May 1, 2026 Newsletter

Dear friend,

This week has been full of the joyful work of connecting with and uplifting communities, coupled with the serious mission of proposing solutions to crushing inequities. Often, overlapping and happening at the same time, I am always humbled that you have given me the privilege to do this important work. 

Yesterday, I hosted two press conferences at Queen’s Park: one on the crisis in Ontario’s correctional system, which has in part led to Ford’s failure to deliver on community safety, and what we can do to improve it; and the other celebrating the introduction of my bill, the Nepali Heritage Month Act. It's all in the balance. 

At my first press conference on community safety, I announced that I will introduce a new bill next week: Safety and Accountability in Ontario’s Corrections Act.

Ford’s failure to build up a functioning and effective corrections system is leading to dangerous conditions in jails and detention centres for corrections officers and people in jail. You can watch the full press conference here. 

My bill to fix the corrections system calls on the Ford government to:

• Compel the Ontario Solicitor General to present a timeline to implement the 2018 Corrections Services Transformation Act, which was passed into law but was never acted upon. 
• Strengthen whistleblower protections for corrections workers.
• Establish regular online reporting about overcrowding in Ontario correctional facilities.
• Better empower the Inspector General, a position created by the 2018 Act to investigate complaints, to compel evidence about how management and the Solicitor General ignore requests from frontline staff, and make recommendations to hold the Solicitor General and his managers accountable for the conditions in Ontario’s correctional facilities.

It is frustrating that I have to table this bill. The government should not be dragging its feet in taking action on an already passed bill from 8 years ago. They could act on the bulk of this Bill today, but refuse to do so. 

I am tabling this Bill to put pressure on the government to make this change before the 2018 bill sunsets at the 10-year mark, and to fix gaps left by the Ontario Liberals by adding substantial new protections for workers who act as whistleblowers in the correctional system.

Overcrowded and dangerous jails have led to serious charges — including murder — being thrown out in the courts. It’s bad enough that Ford accidentally releases 150 inmates. But to have people charged with human trafficking, rape, and other violent crimes walk free without a trial, no matter the evidence, due to unconstitutional delays in Ford’s broken court system is just maddening.

The Ford government can make our communities safer by passing our Bill and fixing this crumbling system.

I am so thankful to Yusuf Faqiri and Emilie Coyle for joining me and sharing their profound testimony at the press conference. Yusuf is the brother of the late Soleiman Faqiri, whose death in an Ontario jail while he was in a mental health crisis was deemed a homicide. I am so proud to work alongside him and the Faqiri family. 

At the press conference, Yusuf said, "This is not a partisan issue. It affects all of us. This bill is an opportunity for us to make a commitment to saving the lives of the most vulnerable and providing real, concrete solutions to improve safety in Ontario.”

Emilie Coyle, the co-Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, advocates tirelessly for a more humane, less traumatizing, and therefore more rehabilitative corrections system that keeps communities safer. I was so thankful to have her there to share perspectives on how to address the root causes of crime and how community-level responses are more cost-effective than overcrowded, understaffed jails, which lead to worse outcomes. We can simultaneously achieve safer communities, reduced recidivism, and lower program costs by investing in more bail beds, mental health and addiction services, poverty reduction and crime prevention programs. This is a win-win-win.

Like so many of you, I am so frustrated that this government is so blinded by their jail-happy ideology that it cannot see the more cost-effective and tested solutions right under its nose. 

I will never stop fighting to make our communities safer. One peice of that puzzle a justice and corrections system that works. I know this is a huge priority for our communities, and I’m right there with you. 

Another huge priority for our communities is celebrating cultural heritage! I was so happy yesterday to host members of the Nepali Canadian community to celebrate the introduction of my bill, the Nepali Heritage Month Act, which will declare every April Nepali Heritage Month in Ontario. You can watch our joyful press conference here. 

Nepali Canadians are an integral part of Ontario’s cultural fabric, bringing a rich spirituality, generosity, and delicious food to the places where they settle. I recently learned that the Nepali Canadian Community Services (NCCS) was founded on the ground floor of 240 Wellesley Street East, right here in St James Town. It is a gift to be part of such a diverse and welcoming community with so many traditions to learn from. 

I am grateful to the community leaders, including youth and elders, who worked with me to create this bill and support its tabling. This is just the beginning! 

Similarly, this is just the beginning of an events-packed newsletter! Read on to hear about my work fighting against the Billy Bishop Airport expansion on Toronto’s waterfront, more troubling cuts and changes to education, and Doug Ford refusing to cooperate with the RCMP’s Greenbelt grab investigation. 

But first, I want to give you all a little gift: my Toronto colouring book!

