Thinking About Running

So, with the provincial election out of the way the Ontario political calendar begins to tick down to another critical date - local elections on October 22, 2018. Across the province in cities, towns, regions and school boards votes will be cast to determine our local leadership for the next four years. As the election has gotten nearer I have started to consider, once again, whether or not I want to throw my hat into the ring finally.

I work in education. I am a tutor and I see lots of students who attend different schools across the Region of Peel and the more time goes on the more I'm worried about the current state of education and where it is ultimately going. I worry that schools are not delivering the quality of education they are called upon, that they are failing to innovate and adapt in necessary areas, and that the boards' energy and efforts would be better shifted elsewhere than where they currently rest. So, I most seriously considering standing for election this time around as a school board trustee.

The deadline to register as a candidate is late July, so I still have time to make up my mind. Some are adamant supporters of this idea, but I have my doubts. I think I could bring something valuable to the position. I think with the new government in Queen's Park there is extra impetus for strong voices for education at a local level beyond teachers' unions.

Right now I am doing research. I want to be sure I fully appreciate the role and the current educational issues. I also want to sit with the idea longer. Do I want to put myself forward to scrutiny and criticism, even if I think it might be worth it? It's a difficult problem to wrestle with. Also, given my work, it could be problematic for my employer. In addition, there are many things in my personal life that need addressing. I don't know if I can justify the time towards this sort of effort at the moment. That will take some thought.

The idealist in me cannot help but think about the struggle of ideas and that there needs to be accountability in our system for good governance. My incumbent trustee is seeking re-election. I don't know the woman well, but my two efforts to contact her on issues of my concern were fruitless. I think education will have to undergo a radical transformation over the next few decades, and defenders of the status quo will just make things worse.

I haven't made any decisions yet, but I have to one way or another soon. I'll be sure to share if I do.

Book Review: Her Worship: Hazel McCallion and the Development of Mississauga by Tom Urbaniak

Hazel McCallion is one of the most interesting figures in Canadian politics. Until 2014 she was the mayor of Mississauga and figure of legendary proportions. She was the mayor, uninterrupted, between 1978 and 2014 and retired in her nineties. Before that she was Mayor of Mississauga she was the last Mayor of Streetsville and has been a prominent figure in Mississauga area for years. Tom Urbaniak tackles a difficult challenge - deconstructing the leadership of Hazel McCallion and the history of Mississauga. Mississauga is as much a character of this book as McCallion herself. Mississauga was a repository for the second generation of suburban development. Communities linked along the Queen Elizabeth Expressway and 401 developed splinter neighbourhoods and now Mississauga is one of the largest cities in Canada with over 700000 residents. From suburban sprawl to edge city, from monoculture to multicultural the city has evolved tremendously, yet the whole time McCallion was there.

Urbaniak explores McCallion's life to seek out her leadership style. Hazel McCallion, born Journeaux, grew up in a small town in eastern Quebec. As impressive as McCallion's longevity her meteoric rise may surpass it. She graduated high school in Quebec City and went to secretarial school. She did quite well in the business work with Canadian Kellogg. Her role expanded dramatically during the war and she was responsible for overseeing massive operations. Here is likely where McCallion developed her business-oriented style.

She married her husband, Sam, and they settled in the growing Streetsville. This is when McCallion entered politics. The area was rife with political conflict. What is now Mississauga was quickly, but haphazardly, developing. Streetsville and Port Credit were under growing pressure from the Township of Toronto. Streetsville had a dynamic local political scene. McCallion and others were part of the "reformer" school who wanted to see municipal business professionalized and development slowed. This conflict is central to the story until the move towards amalgamation in 1974. McCallion as Mayor of Streetsville fought against amalgamation, but in 1978 was elected as the Mayor of Mississauga.

This is fundamental to Urbaniak's analysis. Urbaniak supposes the following; McCallion's career could only exist in a place like Mississauga. In Streetsville she was challenge by organized, influential activists and powerful constituencies. In Mississauga the slate was wiped clean. There was no substantial media investigating. The massive city and isolated communities had trouble organizing against Mayor McCallion. After only a few terms all forms of resistance evaporated. The Mississauga Council acted in a "business-like" fashion. Decisions were made behind closed door and the democracy and civic engagement of Mississauga atrophied. 

