By Rahul Bhardwaj
The Economist magazine says we are the fourth most liveable city in the world.
PricewaterhouseCoopers ranks Toronto second among 26 globally competitive cities surveyed in intellectual capital and innovation, as well as health, safety and security.
International visitors pick Toronto second after only New York as their preferred destination in North America.
And today we are the top Canadian choice for immigrants. Toronto’s immigration levels grew by 11.5% in 2010 after three years of declining numbers.
We’ve assembled the hearts and minds of people from all over the world making us among the most diverse cities on the planet. We’ve established neighbourhoods where we can live peacefully. We’ve grown businesses that provide jobs for many and prosperity for most.
Rahul Bhardwaj speaks during the launch of Toronto's Vital Signs 2011. Photo by Erik Putz
But before we get too smug, there are cracks appearing in our social and economic structures that will spread if we neglect them. Toronto’s Vital Signs tells us this. Our Community Foundation’s annual report measuring the state of the city’s quality of life exposes who we are today – and where this might lead us.
In Toronto today there are over one million people living in low and very low income neighbourhoods. If these trends continue as predicted, by 2025 low and very low income neighbourhoods will cover 60% of our city.
We draw young people from across Canada and around the world to our nine post-secondary institutions, yet upon graduation, their prospects are few. The youth unemployment rate in the Toronto Region was 22% above the national average in 2010. For the 80,000 highly skilled, well-educated immigrants who arrive here in search of opportunity, they are twice as likely as Canadian-born to be unemployed.
And our transit system, the skeleton that frames us, continues to rank poorly when compared to other major metropolitan centres. Chronic underinvestment in transportation has been identified as our greatest threat to global competitiveness. Our commute time is one of the longest and when compared to 14 other major international cities, we spend the least on public transit.
This is not the time to dismantle the structures we’ve established. Instead, we must recognize what makes Toronto great and build upon it. Especially now, when rewarding short-term thinking and quick fixes are in vogue, we must construct a vision for our city and commit to the long-term. We need to build the city we all want – smarter, healthier, more inclusive, more creative, more prosperous – simply put, more Toronto.
We believe what’s more important than what we stand for is what we stand up for. It’s time to stand up for Toronto.
Rahul K. Bhardwaj is President & CEO of Toronto Community Foundation
