Rise up Toronto!

Here’s a dismal headline from a couple of months back: Average cost of a one bedroom rental in Toronto hits $2,260.

With that in mind, it’s interesting to see the new Doug Ford installed board of directors for Waterfront Toronto, the agency tasked with developing 350 acres in the Port Lands; four white male millionaires reporting to a white male real estate billionaire.

Yup, that sounds like the crew you’d want in place to make sure there’s a good mix of affordable housing included in those 350 acres! The headline in the Star announces “Expert disappointed new members all men.” I’m no expert, but I’m more disappointed that there’s no anti-poverty activists, no affordable housing advocates, and no one from academia, be they male, female, or genderfluid.

Toronto has a housing affordability crisis. This is not news and doesn’t require any studying or debating. It needs shovels in the ground and cement trucks pouring concrete. The city controls the land and the approval process. What is the rationale for handing development to the same billionaire class of real estate moguls who are largely responsible for creating the affordability crisis in the first place?

It’s time for a different approach!