Dear Mayor Chow,
We are writing to you as parents, grandparents, caregivers, and allies who are deeply concerned about our children’s futures in the face of the accelerating climate crisis. As Toronto City Council prepares to discuss the 2026 - 2030 stage of our TransformTO Net Zero climate action strategy, we are calling upon you to declare your commitment to accelerating this plan so that we can build the safe, equitable, climate-safe city that our children deserve. In the face of the economic threats from the United States government, we believe that this path also offers the best hope for strengthening our economy too.
We know that you care deeply about the health and well-being of children. As a TDSB trustee you initiated a campaign to secure a nationwide school lunch program so that no child would be hungry at school. This program has now been launched and we were very pleased to see the City step up to fund this program in Toronto schools in the last budget.
We also know that as a grandmother you care deeply about fossil-fuel driven climate change and the impacts that this is having on our children’s health and well-being. Wildfire smoke and heat is already making our summers more dangerous and our children are especially vulnerable. Polluted air affects children’s young lungs, causing and aggravating diseases from asthma to cancer. Heat waves - now starting in June and extending through September - impact their growing bodies and their ability to learn in school. The climate crisis is also impacting young people’s mental health, with 78 percent of youth reporting that climate change is negatively affecting their mental well-being. For children in low-income, racialized, newcomer and Indigenous communities, the impacts of climate change are exacerbated by the stresses of existing structural and social inequities.
In the face of all this,Toronto’s own Net-Zero Strategy offers a path forward. In the recent consultations on the 2026 - 2030 TransformTO Net Zero climate plan, many of us expressed our desire to see action across all sectors – buildings, transit, active transportation infrastructure, renewable energy, green space - so that we can achieve our 2030 targets and build a more equitable city for all. Accelerating this plan in the current political moment would also have the added benefit of reducing our dependence on U.S. fossil gas.
As our mayor, we believe you could be a strong voice for addressing the climate crisis and securing a safer future for young people in this city. We are therefore calling on you to publicly commit to:
- expanding local renewable energy so that we can phase out the polluting Portlands gas plant, reduce our energy costs and our kids can breathe cleaner air
- building more net-zero affordable public housing with community space so that more families are safely housed and kids grow up learning the skills and values of community living.
- establishing a municipal Youth Climate Corps so that young people have access to training and meaningful work in building a green, more sustainable Toronto.
- expanding urban agriculture programs so that we can ensure that all kids have access to healthy, local, culturally-relevant food and foster their connections with the communities that grow it
- establishing free transit for all students from K - 12 so that transit is accessible and more frequently used by all young people
- expanding safe cycling infrastructure so that all students can safely cycle to school
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supporting more collaboration between the school boards and the City with the goals of
- establishing schools as community climate hubs, particularly in equity-owed communities
- educating students about Toronto’s climate action strategy and engaging them in its development and implementation.
- piloting school streets that are closed to traffic thereby encouraging the physical activity and community connections that keep our kids safe and healthy
Your support for these recommendations will significantly strengthen the 2026 - 2030 TransformTO Net Zero climate plan. We need to build a green, equitable, low-carbon Toronto that fosters community connections and enables our kids to thrive. With your leadership, we can make that vision become a reality - for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations. With your leadership, we can make that vision a reality.
