Featured Guest
You’ll find this guest among our growing roll of Urban Champions.
Sharmarke Dubow
Victoria City Councillor
Kristyn Wong-Tam
MPP, Toronto Centre
Emilie Thuillier
Montreal City Councillor
Druh Farrell
Calgary City Councillor
5 Key
Takeaways
A roundup of the most compelling ideas, themes and quotes from this candid conversation
1. Strengthening democracy at City Hall
Cities have suffered decades of underfunding and cuts, and now in a time of crisis, existing problems are magnified. As such, we need to democratize the economy and include the public in the municipal-budgeting process. “We all recognize that the budget is the apex of every single policy tool,” said Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam. Greater public participation in the budgeting process engages residents on municipal issues and holds higher-level governments accountable in their allocation of funding.
2. The ‘arc’ of the crisis
The crisis is an “arc.” In the beginning, there was tremendous cooperation and participation. Now, as municipalities reach the middle of the arc, people are exhausted, disillusioned, and questioning the efficacy of unprecedented public-health measures. The arc of the crisis has also highlighted differences in privilege, as “some want to have a haircut, and others cannot afford food,” noted Calgary City Councillor Druh Farrell. As well, there is a growing tension between those who want to return to normal, and those who recognize that the “old normal” is not good enough.
3. The role of the police
The discussion of police funding is important in a time when municipal budgets are stretched thin and in response to recent incidences of police brutality. Victoria City Councillor Sharmarke Dubow said there is no better time than the present for the public to rethink what policing can look like and to revisit the fundamentals of public safety, investing in preventative measures that have an impact on both crime and health. The City of Victoria, for example, took excess funding from cancelled events that would have required a police presence and used it to house people and improve public sanitation. “The social determinants of health are almost identical to social determinants of safety,” added Councillor Wong-Tam.
4. The nimbleness of cities
Councillor Farrell said that “austerity doesn’t work in a pandemic,” and cities are finding themselves having to be pragmatic in getting things done, but doing so creatively and nimbly, breaking the silos of jurisdiction. Councillors are finding themselves to be public health ambassadors, as key decisions right now must be approved by local public health authorities. Cities are tackling issues that usually are not within their jurisdiction, and “the little things that you couldn’t do, are now possible” added Montreal City Councillor Émillie Thuillier.
5. The tension between cities and provinces
Limited by the Canadian constitution written in 1867, municipalities are creatures of the province and do not have the fiscal autonomy necessary to tackle COVID-19 and as well as recovery. The councillors spoke about their municipalities’ relationship to their provincial governments and how intergovernmental support impacts crisis responses. Councillor Druh Farrell pointed out that the City of Calgary and the Province of Alberta have had differing views on aspects of the COVID-19 response. The City of Calgary, for example, had arranged to rent hotel rooms to house those in the shelter system, but the province intervened and overrode that decision, preferring to continue housing homeless and underhoused people in shelters.
Additional reading & resources
The Star analyzed 31,000 anti-panhandling tickets. Forty-six people received more than 100, with one man ticketed 467 times, Emily Mathieu, Andrew Bailey, Cameron Tulk, The Toronto Star
Enough is Enough, The Urban Strategist
Retool the tax system to help pay for COVID-19’s cost, Patrick Gill, Policy Options,
A Wealth Tax Is the Logical Way to Support Coronavirus Relief, Daniel Markovits, The New York Times
Full Panel
Transcript
Note to readers: This video session was transcribed using auto-transcribing software. Manual editing was undertaken in an effort to improve readability and clarity. Questions or concerns with the transcription can be directed to events@canurb.org with “transcription” in the subject line.
Full Audience
Chatroom Transcript
Note to reader: Chat comments have been edited for ease of readability. The text has not been edited for spelling or grammar. For questions or concerns, please contact events@canurb.org with “Chat Comments” in the subject line.12:01:41 From Canadian Urban Institute: Folks, please change your chat settings to “all panelists and attendees” so everyone can see your comments.
12:03:42 From Canadian Urban Institute: You can find transcripts and recordings of today’s and all our webinars at https://www.canurb.org/citytalk
12:04:08 From Andre Darmanin: #BlackOutTuesday
12:04:10 From Canadian Urban Institute: Keep the conversation going #citytalk @canurb
12:05:25 From Emily Wall, CUI Staff: Today’s panel:
Sharmarke Dubow, City Councillor (Victoria)
@deardubow
https://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/city/mayor-council-committees/sharmarke-dubow.html
Druh Farrell, Councillor, Ward 7 (Calgary)
@DruhFarrell
https://calgary.ca/citycouncil/ward-7/Pages/WardDefault.aspx
Émilie Thuillier, Mairesse, Ahunstic-Cartierville (Montréal)
@ThuillierEcmile
https://www.projetmontreal.org/emiliethuillier
Kristyn Wong-Tam, City Councillor, Ward 13 (Toronto)
@kristynwongtam
https://www.kristynwongtam.ca
12:06:33 From Lester Brown: In light of what has been happening south of the border, is there any consideration of taking up Black Lives Matter request to de-fund or have a careful look at Police budgets. The money may be better spent on other services.
