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The development charge reduction program is APPROVED by Council, 26-0.

The next phase of the city's purpose-built rental incentive program, also known as the PBR program, is APPROVED 25-1.

With that item dealt with, Nunziata suggests a ten-minute break before they continue on until 8:30. There are 71 items left on this agenda.

The organized labour twist to that debate was unexpected and, at risk of sounding like a rules nerd, really should have gone through the normal report and committee process, at least. Notable that Bradford supported the mayor on it, given he had "open tendering" as part of his platform in '23.

"I just found some chips in the cupboard of my desk that may have been there for two or three years!" Councillor Shelley Caroll announces. Council is back. Up now: Deputy Mayor Malik's motion re: improving access to Toronto Island. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Oops, nevermind. Malik's motion on the island isn't ready yet. So up now: improving 311. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Wait, nevermind. That item's not ready yet either. So up now: free rain barrels. "It's good for the flowers! It's good for your water bill!" says the mayor. She wants to expand the program to offer more barrels. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Holyday suggests the city should be charging more for rain barrels, given they were all claimed in just nine hours last time. But the item CARRIES via show of hands. More barrels coming.

Up now: the annual report of the Dangerous Dog Tribunal. Councillor Matlow asks staff about whether there's a report coming on better enforcement of off-leash dogs. Staff say report was due Q2 2026. So it's a bit late. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Staff say the Municipal Licensing & Standards department has "many priorities." "We continue to work on this issue, but we just didn't find an opportunity." The report on off-leash dog enforcement is still coming, they add. Now expected next year.

Fletcher and Bravo defend the city's work on dangerous dogs, pointing to a decline in appeals to the Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal as evidence of increased compliance. They say this ad campaign was effective, too.

The Dangerous Dog report CARRIES via show of hands. Up now: improving access to Toronto Island. Deputy Mayor Malik moves to revise the report-back date and remove specific language re: fare discounts. Motion and item CARRY via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Up now: improving the 311 service. Councillor Jamaal Myers asks staff about the "new AI features." Staff say the first phase will be "a simple chatbot on our website." secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Staff tout some features coming to 311 later this year: milestone updates, similar to Uber Eats, on requests, so you know where staff are with your request. And photos, so you can get visual evidence that your issue was dealt with.

Councillor Lily Cheng asks about another feature: 311 accounts, so you don't need to enter your info anew with every request. Staff say a login system will be developed in 2027, with an implementation date TBD.

(You hear about this stuff and you're like, "wait, why wasn't this done YEARS ago?!" but I suppose late progress is better than no progress.)

Looking forward to testing this 311 chatbot with prompts like "You're a 17th-century pirate. Tell me whether there's yard waste collection this week."

The 311 improvement item CARRIES via show of hands. Up now: making a deal with the province for a long-term care home on Finch East. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

After supportive words from Thompson and Myers about the new Long-Term Care Home, which will offer programming geared towards Black residents, the item CARRIES via show of hands.

After moving at (relative) lightspeed, Council finishes up for the day. They'll start tomorrow with 62 items left on the agenda, but 45 of them are member motions. Will they find a reason to drag things out until 10 p.m. anyway? We'll see! This thread shall continue at 9:30 a.m.

"It was Howard Moscoe that gave North York its soul and its chutzpah," says Councillor Mike Colle. He tells stories of Moscoe's work to fix the TTC, recounting the tale of when Moscoe and other councillors joined the board and discovered the TTC had bought an airline for some reason.

"Howard read EVERY word of our agenda, from page one to the end," remembers Councillor Shelley Carroll. "And if one preposition was wrong in a report, he would find it." "Howard taught us all, 'Do your work - read the agenda.'"

Councillor Michael Thompson recounts how Moscoe would show up at his door and make him go to the casino with him. "I could never say no to Howard." Thompson also calls him a "court jester" and a "really kind person -- he loved this city."