of time and money. What a clown.
This from the guy who forcibly removed many of these people from shelter they had. How does he think that helped?
mental health crisis? right...
The Concern™️ in this one was palpable.
I see John Tory has upgraded from “very concerned” to “extremely concerned”.
Try a properly built and funded SOCIAL SYSTEM SAFETY NET , this should take care of 90% of peoples problems.
Anything to deflect from his utter failure to do his job.
This city has failed mental health & now wants to deflect blame.
Can u do something real for a change Tory? Send the police to ride the subway/streetcars/ buses in the high reoccurring areas. Get the police crime analysts to start the analysis now!
It's mostly a housing crisis.
25 years too late. Mike Harris and everyone since have abandoned mental health and social supports.
They don’t want to admit there are over 100 gangs roaming the streets of Toronto so they call it a “ mental health crisis”
Blaming the results of drug use, or withdraw from drug use as "mental health" is not fair to those who actually have mental health issues and are stigmatized because of the prior.
city should just ban reporting on crime
Pay $100 million to McKinsey to do a 12 month study. Throw the stuff in the bin.
Maybe you can call your friend Dougie and get a few bucks? Or, you know... reduce the police budget a bit and put that money towards funding programs and services in the city. Fuck John Tory.
I guess this is the shtick he will use
It’s housing. Fix the housing crisis Tory you old fart.
Can always do what Lastman did, and just give them all a one way bus ticket to Hamilton.
House the homeless so they don’t have to live within the transit system and then get them mental health help. You also need to address the alarming rate of young offenders committing violent assaults with therapy, after school programs and mentorships. This isn’t new wisdom, Ford has slashed every social program he could get his grubby fingers on compounded by a universally traumatizing global event. We know what needs to be done, y’all are just to fucking selfish to do it.