McCallion, according to Urbaniak, developed a very special type of machine. The constant growth of Mississauga provided a stream of revenue from development fees, and few controversies. Taxes stayed low and Mississauga is only now wrestling with problems of being a major urban centre. McCallion's model began to falter towards the end of her tenure. She learned that smart growth was required, but squandered her bully pulpit to change planning in Peel Region. Mississauga now enters the difficult and more contentious time of redevelopment and intensification which may have spawned constituency groups to resist McCallion's rule.

Tom Urbaniak paints a compelling portrait of Hazel McCallion. It is laced with meaningful criticism, but it also captures her overwhelming popularity. The chapters that details her handling of the train derailment disaster captures all of these aspects in one. McCallion viewed herself as a voice of the people and accountable ultimately to them. But like many populist leaders she used it as bludgeon to get her way. Now that McCallion's term has ended I would love to see an update to this book. It was published in 2009 and would be interesting to discuss the final years and give more perspective on her legacy.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was that it put in context much of the history of Peel. Urbaniak takes pains to lay out the context of what was happening in Peel in the twentieth century. I found it a valuable explanation of how my home region came to be the way it is. Moreover the figure of Hazel McCallion is, if Urbaniak is correct, unlikely to be seen in this part of the province ever again. The political landscape has changed and the conflagration of circumstances that allowed McCallion to be the mayor for over forty years would be very difficult to repeat in part due to circumstances and in part due to her unique character.

The Hurontario-Main LRT and Redeveloping Brampton

Tomorrow is a crucial vote for the future of Brampton. The City Council will determine whether or not they will accept the proposed Hurontario-Main Light Rail Transit line that will stretch from Port Credit in Mississauga to Downtown Brampton. The debate within the city has been highly contentious and has largely focused on the potential impact that LRT will have on the downtown.

The proposed route for the Hurontario-Main LRT (Metrolinx)

I am on record supporting the route through the downtown. Most of the objections to the Brampton section of the LRT boils down to a few main points. The first is heritage. That section of Brampton is designated as a heritage district and there are those who are concerned an LRT will ruin that character. In my opinion this is a flimsy argument. An LRT would ruin downtown just as much as the current automobile traffic does. The next is the concern about the impact on downtown businesses. There seems to be some legitimate concern that construction can negatively impact businesses along LRT routes. In some cases it is quite minor, but the potential is very real and is dependent on the local construction. Hopefully the city works to minimize impacts and has a support program for affected businesses.

Of course the main criticism is the impact this will have on automobile traffic. I believe the plan is to remove on-street parking along the route and let cars pass on either side of the LRT. Parking downtown is plentiful at the moment, this would eliminate the ability to park directly in front of certain businesses. These businesses would then benefit from being directly on the route of the LRT and all the additional foot traffic that may be generated. The final concerns is that the LRT will just make it easier for Brampton shoppers to get to Mississauga and divert more sales away from the city. My argument would be that the LRT will make it more attractive for shoppers to travel from Mississauga to Brampton. It is up to local businesses to attract them to come. Perhaps the Downtown business association should place some ads in Square One, or the new trains, or Mississauga's Mi-Way to help promote the Brampton core.

A number of counter proposals have been made for the Brampton Hurontario-Main LRT. Divyesh Mistry has written a series of pieces about these alternatives such as why tunneling isn't practical, the problem with using Kennedy Road instead, and the incredible costs of tunneling.

The LRT is only one part of the problem. Brampton needs to embrace a more urban future. The city has a greater population than Hamilton yet often behaves like it is still a little suburb, like say Pickering. When I look at downtown Brampton the main problem I see is that it is too small. I lived for a number of years in the city of St. Catharines, which has about a quarter of the population but a much larger, more vibrant downtown. Downtown is unfortunately hemmed in on the south side by the beautiful heritage houses on Main Street. The city should rezone the areas east, north and west of downtown for greater intensification and mixed residential and commercial use. For the sake of argument, use the rail line in the west as the new boundary, go north as far as Vodden and east to the Etobicoke Creek. This will mean losing a lot of beautiful houses, but I fear the downtown as it is is too small to build a critical mass. I think that the stretch of LRT that will run down Main Street downtown might be best served to become a train, bicycle and pedestrian only space. Removing autos from the equation might make it more palatable for all involved and create a rich plaza in the heart of the city.