My former colleague, Toronto City Councillor Gord Perks, in a symbolic protest at City Council, called on the City Manager to create a colouring book for Doug Ford, so that when he wants to scribble all over our waterfront, he can do so in the colouring book rather than on the real thing.

Obviously, Councillor Perks, who is easily one of the most procedurally knowledgeable Councillors at Toronto City Hall, knew that his motion would be ruled out of order. But I liked his idea, took up the task, and created this colouring book for the Premier. Here is my video explaining what’s inside – click here to watch.

The colouring book is available to download here, and it is free! I hope that you and any little ones in your lives enjoy it. Please tag or send me photos of the coloured-in pages! 

Yours in community service, 

Kristyn Wong-Tam

MPP, Toronto Centre

• Dear Prime Minister Carney: Save Toronto’s Waterfront!
• Minister Fails Education 101: Don’t Attack Teachers and Kids
• Greenbelt Scandal Transparency Now!
• Congratulations to Fatima Bashan, Provincial Candidate for Scarborough Southwest
• Can’t Buy My Silence – Roundtable on NDAs
• Progress Place International Clubhouse Event and Breakfast
• Newcomer Women’s Services Toronto: OTF Recognition
• Dixon Hall Open for Business 
• Mayor’s Gala Business Excellence Awards
• What’s Making Headlines
• Local Community Events

This morning, I joined Marit Stiles and my other Official Opposition NDP colleagues at Toronto’s waterfront to call on the federal government to step in and stop Doug Ford’s waterfront takeover. 

Ford is giving himself the power to take over the Toronto Islands, Little Norway Park, and city lands along the waterfront. He is obsessed with Toronto and wasting our money on his personal vanity projects instead of investing in our public services. 

Doug Ford has claimed that the federal government endorses his latest attempt to expropriate city lands and take control of the Toronto Islands to expand the Billy Bishop Airport. This is ridiculous. We must get back to the serious work of governing. Prime Minister Carney, it’s time to stop the double-speak and step in to save Toronto’s waterfront.

This week, the Standing Committee on Social Policy held hearings on the Minister of Education’s disastrous Bill 101. 

This bill outlines a public education system that is far more tightly controlled by the government, slashing the responsibilities of School Trustees and installing new CEOs who can overrule democratically elected Trustees. It also gives the Ministry of Education far more central control over books, grades and exams, school budgets, board communications, land acquisition and buildings projects, and trustee pay and expenses. This is not what educational experts are asking for. More top-down control of our school boards serving diverse populations across the province is not the answer. 

During committee deputations where feedback on this plan was offered, Education Minister Paul Calandra attacked the educators, parents, and community members sharing their expertise. Instead of listening to people on the frontlines of our education system, he attacked the witnesses, even as he made factual errors in his own questions.

The minister went so far as to claim that people were trying to silence him, knowing full well that his government truncated debate on this bill and didn’t allow the vast majority of people who wanted to speak on it to appear before the committee. 

Minister Calandra is doubling down on his approach with this bill, which aims to silence educators, parents and students, by centralizing power in the hands of this Minister. Maybe if he spent more time listening to those on the ground who are telling him exactly what’s at stake and what is needed, he would have allies instead of enemies.

If you are fired up about these changes, I encourage you to attend my education town hall this upcoming Monday evening.

Join me, MPP Jessica Bell, MPP Alexa Gilmour, as well as parents, experts and advocates for our Education Townhall!

We all need to rally together to fight against $900 million dollars in cuts and stand up for high-quality public education in Ontario. 

Date: Monday, May 4, 2026

Time: 7:30 PM

Location: Zoom - RSVP for the link

Click here to RSVP!

This government has pulled a tactic that even kids on the playground won’t let fly: changing the rules in the middle of the game. 

After they changed the Freedom of Information laws to allow the Premier and his Cabinet to shield their own documents, they withheld hundreds of records related to the Greenbelt scandal so that they could not be used by the RCMP in its investigation. 

This is exactly what these FOI law changes rammed through by this government were designed to do. Just as hundreds of records were cleared and ready for release, this government changed the rules and slammed the door shut.

These changes don’t just block records; they are now expected to collapse ongoing court cases tied to the Greenbelt scandal, cutting off access to evidence before it ever sees the light of day.

Let’s also not forget that FOIs helped expose the Greenbelt scandal in the first place, which then triggered the ongoing RCMP investigation. Now, right as the truth is within reach, it would appear that Ford is scrambling to keep it buried. This makes me worried that the truth is even worse than we feared. 

Ontarians deserve the truth and transparency, both for this scandal and for all the backroom deals this government is sure to cut in the future. I will not let up on this issue. I hope you don’t either!

