Councillor Bravo's response

From: Councillor Bravo <Councillor_Bravo@toronto.ca> Date: Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM Subject: [DGF] April Community Meeting Update To: dufferingrovefriends@googlegroups.com <dufferingrovefriends@googlegroups.com> Cc: Erella <wow@erella.com>

Hello Dufferin Grove Friends,

The challenges at Dufferin Grove Park are top of mind for my office and we are regularly bringing the concerns of community members, including messages from this group, to City Divisions. I am confident we can find a way forward with a mediated process of conversations, to which I committed.

I’m pleased to let you know that we have found a date to host the Community Meeting that I confirmed in my previous update. The meeting will be held shortly after the federal election and April holidays. Please hold the evening of April 30 for a meeting facilitated by a community mediator about ideas and opportunities for the Park, including Recreation programming and operations. I will ensure every park community member is welcome to participate. Please RSVP if you would like to attend so we can confirm the size of the meeting space required at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSddyCbP4JOdyWESQxDJ9zEX89MAa6wbxQPAOwb6qoi4sshJlw/viewform?usp=dialog

Additional details about time and exact location will follow, though the intention is for the meeting to take place on-site or near Dufferin Grove Park. The meeting invitation will also be posted on my website and in our e-newsletter.

I also wanted to share that staff from the City’s Encampment Office were on-site at the park yesterday to assist with a collaborative cleanup of debris, and efforts to address this are ongoing.

Regarding the incident from February, I want to clarify the following:

The investigation into the events and the application of existing policies and practices does not involve Councillors or their staff.

As an employer, the City of Toronto has an obligation to investigate all workplace incidents that are reported, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the City’s Human Rights and Anti-Harassment Policy. These investigations involve review of evidence, when available, and interview of individuals involved, including complainant(s), witnesses, and respondent(s). An outcome is then confidentially communicated to those involved, once the process is concluded.

To not conduct a formal investigation into a reported workplace incident would put the City in violation of its legal obligations under provincial legislation. For a City Councillor to intervene in a workplace incident investigation would be a potential violation of the Code of Conduct for Members of Council, and could be grounds for a complaint to the City’s Integrity Commissioner.

City staff have confirmed to my office that the communication they provided to Ms. Mason was a request that during the process of the investigation, she refrain from entering the Dufferin Grove Clubhouse and other recreation centres, as staff often work across multiple recreation centre sites. They have confirmed that this is not a trespass order and was only for the duration of the investigation. They have also confirmed that this is consistent with what has been communicated to parties involved in other similar workplace incident investigations.

City staff have also confirmed that the only impediment to concluding their investigation is that one of the parties has refused to be interviewed for the investigation. The staff have offered to conduct an interview meeting where Ms. Mason could share her interpretation of the incident, including options for a virtual meeting, an in-person meeting at Metro Hall, and an in-person meeting at another location – all of these offers have been refused. At this stage, City staff may have to conclude the investigation without the input from all parties. Our office is not provided with any other information about the investigation process, its findings, or the next steps, and questions about this have to be directed to the City’s Parks and Recreation Division.

Regarding the involvement of Toronto Police in this matter, City of Toronto staff, including Parks and Recreation staff, and City Councillors and their offices, do not have any authority to request or order Toronto Police to issue a trespass order, or take other actions. A firewall against political interference is in place. If there is an incident that is reported to Toronto Police by any party involved, the Police alone determine their investigation and response. Anyone can make a complaint about service of the Toronto Police, and information on how to do so is available here: https://www.tps.ca/services/complaints/

My team has been in regular contact with Ms. Mason, including as recently as March 13. My team also provided an opportunity for Ms. Mason to meet with me directly regarding her concerns about operations at the Dufferin Grove, in written correspondence on February 18, including an offer to meet on February 20. Ms Mason declined the offer to meet, indicating she would prefer to wait for a response to questions she had submitted from Parks and Recreation management.

I remain committed to serving every resident of our community, and will make sure the process of dialogue toward making improvements at Dufferin Grove is fair and transparent.

Thank you,

Alejandra