Sharp’s 5-Point Plan

for Don Valley West

Green Party MPPs are local champions. They don’t vote along party lines. They answer to you, not Mike Schreiner. That means they can identify local priorities. Sheena Sharp’s 5-Point Plan for Don Valley West will address five local issues.

Homes We Can Afford in Places We Love – by building new affordable, family-sized homes we can alleviate housing pressures for everyone. More options and sizes means that we can maintain social connections with the community.

Great Schools Where We Live – by reducing class sizes, keeping schools in good repair, and avoiding busing through good planning, we improve student outcomes and are paid back many times over through a stronger economy.

Healthcare Over Highways – by prioritizing investment in community and hospital healthcare professionals over highways that pave over green space, we ensure our own health and that of the environment.

Open the Eglinton Crosstown – by opening the LRT, we will alleviate traffic congestion. We need regular progress updates, continued support for local shopkeepers, and if necessary, legal action to ensure it’s completed and open for the community.

Revitalize the Ontario Science Centre – by repairing the roof and rejuvenating the programming and exhibits, a world-class, modern, interactive science museum returns to serve our neighbourhood and to inspire students from all of southern Ontario. 

In Don Valley West, there is housing being built, but not the right kind. We have one-bedroom condos or studio apartments, which are great for young people and older residents who want to age in place. We also have house flips and demovictions that turn smaller homes into unattainable mansions. We need more three-bedroom units, more multiplexes with entrances at ground level, and we need more dedicated rental units. The provincial government can be part of the solution by streamlining regulations, including municipal planning.

The schools in our neighbourhood have been slowly starved for too long. We will increase per-student funding by $1,500. Class sizes are too big. We will cap grades four to eight class sizes to at most 24 students and kindergarten to at most 26 students with a teacher and an ECE. Older schools have need to have basic and capital repairs done, which is more fiscally responsible than knocking them down and building new ones. We will speed up reducing the repair backlog and bring all schools into a state of good repair. Renovations needed to improve air quality and temperatures in schools, especially as our climate changes. Many kids in Don Valley West have to get on buses every day to get to school, because development planning did not take school planning into account.

It’s essential that every resident has access to a healthcare team that includes family doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, and nutritionists. Startup funding will be provided to create multidisciplinary practices in DVW. Everyone will have a primary care provider in 3-4 years. We need to ensure that we have enough healthcare professionals to meet demand, and that hospitals are equipped to handle critical care with short wait times. Doctors and nurses must also be able to find affordable housing in our community so they are more likely to stay and care for our residents long-term. Healthcare is an essential service that must be affordable and accessible for everyone.

We need the Eglinton Crosstown to open as soon as possible to alleviate traffic congestion, improve commuting times, and reduce pollution. Regular progress updates must be provided to the public, so everyone is kept in the loop about timelines and potential setbacks. Additionally, we must continue supporting local shopkeepers who have been affected by the construction. If necessary, we must take legal action to ensure the project is completed and opened for the benefit of our community.

The Ontario Science Centre should never have been closed in the first place. The roof was just an excuse, and the existing building is is in the perfect location for access and education ravine ecology. Let’s bring back the OSC better than ever by rejuvenating the exhibits, and revitalizing the curriculum to make the Science Centre a top-tier educational resource.