Welcome!

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Trefann Court

Welcome to the website for the Trefann Court Residents Association. Trefann Court is the area bounded by Queen, Parliament, Shuter and River streets, and has a long and colourful history. To the north is Regent Park (69 acre site owned by the city); to the south is Corktown. Trefann Court neighbourhood is recognized on the city’s wayfinding maps. Unlike Corktown or Regent Park, Trefann Court is designated by the city as a neighbourhood area: lower scale buildings such as detached houses, semi-detached houses, duplexes, triplexes and townhouses. Taller buildings are permitted along Parliament and Queen streets.

This website is maintained as a historic record of developments and changes affecting this neighbourhood.
Scroll down to read the newest posts, or use menu links:
– to choose posts for a particular category eg. Shuter St, or
– for a list of all posts, by year (“latest posts“).
For most images on this site, clicking will display a larger version.

The Trefann Court Association was quite feisty in the 1960s as it fought for its survival; read the 1967 newsletter. The Association was restarted in 1995 and again in 2008, but hasn’t been active recently; it could be re-started anytime there are several local residents who are interested and want to get involved. Some new items of local interest are still being added to this site.

Email us with your comments or questions.

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Sankofa – problems with Yonge-Dundas Square renaming

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Trefann Court

On Aug. 23, the city will hold its very first official “Sankofa Day“. But inviting the whole city to a party won’t persuade anyone this Dec 2023 renaming was a good idea. Councillor Chris Moise (who most recently renamed Sumach-Shuter Parkette) made headlines in Dec 2023 for the renaming of another city asset in his ward: Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS), now Sankofa Square: no public consultation, interference by city politicians in committee deliberations, no advance notice of the renaming motion at City Council, the chosen name has no connection to Toronto, the chair of YDS resigned in protest, and it’s unclear whether Toronto’s Property Naming Policy was followed.

Summary of YDS renaming (see here for details): City Council setup a committee (CAC) in July 2021, to seek community input on potential new names for Dundas. After meeting 18 times, CAC had a short list of 4 possible names. Sankofa was the only name on the short list with no connection to Toronto or its history. One CAC member said public consultation process never took place. CAC’s meeting planned for Dec 5 was delayed one week while Chris Moise and Mayor Chow intervened and met with the CAC co-chairs and city staff. Chow attended the CAC meeting on Dec 12, 2023, told them to pick a single name and to not bother with public consultation. Two days later Councillor Moise made a urgent motion at City Council to declare Sankofa as the new name for Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS).

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master plan for local parks

Posted on August 1, 2025 by Trefann Court

For the past few years, the city has been renovating local parks in our neighbourhood, based on an earlier plan. The Corktown Parks Master Plan, with input from the local community, and facilitated by Councillor Pam McConnell, was developed in 2015, with plans for Bright St. Playground, Orphans’ Green (Dog Off Leash), Little Trinity Church Lands, Percy Park, Sackville Park, and Sumach‑Shuter Parkette. See April 2015 public meeting, and the finalized plan. (Presumably some Corktown residents provided input to this parks plan, but no details can be found on their website).

Feedback on initial plans for Sumach‑Shuter Parkette was gathered at a March 2019 public open house. In 2021, further input on the Sumach-Shuter Parkette redesign solicited from community members using “park signs, flyers to residents living directly around the park area, social media, promotions through Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam’s office (see 2019 and 2021 “tweets”). Here is the Feb 2021 neighbourhood survey. The reedesign of Sumach‑Shuter Parkette was completed in Feb 2022. Park reconstruction started in March 2024. No mention at that time of a possible renaming of the park. Our park reopened June 27, 2025.

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Renaming Shuter-Sumach Parkette

Posted on July 20, 2025 by Trefann Court

We were surprised to learn on May 22 that our City Councillor Chris Moise renamed Sumach-Shuter parkette, without consulting with Trefann Court residents. Persons who grew up in Regent Park and Trefann Court and who are familiar with its long history of community activism, were also shocked by this stealth renaming (see timeline). No chance to voice our input, since no deputations on this motion were allowed at community council. The city ignored its own “Property Naming Policy” and “Guiding Principles for Commemoration“. No signs were posted at the park to inform the neighbourhood of this potential name change.