Congratulations to Fatima Bashan on her nomination as our new Ontario NDP candidate for Scarborough Southwest! She is a longtime Scarborough resident and a fierce and passionate community advocate with an extensive legal and philanthropic background. We are so lucky to have such a strong representative ready to fight for SSW at Queen’s Park!

I am energized and excited to help support this campaign to victory! Scarborough Southwest has been represented by the Ontario NDP for the past 8 years, and we look forward to continuing this representation at Queen’s Park. If you’d like to join me, visit sswndp.ca to sign up to volunteer, donate, and take a lawn sign!

Thank you to Can’t Buy My Silence for hosting a timely discussion on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence survivors of abuse, sexual violence, and discrimination. 

I am proud to have worked alongside this organization for years and learned so much from this event, which brought both legal and community perspectives into conversation about how we can reform NDA laws in Ontario and beyond.

Gatherings like this help legislators understand what needs to be done in fighting gender-based violence. I can’t wait to keep working together!

Congratulations to Progress Place Club House on their 100th Training Session! Progress Place is a recovery community built around the idea that everyone has something to contribute. They support adults 18+ living with a primary diagnosis of mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. Members work alongside staff to prepare food, help with office tasks, run education programs and greet visitors. 

With over 42 years of tireless service, this organization has fostered a community of intentional connection, supported members with crisis services, and guided them through difficult times. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do!

I would like to congratulate Newcomer Women’s Services on receiving the Ontario Trillium Capital grant!  NWS has done amazing work in supporting, empowering and advocating for newcomer women and their families. I was very impressed by the services they provide to help newcomers gain the skills they need to enter the Canadian workforce, from language instruction to support for working mothers. Their Caregiver Support Program and food security initiatives speak to the unique realities and challenges faced by newcomers. I know that they will continue to help women throughout their journey towards independence with this grant’s support.

It was my pleasure to attend and speak at Dixon Hall’s Open for Business event! Dixon Hall has been doing amazing work to turn buildings in Cabbagetown that need repairs into supportive housing. This project is doing a remarkable job of providing urgently needed housing while investing in the restoration and maintenance of our beautiful heritage buildings that bring so much vibrancy to Cabbagetown. Work like this sometimes takes time, but I am so pleased with the result. 

I will continue to work with the other orders of government and the business community to build vibrant, safe, inclusive neighbourhoods for all.

It was heartwarming to see new residents meet local small business owners and build connections. Supportive housing and local businesses are often portrayed as competing interest groups. However, in Cabbagetown, local businesses have been advocates for a holistic approach with increased housing and support for people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Through this event, Dixon Hall and Cabbagetown remind us that we are all neighbours first and that everyone is part of the community. 

I had a wonderful evening at the Mayor’s Gala Business Excellence Awards, hosted by the Scarborough Business Association. This marks the first time these awards have been held in over 20 years. I am always inspired to see community traditions return and bring people together. It was a joy to celebrate the leaders, innovators, and builders shaping Scarborough’s future alongside local representatives, ONDP Leader Marit Stiles, the new Scarborough Southwest candidate Fatime Shaban and my longtime friend, Mayor Olivia Chow. Congratulations to all awardees!

Canada in ‘early stages’ of talks on whether to privatize airports: minister

Opponents lash out at Billy Bishop runway expansion plans

Why Toronto festival organizers are opting out of Doug Ford’s ‘bring-your-own-booze’ permit

TMU makes history in naming new president 

Ontario conducting secret review of forensic mental health system amid fallout over long-term isolation. Participants asked to sign NDA

Ford government moves to include triple bunking cells in Ontario jail expansion

Ontario may ban cellphones outright in schools

Advocates urge Ontario to boost special education funding, report kids being excluded   

Council votes to help bring LGBTQ+ businesses back to Church-Wellesley Village

‘It saved my life’: Moss Park safe injection site to close in June, city asks province to back out 

Police tout progress on reform after Bruce McArthur case, but LGBTQ+ groups say distrust persists

Toronto just got a city-wide tenant union; here’s what it means for renters 

On Sunday, May 3rd, The Church of the Holy Trinity is hosting a fundraising concert by the acclaimed concert pianist, Bill Aide. Proceeds from this event will go to support the Refugee Committee- private sponsorship supporting refugees fleeing persecution and violence, while providing financial and moral support as they integrate and make positive contributions both economically and socially. 

This is a free event with a suggested donation of $20 per person. Proceeds will go to Holy Trinity’s Refugee Committee. 

Date: Sunday, May 3, 2026

Time: 1:30 PM

Location: The Church of the Holy Trinity

The iconic Forsythia Festival is around the corner! And they need people like you to volunteer! If you are interested in volunteering, email Katie at [email protected]. 

