EnoughTalk

An Action Planfor the Toronto Region

Toronto City Summit Alliance

April, 2003

Elyse Allan*President & CEO, The Toronto Board of Trade

Charles BaillieChairman & CEO,Toronto Dominion Financial Group

Avie BennettChairman of the Board, McClelland & StewartChancellor, York University

Joe BerridgePartner, Urban Strategies Inc.

Robert BirgeneauPresident, University of Toronto

Jill BlackExecutive Director, Toronto City Summit AlliancePresident, J.E. Black & Company Ltd

Alan BroadbentChairman & CEO, Avana Capital Corp.

John CartwrightPresident, Toronto-York Regional Labour Council

Michael ClemonsPresident, Toronto Argonauts

Martin ConnellCo-Owner, Ace BakeryChair of the Board, Toronto Community Foundation

Hon. David Crombie*President & CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute

Hon. William DavisCounsel, Torys LLP

John EvansChairman, Torstar

Robert FungChair, Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation

Kevin GarlandExecutive Director, National Ballet of Canada

Alan GayerPresident & CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children

Robert GillespieChairman & CEO, General Electric Canada

Anne GoldenPresident & CEO, The Conference Board of Canada

Ken GreenbergPrincipal, Greenberg Consultants Inc.

Piers HandlingDirector, Toronto International Film Festival

Shirley HoyChief Administrative Officer, City of Toronto

Richard JohnstonPresident, Centennial College

Kevin KingPublic Affairs Coordinator, Xerox

Veronica LaceyPresident and CEO, The Learning Partnership

Dr. Claude LajeunessePresident, Ryerson University

Frances Lankin*President and CEO, United Way of Greater Toronto

Sandra LevyManager Corporate Human Resource Programs,Magna International

Jeffrey LozonPresident and CEO, St. Michael’s Hospital

Bahadur MadhaniPresident, Equiprop Management Ltd.

Joe MangetVice-President & Director,The Boston Consulting Group

Dr. Lorna MarsdenPresident, York University

Roberto MartellaOwner, Grano Restaurant

Ann MulvaleMayor, Town of Oakville

Winnie NgRegional Director, Canadian Labour Congress

Gordon NixonPresident & CEO, Royal Bank of Canada

Ratna OmidvarExecutive Director, The Maytree Foundation

Susan PigottCEO, St. Christopher House

Courtney PrattPresident & CEO, Toronto Hydro

Hon. Bob RaePartner, Goodmans LLP

Kenn RichardExecutive Director, Native Child & Family Services

Dale RichmondPresident & CEO, OMERS

Edward SorbaraPrincipal, Sorbara Group

Frank SorochinksyPresident, George Brown College

Dr. Joseph WongChairman, Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric CareSteering Committee

Steering Committee

David PecautChair, Toronto City Summit AlliancePresident & CEO, iFormation Group

* Co-Chairs of 2002 Toronto City Summit

The Toronto City Summit Alliance representsa coalition of over 40 civic leaders from theprivate, labour, voluntary and public sectorsin the Toronto region.

We formed this alliance because we careabout the future of the region. In June of lastyear, many of us participated in the TorontoCity Summit – a conference of leaders repre-senting the city’s diverse communities – toassess our urban region’s strengths and chal-lenges, and shape a Framework for Actionthat could move us forward over the next fiveto ten years.

We heard that our economy has been per-forming well: growth in employment and out-put have been strong. But we were disturbedby evidence of threats to our prosperitybecause of growing income disparity, thedeterioration of our inner city, a drop intourism, our decaying infrastructure, and theweakening of our public services. We heardabout a once-great city on the verge ofdecline.

This was not cause for despair but a call toaction. The Toronto City Summit Alliance wasformed to address the challenges the Summitidentified as critical to our shared future –finance, infrastructure, education, immigra-tion and the underlying health of our regionaleconomy.

We were emboldened by the need to rebuildthe city region and determined to get on withthe job. There has been enough talk andhand-wringing. We know there are problems,and we know there are solutions. Now is thetime to act on them.

We have not tried to address all of the issuesfacing the region, but have picked a limitednumber of areas where there is a clear con-sensus for action and where progress can bemade quickly. We have aimed our recommen-dations at all levels of government, munici-pal, provincial and federal, as well as theprivate sector, voluntary organizations and citizens at large. Governments alone cannotaddress the challenges we face.

The members of the Toronto City SummitAlliance are personally dedicated to seeingthese initiatives happen. We urge all govern-ments, political parties and mayoral candi-dates to endorse our recommendations. Wewill work to encourage community groups,voluntary organizations, the business commu-nity, organized labour and citizens of the cityregion to join us in this effort.

Our understanding of the issues and the pro-posals for getting the Toronto region back ontrack have been informed by many organiza-tions and individuals. They offered a veryclear, compelling and expert analysis of thechallenges facing our city region, along withsound advice on how to address those chal-lenges. Our thanks go to the members of ourWorking Groups and those we have consultedover the past few months for their help inachieving this civic consensus on the actionsneeded to secure the Toronto region’s socialand economic future.

Enough Talk: An Action Planfor the Toronto Region

A Vision for the Toronto Region

A Snapshot of the Regional Economy

A New Fiscal Deal for Cities

Shoring Up Our Physical Infrastructure• Regional Transportation• The Waterfront

Reviving Tourism in Toronto

Creating a World-LeadingResearch Alliance

Investing in People• Early Childhood Development• Public Education• Post-Secondary Education

Becoming a Centre of Excellencein Integrating Immigrants

Strengthening Our Social andCommunity Infrastructure• Affordable Housing• Community Services

Supporting the Arts and Culture

A Time for Action

Acknowledgements

Notes

Table of Contents

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In the 1970s and 1980s, Toronto was seenby much of the world as an innovative citythat served as a model for others. In the lastdecade we have seen that image fraying atthe edges as we have under-invested in ourpotential and left chronic problems un-addressed.

Toronto has the resources, the creativity andthe human spirit to be one of the greatest cityregions of the 21st century. Our vision ofToronto is a city region:

• With a diverse and vibrant economy thatis a major engine of Canadian economic growth

• With one of the best educated workforcesin the world and outstanding research and development that attracts companies and talent

• With an excellent system of public educa-tion that provides opportunity for all chil-dren in all communities

• Where the needs of early childhood are taken seriously and each child gets a good start in life

• That provides a high quality and affordable post-secondary education to all qualified students who aspire to higher learning

• That is committed to public transit as part of an integrated transportation system that serves people and moves goods efficiently

• With vibrant neighbourhoods where public schools and community facilities are cen-tres for learning and community activities

• Known as the world’s centre of excellence in welcoming immigrants

• Where housing needs are met for all income levels and all stages of life

• That takes care of its most needy citizens• Where civic participation is widespread and

civic leadership is effective• Recognized for its cultural and artistic

excellence• That is on every world citizen’s list of

‘must-see’ places to visit

That city region is within our grasp. We needonly the will to make it happen. The agendafor action that follows is intended to move uscloser to that vision.

A Vision for the Toronto Region

A Strong EconomyWith its five million residents, one-fifth ofCanada’s entire GDP and 40 per cent ofCanada’s business head offices, the GreaterToronto Area is Canada’s largest driver of eco-nomic activity and the source of significantspin-off jobs throughout the country.*

Much of the province’s and the nation’sgrowth and wealth come from the Torontoregion. The GTA made a net contribution (taxrevenues less re-investment) of $3 billion tothe province of Ontario in 2000 and $17 billion to the federal government that sameyear.1

There have been several driving forces behindthe Toronto region’s growth and success overthe last 10 years:

Skilled Labour ForceOver half the labour force in our city regionhas at least a college or university degree.Our education levels are significantly higherthan those of other city regions such as NewYork or Chicago.2 This skilled labour base isespecially critical to those more knowledge-intensive industries that will loom large in the future.

Strong and Diverse Industry ClustersThe Toronto region is home to an impressivenumber of vibrant industrial clusters stronglyoriented towards international trade.

• We are the capital of Canada’s financial services industry and the largest centre for business and professional services – driven in part by our large number of corporate headquarters

• Our automotive industry cluster of vehicle assembly and parts plants is the second largest in North America

• Our food and beverage manufacturing industry is also the second largest on the continent

• We have North America’s fourth largest bio-medical and biotechnology cluster, and the continent’s second largest information tech-nology and telecommunications cluster

• Our tourism industry generates billions of dollars in economic activity and is the largest in Canada

• The Toronto region is home to the largest arts and culture sector in Canada, includingthe third largest film industry on the conti-nent

The sheer diversity of the region’s economicbase is one of the key reasons that we haveweathered the past few years better thanmost cities in North America.

