STOP THE TRAINS
IN OUR PARKS
OUR COMMUNITY DESERVES WORLD CLASS TRANSIT AND OUR GREENSPACE
Our fight continues!
Thank you to the 120+ people who showed their support in the virtual courtroom on Oct. 8 and the countless others who couldn’t get in. Thank you to the thousands of supporters who’ve been with us on this journey to advocate for justice for Mount Dennis and communities across the city.
Today, we’re disappointed the Court said they won’t stop Metrolinx from cutting down 1,200 trees as soon as Thursday morning.
We had some significant wins though:
1. The judge didn’t award costs to Metrolinx, which is a first. This precedent can give other communities more confidence to bring their serious concerns against Metrolinx to the courts. It also means we don’t have to pay the province’s $2,000 costs or Metrolinx’s $82,000 costs, which would have delayed any further action on our part until we paid those costs.
2. The judge acknowledged that Mount Dennis is a marginalized community. This means every level of government must recognize they’re dealing with a vulnerable community moving forward.
While we were shocked the judge ruled that there is no legal instrument for a claim for environmental justice and racism, it acknowledged that it is a serious and legitimate issue to be developed in future case law.
Communities like Mount Dennis and the countless other neighbourhoods around the city deserve to be heard. We deserve to be consulted. We deserve to not bear the worst outcomes of infrastructure projects because we’re racialized and socio-economically disadvantaged.
We believe in public transit and support the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, but we know there are better ways to build it that don’t require destroying 1,500+ trees and parks. We know that many communities across the city feel the same and appreciate your support and solidarity.
As we said, our fight continues. We’re regrouping with our legal team to solidify our next steps. What we do know is this isn’t the end of our work. These issues are real and important and are worth fighting for, for us and future generations. And we believe people across this city who have seen our environment unnecessarily destroyed time and time again will rally together and seek justice.
Metrolinx admitted the design for the elevated guideway is only approximately 60% complete, and there is a time buffer before this transit extension to connect to the long-delayed Eglinton Crosstown is built. While the court didn’t issue an injunction today, Metrolinx and the Ontario government could, in good faith, pause the tree removals and review alternative options to protect the environment. If they would pause to look at the bigger picture, there’s still time to change course and do right by our community and communities across the city.
We’ll have more to share soon, so please stay tuned as we catch our breath. Thank you again for your continued support. It really does mean the world to us.
In solidarity and with much gratitude.
Save Eglinton Flats Coalition
About the issue
Join our Save Eglinton Flats Coalition
Metrolinx and the Ford Government presented their illogical and short-sighted plan to run a 1.5 km section of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE) as elevated tracks and stations through our parks as a done deal without any input from the local Indigenous community and residents. Metrolinx and the Ford Government could run this section (from Pearen Park to Scarlett Road) underground like the rest of the line, or along the road, which would save them time and money. Metrolinx and the Ford Government have ignored our community’s countless requests to consult on how to build the line.
Metrolinx plans to make Pearen Park a construction staging zone for years. The projected opening of the ECWE LRT line is 2031. Metrolinx plans to start clear cutting 1,500 trees before the end 2023 and have already fenced off large parts of Pearen Park, where kids played every day, and Fergy Brown Park. The ECWE is the western extension of the disastrously delayed and over budget Eglinton Crosstown.
Over the last year and half we’ve been trying to save our trees and parks, including Pearen Park, Fergy Brown Park, Eglinton Flats and the Humber River area, for everyone in our community. For nearly a year, we partnered with urban Indigenous organizations to take action to save the parks. The urban Indigenous organizations had a tipi and Sacred Fire in Pearen Park and were in Ceremony to honour the trees, until Metrolinx threatened to take legal action — which could have included hundreds or thousands of dollars in fines and criminal charges — if the tipi and Sacred Fire weren’t removed from the park.
The urban Indigenous organizations are going to focus on Ceremony and are planning for future Sacred Fires. Our Save Eglinton Flats Coalition continues our advocacy to protect our greenspace and will continue to support the Indigenous organizations' Ceremonies.
The 1,500 trees Metrolinx plans to clear cut are a flood and erosion protector, sound barrier, cool the parks in hot weather, a wildlife corridor to the Humber river system and home to Threatened and Endangered species. These parks are used for ceremony, education, recreation, and contribute to the mental well-being of the residents within our community. With over 5,000 new residential units planned to be built in our community over the next 10 years we'll need our parks more than ever.
What we want
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No train expressway in our parks. Period.
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Metrolinx to bury the trains underground in York South-Weston like they're doing in Etobicoke, or put them along the road, which would save time and money. Metrolinx and the Ford Government must consult with our community.
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Metrolinx to provide transparency about the project - its costs, its size, and its impact.
YORK SOUTH-WESTON DESERVES THE ECWE
AND OUR GREENSPACE!
Contact us at
stopthetrainsinourparks@gmail.com
ABOUT STOP THE TRAINS IN OUR PARKS (STOP)
We are a group of York South-Weston residents who support the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, but oppose putting a train expressway through our parks as part of the project. We believe greenspace should be for wildlife and people, not concrete and trains. We are part of the Save Eglinton Flats Coalition.
