Fund to help create at least 7,500 jobs a year for ‘at-risk’ youth

George Smitherman’s plan to have business owners pay $10 million a year to subsidize jobs for “at-risk” youth played well in a Cabbagetown gym but might not be so welcome on Main Street.

The Get Youth Working Fund was among policies Smitherman released Thursday, Sept. 2, he said will create at least 7,500 jobs a year for young people when he’s mayor. Read More

George Smitherman went to the rooftops to pitch his plan to create green jobs in a new green energy manufacturing district, along with helping homeowners and businesses generate some of their own power.

“Today I am announcing a green policy that will lead toward a cluster of green companies in Toronto, that will lead to a cluster of green collar jobs,” said Smitherman, atop the York School’s Yonge Street campus, where for the past months the school has been experimenting using solar power to run their air conditioning. Read More

Candidates running to be Toronto’s mayor want to spend more on the city’s heritage but not on a Toronto Museum to showcase it.

The museum, with former mayor David Crombie’s assistance, is being planned for Old City Hall after 2016, when the building may no longer be needed for courts. Read More

Howard Moscoe is ending his 32 years in municipal politics.

The veteran councillor from Ward 15 (Eglinton Lawrence) will be informing his constituents via newsletter that he won’t be seeking re-election for the first time since the 1970s. Read More

Mayoral candidate George Smitherman says he’d cut taxes for owners of Toronto’s heritage buildings but could take a “punitive approach” against those who fail to keep them in good repair.

Hours before a debate Monday, Aug. 30, on the city’s heritage issues at St. Lawrence Hall, Smitherman stood near a partially-ruined Gould Street building dating from 1888 and said he would promote heritage shopping districts with tax cuts and “residential development guidelines” to preserve neighbourhood character. Read More

Torontonians should be able to toss out a “rogue mayor” like a rotten can of tomatoes, according to mayoralty candidate Rocco Rossi.

“When you make a can of tomatoes, you choose the best ingredients. But when you open up that can and it’s rotten – you don’t put up with it,” said Rossi, as he announced he’d support a recall system for municipal politicians that would allow voters to remove mayors and councillors from office if they felt they were doing a bad job. Read More