Blue marks locations of potential redevelopment/intensification outside of Downtown.

Finally, the LRT offers a real, and much needed opportunity to redevelop Main Street south of downtown. Most of Main Street is banked on either side by low-density development or the Etobicoke Creek. We cannot develop the park so we are left to look at the rest of the properties. If/when an LRT stop goes in at Nanwood it would be a perfect opportunity to redevelop the Brampton Mall and perhaps the adjacent plaza with the convenience store and veterinary clinic. I've heard plans to a condominium tower in this location.  The piece of land the Brampton Mall sits on is clearly large enough for a sizeable development. The one to the south could fit in a couple of medium sized apartments, similar to the one already on Nanwood and both should provide ground-level commercial services to the local neighbourhood in Peel Village and the new residents.

I think it is fair to say that Shopper's World at Main and Steeles is struggling. I do not know what planning can do to improve the situation. Perhaps increasing densification in the area will draw more casual shoppers and as it grows into a transit hub that may help as well. The mall across from Shopper's World could be developed into two good-sized mixed-use towers from my estimates. I would hope that the development would make these places less automobile dependent and move away from the low-density designs they currently have.

It is tough to redevelop detached single-family homes which are dominant along the Main Street neighbourhoods in Brampton. Areas such as Mill Street, Elgin Drive, Clarence Street and Nanwood Drive should perhaps be designated for intensification. Not towers, but duplexes, fourplexes, row houses, or three-storey developments. Basically take the next step in density and create a more urban space around the Main Street corridor.

These proposals go in the face of much of Brampton's tradition and self-conception. The reality is the Brampton is a city and on track to only get larger. If we continue to build sprawling subdivisions on the edge and give no thought to redeveloping our old neighbourhoods and how to make our downtown meet our needs then we risk decline. It's time for the city to grow up, literally, and accept a future where apartment buildings, condominiums, row houses, 3+ storey buildings, the LRT and transit-oriented development become part of our heritage too.

Steal this Platform: Seven Ideas for a Better Brampton

Brampton’s race for mayor became much more interesting today as MPP Linda Jeffrey (OLP – Brampton-Springdale) resigned from cabinet and the legislature and declared her candidacy. But Brampton’s problems will not be simply solved by replacing the mayor. Much of the Council has been in place for a decade and the mayor is only one vote. Therefore it is necessary for voices expressing a different vision to emerge.

Before I moved to the Northwest Territories I had ambitions to run for city council to offer an alternative vision of what my hometown could be. Unfortunately the opportunity for my current job came up and so I moved west (and a lot north). A recent article by Edward Keenan in The Grid where he outlined a platform for any Toronto candidate gave me the idea to share what I had intended to present to voters in Wards 3 and 4. I apologize for the brief descriptions, but many of these ideas have been discussed previously in this blog.

1.      Grow Smart, Not Fast

In the course of 30 years the city of Brampton has more than tripled in size to over 500,000 people. The rapid construction of suburban neighbourhoods has lagged behind infrastructure upgrades and local services. Growth is not being properly managed and instead it is treated like a gold rush. This construction boom will result in a harsh bust if not managed properly. Proposed zoning needs to be reconsidered for greater mixed-use, multi-purpose neighbourhoods with greater densities. Future developments should use the principles of Smart Growth/New Urbanism in their planning.

2.      Work Where You Live and Small Business Incubator

One of the reasons traffic is so bad in Brampton is that there are fewer jobs than there are workers. Citizens have to commute out of the city resulting in greater traffic congestion, a lower quality of life and less connection to their home. Through a policy known as Economic Gardening city economic development should invest resources in helping small businesses add small numbers of employees and entrepreneurs begin their businesses in the city rather than focusing on big commercial developments.

