June 8, 2025: News flashes

Flash #1: Some neighbours asked City Councillor Bravo, back in winter, to find out how much it was costing the city to work with the 13 people then living in tents at Dufferin Grove Park (and to keep any more campers from moving in). On May 20, they got the answer. According to the city's calculation, the cost is $33,000 per week, or -- calculated for the three months from Feb.1 to April 30 (i.e. three months): $426,000.
The number of campers is still between 9 and 12.

The overall homeless economy in Toronto:

In 2023, addressing the problem of homelessness in the city cost the three levels of government almost $1 billion. In 2024, it cost $800 million. My freedom of information request got the details: The cost of Homelessness help in Toronto

Flash #2: The general manager of Park and Recreation, Howie Dayton, is suddenly gone. Deputy city manager Tom Azouz is acting general manager of P&R while the city searches for a new hire:
CTV: P&R General Manager is gone
Toronto Today.ca: Toronto's top parks official leaves city hall

Feb.9, 2025: Howie Dayton, sixth from the left, at the Dufferin Rink renovation ribbon-cutting

The many ups and downs at the management level: back in February, brand new recreation director Stefany Hanson was suddenly replaced by former management services director Aydin Sarrafzadeh. Managers and supervisors are moved between positions so quickly that there's little stability, and lots of management slippage (as was highlighted here recently).

One way this problem came about: a major, very unpopular reorganization of the staff structure of Parks, Forestry, and Recreation in 2003 - 2004. read more

Special thanks to Rebecca Ott for tech assistance