Mowat Centre / en U of T has 'key role to play' in developing and implementing new AI technologies, Ontario Economic Summit will hear /news/u-t-has-key-role-play-developing-and-implementing-new-ai-technologies-ontario-economic-summit <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T has 'key role to play' in developing and implementing new AI technologies, Ontario Economic Summit will hear </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-10-24-maureen-macdonald.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=DDihhqvl 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2018-10-24-maureen-macdonald.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=nOm2HNTn 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2018-10-24-maureen-macdonald.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9E9377Si 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-10-24-maureen-macdonald.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=DDihhqvl" alt="Photo of Maureen MacDonald"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>noreen.rasbach</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2018-10-24T10:04:42-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - 10:04" class="datetime">Wed, 10/24/2018 - 10:04</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">“It’s really in our wheelhouse – supporting our employers and workers as they start to navigate the implications of AI and other changes,” says Maureen MacDonald, dean of U of T's School of Continuing Studies (photo by Romi Levine)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/chris-sorensen" hreflang="en">Chris Sorensen</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/artificial-intelligence" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-information" hreflang="en">Faculty of Information</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mowat-centre" hreflang="en">Mowat Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/school-continuing-studies" hreflang="en">School of Continuing Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/technology" hreflang="en">Technology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/vector-institute" hreflang="en">Vector Institute</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item"> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Ƶ can play a key role in not only developing economy-boosting automation and artificial intelligence technologies, but ensuring Ontario workers are in the best possible position to reap the rewards.</p> <p>That’s the message <strong>Maureen MacDonald, </strong>the dean of U of T’s School of Continuing Studies, intends to deliver during a “great debate” on AI and the workforce at this week’s Ontario Economic Summit, an annual gathering of cabinet ministers, CEOs and post-secondary education leaders.</p> <p>MacDonald, one of several university representatives at the three-day event in Niagara-on-the-Lake, says U of T is well-equipped to work with the province and employers to improve workers’ skills and education so they can succeed in the knowledge economy.</p> <p>“It’s really in our wheelhouse – supporting our employers and workers as they start to navigate the implications of AI and other changes,” she says.</p> <p>“AI can do the work, but someone still has to manage around the process. I think that’s where universities and, specifically, continuing education units can add value.”</p> <p>The debate, presented by U of T, is one of several scheduled discussions about the future of work at this year’s summit, organized by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Also on the agenda: presentations on AI’s potential impact on the labour market, strategies for businesses to respond to labour market changes and potential solutions to maintain Ontario’s global competitiveness.</p> <p>Ontario Premier Doug Ford will wrap up the event Friday with remarks that follow a roundtable with delegates and provincial cabinet ministers.</p> <h3><a href="/news/u-t-and-ai-faculty-members-their-research-and-its-impact">U of T and AI: Faculty members on their research and its impact</a></h3> <p>The development and implementation of AI technologies in a range of fields, from medicine to transportation, is predicted by some to create a US$100-billion global industry by 2025. And since Ontario has emerged as a hub of AI research – thanks in part to the work of deep learning “godfather” and U of T University Professor Emeritus <strong>Ƶ</strong> and his students – the province is in a unique position to benefit from what many are calling a transformative technology.</p> <p>“With universities, employers and other stakeholders working together, Ontario has the opportunity to seize the tremendous economic potential offered by AI,” says <strong>Vivek Goel</strong>, U of T’s vice-president of research and innovation.</p> <p>“The Ƶ&nbsp;has a key role to play when it comes to both developing and implementing these new technologies, and ensuring students are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in the jobs and industries of tomorrow.”</p> <p>U of T’s contributions to the AI phenomenon go well beyond producing world-leading research<strong>. </strong>For example, the Creative Destruction Lab, a seed-stage accelerator program affiliated with the Rotman School of Management,&nbsp;this week held its annual Machine Learning and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Market for Intelligence conference, which is designed in part to educate business leaders about the power of AI and how it can be adopted by their businesses. At the same time, U of T is supporting scores of AI-powered startups through its network of nine incubators and accelerators.</p> <p>Last year, U of T worked with scores of partners to help establish the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which is emerging as one of the leading centres of its type globally and helping to attract significant talent and investment to Ontario. As well, in&nbsp; 2012&nbsp;U of T co-founded&nbsp;SOSCIP, which has become a key player in boosting innovation in Ontario. The consortium, funded by the federal government, the Ontario government and industry,&nbsp;marries research-minded companies with leading academics, and then supercharges the partnerships with the latest in computational power.