Toronto—Boom Town of North America

The Toronto harbour has become world famous and each year continues to increase the number of ships and companies from all parts of the world, which come in the St. Lawrence River to this port. Ninety per cent of all shipping to and from Canadian ports on the Great Lakes now goes through Toronto. Our new harbour development, which is part of the waterfront plan, and which now runs out into the lake well over two miles, will more than double the capacity of Toronto's harbour and will be the first stage of an overall waterfront development plan that will include new parkland and high-rise apartment buildings for 30,000 people in what is now the airport and western gap area. The full development of the Island for recreation purposes will include a children's camping area and an 18-hole par 3 golf course. It will include the closing of the western gap and the use of an enlarged eastern gap for all freight traffic into the port of Toronto.

The waterfront plan

With the development of an enlarged Canadian National Exhibition out into the lake; a jet airport to the south-west of Gibraltar Point; boating facilities in the lake opposite Ashbridge's Bay and in the new area to be filled in to the west of the western gap, Toronto will have one of the finest lakefronts on the continent.

Once people realize that Toronto is indeed a city on the move, the next step is to show them that it is also a city with a heart. In the midst of the high rise apartment boom, significant areas of low density family housing are being set aside in areas of stability. The planting of trees and the provision of walkways, arcades, mini-parks and carefullydesigned street furniture, are sound policies both in terms of people and profit.

The site that will be the Toronto of the future will be seriously hampered by its tremendous size unless present plans adequately integrate transportation with development. I am pleased to note that next month the Canadian Federation of Mayors and Municipalities has inspired a conference -the first Canadian urban transportation conference, which will be held here in this hotel in the early part of February.

I mentioned previously that one will some day be able to walk underground downtown and of course I shouldn't overlook the subway system which is, at present, the finest in Canada, and with forthcoming plans it will lead the continent in miles of modern transit available to the public. The channeling of the subway, as with other public transportation facilities, will again be from the CN-CP Centre where there will be a magnificent transportation terminal available, and, in addition to the subway, the GO Transit. I hope that the Government of Ontario will by then have provided more routes north, and, of course, we shall welcome the out-of-town long-distance railway trains and the vast network of urban bus lines.

I would like now to deal with some of the issues that have been discussed at the Toronto city council in the last two years.

As I judged the mood of the people in the last election, there was one message which came through loud and clear. It was the oft-repeated appeal from the home owners that we must not raise their taxes. This request we tried to carry out but, unfortunately, although city council reduced its taxes by nearly 2 mills in 1967, the Board of Education and Metro together were responsible for a 6-mill increase. Ninety per cent of this increase was due to the Board of Education and ten per cent to Metro. None of the increase was due to the City of Toronto.

In 1968, again we kept our Toronto tax rate approximately the same as it was the previous year and well below the year 1966.

The spending programme I have supported has been forward looking. It has had imagination and balance, but it has been developed and thought out with regard for the ability of our taxpayers to carry the load.

For instance, in 1967 we discussed whether we would spend $15,000,000 on the acquisition and development of Chinatown. Two of the three newspapers proposed we should not hesitate, but go ahead and spend the $15,000,000.

The Globe went further. They suggested that Metro, who are its present owners, tear down the old city hall and make a park where the building is located. This would have meant a further spending of $6,000,000 or $7,000,000 to build a new Metro Magistrates' Court House. They also wanted Toronto to make a park south of Queen Street. These proposed expenditures could easily have equalled the $30,000,000 we spent to acquire the land and build the new city hall. However, by not rushing into public acquisition of properties in the Chinatown area, north of the new city hall, private enterprise has now assembled the land and will be constructing a building here which will complement the new city hall and will provide a 700-room hotel and office building complex--Circuit House--which will cost in the neighbourhood of $20,000,000.

It is not only on capital spending that we get this kind of advice from the press, but we get it on current spending as well. During the recent snow storm, one of the heaviest snow storms we have had in some years, we were advised by one newspaper that we should have had the equipment to clean the snow off on the very day it fell. We are going to make a study of the efficiency of our snow removal operations, but I want to tell you that to take the snow off the streets of the whole city of Toronto on the day it fell would require probably another $15,000,000 or $20,000,000 in snow removal equipment. This is the kind of thing which causes municipalities to get into financial trouble by overspending and, in this case, it would be overspending for equipment that might be used only four days a year.

Early in 1967, I reminded aldermen and controllers that the municipal government in Toronto, like all Ontario municipal governments, is a non-party government. Each member possesses only one vote on council and it is only through working together, in co-operation with one another, that we can achieve anything for the people.

I said I would not like to see party politics introduced into municipal government because if that happened, regardless of arguments put forward in council, and regardless of debate in council, when the caucus of the party made a decision, all members of the party would be forced to vote for that decision, regardless of whether it seemed sensible or not when debate was finished.

