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Toronto's violent crime rates are low compared to its neighbouring US cities. But crime and gang violence has been on the rise. Due to a spike in gun-related crimes/murders over the summer of 2005, largely attributed to the rise of gangs and the failure of Canadian officials to stem the rising tide, concern over gun- and gang-related crimes has received increased local media attention recently. There have been calls for increased policing, Gun Control , and stiffer sentences to help deal with the problem. Gang violence has been the main reason for the outburst of violence in Toronto, between 1997-2005 over three hundred gang related deaths have occurred. American gang experts have been brought in and increased funding for programs in troubled neighbourhoods have been recently initiated. Other organisations, including the New York City based group Guardian Angels , have come to Toronto despite the massive displeasure of city residents, city officials, and politicians. Their presence has also received more support from residents if compared to previous initiatives to establish patrols in the city. There were 52 gun related murders out of a total of 78 homicides in 2005 (this is a very close number from the previous year(s), as the total number of homicides has barely changed); thus, Toronto had a murder rate of about 3.1 per 100,000 - significantly higher than the rate in 1999 (1.3 per 100,000), but less than the peak years of the early 1990's. A recent announcement that the Provincial government will contribute half of the cost of hiring an additional 250 police officers, is viewed as a reactionary move to the increased violence. There has also been an increase in social spending, which is aimed at community projects, and getting businesses to hire "at-risk youth" to get them away from gangs. Toronto has a comparable rate of Car Theft to various U.S. cities, although this is lower than in some other Canadian cities, especially Vancouver . Much of this has been attributed to Organised Crime , with stolen vehicles ending up being shipped overseas for sale. HOMELESSNESS Toronto is also struggling to come to grips with a nagging homeless problem which has ebbed and flowed throughout the years. Toronto has a considerably larger homelessness problem than many cities of similar size. In 2003, 31,985 individuals stayed at least once in a Toronto homeless shelter. {Link without Title} . Many programs and responsibilities have recently shifted to the city from the provincial and federal governments, with many arguing that the city must come up with new ways to raise revenue to fund these new responsibilities. The issue of homeless in Toronto was front page news when in September 2002, private security evicted the residents of Tent City , a development site owned by Home Depot in the Toronto Portlands that was taken over by many homeless people in the preceding months who lived in improvised shelters. WATERFRONT See Also: Toronto waterfront For decades, the disuse of the Toronto portlands and lack of development of the Toronto waterfront (also known as the harbourfront, though not to be confused with Harbourfront Centre ), has been a major issue. Toronto's Central Business District is separated from the waterfront by an expanse of open railway and by an elevated highway, the Gardiner Expressway . Many contend that a series of condominium towers built along the waterfront in the 1990s and 2000s contribute to this separation. Parts of the formerly industrial area are now vacant and awaiting redevelopment. In 2004, investments from the Ontario government were made to encourage further development. In the area south of the Keating Channel (outflow for the Don River ), known as the "Portlands", there have been many controversial approvals and proposals in the last few years. Because this area was entirely man-made and industrial (some remains so but most is vacant land), soil remediation is necessary before it can be put to other non-industrial uses so the redevelopment process is slow. Currently, a movie studio is being built on the site of the inactive Richard L. Hearn Power Plant and the fight continues over the proposal to build a 550 mW gas fired co-generation plant on the same site. The Toronto Port Authority (''acronym'' TPA), an agency run by the federal government oversaw the construction of the newly improved Ferry Terminal that was completed with much fanfare on June 27 , 2005 . A customs facility was built in the terminal in conjunction with the Toronto-Rochester Ferry (launched in 2004 but cancelled after numerous setbacks and financial plagues in December 2005). After the recent Conservative Party election victory, the TPA announced a new ferry terminal expansion and a double-deck ferry to upgrade the service between the Bathurst Quay and the Toronto City Centre Airport at the west end of the inner harbour. The city's mayor David Miller who cancelled the bridge originally proposed between the mainland and the airport and is against its expansion, is now left with his hands tied to prevent the TPA's move. This announcement will invariably lead to increased aviation traffic at the island airport, which had been falling over the years (already a new airline, Regco has ordered planes). COMPUTER LEASING INQUIRY A dominant issue in Toronto's municipal politics in recent years has been the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry , which investigated allegations of impropriety involving computer contracts between the city and MFP Financial Services . The inquiry, headed by Madam Justice (Denise) Bellamy, lasted three years and cost over $19.2 million (CDN). The final report, handed down in September of 2005, concluded that there was credible evidence that a former City of Toronto budget chief accepted a payoff from MFP, and that senior city staff were unduly influenced by sales tactics in the guise of entertainment and favours. Most recently, following the release of the report, Mayor David Miller has requested a Criminal probe into the scandal. GARBAGE Another important issue is the city's garbage. As the city's last remaining landfill site, Keele Valley, neared capacity during the 1990s, it was found that no other municipality in Southern Ontario was willing to accept the garbage, but there was also no political support for a change to Incineration . A deal was eventually made to ship Toronto's garbage to the Adams Mine , an abandoned Open Pit Mine in Northern Ontario , once the Keele Valley site closed. But objections grew into vociferous controversy as the time neared, and eventually the agreement was cancelled. By the time the Keele Valley site closed at the end of 2002, the city had made a new deal: its garbage is now shipped by truck to a site in Michigan . Concerns with the border, and opposition from residents in Michigan promoted the need to look for alternate sites or expand the city's Recycling programs. Toronto's contract with Michigan lasts until 2008, and includes an option to expand to 2010, but the city is actively seeking options to close the contract sooner. Even the current contract could be in jeopardy following a vote in February 2006 by the Michigan House of Representatives to ban out-of-state garbage from being shipped to the state from Ontario and other U.S. states, but this requires approval by the US federal government before it can be enforced by Michigan. Even with 60% diversion through the green bin and recycling programs, residual waste from the Greater Toronto Area would amass 2,200 tonnes (2,425 tons) a day or 800,000 tonnes (882,000 tons) a year. In 2005, Toronto switched from a "blue box" ( Plastic and Metal ) and "grey Box" (paper) program to a unified recycling system. The city also introduced in 2005 a Green Bin Program to recover Compost able materials. However, the green bin program has come under criticism by watchgroups due to its cost, which is three times per tonne more to operate than currently shipping to Michigan. There has long been heavy opposition from many Torontonians to waste incineration due to the toxic emissions that result. Nevertheless this alternative is being explored and currently an incinerator is operating in Brampton in adjacent Peel Region which meets the environment ministry's emission guidelines as well as producing power to serve around 5,000 homes. Recently the Ottawa-based Plasco Energy Group has formulated a plan to process garbage, turning it into a synthetic gas. Plasco claims that by using an 8,000-degree Celsius (14,400 °F) plasma flame, 100,000 Tonne s of trash can ultimately produce 12 mega Watt s of power. Emissions are filtered with active carbon; the waste byproduct of this process is slag, which can be mixed with asphalt and used in road construction. According to a Toronto Star article (linked below), other companies offer similar technologies. Although a plan has yet to be approved, consent has been given to build a demonstration facility in Ottawa, and some Toronto city councillors have indicated their support for the program. {Link without Title} TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK Over the last couple of decades, vehicle and (in particular) highway . A recent study showed that gridlock costs the GTA's economy approximately $6 billion annually in lost revenue. Agencies such as the CAA (Canadian Automobile Association), OTA (Ontario Trucking Association), other commercial transportation interests and some citizens believe that much of the current congestion can be traced to the fact that Toronto's ultimate freeway system as proposed originally was never completed. This camp believes today's network includes huge gaps, and after cancellation of the north-south Spadina Expressway in 1971, successive "anti-car" city councils have not addressed the issue, electing instead to direct funding to transit initiatives and encourage greater pedestrian/cycling/transit usage. In March 2004, the , York Region . When completed, it will be the first extension of the TTC subway system beyond the current municipal border of Toronto 1 . GREENBELT In March 2005, the provincial government unveiled the boundaries of a Greenbelt around the Greater Toronto Area, a 7,200 square kilometre (2,780 Mi&2 ) area stretching from Niagara Falls to Peterborough . The greenbelt is designed to curb Urban Sprawl and to preserve valuable farmland surrounding the city. The decision remains controversial, as farmers and other critics say that the "development embargo" being placed on such lands forces down the value of farmland within the greenbelt, without providing compensation to its owners. Many cities have implemented growth boundaries of some kind, including Ottawa ; Portland, Oregon ; Frankfurt, Germany ; Melbourne, Australia ; Seoul, Korea and London, England ; as a method of restricting urban growth. |
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