</p> <p>U of T is also emerging as a&nbsp;place to understand how AI and automation technologies will affect our lives. Just last month, Professor <strong>Brian Cantwell Smith</strong>, a philosopher and cognitive scientist, was named the Reid Hoffman Chair in Artificial Intelligence following a $2.45-million donation to U of T’s Faculty of Information from the LinkedIn co-founder. The Centre for Ethics, too, has developed programming that focuses on the myriad ethical questions posed by AI development.</p> <p>As for AI’s impact on jobs, Mowat Centre Director <strong>Andrew Parkin</strong> recently embarked on a three-year project that aims to better understand how prepared Ontarians are to adapt to employers’ shifting needs.</p> <p>So far, Parkin says, there’s a mix of good and bad news: Ontario remains on par with other leading jurisdictions, but there’s already evidence of “skills polarization” emerging in the labour force, with some groups set to reap the rewards of technology-driven changes while others are at risk of falling further behind.</p> <p>“Ontario is in as good a position as almost any other society to take advantage of these technologies,” says Parkin, who is also an associate professor at the Munk School for Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy and will be delivering an overview of some of the project’s early findings at this week’s economic summit.</p> <p>“But that doesn’t mean each and every Ontarian is well-positioned.”</p> <p>Case in point: The majority of the 21,000 students who took continuing education courses at U of T last year already had post-secondary degrees, according to MacDonald. Hence, a key challenge is finding novel ways – from online courses to condensed certificate programs – to encourage those without a post-secondary degree to continue investing in education.</p> <p>&nbsp;“As post-secondary institutions and continuing educations units, we have to be flexible enough to accommodate people who can’t take big chunks of time out of their work days for education,” says MacDonald.</p> <p>She adds that, for the province, “It’s really about creating a cultural of life-long learning. It’s ultimately up to the individual to embark on it, but we can support it financially and in other ways.”</p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 24 Oct 2018 14:04:42 +0000 noreen.rasbach 145659 at City, feds and province to likely play it safe on Toronto’s housing crisis: U of T expert /news/city-feds-and-province-likely-play-it-safe-toronto-s-housing-crisis-u-t-expert <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">City, feds and province to likely play it safe on Toronto’s housing crisis: U of T expert</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/housing%20toronto%20main.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=CQqar1JT 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/housing%20toronto%20main.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=VeNFQrsb 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/housing%20toronto%20main.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=sr9hUUdb 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/housing%20toronto%20main.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=CQqar1JT" alt="Toronto houses"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Romi Levine</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-04-18T14:25:03-04:00" title="Tuesday, April 18, 2017 - 14:25" class="datetime">Tue, 04/18/2017 - 14:25</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">All three levels of government are meeting to figure out how to ease Toronto's housing woes (photo by Spacing Magazine via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romi-levine" hreflang="en">Romi Levine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Romi Levine</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/urban" hreflang="en">urban</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/housing" hreflang="en">Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mowat-centre" hreflang="en">Mowat Centre</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Toronto Mayor <strong>John Tory</strong>, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his Ontario counterpart, Charles Sousa, are meeting today to discuss ways of cooling Toronto’s hot housing market.</p> <p>A Royal LePage housing survey released Tuesday indicated that the average price of a two storey home in the GTA is $894,919, up 22 per cent over last year, while average condo prices are up 11 per cent to $408,908 – putting home ownership out of reach for many Torontonians.</p> <p>But there isn’t a quick fix to Toronto’s housing woes, says <strong>Sunil Johal</strong>, policy director at U of T's Mowat Centre, located at the School of Public Policy and Governance. He spoke with <em>U of T News</em> reporter <strong>Romi Levine</strong> about what the municipal, provincial and federal leaders can accomplish today.</p> <hr> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__4290 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/sunil-johal.jpg?itok=BdZWsMPx" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong>Are any housing solutions set to come out of today’s meeting?</strong></p> <p>Housing prices are a really vexing challenge for governments. There's no real consensus on what's actually causing price increases. People have different opinions on whether it's inadequate supply, heightened demand or the role of foreign speculation. Without knowing what the actual problem is, it's really tough for governments to design a solution that they'll have confidence will actually work.