3.      More Accessible Government

The city should commit to clearer public notices. Items put in newspapers and on websites should not be cryptic and bland. Easy to understand and accessible language with sharp graphics should be used to invite the public to speak with their government. Open up city hall and make the process more transparent and less intimidating. Allow questions to city council to be submitted online.

As is clear, the mayor and council’s spending privileges needs to be examined and more stringently curtailed. The public expects politicians who are responsible. Spending should be made publicly available on the city website. Public meetings should rotate on the schedule to offer citizens a chance to see council in person.

4.      More and Diverse Housing

Brampton is great if you’re looking for a detached home, but if you cannot afford it, or looking for something else the options are limited. The city should legalize and regulate basement apartments to provide an affordable option and allow families to start private businesses that reduce the cost of their homes. A database should be set up to let renters know of legal, regulated apartments where complaints and known issues can be filed.

5.      Reform City Elections

Ask the Ontario government to allow instant run-off ballots to be used in all future city elections, as the Toronto City Council has asked. This encourages more candidates, more positive campaigns and ensures that consensus candidates with mandates from the public win.

6.      Human and Mass Transit

Brampton cannot afford to cut service to Brampton Transit or Züm. Service should continue to expand to meet the needs of the city and offer an effective alternative to the car. The popularity of Züm, along with transit experts, suggests that frequency of service is more important than speed of service. Brampton Transit is a critical part of the city and should reliably deliver high quality service. Improved transit reduces traffic and links people to employment.

Safe, well-maintained bicycle lanes should exist along all major corridors in Brampton offering a healthy form of human-scale transit in the city. In addition neighbourhoods and new developments should work to create walkable, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods from now on.

7.      Hurontario LRT

The Hurontario LRT should be built as Metrolinx has proposed with extensive public consultation. The Main Street-Hurontario corridor is one of the most traffic heavy highways in the province. The LRT will link residential to business, commercial, retail, entertainment and other transportation nodes. This late in the process is not the time to object. As Toronto has time and time again demonstrated indecision wastes precious time and only results in a worse backlog and lower quality of life for citizens. A tremendous business opportunity will exist for development along the LRT.

This is far from a perfect platform, but I think all told this represents a set of ideas that if implemented would make my hometown of Brampton, Ontario an even better place to live. I hope candidates in this fall's election stand up for these ideas and at least a couple of them win. 

Peel on Rails

In case you have not heard, there is a plan on the books to introduce a light rail line through Mississauga and Brampton. Currently going by Hurontario-Main LRT (website), this development will link Port Credit in Mississauga to Downtown Brampton. The plan was included in Metrolinx’s Big Move, and it is a priority for the city of Mississauga.

I am not entirely sure of the value of the plan. I’m currently working on a post for another platform about the fact that we too easily fall in love with light rail even when it is more expensive and just as effective as bus rapid transit. This proposed line is estimated at $1.5 billion. I participated in the public consultation though and the plan has been steadily moving forward for a few years now.

This made Mayor Susan Fennell’s remarks this past week even more shocking. The Brampton Mayor suggested that the LRT was unnecessary and could be replaced by extending Brampton Züm service all the way down to Mississauga’s waterfront. This suggestion took many leaders in Peel by surprise. Mayor Hazel McCallion of Mississauga was chief among them saying, “absolutely no way.” Worse still, this is the first time this notion has been floated by Mayor Fennell. No one on city council, or anyone else had even heard of this suggestion previously.

Worse still Mayor Fennell has been criticizing the proposed taxes to pay for Metrolinx and the Big Move, along with the plan itself. I do not always agree with Mayor Fennell, but I think this is pretty clearly a dereliction of duty on her part. Brampton is the third largest municipality in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area, behind Toronto and Mississauga and just ahead of Hamilton. The simple truth is we must sacrifice if we want to escape crippling gridlock in the decades ahead. Consensus is building and Mayor Fennell’s sudden cold feet at having to pay taxes to support key investments is short-sighted.

Public consultation for the LRT line through Peel is ongoing, tomorrow a public information session will be held at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archive in downtown Brampton from 3 PM to 8 PM. Also, on the 16, 17, 21 and 22 of this month a demonstration car will be set up in Gage Park to show what a train car might look like. Be sure to come out and let your opinion be known.

