Dear Neighbour,
Yesterday, Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner saw the merit in Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stile’s formal complaint about the Skills Development Fund (SDF) and agreed to open an investigation. This is good news! Ford’s SDF scandal is on a path similar to Ford’s Greenbelt giveaway: escalating audits around a fall-guy Ford clings to. I hope the RCMP provides us with the update we deserve soon on that investigation.
The Greenbelt investigation, as you may recall, was also catalyzed by a damning Auditor General report (that the Ontario NDP helped launch by documenting the proof of corruption). The SDF had that moment earlier this month when the Auditor General called out Ford's process as ”not fair, transparent or accountable, and there was little rationale to explain why the high-ranked applicants were not chosen.” The subsequent 2023 Integrity Commissioner review triggered a political firestorm that forced Ford to reverse his Greenbelt giveaway, led to the dismissal of a Minister, and prompted an RCMP investigation.
Marit’s letter called on the Integrity Commissioner to investigate Labour Minister David Piccini for reportedly breaching sections of the Member’s Integrity Act by running the Skills Development Fund like a piggy bank for Ford’s friends. The Integrity Commissioner is taking this seriously and will exercise its powers under section 33 of the Public Inquiries Act. This means that witnesses can be legally compelled to testify!
That said, the Skills Development Fund scandal is more complex than the Greenbelt scandal. Marit made an excellent video explanation about it here that can help anyone who feels out of the loop catch up on all its moving pieces.
Speaking of moving pieces, I share Ontario Place for All’s outrage with Ford’s proposal to have a combined outlet that will mix and discharge stormwater and raw sewage into Lake Ontario by Ontario Place during heavy rains. The existing discharge around Ontario Place, which is also combined, has multiple discharge points. It’s not ideal, but at least it distributes waste, diluting risk. And let’s not forget: any sewer work is an opportunity to invest in improvements that do not mix stormwater and sewage, but Ford is going for the easiest solution to help speed up the construction of his luxury spa at Ontario Place.
So what is at stake then? The vague and unclear language in Ford’s proposal makes it possible that distributed waste outlets in the vicinity of Ontario Place could be consolidated into a single point by the West Channel’s breakwater. And Ford’s secrecy is making communities worried.
How can this lack of transparency be allowed? Ford’s Bill 5, which Ford rammed into law earlier this year, allows his government to limit public consultation, transparency, and feedback on infrastructure projects.
Our recent federal candidate, Samantha Green, when interviewed about this, put it well: "Allowing raw sewage into this part of Lake Ontario will make people sick”.
As we close this week, this will be my final newsletter for 2025. My team and I will be back in the new year. My community office is now commencing our holiday break, and we will return on January 5, 2025. Until then, I wish you all a happy Chanukah, a very merry Christmas, the warmest of holidays, and a happy New Year! This year has been full of change, and I hope you can spend time with your loved ones and recharge before the new year.
And at year's end, I do want to remind everyone that now is a great time to make a year-end donation to the Toronto Centre NDP riding association. You will receive your tax receipt early in the new year, and you will receive a 75% tax rebate on any yearly donation total under $500. Donations made during the election do not count to that rebate total either! That means you can donate $400 to support our team, I will fight Ford, and you will receive $300 back when you file your taxes in early 2026!
Yours in community service,
Kristyn Wong-Tam
MPP, Toronto Centre
| In This Newsletter |
- Justice For Soleiman Faqiri
- Can the Ford government handle basic paperwork?
- Pre-Budget consultations
- What’s Making Headlines
- Local Community Events
|
Justice for Soleiman Faqiri |
This past Monday, December 16, marked 9 years since the homicide of Soleiman (Soli) Faqiri in an Ontario Corrections facility in 2016. Monday also marked over 2 years since Ontario’s Coroner made recommendations to prevent future prison deaths after ruling Soli’s death a homicide. Soli was experiencing a mental health crisis and was being denied access to mental health care. He was killed after a confrontation with guards, where he was taken into a room that had no security cameras and sustained over 50 injuries while being restrained, face down.
Since Soli’s death, Ford has refused to speak to the Faqiri family. On Monday, I joined Soli’s brother, Yusuf Faqiri, and Emily Coyle, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, to call on the government to work with families and workers to ensure that no one dies in custody in Ontario.
Ford was asked about why he refuses to speak with the Faqiri family late on Monday at a press conference, and added insult to injury, saying that “Stay out of jails, stop breaking the law, and you won’t have anything to worry about.” Soli was in jail because of a schizoaffective episode. Soli had no real choice about whether to follow or break the law. Schizoaffective disorders should be treated in mental health care settings. They are impossible to treat in Ontario’s broken correctional system, where people are regularly triple-bunked in facilities where workers and inmates are both unsafe.