</p> <p>What we're seeing now is more of a political conversation. Due to the intense media focus on affordability issues, there's now a need to be seen to be doing something, but there are huge risks to taking the wrong type of action here. It's likely we'll see more tinkering around the margins than any kind of substantive measure. The only exception to that would be something that targets foreign buyers as was done in Vancouver because there's less of a political risk with that type of initiative than if governments were to take action against residents of Ontario or Toronto more specifically.</p> <p><strong>Who is – or should be – trying to find the causes of Toronto’s rising house prices?</strong></p> <p>All levels of government – the federal government, province and the city –&nbsp;are studying this issue. But in terms of what the experts that are looking at this say, many of them have vested interests because they're bank economists or otherwise have skin in the game.&nbsp;</p> <p>I don't think anybody has an exact handle on what's going on, and that makes it a risky area to design policy intervention because you might over-correct or under-correct. And, that's a problem.</p> <p>The other issue for governments is the real estate market boom&nbsp;sustaining the economy when you have 500,000 Ontarians working in the construction industry and almost 600,000 that work in finance, real estate and the insurance sectors combined. If you were to over-correct or deflate the housing market too suddenly, you have the risk of layoffs in those sectors, and you also have significant risks around current homeowners who are actually happy with the fact that home prices are very high. You don't want to over-correct to the point where people are seeing paper losses on their property.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Is playing it safe the best approach?</strong></p> <p>I think any action this year should be incremental, rather than come in with a “Big Bang” solution&nbsp;that might actually have unintended consequences.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Is there any way of knowing if we're in a housing bubble before it bursts?</strong></p> <p>It's always obvious after the fact that there was a bubble. But in the midst of a bubble, psychology takes over, and I think that's where things get risky for individuals who are trying to get into the housing market. The issue is timing it to when prices go down. Those who can do that are those who will make a lot of money. Those who can't are going to be left taking significant losses on properties they purchased.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>The provincial government is planning on addressing the housing market in its budget at the end of April – what's the best way for them to take on the issue?</strong></p> <p>The challenge for the province is designing interventions that don't affect areas outside of Toronto unnecessarily because Toronto is in its own unique situation. Right now, the province can certainly look at province-wide taxes or measures to curb speculation from either residents or non-residents depending on how they design that kind of a tax. That's probably the main measure in the short-term.&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 18 Apr 2017 18:25:03 +0000 Romi Levine 106837 at Millions of Canadians could lose jobs to automation, U of T's Mowat Centre reports /news/millions-canadians-could-lose-jobs-automation-u-t-s-mowat-centre-reports <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Millions of Canadians could lose jobs to automation, U of T's Mowat Centre reports</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-11-22-automated-workforce-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=1OXDGJdQ 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-11-22-automated-workforce-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=enoPdIy9 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-11-22-automated-workforce-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=taFhHe81 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-11-22-automated-workforce-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=1OXDGJdQ" alt="Photo of automated sorting area"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Romi Levine</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-11-22T14:47:10-05:00" title="Tuesday, November 22, 2016 - 14:47" class="datetime">Tue, 11/22/2016 - 14:47</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">An automated sorting area at a distribution centre in England (photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romi-levine" hreflang="en">Romi Levine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Romi Levine</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mowat-centre" hreflang="en">Mowat Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/school-public-policy-governance" hreflang="en">School of Public Policy &amp; Governance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/economy" hreflang="en">Economy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/technology" hreflang="en">Technology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/jobs" hreflang="en">Jobs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/employment" hreflang="en">Employment</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">In the next 10 to 15 years, between 1.5 million to 7.5 million jobs in Canada could be at risk, affecting even lawyers, doctors and engineers</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>As technology advances, occupations from truck drivers to lawyers are at risk of becoming at least partly automated, bringing about higher unemployment and more temporary workers.</p> <p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://mowatcentre.ca/wp-content/uploads/publications/132_working_without_a_net.pdf">report released today</a> by the Mowat Centre says that, over the next two decades, millions of Canadians could be out of jobs. The Centre&nbsp;is part of the Ƶ’s School of Public Policy &amp; Governance.&nbsp;</p> <h3><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/11/28/automation-canada-job-losses_n_13286168.html">Read Huffington Post story on the report</a></h3> <p><em>U of T News</em> spoke with <strong>Sunil Johal</strong>, one of the authors of the report, about how Canada can adapt social policies to deal with dramatic shifts in the job market.