Dear
Friends,
Are you aware of the new
garbage/recycling system that is currently being rolled out in Toronto? I’m sure that most
of you have already been asked what size recycling bin you want. You have to
make your selection by February 22nd or you will receive the default
small bin. Even the largest bin available, will hardly be large enough to handle
the recycling requirements of a typical frum family.
The city will not pick up any recycling that is not placed in these bins so even
our recycling will be severely limited. In the spring they are imposing even
stricter quotas on our garbage. The maximum container available will only hold
4½ bags. Keep in mind that recycling and garbage are only picked up every second
week. Will you be able to keep your garbage and recycling within these
restrictive quotas? Chances are that you are already struggling with garbage
pickup right now so complying with the new restrictions will be impossible. To
make matters worse, our community is already severely overtaxed with realty
taxes being raised twice this year. The general 3.75% increase
on top of the ridiculously high reassessment that many of us have received
add a huge burden to our already unmanageable tax burden. Now you will
also have to pay more taxes because you will have to purchase this new 4½ bag
trash can every year for around $200.
In short, you will now have to pay
around $200 extra a year and you will still have no way to get rid of much of
your garbage. This is what our city council and Mayor have done to our
city.
I am very unhappy with this
administration due to this garbage problem and many other problems. The city has
become unsafe with much crime even in our neighbourhood. Snow removal has been very slow and many of
the streets in our neighbourhood have not even been
cleared. Buying new homes has become very expensive due to the new municipal
land transfer tax imposed on us. Driving our cars will now cost $60 per car
every year.
It seems that our Mayor’s agenda for
this city will make it very expensive and difficult to raise a frum family in Toronto.
We must respectfully communicate our
concerns to the city and its administration as well as the press in order to try
to affect changes to this new legislation that will consider
the needs of large families, our needs.
Please write and/or call the mayor,
your councilor and the press so that our concerns can be brought to the
attention of the city administration.
Included below is the contact
information for the councilors in our neighbourhoods,
the mayor and some prominent newspaper writers that are municipal critics. By
forwarding our concerns en mass to all these people, maybe our voices will be
heard.
- E-mail:
mayor_miller at toronto.ca
Mail: Toronto City
Hall, 2nd Floor, 100 Queen St. West, Toronto ON M5H 2N2
Phone: 416-397-CITY (2489) Fax: 416-696-3687
- councillor_moscoe at toronto.ca
City Hall 100 Queen Street West, Suite B30
Toronto, ON M5H
2N2
Phone: 416-392-4027 Fax:
416-392-4191
City Hall 100 Queen Street West, Suite B32
Toronto, ON M5H
2N2
Phone: 416-392-4090 Fax:
416-392-4129
- councillor_stintz at toronto.ca
City Hall
100 Queen Street West,
Suite B32 Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
Phone:
416-392-4090 Fax: 416-392-4129
- Sue
Ann Levy; sue-ann.levy at tor.sunpub.com
- Lorrie Goldstien lorrie.goldstein at sunmedia.ca
Please make the effort to send them a letter email or just call them to express your concern. If we don’t get them to exempt our families, we will be forced to hire private garbage contractors at great expense. What will you do for Yom Tov when you have even more to dispose of? We must speak up
now or it will be very difficult for us to manage.
Sincerely
Concerned,
Best
Regards,
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