Growing International TradeOne key factor in the region’s success hasbeen its increasing penetration into U.S. mar-kets with the result that, today, the GTA hasstrong trade links with city-regions in Michi-gan, Ohio, New York, Illinois, Indiana andCalifornia. Our aerospace, business servicesand financial services industries have signifi-cantly expanded their exports outside of North America as well.

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A Snapshot ofthe Regional Economy

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) officially includes theCity of Toronto and the regions of Durham, Halton, Peeland York. We use the term because it is common parl-ance for the Toronto city region, and the level at whichsome municipal revenues are pooled and redistributed.We recognize that much of the economic data we citeactually pertains to the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)

which has slightly different boundaries than the GTA but is comparable in size and economic impact. The economic scope of the city region extends in fact wellbeyond the boundaries of the GTA.

For some of our recommendations we will refer to thiswider sense of the city region extending to Hamilton andwest toward Guelph and Cambridge.

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The region’s continued prosperity depends on a favourable environment for growth in theprovince and the nation. Competitive provin-cial and national tax structures, particularlyin the areas of income and capital taxation,are essential. With so much of our economydriven by the manufacturing and services sec-tors, supportive provincial and federal policiesfor education and research are critical.Smooth trading arrangements with the UnitedStates are also important to maintain ourstrong and growing north-south trade.

While we should be proud of our economicperformance to date, the challenges goingforward are significant. Our financial servicesindustry must increasingly compete with larger global centres for internationally tradedservices. The future of our auto industrydepends on Ontario securing its fair share of

the next round of investment in assemblyplants. And our technology industries like IT, telecom and biotech must increasingly com-pete in a world where the investments neces-sary for commercialization grow ever moreexpensive.

All of our economic challenges and opportuni-ties depend on adequate investment in ourphysical and social infrastructure. Great busi-nesses do not exist in isolation. They dependon high quality schools, colleges and universi-ties. They require efficient transportation,telecom, water, waste and energy infrastruc-ture. They are increasingly seeking locationswhere their employees can experience a highquality of life. The building blocks of a greatcommunity and the supports needed for suc-cessful businesses are the same.

The Toronto Region’s Top ClustersCLUSTER

Financial Services

Automotive

Biomedical &Biotechnology

Entertainment,Arts & Culture

Food & BeverageManufacturing

Aerospace

Business &Professional Services

Tourism

Information &Communications

Clothing & Textiles

RANKING

Third largest in North America, after New York and San Francisco

Second largest in North America, after Detroit

Fourth largest in North America

Third largest English-language theatre centre in the worldThird in North America for film and TV productionFourth largest media cluster in North America

Second largest in North America, after Chicago

Fifth-largest in the world; second-largest in Canada, after Montreal

Among North America’s largest, comparable to New York,Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Canada’s number one destination, with two-thirds more visitors than thecountry’s second and third top destinations (Niagara region and Montreal)

Largest in Canada

Canada’s largest and fastest-growing commercial fashion industry

Source: Industry cluster rankingsin the text and chart come primarily fromThe Institute of Competi-tiveness and Prosperityand studies for the City of Toronto.

Despite the strength of the Toronto region’seconomy and the wealth it produces, we havewitnessed a growing gap between the publicinvestments required in the region and thefinancial capacity of our local governments tofund those investments. Regional municipali-ties face escalating costs but have limitedabilities to raise revenues. This is forcingtough choices on the city-region – choicesbetween building roads or paying the police,supporting public health programs or diggingsewers, reducing homelessness or supportingthe arts.

We recognize that trade-offs are a necessarypart of any budgeting process; however, theGTA generates enough wealth to support ahealthy range of basic services. The real prob-lem is with how responsibilities and taxingpowers are distributed among our differentlevels of government.

Quite simply, Canadian federalism is notworking for our large city regions. Toronto and other cities are in a fiscal straightjacketbecause property taxes are the only mecha-nism for raising substantial revenues. Theprovinces and the federal government havesignificantly more fiscal capacity and a widerange of taxing powers, including sales andincome taxes. Traditionally, the governmentsof Ontario and Canada have provided the corefunding for social welfare, social housing andother programs that involve income redistribu-tion.

But in recent years, many of those social pro-grams have been downloaded to municipali-ties. In 1988, for instance, we spent 18 percent of our municipal operating expenditureson health and social assistance. By 2000,that figure had soared to 33 per cent as adirect result of the province’s 1998 decisionto transfer responsibility for affordable hous-ing and 20 per cent of the Family Benefitsand the Ontario Disability Support Programs

to municipal governments, and to increasethe municipal share of social assistanceadministrative costs to 50 per cent. Adminis-trative costs have grown the fastest, triplingsince 1990.

While the provincial service realignment gavecities some education property tax room, thebottom line is that senior levels of govern-ment have succeeded in protecting theirbudgets against the next economic downturnby downloading significant social costs to themunicipal level. They have submitted thesmall, already overburdened property tax baseof municipalities to greater cost pressures. Adownturn in the the Toronto region economywould result in rapid escalation of socialassistance costs for the level of governmentleast able to respond.

Other issues are contributing to fiscal con-straints:

• Urban sprawl is exacerbating problems with traffic, transit and pollution, and will increase pressure on existing revenue sources. The GTA Task Force estimated in 1996 that, if development patterns contin-ue in the Toronto area as they have over thepast 25 years, we would require about $55 billion of capital investment over the next quarter-century to build new road, water and sewer networks, as well as another $14billion in operating expenditures. A more compact and efficient development pattern could save roughly $12 billion.

• The amalgamation of the City of Toronto has not produced the overall cost savings that were projected. Although there have been savings from staff reductions, the har-monization of wages and service levels has resulted in higher costs for the new City. We will all continue to feel these higher costs in the future.

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A New Fiscal Deal for Cities

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• Municipalities have limited revenue sourcesand must rely on property taxes and user fees to generate revenue. Property taxes account for the lion’s share – almost half ofmunicipal revenues in the GTA. Most large U.S. cities, in contrast, draw only about 20 per cent of their revenues from this source, and make up much of the difference through municipal access to a variety of excise and income taxes, plus higher levels of transfers from senior levels of govern-ment.

Ironically, municipalities cannot take fiscaladvantage of good economic times. Local gov-ernments receive little extra revenue whentheir region benefits from economic expan-sion since property taxes do not increaseautomatically with economic growth. The ben-efits from higher taxes generated by economicgrowth flow almost totally to the federal andprovincial levels.

In the short-term, increased provincial andfederal government grants could relieve someof the financing burden on municipalities.Ultimately, however, local governments arecloser to their residents and should be able tomeet most local needs without going cap-in-hand to senior levels of government.

The TCS Alliance strongly urges the Ontarioand federal governments to create a “new fiscaldeal” for Toronto and other major city regions.This would mean:

1. Relieving municipalities from taxes imposed by senior levels of government, such as the Ontario sales tax and federal GST, and from paying for the downloaded costs of affordablehousing and social assistance. These actionswill create fiscal room for cities to tackle their challenges with funds they already raisefrom local taxes.

2. Putting in place predictable and meaningful long term federal and provincial support for urban infrastructure – especially transit.

3. Allowing municipalities in Ontario the free-dom to levy new taxes and fees for services they consider important.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the federalgovernment exempt municipalities from GST andthat Ontario provide an exemption from the PST.

Municipal governments are unique within theGST structure: they purchase and thereforepay the tax on a range of goods and services,such as fire equipment, engineering servicesand road maintenance, but are not the finalconsumer. Even when they claim their partialGST rebate, GTA governments still pay rough-ly $100 million in GST per year. On top ofthat, GTA governments pay roughly $150 mil-lion per year in PST.3 The fastest way to cre-ate new fiscal room at the municipal level isfor the governments of Ontario and Canada tostop taxing municipalities.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the province,over time, take back responsibility for somesocial expenditures downloaded to municipalgovernments. This should include affordablehousing and family assistance benefits.

We were disappointed that the recent provin-cial budget did not address this issue. Werecognize that “uploading” affordable housingand social assistance costs may take severalyears. In the interim municipalities will needdirect financial support to assist them withfinancing their social costs. The City of Toron-to, for example, has little money in its budgetfor the maintenance of the social housingstock and none for new affordable housing.

The TCS Alliance urges the federal governmentto allocate at least $1 billion annually forstrategic infrastructure projects in urban cen-tres. A good portion of this should flow to theToronto region, and particularly public transit.Federal support should be matched with provin-cial investment and new revenue sources tocover necessary investment in existing and new infrastructure.

