The union representing transit workers on the TTC is raising alarm bells about the Ford government’s plans to expand fare integration — claiming it could see Toronto residents subsidize fares in neighbouring jurisdictions.

The province announced this week it would expand its fare integration plan policy to harmonize fares across the Toronto region and, in the long-term, look to align schedules in the future.

The policy, the government indicated, was driven in part by the upcoming launch of the Hurontario LRT, which will run between Brampton and Mississauga, charging different fares to transit riders.

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 raised concerns the legislation tabled to do that will give Ontario “sweeping powers to control transit by regulation,” which governments introduce without debate.

“This is being sold to the public as fare and service integration. But that’s not what this is. This is a power grab,” the union wrote in a statement.

“It gives the Minister of Transportation total control over local service, as well as the power to set fares and spread TTC revenue across the Province, with no certainty for reliable service and ridership growth.”

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The province rejected that suggestion as inaccurate.

Part of the future plans for fare integration would see the government attempt to integrate services across municipal boundaries.

Currently, there are strict boundaries between Toronto-area cities that effectively ban transit agencies from operating in each other’s jurisdictions.

A bus heading to the Toronto subway from Mississauga, for example, cannot pick up new passengers when it enters the city, even if they’re waiting at a stop. Only a TTC bus can accept them.

The Toronto Transit Commission’s chief strategy and customer officer, Josh Colle, said at a recent Toronto Region Board of Trade that union concerns were one of the key barriers to changing that.

“The collective agreements are our barrier and one we are working through,” he explained.

“I think the positive take on that is this is only going to work if we bring everyone along, including the people who actually operate the buses, and so that’s something we’re working on.”

ATU said it was concerned about what the government might do with some of the powers in the legislation.

“It also specifically allows the government to impose fares by distance or mandate different fares for bus, LRT or subway,” the union wrote. “For the first time in over a century riders may have to pay to transfer within TTC.”

The government rejected the idea it would charge extra to transfer within Toronto.

“These are inaccurate and misguided claims,” a spokesperson told Global News.

“Our legislation introduced earlier this week further integrates transit fares, saving money for families who are travelling into Toronto from the GTHA. It does not impact service nor force unnecessary transfers as the ATU inaccurately claims.”

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The Ford government says its planned cap on ticket resales will be in force ahead of Toronto’s World Cup matches — a move one observer says will be “completely unenforceable.”

As part of its upcoming budget, the province is planning to ban people from reselling tickets to sports matches and concerts for more than their face value.

Those who break the rules face as-yet-undetermined fines.

The government said its policy is designed to come into effect when it passes through the legislature and becomes law. It will apply to all events held after it is passed, including all six Toronto World Cup matches.

The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement said it would apply to the World Cup — and would essentially retroactively ban resales of tickets to their original sale price.

For example, if someone had originally bought their World Cup ticket for $600 and then resold it for $1,200 to someone else, that person would have to resell it for $600 — potentially leaving fans who have already bought resale tickets high and dry.

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Kingsley Bailey, a veteran ticket broker and the general manager of the website Vancouverticket.com, said the policy was “completely unenforceable” and would not take effect.

“When I first heard about it I laughed. And then, listening to the boiler plate response from Ticketmaster (that) it’s going to increase prices, I laughed even more,” he told Global News.

Among the issues is the fact FIFA has set up its own resale platform, where tickets can be resold without price limits. Bailey pointed out fans in other parts of Canada could resell tickets for Toronto games on that platform without facing consequences.

A spokesperson for FIFA did not address questions from Global News about Ontario’s resale ban and instead touted its cap-free resale platform in a statement.

“The FIFA Resale Marketplace is available to Canadian, American and international residents,” part of their statement read.

Bailey said that if the Ford government is serious about applying its cap to the World Cup it would have to look at punishing FIFA for allowing unregulated resales.

“FIFA’s created a platform where the consumer can sell their ticket for whatever they want,” he said.

“Right off the bat, if Doug Ford were able to implement this legislation at the provincial level, he’s going to have to fine FIFA for charging excessive amounts for their tickets.”

The legislation is expected to be part of the budget, which will be tabled on Thursday afternoon.

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As the Ontario government cuts funding for seven supervised drug consumption sites in the province, workers at three remaining sites in Toronto that don’t rely on provincial funding say they’re worried the move will further strain their resources and lead to more overdoses and open drug use across the city.

The province said Monday it will initiate a 90-day wind-down period to give the seven defunded consumption sites time to transition to the government’s abstinence-based model — homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs.

It said the move affects two sites in Toronto, two in Ottawa and one each in Niagara, Peterborough and London, with Health Minister Sylvia Jones saying in a statement that the government is “focused on treatment, recovery and safer communities.”