Worth Reading – May 2, 2013

Samara has continued its Democracy Talks series. One of the most recent ones featuring a young Canadian talking about the value of political parties has touched off a bit of a response, which led to Samara highlighting the role parties currently play in Canada. Mr. Geeraert and his peers question the need and value of political parties. I think he may be expressing a correct point of view, but is offering the absolute worst solution – abolishing political parties.

This article from the Toronto Star was featured in my Tuesday piece; condo renters are very vulnerable to abuses. The protections and regulations that underlie other areas of renting to not extend to the new towers going up across the GTHA.

Jon Lorinc at Spacing looks at how the revenue tools for the Metrolinx projects could be turned into jobs for low-income neighbourhoods. Other cities have implemented policies to spread employment and help train more tradespeople.

Chantal Hébert in the Toronto Star points out despite the slew of comments that the NDP are finished now that Justin Trudeau (LPC – Papineau, QC) is the Liberal leader are unwise to say the least. Thomas Mulcair (NDP - Outremont, QC) and the NDP remain a strong presence in Quebec.

A piece by the leaders from CivicAction in the Globe and Mail making a strong case for movement on the transportation/congestion/transit issue. 

Here is an interesting piece in the Brampton Guardian about downtown revitalization. Mayor Fennell is pushing for a downtown hotel and convention centre, but there may not be the support on city council to do so. The article touches on some other issues, like the fact that Brampton’s downtown is undersized compared to the city and peers. A convention centre seems like a potentially huge public expense without clear benefits.  

This piece from The Atlantic Cities discusses sixteen reforms that Smart Growth needs. Smart Growth as a concept is ten years old now, and observers, academics and practitioners have some amendments. 

Income Inequality in Peel

A three-part series in the Toronto Star has challenged assumptions about life in Peel. Normally, when I think of Peel, I think of prosperous middle-class suburbs that attract a substantial immigration. While the proportions vary, I would have guessed most Peel residents are reasonably comfortable middle-class. These assumptions bear little resemblance to the changing nature of Peel.

According to the Toronto Star, income inequality is growing dramatically in the region. The description I offered much better describes Peel in 1980 than 2013. In 1980 over 80% of residents of Peel were middle-income. This number has declined significantly. Several factors have combined to change the region. Sifts in the Canadian economy (particularly the decline of manufacturing), high levels of immigration and the Great Recession are just a few of the “causes”. As of 2010 45% of Peel’s neighbourhoods are categorized as low- or very low-income. 

In part, this transformation is understandable. I’m confident that if you looked at the fringe neighbourhoods or the newest suburbs you would find a high number of middle-income , or better, households. The older neighbourhoods have matured, and the population has diversified. My neighbourhood is somewhat of a prestige neighbourhood in Brampton. When it was constructed, as I understand it, it attracted doctors, lawyers and other professionals. Over the decades the composition has changed. The OntarioProjections census' analysis shows that my neighbourhood is now composed mostly of tradespeople. Based on this alone you can see how it could change the composition. However, there is much more to it than that.

It is difficult to look at this data and not filter it through my own life experience. I grew up in Peel and much of my family lives here as well. Obviously anecdotal evidence is not the end all, but here are some of my and my family’s impressions.

My sister is a few years older than I, but in many ways we’re at a similar point in our lives. We are early in our careers and working to begin our adult lives. A promising job opportunity came across my desk recently and in my excitement I tried to figure out what kind of life I could build with that lifestyle and income. The answer was... not promising. I estimated my potential income at several points and then, bravely, went to mortgage calculators to roughly see the type of loan I could theoretically afford.

The average income in the GTA in 2010 was $44,217, this was roughly the base number I used for my calculations. Based on that the calculators told me that I could get a mortgage of about $160,000. I believe it is safe to say that aside from a couple of condos it is impossible to find a home for that price or less. So, I fudged the numbers a bit. What if I paid more down? What if I made a little more theoretical money? The highest amount of money I got was $260,000. In the neighbourhood I grew up in, similar to whatis described in this article, bungalows and split-level homes routinely sell for $300,000-$450,000+.

