Longtime deputy mayor warns of steep tax increases as departing Toronto councillors say their goodbyes at city hall

Three Toronto councillors who have a combined total of 80 years of public service are attending their final city council meeting today.

Denzil Minnan-Wong, Ana Bailão, and John Filion have all decided not to seek re-election in the upcoming municipal election this fall.

Mayor John Tory, during his opening remarks, took a few moments to acknowledge them for their decades of service and commitment to this city.

He also recognized former councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam, Michael Ford, and Joe Cressy, who all left their jobs this year to pursue other opportunities. Wong-Tam and Ford both ran provincially back in June and won, while Cressy resigned to pursue a new opportunity at George Brown College.

“I tell people (being the Mayor of Toronto is) the most interesting and challenging and fulfilling job that I’ve ever had among several that I’ve ever had, and I’m sure you all feel the same way,” he told city council Tuesday morning, adding choosing to run for public office is not an easy decision and one few make.

Choosing to leave, can be equally hard, he said.

“The decision to not seek re-election can be just as difficult because I think these jobs are so fulfilling and so challenging and so interesting that they’re very hard to just give up.”

Tory said Minnan-Wong, Bailao, and Filion, despite their “difficult decision to withdraw,” are all still making “great contributions and are at the top of their game.”

He started by thanking Minnan-Wong, one of the city’s deputy mayors for the last eight years, for his almost three decades of public service.

“If you just look at that timeline by itself it’s an extraordinary commitment of one’s career and life to public service and I think that in and of itself deserves to be recognized,” said Tory, who highlighted Minnan-Wong’s ongoing efforts to fight for the interests of his North York constituents.

Tory said the Don Valley East councillor worked hard over the years to keep property taxes low, and ensure life stays affordable and government is efficient. He also acknowledged Minnan-Wong’s good work as the chair of the collective bargaining committee.

Calling Bailao both a champion for the residents of Davenport as well as a champion for housing, Tory said she was a “sight to behold” when it came to both working with other levels of government and within the city and getting things done.

He said without Bailao the progress Toronto made in recent years on the housing file wouldn’t have happened, notably securing funds to repair Toronto Community Housing and build new supportive housing.

Tory said Filion, a 40-year local politician, is someone who “spearheaded changes and initiatives that have been to the benefit of all residents of the city of Toronto.”

The mayor, who acknowledged that he and Filion have had times when they don’t always see eye to eye, said he respects the long-time Willowdale for being “relentless” and “absolutely untiring in his efforts to make sure the things he believed in and that he wanted to see achieved during his time in office.”

Tory also mentioned Wong-Tam and Ford saying that their new roles are “a good thing for us.”

“The more we can have that kind of cross-pollination of knowledge and cross-pollination of experience and understanding of the issues, I think, the better. And I know that having Kristyn Wong-Tam and Michael Ford at Queen’s Park will help us as we go forward. They’re not there to help us, but I guess in some respects they are as they’re both representing Toronto constituencies and I hope that they will be there as a positive force for us to advance the interests of the city of Toronto.”

Tory also acknowledged former Coun. Joe Cressy for his leadership as chair of the Toronto Board of Health, notably his work to help navigate the city through the COVID-19 pandemic. Tory spoke at length about Cressy’s contributions to the city during the last City Council meeting, He said the pandemic was “the most extraordinary challenge probably put before any city administration in the last 100 years.”

Cressy, who represented Spadina-Fort York since 2014, announced he would not be seeking re-election last October.

Addressing councillors Tuesday morning, Minnan-Wong said it’s been a privilege to serve the people of North York and Toronto for 28 years, adding he hopes Toronto City Council would continue to be an “arena of ideas,” a place where everyone works together respectfully to find “different ways of solving problems in the city.”

Alluding to challenging times ahead, the deputy mayor urged councillors to take home owners into consideration homeowners when they make decisions.

“Next year is going to be a really tough one for this council. I’ll talk about the tax rate, (which) is probably, if we go rate of inflation, going to be five, six per cent (annually),” he said, adding revenues for the Municipal Land Transfer Tax will also be down.

“That’s something the residents of this city haven’t seen in a long, long time.”

Minnan-Wong said the “real challenge” for councillors will be the “pressure to do a lot of things” with less.

He said he expects the residents of his and all suburban wards will be hardest hit.

“We’re going to have to make some tough decisions next term on rooming houses. I’ll be watching for that. We’ve done second suites. We’re going to have to do number of units, how many units there are going to be,” Minnan-Wong said.

“There are all sorts of real challenges and what I hope that this council takes into mind, into consideration is not just tenants but homeowners.”

In an emotional farewell message, Bailao said some days her 12-year tenure as councillor felt like it was 100 years long. Other days, the Davenport councillor said it was as if it was “just yesterday” that she first walked into city council chambers.

Bailao, who has served as deputy mayor for Toronto and East York since 2017, said her work as chair of the city’s affordable housing committee was possible because she had the backing of a mayor who “believed in it.” That support was key, Bailao said, as she devoted “so much political capital” to the file.

“There’s nothing more fundamental for the success of an individual – and therefore the success of communities – than for somebody to know where they’re going to sleep at night or to make sure that they’re not going to spend all of their money for their rent, that they’re going to have money to educate their kids, to take care of their health and so on,” said Bailao, who came to Canada from Portugal when she was 15 years old and said she always felt Toronto was a place of opportunity.

Despite leaving city hall, Bailao is vowing to continue working to open doors for others.

Experiencing feelings of deja vu, Filion, who resigned then successfully ran for another term in 2018, promised Toronto council that he “really (is) leaving for real” this time.

Thanking everyone for their help and support over the years, Filion said as a local politician his intent was to “make change without anybody noticing you’re doing it.”