Health-care workers and harm reduction advocates have said the defunding would force these sites to close, leading to more overdoses and deaths.

In Toronto, the move likely means only three supervised consumption sites – Street Health, Casey House and the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site – would remain because they’re donor-funded.

Matt Johnson, an overdose prevention site supervisor at Street Health, says they were “not surprised, but horrified” by the province’s decision.

Johnson says the closure of two sites in the city means Street Health expects to see more people coming through its doors.

“Part of the reasoning behind having sites all over the city was so that no one site would be overly impacted. But if you take a bunch away, it means that the ones that are left have to pick up the slack and they get used more,” says Johnson.

“For those of us who work with this community and know these folks, it’s terrifying because we know the absolutely horrific impact it’s to have on the people who use these services.”

In 2024, Premier Doug Ford’s government banned consumption sites within 200 metres of a school or daycare, targeting 10 sites across the province for closure by the end of March 2025. Most of those sites chose to convert to the province’s abstinence-based model and closed. The government also banned new sites from opening.

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After that move, Johnson says the number of people going to Street Health soared.

“We’ve already been feeling the impact of the closures that have already happened. Our numbers are way up, overdoses are way up. We are facing a need unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time,” Johnson says. “We’re a small site, we only have three booths. I don’t know how we’re going to address this.”

Though Street Health isn’t facing defunding after the province’s latest move, Johnson remains wary about the future of its overdose prevention site, given how the government “very clearly wants all the sites shut down.”

“On Monday, when our clients were first coming into the site, they were asking us questions about this and they were saying, ‘Is Street Health being shut down?’ And I kept saying, we are safe — for now. I can’t give anybody any assurances,” says Johnson.

“The other response I got was, ‘If they’re shutting all these places down, where do they expect us to go? And what do they expect us to do, just die?’”

Bill Sinclair, CEO of The Neighbourhood Group that runs the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site, says the two sites at Moss Park and Fred Victor that are set to be defunded are both far away from Kensington Market, so it’s unclear if their clients will travel to the remaining three sites or if it will result in more open drug use.

“I’m not sure whether people will make the trip, or in fact, they will just use unsafely, or as we’ve observed, people will start using (on public transit), people are using in public libraries,” Sinclair says.

The Kensington Market site remains open thanks to a court injunction last year following a Charter challenge. Still, it’s bracing for a jump in visitors in the fallout of the province’s latest decision, he adds.

“The smaller sites will do the best they can … this is not good health care. This is not how they should do it,” he says. “We’re grateful for our donors, but this is bigger than one or two charities can solve. We all need to get on the same page.”

Joanne Simons, CEO of Casey House, says her team was “devastated” to learn the province was defunding the seven sites. Casey House, which is also donor-funded, will likely see its resources stretched in the aftermath, she says.

“We anticipate that capacity will need to increase and our team is working on how we actually manage that,” says Simons, noting they’re currently assessing staffing needs and their hours of operation.

She’s also considering the “moral distress” the move could have on staff as they respond to increased demand, she says.

“Closing of the supervised consumption sites means that we are restricting access to a particular group of people. So how do we think about that from a human rights perspective?” she says.

Ford defended the decision to defund the provincially-supported sites earlier this week, claiming that unlike HART hubs, consumption sites “encourage” drug use.

“I don’t want to hurt these people. I want to help them. I want them to be productive,” Ford said Monday at an unrelated press conference, noting the province is investing $550 million in HART hubs.

But advocates say the defunding of consumption sites and their consequent closures will ultimately lead to more deaths. Janet Butler-McPhee, co-executive director of the HIV Legal Network, said last week that the province’s decision is a “cowardly move.”

“People will die without access to the life-saving care they receive at these sites. The sites exist within our communities and make them better and safer for everyone,” she said at a virtual press conference Friday.

Organizations including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Amnesty International have also condemned the move, calling on the Ontario government to reverse its decision.

Johnson says it’s a misconception that harm reduction advocates are opposed to treatment. Supervised consumption sites do more than just distribute safe supplies and prevent overdoses, Johnson says — they’re often a “home base” for their clients and a place to access health care without barriers.

“We all support people who want to stop or change their drug use. But those of us who work in the field understand that that is often a really long process that requires a lot of support,” says Johnson.

“What safe consumption sites do is … they make sure that people can stay alive during that process.”

The Ford government is seeking a last-minute injunction to block a demonstration relating to the conflict in the Middle East, which is set to be held in downtown Toronto on Saturday.