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p><strong>Is the rise of precarious work a symptom of an economic downturn or are there other factors?</strong></p> <p>I think there’s more to it than business cycles at this point. We’re seeing longer-term trends around precarious employment and non-standard work increasing over 20-year periods now. That’s something that outlives a three-to-four year economic downturn.&nbsp;</p> <p>The main difference now from 20 to 25 years ago is the technological element to this. I think we’re seeing the rise of automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, the gig economy – all of these things together are culminating in a labour market that is far more precarious, far more task-based and in many cases, far more job-free.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>How will automation affect Canadian workers?&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>The broader impacts of automation are yet to be seen. Companies are still figuring out how to leverage this new technology in a way that’s to their benefit that may impact jobs in a negative way.&nbsp;</p> <p>We looked at a number of studies that have examined what potential job losses could look like in Canada. It’s a fairly broad range, but at the low end you’re looking at 1.5 million jobs in Canada and at the high end, you’re looking at about 7.5 million jobs that could be at risk of automation. That is a big number but, even if you take the low end of that, over the next 10-15 years that’s a lot of people.</p> <p>The labour market in Canada right now is roughly 18 million.&nbsp;</p> <p>That’s a game changer. We talk in the report about the fact that in the global financial crisis, Canada lost roughly 400,000 jobs. We’re talking double, triple or quadruple that number at the low end of these estimates.</p> <p><strong>Do the federal or provincial governments have policies in place to support workers at risk of losing their jobs to automation?</strong></p> <p>No, the social infrastructure is not in place right now for this type of major change to our economy. We can even argue that in the status quo current state of play in Canada, for many people, programs like employment insurance, the health care system and childcare are insufficient today. If they get worse in the labour market in the next five to 15 years, absent significant changes, those programs are not sufficient to meet the needs of Canadians in terms of coverage, quality of coverage and fundamentally, how they’re designed.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Are there examples of good social policy that Canada can learn from?</strong></p> <p>We set out a number of recommendations and options in terms of what governments might want to think about to modernize our social infrastructure.</p> <p>One of the interesting ones was Denmark’s model of labour market training and support. They have a model called the “flexicurity” model – providing both flexibility and security to workers.&nbsp;</p> <p>It’s much easier for Danish companies to hire and fire people – up to 25 per cent of Danes in the private sector switch jobs every year. There are significant levels of income replacement for unemployed workers – up to 90 per cent income replacement for workers and much higher levels of investment in training and skill support than we see in Canada.&nbsp;</p> <p>In a world where more disruptions are happening more quickly, we would argue the Danish model is much more nimble and supportive and much more in-tune with the 21st century labour market than Canada’s model, which you could characterize as a very good model in the 1960s but not such a &nbsp;good model in 2016.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>As we saw in the U.S. election, election cycles mean politicians can attempt to back-track on policies. What assurance do we have that long-term policies will stay in place to support at-risk workers?</strong></p> <p>The one thing that’s happening with technology that makes me optimistic that we can actually see changes – that there is a policy window for governments to do something about this – is the fact that technological disruption is not just going to be impacting those at the low-end of the income scale.</p> <p>We’re going to see doctors, lawyers, engineers – all kinds of white collar professionals potentially see their job impacted in some way by these changes. That gives a much broader constituency of support for the necessary investments and program adjustments that’ll be needed in the coming years.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 22 Nov 2016 19:47:10 +0000 Romi Levine 102557 at New regulations mean business as usual for Uber, says U of T expert /news/new-regulations-mean-business-usual-uber-says-u-t-expert <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">New regulations mean business as usual for Uber, says U of T expert</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lavende4</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-05-09T10:40:23-04:00" title="Monday, May 9, 2016 - 10:40" class="datetime">Mon, 05/09/2016 - 10:40</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Toronto taxi drivers protesting against Uber (All photos by Getty Images)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/noreen-ahmed-ullah" hreflang="en">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/uber" hreflang="en">Uber</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/toronto" hreflang="en">Toronto</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/taxi-industry" hreflang="en">Taxi Industry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mowat-centre" hreflang="en">Mowat Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/school-public-policy-and-governance" hreflang="en">School of Public Policy and Governance</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>For months, Torontonians have debated the fate of Uber, even as the taxi industry has threatened protests and the ride-hailing service has issued threats of its own to leave the city. As Uber continued to operate illegally –&nbsp;outside the terms of the current taxi bylaws –&nbsp;councillors and the mayor discussed solutions. This week, after a heated debate, City Council finally approved new regulations for Uber. <em>U of T News</em> talked with <strong>Sunil Joha</strong>l, policy director at the Mowat Centre at U of T’s School of Public Policy and Governance, about the new laws governing Uber and whether these will settle the issue, once and for all.