Office of the Chief Executive

Honouring Indigenous Heritage Month and Pride

This week we launched two important campaigns for employees. With advice and guidance from the Indigenous Council, which is made up of TTC employees, we will recognize June as Indigenous Heritage Month across all our properties rather than National Indigenous History Month. Watch for our employee profiles and videos on TTC screens to learn more about the strength, diversity and contributions of our Indigenous employees. For the first time, Indigenous employees will share the beauty of their culture with us by holding a Pow Wow on June 25 at Mount Dennis Division. There is more information below about the Pow Wow and I hope you and your families will be able to attend.

On June 1, we kicked off Pride Month with a flag raising ceremony at our Hillcrest Complex. Look for the Progress Pride Flag, which will be flying all month both at Hillcrest and at 1900 Yonge St. In addition, Pride-themed wrapped vehicles will be stopping at worksites across the TTC. The schedule for when the wrapped vehicles will be visiting worksites is below and we encourage all to attend.

The TTC will also have external communications campaigns for customers throughout June and we will be sharing more information throughout the month.

Count Me In survey underway
This week, we launched a short employee demographic survey. This completely confidential survey is led by the Diversity and Culture Group and is collecting data to gain greater insight into the diverse identities that make up our workforce. With this information, we can continue to build programs and policies that better serve our employees.

The survey can be found on My TTC | Home or online at oursurvey.ca/ttc-count-me-in. It only takes two minutes to complete, and it’s another important step to identify and address barriers and gaps to building a more inclusive company. Everyone’s participation counts.

We know privacy can be a concern, but I want to assure you that this is a completely confidential survey. Only you and our third-party research company, Urban Dimensions Group (UDG), will have access to the data and all responses will be saved on a secure, external server. TTC management or employees will never be able to view your specific responses.

The Count Me In survey closes on June 30.

TTC 100 contest update
The winners of the TTC 100 contest will be announced in the coming weeks.

As part of our 100-year anniversary, we invited students from kindergarten to Grade 12 (our next generation of riders) to share their vision for the TTC of the future through illustrations, photos, drawings, models or short essays. Many great ideas were submitted last month and contest winners will be unveiled at ttc.ca in mid-June.

Thank you to our partners at the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the STEPS Initiative. Contest winners will be invited to show off their creativity at a public transit fair to be held at Nathan Phillips Square on August 22. Winners will also receive a prize pack of TTC merchandise and have their idea incorporated into a future community station art mural produced by a local Toronto artist.

Stay safe.

Richard J. Leary
Chief Executive Officer
June 3, 2022

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TTC Pride bus tour dates

Each stop on the Pride bus tour includes a BBQ and live music by the TTC’s own DJ Shawn Grant. From approximately 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.:
June 3: Wheel-Trans
June 6: Danforth
June 7: Arrow Road
June 8: Mount Dennis
June 9: Queensway
June 10: Greenwood
June 13: Leslie Barns
June 14: Birchmount
June 15: Eglinton
June 16: Malvern
June 17: McNicoll
June 20: Wilson
June 21: Davisville
June 22: Sheppard Distribution Centre

Saturday, June 25, 2022
TTC INDIGENOUS COUNCIL POW WOW
In recognizing Indigenous Heritage Month, the TTC partnered with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Six Nations of the Grand River to ensure that the TTC is connecting people to Indigenous culture in a distinctive and meaningful way. The TTC celebrates the culture and strength of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples with an employee-led Pow Wow. Drum circles, dancers, traditional food and more. All employees and families are invited to attend. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on.
Location: Mount Dennis Division (via 71 Runnymede or 171 Mount Dennis).
Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.