The annual Al-Quds Day protest is scheduled to take place outside the United States consulate. It is held on the last Friday of Ramadan and described by organizers as “a global day against imperialist and Zionist war and aggression.”

Toronto police have already moved to restrict airspace above the demonstration and planned to send specialist officers to the scene to ” help reduce tensions.”

Now, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has instructed his Attorney General, Doug Downey, to file an injunction to have the protest banned altogether.

“This demonstration is nothing more than a breeding ground for hate and antisemitism,” the premier alleged in a video. “It glorifies violence; it celebrates terrorism. It has no place in Ontario, it has no place in Canada.”

Global News contacted the organizers, but did not hear back ahead of publication.

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The caption to a recent video posted on their Instagram page, backers described the event as a day of protest around the world.

“Every year in commemoration of Al-Quds Day, people around the globe pour into the streets to stand for justice in support of Palestinians and all oppressed people,” they wrote. “It is a global day against imperialist and Zionist war and aggression – a day of solidarity and unity for Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, and beyond – uplifting the peoples’ right to liberation, sovereignty, and self-determination.”

The demonstration is currently planned to begin around noon on Saturday, and the provincial government hopes to have its injunction request heard as early as Friday evening.

“Over the past few weeks, I’ve been disgusted and appalled by the hatred and violence taking place in our country,” Ford said.

“We’ve seen synagogues and consulates shot at, we’ve seen entire communities targeted and intimidated, and just yesterday, right across the border, we’ve seen a hatred few of us can even imagine.”

3:52
Al-Quds Day observed around the world, standing in solidarity with Palestinians

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Airbnb calls it the “biggest new host incentive program ever” — $1,000 for anyone in Toronto who signs up for its platform and rents out their place around the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“Demand for World Cup stays on Airbnb is surging, giving residents of host cities the opportunity to boost their incomes by sharing their homes and the communities they love,” Airbnb’s chief business officer Dave Stephenson said.

“There’s truly never been a better time to become a host on Airbnb.”

However, in Toronto, some are concerned about the effects the policy could have on an already-expensive rental market for the residents left behind when soccer’s biggest tournament moves on.

Tom Slee, a member of the advocacy group Fairbnb and a writer, suggested the World Cup offered an opportunity for Airbnb to attract new long-term hosts.

Rather than just boosting its supply of houses for a few weeks around the tournament, it could move some rentals from long-term leases into the short-term market.

“There’s always a danger with Airbnb that it is always trying to expand its footprint in cities, it’s always trying what opportunities it can, and there’s a danger that, as it does so, that it drives housing stock out of long-term housing,” he explained.

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The timeline of the offer underscores the concern. Toronto will only host World Cup matches from June 12 to July 2; the offer rewards anyone who completes a booking before the end of July — weeks after the event is over.

“I think that’s what Airbnb is trying to do,” Slee said. “They want new people on their platform. They don’t just want them for the month of June, July. They want them on long-term.”

Global News asked Airbnb if the offer was part of an expansion plan.

“The program is designed to help host cities like Toronto meet the surge in demand for various types of accommodation during the FIFA World Cup 2026,” a spokesperson said.

“With the city expecting to welcome about 146,000 visitors, it creates a unique opportunity for residents to open their homes, earn extra income and benefit from the biggest host incentive program Airbnb has ever offered.”

For some landlords, the opportunity to make $1,000 along with short-term rental revenue could prove tempting. According to Rentals.ca, the average rent has fallen almost seven per cent in the last year. In March 2026, a one-bedroom apartment averages $2,201 per month.

Douglas Kwan, the director of advocacy and legal services at the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, said some property owners may try to free up their properties to take advantage of the offer

“I’m concerned that there’s marginalized tenants who are living in basement apartments or room houses that might be given cash for keys as those landlords look to flip them and make them Airbnbs,” he said.

“I’m also concerned that units that are exempt from rent control, those tenants living in those types of units might end up being evicted for short-term gain.”

The City of Toronto itself has a strict program governing short-term rentals. Anyone who wants to let a property on Airbnb has to register it with the city to guarantee compliance and bylaw officers try to identify properties that aren’t registered and have them banned.

It’s unclear, however, what an explosion in short-term rentals could do to that program at a time when city bylaw and other services will be stretched to their maximum hosting tens of thousands of soccer fans.

“The challenge in Toronto is that although Toronto has a strong short-term rental bylaw in place, the influx of more units coming onto the market as a result of World Cup — and also possibly the increase in illegal short- term rentals — will put an extreme level of burden on our bylaw officers, who already have a challenging time playing whack-a-mole to ensure that we have the right supply,” Kwan said.

The city’s media department repeatedly declined to make anyone available for an interview with Global News.

