City's restart and recovery report coming soon

Torontosun.com
Sept. 15, 2020
Bryan Passifume

The first report from the city’s COVID-19 recovery directorate is expected soon, say officials.

Established on April 24 by Mayor John Tory, Toronto’s Recovery and Rebuild Office is tasked with formulating a plan to get the city’s economy and services back up and running post-pandemic -- whenever that may be.

Since then, not much has been heard from the office, but that may change soon.

“A report by the Toronto Office of Recovery and Rebuild is nearing completion and will be sent to the City Manager once finalized,” said city spokesperson Brad Ross, adding he had no information on when that will be.

Tory announced the city’s recovery strategy would be led by veteran public service administrator Saad Rafi, whose first job will be mapping out a restart plan.

As case numbers begin to climb ahead of an anticipated second wave, COVID strategy at City Hall seems to be swinging away from restart and recovery.

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Last week, the city announced that Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg would again assume his role as incident commander for Toronto’s emergency opearation centre -- a role he stepped away from in June as caseloads dropped.

Pegg, along with the mayor and Toronto’s top doctor Eileen de Villa, will detail the city’s resurgance plan in the coming weeks, Ross said.

Recently retired as partner at Deloitte LLP in Toronto, Rafi previously served as Ontario’s deputy health minister, the CEO of the 2015 Pan-Am/Parapan Games, and CEO of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan -- a position he held for six months before it was absorbed by the Canadian Pension Plan four years ago.

Rafi will be paid $35,000 per month, plus expenses, until the end of November.