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Recall Q&As from City – July 8 20

Connect with Local 79

34 St Patrick St,
Toronto, ON M5T 1V1

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416 977-9546

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Toronto has increased its emergency shelter capacity since 2019 by about 50%— but it still isn’t enough.

Since Mayor Chow took office in 2023, the City has made meaningful strides to expand shelter capacity, and the number of people housed in emergency shelter on any given night jumped from roughly 9,600 to over 12,000 in 2024 — a significant increase in a short period of time. That is real investment, and it matters to the workers delivering those services and the people depending on them.

But the crisis predates her tenure and continues to outpace what the City can do alone. Since tracking began in 2021, the number of people turned away from shelters every night has risen from around 40 to over 220 in 2024, and still remains nearly 150 a night. Now, the City faces catastrophic cuts to the Federal funds supporting refugee and asylum claimants, and Provincial funds supporting transitions from emergency to permanent housing. The City cannot shelter, feed, and house its most vulnerable residents while the province and federal government continue to download responsibility without the funding to match.

On May 22nd and 23rd, workers from across the city are coming together at the Toronto Workers Summit to change that.

Today, members of CUPE Local 79 joined the Toronto and York Region Labour Council at Larry Sefton Park to mark the National Day of Mourning — honouring workers killed, injured, or made ill on the job.

TYRLC President Andria Babbington took a moment to acknowledge our fellow member from Recreation who died at work. Her words carried our message that no worker should ever be working alone.

We carry the memory of our fellow member with us.

Since 2019, food bank usage in Toronto has grown by 340%. Last year alone, there were 4.1 million visits to Toronto food banks between April 2024 and March 2025. Today, 1 in 10 Torontonians relies on a food bank to get by.

On May 22 and 23, Toronto workers are coming together at the Toronto Workers Summit to demand better.

Last week, Local 79 members laced up and took to the court at the 5th Annual Steelworkers Basketball Classic alongside members from unions across the province.

This year’s proceeds support the Steelworkers Humanity Fund and its work sending life-saving medical supplies to Cuba through Containers 4 Cuba.

Toronto is Canada’s most unequal city.

With a Gini coefficient of 0.407, Toronto has the widest income gap of any major Canadian city measured by Statistics Canada — sitting well above the national average of 0.353, and far ahead of cities like Montréal (0.343), Halifax (0.331), and Québec City (0.293). Vancouver is the only city that comes close, at 0.385.

This is the city we work in. The city we live in. The city we keep running every single day.

On May 22nd and 23rd, workers from across the city are coming together at the Toronto Workers Summit to change that. We’ll be developing a shared vision for the city — and building an organizing plan to hold mayoral and council candidates accountable in the upcoming municipal election.

Something big is in the works.

On May 22nd and 23rd, workers from across Toronto will come together for the first ever Toronto Workers Summit — a gathering to build a shared vision for our city and demand that mayoral and council candidates commit to what workers and the communities we serve actually need.

From shelter workers to children’s services, from museum staff to public health — Toronto’s workers are organizing, and we’re just getting started.

Stay tuned.

Toronto has increased its emergency shelter capacity since 2019 by about 50%— but it still isn’t enough.

Since Mayor Chow took office in 2023, the City has made meaningful strides to expand shelter capacity, and the number of people housed in emergency shelter on any given night jumped from roughly 9,600 to over 12,000 in 2024 — a significant increase in a short period of time. That is real investment, and it matters to the workers delivering those services and the people depending on them.

But the crisis predates her tenure and continues to outpace what the City can do alone. Since tracking began in 2021, the number of people turned away from shelters every night has risen from around 40 to over 220 in 2024, and still remains nearly 150 a night. Now, the City faces catastrophic cuts to the Federal funds supporting refugee and asylum claimants, and Provincial funds supporting transitions from emergency to permanent housing. The City cannot shelter, feed, and house its most vulnerable residents while the province and federal government continue to download responsibility without the funding to match.

On May 22nd and 23rd, workers from across the city are coming together at the Toronto Workers Summit to change that.

Today, members of CUPE Local 79 joined the Toronto and York Region Labour Council at Larry Sefton Park to mark the National Day of Mourning — honouring workers killed, injured, or made ill on the job.

TYRLC President Andria Babbington took a moment to acknowledge our fellow member from Recreation who died at work. Her words carried our message that no worker should ever be working alone.

We carry the memory of our fellow member with us.

Since 2019, food bank usage in Toronto has grown by 340%. Last year alone, there were 4.1 million visits to Toronto food banks between April 2024 and March 2025. Today, 1 in 10 Torontonians relies on a food bank to get by.

On May 22 and 23, Toronto workers are coming together at the Toronto Workers Summit to demand better.

Last week, Local 79 members laced up and took to the court at the 5th Annual Steelworkers Basketball Classic alongside members from unions across the province.

This year’s proceeds support the Steelworkers Humanity Fund and its work sending life-saving medical supplies to Cuba through Containers 4 Cuba.

CUPE Local 79

Keeping Toronto at its best is what gets us up every morning. The work is worth it. And so are we.

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