The TCS Alliance was disappointed by thelack of adequate urban infrastructure fund-ing in the recent federal budget. While weapplauded the increased spending on thechild tax credit, affordable housing andhomelessness, immigrant settlement, andresearch and development – all of which support cities – the litmus test for federalsupport to cities is support to physical infra-structure. Unfortunately, the budget commit-ted only $250 million over the next two yearsand $3 billion in total over 10 years to allinfrastructure. This is woefully inadequate. Ifthe federal government is serious about usingurban transit to help meet its Kyoto Protocolcommitments and fostering its innovationagenda, then $1 billion per year is a modestamount. This would still be less than a fifthof what the U.S. federal government spendseach year on urban transportation infrastruc-ture on a per capita basis.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the Ontariogovernment give municipal governments accessto a broader range of revenue sources thanproperty taxes and user fees. This will enablelocal governments to fund and be accountablefor local services based on those revenuesources.

Two promising local sources of revenue are ahotel destination marketing fee for the GTAand a fuel tax (to be discussed in greaterdetail in subsequent sections of this report).Many U.S. cities – Detroit, for example – levyincome taxes to pay for local expenses, andlocal governments in 31 states and the Dis-trict of Columbia levy general sales taxes.

The TCS Alliance recommends that municipalgovernments ensure that their financial tools(user fees, property taxes, and developmentcharges) relate more closely to the cost of pro-viding services in different locations and for different types of development – except wherethose fees or charges lead to undesirablebehaviour or limit accessibility by low incomeearners.

For example:

• User fees for water should be set at full cost recovery levels, including maintenanceand replacement costs. User fees for garbage collection should also be consid-ered if illegal dumping can be controlled.

• Property tax rates on apartments are higher than for single family homes and should belowered to encourage higher density and reflect the fact that it generally costs less to provide services in high-density areas.4

• Development charges should reflect the true costs of developing different locations. Right now, the uniform charge over an entire urban area that many municipalities choose to levy inadvertently subsidizesurban sprawl.

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The Toronto region’s physical assets are notkeeping up with our growth. Rather than sup-porting our productivity, they are detractingfrom the liveability and prosperity of our com-munity.

Some important infrastructure projects areunderway. Our international airport is under-going a $4.4 billion expansion to position itas a leading international hub airport. Andthe region has become the first North Ameri-can city with a business telecommunicationssystem that is mostly fibre optic. But thefunding and planning for many other essentialinfrastructure projects are happening tooslowly or not at all.

Regional TransportationThe GTA is a hub for trucking and othertransportation. We need excellent highways,local and regional roads, and rail and urbantransit systems because good transportationsystems are critical to our competitivenessand our quality of life. An effective trans-portation infrastructure is a major determi-nant of business location decisions. It canalso prevent urban sprawl from gobbling upour countryside and farmland, improve our airquality and enhance preservation of our envi-ronment.

The problems facing our transportation sys-tem have escalated to the point where theythreaten our economic efficiency and abilityto compete with other urban regions. Ourmajor freeway network is 70 per cent con-gested at peak periods. Gridlock alone coststhe GTA $2 billion annually in lost productivi-ty.5 Indeed, local businesses cited congestionas their number one worry in a recent Boardof Trade survey. And it is the number one ortwo issue for residents of the regions makingup the GTA, according to a recent Environicspoll. The Central Ontario Smart GrowthPanel’s recent discussion paper recommend-ed an approach to unlocking gridlock thatinvolves investment in transit, as well astransportation demand management, transit-supportive land use planning, and an inte-grated transportation network to move peopleand goods.

Meanwhile, our largest transit provider – theToronto Transit Commission – and other tran-sit systems in the GTA suffer from inadequatefunding and piecemeal planning. Though theToronto Transit Commission has the second-highest ridership in North America (and thehighest level of rider funding at 80 per centof costs) and GO transit ridership is now 40million, funding for transit maintenance andexpansion has been inadequate. Within thepast decade alone, the TTC has seen its oper-ating subsidy fall far below that received byany comparable urban centre in the world –from 61 cents to 37 cents per rider.6 Thereduction in funds has led to a reduction inthe quality of service.

Shoring Up OurPhysical Infrastructure

In their 1999 study, “Funding Transportationin the GTA and Hamilton-Wentworth,” the IBIGroup and Hemson Consulting estimated thatthe annual capital funding shortfall in GTAtransportation and transit is $800 million peryear. The TCS Alliance working group esti-mates that the annual operating shortfall tofund system growth is approximately $500million per year on top of the capital short-fall.

It is absolutely critical that the provincial andfederal governments fully support the pro-posed capital, repair and growth plans of GOTransit and the TTC. Getting behind the cur-rent efforts of our major transit organizationsis the only way to provide immediate relieffrom congestion and reduce the impact onthe environment. The recent federal andOntario announcements of new money for GOTransit are a step forward. The TTC needs areequally pressing and must be urgentlyaddressed.

Although our region has 15 local transitproviders, we have no regional transportationplanning or coordinating body. Urban regionsthroughout North America, including Vancou-ver and Montreal, have successfully imple-mented regional transportation authorities.It’s time the Toronto region had one too.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the province,in consultation with the City of Toronto andregional municipalities, establish a RegionalTransportation Authority for the GTA-Hamiltonarea.

This body should have:

• Explicit, legislated authority to plan and fund capital investment in transportation infrastruc-ture and associated short-term operating step-ups in the region.

• Authority over planning in an integrated man-ner for major arterial roads, including the 400series highways and major transit systems expansions – working with existing operators.

• Access to new, adequate, stable and pre-dictable funding sources. These should include infrastructure funds from senior gov-ernments and the right to levy fuel taxes and potentially road tolls and user fees. The equivalent of 3 cents per litre per year of fuel tax would generate $150 million in new fund-ing alone.

• A commitment to smart growth principles.

Establishment of a new Regional Transporta-tion Authority must result in substantial netnew money for public transit in the region.The Authority must have access to its ownfunding sources to be a credible lead partnerin planning the regional infrastructure. How-ever, provincial and federal infrastructurefunding will still be required for major capitalprojects.

The trade union members of the TCS Allianceare in agreement that region-wide transporta-tion planning is important and that new incre-mental funding of transit is essential. How-ever, they do not support the creation of aRegional Transportation Authority at this timeout of concern that the governance of such anauthority might result in a bias away frompublic transit and support to the TTC. (TheTCS Alliance would only support a RegionalAuthority that was designed and implementedin such a way as to increase funding to tran-sit and the TTC.) There is also a concern ontheir part that such an authority could openthe door to more private sector involvement in transit, which they oppose.

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The Waterfront Toronto’s waterfront has the potential to rivalthat of any other city in the world. There hasbeen much talk about revitalizing the water-front since the Prime Minister, Premier ofOntario, and the Mayor publicly unveiled anew vision for Toronto’s waterfront in 1999.But there has been little action to date.

All three levels of government must get thewaterfront revitalization moving ahead.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the TorontoCity Council adopt the secondary plan for thewaterfront as amended.

Six teams of leading local and internationalarchitects, recently invited to give Torontosuggestions on waterfront development, unan-imously agreed that development should beguided by certain principles. These principlesunderlie the secondary plan and are essentialto creating a successful waterfront – one thatwill attract residents, as well as tourists. Thesecondary plan will likely go to Council inApril and must be approved before detaileddevelopment planning and implementationcan proceed.

The TCS Alliance recommends that all three lev-els of government clarify the mandate and roleof the The Waterfront Revitalization Corporation(TWRC) relative to that of their many agenciesthat are involved with the waterfront to give it clear responsibility for implementing theapproved plan. The TWRC must also be fundedappropriately so that it can fulfill that responsi-bility.

Many government agencies and private sectorinterests own or control land on the water-front – and all have legitimate mandates thatconflict, to different extents, with the visionand plan for the waterfront. Finding a way toresolve jurisdictional conflicts is essential.Governments and their agencies must sepa-rate the issue of ownership of the land fromthat of funding so that the TWRC can startputting the necessary infrastructure in placeto implement the development plan.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the TWRCproceed, as the operational agency that isresponsible for realizing the public’s vision forthe waterfront, proceed to provide the publicinfrastructure required for development.

There is much that can be done with currentfunding commitments if the TWRC focuses onshort term objectives, including remediationand servicing of the portlands and the con-struction of new public parks and openspaces. Moving incrementally to completethese projects will provide the foundation fordevelopment to proceed, while demonstratingreal progress and building momentum behindwaterfront revitalization.

The Toronto region is one of the major touristdestinations in North America. It is a strongcontributor to the region’s economy, bringingin revenues of $4 billion annually and provid-ing our residents with some 95,000 directjobs.7

Tourism is a growth industry in North Ameri-ca, but unfortunately our industry has slippedsignificantly in the past six years. Despite thelower Canadian dollar, Toronto has been los-ing tourism market share to other major NorthAmerican destinations. Growth in visitors toToronto between 1996 and 2000 was only1.5 per cent per year – versus 5 per cent ormore per year in cities such as New York,Boston, Montreal and Chicago.

