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Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force Backgrounder
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The Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force is a joint initiative of the City of Toronto and United Way of Greater Toronto supported by the Government of
Canada and the Province of Ontario. It will focus on broad neighbourhood issues and long-term, multi-pronged solutions.
The Task Force was developed in response to the Toronto City Summit Alliance's report Enough Talk that recommended the creation of a tripartite
agreement involving all levels of government to support community service infrastructure in neighbourhoods across the city. It also builds on United
Way's report, Poverty by Postal Code: The Geography of Neighbourhood Poverty, released April 2004 that documents the increase in neighbourhood poverty
in Toronto from 1981 to 2001.
The Task Force is co-chaired by Eric Gam, Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services, City of Toronto;
Robert Harding, Chairman, Brascan Corporation; and Frances Lankin, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Toronto.
The Task Force consists of 22 diverse leaders from government, community, labour and corporate sectors.
In June 2002, the Toronto City Summit was organized by the City of Toronto. A one-day conference of local civic, community, labour and business
leaders, the Summit identified several key issues that threatened Toronto's future economic strength and quality of life. An ongoing coalition,
the Toronto City Summit Alliance, was convened to develop recommendations in several key policy areas and to build consensus and take action to
make the recommendations a reality. The group identified municipal finance, infrastructure, education, immigration and the underlying health of
our regional economy as critical to the region.
The full report of the Toronto City Summit Alliance, entitled Enough Talk, was released in April 2003, focussing on specific areas where there
was clear consensus for action and possibilities for rapid progress. Enough Talk was developed through an extensive consultation process with
local experts to establish a clear picture of challenges and to make recommendations that could be endorsed by the wide range of sectors and
viewpoints represented by Steering Committee members.
The Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force will address challenges facing community services as identified in Enough Talk, and further described in
research by both the City of Toronto and United Way of Greater Toronto.
The Task Force will articulate a vision for strong neighbourhoods and set benchmarks for revitalization of Toronto's neighbourhoods. It will
define the principles, potential scope and purpose of a tripartite agreement between all levels of government to mobilize investment in community
infrastructure in these neighbourhoods.
As part of the year-long initiative, the Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force will:
- Establish and carry out a research agenda and work plan
- Articulate a vision for strong neighbourhoods in Toronto, and establish benchmark indicators to assess and monitor the health of neighbourhoods
- Define the role and value of community infrastructure in support of strong neighbourhoods
- Identify the neighbourhoods in Toronto that face the greatest challenges, conduct an audit of existing community infrastructure gaps and develop a plan for community investment to close the gaps
- Document partnership models for community service investment
- Recommend the principles, potential scope and purpose of a tripartite agreement between all levels of government to mobilize investment in community infrastructure in Toronto's neighbourhoods
- Prepare and release an interim report on Task Force research findings
- Prepare and release a comprehensive final report articulating the findings of the Task Force, and an action plan for neighbourhood-based investment in Toronto's community infrastructure.
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Backgrounder
