Expo hosting bid lacks support from Toronto residents
More citizens keen for pot shops, a European-style bike network and bike licensing in the city
Torontonians are not convinced it’s a good idea to bid for the 2025 Expo world’s fair, says a Forum Research poll.
The interactive phone survey of 882 Torontonians on June 14 revealed that 42 per cent support making a bid, being promoted by Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, unions and business groups, while 43 per cent oppose bidding.
Support was greatest among those aged 35 to 44, the least wealthy, and Torontonians with children.
However, when asked how they would feel about a publicly funded bid, support plunged to 22 per cent.
The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points,19 times out of 20.
Mayor John Tory’s executive committee voted last month to accept a privately funded feasibility study that suggested big benefits to hosting one of the international showcases, which typically last three to six months.
City staff will review the study and report back to council this fall, before the Nov. 1 deadline for an expression of interest.
But Tory has warned he won’t support hosting an international showcase unless senior governments agree to “backstop” the costs.
Forum also asked Torontonians about their view of medical marijuana dispensaries, after a May 26 police raid closed dozens of them. Some 90 people, including owners, clerks and landlords, were charged with Criminal Code and zoning offences.
Just under half of respondents said they believe storefront pot shops should be allowed to operate, while 36 per cent said they should not. Those most supportive, according to the poll, were young Torontonians, middle-income residents and people who have smoked pot.
The results are similar to the numbers from a Forum poll done shortly before the raids, suggesting that Mark Saunders, Toronto’s police chief, did not change many minds when he warned of the health dangers of unregulated pot at a news conference where seized drugs were put on display.
“It may be that the public isn’t quite as shocked and appalled about these places as the authorities have led us to believe,” Forum president Lorne Bozinoff said in a news release.
Finally, Torontonians were asked about licensing cyclists and a “European-style bike network.”
The poll found majority public support — 56 per cent — for licensing and slightly higher support for a comprehensive network of bike lanes in the city.
“Torontonians see licensing as a part of building the comprehensive bike network of the future,” Bozinoff said.
Councillor Jim Karygiannis called for bike licensing at a June 9 licensing committee meeting. His motion was ruled out of order.
Toronto cyclists had to buy licences from 1935 to 1957, according to the city of Toronto. Reasons for discontinuing the little metal plates, which cost $5 when introduced, included the “unconscious contravention of the law at a very tender age” and the “resulting poor public relations between police officers and children.”
The city took a serious look at reinstating bike licences in 1984, 1992 and 1996, for reasons including persistent problems with cyclists riding on sidewalks and not complying with traffic laws.
Reasons for rejecting the idea have included the difficulty of maintaining a database, the cost of setting up and maintaining a registration system, and the fact that licensing does not in itself change cyclist behaviour.