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Residents, youth, and community leaders gathered at the Regent Park Centre for Excellence on February 7 for the Black Excellence Panel, hosted by Chris Moise as part of Black History Month programming in Ward 13, Toronto Centre. The event brought together senior leaders from across Toronto’s public and non-profit sectors to reflect on leadership, representation, and opportunity — themes that remain central to Black History Month and to communities navigating systemic inequities. Moderated by Deputy City Manager Denise Campbell, the panel featured Nadia Gouveia, Chief Operating Officer at Toronto Community Housing Corporation; Dr. Na-Koshi Lamptey, Medical Officer of Health at Toronto Public Health; and Nigel Barriffe, President of Urban Alliance on Race Relations and Vice President of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto. Panelists shared personal journeys of advancement into senior leadership roles, speaking candidly about challenges, mentorship, and the responsibility of creating pathw...

On February 24, 2026, residents gathered to celebrate Black History Month through one of humanity’s oldest and most powerful cultural traditions: storytelling. Hosted by Radio Regent's own Murphy Brown, the evening featured Anansi folktales. Brown, a journalist, radio host, storyteller, and activist, framed the stories not as simple entertainment but as living history. Drawing on her African-centred upbringing in South America, she describes storytelling as a lineage shaped by elders and ancestral knowledge. Her work carries forward the role of elders as knowledge-keepers and culture-bearers, ensuring that cultural memory remains active within community life. 

As Regent Park continues to be reshaped through large-scale redevelopment, conversations about strengthening the neighbourhood’s social infrastructure remain central to residents and stakeholders. On January 29, 2026, the Planning Committee of the Regent Park Social Development Plan (SDP) met to address funding advocacy, governance processes, and community culture policies shaping the network’s future. The meeting opened with a brief overview of the history and purpose of the Social Development Plan, presented by facilitator Walied Khogali Ali. Members were reminded that City Council approved $2.5 million in funding beginning in 2019 — allocated at $500,000 annually — to support social development initiatives aligned with community priorities. Participants were encouraged to review previous Regent Park TV coverage documenting SDP activities and milestones. During discussions, members received updates regarding the anticipated $26.8 million in community benefits connected to ongoing red...

The Planning Committee of the Regent Park Social Development Plan (SDP) met on January 22, 2026, to address funding concerns and internal governance matters as the neighbourhood continues to undergo large-scale physical redevelopment. The meeting opened with a discussion of an email from City of Toronto staff member Zenia Wadhwani, sent in response to questions raised by Planning Committee member Walied Khogali Ali during a recent City Town Hall meeting on the 2026 municipal budget. The email indicated that the City’s proposed 2026 budget does not include funding for Regent Park SDP projects, marking a significant shift from previous years when $500,000 was allocated annually to SDP initiatives over a five-year period. Committee members reflected on what the absence of City funding could mean for Regent Park residents, particularly as many families continue to face affordability pressures and increased demand for social supports. Members emphasized that while physical redevelopment con...

Toronto’s 2026 budget process formally began on January 8, when the City’s Budget Committee met at City Hall to launch the 2026 Operating Budget and the 2026–2035 Capital Budget and Plan. Chaired by Councillor Shelley Carroll, the meeting marked the first step in determining how public funds will be allocated across municipal services, infrastructure projects, and community supports over the coming year and beyond. For neighbourhoods like Regent Park—where residents rely heavily on publicly funded housing, transit, recreation, and social services—the budget process plays a critical role in shaping everyday life. The committee’s first agenda item was a presentation from City staff, including the City Manager and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. The presentation outlined the City’s overall financial outlook for 2026, key budget pressures facing municipal services, and long-term capital planning extending through 2035. City officials also highlighted the balance the City must st...

St. James Town is one of Toronto’s most densely populated neighbourhoods, shaped by migration, resilience, and decades of grassroots organizing. It is also home to Murphy Browne, an educator, broadcaster, and community advocate whose voice has helped document stories often missing from mainstream narratives. RPTV sat down with Browne at the Wellesley Community Centre for a wide-ranging conversation about her work, her journey, and the role of community media in preserving Black history and lived experience. For years, Browne has used storytelling as a civic tool—connecting past and present through radio, music, and local journalism. As the host of Word of Mouth on Radio Regent, Browne curates conversations that blend history, culture, and social commentary. Her approach centres voices that are frequently overlooked, using music and storytelling to create space for reflection, education, and dialogue. She has also brought this perspective to television as a co-host of Regent Park TV’s w...

The future of a key stretch of Parliament Street remains unresolved after Toronto and East York Community Council deferred a decision on a proposed development at 509 Parliament Street. On January 13, council considered an application to amend the Zoning By-law to allow a 10-storey, 60-unit mixed-use building on the site of the former Carlton Theatre. The proposal includes ground-floor retail, partial retention of the heritage façade, stepbacks above the first storey, and improvements to the rear laneway. City planning staff noted the site’s mixed-use designation supports mid-rise development and said the design aligns with updated provincial and city planning policies. During the meeting, questions focused on how the project would function at street level. Councillors and speakers raised concerns about pedestrian safety, sidewalk width, and the staging of waste and recycling bins on a narrow section of Parliament Street. Transportation and planning staff acknowledged that details arou...

In December, residents of Regent Park and surrounding neighbourhoods gathered at 349 Ontario Street, the Central Neighbourhood House to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action to Stop Violence Against Women. The event, Her Memory: Human Trafficking and Digital Awareness, focused on education, prevention, and community healing while honouring women and girls impacted by gender-based violence. Organized by The Neighbourhood Group (TNG) and METRAC Action on Violence, with support from local and citywide partners, the gathering brought together community members, frontline workers, youth, elders, and service providers. The event created a space to examine how gender-based violence and human trafficking affect neighbourhoods like Regent Park, where residents continue to navigate redevelopment, migration, economic pressures, and systemic inequities. Discussions throughout the evening emphasized that vulnerability is often shaped by structural conditions rather than individual choices...

The Planning Committee of the Regent Park Social Development Plan held its final meeting of 2025 in December, concluding a year focused on strengthening community-led social infrastructure alongside the ongoing physical redevelopment of Regent Park. A central item on the agenda was the urgent need to secure sustainable funding for the Regent Park Social Development Plan as it moves into 2026. Committee members emphasized that social development funding is critical to revitalizing the community’s people, services, and governance structures—complementing the large-scale housing and infrastructure changes that have reshaped the neighbourhood over the past decade. Without stable funding, the long-term social gains achieved through the SDP risk being undermined. The discussion referenced demonstrated outcomes associated with the Regent Park Social Development Plan, including findings outlined in the Federation of South Toronto Residents Associations White Paper. These outcomes include zer...