What Toronto should resolve to do in 2016

It’s no secret that Toronto is one of the best cities to live in on the planet. Recently named as the best and most livable city out of any other place in the entire world, Toronto can also add “best economy for youngsters” to its resumé. That’s an impressive feat, to say the least, and one we’re rather proud of.

That being said, we’ve now entered a New Year and it’s time for Toronto to make some resolutions that will ultimately better this wonderful city and the people who call it home.

Sports teams, get your act together. It’s unacceptable that our beloved Maple Leafs are no longer the most valuable NHL franchise anymore. This is unacceptable! If we can’t win a cup, we should at least be making money, right? They haven’t won the Stanley cup since 1967! That’s almost 50 years ago! How much fun would it be if they actually won? And what about the Toronto Blue Jays? We finally qualified for the World Series this year, after 21 years. World Series celebrations were fun back in the 1990s (for those who remember), but we’d love to see the Jays qualify for the World Series again in 2016. And how amazing would it be if the Toronto Argonauts won the Grey Cup in 2016, too? Although they, by far, have the best track record. And hey, Toronto FC, how awesome would it be if we had a contending soccer team? Toronto wants winning teams. We love our sports. Let’s put the pressure on and make 2016 Toronto’s year!
Support the arts. One thing that is beyond frustrating is the endless number of talented artists in Toronto that don’t get the support they need from the city. We need more programs, grants, opportunities and funding to support the community. Whether its visual arts, music, theatre or dance, an engaged and creative city is a wonderful thing. There needs to be a push for supporting public art and accessible art. Art shouldn’t be relegated to confined spaces that are only accessible with the purchase of an admission ticket, nor should it be relegated to artists and art students. Let’s have more public art, more installations, more nights like Scotiabank’s Nuit Blanche, more government funding for music, theatre, and dance, more free programs for children and adults. Let’s make Toronto an arts engaged city filled with creativity and self-expression.
Lower the price of transit, don’t raise it. The TTC will be hiking up their public transit fares by 25 cents starting January 1. While it might not sound like a lot, this really hits the pocketbook for those of us who use it every single day to get to work, school, or just to get around. Toronto needs to resolve to step up to the plate and subsidize its transit systems better in 2016 so that more people can actually afford to use public transit.
Make it easier to get around on foot. How we work on making Yonge Street more pedestrian friendly? This downtown area is ripe with pedestrian traffic, but unfortunately, it’s even more congested with vehicles. While there are plans underway to make this resolution a reality, Toronto needs to make this viable sooner rather than later.
Get boarded-up storefronts back into commission. Let’s get those gigantic retail dead zones filled-in (where Target stores once stood) with shops we could actually use, like the Nations supermarket slated to take over one location in the very near future.
Support refugees. As Canadians we live incredibly privileged lives. We are a wealthy country with free education, healthcare, and an abundance of natural resources. We are known as polite and caring across the globe. Let’s resolve to help make the refugees of Syria and the new immigrants from around the world feel welcome. Let’s help them make new lives here and encourage them to become successful and happy citizens of Canada. Let’s give them a warm Toronto welcome!
The most important resolution is to never elect another Rob Ford-type. How embarrassing was that?