January 01, 2022
Dear friends and neighbours,
As we moved into this new year, we are hopeful about what it will bring. While we all have the thoughts of the pandemic on our minds, it is important to remember that we have proven ourselves to be resilient in the City of Toronto.
My office and colleagues at City Council are looking to the future to see how we can best support our local businesses, organizations, and Business Improvement Areas. That's why this past month, I asked Mayor Tory to join me for a tour of the Duke Heights BIA and to visit 2 Champagne Centre and the businesses in the building.
We had a chance to discuss how the pandemic has affected our small businesses and what we will need to do in order to support them into the future. Together with Mayor Tory, I recommended through the Executive Committee that a small business tax subclass be created starting in 2022 to provide small businesses with tax relief. The report recommended that a 15 per cent tax reduction be applied to small businesses within the commercial tax class. This builds on other work through the past two years, with initiatives such as CafeTO and ShowLoveTO that worked to draw new clients into the BIA area and to spur new economic activity.
We look forward to continuing our work into this new year!
I would like to wish you all happy holidays and a great new year!
As always, please feel free to reach out with any matters at Councillor_Pasternak@toronto.ca or at 416 392 1371.
Sincerely,
Councillor James Pasternak
Ward 6 - Downsview - York Centre
Chair of North York Community Council
Vice-Chair of Infrastructure and Environment Committee