Our economy is paying the price: totalemployment in the tourism sector declined byabout 8 per cent between 1998 and 2000 fora loss of 6800 jobs. During this same time

period, international tourism receiptsincreased worldwide by 7 per cent and inNorth America by 15 per cent. If we had simply held the share of the large-city NorthAmerican tourism market we had in 1996, we would have generated an additional $650million of output in the Toronto region in2000 – money that would have found its wayinto thousands of small businesses across thecity region’s economy. In addition, the Ontariogovernment would have reaped an incremen-tal $160 million in sales and income taxesand the federal government an incremental$160 million in total tax revenues.

There are two fundamental reasons for thedecline in tourism in the Toronto region: inad-equate marketing and under-investment inour attractions. Fortunately, marketing can be addressed quickly. Under-investment inattractions will take a longer-term plan, butalso must be remedied.

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Reviving Tourism in Toronto

Tourism Marketing: How Toronto Compares to Other Cities($ Millions Cdn)

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1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

VANCOUVERCAGR 5%

MONTRÉALCAGR 10%

NEW YORKCAGR 9%

SAN FRANCISCOCAGR 6%

CHICAGOCAGR 19%

TORONTOCAGR -5%

Source:Chicago Convention andTourist Bureau, “AnnualCompetitive AnalysisReports,” Tourism Toronto

CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate

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Toronto spends much less on marketing thanother cities that we compete with for touristsand the jobs that tourism can provide. Othermajor cities in North America generate fundsfor tourism promotion by charging a small feeon hotel rooms. Montreal, one of our region’sprimary urban competitors, charges a hotellevy that generates about $8 to $9 million ayear for tourism marketing and advertising – a considerable portion of Tourism Montreal’sannual budget. Tourism Toronto, in compari-son, receives an annual grant of $4.2 millionfrom the city, plus membership fees and pri-vate sector support, for a total budget of only$8.1 million.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the Govern-ment of Ontario immediately address the market-ing issue by allowing municipalities to raisefunds locally to attract tourists. Specifically, theGovernment of Ontario should permit the cre-ation of a Destination Marketing Fee (DMF), atthe discretion of municipalities and with thesupport of their local hospitality industry. Thiswould enable the City of Toronto and regionalmunicipalities to introduce a 3 per cent market-ing fee on hotel and motel rooms that wouldgenerate approximately $24 million dollars intourism marketing funds for the GTA annually.

Introducing such a levy would give municipal-ities in the Toronto region the option of apply-ing a DMF on all hotel and motel rooms intheir respective jurisdictions. It would beimportant to ensure that all funds raisedthrough the DMF are dedicated to destina-tion marketing. The sum of the DMF, GSTand PST should not exceed 15 per cent. Thiswould be the case with a 3 per cent DMFsince GST is 7 per cent and the provincial taxon hotel rooms is 5 per cent. The DMF wouldbe shown as a separate line on accommoda-tion bills.

It is important to note that we are asking onlyfor municipalities to have the right to adopt a Destination Marketing Fee. Because theGreater Toronto Hotel Association stronglysupports this initiative, we expect that munic-ipalities in the Toronto region will choose toadopt the DMF, and we will strongly urgethem to do so.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the Ontariogovernment and the federal government matchlocally raised marketing funds, as is done inother cities in the country.

Other cities leverage their marketing fundswith provincial and federal funds. Cities inBritish Columbia and Quebec, for instance,can match local marketing funds raised bytheir cities with provincial funds, which areeligible for matching funds from the nationaltourism support program funded through theCanadian Tourism Commission.

Our provincial legislation lacks a mechanismto leverage matching provincial and federaltourism marketing funds. Ontario, and there-fore the Toronto region, loses its share ofnational tourism marketing funds to otherprovinces.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the City ofToronto work with the provincial and federalgovernments and regional municipalities todevelop a long term plan for enhancing our key tourism attractions and infrastructure.

Stronger promotion of the Toronto region as a visitor destination will help attract moretourists, but if we want to grow tourism in thelonger term, we must improve our “product”as well. The new investments in the RoyalOntario Museum, the Science Centre, the ArtGallery of Ontario, The Four Seasons Centrefor the Performing Arts and other culturalfacilities will help. However, our existing cul-tural attractions – attractions that reflect ourdiversity and uniqueness – must be given notjust the capital, but also the operating fundsnecessary to compete on an internationalstage. Having secured the funding base forour existing attractions, Toronto should lookahead to consider establishing at least a fewnew world-class tourist destinations to ensurethe long term health of our tourism industry.

The Toronto region should aspire to be aworld-leading centre for research andresearch-driven industries. A coordinatedresearch and development initiative for theToronto region – one that capitalizes on thecapabilities of our universities, colleges,teaching hospitals, government labs andresearch-based companies – will enable us tovault the Toronto region into the front ranksof regional research centres internationally.

Research institutions in competitor cities andregions have already forged such alliancesand are reaping the benefits. Since 1990, forinstance, the Georgia Research Alliance – apartnership of Georgia’s six research universi-ties, the business community and the stategovernment – has fostered high-tech companygrowth, attracted over three dozen world-lead-ing scientists and their teams to the state,solidified Georgia’s reputation as an advancedtechnology state and become a force for localjob development.

Collaboration offers many benefits. In manyfields, the costs of funding research havebecome prohibitively high for any individualinstitution. Through collaboration, ourresearch institutions can be more effectiveat attracting public and private funding tofinance strategic infrastructure, keep it up-to-date and share the benefits of these invest-ments as broadly as possible.

Collaboration will also allow us to attract andretain more leading researchers as well as thehighly specialized technical expertise that isneeded in many areas to optimize invest-ments in high-cost research facilities andequipment. The Toronto region has special-ized expertise in biotech and medicine, information technology, software, telecom,materials science and many other fields.However, in many sub-fields, acquiring thecritical mass to specialize is very expensiveand exceeds the current capacity of our individual institutions.

Collaboration will help us access the risk capital needed for commercialization throughmore aggressive marketing of our researchand institutions outside the Toronto region. A recent analysis of biotechnology activity inthe 51 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, forinstance, found that the industry is heavilyconcentrated in nine regions, all of whichexcel because they have two factors in com-mon: their strong research capabilities andtheir ability to convert that research into commercial activity.

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Creating a World-LeadingResearch Alliance

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Finally, the Toronto region’s strong researchcapacity, the expanding role of life sciences,and growing public interest in science presentopportunities for the region to develop aniche market in scientific tourism and confer-ences. Collaborating to promote the Torontoregion as a leading international researchconference centre and developing relatedattractions like the Ontario Science Centrewill boost our reputation as well as ourtourism industry.

The TCS Alliance, with the Toronto region’s pub-lic and private research institutions, will createa Toronto Region Research Alliance that willwork strategically to place Toronto among thefront ranks of the world’s research centres. TheToronto Region Research Alliance will includeuniversities, colleges, teaching hospitals, gov-ernment laboratories, leading companies, ven-ture capitalists and private research institutesthroughout the wider region, including Hamilton,Guelph and Kitchener/Waterloo.

The Toronto Region Research Alliance will:

• Develop a strategic plan to build capacity and infrastructure in research areas that are critical to the Toronto region’s economic growth or where the region has the poten-tial to excel internationally

• Assist in recruiting leading researchers and research-based companies to our region

• Promote increased government, private sector and other research investment in our region and help bring key projects in the strategic plan to fruition

• Increase access to venture capital by mobiliz-ing pension fund investment in Canada andattracting international venture capital to the Toronto region

• Identify and help remove barriers to commer-cialization of research

• Promote the scientific, technical and commer-cial capabilities and achievements of the region to international audiences

• Increase science tourism through aggressive efforts to attract key scientific conferences and develop regional science attractions

“ A high quality education system,

beginning with excellent early learn-

ing and childcare services, is ulti-

mately linked to economic innovation

– and that is crucial to retaining a

skilled workforce, as well as main-

taining the ethnic and socio-ethnic

harmony Toronto requires if it is to

continue as a vibrant and liveable

city.”

Commission on Early Learning and ChildCare for the City of Toronto, May 2002

Early Childhood DevelopmentMany studies and task forces have clearlydemonstrated the importance of the earlyyears in establishing the foundation for chil-dren’s later success. The most notable are the McCain-Mustard reports “The Early Years”(1999) and “The Early Years Three YearsLater” (2002), and the Coffey-McCain report“The Commission on Early Learning and ChildCare for the City of Toronto.” These studieshave shown that a child’s cognitive, socialand physical development by age six is apowerful predictor of his or her future schoolperformance and adult well-being.

