Archive for July, 2008
Preview of Things to Come
You know when you say or do something and then realize it is far harder than you’ve thought it would be? I’m there right now and have been for a while. On the getting ready to do something about this front, things are going extremely well, so hopefully I won’t be feeling the same way once that ball is rolling. As I said before, breaking up the discussion of poverty seems to be the only real way to give it any justice. I’ve been reading a lot, recalling a lot of anecdotal stories people have shared with me, and talking even more. All of these things explore different aspects of poverty, reading to understand, listening to feel, and talking to work out an action plan to address some of this.
Below is the basis of my plan on how I am going to tackle this.
Bed Bugs — Basically this is something that really touched me, enraged me and opened my eyes to how real issues like affordable housing, social assistance and persistent poverty are for so many. It’s a personal story about a single father I met in 2006 and what spending half an hour did to me as a person. I will post it tomorrow.
New Voters — A lot of the people who supported me lived in lower income communities, and many were voting for the first time ever or the first time in a long time. I had a lot of frank, and spirited discussions with people who self identified as non voters. A couple of them really touched me even more so than others. I will post this on the 18th.
Poverty Reduction Meetings Re-Cap — I’ve attended three. One held by Minister Best, one held by the City of Toronto, and a third held by a community organization focused on providing services to members of the South Asian community. I will re-cap what came out of these meetings and share it here. I will post it on the 19th.
Child Poverty in Ward 43 — I can’t say much more or this will become the entry devoted to this topic. Let me just say it is shocking and needs to be talked up more and I plan to start that process on the 20th.
Conclusion – Part One – Causes and Effects of Poverty — Here I am going to summarize the often fragmented bits of information that come out in the other posts and try to draw some of it back together. This has been the most challenging part, because poverty as an issue as much more woven into itself than most issues. I’ll post on that on the 21st
Conclusion – Part Two – Solutions to Poverty — I’m going to provide my own thoughts on what government, social service agencies and business should do to help reduce poverty. This will be posted on the 22nd.
Preview of What I Plan to Do – I have no idea when this is coming because much of what is being discussed is still fluid. But I hope it will come together shortly after the rest of these things.
So from personal stories that touched me on issues relating to poverty through a better understanding of the challenges out there, the ideas others have and are calling on the government to act on, and back to personal action. That to me seems like the best way to pull it all back together. Hopefully you’ll read along, think about some of this stuff and maybe even offer to lend a hand when there are some opportunities to actually stand up and do something.
As a final note, I want to thank the people who’ve talked to me about this site, and the things I’ve been writing. It is really nice to hear encouragement and support — especially when it is unsolicited. So thank you for that.
No Comments »Re: John Tory’s Take on Toronto – Sunday Sun
John Tory recently wrote a piece for the Toronto Sun’s ongoing series “Saving TO” where he outlined the need for a plan for Toronto, took some veiled and some not so veiled shots at the Mayor and Council and outlined some priorities. It is the priorities that I was interested in.
Before I say anything substantive, let me start by saying I don’t dislike John Tory. I don’t agree with his politics, but I can appreciate the struggles he’s gone through over the last half decade and the personal battles he must have faced trying to serve the public. Tory came a close second when he ran for Mayor of Toronto in 2003. He made some sense in that race, and I’m still not sure the city would have burned had he won. He carried a lot of the suburban wards, including Ward 43, where he had the support of Conservative and then local Councillor, David Soknacki. He later became leader of the opposition and ultimately lost a Premier’s race polls and pundits said was within his grasp, and also managed to lose the seat he had staked out for himself. That must have been a tough night for him. Weaker men could not have even surfaced to face their supporters and concede, but he did, and fought on to stay leader of the opposition, but without a seat still to this day.
Anyways, this post is not intended to be about my empathy for the defeats Tory has been dealt, or his personal struggle with the electorate. But, reading his priorities for Toronto — I began to see a glimpse of Tory’s failed strategy to win… and felt it was worth pointing out, because for me at least it is also why much of what he says does not deeply resonate at least for me I think.
Tory picked five issues to deal with, and I’d suggest with varying degrees of success.
1) Attracting Jobs and Growth — He made some sense here, and it is an important aspect of ensuring a world class city, but is it the top priority? Maybe it depends who you are and what you’re most worried about.
