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←Toronto City Council · 2021-03-10 · 2021.DM30.2

The filed record

Cancelling City of Toronto Advertisement in Corriere Canadese - by Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, seconded by Councillor Paul Ainslie

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The decision

2021-03-10 · Toronto City Council · amended

As filed

City Council on March 10, 2021, adopted the following: 1. City Council reaffirm its policies against hateful speech and its support for the City of Toronto's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Two-Spirit+ communities against discrimination and harassment. 2. City Council express its displeasure to the Corriere Canadese following reports of the printing and distribution of homophobic and transphobic articles about the Toronto Catholic District School Board, its Trustees and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Two-Spirit+ families.

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3. City Council direct the City Manager to inform all media vendors, including the Corriere Canadese, that they must sign and comply with the City of Toronto's Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policies if the City is to purchase advertising space in the future, as outlined in the supplementary report (March 5, 2021) from the Chief Communications Officer.

The vote

Adopt Item as Amended · Carried, 24-0

For (24)Ana Bailão, Brad Bradford, Cynthia Lai, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Frances Nunziata, Gary Crawford, Gord Perks, James Pasternak, Jaye Robinson, Jennifer McKelvie, Joe Cressy, John Filion, John Tory, Josh Matlow, Kristyn Wong-Tam, Mark Grimes, Michael Thompson, Mike Colle, Mike Layton, Nick Mantas, Paul Ainslie, Paula Fletcher, Shelley Carroll, Stephen Holyday
Absent (2)Anthony Perruzza, Michael Ford
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On the agenda

As the city filed it

The City of Toronto's Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policy states that we "will not tolerate, ignore, or condone discrimination or harassment and is committed to promoting respectful conduct, tolerance and inclusion." The publisher of Corriere Canadese has been publishing articles targeting the Toronto District Catholic School Board, its Trustees for their support of LGBTQ2S+ students and their families.

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The articles are portrayed as factual news when they are opinion pieces that are discriminatory towards a charter protected minority group. It is our opinion that Corriere Canadese has: - attacked Toronto District Catholic School Board Trustees De Domenico, Di Pasquale, Li Preti and Rizzo on numerous occasions, calling them "thugs"[1], a "rat pack"[2], and "gangsters"[3]; - defamed YouthLine[4], a youth-led charity that affirms and supports LGBTQ2S+ youth that provides life-saving peer support and educational resources; and - dismissed our Human Rights Code: "Traditional religious values" have, in their view, become unacceptable because the sexual practices espoused by Catholic values are deemed bigoted and homophobic. The new standard is their Human Rights Code, in my respectful opinion vastly inferior in breadth and depth to the Catholic "code" except that the HRC is enforced by the State police and whoever motivates it with complaints of alleged grievances.[5] The City's advertising dollars should not be invested in a community newspaper that espouses discrimination and harassment against: - the LGBTQ2S+ community or any other charter protected minority group - elected officials - a public school board Furthermore, on November 17, 2020, Pizza Nova, an award-winning Ontario-based company founded in Scarborough, announced that they were cancelling their advertisements from Corriere Canadese. They cite that as a "very inclusive company" the articles in the Corriere Canadese are "not in accordance" with their beliefs. We ask that the City of Toronto advertise broadly in different Italian language media outlets that have signed and actively honour our Declaration of Compliance with Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Legislation and all other related City policies. [1] https://www.corriere.ca/english-articles/time-to-put-sexualized-virtue-signalling-thugs-in-their-place/ [2] https://www.corriere.ca/english-articles/a-rat-pack-in-charge-of-our-catholic-schools/ [3] https://www.corriere.ca/english-articles/code-of-conduct-thuggery-gangsterism-and-persecution/ [4] https://www.corriere.ca/english-articles/tcdsb-website-hosts-pornographic-site-defended-by-trustees/ [5] https://www.corriere.ca/english-articles/code-of-conduct-thuggery-gangsterism-and-persecution/

Staff recommended

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, seconded by Councillor Paul Ainslie, recommends that: 1. City Council direct the City Manager to immediately cease all City of Toronto paid advertising in the Corriere Canadese following the reports of the printing and distribution of homophobic and transphobic articles about the Toronto Catholic District School Board, its Trustees and its LGBTQ2S+ students. 2. City Council direct the City Manager to inform the Corriere Canadese that it must sign and comply with the City of Toronto's Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policies if it is to become a vendor again in the future.

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3. City Council direct the City Manager to consult with the City Solicitor and update the City's advertising and promotions policies by ensuring full alignment with the City's Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policies. 4. City Council direct the City Manager to report to the Executive Committee in the third quarter of 2021 on strategies to proactively ensure that all media selected for City advertising are in compliance with the City's Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policies, such report to include consultation with the City's Human Rights Office and LGBTQ2S+ Advisory Committee.

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