Because most of the women in our regionwork outside the home, over 300,000 chil-dren under twelve from all socio-economicbackgrounds require some type of childcare.But available licensed childcare spaces satis-fy just over 20 per cent of the demand. Andthe situation is worse for subsidized child-care: an estimated 20,000 children are currently on GTA waiting lists.8

The federal government has recognized theimportance of a comprehensive approach toearly childhood development that includesearly learning, positive parenting and licensedchildcare. The federal government allocated$880 million over five years starting in 2000through its Early Childhood Development Ini-tiative (ECDI) to support early childhooddevelopment in Ontario. Federal investmentin early childhood development was augment-ed with the recent federal budget announce-ment of $900 million nationally over fiveyears, starting in 2003, for new, licensedchildcare spaces.

“ In the short term productivity would

rise as parents in the labour force are

released from the day-to-day conflicts

inherent in securing adequate non-

parental childcare. In the long term

youngsters provided with a sound start

would place fewer demands on the

health, social welfare and criminal

justice systems.”

Commission on Early Learning and ChildCare for the City of Toronto, May 2002

But Ontario, unlike most other provinces, hasnot spent any of its federal ECDI funding onlicensed childcare. After downloading respon-sibilities for childcare to municipalities in1995, Ontario has also reduced its supportfor childcare. Funding province-wide hasdropped $90 million since 1995. The City of Toronto lost 1600 subsidized childcarespaces in 2001 and is at risk of losing 700more.

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Investing in People

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Early Childhood Development Return on Investment($ U.S. ‘000s)

The TCS Alliance urges the Ontario governmentto recommit to the vision of “The Early YearsReport” and to:

• Ensure that current and new federal ECDI funding is combined with provincial fundingto create sufficient new licensed and appro-priately funded childcare spaces.

The TCS Alliance strongly urges the Ontariogovernment to participate fully in the federalgovernment’s national childcare plan andensure that its new Early Childhood Develop-ment funding is allocated across the fullspectrum of priority programs, including thecreation of net new, licensed childcare spacesto address the critical need for quality child-care for Ontario’s families. We also urge theOntario government to immediately invest a substantial portion of ECDI funds it has not

yet spent to restore lost licensed childcarespaces. ECD funding should be distributedfairly, and the Toronto region should receiveits requisite share.

• Use a portion of the funding that it receives under the federal Early Childhood Develop-ment Initiative (ECDI) to support ongoing assessment and reporting on the readinessto learn of children across the Toronto region.

Readiness to learn is a key measure of manyaspects of a child’s well being and an impor-tant predictor of future outcomes. Supportingteachers in assessing readiness to learn, andreporting at the community level, would pro-vide evidence we now lack in the Torontoregion on how well children are doing andwhere we need to do more. It will also helpthe Ontario government improve the effective-ness of its ECD programs and investments.

Special Education Savings

Welfare Savings

Additional Taxes on Income

Justice System Savings

Decreased Impact on Crime Victims

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

$12.02 years of Preschool

700%Return on Investment

$87.0

INVESTMENT BENEFITS

Source:Perry Preschool Study,1992

Public EducationThe importance of a strong and effective pub-lic education system that is responsive to theneeds of our students cannot be overempha-sized. All students, no matter where theycome from or what their needs, are entitled to the best education in core curriculum sub-jects, as well as in the arts, music and physi-cal education.

A high quality public education system edu-cates the ‘whole child.’ It aims to fosterexcellence and achievement and to ensurethat all children have the best opportunity todevelop their intellectual, social and physicalcapacities to their full potential. Public edu-cation is essential to ensuring that the Toron-to region has a well-educated labour forceequipped to meet the demands of today’s –and tomorrow’s – knowledge-based economy.We need excellent public education if we areto attract and retain talented people, busi-nesses and institutions.

Our local public schools have traditionallyplayed a central role in the life of our neigh-borhoods, offering their communities essen-tial activities to support early learning andparenting and an array of extracurricularactivities – both educational and recreational– as well as essential outreach and supportfor children and families in trouble.

A tremendous amount of research has beenconducted in recent years that strongly sup-ports the need for additional investment inpublic education. In particular, the Report ofthe Education Equality Task Force (2002) byDr. Mordechai Rozanski provides the blue-print for educational revitalization. It recom-mended more adequate, flexible and pre-dictable funding to allow school boards toplan ahead to meet local needs and priorities.

Funding poses a particular challenge for theToronto region. The government of Ontariomade major changes to the education fundingmodel in 1998 – changes that negativelyaffected the public education system in theToronto region. Rozanski reported that thecost benchmarks in that funding formula have not been updated since 1998, leaving a $1.08 billion annual shortfall – a large proportion of which would have gone to theToronto region. This has resulted in an overalldecrease in per-pupil funding, less money toserve Toronto region children with specialneeds, such as recent immigrants, and loss of community use of schools, which cannotafford to stay open without charging for facili-ties or staff.

We need to restore investment in educationbased on the principles of improving educa-tion quality, ensuring equity and access, pro-moting cost-effectiveness and affordability,and improving accountability to the public.

The TCS Alliance urges the Ontario governmentto make public education a priority. We stronglyendorse the recommendations outlined in theRozanski report and call on the government toaccelerate its implementation to address fund-ing deficiencies in our schools.

A number of recommendations from theReport are particularly relevant to studentachievement in the Toronto region: those thataddress the overall shortfall in funding as wellas the recommendations that specificallyaddress the higher concentration of specialneeds in the Toronto region related to lan-guage skills development for immigrant par-ents and their children, parenting and earlylearning programs for children and families at risk, restoring community access to schoolspace in neighbourhoods where schools havetraditionally been the community and recre-ational centers, repairing and maintainingolder schools and fostering intergovernmentalcoordination.

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In addition to the funding recommendationsoutlined in Dr. Rozanski’s report, the TCSAlliance is concerned about the high numberof high school students who have not suc-cessfully completed the Grade 10 literacy test– 43,000 across Ontario last year.9 Given thatmost jobs require at least a high school edu-cation, these kids, who are at risk of not com-pleting high school, may become unemploy-able. We endorse the Minister of Education’sstated intent to help those students who arenot bound for post-secondary educationachieve the necessary qualifications to obtaintheir high school diplomas.

Post-Secondary EducationPost-secondary education plays a critical rolein preparing people for active participation inthe social, economic and cultural life of theircommunities, and in building the highlyskilled labour force necessary to compete intoday’s knowledge economy.

The GTA alone is home to three world classuniversities (University of Toronto, York Uni-versity, and Ryerson University) and a fourth,the University of Ontario Institute of Technol-ogy, under development. We also have sixexcellent colleges of applied arts and technol-ogy: Centennial College, Durham College,George Brown, Humber College, Seneca College and Sheridan. There are many moreexcellent post-secondary institutions in thewider region.

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Key Rozanski Recommendations for the Toronto Region:

• Update all benchmark costs in the funding model and conduct a comprehensive review every five years to ensure the model is adequately meeting the funding needs of our schools – to deliver the core curriculum well, and to restorearts and physical education.

• Immediately invest the recommended $50 million (province-wide) in the Demographic Component of the Learning Opportunities Grant to help assist the relatively high concentration of children in the GTA who are socio-economically disadvantaged.

• Increase funding under the Language Grant to reflect five years of language training required for English as a SecondLanguage/Skills Development (ESL) as the GTA has the highest number of immigrants in the country, and thereforetremendous need.

• Allocate $200 million (province-wide) annually toward a “deferred maintenance amortization fund” which would provide our schools with much needed funding for maintenance and repairs.

• Assist in creating a Cabinet Committee responsible for coordinating the work of the Ministries of Health and Long-Term Care, Community, Family and Children’s Services, Education, Tourism, Culture and Recreation.

• Examine our current system of governance through a stake-holders committee, including the need for accountability between the province and school boards.

Ontario’s post-secondary institutions are doinga good job of preparing young people andadults returning to school for the labour mar-ket. The 1998-99 Ontario Graduate Surveyshowed that, two years after graduation, 97per cent of graduates were employed and 81 per cent had found work related to their education.

But under-funding is putting a severe strainon our post-secondary institutions and under-mining the quality of education their studentsreceive.

Ontario’s colleges currently deliver training to 35,000 more full-time students with $79million less than they had 10 years ago.Ontario’s universities are not doing any better.Ontario has reduced university funding to thelowest per student level in Canada.10 Tuitioncosts have rapidly risen an average of 10 percent per year over the past decade,11 impos-ing significant hardship on Ontario’s studentsand their families.

The TCS Alliance recommends that the provin-cial government provide an affordable space forevery student in Ontario who is qualified for andseeking post-secondary education.