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Incumbent Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow would command a strong lead over her challengers if she chooses to run for re-election, a new poll shows, as John Tory’s departure reshapes October’s elections.

A new poll from Liaison Strategies found Chow had an 18-point lead over Coun. Brad Bradford, who was ahead of Premier Doug Ford’s nephew, Michael Ford.

The poll was conducted after former mayor Tory confirmed he would not run to lead the city again. Chow has not yet announced if she will run or not.

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David Valentin, principal at Liaison, said Tory’s decision had reshaped the race.

“First, the undecided number has jumped seven points, from 10 per cent to 17 per cent,” he explained, adding it had pushed up both Chow and Bradford’s overall ratings.

The topline numbers have Chow at 44 per cent, Bradford at 26 per cent and Michael Ford, who has said he is considering a run, at 16 per cent.

The poll also shows Chow’s approval rating increasing by three points, with 50 per cent of Torontonians saying the city is moving in the “right direction” under her leadership.

“So horse race aside, some of the other indicators are positive right now,” Valentin said.

The election for Toronto’s mayor and councillors will be held in October.

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will force the City of Toronto to give up its share in the island airport so he can expand its runway to allow jets to fly in and out of the downtown core.

The future of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport has been a subject of much debate since Ford began referencing internal polling his government had done about expanding the size of its runway.

As recently as Tuesday morning, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow suggested she wasn’t in favour of the idea of attracting more jets into downtown.

“I have not seen any concrete plans for an extended airport, so I don’t precisely know what the province might be doing,” she told reporters.

“As for jets, there needs to be discussion so the waterfront is balanced … I don’t support jets, but we shall see as to what is the balance in the waterfront. Jets are noisy.”

Hours later, Ford confirmed he planned to use expropriation to insert his government into the future of Billy Bishop.

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“We will be taking over the airport,” Ford confirmed on Tuesday. “We will be compensating the city for it. Not compensating just for the value but also for any lost revenue — I believe they make $5 million a year, we will compensate them for that.”

Ford said studies would still need to take place to look at the potential impact of noise on the downtown, exactly what jets would be able to use an expanded island airport and how many more passengers it would be able to handle.

“I don’t ever foresee 747s flying into the island airport, but smaller jets,” he explained. “And it’ll be convenient for travellers, especially going around Canada and possibly into the U.S.”

As it stands — before any expropriation takes place — the airport doesn’t fall directly under the premier’s jurisdiction. Instead, it is governed by a tripartite deal between the City of Toronto, Toronto Port Authority and the federal government.

The lease was extended at the end of 2024 by city council in a 17-8 vote following a motion from Chow. She put forward the proposal despite a staff report that advised against extending the agreement before more public consultation.

Ford first mentioned his plans for the airport at an event in February, where he said it was a “gold mine” that must be used more.

“I got to tell you one thing, we got to extend that runway. We have to bring jets in, smaller jets, whatever, until people can hop on there,” the premier previously said.

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After unveiling the latest renderings for Ontario Place and blasting the Metro Toronto Convention Centre as “one of the worst” in the world, Premier Doug Ford appears to be turning his efforts to the city’s downtown airport.

Speaking at an event with the Toronto Region Board of Trade on Thursday evening, Ford said he’d seen polling to support expanding the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to include a bigger runway for larger jet engines.

“They’re incredible people,” the premier said of airport leaders. “But I got to tell you one thing, we got to extend that runway. We have to bring jets in, smaller jets, whatever, until people can hop on there.”

The island airport doesn’t fall directly under the premier’s jurisdiction and is governed by a tripartite deal between the City of Toronto, PortsToronto and the federal government. It was recently extended from 2033 to 2045.

The lease was extended at the end of 2024 by city council in a 17-8 vote following a motion from Mayor Olivia Chow. She put forward the proposal despite a staff report that advised against drawing out the agreement before more public consultation.

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Ford addressed his comments to Chow on Thursday night, telling her strong public support would allow her to expand the downtown airport.

“So, mayor, we did a poll, and our poll is pretty, pretty accurate,” he said. “It is telling us that 70 per cent of the people — now this just totally flipped, especially for people living downtown and that want to get somewhere real quick.”

Billy Bishop is located on Toronto Island across the water from Bathurst Street.

It operates Air Canada and Porter Airlines flights to domestic Canadian destinations and some cities in the United States, like New York and Chicago. It competes with Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga and, to an extent, the Hamilton or Kitchener airports.

Ford said he wanted to see the airport expanded because it’s a “gold mine” to have air travel so conveniently accessible in the downtown.

