You may want to attend this event:


Your Family Paycheque: Is It Keeping Pace?

The third in a series of FORUMS presented with the Toronto Star
as part of its War on Poverty series.


Tuesday May 8, 7:30-9:30 pm, 2007
27 Front Street East, 2 blocks east of Union Station, Toronto

The answer depends on who you ask. If you're from Forest Hill or Rosedale you're probably doing better than ever. If you're a senior living in Regent Park, a single parent, new to Canada, or of colour you're probably falling behind. The rest are working longer and harder to earn the same paycheque as 30 years ago and fear slipping behind. A slew of reports have studied this trend with the latest, the Rich and the Rest of Us, documenting what many of us know instinctively – there is a growing wage gap between the richest in our society and the majority of Canadians.

The income gap isn't just about money, its about life opportunities, education, recreation, transit and the benefits associated with better jobs. How does the income gap affect you, your friends and neighbours? Why in a booming economy isn't the wage gap shrinking as it normally would? What does this income polarization mean for the kind of society we want as Canadians? Where should we look for solutions - to the tax and transfer system or to the market?

Bob Rae: Liberal Candidate for Toronto Centre; former Premier of Ontario.
Armine Yalnizyan: Economist and author of the Rich and the Rest of Us, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives; Research Director for the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto.
Finn Poschmann: Director of Research, C.D. Howe Institute.
Parbattie Shirley Ramsarran: Chair, Centre for Social Justice and community activist; teaches Sociology at York University.

Moderator: Thomas Walkom: Political columnist, the Toronto Star.

This free public forum is presented by the St. Lawrence Centre FORUM and the Toronto Star.

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/184159

Toronto Summit 2007

Working Paper: Diversity
A snapshot of reports on diversity

February 22, 2007
The Toronto City Summit Alliance is hosting a two-day meeting on Monday and Tuesday to find ways to address the challenges facing the city. The Star is looking at the issues. Today we offer a snapshot of reports on diversity. Tomorrow: education and culture.

WORKING PAPER: DIVERSITY

THE PROBLEM

While the official motto of the city of Toronto – Diversity Our Strength – looks good on paper, it doesn't, unfortunately, match reality.

Despite being one of the most diverse regions on the planet – 44 per cent of GTA residents were born outside of Canada and 37 per cent are visible minorities – this diversity is not reflected in the electoral process, governance and leadership of the city and its institutions.

Participation in the electoral process – voting, running for office, serving on public boards and agencies – is key to engendering a sense of belonging and civic pride for all residents, including newcomers.

In Ontario, only Canadian citizens are allowed to vote. The citizenship process can take three years or more, which means that 263,000 permanent residents in the city of Toronto are shut out of voting in municipal elections.


Twenty-six countries around the world, including some in the European Union, have extended voting rights to non-citizen residents, primarily at the municipal level. New Zealand is probably the most progressive nation in the world in this regard. Since 1975, the country has allowed non-citizen permanent residents who have lived in the country for at least a year to vote in all elections, from municipal to national.


While leveraging diversity helps the bottom line by boosting decision-making, workplace culture and productivity, Canadian companies lag behind those in the United States in terms of ethnic minority representation at the board level. Only 44 per cent of corporate boards in Canada have at least one visible-minority member at the table, compared with 80 per cent in the U.S., according to a 2005 report.



The Conference Board of Canada says that while Canadian companies pay lip service to diversity, they have yet to fully commit themselves, in resources and practice, to promoting it within their organizations.


However, there are hopeful recent developments.

A program called abcGTA, launched by the Maytree Foundation, is trying to boost diversity on the governance bodies of public agencies, boards and commissions (abc's). Since 2005, it has recruited nearly 200 candidates and placed 69 of them on boards.


Inclusive Cities Canada, which brings political and community leaders together to promote diversity, is pushing to extend the municipal vote to non-citizens.

Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council has helped expand job opportunities for recently arrived skilled immigrants through internships, mentoring and raising public awareness.

BARRIER AND OBSTACLES

Citizenship requirement: The major obstacle to ensuring more inclusive participation in the electoral process is the citizenship rule. Cities don't have the right to decide who can vote in municipal elections. Under the Ontario Municipal Elections Act (1996), the ballot is limited to Canadian citizens.

