Dear Community Members,

We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to share new updates about the devastating spill that happened in Etobicoke and contaminated the Mimico and Humber Creeks last year.

There is a new investigative article by The Narwhal that we encourage you to read and share widely. We want to thank both The Narwhal and their amazing journalist Emma McIntosh for her thorough reporting. Don’t forget — Emma McIntosh helped expose some of Ford’s most egregious Greenbelt corruption and we are lucky that she is now working to get answers for our communities!

According to Ashley Wallis, an associate director, Environmental Defence, “The government was gaslighting the public.”

We know that many of you are hopeful for an update about the FOI documents we are waiting for since filing a request late last year. We were given a 120 day timeline to fulfill our request in March. This was problematic, but we did not have much choice if we wanted to see their documents and finally get answers. We are still waiting — but we are following up regularly with the Ministry demanding that they comply with their own timelines.

But in this email, let’s recap what happened and what the Narwhal has found out:

Last summer, a catastrophic fire at the Brenntag chemical facility in northwest Toronto resulted in a toxic sludge spill that flowed into Mimico Creek, Humber Creek, and eventually Lake Ontario. This body of water is a vital source of drinking water for 9 million people.

Despite the initial response efforts, the containment measures put in place by Ontario’s Environment Ministry failed to prevent the spill from reaching Lake Ontario. The article highlights significant concerns about the lack of transparency and the inadequacy of the response by both provincial and municipal authorities.

Rozhen Asrani, President of the Mimico Residents Association, shared her firsthand experience, stating: "It was awful … it was a very thick layer of sludge, a couple inches of just solid sludge on top of the creek." This aligns with the observations detailed in the incident report but starkly contrasts with the ministry's public communications, which downplayed the severity of the spill.

Ashley Wallis from Environmental Defence aptly pointed out the gravity of the situation: "The government was gaslighting the public." It is utterly unacceptable that our community was not adequately informed about the extent of the contamination and its potential impacts on health and safety.

We are outraged by the lack of timely and transparent information provided by the authorities. Our community deserves better. We demand immediate action and accountability to ensure that such incidents are handled with the urgency and transparency they warrant. It is imperative that the government takes robust measures to protect our waterways and public health.

We stand with our community in demanding answers and a more effective response plan for future incidents. We will continue to monitor this situation closely and advocate for the necessary changes to prevent such environmental disasters from recurring.

Thank you for your continued support and vigilance. Together, we can ensure that our community remains informed and protected. If you are inclined, we always appreciate donations to our riding association so that we are ready to take on Ford’s PCs head-on for choosing corporate criminals over our community.

In solidarity,

Gwen Santorska

President, Etobicoke–Lakeshore NDP

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Thank you once again to The Narwhal and Emma McIntosh for shedding light on this critical issue.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Facts from the Narwhal Article

• A fire broke out at Brenntag, a chemical company, in northwest Toronto, on August 11, 2023.
• The fire caused a brown sludge of oil, firefighting foam, and water to flow into city sewers and waterways.
• Contaminants reached Mimico Creek, Humber Creek, and ultimately Lake Ontario, a drinking water source for 9 million people.
• Temporary dams and booms were installed, but containment measures failed after heavy rain.
• On August 18, 2023, the spill extended one kilometre into Lake Ontario, forming a brown plume.
• Emulsified oil, which can linger for months or years, was observed in the lake.
• The Ministry of the Environment downplayed the severity of the spill publicly.
• Thousands of fish, 10 ducks, a mink, and a beaver were killed by the spill.
• Public warnings about the spill were not issued by the Ministry of the Environment, City of Toronto, or Toronto Public Health.
• Cleanup involved GFL Environmental and Toronto Water, with delays and failures in containment efforts.
• The fire cost Brenntag approximately $40.7 million, with $12 million covered by insurance.
• Brenntag completed cleanup work on December 8, 2023, with ongoing monitoring through 2025.
• Ontario’s auditor general found that the province doesn’t release enough timely information about hazardous spills.

2024 Rent Guideline Increase Set

In a classic Doug Ford move, the government announced the 2024 Rent Increase Guideline amount last Friday, just before a long weekend, when everyone is distracted.

This year’s rent increase guideline is 2.5% — Ford likes to claim that it is below the rate of inflation, but so many tenants are being hit with AGIs, renoviction, demoviction, or no longer have rent control, so their rents are rising at astronomical re. Ford is letting his wealthy insider friends continue taking when tenants who have nothing more to give.

It’s never been more expensive to rent or own a home in Ontario, and 2025 is not going to bring any relief to renters unless this government acts now.

After six years of the Ford government, life is getting much harder and less affordable for everyday Ontarians. The Conservatives' housing policies, including the scrapping of rent control for newly built homes, the lack of vacancy control between tenants, and landlord-friendly rules for Above Guideline Rent Increases mean higher housing costs for tenants.

Ford’s refusal to bring back meaningful rent control is allowing provincial rents to continue rising by three times the rent increase guidelines. He has no intention of making life more affordable for renters. We are in a housing crisis, and it’s time we had a government that acted like it.

When Marit Stiles and the Ontario NDP form government, we will implement real rent control and put an end to Ford’s housing affordability crisis.

Bonnie Crombie Bills Donors for a New Wardrobe

While Ontarians are struggling to put groceries on the table, Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie is spending thousands on a new wardrobe and makeover that she is making her campaign donors pay for.

Her expenses include:

• $3,765 at Freda’s, a boutique that offers personal shoppers by appointment.

• $766 was spent at Veronica Beard, an upscale shop where best sellers range from a $195-short-sleeve tee to a $1,598-blazer.

• $635 at Judith & Charles, a posh retailer in Yorkville.

• $858 for makeup artist A Glow By Joan.

Her choices are expensive and as out of touch as they are out of reach for people in our communities.

NDP Moves to Conduct Science Centre Hearing

This July, the Ontario NDP moved a motion at the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure, and Cultural Policy to conduct a special hearing on the handling of the Ontario Science Centre closure. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, the government blocked that request. You can watch the entire exchange here. We will continue to bring this request forward until we receive answers from the government. You deserve transparency about this critical decision. I am hopeful that we will get it soon.

Throughout this week, more and more expert opinions have poured in from architects and accountants who have read the science centre reports. Overwhelmingly, they have said that that fixing the Science Centre is more cost effective, faster, and less disruptive than building a brand new building.

Canadian Architect magazine is publishing a series of in-depth articles on the closure of the Science Centre that are more than worth reading. Two articles especially stand out.

“The true cost of repairing the Ontario Science Centre is much, much less than what Infrastructure Ontario has been saying—and the proof is in its own documents” shows that many of the costs cited are double counted, contain whole-project contingency funds that don’t account for contingency funds built into smaller parts of the project, and include cosmetic upgrades in numbers labelled as critical repair costs.

In “How to pay for repairing the Ontario Science Centre? Let’s start by using the money it’s taking to close it,” the author Elsa Lam notes that it will cost $50-100 million to close and demolish the Science Centre but only $30 million to do critical repairs. She also estimates, in consultation with a variety of experts, that the temporary science centre will cost $25-88 million and realistically won’t be open for 18-24 months, meaning that it would likely be more costly than the repairs and leave us without a Science Centre for longer.