Olivia Chow appoints new city hall chairs and vice-chairs of executive committees

Mayor Olivia Chow has appointed members of council as chairs and vice-chairs of multiple committees, effective Aug. 10, for a term of office ending on November 14, 2026.

The executive committee consists of the mayor, the deputy mayors, the chairs of all standing committees, the chair of the budget committee and one member-at-large who is a member of city council.

Chow, as the executive committee chair, named Ausma Malik as her first deputy mayor and also vice-chair. Malik was also named chair of the striking committee, with councillor Alejandra Bravo named vice-chair.

Electing four deputy mayors total, Jennifer McKelvie will continue with the role of deputy mayor in Scarborough, while Amber Morley will represent Etobicoke as their deputy mayor, and Mike Colle will represent North York as deputy mayor.

Four standing committees were named: economic and community development, general government, infrastructure and environment, and planning and housing.

Three special committees were named, consisting of the audit committee, the budget committee and the civic appointments committee.

The committee of revision and the corporations nominating committee were also named “other” committees, along with four community councils for Etobicoke-York, North York, Scarborough and Toronto and East York.

Toronto city councillor Brad Bradford attends a council session in Toronto, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Councillor Gord Perks has been named the new chair of the planning and housing committee, with councillor Brad Bradford serving as vice-chair.

Councillor Paula Fletcher was named the designate at the Toronto Community Housing Corporation and CreateTO, and councillor Vincent Crisanti was named the designate at the Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation.

Regarding public transit, councillor Jamaal Myers was named as chair of the TTC, with councillor Josh Matlow also being named to the committee.

With community safety an area of concern, councillor Jon Burnside was named to the Toronto Police Services Board alongside councillor Amber Morley and councillor Lily Cheng.

Councillor Shelley Carroll has been named chair of the budget committee, while councillor Alejandra Bravo will chair the economic and community development committee, of which Carroll has been named vice-chair.

Councillor Chris Moise will also be part of the economic and community development committee, as well as chair of the confronting anti-Black racism and the 2SLGBTQ+ advisory committees.

Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie and councillor Brad Bradford will join the board of the federation of Canadian Municipalities with support from councillor Paul Ainslie and deputy mayor Malik, who are joining as alternates.

As the city looks to improve services, councillor Stephen Holyday will lead that initiative alongside councillors Paul Ainslie, Lily Cheng, Jaye Robinson and Gord Perks.

Frances Nunziata will continue in her role as speaker after 13 years chairing council, and councillor Paula Fletcher will take on the role of deputy speaker.

On the infrastructure and environment committee, deputy mayor McKelvie and deputy mayor Colle were named as chair and vice chair, with councillor Paul Ainslie named as the chair of the general government committee.

Councillor Jaye Robinson will lead a team composed of councillors Nick Mantas, Mike Colle, Michael Thompson, Ausma Malik and Anthony Perruzza to prepare to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup that will be partially hosted at BMO Field in Toronto.

Other areas Chow plans to address include electing councillor James Pasternak to lead combating hate in the city, while Ontario’s environmental commissioner and councillor Dianne Saxe will lead environmental files.