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The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · 18/11/2024

Underused public land in some of Canada’s larger cities could house a million people, study shows: The Toronto area and five other cities would altogether have enough underused government-owned land to build homes for as many as one million people, according to a new study by University of British…

theglobeandmail.com

Underused public land in some of Canada’s larger cities could house a million people, study shows

The Toronto area and five other cities would altogether have enough underused government-owned land to build homes for as many as one million people, according to a new study by University of British Columbia researchers

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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 06/11/2024

#ShakeItOff We have work to do to fix things NOW! A New Agenda for Local Democracy: Building Just, Inclusive, and Participatory Cities via Brittany Andrew-Amofah, Alexandra Flynn, & Patricia Wood h/t @uoft.bsky.social's IMFG and School of Cities #TOpoli tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/18...

Title Page:

IMFG Papers on
Municipal Finance and Governance
No. 60 • 2022
A New Agenda for
Local Democracy:
Building Just, Inclusive,
and Participatory Cities
Brittany Andrew-Amofah, Alexandra Flynn, and Patricia Wood

About IMFG
The Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) is an academic research hub and
non-partisan think tank based in the School of Cities at the University of Toronto.
IMFG focuses on the fiscal health and governance challenges facing large cities and cityregions. Its objective is to spark and inform public debate, and to engage the academic and
policy communities around important issues of municipal finance and governance. The Institute
conducts original research on issues facing cities in Canada and around the world; promotes
high-level discussion among Canada’s government, academic, corporate, and community
leaders through conferences and roundtables; and supports graduate and post-graduate students
to build Canada’s cadre of municipal finance and governance experts. It is the only institute in
Canada that focuses solely on municipal finance issues in large cities and city-regions.
IMFG is funded by the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipality of York, the Regional
Municipality of Halton, the Neptis Foundation, Avana Capital Corporation, and Maytree.
Authors
Brittany Andrew-Amofah is a leader in municipal policy and has worked in various
policy, political, and media roles over the last 10 years. Her expertise focuses on social
policy within a Canadian context, combining her passion for civic engagement and local
governance. Brittany has a Master’s in Political Management from Carleton University,
and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science with a specialization in social policy and equity
from York University.
Dr. Alexandra Flynn is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia’s
Allard School of Law. Her teaching and research focus on municipal law and governance,
including Indigenous-municipal legal relationships. She is currently working on several
projects related to precariously housed people in Canadian cities. She has a long history
of volunteer work in the areas of homelessness and access to justice, is a TEDx speaker,
and i…

Abstract
There is a crisis of growing inequality in Canadian cities. As COVID-19 spread
through Canadian cities beginning in spring 2020, racial inequities became
apparent, including biased enforcement of bylaws and higher coronavirus rates
amongst racialized and vulnerable communities. These health care injustices
exposed municipal decisions that have led to negative outcomes for marginalized
groups, especially in policing, community safety, housing, homelessness, and
bylaw enforcement. In response, cities have been called upon – again – to change
their governance models to allow for greater participation and better include the
voices and lived realities of racialized and marginalized people in decision-making
processes. In a post-pandemic period of city building, where socio-economic and
racial inequalities have been exposed, municipalities must incorporate social
equity and explicit race-based lenses in their decision-making and reimagine
their governance practices. This paper sets out the ways in which municipal
governance frameworks have worked to exacerbate inequality, with suggestions
on how cities can design more democratic and responsible models. These include
greater engagement with equity-deserving communities and community bodies,
modifications to existing governance models, and legislative changes.
Key words: municipal governance, inequality, justice, inclusion, public
consultation, local democracy, public participation, citizen engagement
JEL Codes: D63, D73, Z18

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Bruce B Ryder @bbryder.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

The Ford government has made a complete mess of Ontario’s adjudicative tribunals. The HRTO is a leading example. Scandalous that the tribunal with a monopoly on redressing discrimination and harassment as civil wrongs is so dysfunctional.

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