Date: November 24, 2009
Editor: Robert Tang |
Vol. 59 –21 |
| |
|
Club Program
Past, Present & Future |
|
|
| Last Week: |
Rahul Bhardwaj – Toronto Community
Foundation |
| This Week: |
Paul Watt – Identity
Theft |
| Dec 01: |
Dianna Wilson –
Classification Talk |
| Dec 08: |
Heather Urbansky –
West Hill Community Services
WCCI Interact Club
Election of Directors
|
Rahul Bhardwaj – Toronto Community
Foundation
Michael Cooksey introduced Rahul who
spoke to our Club last year. Mr. Bhardwaj is the President
& CEO of the Toronto Community Foundation. He was
formerly a corporate lawyer with a leading Canadian
law firm, Vice President of the Toronto 2008 Olympic
Bid, and then CEO of United Way of York Region. He has
a long history of community service, including serving
currently as a Board Member of the Stratford Festival
of Canada, George Brown College, and Community Foundations
of Canada, and previously, United Way Toronto and past
Chair of the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, among others.
In 2007, Rahul was named by the National Post as one
of the "Next Generation of Toronto Civic Leaders."
In 2008, Rahul was named as a member of Toronto Mayor
David Miller's "Blue Ribbon" Fiscal Review
Panel. Recently, the Province of Ontario appointed Rahul
to the Board of Metrolinx. Rahul is a popular presenter
and speaker, particularly on issues relating to the
city, community and leadership as well as Toronto’s
Vital Signs®. He has been featured in local Toronto
media as well as international media including CBC Newsworld,
CNN, and the national Daily News in China.
The Toronto Community Foundation connects philanthropy
with community needs and opportunities in order to make
Toronto the best place to live, work, learn, and grow.
We are one of the largest of Canada's 165 community
foundations. Established in 1981, we have grown to hold
over $210 million in assets and to work with hundreds
of concerned Torontonians and high-impact community
organizations. We are a registered, public, non-profit
organization created for and by the people of Toronto.
Our Mission
To connect philanthropy to community needs and opportunities.
Our Vision
To ensure the vitality of Toronto and make it the best
place to live, work, learn and grow through the power
of giving.
Toronto's Vital Signs®
We research and report on Toronto's quality of life
in our annual Toronto's Vital Signs® Report. It
is a consolidated snapshot of the trends in our city,
highlighting progress we should be proud of and challenges
that need to be addressed. The goals of the Toronto's
Vital Signs® Report include inspiring civic engagement,
providing focus for public debate, and guiding donors
and stakeholders who want to direct their resources
to areas of greatest need.
Toronto’s got it all. When compared to other
major cities around the world, we’re right up
there. According to the 2008 MasterCard index of 75
leading global centres of commerce, we’re 13th
in livability and 4th in ease of doing business –
in the world. And when it comes to innovation we stack
up even higher reaching 2nd place in North America and
among the top 20 cities globally. We also have a highly
desirable quality of life says Mercer in its 2009 Quality
of Living Survey, with Toronto ranking 15th out of 215
global cities for the 4th year in a row. Toronto is
the 2nd wealthiest city in the country after Vancouver,
with an average household net worth of $562,000.
When we look within the boundaries of our city we see
that crime levels fell in 2008 for the 5th year in a
row, water usage continues to drop, and we have greater
access to healthy, local food as farmers’ markets
proliferate.
This year’s Vital Signs Report reveals another
glaring different picture too. Toronto is rated “seriously
unaffordable”, ranking 190th internationally,
and 29th in Canada, with median housing prices 4.8 times
median household incomes. Toronto is approaching the
same company as Italy and Japan – countries with
the world’s oldest populations. We are in a country
that ranks last among 14 western nations in spending
on early learning, childcare, and kindergarten programs.
More than 30% of children 5 and under are in families
that are below the Low Income Cut-off and the median
employment income for families in 2006 was 20% below
the provincial median.
Access to affordable housing is increasingly out of
reach. In the mid – 1990s there were 2 low-income
families for every one moderate-rent market unit of
suitable size. By 2006, there were 7 such families for
every one unit. Toronto has the highest proportion of
seniors in the GTA and nearly double the rate of low
income seniors in Ontario. Sadly, more seniors are living
alone, cut off from family and community. The youth
unemployment rate surpassed 20% in June 2009, up 5%
in just one year and 4% higher than the national rate.
And there are almost twice as many youth gangs as in
2000.
Recent immigrants are 3 times more likely to have lost
jobs due to the economic downturn than their Canadian-born
colleagues. And those who still have jobs, the earnings
gap widened significantly. In sum, if you’re poor,
you’ve gotten poorer. If you’re old, you’re
more likely to be poor. And if you’re young, brace
yourself for what’s ahead. The taxpayers of tomorrow
will be saddled with the monumental weight of billions
of dollars of debt created by the previous generation
and the heightened costs of supporting our ageing population.
What’s even more startling is the sweeping shift
in income levels across our neighbourhoods. In 1970,
66% of Toronto neighbourhoods were classified as middle
income. As researchers project forward to 2025, we can
expect middle income neighbourhoods to have been eroded
to a mere 20%, with most having slid down the economic
ladder.
But what does this all mean?
We will not be able to count on immigration to support
our declining population and workforce because life
here is getting just too hard for newcomers. Young families
will choose other cities where the cost of living is
lower and affordable housing is available. The polarizing
gap between rich and poor will reduce social cohesion
leading to increased crime and disengagement. We will
not be competitive in the knowledge economy because
we did not invest in early learning. The data suggests
that all this lies ahead. But, demographics need not
be our destiny. We can choose our future. We must invest
more in education and youth, in particular. We must
demand our governments lead with policies that go beyond
their own narrow electoral horizon. We must move beyond
the here and now and invest in the Torontonians of tomorrow.
And above all, we must not forget what makes this city
“world class” are its people – all
of them.
Pat Agnew thanked Rahul for the insightful report and
presented him with a gift.
|