The opportunity to attend college or universitymust be affordable and the quality of thateducation must remain comparable to that inother jurisdictions. This will require a plan toincrease provincial funding for colleges anduniversities to levels commensurate with fullaccessibility.

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Every year, the Toronto region welcomes halfof all immigrants who arrive in Canada. Weare home to a higher proportion of immigrantsthan any other city, surpassing Miami, Syd-ney, Los Angeles and New York. Nearly 44per cent of the GTA’s population and 47 percent of the City of Toronto is foreign-born.12

The majority of these newcomers to our cityare skilled workers. More than 60 per cent ofpeople who immigrate to the GTA are specifi-cally selected for their skills, and more thanhalf have some form of post-secondary educa-tion. In addition to job-specific skills, immi-grants bring knowledge of their home countrylanguages, markets and investors. These indi-viduals can and should play an important rolein our region’s economic, social and politicallife. For example, with the dramatic declineof global communication costs, we now havetelephone and Internet service centres in the

Toronto region serving customers worldwide in their local languages. With people comingfrom more than 200 countries of origin andmore than 100 different languages spokenlocally, we should be at the forefront of thesenew, high wage global service industries.

The large numbers of immigrants in ourregion are an unparalleled competitive advan-tage in today’s global economy. New researchat the University of Toronto suggests that thegrowth of knowledge-based industries isclosely linked to levels of immigration anddiversity, among other factors. Toronto scoreshigher than almost all other North Americancities on these indices.13

Becoming a Centre of Excellencein Integrating Immigrants

Foreign-Born Populations of International Cities(expressed as a per cent of total population)

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

43.7%

40.2%37.5%

30.9% 30.9%

24.4%

18.4%

TORONTO CMA MIAMI VANCOUVER SYDNEY LOS ANGELES NEW YORK MONTRÉAL

Source:Statistics Canada 2001Census; U.S. Bureau of theCensus; Australian Bureauof Statistics

Toronto is not fully capitalizing on this multi-cultural and highly skilled labour force advan-tage. Immigration-related policies, fundingand services are currently fragmented or poor-ly coordinated across governments, the volun-tary sector and other service providers, andare often unresponsive to the specific needsof Toronto region communities. In addition,Ontario receives only 38 per cent of federalsettlement funding, despite taking over 50per cent of total immigrants.

Government support for immigrants isfocused on their initial needs, such as basicshelter, orientation and language instruction.But immigrants also face significant barriersto entering the labour market. These barriersinclude lack of information on employment intheir trade or profession, difficulty in obtain-ing recognition of their educational and pro-fessional credentials, lack of access to

employment-relevant language training andlack of opportunities to gain Canadian workexperience. The Conference Board of Canadahas estimated that if all immigrants wereemployed to the level of their qualifications,it would generate roughly an additional $4billion of wages across the country – thelargest share of that in the Toronto region.

In order to capitalize on the advantages ofimmigration, we need to improve our abilityto address the second stage needs of newimmigrants to speed up their entry into thelabour market in jobs that are appropriate tothe education and skills they bring. We needto become a ‘centre of excellence’ for inte-grating immigrants.

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Federal Funding for Immigrant Settlement

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

53.2%

38.0%

15.0%

33.0%

20.6%

17.0%

ONTARIO QUÉBEC BRITISH COLUMBIA

Percentage ofTotal Immigration

Percentage ofSettlement Resources

Note:Settlement resources referto language training, adjust-ment programs, etc. figuresfor B.C. settlement servicesare based on projections for1999-2000

Source:Citizenship and ImmigrationCanada

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The TCS Alliance will help establish a TorontoRegion Council for Immigrant Employment toimprove access to employment for immigrants in the region.

This Council, comprised of private, voluntary,labour and public sector leaders, will foster a coordinated and collaborative approach tointegrating newcomers. It will initially focuson speeding up the integration of new immi-grants into the labour market because, with-out economic opportunity, they cannot hopeto participate fully in the political and sociallife of the community. In time the Councilmay address opportunities to foster politicaland social inclusion as well.

The first action of the Council will be the launchan employer-led economic integration initiative.

This will involve working with employers fromthe private, public and voluntary sectors toset up internship programs, mentoring oppor-tunities, job shadowing opportunities and co-op placements to speed entry into theworkforce. Once this initiative is underwaythe Council will develop and implement otherinitiatives to speed labour market integration,such as:

• Mapping current programs and services to assess gaps and address ways to fill them

• Launching an Internet portal that contains the base line information immigrants need to enter the labour market effectively

• Educating Toronto region employers and residents about the benefits of improved labour market integration of immigrants

The TCS Alliance recommends and will help theCouncil create the conditions for a multi-lateralagreement between the federal government, theprovincial government and interested Torontoregion municipal governments for more effectivecoordination of immigrant settlement services.

In addition to improving local coordination,the Council will also work with the three levels of government to improve informationsharing for planning purposes and ensureaccountability and predictability of funding.

TD Economics’ Special 2002 Report, “TheGreater Toronto Area: Canada’s Primary Eco-nomic Locomotive In Need of Repairs,” citedworsening poverty as one of the top fiveissues confronting the GTA. While poverty has declined in Canada as a whole, it hasincreased in Toronto.14 Certain groups are par-ticularly vulnerable: two-thirds of sole parentfamilies, half of recent newcomers and 40per cent of visible minorities are poor.

Poverty affects all of us, not just the poor. It directly affects the living standards andlabour market prospects of a great many ofour citizens. Now that a greater proportion of the costs of income security have becomemunicipal responsibilities, there is growingpressure on local property taxes and, as aconsequence of GTA-wide pooling of socialassistance costs, conflict among municipali-ties in the region. Many of the social costs of any future recession will fall heavily onmunicipal governments.

We believe that income security reform isessential to addressing the problems of urbanpoverty, income inequality and labour marketchanges. That reform will require a nationaldebate and we plan to contribute to thatprocess. In addition to a reformed income secu-rity system, the Toronto region needs a strongsocial and community infrastructure thatincludes:

• Affordable housing and services to assist the homeless

• A more robust network of community services

Affordable HousingThe evidence of families and individuals inneed of affordable housing in the Torontoregion surrounds us – growing numbers ofhomeless people, crowded hostels and longwaiting lists for social housing.

Some 286,000 households in the GTA paymore than 30 per cent of their income onhousing, which is considered to be the maxi-mum that a low-income family should paygiven their needs for food, clothing and othernecessities The waiting list for social housingin the GTA is about 91,000 households. InToronto alone, some 30,000 homeless indi-viduals pass through the emergency sheltersystem every year.

The recent rise in the rental housing vacancyrates in the GTA has provided some relief infinding accommodation, but little relief in therent being charged. In fact, the average renthas risen a cumulative 21.4 per cent over thepast five years, compared to a rise of 12 percent in the Consumer Price Index.

Affordable housing is a particular problem for the 80,000 families and individuals in theGTA who depend on social assistance for theirincome. Many of these households rent in theprivate rental market. In 1994, a family offour received shelter assistance of $700 amonth when the average market rent was$780 in Toronto. Today that family receives$544 a month to cover rent, while the aver-age market rent in Toronto has risen to$1,055. As a result, these residents currentlylive in poverty and regularly face the choiceof whether to eat or pay the rent. In fact,growing family dependence on food banks is driven by lack of affordable housing.

The shelter allowance is not only inadequatebut is also inequitable. It covers roughly 70to 90 per cent of the average rent in small tomid-size cities, but less than 50 per cent inToronto, where the cost of living is the high-est in the country.15

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Strengthening Our Social andCommunity Infrastructure

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Reports from the TD Bank, the Toronto Boardof Trade, the Federation of Canadian Munici-palities, the Toronto Financial ServicesAlliance, the Centre for Urban and Communi-ty Studies, the United Way of Greater Toronto,the Mayor’s Homelessness Action Task Forceand the Prime Minister’s Caucus Task Forceon Urban Issues have all weighed in with seri-ous concerns, and practical solutions to dealwith the challenges of homelessness and lackof affordable housing.

“ …despite some growth in the City

of Toronto’s economy, deep pools of

poverty persist – a problem that is

exacerbated by an inadequate supply

of social housing.”

“The Greater Toronto Area: Canada’s Economic Locomotive in Need of Repairs”,TD Economics 2002

The response of senior governments has been to introduce a rental housing programthat creates a small amount of new housingat average rent levels of between $800 to$1,000 a month. This is well above the levelthat poor families can afford. Our govern-ments have also taken some measures toimprove the investment climate for rentalhousing through regulatory and tax reform.The recent federal budget also renewed thesuccessful Supporting Communities Partner-ship Initiative to address homelessness – a measure we strongly applaud.