There is one kind of leadership we can do without on city council and that is the idea that all problems can be solved and a great city built merely by spending money. If we create a tax rate that becomes such a burden on our citizens that they have to move to other municipalities to live, then we defeat the whole purpose of taxation--to provide the services that people want, need and can pay for.

An example of arrogance masquerading under the banner of leadership is the idea that any proposal can be rammed through council without reports, without adequate study and good business consideration. This is undoubtedly what happened to the pension proposal put forward by the political party groups on council this year. This kind of pressuring an issue through council is something that council does not need and is better off without. Leadership should not involve hogging the show, nor does it mean leading a one-man band. Leadership should not be the exclusive prerogative of any one person.

In our municipal system of non-party administration, leadership must be a shared responsibility achieved by co-operation and by working together, and it should involve all members of council.

Since the opening of the St. Lawrence Hall--our second centennial project--over a year ago, it has proven to be a very popular meeting place for Toronto citizens and is booked on some days for years in advance. The total cost of renovating the St. Lawrence Hall ran well over $2,000,000, but $1,000,000 of that was donated by citizens and companies who were interested in seeing that one of Toronto's centennial projects was finally constructed.

In addition, on the second floor of the building, the National Ballet School of Canada has its offices and training floor. The restored St. Lawrence Hall is a building which, in the past, has seen so much of Toronto's community life. It is a beautiful edifice of stone and marble in our downtown forest of glass and steel.

This year the city re-built the St. Lawrence Market, at Front and Jarvis Streets, at a cost of about $775,000. This is an up-to-date farmers' market on Saturday and can be used for other purposes for the balance of the week. It will have five small stores on the west side of the building, with entrances out on to Market Street, which will become a closed-in mall.

In addition, in between the St. Lawrence Market and the St. Lawrence Hall, there will be an open-air patio, which we hope to have fitted as an outdoor restaurant.

The market building will have a stage so that public meetings and large banquets can be held there and things like trade-centre displays will be very suitable for this building during weekdays.

Toronto has become one of the great convention cities of this continent. We have everything needed to be such a city--location, transportation, a lake and other necessary facilities. However, we need an enlarged hotel complex and we need suitable buildings for convention and trade fair purposes. These are being constructed. In the next year, two new hotels will begin construction and another one will be announced soon.

Toronto has one of the most modern seaports in the world. Our harbour is well protected and the island beyond the harbour provides the finest civic park on the Great Lakes--a park that some day will attract not tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands of people who will use it as a weekend playground, nearby, but still away from the congested city.

Fortunately Metro has continued its island development but at a slower pace because of the great pressure that has been generated by those who want the special privilege of living there.

As Mayor of Toronto I have a unique opportunity to meet hundreds of visitors to this city. They come to Toronto to attend conventions. They stop off as tourists on their trips to the north country. They come to see the new city hall and ask to see my office, and so on.

I wish the citizens of Toronto could hear the remarks I hear from these people. They tell me about Toronto being a beautiful city. They are loud in praise of the cleanliness of this city. Our policemen draw forth great praise for their courtesy and help. They all remark on the friendliness of Toronto people and many express a desire to come and live in Toronto at the earliest opportunity. These visitors consider Toronto, not only as a city but, as a top-rate city, and many of them consider it the most desirable city environment of any city of similar size in North America.

Recently Nathan Cohen, a known critic of all things "Toronto," returned from a ten-city trip through the U.S.A. I heard him on radio ask the question, "Are you listening Mayor Dennison?" And then he went on to describe Toronto as a city that is talked about as a leader, in cities throughout the whole U.S.A.

I'm concerned with making Toronto a place where people want to live. I'm concerned that we should continue to attract people from all parts of the world as we are doing today. I'm concerned that Toronto people are unable to get housing here and must live in Lindsay, Orangeville, Markham, Richmond Hill, Brampton and Oshawa. But I am also aware that we must continue to make this city a place where people can afford to live. This involves careful budgeting. If we are going to attract private spending in the core area of this great metropolis, we must be able to convince the investor in development here that his tax dollars will be carefully spent and not squandered and that our council will, when a budget is struck, stick to that budget and not overspend and have to come back with a second tax bill at the end of the year.

In conclusion, Mr. President, this city has a lot of natural attributes which have helped it succeed. Man-made efforts are equally important to sustain the vitality of this area. I feel that this area can no longer endure splinter municipalities when all the influence and economy is directed from the central core. Let us accept the boroughs in Metro for what they are, as fine dormitory communities for the city of Toronto. But, to make this area more effective, let us put it all together under one roof with one mayor and one council so that we all can proudly call ourselves Torontonians and not pseudo-Torontonians.

The provincial government can no longer hide behind large reports and studies and mutter that if Metro is one that it will be too powerful for the province to handle. Even in its present form Metro could, if it wanted to, adopt an opposition to the province. But this it will never do and I feel, most sincerely, that for the whole area to be guided under one council with one set of departments and not a multiplicity of departments as we now endure, will be the outlook for the future.

Thanks of the meeting were expressed by Mr. Peter Hermant.