No counting: There is also a lack of baseline data, making it difficult to monitor how much progress private corporations and public institutions are making in the quest to reflect the city's diversity. Without such data, it's difficult to set goals and track change.

Lack of connections: Networking is crucial if visible minorities are going to participate fully in government and business, but they tend to lack access to networks that could connect them to key leaders and hence opportunities.

The result? Marginalization and missed opportunities.

QUESTIONS

1. Should we amend the Ontario Municipal Elections Act (1996) to let municipalities decide who can vote in local elections?

Will permanent residents even want this privilege – or will they be as indifferent as citizens when it comes to voting?

And how do we garner public support and awareness to make such a campaign successful?

2. How do we create opportunities and improve access of minorities to networks that could help them to succeed?

3. How do we establish a monitoring system, perhaps a report card, to set goals and track participation rates of visible minorities, women, youth, aboriginal peoples and those with disabilities in the governance of public institutions and large private corporations?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adapted by Prithi Yelaja from the Toronto City Summit Alliance report

The following paper on the Roles of the Eritrean Diaspora in Peacebuilding and Development was presented at the Oct 2006 University for Peace's international conference on Diaspora and Peacebuilding held in Toronto.

http://www.toronto.upeace.org/diaspora/documents/Eritrean_Diaspora.pdf

The following link provides info on other papers presented, conference agenda and other resources: http://www.toronto.upeace.org/diaspora/index.html

www.thestar.com

Premier cool to non-citizens having the vote
But Miller pushes election changes
Immigrants need `a say' at ballot box

Oct. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM
ROB FERGUSON AND VANESSA LU
STAFF REPORTERS


Premier Dalton McGuinty has poured cold water on Mayor David Miller's push to let Toronto's 200,000 landed immigrants vote in municipal elections.

Although the premier's own municipal affairs minister, John Gerretsen, has said he's willing to look at the pros and cons of the idea, McGuinty ruled it out yesterday.

"I know very well new immigrants are eager to gain this right," McGuinty said in French heading into the Liberals' weekly caucus meeting at Queen's Park. "But it's a right that comes with citizenship."

Miller, who raised the issue during a meeting with the Star's editorial board this week, said it's too important an issue to drop, saying he'll continue to urge the premier to look at changes to the Municipal Elections Act.

"We're going to push for him to give it a second thought," he said. "It's not an issue that deserves an off-the-cuff response. It deserves to be thought through and examined carefully.

"I think, perhaps, the premier hadn't had an opportunity to think about it like I have," Miller said.

He argued that, if someone who lives in Calgary but owns property in Toronto is allowed to vote, then non-citizen residents should also get a say in how the city is run.

"I don't believe it's a coincidence that there is a much higher proportion of landed immigrants who can't vote in Toronto neighbourhoods that have the least services because they haven't been able to speak up and have a say at the ballot box," the mayor said.

Miller also argued that such a change wouldn't necessarily break new ground, noting that, in the past, British subjects were allowed to vote in municipal elections. The rules were changed in time for the 1988 municipal vote.

With the largest chunk of new immigrants choosing to settle in Toronto, Miller is also touting a new agreement with the federal and provincial governments that gives the city "a seat at the table."

While the deal signed on Sept. 29 does not give Toronto any new funding, it could pave the way for dollars down the road, said Phillip Abrahams, the city's manager of intergovernmental relations.

"It goes beyond the abstract," said Abrahams.

"What we're envisaging is we'll develop work plans on policies and co-ordinate programs" with Ottawa and Queen's Park, in areas such as education and training, employment services, and citizenship and engagement, he said.

"It's a framework under which we can work together," said Abrahams, noting it was the first such agreement with any Canadian city.

http://www.thestar.com

Let immigrants vote: Miller
200,000 deserve 'real say' on issues
Ontario says it will study 'pros and cons'

Oct. 24, 2006. 11:44 AM
VANESSA LU
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF


Toronto's estimated 200,000 landed immigrants should be given the right to vote in municipal elections because they deserve input into issues that directly affect their neighbourhoods, Mayor David Miller says.

