Editing Art Eggleton (section)

==Mayor of Toronto==
Eggleton was a member of Toronto City Council and the Metropolitan Toronto Council for 22 years. He was [[Mayor of Toronto]] from 1980 to 1991, when he retired from municipal politics as the longest-serving mayor in Toronto history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/SenatorsBio/senator_biography.aspx?senator_id=2774|title=Senate of Canada - Senator Art Eggleton, P.C.|date=11 October 2016}}</ref>

In 1980, he was elected Mayor of Toronto, defeating incumbent [[John Sewell]]. The city moved forward on implementing its new official plan, which resulted in several new significant buildings in the downtown west, or the railway lands area, including the [[Metro Toronto Convention Centre|Convention Centre]], the [[Rogers Centre|SkyDome]], and the [[Canadian Broadcasting Centre|CBC Broadcast Centre]]. During Eggleton's time as mayor, he prioritized social and economic development, and the City of Toronto produced a record level of social housing projects for low-income people; {{convert|50|acre|ha}} of new parks; and innovative new responses to the problems of the homeless and emotionally-troubled with projects like Street City, the Singles Housing Opportunities Program, and the Gernsteins Centre.

As Canada's economic centre moved from Montreal to Toronto in response to the then-separatist government of Quebec, Toronto saw a significant increase in economic growth during his time as Mayor, with steadily decreasing unemployment through the 1980s and into the early 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gower |first=Dave |date=Summer 1989 |title=Canada's Unemployment Mosaic |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/75-001-x/1989002/article/2274-eng.pdf?st=hpqhYfWY |access-date=January 28, 2023 |website=Statistics Canada}}</ref>

Eggleton established the Mayor's Committee on Community and Race Relations to help bring about the successful integration of people from different cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

Eggleton supported the expansion and improvement of Toronto's parks and green spaces, including the creation of new parks and the development of existing ones. In 1984, Eggleton assisted the Minister of Environment in opening the Martin Goodman Trail, named for the president and editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star, who died three years previously.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Federal Environment Minister Charles Caccia and Toronto Mayor Art... |url=https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/federal-environment-minister-charles-caccia-and-toronto-news-photo/502837805 |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Getty Images|date=21 July 2014 }}</ref>

In the 1980s Mayor Eggleton was instrumental in the creation of "FoodShare", an organization that advocates for the right to food, in a bid to prevent dependence on food charity from becoming embedded in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FoodShare |url=https://foodshare.net/timeline/foodshare-is-born-2/ |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=FoodShare}}</ref> In June 2018 Eggleton introduced a bill to the Senate to create Canada's first National Food Program,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Conversation: How to make a national school food program happen |url=https://www.dal.ca/news/2018/08/30/the-conversation--how-to-make-a-national-school-food-program-hap.html |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Dalhousie News}}</ref> which received support from the Government of Canada in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-12 |title=The Launch of the First 'Food Policy For Canada - Everyone at the Table' |url=https://foodsecurecanada.org/first-national-food-policy-for-canada |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Food Secure Canada}}</ref>

During his tenure as mayor, Eggleton faced criticism for steps he took in addressing the concerns of Torontonians in the LGBTQ community. After [[Operation Soap]] in 1981, where there were mass arrests of men in the city's gay bathhouses, despite stating he had no foreknowledge that the raids would take place,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-06-21 |title=Toronto police to apologize for 1981 bathhouse raids |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/06/21/toronto-police-to-apologize-for-1981-bathhouse-raids.html |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=thestar.com}}</ref> Eggleton and Toronto City Council commissioned law student and journalist Arnold Bruner to conduct an inquiry into the relationship between the gay community and the police.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hooper |first=Tom |date=April 16, 2018 |title=The gay community has long been over-policed and under-protected. The Bruce McArthur case is the final straw |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/pride-police-1.4618663 |website=CBC}}</ref> Bruner's report O''ut of the Closet: Study of Relations Between Homosexual Community and Police,'' was released in 1981. It recognized the gay community as a legitimate community and called for a permanent dialogue between the LGBTQ community and the Toronto Police.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bruner |first=Arnold |date=September 24, 1981 |title=Study of Relations between the Homosexual Community and the Police |url=https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Photocopy/89100NCJRS.pdf}}</ref> The report contained 16 recommendations, although many were only implemented decades later.  

In Eggleton's first term as mayor, [[Pride Toronto]] was created partly as a response to Operation Soap. During this time, Eggleton faced some criticism for choosing not to designate a recognized City of Toronto day for the Pride Parade, and not attending Pride Parades. In 1990, Toronto Pride organizers filed a complaint with the [[Ontario Human Rights Commission]] after Eggleton did not officially declare the day. Eggleton later acknowledged these concerns and stated that "I did not at the time see the parade as being the usual kind of event for a mayor’s declaration", that he had "come to see it differently and in more recent times…participated in the parade. I see it as part of celebrating an inclusionary society and the contributions of the LGBTQ community in Toronto". <ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-07-15 |title=Opinion {{!}} Eggleton supported gay rights |url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/07/15/eggleton-supported-gay-rights.html |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=thestar.com}}</ref>

As mayor, Eggleton appeared before a committee of the provincial legislature advocating for an amendment to the Human Rights Code to include sexual orientation in the anti-discrimination clause.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Torontoist |date=2014-06-24 |title=Proclaiming Our Pride |url=https://torontoist.com/2014/06/proclaiming-our-pride/ |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Torontoist}}</ref> Eggleton also voted in favour of Bill C-38 also known as the Civil Marriage Act which legalized same-sex marriage in Canada.

Eggleton's only serious re-election challenge occurred at the [[1985 Toronto municipal election]] when city councillor [[Anne Johnston]], a fellow Liberal, ran against Eggleton for the mayoralty. Eggleton won by a significant margin, receiving 92,994 votes to Johnston's 59,817.

In recognition of his service to the city, Eggleton received Toronto's highest honour, the Civic Award of Merit in 1992.