“It’s a gold mine, having an airport downtown. That’s what the polls are saying. That’s what the people are saying,” Ford said.

“They want another option to get this done. So, with the mayor’s support, we’re going to put out some proposals to get things moving.”

A spokesperson for the Toronto Ports Authority declined an interview request.

“At a time when the provincial and federal governments are looking to build resiliency and a future-focused economy, now is the right time to look at how this airport can be more and do more,” they said in a statement.

“We welcome the comments made by the Premier at the Toronto Region Board of Trade Annual Dinner which speak to the need to build resiliency, prepare for the future, and unlock the tremendous economic potential of the airport.”

— with files from The Canadian Press

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A recent provincial advertising campaign to “let people know” about the redevelopment of Ontario Place cost more than $1.7 million, money one critic says the Ford government is “flushing down the drain.”

The campaign was launched at the end of August last year and ran until mid-December, promoting the government’s plans to relocate the science centre to Ontario Place, along with a privately-operated spa, music venue and new parkland.

It ran under generic language, telling those who saw the commercial to “get ready for a brand new Ontario Place.”

Now, documents obtained by the Ontario NDP reveal that the campaign cost the taxpayer $1.74 million before tax for the advertisements. The government previously declined to reveal the cost.

“This is a callous use of taxpayer dollars,” Ontario NDP MPP Chris Glover said.

“Nobody asked for a multi-billion-dollar, taxpayer-funded luxury spa project in downtown Toronto. Doug Ford knows that this is a bad deal for Ontario. Instead of choosing to do the right thing and cancel it, he is spending millions to advertise his sweetheart deal.”

Premier Doug Ford defended his government’s record spending on commercials to promote its plans, arguing that marketing its ideas and achievements was a key metric of success.

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“We have to promote Ontario,” he said, adding he wanted to push the message domestically and to an American audience as well.

“You have to advertise in business. Another thing I’ve learned in business, when things are going tough, never cut your sales force, never cut your marketing department. They’re the ones that are going to revitalize your company — or in this case, a beautiful destination.”

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho made a similar argument when he defended the campaign to Global News last year.

“I, for one, think it’s something people should get excited about — I’m super excited about it, so we just want to get the word out there,” he said at the legislature.

“Those renderings that we published that are publicly available really, I think, gave people a sense of how transformational this is going to be. The place was sinking into Lake Ontario.”

His office reiterated those comments on Thursday, promoting “the transformation of Ontario Place, with over 52 acres of free public spaces, brand new modernized amenities, green space, family areas, event spaces, playgrounds, and an urban beach.”

The $1.7-million campaign is not the first one the Ford government has run to promote Ontario Place. Some two years ago, the province budgeted $2 million to “raise awareness” about its Ontario Place vision through online, radio, television and billboard commercials that ran for eight weeks.

That campaign, internal documents previously obtained by Global News said, was “in response to some early negative sentiment toward limited aspects of the plan.”

Glover said the money spent on advertising the plan was being wasted.

“Ford needs to stop flushing more tax dollars down the drain and cancel this shady deal,” he said.

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Toronto city council members are paying tribute to former councillor and MPP Giorgio Mammoliti after learning of his death Wednesday.

Mammoliti was elected to six terms on Toronto City Council from 1998 to 2018, first representing North York Humber from 1998 to 2000, and then York West from 2000 to 2018.

He chaired the Toronto Zoo board, and was on the board of the Canadian National Exhibition Association. He also served on the board of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

Mayor Olivia Chow issued a statement recognizing Mammoliti’s years of public service.

“Giorgio Mammoliti served the public for many years, both as an MPP and as a city councillor. I extend my sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to all those mourning his loss today,” Chow said.

Mammoliti twice ran unsuccessfully for mayor — in 2010 and 2023.

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In 2025, Mammoliti was the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) candidate in the riding of Simcoe-Grey.

“Giorgio had a long and distinguished career in public service,” said PPC Leader Maxime Bernier in a statement. “What defined him was not party ideology, but his dedication to the people he represented.”

Condolences were also shared by current council members on social media.

Coun. Anthony Perruzza, who was also an NDP MPP alongside Mammoliti, said he was “saddened to learn of the sudden and tragic passing of Georgio Mammoliti.”

Perruzza added his “thoughts and prayers are with Georgio and his family during this time of loss,” and wrote, “Rest in peace, my friend.”

Other politicians have also offered their condolences, including Deputy Mayor Mike Colle.

“Tragic passing of former MPP and Toronto City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti who was fighting for his life at Sunnybrook Hospital where he had been admitted,” his post read on Facebook.

“Condolences to his family and friends and may Giorgio’s memory be an eternal blessing.”

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