The Toronto City Summit Alliance believesthat current housing programs and regulatoryand tax measures alone will not create trulyaffordable housing, nor solve the housingaffordability issues faced by lower incomehouseholds. The TCS Alliance believes thatwe need truly affordable housing initiatives.These initiatives would create housing atrents between $400 and $700 a month avail-able directly to those households paying morethan 30 per cent of their income on housing.

In addition to the existing housing and home-lessness programs and regulatory reform pro-posals, the TCS Alliance recommends a sixpoint housing agenda over the next ten years for the GTA that asks federal and provincial governments to commit to the following:

• Provide 10,000 rent supplements to assist existing and prospective high-need tenants in the near term

• Make annual adjustments to the shelter com-ponent of social assistance to reflect local housing costs in the GTA

• Create 40,000 new rental housing units over 10 years, 25,000 of these units to be truly affordable on a rent-geared-to-income basis through a rent supplement program targeted at new affordable rental buildings

• Create 5,000 new supportive housing units forthose who need social service support with their housing

• Continue existing homeless support programs, such as the Supporting Communities Partner-ship Initiative that the federal government renewed in the recent budget

• Bring 45,000 pre-1973 units of existing socialhousing to a good state of repair

Senior governments must play a role in creat-ing truly affordable housing as the cost isbeyond what municipalities can bear. Allhousing that is truly affordable to people andfamilies of low and moderate income in alljurisdictions in North America and Europereceives significant government support. Theabsence of funding for affordable housing inthe 2003 provincial budget was a great dis-appointment.

We estimate that the cost of our recommen-dations for the GTA would be roughly $3.6billion in total over 10 years. The federal gov-ernment’s share would be approximately$160 million per year in the form of capitalsupport for new affordable housing, continu-ing homeless support programs and a portionof the cost of regenerating older units. Theprovincial government would contribute theremaining approximately $200 million peryear in the form of rent supplements, adjust-ing the shelter component of Ontario Works,creating new supportive housing, and a por-tion of the cost of regenerating older units.

Community ServicesInfrastructureThe Toronto region’s community servicesinfrastructure is a complex system of facili-ties, programs and social networks thatinclude neighbourhood libraries, day carecentres, schools, social and supportive hous-ing projects, community centres, parks andplaygrounds, group homes, emergency shel-ters, drop-ins and community servicesdesigned to meet a broad range of localneeds.

Growing poverty and demographic changesare driving increased demand for services inthe GTA. However, in their attempts to reducedeficits and taxes over the past decade, alllevels of government reduced funding for avariety of social programs, and in some caseseliminated them entirely. This has spawnedcommunity “hot spots” – neighbourhoodswhere residents lack even the most basic programs and services.

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How User Fees Are Affecting Access to GTA Schools

The East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club used to run eightfree after-school recreation programs at local schools, offer-ing floor hockey, soccer, volleyball, crafts and board games,and other activities to more than 300 children and youthaged six to 17. But these programs ended with the advent ofuser fees. The club could not afford the $96,000 the schoolswould have charged for the facilities between 1999 and2001.

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A number of factors account for the declinein community services infrastructure:

Income polarizationUnlike most large American city regions, theGTA never experienced the deep segregationof rich and poor neighbourhoods. Disturbingsigns are emerging that Toronto is now seeingdeepening concentrations of poverty: medianincomes in Toronto’s 12 poorest neighbour-hoods declined by a full 16 per cent in the1990s. In contrast, the 12 wealthiest neigh-bourhoods saw their median income rise by10 per cent.16

Community access to public space has declinedIncreased municipal and school board feeshave been undermining community access toa wide range of programs in public facilitiessince 2000. A recent joint study by the Cityof Toronto and United Way of Greater Torontofound that once schools started having tocharge user fees for use of school space in2000, community use of schools dropped by 43 per cent.17 User fees have been intro-duced with little or no mitigation for low-income neighbourhoods, where many commu-nity programs were offered. As a result, pro-grams have been forced to shut down in theseneighbourhoods.

Other levels of government have transferredresponsibility for providing or funding servicessuch as public transit, social housing, ambu-lance services, childcare and emergency serv-ices to municipalities, without commensuraterevenues to offset the new costs. Municipali-ties are forced to pit physical infrastructureneeds against social infrastructure needs andpolice budgets against community servicesgrants.

The TCS Alliance recommends the immediateestablishment of a Tri-Partite Agreement amongthe City of Toronto, Ontario and federal govern-ments to support community services infrastruc-ture, particularly in Toronto’s poorest neighbour-hoods.

Tri-partite agreements in other jurisdictions,such as those developed to respond to thechallenges facing Vancouver’s DowntownEastside and Winnipeg’s urban aboriginalpopulation, have proven highly effective ataddressing seemingly intractable problems.This agreement will commit appropriate new funding for the city, the United Way ofGreater Toronto and other groups to assessthe needs of Toronto’s poorest neighbour-hoods and develop creative approaches to filling gaps in service delivery. We recom-mend that an “urgent needs fund” be estab-lished as part of this process, with participa-tion from the city, province and federal gov-ernment to address immediate needs in thepoorest neighbourhoods. As the tri-partiteapproach proves successful in Toronto, itcould be expanded to other parts of theregion.

In addition, the TCS Alliance recommends thatthe province, the city and the school boarddevelop an immediate plan and provide ade-quate funding to ensure low-cost access toschools and other public spaces for communityuse.

The Winnipeg Development Agreement

The City of Winnipeg has long benefited from a tradition ofintergovernmental cooperation. From 1995 to 2000, the feder-al government, province of Manitoba and the City agreedupon the $75 million cost-shared Winnipeg DevelopmentAgreement (WDA), which successfully targeted issues ofdowntown revitalization, urban safety and neighbourhoodimprovements. In January of 2003, the three levels of gov-ernment signed a memorandum of agreement to begin nego-tiations on a new development agreement for Winnepeg. Thiswill be their fourth tri-partite agreement.

“ The ability to attract creative people

in arts and culture fields and to be

open to diverse groups of people of

different ethnic, racial and lifestyle

groups provides distinct advantages

to regions in generating innovations,

growing and attracting high-technolo-

gy industries, and spurring economic

growth.” 18

The arts are central to a healthy and vibrantcommunity. They educate, inform and reflectwho and what we are as a community. Theyare part of the very fabric that binds ustogether. They are also a key employmentsector in the region and their strength will beimportant as Toronto positions itself as a cen-tre to attract business and knowledge workersin the coming years.

Toronto is the third largest English languagetheatre centre in the world after New Yorkand London, and has the third largest numberof live music venues in North America.19 TheToronto International Film Festival is a pre-mier international event in size, scope andappeal. And the new Four Seasons Centre forthe Performing Arts and additions to theRoyal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery ofOntario will enhance the architecture of thecity and the global reputation of these institu-tions.

The arts are chronically under-funded. Mostorganizations that are surviving are adept atconcealing their continuous state of crisis —their burned-out, underpaid staff and theircrumbling capital assets. But many do notsurvive. Within the past 10 years, Toronto hasseen at least 30 organizations cease opera-tions altogether, while others are weigheddown with large, cumulative deficits.20

“ I’ve never had a grant and I’m not

looking for a grant... But I’m depend-

ent on what arts granting agencies do.

Over the last 30 years I’ve built an

organization of people who have come

out of the non-profit sector, and I am

now employing 1,345 people. With

another 10 years’ investment in the

arts, Toronto could become an

exporter of major shows.”

David Mirvish, owner of Mirvish Productions

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Supporting the Arts and Culture

Working Capital For Artists: One Solution

Programs that provide working capital grants for the arts arefunded by federal, provincial, municipal, foundation and pri-vate sector sources. Most major Canadian cities benefit fromthese programs. Canada’s first and most successful programis the Vancouver Arts Stabilization Team (VAST). There arealso programs in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario's Bay Area,Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Ontario's Niagara Region,New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland.

The Creative Trust is an arts stabilization program now beingdeveloped in the GTA. It will focus on the GTA’s small andmedium sized performing arts organizations.

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Over the past decade, the region’s non-profitarts organizations and artists have been chal-lenged by falling levels of government fund-ing, including:

• A 40 per cent reduction in provincial grantsthrough the Ontario Arts Council from $20.1 million to $12.7 million between 1994 and 2001. The Ontario Arts Endow-ment Program introduced in 1998 has not offset the funding decline.

• Federal funding from the Canada Council that, while it grew 30 per cent from 1994 to 2000, went to 74 per cent more organi-zations and 82 per cent more artists, resulting in virtually no change in funding for the larger organizations – including the five ‘national treasures’ in the Toronto region.

