Toronto councillors push for rat reduction strategy
CBC
Toronto councillors smell a rat.
And some are pushing the city to adopt a rodent reduction strategy, as they say major construction projects and climate change are contributing to a growing pest problem.
Councillors on the city's Infrastructure Committee this week asked a broad swath of city department heads to create the strategy. Coun. Alejandra Bravo said that the large volume of construction projects around the city are disturbing rats, causing them to emerge from underground tunnels and burrows.
"We're building more and construction shakes the ground, rats are released into neighbourhoods, and we need to figure out how to get ahead of it," she said.
"The problem is getting worse."
The committee is directing the city manager and medical officer of health, among other top civil servants, to report back by next summer with a rat action plan. Councillors are also asking the city manager to consult with other North American cities on their approach to rat reduction.
In Ontario, Bravo said Peel Region and the City of Ottawa have created rat reduction strategies. So too have cities like New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. She said Toronto can learn from all of them as it creates its own unique approach.
"This rat situation is a North American problem," she said.
Currently, most homeowners are responsible for pest control on their properties. And that can mean hundreds or thousands of dollars spent on professional exterminators.
Until earlier this year, Peel Region offered subsidies to qualifying home owners to address rat problems outside of their homes. Bravo could not say if Toronto's program might include that, but she said some of the complaints she's received from constituents stress that cost is a problem, especially for struggling businesses and families.
"It is expensive," Bravo said. "I think that the important thing here is let's get ahead of it. Let's recognize and confront this problem that we have."
The city says 311 calls about rodent issues left unaddressed by property owners or landlords have been increasing. There were nearly 940 property standards-related rodent service requests to the city in 2019. Those numbers dipped during the pandemic, but jumped back up to over 1,400 complaints in 2022. They increased again in 2023 to nearly 1,600 calls.
Up to the end of June this year, 311 has received almost 780 calls.
City staff say single rats spotted multiple times could be behind some of the numbers, but even with that taken into account, it's clear the numbers are on the rise.