2) Clearing Gridlock — He called for increased investment in transit from all governments here. The name was the throw back to a previous issue he tried to make hay out of, and likely would seem more relevant if it was something like “increasing investment in public transit” or “building a world class transit system for Toronto” or really anything that was not a reference to cars stuck in traffic on a highway.
3) Cleaning our city up — I have to say I hoped this would be about a climate of secrecy or a lack of transparency at city hall, but he meant it literally, which is still good. Who is against clean cities? The only point I felt here was unnecessary was his commenting about doing a lot of travelling and Toronto being “far from the cleanest” city he’d travelled too. I mean he is the leader of the opposition for Ontario, so in fairness if he is referring to other Ontario cities, size and scale may be factors. He didn’t say what cities were cleaner so it is hard to say if he is suggesting something like say London, England or London Ontario.
4) Fixing Toronto’s Finances — This isn’t a bad idea either. I don’t like the sound of “trimming municipal expenditure” coming from a conservative, because that will very likely mean Toronto’s social programs. Also it is important to note when the City of Toronto Act was voted on at Queen’s Park, Tory and his party were the only party to vote against it, and the bill did give Toronto significantly more control to plot its financial future.
5) Bringing hope to our troubled neighbourhoods. — I was getting worried Tory might make it through his article and forget so many of Toronto’s residents live in poverty and at risk communities, but it looks like he got it… Or did he? Take a read to his entire point on this one and decide for yourself.
We can’t go on turning a blind eye to the physical and social decline that has spread across our city. It’s unfair, its a tremendous waste of human potential and it’s a root cause of crime.
These neighbourhoods need physical renewal and they need effective programs that don’t duplicate each other or disappear every few months when funding runs out. So, let’s pool all of the resources – governments, private sector, non-profits and community associations – into a comprehensive and funded program, commit the money and resources for the long haul and the big picture and get on helping every neighbourhood in need with a real sense of urgency.
A few questions I have:
When you say “they need effective programs” or there is a need to pool resources into a “comprehensive and funded program” “for the long haul and big picture” – what is the big picture? what will this program even do? It seems hard to take someone seriously when they want to “trim municipal expenditure” and create funded programs for the long haul to reflect a big picture that appears not be to painted before the mechanics of the program are assembled. I thought that is how good ideas become waste in government.
John Tory forgot to say what besides physical renewal is needed to help “these neighbourhoods” he speaks of. He also forgot to tell us what “these neighbourhoods” were, or even some characteristics about them so we could figure it out for ourselves. Are they at risk? High crime? High poverty? Areas with higher rates of recent immigration or child poverty? Or just ones that need physical renewal?
Before designing a program it would be helpful to know.
I would also suggest Tory take a look at the United Way’s Poverty by Postal Code or the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Growth Management and Affordable Housing in Greater Toronto report as each would argue that the physical and social decline may not be spreading, but in fact intensifying in some areas, a problem I would argue is far more corrosive as it separates citizens by income.
Although I’ve never supported Tory when he has sough any political office in Ontario his inability to see any of his near victories through is a frustration to some degree even if you’re not supporting the guy. I mean I am happy when my guy wins, but still puzzled that he managed to let it happen. Tory makes the same mistake in every campaign and it has to do with something really simple. Controlling the agenda. He just turns out to really be bad at deciding what the discussion is going to be about and subsequently gets painted on the wrong side of all of them.
In 2003, Miller went from “also ran” status to Mayor by controlling the agenda. He got citizens all riled up over a bridge that realistically affected a very small percentage of harbour users, and co-ops on the waterfront near Little Norway park, but that and his broom saw him through. Tory could not close the gap and win a winnable fight because people just weren’t interested in what he was selling in comparison, however good it may have been.
In 2007 Ontario’s first fixed election was a bit like a Seinfeld episode. An election about nothing. It was boring. Pollsters could photocopy polls from May of that year in August and still be dead on. But all that changed when McGuinty decided that Tory’s comments about funding religious education was worthy of an election issue. Turned out he was right, Tory tanked, McGuinty rose. All the other ideas he had didn’t matter, because everyone else was talking education.
