WHAT’S HAPPENING
Most of the 9.2km Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE) LRT line will be buried underground, except for a 1.5 km elevated segment in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood: one of Toronto’s most culturally diverse areas. This neighbourhood is also a heritage site as Toronto’s first Chinese-owned farm during the time of Canada’s Chinese Exclusion Act in 1923. The ECWE is partly federally funded, with a requirement to consult with local residents. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Mount Dennis neighbourhood there has been no consultation on where to build the 1.5m segment, and communication has been a one-way declaration rather than a collaborative process. Residents in the priority neighbourhood of Mount Dennis are facing the loss of their irreplaceable urban green spaces and urban forest.
By contrast, constituents in the neighbouring affluent Etobicoke riding were consulted in 2018, and they successfully lobbied for the ECWE to be tunneled. Why is it that this wealthy riding was provided so much notice, when Mount Dennis residents were never consulted?
OUR GREEN SPACES
To complete the 1.5 km section of the ECWE, there were viable options that would have preserved our parkland. Despite our coalition filing an injunction, the Humber River’s protections under the Greenbelt Plan, species protections under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), and the rights of local urban Indigenous communities to continue accessing these urban forests in accordance with their ancestral practices, Metrolinx forged ahead with construction of the unnecessary elevated section of the line. The 1,500 trees that were clear-cut provided habitat for Species at Risk, including both threatened and endangered species, within an irreplaceable wildlife corridor connected to the Humber River system.
Metrolinx has destroyed an urban forest corridor and community recreation space. In a neighbourhood with a significant number of lower-income families, parks are an invaluable resource, and these trees helped mitigate the urban heat island effect in our area. As global temperatures continue to rise and flooding becomes more frequent, we continue to advocate for a comprehensive restoration plan that will benefit our community. The loss of this green space has been devastating for some of Toronto’s most vulnerable families.
SUPPORT OUR LEGAL CLAIM AGAINST METROLINX AND THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
We need your support in our fight for environmental justice. We want to empower local communities to end environmental racism and protect urban forests and parkland.
Lawyers and activists in this space agree that this is a case of environmental racism given the preferential treatment to the more affluent neighbourhood of Etobicoke. We believe Metrolinx and the Ontario government have failed to meaningfully consult the BIPOC community in Mount Dennis. These experts have agreed to help us once funding has been secured.
The greatest determinant of outcomes is our postal code, and this reveals an unjust and undemocratic system at play. Evidence is now showing that access to nature strongly correlates not only to improved mental health, but reduced risk of mortality and cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Help us as we work to set a strong precedent in Canadian law against agencies targeting BIPOC and lower income/socioeconomic status neighbourhoods with less desirable aspects of public services. We all deserve access to a healthy environment, spaces to connect to nature and find refuge in the city, and to be meaningfully consulted in development planning.
Please donate today!
In Partnership with Save Eglinton Flats – a grassroots coalition fighting to protect the Humber River watershed, parks, and urban forest in Toronto’s west end.
