An audio recording reveals that the City of Toronto declined to provide Rockcliffe-Smythe with an emergency response plan for flooding during a private meeting with residents last year.
The recording, a meeting transcript and email exchanges detailing how the plan was requested and then denied were shared with The Green Line by a local resident who requested anonymity, citing concerns that their future applications for flood-support funding would be rejected by the city.
The resident told us that a private meeting took place on June 24, 2025, between three Rockcliffe-Smythe residents representing the Black Creek Flood Coalition (BCFC), York South-Weston city councillor Frances Nunziata and Toronto Water general manager Lou Di Gironimo.
Email correspondence between Rockcliffe-Smythe residents and City Hall. : Provided by local resident.
The residents dropped off a physical petition with 200 signatures two weeks earlier, asking for an emergency response plan for their west end neighbourhood, which is one of Toronto’s most flood-prone areas.
“We can confirm the City of Toronto received a request and participated in a meeting where discussions asking for additional emergency response funding and a dedicated policy resource for the Rockcliffe-Smythe area occurred,” Di Gironimo said in a statement to The Green Line.
“It is important to note that Rockcliffe-Smythe is already supported through the city’s city-wide emergency response system, which is in place across Toronto to respond quickly to major floods. The decision was made by the city to provide additional support unique to the Rockcliffe-Smythe area called the No-Fault Grant program, which no other area receives.”
Di Gironimo added that the city has already made a “significant investment” in the Rockcliffe-Smythe Flood Mitigation Projects, which he said would help reduce future flood risk in the area.
But Black Creek Flood Coalition organizers say residents feel the project doesn’t provide enough immediate protection from flooding since it’s set to be completed in eight years, in 2034.
“We are facing a continued threat and ongoing harm from failed infrastructure,” local resident Sarah McVie said. “Our homes are in danger of flooding severely…they flood all the time.”
“There’s no end in sight.”
Black Creek Flood Coalition neighbourhood emergency flood response plan. 📄: Provided by local resident.
What is the Black Creek Flood Coalition Asking For?
The BCFC asked the city to reallocate $1.54 million of the $5.6 million Rockcliffe No Fault Grant for Basement Flooding Damages Program to create an emergency response plan that would equip Rockcliffe-Smythe residents with emergency response kits, including generators, pumps, hoses, cords and other tools.
The coalition’s proposed emergency flood response plan also includes outreach and education initiatives to inform residents on how to use flood prevention equipment and create flood alert systems, as well as the creation of a permanent part-time position to manage the plan.
“No staff would be supportive of that, nor would our legal staff. It’s just something the city would not do,” Di Girononimo said in a recording of the June 24, 2025 meeting. “It’s private property and homeowners have to take responsibility for their property.”
As of May 1, the city has almost doubled its investment in the Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program, which includes all of Toronto — not just Rockcliffe-Smythe.
The program allows eligible residential property owners to receive up to $6,650 in basement flooding prevention subsidies, including funding for backwater valves, sump pumps, plumbing assessment and more.
How are Rockcliffe-Smythe residents responding?
Despite the city’s refusal, Rockcliffe-Smythe residents have continued to engage their neighbours on flood response through canvassing, petitions and social media advocacy since the private meeting last year. The BCFC and the York South-Weston Community Hub recently threw a block party where residents learned about flood protection and how to operate equipment during an emergency.
Other local organizations, such as Friends of Smythe Park, are petitioning against the Rockcliffe-Smythe Flood Mitigation Projects due to environmental impacts.
The city plans to hold another public meeting ahead of the Jane Street bridge construction, which is scheduled to start in the fall; there, city officials are slated to share project plans, gather community input and inform residents on what to expect in the coming months.
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