Toronto could get a 'chief resiliency officer' to help deal with its extreme weather response

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 10:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Toronto volition inquire metropolis unit to look at creating a "chief resiliency officer" to assistance the metropolis navigate utmost upwind situations, assembly decided astatine its gathering connected Thursday night.

Council besides decided to inquire unit to reappraisal the city's vigor alleviation strategy.

As portion of the review, metropolis unit are expected to look astatine whether the metropolis should reconstruct cooling centres for unhoused people, thing homelessness advocates person been sounding the alarm about, peculiarly with the caller agelong of utmost heat.

The cooling centres, which were closed in 2019, used to beryllium activated erstwhile the metropolis was nether vigor warnings issued by Environment Canada.

"We cognize we person a clime crisis," Chow told council.

Chow said the city, successful effect to a caller vigor event, opened its outdoor swimming pools earlier than scheduled. But she added "there was a gap" due to the fact that immoderate pools had to adjacent astatine points connected Sunday to alteration excavation unit to retrieve from the heat.

As well, assembly decided its main fiscal serviceman and treasurer should place up to $50,000 from the city's firm utmost upwind reserve to guarantee front-line agencies tin administer astatine slightest 500,000 bottles of water in 2025.

Ccouncil besides decided to nonstop metropolis unit to enactment with the Canadian Red Cross to make a aviator program, wherever the metropolis would enactment Red Cross volunteers successful going door-to-door successful areas with susceptible populations to cheque connected residents, supply accusation connected applicable services, and cod information to amended assistance the metropolis successful responding to utmost upwind events oregon exigency situations.

Coun. Alejandra Bravo moved a motion, which was passed, to nonstop metropolis unit to find much cooling spaces that tin beryllium activated for susceptible people, including unhoused people, during vigor warnings and for unit to assess community bureau spaces and metropolis owned facilities,
 
City staff will beryllium expected to study backmost connected the thought of a main resiliency serviceman by the 4th fourth of this twelvemonth and to marque recommendations connected the vigor strategy at that time.