City of Toronto Act
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Towards a New City of Toronto Act With contributions by: Alan Broadbent Paul Bedford John Cartwright David Crombie Frank Cunningham Anne Golden Ken Greenberg John Sewell Enid Slack Don Stevenson and comments from selected civic leaders Copyright 2005 Ideas That Matter ©TM is a registered trademark of Avana Capital Corporation Inc. Published by Zephyr Press Towards a New City of Toronto Act 1999 Ideas that Matter has convened with civic leaders across the Since country about the need for Canada’s urban regions to be given more fiscal and legislative autonomy. Initially, a small group of former politicians, academics, activists, journalists, and business leaders met regularly to look at the needs of Toronto, the degree to which the current governance and financing arrangements were constraining the city, and what changes were needed. A book Toronto: Considering Self-Government (Ginger Press, 2000) was produced collecting viewpoints from diverse perspectives on the nature of the mis-match between Toronto’s current powers and fiscal tools and what it needs. A consensus that sur- faced during these early discussions was the recognition that the need to empower Toronto was not simply about the city itself, but equally about the region that sur- rounds it: “Across the Greater Toronto Region there is a richness of economic activ- ity, race and ethnicity, cultural vitality, civic engagement, and generosity of spirit: there is more that unites citizens than divides them.” From these discussions also came two guiding should legislate only if the objectives cannot be principles deemed as fundamental in a democ- effectively achieved at the local or regional level racy where governments need to remain effec- (i.e. when there is agreement that uniform reg- tive and responsive. The first was subsidiarity, ulation is necessary across jurisdictions). A sec- where policy and program decision-making is ond was fiscal accountability, where the gov- made as closely as possible to the citizen. ernment that delivers goods and services is also Specifically, national or provincial governments responsible for raising the monies that pay for 3 them. The final output from this process was In 2003, the Ontario Liberal government was The Greater Toronto Charter (see page 40), which elected on a promise of more power for cities, proposed that the city be more fully empow- and Premier Dalton McGuinty amplified this ered and resourced to plan and manage itself. commitment by signaling his intention to write The Charter was widely distributed across the a new City of Toronto Act. In September Greater Toronto Area, and garnered significant 2004 a joint working committee of provincial media attention. Presentations on the Charter and municipal staff was charged with rewriting were made to several municipal Councils in the the legislative framework for the city. GTA at their request. Response was positive and thoughtful. Agreement was building that In late 2004 a group of interested and the time had come to empower Toronto and its informed community leaders began meeting to Region differently. discuss the opportunities and implications of a new City of Toronto Act process. Convened In 2000 policy makers in Ottawa initiated a by Broadbent, the group met regularly, devel- study process to look at the needs of Canadian oped and delivered papers, encouraged various cities. A federal Task Force was created and city groups to convene their own discussions, urban experts were invited to discuss the needs and as requested, participated in briefings with of Canadian cities. “The problem with Canada staff and elected officials at both the city and is that we don’t have enough large cities,” said provincial levels. The group was not seeking a Jane Jacobs at one of these sessions, “it isn’t a consensus; instead they saw this as a means of good habitat for them, and they don’t relate to contributing a core of ideas for consideration each other in as productive a way as they by decision-makers within the city and should.” Jacobs, together with businessman province. Therefore the ideas proposed here and philanthropist Alan Broadbent, initiated a do not reflect the views of the whole group; in process to bring together five of Canada’s fact, some may take exception to particular largest cities to discuss their mutual needs for points of view. However the group agreed on greater power and autonomy. The “C5” the fundamental proposition that the new City Mayors began meeting, joined by leaders from of Toronto Act needs to empower the City of the business, labour and civil society from each Toronto and its region in three critical areas: city, to discuss the unique needs of Canada’s powers, fiscal capacity, and governance. This largest and most economically vibrant urban volume contains highlights of the discussions regions. These events, together with the sus- of ‘The Broadbent Group’. taining efforts of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, created the momentum for what has become known as “A New Deal for Cities”. 4 Introduction ALAN BROADBENT Alan Broadbent is the Chairman and CEO of Avana Capital ernments offer, nor does he want to be handed a Corporation, Chairman of The Maytree Foundation, Chair of the Caledon bunch of tax tools which would make him the only Institute of Social Policy and Chairman of Tamarack - An Institute for Community Engagement. level of government faced with raising taxes in a polit- ical environment obsessed with lowering taxes. But he also may be frustrated by the lack of powers in the city City of Toronto and the Province of and Mayor’s office to set and achieve an ambitious The Ontario face an historic opportunity in agenda, and certainly by the lack of revenue. To para- 2005 to create a new Canadian model for governing big phrase historian and journalist Goldwin Smith’s line cities. In the renegotiation of The City of Toronto Act, about Canada at the start of the 20th century, Toronto the legislation that sets the relationship between the is rich by nature but poor by policy, and Miller is the city and province, they can end the anachronistic pater- man who has to try to make daily sense of that discon- nalism that characterizes such relationships in Canada. nection. In an age when cities have become vital instruments of economic, social and cultural prosperity, the new act But it remains to be seen if the city and province can can equip Toronto and Ontario to face its global chal- succeed in grasping this historic opportunity. There is lenges. Whether the city and province can embrace this much that can get in the way of a newly defined rela- future will be a telling test of each. tionship: politics, personalities, timidity, short-term vision, and fear of sharing power. If the new Act is Both sides agree that the Act needs changes. Mayor going to be successful in embracing the future, it needs David Miller and Premier Dalton McGuinty have both to deal with three things: powers, money, and gover- spoken powerfully about the need to end the paternal- nance structure. It might be very hard to coordinate ism, and recognize the modern context of cities as achieving success in all three, but they all need to be dynamic engines of growth. Premier McGuinty in par- dealt with in significant ways if the city is to be able to ticular has taken political risks, articulating his view that move forward. Toronto is different in its needs and capabilities from other places in Ontario, and requires particular tools to do the jobs it faces. It has been a significantly brave POWERS step for a Premier to speak of Toronto’s particularity. A First Step He has not said, of course, that Toronto is better than The current City of Toronto Act is modeled on The other places. Municipal Act, and is “prescriptive” by nature. That is, it sets out in some detail what the city can do, as the For his part, Mayor Miller has been a strong local and Municipal Act sets out what cities can do in the national advocate for the so-called “new deal for province. If something is not specifically mentioned in cities”, which has received wobbly and uncertain sup- the Act, the city can’t do it, and must seek permission port from the federal government, despite the gallant from the province. Such permission, for the most part, efforts of cabinet minister John Godfrey, and tepid has not been hard to come by, for the province sees recognition from other federal parties. Miller is on a things like changing speed limits on a street as being hot seat in these issues. Legitimately, he does not want routine and the processes have become expedited. to reduce the high level of democratic access local gov- ALAN BROADBENT 5 The desire of the city is that the Act becomes “permis- ty of the main city. For some years, many bureaucrats sive”. That is, the province states in the Act what the in the Ontario government thought of the Toronto city cannot do; the province preserves a number of Region as the area where one could get home delivery areas of jurisdiction for itself, and the city operates of The Toronto Star newspaper. Both Jacobs and the freely in all other areas. It appears that the province has Star notions would include an area larger than just the looked into this qualitative change of approach, and is GTA in Toronto’s case. increasingly comfortable with it. So it may be possible to move the City of Toronto Act from being prescrip- A Toronto region which includes the Golden tive to permissive. Within such a framework, the Horseshoe area, with a population of almost six mil- province would grant the city legislative powers which lion, would become the third largest political unit in are broad and expansive, free of the need for provin- Canada, behind only Quebec and a reduced Ontario.