I’ve been thinking a lot about Toronto City Council after yesterday’s meeting about drinking in parks. I lived in Montreal for six years. Having a glass of wine with a meal in the park was one of the great joys of living there

It wasn’t rowdy drunks partying in playgrounds. It was mostly parents meeting up with a friend after work for charcuterie and a nice bottle of wine. It brought together people of all walks of life. There was a sense of conviviality, a freedom that we were all happy to share

In a city like Toronto, where there is no relief from the rigours of urban life, people rarely have private outdoor space and the cost of living is higher than ever, we needed a release, an acknowledgement that things have been hard but the city wants to help make things easier

After Doug Ford cut City Council from 47 to 25 seats during the 2018 election, it left only eight members who represent Toronto. The rest are in the suburbs. This leads to councillors from Scarborough and North York having an outsized level of power over our city’s issues

Reading @jpags reporting on yesterday's meeting in @TorontoStar, I was struck by who the loudest voices of dissent were: councillors from outside of Toronto with disappointing reactions to @JoshMatlow's motion

This reminds me of the debate around cutting Toronto's police budget by 10% last year. The voting was 8-16, almost completely tracking as Toronto councillors vs the suburbs

Speaking of voting, did you vote in the 2018 municipal election for your city councillor? If you didn't, you're not alone. 17 councillors were elected with less than 50% of their district voting. I was surprised to see that Coun. Pasternak only won by 2336 votes

We need a younger, more diverse city council that reflects what Toronto actually looks like and works toward what the people actually want. If anyone is seriously considering running in next year’s election, DM me. I will help you with your campaign and signal boost you

Thanks to @ACarterglobal and @ShebaSid for having me on @am640 to further discuss my thoughts on drinking in parks in Toronto https://omny.fm/shows/alan-carter/rapper-cadence-weapon-on-alcohol-in-parks