Greetings, fellow Scarborough residents. Yes, it’s that time of year, when our governments cobble together their budgets for the new year. This always involves varying degrees of community consultation. SCRO is always involved to promote Scarborough’s interests, as are other passionate Scarborough-focused civic organizations. Here are a few recurring themes that I see during these annual consultations:
We don’t all think alike … and that’s OK!
SCRO strives to bring a pan-Scarborough perspective to public policy matters affecting Scarborough as a whole. Other Scarborough-focused organizations bring forward different issues, based on their own “lived experience”. The Scarborough Business Association promotes the need for favourable business conditions (as does SCRO, by the way). Our hospital focuses on health care priorities. Our neighbourhood centres promote priorities that address poverty and food insecurity. Our arts and culture organizations promote the benefits of a vibrant Scarborough cultural scene. They all have budget implications.
Our objectives are sometimes prioritized differently. And that’s OK too.
I recall chatting with one of our councillors a few years ago, who didn’t care if the messages from Scarborough weren’t always aligned. It’s just important to hear Scarborough voices at City Hall so downtown voices don’t make decisions for us. We don’t all have to prioritize the same thing, although it’s nice when we do!
Some governments do consultation better than others.
City Council, to its credit, has a culture of community consultation, through community councils, standing committees of Council, and road show consultations on particular topics. SCRO participates often. So do other Scarborough organizations and individual residents. This can make decision-making more cumbersome, but Council gets the benefit of hearing plenty of advice before doing so.
The Province doesn’t do this as well as the City. And the federal government doesn’t do it well at all. Perhaps this is due to geography, especially for communities that are far away from Queen’s Park and even farther from Ottawa. I also sense the culture of tight party discipline complicates consultations.
We need to influence the Province regarding municipal matters.
Cities are “creatures of the Province”, so the Province gets to constrain the range of choices that a city can make and can override City Council decisions. This isn’t new, but we’re seeing it more often than before,
on policies affecting transportation, land use planning, and housing. Many of us see City Hall as being the “public square” to debate such local matters. But increasingly the big decisions have already been made by the Province. The City’s role is merely to implement them.
When we vote in provincial elections, we generally focus on the parties’ policies on health care, education, and social services. But perhaps we need to ask what each party’s policies are on housing density, land use zoning, public transit, bike lanes, protection of employment areas, and local road tolls. These are decisions that have normally been made at City Hall but increasingly they’re being made at Queen’s Park.
To advance large-scale capital projects, all governments need to be on board.
We see this with public transit projects in particular. The scale of the required investment is well beyond what one government can pay for, especially the City.
The challenge is akin to “herding cats”; striving to get all governments on board at the same time. That’s why it’s important for Scarborough voices to be engaged with our politicians at all levels of government.
Let’s get involved in the current provincial election.
SCRO encourages everyone to participate fully in this election. Make sure your voice is heard, either individually or through Scarborough-focused civic organizations that share your values.
Let’s make Scarborough that “squeaky wheel”, so our priorities are heard loud and clear by all our local candidates. Let’s make sure we send passionate Scarborough voices to Queen’s Park.
And finally, please vote on February 27 or at an advance poll.
Larry Whatmore
President
Scarborough Community Renewal Organization
Larry.Whatmore@rogers.com
(416) 562-2101