Given where average income is, I assume for more people it is only through combined income with a spouse that most people can afford these homes. With a growing number of unmarried, or single-parent families, or merely single adults the issues in finding reasonable housing becomes more difficult. Compounding the problems is the restrictions on basement apartments the municipalities have.

New basement apartments have not been permitted since 1995. This is a very bad idea. Based on my own experience in St. Catharines, basement units can provide much needed income for families and, more importantly, provide affordable housing.

What about employment? I have been remarkably fortunate since leaving university that I have had well-paying jobs in the city of Brampton. While I was looking prospects seemed quite grim. Again, anecdotally, I know many individuals struggling to find work, especially those with higher education. Major centres like Toronto seem like the only places with the jobs that match skills, but commuting from Brampton into Toronto can be very difficult and expensive. My sister works in Toronto and commuted for years. Finally, the expense of the commute became too great and she joined the wave of young people moving from the suburbs into the city.

Since reading the articles I cannot help but look at my community differently, and consider new information through a new lens. I try as often as I can to bike to work. When I’m passing neighbourhoods I try to think about life for the people that live there, and if they are part of the growing low-income population of the city, struggling to get by.

One of the key problems I see facing Brampton and Peel is that we too often think of ourselves as suburbs, or small cities. Brampton is now larger than Hamilton, and Hamilton, as anyone from the Hammer will tell you, is a city. As growing cities we face problems like most cities: employment problems, traffic, growing poverty and income inequality, and increased pressure on social services. Thinking and acting like a city also has distinct benefits and overall is a positive for our community, but only if we properly address the drawbacks and issues facing residents who call this place home.

Below are the links to all three articles:

Part 1 - How Peel has transformed. 

Part 2 - How immigration impacts on income inequality. 

Part 3 - The strain this growing number of low-income households has on social services. 

Brampton's Bigger Council

The federal government is not the only one thinking about boundary changes. The City of Brampton is considering boundary adjustments to account for the rapid population growth over the last decade. The city council has approved one map for the community to comment on. Before I describe the proposal I wanted to briefly comment that it is unfortunate that the council is only presenting one proposals. The council was given four different options, and is, in a way, limiting choices to the public.

The council has endorsed a map to add two more wards to Brampton and therefore elect one city councillor and one regional councillor. This will bring the total to 12 members of the council, with the mayor being the 13^th. The additional two councillors are in response to the Ontario government awarding Brampton an extra seat at Peel Regional Council. Brampton elects its regional councillors, but over the last year or so the city council has selected a member from its ranks to represent the seat at Peel. The position comes with additional pay, and according to the Brampton Guardian, has resulted in some internal conflict at City Hall. 

In terms of representation Brampton is about average in Canada. Currently Brampton has one councillor for 52,000 residents, the addition of two more seats would bring the per capita representation to 44,000. Toronto sits at 59,000 and neighbouring Mississauga is at 65,000. The city councillors argue that additional councillors are needed due to growing constituent needs, and the fact that office staff is shared between two councillors. Therefore the cost of the increase will result in the expense of two councillors’ salaries, and one full-time executive assistant.

All four proposed maps can be found here and the final one being offered to the public here. I have no issue with the boundaries. It should be remembered that in Brampton wards are paired together and each elect a city and regional councillor. Any population imbalance is likely solved by joining together its pairing ward. If there is a community interest at stake then I’m sure someone can express it.

The city is holding public consultation in November. The dates of the consultations can be found here.

Mayor Fennell and other members of Brampton’s council have come out against the proposal. The suggestion to add two councillors makes sense to me, and addresses a simple problem in allocating that new seat and maintaining the balance between city and regional councillors. However, Brampton’s city council is somewhat of an opaque institution. While they are not necessarily hiding anything the public knows very little of what their representatives are up to. In addition incumbency is rampant at city hall. In the 2010 elections all eleven politicians at city hall were returned to office.

Whether or not there are eleven or thirteen councillors in 2014 will make very little difference. I think it is time to start considering reforms. I am not sure what they might be but such a static cast of leadership cannot be healthy for a city in such profound need of reform.