The tragedy faced by the Faqiri family speaks to so many Ontarians because, as the saying goes, ‘there but for the grace of God go I’. Everyone in Ontario has either experienced a mental health crisis or knows a family member or friend who has been in crisis. To think that a beloved friend, member of the family or oneself could be in such a vulnerable moment, only to be restrained and beaten to death face down when needing mental health care, is gut-wrenching. Our province should be — must be — better than that.
I repeated previous calls for the government to pass my bill, the Justice for Soli Act, that would force the government to implement the Coroner’s first recommendation: to recognize that correctional facilities are not suitable for people facing mental health crises. This should be simple, just like apologizing to the Faqiri family should be simple. It boggles any reasonable person’s mind — until you realize that passing my bill, or apologizing to the Faqiri family, means admitting that this government does not know what they are doing, and all of their ideas to make things better move us in the wrong direction.
| Can the Ford government handle basic paperwork? |
Today, I joined workers and MPP Alexa Gilmour to call on the Ontario government to fix the Ontario International Nominee Program (OINP).
The OINP was designed to help employers fill urgent labour shortages that our domestic workforce cannot fill today. Nominees are qualified in skilled trades that yes, Ontario should invest in training, but that take more time than the present moment is giving us during a trade war, housing crisis, and climate emergency.
While Ford and Piccini focused on turning the Skills Development Fund into a piggy bank for their friends, they completely mismanaged this program in the same Ministry. Nominees arrived with an eager employer, the skills Ontario needs — only to learn that Ford failed to get the paperwork ready for them to work legally.
Employers are frustrated, as are the potential investors Ontario absolutely needs to be courting right now to diversify our economy away from the United States. But no one is getting answers.
I have seen the incredible work ethic of OINP applicants firsthand. They might be stuck in Kafkaesque limbo, but they have not sat on their hands. They have demonstrated outside of Queen’s Park every single day, demanding that Ford do the bare minimum and process their paperwork. The paperwork that the government knew they had to fill when asking them to fill workforce gaps in Ontario.
I have gone out and spoken to OINP workers many times while the house was sitting. They have come back every day, holding posters with clearly frost-bitten hands, asking if their mistreatment is the real Ontario. After all, these workers were invited by our government to come here. These people have eager employers facing critical gaps in our workforce that Ontario literally cannot train overnight. It’s like Ford only wants to talk about standing up for Ontario when the cameras are rolling and not when his team has to do the job of actually governing.
So here we are: nominees are finding out that the Ford government is as serious as a beautiful foreign bride advertising herself on a torrenting website.
While this failure hurts OINP workers most, it makes everyone in Ontario worse off. Ontario could have more homes under construction right now as I write this. That would mean more local demand for cement, building supplies, and Canadian steel. Ontario could have new telecom infrastructure that makes companies choose to invest millions of dollars and create thousands of new jobs in Ontario. But Ford is failing to do the most basic of jobs of a competent government: processing the very forms he gave people to complete.
| Statement about the Bondi Beach terrorist attack |
The antisemitic terrorist attack that killed eleven people in Australia on Bondi Beach is an evil act of hate. My heart goes out to Jewish communities whose Chanukah gatherings will have grief and fear when they deserve to gather and light menorahs in faith, community, and joy.
Jewish Ontarians need our government to confront antisemitism with action such as making investments into education to prevent hate at the source. Hate has no place in Ontario. This hate crime might be abroad, but we put Ontarians at risk if our government fails to heed the warning and act now.
| Pre-Budget Consultations |
Pre-Budget consultations are happening across the province and we want you to raise your voice.
The Ontario NDP’s Shadow Finance Minister, MPP Jessica Bell, has attended two consultations so far. She told me she heard loud and clear that Ontario’s health-care system, especially primary care, is under real strain, low wages are pushing workers out, and this government needs to invest where people actually live and work. She also heard loud and clear that supportive housing is the most humane and cost-effective way to solve the concurrent homelessness, mental health, and addiction issues we are seeing in our communities.
You can sign up to speak in person or virtually, or submit written comments through the Legislature’s committee portal. When applying, select “2026 Pre-Budget Consultations.” You do not need to sign up for the community where you live. If the Toronto consultations are over-subscribed, you can sign up to appear virtually in another location.
Upcoming Pre-Budget Consultations:
- Brockville - January 13, 2026
- Ottawa - January 14, 2026
- Pembroke - January 15, 2026
- Kitchener - January 20, 2026
- London - January 21, 2026
- Niagara Falls - January 22, 2026
- Kapuskasing - January 27, 2026
- Thunder Bay - January 28, 2026
- Sudbury - January 29, 2026
Deadlines to request to speak or submit written comments:
- January 5, 2026 at 12PM (EST) - Brockville, Ottawa and Pembroke
- January 12, 2026 at 12PM (EST) - Kitchener, London and Niagara Falls
- January 19, 2026 at 12PM (EST) - Kapuskasing, Thunder Bay and Sudbury
- January 29, 2026 at 6PM (EST) - Final deadline for written submissions
| This Week's Headlines |
A Toronto fund for air conditioners reached just 25 people over two years
Toronto city council approves increase in land transfer tax for luxury homebuyers
City council approves plan meant to speed up Toronto LRT lines
Canada's 2030 climate target far out of reach, according to federal data
Ontario pushing ahead with controversial plan to let sewage flow next to public beach
Family continues call for mental heath reform in Ontario prisons
How a prolific Toronto chef and his partner are rewriting the story at a local restaurant
| Upcoming Community Events |
| Queen’s Park Festival Of Lights |
Bring the whole family to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario this holiday season for an unforgettable celebration of free and festive fun! Over the course of two evenings, two Saturdays, and two special weekdays in December, Festive Lights serves up a wide variety of programming that will delight Ontarians of all ages.
