A more independent Toronto was the central subject at YQNA’s lively meeting in the Radisson Blu hotel on September 14. Most big cities in the Western world run their own affairs through charter agreements, which prevent the kind of land grabs and interference that Toronto has experienced under Premier Doug Ford. People at the meeting showed they are fed up. Out of every tax dollar we pay, the city gets to keep 9 cents! We have gained confidence in the power of public opinion which turned the jet airport down, so now is the right time to push for a Toronto charter.
An expert panel discussed this in our YouTube video (panel starting at 56:32). Participants were former chief planner Paul Bedford, international urban designer Ken Greenberg, and our MPP Chris Glover, with Julie Breen as moderator. A group will grow out of this meeting to help create a Toronto charter step by step with public support and negotiations with governments. We will keep you posted.
Other speakers at the meeting were our elected politicians Councillor Ausma Malik and MP Chi Nguyen. We learned about the upcoming aquatic centre coming to the Rees St. site that’s currently a parking lot. Other speakers talked about Shaw Festival performances coming to Harbourfront Centre, and many art forms filling the Terminal Theatre (formerly the Fleck Dance Theatre) during their first season under new management. You can see the entire meeting in this video.
YQNA works closely with our elected politicians, and they speak at our meetings. We do not endorse candidates, but we urge everybody to vote in the Oct. 26 municipal elections.