• The City of Toronto’s support for marquee arts groups fell by 35 per cent, from $3.5 million to $2.3 million, between 1990 and 2002, while the Toronto region’s economy grew 40 per cent.

The Toronto Arts Council estimates that oper-ating revenues of the small to medium sizedarts organizations are $45 million per yearless than is needed for effective, stable oper-ations. These organizations have a state ofgood repair deficit of $20 million per year.Even ‘national treasures’ such as the RoyalOntario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario,The Toronto Symphony, The National Balletand the Canadian Opera Company, whichbenefit from the provincial SuperBuild pro-gram for infrastructure development, are concerned about operating sustainability.

We cannot afford to keep under-investing inthe arts in the Toronto region.

The TCS Alliance urges the provincial govern-ment to restore arts funding to 1994 levels andall levels of government to provide at least infla-tionary increases annually.

We need to pursue matching funding fromthe province and federal government fromboth cultural funding and industrial fundingenvelopes, and urge higher levels of govern-ment to increase operational funding to ournational cultural institutions.

The TCS Alliance will work with the arts andculture sector, the Toronto Community Founda-tion (TCF), the Toronto Arts Council Foundationand the private sector to develop new approach-es to arts and culture funding.

We will build on existing efforts such as theToronto Arts Council’s Great Arts = Great Citycampaign and collaboration with Arts Torontoto deliver an enhanced version of Arts Week,the Creative Trust’s arts stabilization programand City of Toronto Culture Division’s newplan and programs. We will look at otherNorth American cities that have enabled sig-nificant incremental funding for their arts andculture sector and help adapt the most suc-cessful models to fit the needs of our cityregion.

This agenda is ambitious but entirely achiev-able. Toronto is a talented and resourcefulcity region that can afford to tackle theseissues immediately and with the efforts theyrequire. The province of Ontario and the fed-eral government must be our partners. Theyneed to demonstrate by concrete actions thatthey understand our issues and are willing toattack our challenges with us.

The Toronto City Summit Alliance will con-vene a second city summit in June of 2003to bring together citizens and elected repre-sentatives from all levels of government tomove these initiatives forward. In the weeksbefore the second summit we will foster anactive discussion of how to make these pro-posals a reality.

Our vision of civic leadership and engage-ment is a collective vision based on creatinga common fact base and understanding of the issues and then defining a consensus foraction. Many of the initiatives here are notnew and the fact base underlying them hasbeen building for some time. What has beenmissing is action.

On initiatives like the Immigrant EmploymentCouncil and the Toronto Region ResearchAlliance, the TCS Alliance has already begunimplementing those efforts, and we will pro-vide incubation support to them. On thoseinitiatives where governments must take thelead, we will actively encourage the relevantgovernments to commit to those actions anda specific timetable and resources for imple-mentation. We will also explore more deeplyother topics we have only been able to touchon in our initial work, such as the importanceof new approaches to income security toaddress the roots of poverty in our cities.

We are a strictly non-partisan group and willmake all of our ideas and proposals availableto all the candidates running in the upcomingmunicipal elections. We hope each of themayoral candidates will adopt our recommen-dations as part of their platforms. Similarly,we will brief all provincial and federal politi-cal parties and hope to see each of themendorse the elements of our action plan thatrequire their support.

The Toronto City Summit Alliance will stayfocussed on implementing this agenda overthe coming year. Too many reports sit on theshelf, and we are committed to seeing thatthat does not happen here.

We urge all citizens of the Toronto region tojoin us in this effort. These initiatives willrequire your support. If you agree with thisplan for action, please write to your electedrepresentatives and tell them. Please engagewith others to foster the civic dialogue thatwill build a community consensus.

Our vision for Toronto is within our grasp. Weneed only the will to make it happen.

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A Time for Action

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The work of the TCS Alliance was supportedby many individuals and groups from acrossthe Toronto region. Our understanding of theissues facing the region was greatly informedby our consultations with the federal andprovincial governments, the regional mayorsand officials from the city and regionalmunicipalities.

We also wish to acknowledge and thank The Boston Consulting Group for providing us with office and meeting space, as well aspro bono staff support.

The Toronto City Summit Alliance is gratefulto the following organizations for their gener-ous financial support:

BCE Inc.

BMO Financial Group

Central Ontario Regional Councilof Carpenters

Loblaw Companies Limited

Marsh Canada Limited

RBC Financial Group

TD Financial Group

Toronto Hydro

Toronto Star

Acknowledgements

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Funds flow analysis developed by TheCentre For Spatial Economics for theToronto Board of Trade, 2000

City of Toronto

TD Economics estimates

This will require a change to the Development Charge Act by the Province of Ontario

Greater Toronto Services Board, “Removing Roadblocks: GTSB Transportation Plan,” January 2000

TTC 2003 Operating Budget

Cameron Hawkins’ Tourism InvestmentStudy, December 2001

Toronto, Halton, and Peel Service Plans

Ontario Public School Board Association

Resource Document of the Council ofOntario Universities, 2002

Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada, 2001 Census

“Competing on Creativity: PlacingOntario’s Cities in North American Context,” Meric S.Gertler and Richard Florida, November 2002

Statistics Canada’s 1996 census showedthat the per cent of Toronto’s populationbelow the ‘low income cut off’ increasedfrom 19.1% in 1990 to 27.8% on 1995.The 2001 census data on poverty rateswill not be released until May 2003, buttax filer data indicates continued growthof poverty through the decade

Daily Bread Food Bank, “Pay the Rentand Feed the Kids” using data from Statistics Canada, the City of Toronto and the Fraser Institute

The United Way of Greater Toronto,“Decade of Decline”

Community Use of School & City-OwnedSpace, May 2002, United Way of GreaterToronto

“Competing on Creativity: PlacingOntario’s Cities in a North American Context,” Meric Gertler and Richard Florida, November 2002

William M. Mercer, “World-Wide Qualityof Life Survey,” 2002

TAC Report, “False Economy? A Study ofNeed in Toronto’s Non-Profit Arts Sector”

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Phillip AbrahamsManager, Intergovernmental RelationsStrategic & Corporate Policy DivisionCity of Toronto

Jill BlackExecutive Director, Toronto City Summit Alliance

Angie BrennandPolicy Advisor, The Toronto Board of Trade

Ian BromleyDirector, Office for Urban EconomicDevelopment, Ministry of Enterprise,Opportunity & Innovation

Derek BurletonSenior Economist, Canadian Industries andProvinces, TD Bank Financial Group

Helen BurstynSenior Vice President & Partner, Advance Planning/MS&L

Janet DavisChildcare Advocate

Julius DeutschExecutive Assistant, Toronto and York RegionLabour Council

Michelle DiEmanueleVice President Branch Banking and Small Business Banking Canada, CIBC

Don DrummondSenior Vice President and Chief Economist,TD Bank Financial Group

Jeff EvensonExecutive Vice President, Canadian Urban Institute

Meric GertlerProfessor & Co-director, Program on Globalizationand Regional Innovation Systems, University ofToronto

Neal IrwinManaging Director, IBI Group

Helen KohlWriter

Brenda LibreczManaging Director,Economic Development City of Toronto

Garth JacksonExecutive Vice President, Academic,Centennial College

Terri LohnesPolicy Advisor and Senior Economist,The Toronto Board of Trade

Joy MabonAdministrative Support, TCS Alliance

Susan MacDonnellSenior Research Manager,United Way of Greater Toronto

Hugh MackenzieResearch Director, United Steel Workers of America, Canadian National Office

Julie MathienPolicy Development Officer, Community andNeighbourhood Services Department, City of Toronto

Elizabeth McIsaacManager, Research and Policy - Refugee andImmigrant Program, The Maytree Foundation

Randy McLeanSenior Policy Advisor, Office for Economic Development, City of Toronto

Liz MulhollandMulholland Consulting

Leon MuszynskiDirector, Camp Arowhon

Laura PeticanAdministrative Support, TCS Alliance

Karen PitrePresident, The Lonsdale Group

Kenneth PurdyConsultant

Camille QuennevilleDirector of Policy Development,Ontario Public School Board Association

Christine RaissisDirector, Economic Research & Business Information, Toronto Economic Development, City of Toronto

Mary RoweM.W.R. & Associates

Barney SavageSenior Policy Advisor,United Way of Greater Toronto

Enid SlackPresident, Enid Slack Consulting Inc.

Mahsa TaheriDirector - Community Initiatives, Toronto Community Foundation

Carolyn TaylorConsultant

David TomljenovicPrincipal, Tomljenovic Enterprises Inc.

Joy Van KleefConsultant

Working Group

Toronto City Summit Alliance

BCE Place181 Bay Street, Suite 2400Toronto, OntarioM5J 2T3