Toronto ACORN makes noise at City Budget hearings
Posted January 20, 2026
Toronto, Ontario — On January 20th, ACORN members descended upon Toronto City Hall to speak to the Budget Subcommittee as it hears from everyday Torontonians in preparation for the 2026 City Budget. Toronto ACORN adopted a budget platform in October 2024 that supports low income communities, and at these budget hearings, members went up to bat for our demands for a better city.
Marcia Stone, chair of Weston ACORN, went up first, speaking to the need to give the RentSafeTO Apartment Building Standards program teeth. In recent years, ACORN’s won a vastly expanded team of bylaw enforcement officers to enforce property standards in rental apartments. But as Marcia told the subcommittee, all the money in the world won’t help if the program doesn’t have teeth! She spoke of the need for less landlord education and more enforcement to address tenant complaints.
“Do big corporate landlords need a gentle reminder to turn the heat on? Does it slip the mind of REIT shareholders to do proper pest control? No. These are obligations that landlords are well aware of.” – Marcia Stone
Next, Stacey Semple, chair of Downtown Toronto ACORN, addressed extreme heat, thanking the Mayor for the proposed expansion to the free AC program. She spoke of the need to continue developing this program, alongside other heat interventions like free TTC rides during heat waves, robust Toronto Public Health reporting on heat-related illnesses and deaths, and most importantly, the draft maximum temperature bylaw that’s expected back at City Council in May 2026.
East York ACORN co-chair Christena Abbott spoke on protecting and expanding affordable housing, including raising the Vacant Homes Tax to 5%, applying it to vacant rental units, and using that money to fund the City’s Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) fund to enable non-profits and land trusts to take housing off the speculative market. She also spoke on the need for municipal housing projects to be built with seniors in mind, as too often, our senior citizens are being left behind.
Finally, Downtown Toronto ACORN member Firdaus Bilimoria closed off ACORN’s deputations, stressing the need for a tenant-centred approach to the RentSafeTO program, and providing accountability channels for tenants when they feel that the City hasn’t handled their complaints properly.
Want to join the fight for a Toronto that supports low income and working class people? Contact Toronto ACORN at (416) 461-9233 or [email protected] to learn how to get involved!