Email your municipal representatives

Contents

How do I contact my councillors?

[Form coming soon.]

Writing a letter to your municipal councillor(s), either by email or mail, can be an effective way to communicate your concern or support for an issue. Although similar, it is important to note that writing to your councillor as their constituent differs from submitting a written comment to a committee of council. While you may write to your councillor at any time for any issue, submitting written comments follows a more formal process.

Keep in mind the style and content of your letter.

Style:

Try to make your letter personal by including your own experiences.
Keep to the same topic and emphasize two or three major points.
Be concise. Try to keep the letter to one page and do not exceed two pages.
If you have more information to share, include any materials in the envelope or attach it to your email.

Content:

Include your name and contact information.
Introduce yourself as a constituent – representatives tend to put much more stock in letters from inside their municipalities
State your objective or the issue and whether you support or opposite it at the beginning.
Follow with a brief introduction outlining your concerns.
Give a short explanation of how the issue affects you personally. Describe your interest in and any experience you have with the issue.
Include facts and figures to support your argument.
Ask questions that prompt a response. Ask for clarification on your City Councillor’s position.
Request a commitment to a specific action, and give rationale for your request.
Thank them for any positive action they have taken in the past on your issue.
Thank them for their time, and remind them you will be discussing the matter with your neighbours, and voting to support the issue at hand.
Mention specifically if you want a written response, then follow up with them in two weeks if there has been no reply.

Example email templates

Toronto Environmental Alliance has a great sample letter for writing to your City Councillor that you can use as a guide.

Dear Councillor [Full Name],

I am writing you today to ask you to take action to practice the 3Rs for gravel use and help save our countryside we and our rural neighbours depend on.

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is literally made of stone, sand and gravel, collectively known as aggregate. Aggregate is in the cement we use to make sidewalks, bridges, large buildings, sewers, the foundations of our homes, and the underground tunnels for subways, cars, and pedestrian walkways.

According to a report published by the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA), the gravel industry estimates that the GTA will require 1.5 billion tonnes of aggregate over the next 25 years to renew our urban infrastructure.

If we don’t change our current aggregate usage, renewing and building the GTA’s infrastructure will destroy precious agricultural land and world-renowned natural spaces in the Greenbelt.

TEA calls on all GTA municipalities to adopt the following recommendations:

Ensure that any new requests of proposals (RFPs) that include the use of aggregate require the successful bidder to demonstrate they will use the highest level of recycled content allowable under provincial standards.

Provide detailed information to the public on aggregate use within the municipality that includes:

How much and what type of aggregate is used for various types of urban infrastructure (eg. roads, sidewalks, bridges, sewers, etc) within the municipality annually

How much of the aggregate used is “virgin”, how much is recycled and how much comes from alternative sources

Where the aggregate comes from, including specific pits and quarries, and the quantities from each source

Projected aggregate use over the next 25 years

Investigate how other jurisdictions effectively reduce “virgin” aggregate use through the use of 3Rs and report out to the appropriate council committee with recommendations about how the municipality can adopt similar strategies.

Urge the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to ensure the 3Rs are the cornerstone of any updated aggregate policy for the Province and that it investigates and implements the production of “sustainable” aggregate.

I support these recommendations and am asking you to move them forward at Council.

Please write me back to let me know what you are doing to ensure these important recommendations are adopted.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Address]

Source: Toronto Environmental Alliance

Speaking on the phone

Councillors have busy schedules, so it may be difficult to arrange a telephone conversation. If you cannot wait for them to become available, you can still speak with their assistant, who can pass your message along.

For an effective telephone conversation, keep the following in mind:

Introduce yourself and identify yourself as a constituent. You can do so by providing your postal code or address.
Give the reason for your call, and explain what concerns you.
Ask pointed questions.
Ask for a commitment to action.
Let your councillor know that this issue will matter to you in the next election.
Follow up. Find out what actions were taken as a result of your call, and respond appropriately.

Meeting in person

Setting up an appointment (telephone or email)

Advise the constituency staff of the issue you would like to discuss and what you want to achieve.
Also advise them of anyone else who will be attending the meeting.
Have patience and be flexible in setting a date and time for the meeting.
Follow up. Confirm the date, time, location and length of the scheduled meeting.

Before your meeting

Stay informed on the issue
Develop a list of questions or suggestions
If you’d like, bring a written brief that provides background information, your concerns, and your suggested actions
Arrive a few minutes prior to the meeting time

At the meeting

Briefly introduce yourself and state why you are there, and what you need from your councillor
Present your case in a clear and concise way
Focus on one or two issues only
Insist on straight answers to your questions
If your councillor agrees with you, get it in writing
Be mindful of the length of the meeting
If you are unclear about something, ask for clarification
Have a calm and respectful dialogue, even if you disagree
Thank your Councillor for the time and opportunity to meet

After your meeting

Call or email to thank your Councillor for meeting with you
In your letter, summarize any commitments that were made, and ask for an update on what has been done

When should I communicate with councillors?

You can contact your municipal members of council for a variety of reasons, for example:

To ask how they will be voting on an upcoming issue
To encourage them to vote for or against a particular issue
To provide information that does not seem to be well understood about a current issue
To request their attendance at an event

As an advocate, you can communicate with your councillor:

When they can influence an upcoming decision that interests you.
When you can offer them insight into an issue that interests you.
When you want to use their position on an issue or presence at an event to attract attention to an issue.

Are there other ways to contact City Councillors?

As mentioned above, City Councillors also sit on committees, community councils, and boards.

For some citywide issues, you may find that a particular committee is working towards goals that interest you. Following the work of committees can be another way to get informed and involved in Toronto’s municipal government.

Committees hold regular meetings, many of which you can attend as an interested member of the public. The meeting times are posted at the committees link above – just click on the committee that interests you. You can also see meeting minutes from past meetings if you would like to see what issues have been discussed and what decisions have been made.

As well, committees often have requests for public comment, meaning they want to hear from the public about a particular issue. Whether you are presenting a deputation or submitting a written comment, making a public comment is a great opportunity to address a number of members of council at once about an issue they have on their agenda.