Media reports by CBC, Toronto Sun, The Bridge Community News, 740AM Zoomer radio and Cabbagetown Neighbourhood Review all question Moise’s lack of local community consultation. When we met him on July 2, Moise admitted he knew nothing about Trefann Court or its 1960s fight to create this park. Dubiously Moise claimed that he hasn’t had any influence in this park renaming process. Apparently he assumed, without any consultation with persons who live near this park, that the Mothers of Peace (MOP) petition spoke for the entire community. Moise must realize his lack of local consultation is indefensible; at our July 2 meeting and in the June 26 Toronto Sun article, Moise relied on MOP to defend his mishandling of this process.

Remember the next city election is Oct 26, 2026.
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origin of Trefann

Posted on June 8, 2025 by Trefann Court

From her 2018 book “Corktown: The History of a Toronto Neighbourhood and the People Who Made It“, Coralina R. Lemos (historian, author and heritage advocate) wrote about the origin of Trefann St:

“When John Hugh Roberts came to Canada he settled in Toronto with his wife, Ann, and their children, working as a tailor as he had done in his native Wales. Located east of Parliament Street, Trefann was initially a narrow road that ran north from Queen Street. At its northernmost exit, the road took a westerly bend and connected to Robert’s Place; ending near John Roberts’ residence on Sydenham Street (now Shuter Street). The name, which is of Welsh origin, came about as part of Mr. Roberts’ lot purchase on either side of this street and written similar to the county borough of Torfaen, where the town of Pontypool is recorded as his birthplace.
Considering that early land records note this street as “Tref-Ann,” it may be an indication that Mr. Roberts wanted to grace this road using his wife’s name while adding his own to Robert’s Place farther north. Although historically the word ‘Tref‘ in Welsh has a few different definitions, its origin is associated with property.”

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Section 37 spending – 2025

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Trefann Court

Here’s a summary of approved Section 37 spending in Ward 13 during 2025. Total for the year to date: $7.1 million. (This entry will be updated through the year.) (Learn more about section 37.) Section 37 spending in 2024 in Ward 13 was almost $5 million.

  • Mar: $330,000 ($300 k) for Verner Lane and Drovers Lane laneway improvements
    $113 k for plaques for 1841 Shoreline Interpretation
    $10 k for plaque at North Star Way Lane
    $10 k for plaque at Henry Box Brown Lane
    $10 k for plaque at Colonial Tavern site
    $10 k for plaque recognizing Sam Ching at 9 Adelaide Street East.
    $1.1 million for Heritage Lighting at the Young People’s Theatre
    (revising $80 k for mural at Wellesley Station, previously approved in March 2024)
    $51 k for Accessibility Improvements for Casey House at 119 Isabella Street.
    $133 k for 519 Church improvements
    $200 k for mid-block curb extensions, seating on Maitland, Alexander and Grosvenor St (not listed in Moise’s March 2025 newsletter, but mentioned on his website)
  • May: $500 k for $350 k Allan Gardens off-leash improvements and $150 k landscaping Central Neighbourhood House
    $460 k for $80 k mosaics at Winchester Park, $80 k mosaic at St. James Town, $100 k Cabbagetown gateway features, and $200 k sculpture at Spruce /Parliament, and Amelia/Parliament intersections
    $1.25 million for streetscape improvements for Colborne Street, Leader Lane and Colborne Lane
  • June: $2.9 million to purchase community space in the Church-Wellesley Village (attached report explains source of funds)
  • July: $47 k for benches for Cabbagetown
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The BIA that wouldn’t die

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Trefann Court

The Old Queen Street Business Improvement Area (BIA)
was established in Sept 2006, and was renamed the Historic Queen East BIA on Jan 2008. The process that spawned this BIA was somewhat murky.

