JAM-PACKED SCHEDULE OF A CITY COUNCILLOR
Kristyn Wong-Tam’s hectic June 2.
7 a.m.
Wong-Tam’s alarm goes off, though she’s been awake since 6 a.m.
8:00-8:30 a.m.
Wong-Tam is in her office taking a call about affordable housing in her ward.
8:30-9:30 a.m.
A Star reporter arrives to interview Wong-Tam, while she also prepares for an upcoming meeting and takes a call regarding the Expo 2025 bid.
9:30 a.m.
Wong-Tam steps into a lengthy heritage preservation board meeting. She listens and participates in discussions about whether to give a host of buildings heritage status, and hears from neighbourhood associations and property owners with opinions on each one.
12:15 p.m.
The councillor steps out for a media interview on the phone. She receives updates on other meetings and small issues, including a mural proposal, from her staff.
12:30 p.m.
Wong-Tam meets Annika Lam, a foreign exchange student from New Zealand, who has asked the councillor to authenticate her passport as a “commissioner of oaths” so she can apply for an online course.
12:45-1:30 p.m.
Wong-Tam eats lunch in her office, answers emails and speaks with the Star.
1:30 p.m.
The councillor meets with the new general manager of Seaton House, a men’s shelter in her ward that has more than 600 beds. Wong-Tam has been pushing a “revitalization” plan for the area that would see the shelter rebuilt in the hopes of promoting a safer area.
2–3 p.m.
Wong-Tam returns to the heritage meeting to propose two motions on separate items. She returns to her office shortly before 3 p.m., where she prepares for a three-hour meeting about a development application on Bloor St.
3-6 p.m.
The councillor attends a meeting with city staff and other parties interested in the condo development at 1 Bloor St. W.
6-7 p.m.
Wong-Tam drops in on a meeting between the Toronto District School Board and parents at the Church Street Public School who are concerned that a proposed condo next to the schoolyard will cast the playground in shadow for most of the day.
7 p.m.
Wong-Tam bikes down Jarvis St. to attend a community consultation about the Seaton House revitalization plan.
8:15 p.m.
The councillor steps out of the meeting to bike with a Star reporter to Seaton House, to discuss how the development proposal could reshape the area along George St.
8:30–9 p.m.
Wong-Tam finishes her long day by delivering closing remarks at the Seaton House meeting.