We need your support at Council to protect the Glen Stewart Ravine in Ward 19, East Toronto, from severe ecological damage. Gabriele Homes is seeking approval to build an 11-storey condo directly above a steep ravine edge on land that is both ecologically fragile and spiritually significant. The deferral of this item to the December meeting, following a submission from members of the urban Indigenous community who have a deep connection to this land, has created an important opportunity to reconsider its impacts on both people and the environment.
This is not just a matter of planning. It is a relational rupture in the making.
The Glen Stewart Ravine—known to parts of the urban Indigenous community as “Secret Ravine”—is not merely a green space. It is a ceremonial place, tended for generations by Fire Keepers, including members of Turtle Island Carers of Fire (TICOF). It remains a site of grief, healing, and continuity for Indigenous families in Tkaronto.
The proposed development threatens the ecological integrity of this sacred site and the ability of urban Indigenous families to maintain their relationships with it. When Council approves developments that violate its own ecological and Indigenous engagement commitments, it communicates that these relationships are expendable—that land is legible only as property.
We are appealing to all members of Council to help save this precious ecosystem before it is too late. Building on this site and removing mature trees will further destabilize an already steep ravine slope and undermine the health of a spring-fed creek system. We ask Council to uphold existing Official Plan policies and Toronto’s ravine protections. Accepting any settlement that trades additional height or density for basic ravine setbacks sets a dangerous precedent and weakens protections for ravines across the city.
We therefore ask that you vote NO to any settlement for this site unless it:
Conforms with the Official Plan’s Natural Environment and TRCA requirements, including at least a 10-metre setback from the ravine edge/long-term stable top of slope.
Maintains the current “Neighbourhoods” zoning designation to discourage overdevelopment of this sensitive site.
Maintains the mature tree canopy needed for slope stability and the biodiversity integrity of the ravine.
It is in the city’s best interest to initiate the public acquisition of the ravine-edge parcel for long-term community stewardship and Indigenous access, consistent with the Toronto Ravine Strategy. Many voices in the community are being raised together to oppose this development. This site is uniquely vulnerable: the ravine shelf is narrow, the slope is steep, and it leads to a spring-fed creek. The Glen Stewart Ravine is a designated Environmentally Significant Area and one of the last remnants of Carolinian forest in Toronto. It is home to more than 800 species of plants, insects, and animals—some endangered or rare in the city—and is a critical resting spot for migratory birds. It is also, and above all, a site of living relationships.
Approving a development that disregards these ecological and relational obligations set a harmful precedent for all Toronto ravines—ecologically, legally, and morally.
Thank you for your attention, your discernment, and your willingness to do more than the minimum to ensure that development happens in the right places—not at the expense of irreplaceable ravine lands and the city and communities who depend on them.