This BIA has never approved a budget; their Jan 2008 AGM approved a motion to dissolve the BIA. Sixteen years (and 3 local councillors) later, Chris Moise, in his July 2024 newsletter states he was “working to restore the Historic Queen Street East Business Improvement Area (BIA). Many Queen East addresses are either residential, institutional, or vacant storefronts (see inventory), so it’s perplexing why Chris Moise thinks that the few active commercial properties on this stretch of Queen E could sustain a BIA.

A 5 person board (Mandrozos, Mark, Silver, Wells, Wong) was appointed in Oct 2024. City Council approved a totally different 6 person board in Jan 2025: board members are Julie Conte (also on this BIA board in 2007), Adam Damelin (Eggplant Music and Sound), Victoria Frans (Allied Properties), Jim Giontsis (pharmacist), Devin Glowinski (realtor) and Claudia Mac (Downtown Camera).

The Feb 2025 Bridge reported that the BIA met Dec 2024 and turned down a proposed $130,000 budget; the Bridge questioned why Christ Moise clearly intends to ramrod the BIA through and ignore ob­vious signs of local opposition. The Dec BIA meeting was also reported in torontotoday. Apparently no one has seen written minutes from that Dec 2024 AGM. Chris Moise shared his version of the Dec 2024 BIA AGM. In Feb 2025 City Council approved annual BIA budgets, omitting Queen E since that BIA didn’t approve a budget. More sparks to fly …

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Ward 13 – politician newsletters

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Trefann Court

E-newsletter “City Council – Items of Interest” sent by Councillor Moise a few days before each month’s City Council meeting (these PDFs include links to each listed council motion):

2024: Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Oct | Nov | Dec
2025: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July

Councillor Moise’s monthly newsletter, sent via email:
2025: Jan 7 | Feb 5 | March 4 | April 3 | May 1 | June 5 | July 3 | Aug 7 | Sept 11
These emails aren’t easily printed because of their elaborate formatting. These newsletters are also on Moise’s website (eg. Jan 2025, Aug 2025, etc), but are not easily found since they are inconsistently named, and no “newsletters” menu item on Moise’s website).

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Regent Park, phase 4 and 5

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Trefann Court

The final parts of Regent Park to be redeveloped are phases 4 and 5: the area just south of Gerrard. Plans will be discussed at the Dec 4 meeting of the Toronto and East York Community Council; see supporting documentation.
The 2024 diagrams show the permitted building heights which are proposed for the area. Diagrams are from the draft bylaw.

 
For comparison, here are permitted building heights for all of Regent Park, from the original 2005 plan, which is summarized here.
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Participatory Budgeting

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Trefann Court

Participatory Budgeting (PB) allows Ward 13 residents to suggest local enhancement projects within their community and then vote on which projects should be funded. Every year, Councillor Moise allots $750,000 for projects within some of the 6 zones in Ward 13. Projects are funded via Community Benefits Charges (CBCs), as well as using significant amounts of unspent funds remaining from pre-2023 Section 37 density bonusing for Ward 13.

Councillor Moise’s website lists 18 “neighbourhoods” (see note 1) in Ward 13, including 13 “associations” (Trefann Court isn’t listed). Elsewhere Moise says there are 14 neighbourhoods in Ward 13, which he divided into 6 clusters for PB. The cluster descriptions actually list 17 neighbourhoods (see note 2). (Can he count?)
• Cluster 1 – bounded by Bay, Bloor, College/Carlton, Sherbourne. (See note 3)
• Cluster 2 – bounded by Sherbourne, Bloor, Carlton (Sherbourne to Parliament) and Gerrard (east of Parliament), DVP.
• Cluster 3 – bounded by Yonge, Carlton, Queen, Parliament.
• Cluster 4 – appears on the map but its boundaries don’t appear to be stated anywhere.
• Cluster 5 – bounded by Bay, Queen Street, Esplanade, Parliament.
• Cluster 6 – bounded by Parliament Street, Shuter, Mill Street, DVP. (See note 3)

PB projects for Clusters 1, 5 and 6 were funded in 2023; Clusters 2 and 3 in 2024; Clusters 1, 5 and 6 again in 2025. No PB funding is mentioned for Cluster 4. A list of approved 2023 projects was published, the projects funded for 2024 are not listed.

