Toronto resident Adam Chaleff provided documents to CP24 saying he has filed a complaint with Toronto’s Integrity Commissioner about public comments and the Tories’ vote to end the program on Lake Shore Boulevard West.
Chaleff claims Tory violated parts of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA) by debating and voting against expanding the outdoor program after the Blue Jays, owned by Rogers, publicly said ActiveTO was affecting their business.
Tory is a shareholder in Rogers Communications and has a long personal history with both the Rogers family and the telecommunications giant, where he ran two different subsidiaries in the 1990s.
“This series of events raises concerns that Mayor Tory has breached sections 5, 5.1 and 5.2 of the MCIA.  The Integrity Commissioner has a duty to conduct an investigation into the matter and use the investigative powers in Part V of the City of Toronto Act, 2006,” the documents state.
The Integrity Commissioner, Jonathan Batty, is an independent officer who oversees the conduct of elected and most appointed officials in Toronto.  The commissioner also conducts investigations into allegations of violations of the standards.
Tory says the Commissioner’s office has yet to contact Tory about the complaint and that he first heard about it through a media inquiry by the Toronto Sar.
Tory added that the issue was a broad-based debate and that he followed the rules in dealing with it.
“I follow the rules.  I think people trust me to follow the rules.  I did it, you know, in a very deliberate way when I was mayor.  And the Integrity Commissioner, I have a lot of respect for and he hasn’t contacted me about it yet,” Tory told CP24 on Wednesday morning.
“We will deal with it, as we have dealt with such things in the past, but I am sure that I follow the rules and I continue to follow the rules and I will continue to follow the rules.  I’ve been very transparent about that.”
In the summer of 2020, the city implemented ActiveTO, which closed select city streets, including Lake Shore Boulevard West, to vehicular traffic on weekends in order to give pedestrians, bicyclists, and runners space for physical distancing amid the of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some residents enjoyed the experience of the car-free road, others expressed frustration at the increase in traffic levels, particularly in recent months as more people move into the city due to improved pandemic conditions.
In June, Toris said the township received a report from city staff about the program’s effects on weekend traffic.
Tory has spoken publicly about the issue and said the program would not be scrapped entirely, but instead would strike a “balance” between easing traffic and continuing to have car-free roads at times.
“I have the traffic data.  There is no doubt that it had a greater negative impact on traffic during that period,” Tory told CP24 on June 8.  “All I can say is that we look very carefully at all these results, the data and the actual facts as opposed to the stories.”
In light of news about council considering changes to ActiveTO road closures, Toronto Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro has sent a letter to the mayor and city staff asking council not to vote to extend the program to Lake Shore Boulevard West.
“The Toronto Blue Jays are a major sports franchise that draws millions of fans to the Rogers Center each season.  Given the unprecedented levels of construction and other diversions in downtown Toronto, removing one of the only ways in and out of the downtown core would be extremely challenging for our fans, who rely on these routes to attend our games.” , Shapiro wrote in his letter.  on June 6.
On June 15, the council reviewed traffic data and city staff recommendations and voted to limit the number of ActiveTO closures on Lake Shore Boulevard West this summer.
Instead of recurring weekend closures, the closures will be “limited special events” and will be based on a variety of factors, including the number and location of scheduled street events in the city on a given weekend.
Chaleff’s complaint alleges that Tory had a conflict of interest in the matter and should not have spoken publicly about it or voted to end the program given his involvement with Rogers.
“As a member of the Rogers Control Trust Advisory Board, Mayor Tory has an indirect pecuniary interest in any matter affecting the finances, financial prospects and/or property value of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Rogers Center and should have declared that interest,” the documents state.
The mayor’s office says it will not comment further on the matter as it is before the commissioner.
“We respect the Integrity Commissioner and will have no further comment on this while the complaint is before him other than what we said at the time: This vote was about a city program that the Mayor introduced and defended throughout pandemic and this was a very broad public issue affecting all road users in the city,” said Tory Executive Communications Director Don Peat.