WARMINGTON: Feds urged to share funding with Taste of the Danforth
· Toronto Sun
If we are being honest, let’s just admit that the Taste of the Danforth is being kicked to the curb thanks to the $380 million of taxpayers’ money it cost to host six World Cup soccer games in Toronto this summer.
And that the popular festival is also being priced out as a result of the deadly gunfight that left two slain and five wounded on July 11 at the Salsa on St. Clair festival.
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The goal posts of putting on community events have been moved and the federal government has so far done nothing to assist. While there seems to be loads of taxpayer handouts for FIFA, Gaza, Ukraine, and food and beverage on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s jet, the federals Liberals are not quite as generous with your money to help support the Taste of the Danforth.
And the violent crime they helped create with their weak immigration policies that let in criminal elements, plus their soft on bail and sentencing, is as big a problem as their lack of funding and lack of interest in community events.
Letter sent to PM Carney
The well-funded-by-taxpayers FIFA World Cup and the reality of Toronto’s armed and dangerous gangster world have left a bad taste in the mouths of those organizing this weekend’s famous Greektown festival. So much so, that a group of former politicians of all stripes as well as community leaders from across party lines have written Carney to express their displeasure about the lack of federal funding for the event.
“Dear Prime Minister: We are writing to you in our capacity as Torontonians who care deeply about the city and to also express our profound disappointment with the federal government’s decision to not provide financial support for the Taste of the Danforth, which is set to return this coming Friday,” starts a letter signed by former MPP Arthur Potts, former Toronto councillor Mike Layton, former MPs David Collenette, Julian Fantino, and Dennis Mills, former mayoral candidate and area resident Anthony Furey, community advocate Justin “Shaker” Van Dette, and many others.
The letter cites that while “this year’s Taste of the Danforth will mark the second event since 2019” and the Aug 7-9 fest has received funding commitments from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and area Councillor Paula Fletcher, the signers are “disheartened that the federal government has not provided support to the Taste of the Danforth” and that “only a couple of exploratory conversations and meetings have taken place.”
Time is running out. And costs are going up.
Security costs up in wake of St. Clair shooting
This is especially relevant following this summer’s disastrous and murderous Salsa event which not only left bullet holes and blood on the St. Clair sidewalk as a legacy, but also a new reality of security costs which Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw referenced after the shooting that lessons learned from putting on the FIFA events could be utilized as security measures for community and street events such as Taste of the Danforth.
However, more paid-duty police officers, fencing, security perimeters, and secured in and out entrances and exits don’t come cheap.
Organizers tell me that while they have a good security plan in place for this weekend, the cost of achieving this is skyrocketing to a point that makes it problematic and even unrealistic to hold such events without an influx of federal tax money that some parades and festivals get and many programs around the world receive.
“The recent number of safety incidents in our city have created unplanned operational costs, making additional funding necessary to secure the venue and protect attendees,” reads the letter.
FIFA event absorbed the funding
“Toronto’s FIFA World Cup events secured historic funding from municipal, provincial and federal partners. In contrast, the Taste of the Danforth – a beloved, long-time local tradition — failed to achieve that same cross-government support, securing backing from only our provincial and municipal governments” while “the federal government is painfully absent from this group.”
In addition to the cost of extra security and police comes the reality that “local corporate funding was heavily impacted by the FIFA World Cup, leaving this community festival with severe budget pressure” since the “private sector sponsors redirected their budgets exclusively toward soccer event initiatives, creating an immediate funding vacuum for Taste of the Danforth.”
It seems the hangover from the FIFA fiesta is over and it’s now the Greeks and all of those who enjoy the legendary festival — which, organizers say, along with the PRIDE parade was the first to draw more than a million people — who are not going to be receiving any federal gifts.
The prime minister’s office has not yet responded to the letter or the questions emanating from it. They still have a few days to step up to show that they will not only make sure the prime minister’s plane is fully stocked but that street festivals like the Taste of the Danforth will be on the menu for Toronto going forward.