Four projects for Cluster 6 were approved back in 2023; no visible progress yet on any of them. When will Moise deliver?
1) $100,000 for colourful LED lighting throughout below Richmond and Adelaide highway interchanges, along the King Street corridor.
2) $300,000 to turn the small green space at the intersection of King Street, Queen Street and River Street into an official parkette. Funding will go towards facility upgrades to recognize the green space as community space. (See note 4)
3) $80,000 for Corktown-themed tree guards throughout Corktown locations from Berkeley Street to River Street and from Shuter to Front Streets including King and Queen Street. Funding approved in March 2024.
4) $150,000 for permanent planters to beautify the old parking laybys along Bayview Avenue which are no longer in use due to the installation of the bi-directional cycle tracks. Funding approved in March 2024.

Why raise citizens’ expectations if chosen PB projects are controversial or not feasible? How many chosen PB projects never get implemented? PB seems frivolous, when dealing with numerous problems/issues in our ward would be better use of Moise’s limited staff. Is PB simply a ploy by Moise to “buy your vote”? or distract you from the significant amounts of Section 37 money used to fund projects Moise choses personally? Moise’s total annual Section 37 expenditures are not publicly summarized, but are significant ($7 million so far in 2025)

Notes

  1. Moise’s website identifies 18 “neighbourhoods” in Ward 13: Bay Cloverhill Community Association, Bloor East Neighbourhood Association (NA), Cabbagetown Residents Association (RA), Cabbagetown South RA, Canary District NA (CDNA), Church Wellesley NA, Corktown Residents & Business Association, Financial District, Garden District RA, Goodheram & Worts NA (GWNA), McGill Granby Village RA, Moss Park, Regent Park NA, St. James Town, St. Lawrence NA, Upper Jarvis, Winchester Park RA, Yonge-Dundas
  2. Neighbourhoods, by cluster:
    • Cluster 1 – Bay Cloverhill, Bloor East, Church Wellesley Village, Upper Jarvis
    • Cluster 2 – Cabbagetown, St. James Town, Winchester Park.
    • Cluster 3 – Cabbagetown South, Downtown Yonge, Garden District, McGill-Granby, Moss Park
    • Cluster 4 – Regent Park
    • Cluster 5 – St. Lawrence
    • Cluster 6 – Corktown, West Don Lands (now called CDNA), Distillery District (now called GWNA)
    The Financial District is not listed as part of Cluster 5.
  3. A few boundaries are defined inconsistently on Moise’s website:
    • Is Cluster 1 south of Bloor, or south of Charles?
    • Is Cluster 6 south of Queen, or south of Shuter? This map shows that Cluster 6 also includes the area bounded by River, Dundas, DVP and Queen.
    • Boundaries for Cluster 4 don’t appear to be stated anywhere.
  4. King/Queen Triangle: In Mach 2022, the local councillor gave $1.5 million of Section 37 money to Waterfront Toronto for Public Art at the King/Queen Triangle. A winning artwork team was selected Jan 2022. See Jan 2023 glossy report. It’s 3 years later; still no art. Has some? all of that money been spent on “consultants”? With that 2022 project unfinished, why is Moise providing another $300 k for the same site: “to turn the small green space at the intersection of King Street, Queen Street and River Street into an official parkette.”
    (some history: A branch of King Street once connected through this triangle to Bayview Avenue below the Queen Street Viaduct. Vehicles exiting Bayview here would either turn right for Queen, or left for King St. This confusing intersection was closed in 2011 to create the triangular “park”.)
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