It’s got to be a tough spot to be in, but as a general idea, talking to people, especially busy people, about something they’re already actively thinking about or have an opinion on is an easier way to build support or start debate around something. Introducing ideas that just aren’t top of mind takes a whole lot more work and runs the risk of ending badly. Tory has shown he’ll take risks, he even has the battle wounds to prove it.
If I was Tory either in person or in pen name and I was writing this, I would have led with the fifth point, and said something coherent. I would have forgotten the third point all together, because most would not argue that our city is not clean, and I’d rename the gridlock argument something transit friendly. I’d probably mould his first point into the fifth and find a nicer way of putting the municipal expenditure bit. That way at least he would be engaging in the debates and discussions that are actually happening in this city, and people may find it easier to resonate.
The last sentence of his article shows his difference from his predecessors. Tory says he loves Toronto, but then throws in a line about helping to “get it back on top, where it belongs”. This rubbed me as too close to the Fraser Institute and COMPAS poll that questionably presented Toronto as in decline. Who knows, maybe if Tory won, he would have found some Potash or Oil under our city. If we built a Scarborough subway, who knows what we’d find buried under all of that land. Just an idea.
No Comments »Mornelle Court in the News
When I walked into a Tim Horton’s this morning at 6am for a coffee I picked up a copy of the Metro. Mornelle Court had made the front page. The only positive item about the story is it is not explicitly refer to Scarborough by name – something the media does far too often when gun violence happens in the east end. The main thrust of the article is about the treatment of the officers who attended the scene immediately after the shooting and the hostility they were met with by residents.
This hostility is something I met up close when I ran for City Council in Ward 43 and canvassed in Mornelle Court and other areas. Calling for more community patrols turned out to be a bad idea, and after about the sixth person in a row told me that, my very small team and I sat down to discuss what we’d been hearing, why it might be and what might be another approach that was more appropriate for an area that is uneasy to a police presence. We moved to a message that focused more on positive alternatives to crime for young people in at risk communities. Parents liked that. Much of the mistrust and almost fear of the police was based on anecdotal accounts of previous interactions, but it was clear that there was a feeling of uneasiness.
Mornelle Court is a mix of affordable condos, lower income market rental buildings and Toronto Community Housing buildings. By way of unit count they are likely almost equal in percentages of the total community. Mornelle is also home to many UTSC and Centennial students as both school’s campuses are five minute walks from the neighbourhood.
Metro reports dozens of witnesses being present when the police arrived and officers being verbally abused by people who also have refused to speak to them about the incident. When you think about it, this type of behaviour is unexpected when police arrive on the scene of a violent crime. The paper quoted an officer who was clearly frustrated by this and saying this case would go no where fast if people wouldn’t come forward. Perhaps instead of papers repeatedly pointing out that in higher crime neighbourhoods this is a re-occurring theme, they might find it useful to do some investigative work to find out what is going on in these neighbourhoods that is creating such a negative view of police. If I was a Metro reporter and the assignment editor asked me to look into this, I’d start by asking people “why” the hard feelings toward the police. Listen to their response and ask “why” again, until you dig deep enough to hear them out. Once you’re there you may not like the answer, and it will very likely turn into a far bigger deal than simply a newspaper article, but something is wrong in our communities and it is not just gun violence. Police need to be part of the solution to ensuring community safety, but first police need to be welcome members of a community, and that is not easy to build, especially without truly understanding what the breakdown is between the community and the police that serve them.
One comment I would like to make about stories like this in general is the impact they have on other people’s lives. Imagine you’re a guy who’s thrown everything he’s got into a down payment on a condo or townhouse in Mornelle Court. It represents the single largest aspect of your net worth. A shooting happens, your neighbourhood is named, and the reputation of your condo is further damaged. Resale value takes a hit, as real estate agents representing buyers warn their customers about neighbourhoods like yours. However, the entertainment district can be like the Wild West three nights a week year round and require police officers on every corner on weekend nights, and a guy with a condo in CityPlace doesn’t feel it at all. I personally feel more comfortable walking in a place like Mornelle Court at night than I would taking a wander through the entertainment district. The media has historically done Scarborough a disservice in how it reports violent crime in our end of the city. Metro did the right thing by naming the street and not the city, it’s the same policy other media outlets have historically had for the downtown core, North York and after a sufficient amount of complaint are beginning to adopt for Scarborough.
No Comments »
