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Josh in the Community
My Staff and I are here to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have about your neighbourhood and/or your home. We’re working every day to make our community safer while improving Midtown’s parks, main streets, and the many valued services we rely on including recreation, childcare, and waste collection. I hope to see you out in our community soon!
Josh at City Hall
On your behalf, I am advocating for a more thoughtful, creative, and responsible approach to policy issues at City Hall. I take very seriously the responsibility to make informed decisions that are based on evidence, community consultation, and the merits of arguments – rather than partisanship. I will continue representing our community at Council meetings on transit, tenant concerns, childcare, green space, and other issues that matter most to Midtown residents. Or, you can reach us by phone at 416 392-7906.
Current News Updates
City Hall and Community Update for April 26, 2016
Rail Safety Town Hall Meeting, Tomorrow! Disasters over the past [...]
Toronto Star: City takes rail worries to new transport minister
Mayor John Tory and 17 councillors urge Marc Garneau to act on slew of concerns ignored by previous government.
April 6
Jessica McDiarmid
The Toronto Star
This July 6, 2013 file photo shows smoke rising from railway cars carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac Megantic, Quebec. The disaster killed 47 people. Photo: PAUL CHIASSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Mayor John Tory and a coalition of Toronto city councillors are taking their fight to bolster rail safety in the city to the recently elected federal government.
The mayor and 17 councillors whose wards rub up against the busy CP rail line that traverses the city’s core signed a letter sent to Transport Minister Marc Garneau on Monday, urging the Liberal government to introduce further safety measures.
The municipal coalition calls for an overhaul of regulations pertaining to safety management systems, the oft-criticized procedures by which the railroad industry, to some extent, regulates itself.
The councillors want a faster phase-out of older-model tank cars used to carry dangerous goods, currently set to be off the rails by 2025. They call for slower train speeds in urban areas, consideration of alternative routes to bypass densely populated regions and tighter rules surrounding insurance to ensure complete coverage in the event of a disaster.
Global News: ‘We’re leaking money’: Toronto missing out on $26M in outstanding water bills
April 5
Peter Kim
Global News
Lars Baron / Getty Images
TORONTO — A recent auditor general’s report reveals that missing information within the water collection database and a lack of procedures for prioritizing high-value overdue accounts is partly to blame for the more than $26 million dollars yet to be collected from businesses and homes in Toronto.
“You’re absolutely right if you’re suggesting that it’s quite remarkable that so much money is in arrears to the city,” said Councillor Josh Matlow, who sits on the Audit Committee.
“It just seems like we’re not just leaking water, we’re leaking money.”
Toronto Sun: Next stop for Scarborough subway? Above ground?
Council orders staff to look at whether subway could be built above ground.
March 31, 2016
Shawn Jeffords
Toronto Sun
Mayor John Tory at press conference on the Scarborough subway Thursday January 21, 2016. (Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun)
The City of Toronto is now studying whether the Scarborough subway could be built above ground.
Amid a slew of transit planning measures approved by city council Thursday. Councillor Josh Matlow got council to agree to having city staff and Metrolinx study the feasibility of running the subway extension “at-grade” entirely or in portions.
Matlow told council he wants transit planning to be done from with all options examined by experts and costed appropriately.
“What I hear from reasonable people, who’ve not been manipulated by those who perhaps didn’t tell them the whole story, is that want us to do it in a way that is based on evidence and facts, that’s honourable and honest,” Matlow said.
Ontario Extending Funding to Paramedicine Programs for Seniors!
As Toronto's Seniors Advocate, I recently met with Ontario's Minister [...]