Enjoy hands-on crafts, seasonal activities, and live music. Meet Santa and beloved characters. Stroll through the park, surrounded by the glow of the holiday lights, and snap photos under dazzling displays both inside and outside the Legislative Building. Explore Ontario’s history while surrounded by holiday cheer and browse the Legislative Gift Shop for unique Ontario-made treasures. Feeling hungry? Festive refreshments and treats will be available for purchase throughout the event.
Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Festive Lights makes for a perfect evening with friends and colleagues, or a fun-filled day for the whole family. We look forward to welcoming you.
Event dates: December 20, 22, 23
Location: Ontario's Legislative Building, Queen's Park, Toronto (just north of the TTC Queen's Park subway station).
All visitors entering the Legislative Building must go through airport-style security screening.
Cost: Free admission. $10 per person for Pancakes with Santa.
Registration: Required for December 17, 22, and 23. Register today.
| Get Started in Canada |
PTP is thrilled to announce that a new cohort of Get Started in Canada will begin in the new year! This program supports newcomer women in setting meaningful goals, strengthening employability skills, and earning micro‑certificates to boost their career journey.
Program overview:
Dates: Jan 26 - Mar 20, 2026
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Days: Mondays to Thursdays (hybrid and virtual options)
What participants will get:
- Micro-certificates such as WHMIS, Business Writing, Customer Service, and more
- Goal-setting support and enhanced job search skills
- Increased confidence and workplace communication skills
How to apply:
Fill up the inquiry form here: Get Started in Canada - PTP
|
TDSB’s Black Student Summer Leadership Program |
The Black Student Summer Leadership Program is a paid summer internship for Black TDSB high school students. Participants gain hands-on job experience, mentorship, leadership development, and opportunities to build confidence, skills, and community connections.
Please note: This program is open only to students attending Toronto District School Board schools.
Important Dates
- Application Period: December 8, 2025 – January 9, 2026
- Interviews: February 2026
Offer of Employment: March 2026
|
TDSB Learn4Life - Registration Open! |
The TDSB Learn4Life Adult General Interest and Seniors Day programs, Winter 2025 term is now open for registration. The TDSB also has over 50 languages and African Heritage classes for elementary school aged children!
Browse Courses & Register: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/adult-learners/learn4life
| United Way’s Leading Social Justice Collective |
United Way Greater Toronto and the University of Toronto’s School of Cities are launching this year’s Leading Social Justice Collective (LSJC) - a unique, cross-sector leadership program for changemakers across the GTA. As our communities face growing inequities and complex challenges, we need leaders from all sectors – community, public, and private - to come together to reimagine and rebuild our systems.
LSJC equips participants with the mindset, tools, and networks to drive long-term, systems-level change rooted in equity and social justice.
Applications are now open until December 12, 2025: [Apply here]
| Here Hold My Grief: 2SLGBTQIA+ Family Building Stories |
Birthmark is hosting an Ontario Arts Council–supported initiative: Here, Hold My Grief, an arts-based workshop series designed for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals who have experienced grief during family building.
Workshops will take place in Toronto between January–April 2026 and offer a supportive, creative space for reflection, healing, and community connection.
For more information: [email protected]
| Rosemary Brown Racial Justice Awards - Nominations Open |
Nominations for the 2026 Rosemary Brown Racial Justice Awards are now open until January 15. If you know a changemaker in your community who deserves recognition, please consider submitting a nomination using this form.
Who Can Be Nominated:
There are four categories: Individual, Group, Women, and Youth (under 25). Any Ontario resident, or Ontario-based organization, group, or initiative may be nominated. This includes educators, writers, community workers, social and political activists, social action groups, trade unions, youth organizations, multicultural organizations, schools, coalitions, professional associations, media, and service clubs.
The award ceremony will be held in March 2026.
| Toronto Centre Leadership Awards |
Do you know a phenomenal leader in your community who deserves recognition?
Kristyn Wong-Tam will be awarding six people with a prestigious Toronto Centre Leadership Award in June 2026.
This honour recognizes individuals who have made a profound and lasting contribution to the Toronto Centre community in any field. This can include the arts, politics, community building, or healthcare.
Submit your nominee's information here, and we will go through them to make an informed decision on who to award.