</p> <p><strong>What will change for Uber? Do the new regulations go far enough in regulating Uber?</strong></p> <p>Toronto’s new rules will largely mean business as usual for Uber, its drivers and customers. UberX drivers will now be required to file documentation, such as criminal record checks and insurance certificates, directly with the city rather than with Uber as had been the case previously, and obtain a city license. But Uber drivers won’t be required to have cameras in their car, undertake training courses or have rates regulated by the city (other than a small change to the base fare). &nbsp;</p> <p>What effect these rules will have on the ground transportation system in Toronto is uncertain right now. Taxis have operated in a supply-managed marketplace for decades, and the effects of allowing more cars on congestion, consumer satisfaction, safety and accessibility will take some time to sort out. The City will need to closely monitor these types of issues over the next one to two years and be prepared to make adjustments as needed.</p> <p><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11.0819px; line-height: 13.6418px;">[quote (class="additional class" | author="Sunil Johal")]</strong>“Indications are that Uber is pleased with the new rules” - Sunil Johal<img alt="Sunil Johal" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__905 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2015-05-09-Sunil-Johal.jpg?itok=frbSL56J" style="width: 300px; height: 200px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 11.0819px; line-height: 13.6418px;">[/quote]</strong></p> <p><strong>How have the rules changed for taxi drivers? Is it enough to satisfy the taxi industry?</strong></p> <p>The new rules reduce a number of mandated requirements for taxis, including the elimination of 17 days of training for new drivers, refresher courses and the need to have CPR and First Aid certification. They also permit taxis to discount fares from regulated rates, and charge higher rates if trips are booked through a smartphone. Any rate reductions would need to be borne by individual drivers rather than taxicab brokers.</p> <p>These amendments seem to have been designed to win the favour of the larger taxicab brokerages in the city, and also go some ways to removing time-consuming requirements for individual drivers. I expect we’ll see taxi brokerages start to explore the possibility of re-constituting themselves as Private Transportation Companies (PTCs), the classification Uber has under the new rules, as they would have greater flexibility around pricing and fewer costs. More individual drivers will also likely explore driving for PTCs, as their income potential may be higher.</p> <p><strong>Do you think the controversy ends here or will this continue? Is the city, Uber or the taxi industry still pursuing other issues or regulations?</strong></p> <p>Indications are that Uber is pleased with the new rules, and I anticipate the taxi industry will take a careful look at how their business model is going to be impacted. Some in the industry who invested in taxi medallions at a cost of $300,000 or more in recent years may still be very unhappy with the impacts of these rules on their investments. The city has committed to studying compensation for medallion owners and this could remain a friction point in the coming months.</p> <p>It’s interesting to note that City Council actually requested the province step in to regulate companies like Uber. Whether the province wants to get involved in what has proven to be a political minefield will bear watching.</p> <p><strong>Are similar battles playing out in other cities? Are any of the regulations or new laws interesting enough that you think they’ll influence how other cities deal with Uber?</strong></p> <p>Toronto adopted an approach that is largely similar to that of many other cities in the US and elsewhere. A number of other cities in Ontario like Mississauga and Hamilton are currently developing approaches to their own taxi industries, and will likely use Toronto’s approach as a starting point for discussions.</p> <p>For more about the Uber debate, watch Urban Studies professor Shauna Brail's video:&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CeeP_5SheE8" width="560"></iframe></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 09 May 2016 14:40:23 +0000 lavende4 14038 at Mowat Centre: cities need a bigger say in infrastructure /news/mowat-centre-cities-need-bigger-say-infrastructure <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Mowat Centre: cities need a bigger say in infrastructure </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-30T09:26:20-05:00" title="Monday, November 30, 2015 - 09:26" class="datetime">Mon, 11/30/2015 - 09:26</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Report recommends a role for municipalities in infrastructure spending. (Photo by Ross G. Strachan via Flickr.)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alan-christie" hreflang="en">Alan Christie</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Alan Christie</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mowat-centre" hreflang="en">Mowat Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/infrastructure" hreflang="en">Infrastructure</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Report recommends more flexibility in raising revenue</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A new Mowat Centre report offers guiding principles to the federal government on helping municipalities through spending on infrastructure – not just handing out money but being strategic about it.