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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...

The St. Lawrence Branch Relocation and Expansion is set to bring a major new public library to Moss Park, with Toronto Public Library planning to open a new district branch at Queen and Parliament in 2028. As part of this relocation and expansion, TPL has purchased a heritage building at 339 Queen Street East. The new district library will replace the current St. Lawrence branch and serve residents of St. Lawrence, Corktown, and especially Moss Park, where rapid population growth has increased demand for accessible public services and shared community space. For many Moss Park residents—families, newcomers, seniors, youth, people staying in shelters, and rooming-house tenants—the library is an essential daily resource. It provides free internet and computer access, study areas, job-search support, digital literacy programs, and a safe, welcoming place to spend time. TPL says the expanded district branch will offer more space, longer hours, improved technology, expanded collections, and...

Toronto City Council’s Economic and Community Development Committee received an important update on how the City is responding to growing pressure on Toronto’s shelter system, as the housing crisis continues to worsen. Rising rents, a lack of affordable housing, and increasing homelessness have pushed shelters to their limits. For residents in the Downtown East — including Regent Park, Moss Park, and nearby neighbourhoods — access to safe shelter has become an urgent concern. City staff explained how the shelter system is adjusting to higher demand while trying to make access clearer, fairer, and based on human rights. A major focus was the new Access to Shelter Framework. This framework creates a more straightforward and consistent process for deciding who can access shelter services. The goal is to reduce confusion, improve transparency, and make sure decisions consider equity and the real-life needs of individuals and families asking for help. The committee also reviewed updates to ...

Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) has announced the outcome of a community-wide vote determining how $26.8 million in community benefits funding will be invested as part of Regent Park’s Phase 4–5 revitalization. The funding is secured through a legally binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) between TCHC and its development partner, Tridel. The agreement is designed to ensure that redevelopment in Regent Park delivers long-term social and economic benefits for residents alongside new housing and infrastructure. The CBA was shaped through an extensive community consultation process. Residents and local agencies participated in meetings, workshops, and surveys led by the Community Benefits Oversight Working Group (CBOWG), a body made up of Regent Park community members and organizations. Through this process, three potential investment packages were co-designed, each outlining different priorities for education, employment, community space, and local initiatives. In the summer of 2025...

Community leaders, legal experts, and elected officials gathered for a public panel raising a critical question: is Ontario still functioning as a healthy democracy? Hosted by NDP MPP Chris Glover and moderated by MPP Jessica Bell, the discussion brought together a diverse group of speakers, including Indigenous activists, education organizers, and academic experts. The panel focused on growing concerns that major provincial decisions are increasingly being made with limited transparency and reduced public accountability. More than 100 people attended the event, with a strong turnout from Toronto’s Downtown East communities. A public Q&A allowed residents to share lived experiences and ask how recent policy changes affect their neighbourhoods directly. Panelists pointed to decisions involving public lands, essential services, and billions in public spending that they say are moving forward with less community input and oversight. Speakers warned that concentrating decision-making p...

Toronto is advancing a major plan to improve youth employment, following a key discussion at the Economic and Community Development Committee chaired by Councillor Alejandra Bravo. With youth unemployment at 19.7%—and even higher among Indigenous, Black, newcomer, and 2SLGBTQ+ youth—the issue is especially urgent in communities like Regent Park, Moss Park, and St. James Town. During the meeting, youth residents, community advocates, and members of the Toronto Youth Cabinet delivered strong deputations outlining long-standing barriers: limited access to quality jobs, unfair wages, lack of mentorship, and unclear pathways into stable careers. Their input helped shape a series of committee recommendations designed to remove systemic barriers and expand opportunities. Key proposals include calls for increased provincial funding for the Focus on Youth Program, inflation-linked investments for youth services, and new citywide employment targets through the Youth Employment Table. Councillors...