Toronto City Council
100 Queen Street West, Suite C52
Toronto, ON  M5H 2N2

Dear Councillor:
Toronto is beautiful. Toronto is multicultural. Toronto is friendly. Toronto is a great city.
However, Toronto is being "papered" with cheap, almost entirely illegal advertising, that's covering traffic signs, street lights, public space, traffic signal control boxes, utility poles, bus shelters, parks, curbs, lawns. It's not nice!  While some of the signage may be placed using advertiser-lobbyist-inspired By-Law loopholes, it's still ugly and visually polluting, and does not serve residents and your constituents. As for the companies contracted to distribute and post these Street SPAM Litter signs, imagine operating a business specifically created to pollute and litter our city.

CAUSS-Canada, Canadians Against Ugly Street SPAM (formerly Toronto Advertising Hall of Shame) was developed by concerned residents, citywide, who believe the best way to improve our city is by making everyone aware of the polluting mess Junk Sign advertisers create.

These signs are known as street spam, bandit and snipe signs, vertical litter, illegal signs and utility pole advertising. Examples include got junk?, single?, single in (your city), (your city) singles, looking for love, I buy houses, we buy Houses, I buy homes, rent to own, lease purchase, avoid foreclosure, sell your house in 9 days, sell your home in 7 Days, CEO income at home, don't believe it don't call, become a real estate agent, cash for your home, real estate apprentice wanted, millionaire training, work at home, work from home, I lost 40 pounds, have a pc, and quality affordable health insurance. These signs are illegal in 99% of cities and counties across the United States.  Much of our Street SPAM  Sign Litter  is printed on "Coroplast" which looks like corrugated cardboard but is made from non-recyclable plastic.
Now, CAUSS-Canada, like its U.S. cousin, wants Toronto officials and elected representatives to know that we too care.

Our mission is to put an end to the notion that littering our neighbourhoods with commercial advertising signs is an acceptable method of promoting business. We are dedicated to eradicating our streets of this unsightly litter and assisting code enforcement officers in enforcing the ordinances. Our message to the street spammers is: "Your signs will not be tolerated in our neighbourhoods."  Will you help?

Your Toronto constituents ask that you make a deliberate effort to end this Street SPAM practice now.  Loopholes in city By-Laws compound the problem.  Experience in other jurisdiction demonstrates that “tweaking” By-Laws” does not work.  Only a total ban on such city littering is effective.  It doesn't’t take much to convince a litterbug that discarded trash is ugly, anti-social behaviour, and punishable by fines.  Every piece of Street SPAM Sign Litter has a phone number on it, easily traced.  When a SPAMMER is fined, the word gets out very quickly that the cost of Sign Litter has gone up, and, at some point, impractical for many.

Please understand, there certainly may be some tolerance for community posters such as“garage sale today”, church flea market”, “lemonade for cancer care”, and similar, non-commercial events, especially on dedicated city kiosks - No one wants to harass children, a local home owner, or charitable organization.  Recently, Astral Media installed “community bulletin boards” on some bus shelters – a very good start.  Fact is, however, Commercial Street SPAMMERS will not use them.

Your constituents want you to do the following:

1. Immediately begin a programme of fining Street SPAM Sign Litter offenders
2. Within one year, change applicable By-Laws placing a total ban on Street SPAM Sign Litter.

Your attention to this problem is very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

______________________________________(name)

______________________________________(street address)

______________________________________ (postal code)

Your Toronto City Representatives

WARD 27 - Toronto Centre-Rosedale
Kyle Rae
City Hall
100 Queen Street West, Suite A5
Toronto, ON  M5H 2N2
Phone: 416-392-7903
Fax: 416-696-4300
councillor_rae@toronto.ca

WARD 6 - Etobicoke-Lakeshore
Mark Grimes
City Hall
100 Queen Street West, Suite C48
Toronto, ON  M5H 2N2
Phone: 416-397-9273
Fax: 416-397-9279
councillor_grimes@toronto.ca

WARD 33 - Don Valley East
Shelley Carroll
City Hall
100 Queen Street West, Suite A4
Toronto, ON  M5H 2N2
Phone: 416-392-4038
Fax: 416-392-4101
councillor_carroll@toronto.ca