</p> <p>The report, titled <em>From the Ground Up: The Role of Local Governments in Building Canada’s Economic Infrastructure Network</em>, argues that while commitments from the new government in Ottawa to double infrastructure spending are promising, it is crucial to act strategically and “get the most out of each dollar spent.”</p> <p><strong>Sara Ditta</strong>, author of the report, told <em>U of T News</em> that infrastructure spending has suffered from a “fragmented” approach and that she hopes to “change the conversation a little.” The Mowat Centre is an independent public think tank located at the School of Public Policy &amp; Governance at U of T.</p> <p>In the 1950s, the federal government owned the most infrastructure while municipal governments owned the least. That has changed significantly.</p> <p>The federal government now owns 12 per cent while local governments account for 51 per cent (provincial governments own the rest). Locally-owned infrastructure includes roads, bridges and other means of connecting broader trade networks.</p> <p>“These are crucial parts of the system for delivering goods and services to and from Canada,” the report says. “A port, airport or international hub is likely to be as efficient and effective as the infrastructure to which it is connected – much of which is owned, operated and maintained by local governments.”</p> <p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is committed to giving Canadian municipalities a voice in making decisions, something critics say has been lacking for several years.</p> <p>The report states that “local insights are often overlooked” by other levels of government and that municipalities have&nbsp; “limited opportunities to contribute to discussions on strategic infrastructure investments of national importance.” Local governments can provide significant knowledge and expertise in this area.</p> <p>Infrastructure “is closely tied to productivity and quality of life in several ways,” the report states. Congestion, it suggests, is costing about $15 billion a year, or nearly one per cent of Canada’s GDP. Poor infrastructure results in increased costs and decreased returns on investment. All this can be ultimately detrimental to Canada’s economic prosperity.</p> <p>One of the barriers municipalities have to overcome is the lack of fiscal tools to fund infrastructure. “Local governments are forced to raise funds primarily through property taxes,” the report says, “which are an inflexible and inefficient way to raise revenue.” Municipalities are estimated to receive only eight cents of every tax dollar raised across the country.</p> <p>“It is considered unrealistic to expect to close local infrastructure funding gaps with such a strong reliance on property taxes,” the report continues. “Other sources of tax revenue by local governments in other countries to fund infrastructure projects include income taxes, consumption taxes, business taxes, tourist taxes and vehicle registration taxes.”</p> <p>New revenue tools have been a topic of discussion at recent conferences at U of T, including <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/can-toronto-meet-growing-demand-services-existing-resources">one involving Toronto city manager Peter Wallace and President <strong>Meric Gertler</strong></a>,&nbsp;where&nbsp;<strong>Anne Golden</strong>, a U of T alumna and former head of the United Way of Greater Toronto, suggested raising revenue&nbsp;for transit through a city sales tax.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Mowat report does not go as far as recommending a sales tax, but says that new mechanisms are needed to raise revenue and fund infrastructure projects strategically to ensure that public dollars go further.</p> <p>“A first step,” the report suggests, “would be to look at new models already being used in provinces like Manitoba, which dedicated a portion of its provincial sales tax to infrastructure projects.”</p> <p>(<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ross_strachan/11824799075/in/photolist-j1VbN8-caWrv7-aV1FVa-ffxruV-vQmJEH-6qLa6q-4rTnKa-dgN2AS-8guGt7-9Tbb84-ofykpe-pEFvNT-oPYfN3-diT3WK-oHSQQr-6bLNfb-fjsEam-6xAR2H-oFDwQ-LYdoa-97bZF5-a3esZ2-8NSf1H-6UcVKU-dituX2-9JS72q-4suVzj-veSwVk-d9PZT-oFA7gg-dB3qHX-h686sz-cdz3c1-diT7ig-diT73T-diT3tF-dk4tz4-diT1xJ-5w3zED-dDS3f3-7Xi5Ta-4aoox9-wuBDPu-vQmydF-wJUJGU-8oxh4V-5oua6k-nsUw1S-wMJyiK-nKp9uD">See the original of the above photo at Flickr</a>.)<br> &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-30-bridge.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 30 Nov 2015 14:26:20 +0000 sgupta 7487 at Canada Next: John Tory on the future of Canadian cities and the role of U of T /news/canada-next-john-tory-future-canadian-cities-and-role-u-t <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Canada Next: John Tory on the future of Canadian cities and the role of U of T </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-18T03:52:11-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 18, 2015 - 03:52" class="datetime">Wed, 11/18/2015 - 03:52</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">“U of T is in the top 20 [universities] in the world and it is a huge selling point in terms of attracting not only investment but attracting the best and brightest to Toronto,” John Tory says (photo by Bora vs. Bora via Instagram)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alan-christie" hreflang="en">Alan Christie</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Alan Christie</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mowat-centre" hreflang="en">Mowat Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/canada-next" hreflang="en">Canada Next</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">“The better the city is, the better U of T is, and vice versa.”</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When Toronto Mayor <strong>John Tory</strong> meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December he will be heartened by indications from the PM that he is “friendly to cities.”