"We allow people who don't live in Toronto to vote, simply because they own property here," Miller told the Toronto Star's editorial board yesterday. "And if we ask ourselves, `How have we let neighbourhoods where there are often high proportions of landed immigrants deteriorate?' one of the reasons is they haven't had a vote.

"They haven't had a real say in the decisions that are affecting them," he said. "And if somebody who lives in Calgary but owns a piece of property here has a right to vote in municipal elections, I think somebody who lives here, committed to the city, has a right to vote."

Although it's anyone's guess how many would actually use the ballot, giving landed immigrants a vote could have large implications for the course of politics in the city, especially in wards with high numbers of newcomers and some unique needs and hopes.

Municipal Affairs Minister John Gerretsen says he'd be prepared to look at the idea after the November ballot, when the Municipal Elections Act will undergo a regular review.

"We'll take a look at all the pros and cons of it. We'll do so after the election and undoubtedly get input from the city and from any other city that has a great number of landed immigrants," he said, adding that any change would have to be province-wide.

There is precedent for it. More than two dozen cities in Europe extend the municipal ballot to immigrants, said Prof. Myer Siemiatycki of Ryerson University.

Until the 1988 municipal election, British subjects from Commonwealth countries were allowed to vote, but the rules were changed to ensure uniformity. In the Nov. 13 election, only Canadian citizens 18 and older who live in or own property in the city may vote.

Miller also touted a new agreement on immigration settlement signed this month involving the city, province and federal government. While it doesn't mean extra funds to Toronto, which receives the largest share of Canada's new immigrants, Miller said it gives the city more say on immigration issues.

Toronto will have a seat on working groups on language and training and on job access. Miller said he thinks it will eventually help the city get proper funding for settlement services.

Ontario Immigration Minister Mike Colle called the arrangement a major breakthrough.

"(The city), along with us, will have a much greater role to play in shaping these (federal immigration) programs and ensuring they match the needs," Colle said.

Miller defended his record during an hour-long question-and-answer session.

"I've been the kind of mayor I said I would be," he said. "I was elected to turn around the government, to make it run properly, to make it accountable, to make it respected, to improve city services. I've done all of that, or at least it's well underway."

Asked to address the sense of frustration or disappointment that Miller hasn't done enough, he deflected such criticism.

"I go everywhere in this city all the time," he said. "(People) say they are quite happy with the direction of the city."

He conceded waterfront redevelopment is slower than he had hoped, but insisted "shovels are in the ground" in the West Donlands, where hoarding is up and soil remediation is under way.

Miller blamed the long environmental assessment process for some of the delays.

"It's fair to say it hasn't gone as fast as I had hoped," he said. "I accept that the average Torontonian's view doesn't see much going on there."

He has promised to complete all park projects — the people places — by 2010, if re-elected to a four-year term. When it was pointed out that those parks are already in the pipeline, Miller said his promise was to ensure it would happen.

"Things don't just happen. You have to push like mad and you have to work incredibly hard to make them happen," he said, arguing he pushed to get the central waterfront design competition completed this year.

When asked why the broom-waving mayor hasn't delivered on a campaign promise to bring in a lobbyist registry, Miller acknowledged he was disappointed to have lost when city council voted on it last month.

"My commitment is to bring it back in January 2007 at the first council meeting and get it through council," Miller said, adding the pretext for delaying putting a registry in place was that unions and non-profit organizations were not included.

"There was a motion right there (to include unions and non-profits). They could have voted for it. They chose to vote against it," he said.

When questioned on the increasing heights of condo projects in the city, Miller said he supports the official plan, which allows for height at major transit hubs.

"Where there are tall buildings and density, I support tall buildings and density," he said, adding that in other neighbourhoods change should only be incremental.

Asked whether he supported a 75-storey condo tower proposed at Yonge and Gerrard Sts., he said it didn't sound reasonable — but qualified that response, saying that it depends how pedestrians feel at street level — whether there are shadows or extra wind — as well as design. He pointed to 1 King St. W. as an example — a tall building whose height is hardly noticeable from the street.

with files from kerry gillespie