12:10:01 From Andre Darmanin: @Lester Brown It has been a issue as long as I can remember. 6 years ago a council candidate raised the issue about lowering police budgets. There are many more priorities for our cities.
12:10:06 From Alan Kan: More radical elements have simply called for defunding or even abolishing the police. What are your thoughts on that notion?
12:12:34 From Lester Brown: One issue is the change in Public Space use i.e. away from autos in Toronto. I fear that the extension of private patios will just change private use. Can we just have chairs and tables in the street like in Berzky Park or Gould St. We have to look at making the City better for all not just for private interests. I am a strong supporter of supporting local, however.
12:16:20 From Lester Brown: @andre Darma do you mean that we should be reducing police budgets to meet other priorities? Now is the time to do it while on the radar.
12:17:16 From Andre Darmanin: @lester. Yes
12:17:43 From Jennifer Roth to All panelists: Agree, reduce police budget. Why do local police need armoured vehicles?
12:17:45 From Beate Bowron to All panelists: Kristyn, regarding Councillors’ communicating – your newsletters are the best of the bunch. Thank you for always finding the right tone.
12:18:03 From Andre Darmanin: I should correct… a Mayoral candidate. Kristyn would remember.
12:18:15 From Gabrielle Langlois: Maybe Charter Cities/cities keeping a larger percentage of the taxes collected, would help make managing these type of crisis easier/faster to manage.
12:18:20 From Canadian Urban Institute: Welcome new joiners! Just a reminder to please change your chat settings to “all panelists and attendees” so everyone can see your comments.
12:18:21 From Steve Winkelman to All panelists: Bravo Montreal!
12:19:32 From Lester Brown: @Gabrielle Charter Cities are no different than the Toronto Act or having a similar thing.
12:20:22 From Steve Winkelman to All panelists: How much harder is it to get your work done while working from home and potentially facing municipal staff layoffs?
12:20:37 From Mick Malowany: @Alan Kan Imagining cities without police is a critical and essential thread in this discourse. It forces us to confront the disparity between what police services do and what they are supposed to do. Ballooning police budgets and militarization of police forces are symptoms of an institution that is woefully out of touch with its purpose.
12:20:52 From Steve Winkelman: How much harder is it to get your work done while working from home and potentially facing municipal staff layoffs?
12:23:45 From Andre Darmanin: Charter cities are not the same as the Toronto Act. Charter cities give independent taxation powers without the interference of the upper levels of government
12:23:54 From Andre Darmanin: or limited intereference
12:27:42 From Lester Brown: @andre It has to be negotiated like it was in the Toronto Act. That Act does give the only tax powers the Province gave to Toronto, and that is the power for property tax, alcohol and tobacco (may be others) but with a Charter they also have to be negotiated. The province can deny them whether they are requested in a Charter or an Act.
12:28:05 From Feroza Mohammed to All panelists: Kristyn Wong-Tam, What happened to the funds that the fed invested towards housing, directly to the city of Toronto?
12:28:14 From Gabrielle Langlois: I think Toronto, for example, gets less than 10% of the taxes it generates/gives to Prov/Feds. If more of those resources are kept where the larger populations resided in cities, then cities would be able to address the pressing needs of city residents.
12:30:47 From Andre Darmanin: Druh speaks the truth. The problem is that the Constitution was based on agrarian times. Cities are much more powerful now.
12:31:12 From Andre Darmanin: Toronto’s budget is greater than the whole province of PEI
12:31:15 From J. Scott: From my deputation to Toronto’s Infrastructure and Environment Cttee Jan. 21/20: I am disappointed that in the safety and security budget line, not the poor, the indigent, the homeless see their needs a bigger slice of the budget pie but the police are again greedily siphoning off a whopping per cent to their already bloated budget. Last year, I mentioned my concern that the additional $30 million might go to harassing people on the street. That appears to have been the case and instead of taking into account the safety and security of these most vulnerable members of our society, last year officers were using that extra money to go after panhandlers looking for change with an unconscionable $200 fine. Are we returning back to the dreadful Dickensian times when poverty also meant being thrown in jail?
12:32:25 From J. Scott: Part 2 of above: According to the Toronto Star, 31,000 tickets were handed out. If the process for each incident took one-half an hour that’s 15,500 hours of an officer’s time at whatever rate they’re being paid. That’s just not a good use of expensive personnel in my opinion. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/07/08/the-star-analyzed-31000-anti-panhandling-tickets-forty-six-people-received-more-than-100-with-one-man-ticketed-467-times.html
12:35:16 From Jennifer Roth: How many of the tickets were even paid?
12:35:56 From Abby S: How do we also avoid loading these coming deficits on the next generation? Do we need to overhaul the tax code? Do we need a one time wealth tax?
12:36:07 From Jennifer Roth: Hamilton had a fellow who was made famous because he a huge number of tickets, and the public was ticked off. His multiple $1000 debt was eventually cleared because of public outcry.
