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

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/

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.