It was a grey afternoon in downtown Toronto, and Mayor Rob Ford had just finished announcing he would seek to name Metro Square after the late David Pecaut, the vociferous city-builder and champion of Toronto who among other things founded the Toronto City Summit Alliance.
With just weeks to go before Canadians head to the polls, reporters asked Toronto's chief magistrate what he would like to see for Toronto from the government that would form after May 2.Ford had been asked the question repeatedly since the federal election began, and had gone to some lengths to distance himself from the national campaign. This time, he spared a few more words."We need..." he began, then paused and continued: "I'm not going to pass the buck. I'm responsible for our city. I'm not going to blame the provincial or federal government. So whatever they can do - whatever they think is the appropriate measure, I appreciate it."And that was that. Unlike his predecessor Mayor David Miller, Ford made it clear he saw no need to advocate for matters that might concern cities in general and Toronto in particular during the race to lead the country. Not everyone in Toronto is as easy-going about the city's prospects this election. A report released by the Toronto Board of Trade last month noted Toronto's ranking as a desirable place to live and do business has dropped compared to other world cities. The report, Toronto Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity, ranked Toronto against 19 other global cities, and found it wanting - dropping from fourth overall in 2009, to eighth based on 2010 data. The city lost points as an attractive place for labour, and dramatically in economic performance, ranking 11th.John Tory, the former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader and talk radio host who last year took over Pecaut's position as chair of the now-renamed Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance, maintains that Toronto in 2011 is at "a crossroads.""We are at a crossroads where we need all governments to step up," said Tory. "I think we are at a number of issues."The Board of Trade report identifies a key area where the federal and provincial governments might help: transportation funding. For the past four years, Toronto, the provincial government and to a lesser degree the federal government have been working through Metrolinx to build light rail networks across the city's suburbs, to help deal with growth.Much of that plan was altered after Mayor Ford enacted a campaign promise to do so.But even when the so-called Transit City lines were on the books, they were largely unfunded. And now, the one transit expansion - an underground light rail line servicing Eglinton Avenue - won't be finished until 2020."It's 2011 and we're talking about things finished in 2020," said Tory. "If you postpone these decisions, you're putting things off that need to be done. And if the board of trade says we're slipping in 2011 and we're still not seeing the finished projects until 2020 - we've got nine more years of growth to get through."Carol Wilding, president of the Toronto Board of Trade, has been promoting a national urban strategy along with 13 other major chambers of commerce across the country.And transit, she said, marked a cornerstone."It was a call for a national urban strategy and in particular a call for a national transit strategy," she said. "Our large urban centres have unique needs on transit, on immigrant integration and affordable housing - and we need to make sure we have the right fiscal arrangements to get the resources that are needed."Integration of new immigrants into society and the economy is another key issue.The CivicAction Alliance issued a position paper this year, pointing out that Toronto has disproportionate needs for assistance in the settlement of newcomers - in part because the region is such a draw for immigration.According to the report, Toronto is the number one destination for immigrants settling in Canada, and the city does better than most city regions in integrating newcomers.But according to the report, "immigrants consistently face both higher unemployment and a greater incidence of underemployment than people Canadian-born. Immigrants with a university degree have twice the unemployment rate and earn 40 per cent less than Canadian-born people with a university degree."According to Tory, any new government will have to deal with that discrepancy - in particular, the question of allowing foreign-trained professionals to qualify to work in their fields here in Canada.He said the new government needs to help find newcomer professionals transitional programs in Canadian universities - in a way similar to a policy announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper this past weekend."What is really needed is transitional programs to fund spaces in universities," Tory said. "One problem with the perennial issue of doctors who drive taxis is that while there is a program at the University of Toronto that helps doctors with a transitional year, but there are very few spaces available. I think the government is on the right track in terms of trying to find transitional spaces."Wilding said the major parties' platforms show promise. "I think what we're starting to hear is some discussion around a national urban strategy," she said. But it's not enough. "The party commitments and platforms are not sufficient in terms of the needs facing Toronto - the Toronto region - or urban centres across Canada," Wilding said. "Going through the parties' platform, the Conservatives may have come closest to talking long term infrastructure plan - but it's a plan to have a plan. The Liberals - Michael Ignatieff a few weeks ago in a conversation with somebody said, I think it's critical we have a national strategy when referencing transit. "Those are elements of a national strategy, yet when the plan comes out there are few details. And the NDP does call for a national public transit strategy, and marks for that. But having said that it's very modest - one additional cent on the gas tax which is $400 million. That's not going to address a national infrastructure deficit of $300 billion."