Toronto's Wild Ideas for City Hall

0:00It's May 2nd. This is Canada News Today. AI-powered stories from your city. Toronto Star kicked off there if our mayor's series right before the big municipal election, asking folks how they'd fixed up the city. They rounded up 12 notable locals first, pitching wild stuff like fleets of ice cream trucks and urban wildflower meadows. Now they've dropped more gems from recognizable names, plus ideas straight from readers. Dan Riskin, the bat biologist, wants free rides on the TTC, Geotrain, and UP Express to cut traffic, plus a massive bat cave under City Hall to zap. Mosquitoes. Ayesha Jamal from Hot Docks pushes a basic income for artists, like Ireland does, so creators can focus without side hustles crushing their vibe. Blue Jays Outfielder, Davis Schneider, keeps his simple with less tax, while French Festival co-leads Rachel Kennedy and lower-produced Dream of A. Co-mayorship to boost arts budgets, three-fold, and link up city departments for better collaborations.

1:01Diane Yoon calls for community groups buying up rentals to lock in affordability and letting permanent residents vote. Architect Astra Berca wants to ditch the boring bureaucracy for a fun, creative city hall that says yes to bold ideas. The series highlights how arts and housing punch big for Toronto's economy and spirit. They're calling on everyone to send in pitches, 200 words or less, a quick selfie video, and a clean headshot. Mayora hopefuls, better jot these down, they could spark the real changes we need.