The Secret Deal between Thorncliffe Mosque and Metrolinx – Leads to Many Unanswered Questions

On December 14, 2021, the Islamic Society of Toronto (IST) and Metrolinx announced their secret $49.5 million deal.  With this secret deal, Metrolinx is anointing IST in a “leadership” position, a position that it does not have – they were never part of any community discussions hosted by MPP Wynne, MP Oliphant and Councillor Robinson. Their involvement now brings about the following questions:

1.     What exemption has the IST been given to allow for the sale and demolition of a Mosque?

2.     Will the 20 Overlea Blvd be designated a Mosque, or will only a certain portion of a building be designated for use as a Mosque?

3.     What expertise and authority does the IST have to speak for the community?

4.     This community is more than just Muslims.  How will the other non-Muslim members of the community benefit from the use of 20 Overlea Blvd?

5.     Is the IST’s so-called wish for the community shared by the community?

6.     What expertise does the IST have to effectively evaluate the merits, feasibility, and operational effectiveness of a multi-story facility that will have a number of commercial tenants housed in the same premises?

7.     When will this so called “Islamic Centre” be operational?

8.     What expertise does the IST have to set and collect the rents payable by the commercial tenants? What rent subsidy is the IST receiving from Metrolinx?

9.     How many parking spaces is Metrolinx agreeing to provide for visitors to the property and clients of the commercial tenants?

10.  Can a Mosque be a "for profit" institution by collecting rents from commercial tenants?

11.  Has IST been reimbursed for their initial investment in 20 Overlea Blvd? If yes, will the many donations be refunded to the residents who gave IST their hard earned dollars?

A secret deal generally has the markings of abuse of community trust, possible abuse of power, and an absence of awareness of the long term impacts of community betrayal. Disregarding your moral and religious responsibilities and common decency in exchange for some sort of promise of riches is an interesting decision for a group of unelected, misinformed men to make on behalf of thousands and thousands of people.

Here’s how YOU can help out today:

Email Premier Ford (premier@ontario.ca), Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney (minister.mto@ontario.ca) and Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma (kinga.surmaco@pc.ola.org) and state the following:

Stop the secret deal and backroom tactics of paying off places of worship in Thorncliffe Park and other communities.  Metrolinx needs to hit the reset button on the location of a train yard in Thorncliffe Park, especially when viable alternatives exist. 

To contact SaveTPARK:

Email: notrainyard@savetpark.ca  or Phone: 1-855-657-2750