The City of Toronto is adding $750,000 in funding for festivals to cover increased security costs following the deadly events at a Filipino street festival in Vancouver last month.
Mayor Olivia Chow made the announcement following a safety summit attended by festival organizers on Monday.
She said that the money will come in the form of an increase to Toronto’s existing Special Events Stabilization Initiative.
That fund previously stood at $1.35 million, with the money set to be distributed among 64 different festivals in 2025.
“We are committing, again, ($2.1) million to support the festivals. So, it’s a bit extra for all maybe extra safety practices or safety mitigation efforts that we have to take,” Chow said.
In April, 11 people died after a driver plowed through the crowds at Vancouver’s Lapu-Lapu street festival in April. Afterwards, Toronto officials said the city would revisit safety protocols to ensure festivalgoers can safely enjoy themselves in the wake of the incident.
“We were all kicked in the stomach when we heard what happened in Vancouver,” Coun. Michael Colle said on Monday. “Especially in light of what’s happened in Germany, what happened in New Orleans. We can’t let that happen here.”
The city’s new funding will be split across organizations. How much money they receive will be dependent on their budget.
It will help pay for a variety of safety initiatives, including bollards and street furniture, city officials say.
“So, the fund that the mayor is making available is that thing that’s going to help them with this new environment that requires safety, a thing like hostile vehicle mitigation,” Coun. Shelley Carroll told reporters on Monday afternoon.
“We never heard that term a couple of years ago, but it’s now a component of every event in the city so that you can come, you can feel safe, and you can have fun.”
How this money will be allocated is based on an application and assessment basis, Pat Tobin, general manager of economic development and culture, said on Monday—something, he notes, is competitive.
“We never have the resources available to fund all applications. So, in the instance the mayor is speaking to, we did an announcement two months ago of 64 festivals who received $2.65 million collectively under the Cultural Festivals Funding Program,” Tobin said, adding those who did not apply under that program can apply for the Special Events Stabilization Initiative (SESI), which reopens on June 16. Only non-profits with a record of running events in the city could be eligible, Tobin adds.
What sort of safety measures are implemented will vary depending on the festival and its size, as where the event is located could play a factor.
“Festivals prepare an emergency action plan, which is then commented upon by police. Festivals are all different, and so the nature of a hostile mitigation risk will be different for each festival,” Tobin said. “Should it be the case that police are advising that it’s an elevated risk and they need more measures, then those are the type of expenses that they can seek relief from the city through the SESI program.”
