April 23, 2025, 3:15pm
Today, people power won. Councillor Chris Moise withdrew his controversial motion that would have severely undermined Toronto’s independent electronic dance music scene.
His motion—seconded by Councillor Frances Nunziata—was introduced without any community consultation or engagement with the very stakeholders it would most affect. Had it passed, it would have imposed an additional bureaucratic barrier on non-profit dance music events (commonly referred to as raves), by giving the City the power to approve or deny provincially-issued Special Occasion Permits (SOPs)—permits that are often essential for event viability.
In essence, Moise wanted to make the City the new gatekeeper of SOPs, a move that would have devastated Toronto’s grassroots arts and culture community—already struggling to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
In response, IntegrityTO worked alongside Save Our Scene to rapidly mobilize opposition. A citizen-led petition garnered over 6,800 signatures in under five days. Our outreach network helped drive over 100,000 views of this alarming proposal, and we brought crucial voices on board—including Toronto’s Night Economy Champion, Councillor Paul Ainslie. We also reminded Mayor Olivia Chow—Moise’s biggest proponent—of her vocal support for the rave scene back in 2000, when it too faced political persecution.
Today, the pressure worked. Moise withdrew his motion, and when he attempted to speak on the matter, he was swiftly cut off by the Speaker.
This is a victory for arts, culture, and the democratic voice of the people.