The Forsythia Festival has been held annually on the 1st Sunday of May at Wellesley Park for over 50 years! It’s free for all to attend, and people come from all over the city to join in the fun.

This year, the festival will be held on Sunday, May 3, 2026. 

There’s fun for all the family, including a parade, food and drinks from local retailers and pubs. Plus lots of activities for kids of all ages!

Inspirations Studio invites you to their Spring Market pottery sale!

Dates and Times:

Friday, May 8, 4-7 PM

Saturday, May 9, 12-4 PM

Sunday, May 10, 12-4 PM

Location: YWCA’s Toronto Inspirations Studio – 389 Church Street

Meet the makers, find beautiful gifts that give twice, and enjoy lollipops and lemonade. Come celebrate Mother’s Day at Inspirations Studio.

Inspirations Studio is a unique, low-barrier ceramics program for women and gender diverse people who have experienced marginalization.

YouthWorx is seeking enthusiastic individuals aged 14-18 to join their summer team! This is a fantastic opportunity to engage in community cleanups, light repairs, painting, and beautification projects.

If you have any questions, email [email protected], visit the TCHC website, or call 437-228-3947.

Save the date for Riverdale Farm's Spring Celebration!

Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026

Time: 10 AM - 3 PM

Location: Riverdale Farm, 201 Winchester Street

There will be sheep shearing, carding, spinning, and weaving demonstrations, as well as crafts, a playroom, and refreshments. 

The event is from 10 AM - 3 PM, but the farm will be open from 9 AM to 5 PM.

The Toronto District School Board’s Summer International Languages Elementary & African Heritage Programs are open for registration!

Languages include Amharic, Somali, Cantonese, simplified and traditional Mandarin, Ukrainian, Spanish, Arabic, Tamil, and more!

Click here for more information and to sign up.

Applications are now open for the RISE Program by Apathy is Boring.

This is a 15-week program where young people (ages 18–30) work in a small cohort to co-create and launch a community project, with strong support along the way. Whether you’re new to civic engagement or already involved, this is a great entry point for building skills and bringing your ideas to life.

What does the RISE program do?

RISE supports participants by guiding them through a 15-week program that provides access to training, skill-building workshops, mentorship/networking opportunities, and a $ 4,000 budget! We encourage all youth to apply, especially those who are new to civic engagement. It is a great opportunity to gain transferable skills and serves as an entry point to further civic and community engagement.

Here’s a rundown of what participants can expect in the program:

• Weekly (evening) in-person meetings (located at CSI-Spadina), facilitated by the RISE Program coordinator.
• Free dinners at every weekly meeting
• All expenses paid national conference August 7th-9th, where they get to meet other passionate youth across Canada (Location TBD)
• A $4000 budget to make their project a reality
• Skill-building and networking opportunities
• 1:1 support and mentorship from the RISE Program coordinator

The upcoming RISE cohort runs from July 6 to October 12, 2026. Applications are currently open until this Sunday, May 24th. Click here for the application form.

They also have a referral program! If you have someone in mind that you think should apply, refer them, and you will receive a gift card from Apathy is Boring if they become one of the summer 2026 RISE ambassadors. Refer someone here.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to this email:

[email protected]

There will also be an information session happening on May 2, 2026, from 7-8 PM EST (youth can sign up here!).

Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Toronto provides mentorship and positive relationships for young people in our communities. In addition to brothers and sisters, they are recruiting Big Siblings to mentor 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, Big Couples (couples over 25 years old in stable relationships), and Big Gs (retirees aged 55+). There are so many ways to get involved! 

450 children and youth in Toronto are waiting to be matched with a mentor! Sign up today!

Learn about their programs and sign up here.

Are you looking to honour human rights heroes in your community?

Nominations are now open for the 2026 Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards, presented by the Ontario Human Rights Commission during its 65th anniversary year.

The Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards commemorate the legacy of human rights trailblazers by honouring them in the name of the organization’s first Black Director and Black Chairperson.

The awards are an opportunity for the OHRC to share, recognize, and celebrate achievements that advance and foster human rights in Ontario.

In 2026, the OHRC will present the Daniel G. Hill Awards in three categories:

• Young Leaders: to be awarded to a person under age 30 (as of December 31, 2025) for their outstanding contribution to advancing human rights in Ontario.
• Distinguished Service: to be awarded to an individual for outstanding contribution to advancing human rights in Ontario.
• Lifetime Achievement: to be awarded to an individual for significant contributions over their lifetime to advance human rights in Ontario.

If you or someone you know is doing great work to support human rights, please consider a nomination. Nominations are open until May 29, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. EST. Find out more here.