12:36:36 From J. Scott: Transit: a key to recovery or a COVID-19 pathogen incubator? It’s deeply concerning that with our province’s decision to re-open society and the economy, Ontario hasn’t taken into account the likely contribution that poor and insufficient transit in large urban centres has made to the spread of the novel coronavirus. With the news that the TTC is reducing service by 50% on some routes this situation becomes much more troubling and of great concern.
12:38:04 From Andre Darmanin: hey @abby. Nice to see you again. There was a recent IRPP policy options article that discussed overhauling tax codes. Wealth tax is needed. As well, congestion pricing is needed.
12:40:13 From Mick Malowany: @Andre Darmanin Can you post a link please? Would be interested in reading that article!
12:41:04 From Andre Darmanin: @JScott In my last blog post (https://urbanstrategist.ca/enough-is-enough) I talked about my experience on the Jane 35 bus on a Saturday. Less service. Packed buses. Paranoia surrounding physical distancing. The majority of passengers are people of colour like myself. It is a concern and a social justice issue.
12:41:09 From J. Scott: I think Toronto police receive 10% of city’s total budget.
12:42:18 From Andre Darmanin: Mick and everyone https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2020/retool-the-tax-system-to-help-pay-for-covid-19s-costs/
12:42:20 From Mick Malowany: @Sharmarke Dubow is spot-on: we need to revisit the fundamentals of public safety and how police serve/threaten that outcome.
12:42:55 From Abby S: While a US analysis, worth considering,
12:42:56 From Abby S: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/opinion/coronavirus-wealth-tax.html
12:43:16 From Abby S: There is also a very interesting podcast interview with him on this subject.
12:43:18 From Andre Darmanin: Abby… connect with me on Linked In
12:43:28 From Lester Brown: Yes, @emilie Thuillier, leadership matters and I wish we had you mayor in Toornto.
12:43:49 From Abby S: 👍🏻
12:45:04 From Lester Brown: @kristyn Wong-Tam yes, we need to invest in communities.
12:46:03 From Abby S: With regard to public safety, we need to educate people that investments in public safety are longer term…everyone wants a short term fix and are not prepared to look at long term solutions…which may have choppy results in the short term. We suffer at every level from short term (election cycle) thinking
12:47:23 From Lester Brown: In New York , they actually allowing voting on the budget. The voting is only in some wards but is open to everybody i.e. citizens or not and I believe everybody over 14
12:49:17 From Canadian Urban Institute: You can find transcripts and recordings of today’s and all our webinars at https://www.canurb.org/citytalk
12:53:12 From J. Scott: Toronto should create a park down by Lake Ontario where Sidewalk Labs walked away!
12:53:59 From Rosemary Lambie: Merci Emilie – thanks everyone. This is encouraging.
12:54:14 From Steve Winkelman: Bravo Montreal. Protecting health and the planet!
12:55:00 From Canadian Urban Institute: Keep the conversation going #citytalk @canurb
12:55:19 From Andre Darmanin: J Scott. You forgot about the Raildeck park project?
12:56:13 From J. Scott: Andre Darmanin good YOU remembered! Thanks for reminding me.
12:56:26 From Andre Darmanin: NP
12:56:46 From mario mammone to All panelists: More people in parks…Please add more garage cans in Montreal parks…I find walkers and joggers and bikes did NOT mix well on bike paths. They MUST be wider to accommodate everyone. I find this a problem in MONTREAL. Better planning will be needed with increase traffic on paths.
12:57:18 From Andre Darmanin: We do need more park space and also more affordable housing down in the East Bayfront area.
12:58:28 From Andre Darmanin: Yes 40 KM of open streets is not enough!
12:58:34 From Emily Wall, CUI Staff: Please help CUI improve its CityTalk programming with a short post-webinar survey – https://bit.ly/370MxQM
13:02:45 From Rick Byun: Nice work, @canurb. Good leadership to connect on imporant issues. COVID-related and otherwise.
13:03:04 From J. Scott: If Toronto businesses aren’t open, we need more port-a-potties (even in “normal” times these were needed) otherwise people may not be able to use the outdoors and be physically distancing.
13:03:45 From mario mammone to All panelists: For affordable housing to work someone has to take responsibility to build it and managed it. Someone has to take accountability for all the vacant lots and put a suitable plan on every level of government and build sustainability not just a band aid solutions.
13:03:46 From Oriana Nanoa: Thank you!
13:03:47 From Debra Nyczai: Thank you; great webinar!
13:03:48 From Aqsa Malik to All panelists: Thank you, informative and timely discussion !
13:03:53 From Abby S: Thank you!
13:04:01 From Abby S: Stay safe
13:04:01 From J. Scott: MERCI. THANKS EVERYONE!
13:04:03 From Feroza Mohammed to All panelists: Thank you for a great conversation
13:04:08 From Kirsten Frankish to All panelists: Thank you very much for another fantastic webinar!
13:04:10 From Lester Brown: Thank you all.