</p> <p>Tory, a U of T alumnus (Trinity College, 1975), told <em>U of T News</em> that he discussed the role of cities in telephone conversations with Trudeau during the recent election campaign. If the new government keeps its commitments, he said,&nbsp;&nbsp;Canadians will be "better off when it comes to investment in transit, housing and other infrastructure projects in cities.”</p> <p>Tory said&nbsp;he is&nbsp;heartened by the Liberals'&nbsp;stated willingness&nbsp;to run a deficit. “Often in the past, parties make commitments, but when they get into government say, ‘things are much worse than we thought, and the money just isn’t there.’&nbsp;In this case, they fully acknowledge the price to be paid for the expansion of transit and infrastructure.”</p> <p>The mayor noted that Trudeau’s funding commitment extends to public housing.</p> <p>“There is no daylight between us as mayors, at least big-city mayors, that the two issues that require the most assistance from other levels of government on an urgent basis are transit and housing.”</p> <p>Another encouraging sign from the new federal government is Trudeau’s commitment to “having the cities at the table with him to discuss our issues, something that hasn’t been done often. And he has committed to an annual conference with big-city mayors, something that has never been done.”</p> <p>To further emphasize the point, Tory pointed to the letters of mandate Trudeau sent to all members of his cabinet. “In almost every case he sees a significant role for cities, either in investments or cities giving advice to the federal government. That is a change for the better.”</p> <p>Tory is working closely with the U of T on several fronts. City Council agreed earlier this year to ask Professor <strong>Eric Miller</strong>, the research director of U of T’s Transportation Research Institute, to do a study on TTC ridership, which is due in January.</p> <p>(<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/7119320@N05/14915815999/in/photolist-oJ4srn-ah31LS-ah31GS-agZd5v-agZd2V-agZcZn-agZcXe-ah31v5-agZcRZ-agZcQR-ah31qC-ah31oY-ah31mG-ah31iA-agZcDD-ah31eJ-ah31c9-agZcwT-ah318w-agZcs2-ah314b-agZcnR-agZckg-agZchv-ah2ZTj-ah2ZRj-ah2ZP5-ah2ZM3-agZc7H-ah2ZH5-ah2ZFJ-agZc2c-ah2ZC3-agZbV2-agZbTi-ah2ZuN-ah2Zt9-ah2Zrf-agZbM4-ah2Znf-agZbGT-agZbEF-agZbCD-ah2Ze1-agZby2-agZbvZ-ah2Z6N-agZbrT-agZbpk-agZbmV">Image below by Sean_Marshall via flickr</a>)</p> <p><img alt="photo of streetcars" src="/sites/default/files/2015-11-18-streetcars-embed.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 469px; margin: 10px 25px;"></p> <p>The Mowat Centre, an independent think tank located at the School of Public Policy &amp; Governance at U of T, released two reports recently on “community benefit agreements” (CBAs) and anchor institutions, of which U of T is one. Both rely on public-private partnerships (P3s) for major projects.</p> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/addressing-income-and-wealth-inequality-local-level">Read more about the Mowat Centre reports</a></h2> <p>On Nov. 14 Tory suggested that such P3s would be useful to keep projects on time and on budget. &nbsp;He pointed to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT now under construction.</p> <p>The Mowat Centre also referred to the LRT as an unofficial CBA. Asked whether such agreements are the way of the future, Tory&nbsp;said yes. "Look at the revitalization of Regent Park where there were community benefits agreements entered into where developers and the community, and other partners worked together to create jobs.</p> <p>“And something really positive: When the project came to an end, there were fully trained skills trades people who then worked in other projects in the city. They found a permanent calling.” CBAs, he said, will be a major part of the newly announced revitalization of Lawrence Heights.</p> <p>“The notion that (CBAs) should extend to public transit should come as no surprise. They provide plenty of opportunities for the transfer of skills to people looking for employment, local people. This is going to be a feature of that type of project.”</p> <p>Tory has talked to U of T President <strong>Meric Gertler</strong> about the president’s commitment to becoming a partner with the City of Toronto.</p> <p>“He made it very clear to us,” Tory said “that U of T employs hundreds of experts, hundreds even in the area of urban affairs that take in environmental matters, transit matters and anti-poverty matters, and will make them available to us because that is part of the contribution he wants to make to having a better city. It is quite sensible – the better the city is, the better U of T is, and vice-versa.”</p> <p>Tory studied&nbsp;political science at U of T and fondly remembers the great professors he learned from – <strong>Robert Bothwell</strong>, <strong>Paul Fox</strong> and <strong>Michael Marrus</strong> among them. Tory listened to lectures from Marrus 35 years ago and was so moved that he has attended events recently to hear him speak again, including a Holocaust Remembrance service.</p> <p>“That is one of the great things about going to a great university – you get the best teachers. I am sure there is the same level of excellence there today.” After graduating in 1975, Tory obtained his law degree at Osgoode in 1978. He sat on U of T’s governing council from 1995 until 2001.</p> <p>As mayor, Tory has travelled to London and Texas to promote Toronto. “One of the biggest selling points is the critical mass and excellence of the post-secondary institutions in Toronto.</p> <p>“U of T is in the top 20 in the world and&nbsp;that is a huge selling point in terms of attracting not only investment but attracting the best and brightest to Toronto.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-18-canada-next-toronto.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 18 Nov 2015 08:52:11 +0000 sgupta 7455 at Addressing income and wealth inequality at the local level /news/addressing-income-and-wealth-inequality-local-level <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Addressing income and wealth inequality at the local level</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-02T05:50:14-05:00" title="Monday, November 2, 2015 - 05:50" class="datetime">Mon, 11/02/2015 - 05:50</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The Ƶ Scarborough, which helped host the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, is an example of an anchor institution that's “already doing great things when it comes to ensuring the surrounding community benefits from projects.” says </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alan-christie" hreflang="en">Alan Christie</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Alan Christie</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/community" hreflang="en">Community</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mowat-centre" hreflang="en">Mowat Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Mowat Centre highlights the importance of institutions that serve as anchors for communities </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Construction skills programs for at-risk youth. Small-business snack shops. The collaborative development of the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail project.&nbsp;</p> <p>Community-centred projects such as&nbsp;these – anchored by institutions including U of T – can catalyze local economies, says new research from The Mowat Centre.&nbsp;The independent think tank&nbsp;recently released two reports detailing new strategies in building community wealth across Ontario.&nbsp;</p> <p>The reports, done in conjunction with the Atkinson Foundation, focus on the emergence of Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) and how “<a href="http://mowatcentre.ca/wp-content/uploads/publications/109_Anchor_Institutions.pdf">Anchor Institutions</a>” – which include the&nbsp;Ƶ – can play a “significant role in building local assets and leveraging them to create a greater supply of decent work and other economic opportunities.”</p> <p><strong>Nevena Dragicevic</strong>, a policy associate at the Mowat Centre, said in an interview with <em>U of T News</em> that “the most interesting thing about these community wealth-building strategies is that they amplify existing public and private investments, which in a time of shrinking budgets and cuts to services is really important.” The Mowat Centre is an independent public think tank located at the School of Public Policy &amp; Governance at U of T. Dragicevic worked on both reports.</p> <p>The Ontario government has pledged to spend $130 billion over the next 10 years in public infrastructure plus the millions it will spend on goods and services. In a foreword in the CBA report, the Atkinson Foundation’s Colette Murphy writes that “it’s time to use this considerable economic power even more deliberately and strategically to address income and wealth inequality.”</p> <p>Murphy wrote that “there’s a growing movement of people – inside and outside government – who aren’t content to watch fissures open up and leave our province deeply divided along race, gender and income lines.” This includes not just anti-poverty activists but managers of public institutions such as universities, hospitals and colleges, as well as some in the private sector.</p> <p>Other cities, such as Glasgow and Cleveland, have negotiated CBAs with developers to develop better procurement strategies, workforce development hubs and collaborations with organizations that engage, train and support workers in low-income communities.&nbsp;</p> <p>Dragicevic said that the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit project in Toronto is being used as a “test case” for a local CBA. The new line crosses through or near five neighbourhoods identified by Toronto as “neighbourhood improvement areas.” Metrolinx signed a CBA with the Toronto Community Benefits Network in 2014 aimed at ensuring the $5.3 billion infrastructure project creates economic opportunities for residents in those areas as well as for low-income Torontonians across the city.</p> <p>Projects such as the Eglinton LRT “take so long to come to fruition” Dragicevic said, so it is vital that coalitions between government, developers and community leaders are maintained, and promises kept.&nbsp;</p> <p>She said the role of anchor institutions in building community wealth “is just coming into public consciousness, although some of them have behaved in that way by using their purchasing power or intellectual resources to invest in the community.”</p> <p>Dragicevic pointed to U of T Scarborough as one of the anchor institutions “already doing great things when it comes to ensuring the surrounding community benefits from projects.”</p> <p>The anchor institution report said U of T Scarborough’s Master Plan Infrastructure Initiative is projected to create 2,500 full-time equivalent jobs from 2012 to 2019.&nbsp;</p> <p>The anchor strategies include a “hammerheads” program that gives at-risk youths a 16-week intensive experience in construction and trades with a guaranteed job placement after graduation. UTSC is exploring having the program become a contractual requirement for all future construction projects.&nbsp;</p> <p>The initiative also provides that in new buildings, not subject to existing contracts with food service providers, smaller vendors are offered a chance to set up shop. The vendors then hire from the local community and student body.</p> <p>UTSC is also partnered with the East Scarborough Storefront, a community organization, to develop a workforce program that will connect local residents with skills and interest in construction, with job opportunities at UTSC.</p> <p><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/community-partnership-serves-scarborough-neighbours">Read more about UTSC's collaboration with East Scarborough Storefront</a><br> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-02-mowat-tpasc.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:50:14 +0000 sgupta 7392 at