Program
Thursday September 24, 2009: Policy in Cities
Canada’s cities face challenges on many fronts: sustainable growth, maintaining infrastructure, fostering prosperity, improving governance and securing financing, while coping with changing demographics and disparities of wealth. They also need to attract and retain creative individuals, innovative companies and dynamic institutions. We want our cities to succeed, to embrace diversity and to provide a healthy environment as they grow.
8:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Welcome
Masters of Ceremonies
8:45 a.m. Opening Remarks
Toronto as Canada's largest city has some unique issues and some of the same urban challenges as any other large city in the world. Rapid growth, the environment, infrastructure funding, relationships with labour, economic development, and transportation are all key issues. What is Toronto's role in Canada and among global cities?
9:00 a.m. Questions
9:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Policy Making in the Big Cities
How are policy decisions being made in the big cities? What roles do the provincial and federal governments play? How can the policy process be improved?
Moderator: Senator Art Eggleton, P.C., Chair, Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, and former Mayor of Toronto
- Toronto - Martin Horak, University of Western Ontario
- Montreal - Laurence Bherer, Université de Montréal
- Vancouver - Tom Hutton, University of British Columbia
- Winnipeg - Chris Leo, University of Winnipeg
10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Dialogue on Cities vs. Other Communities: Allocating Scarce Resources in Hard Times
What are the trade-offs that politicians and senior officials face in allocating scarce resources? Panelists will discuss weighing the difficult choices between the needs of cities, and those of small towns and rural municipalities. What are the politics of these decisions?
Moderator: Michael Fenn, former CEO Metrolinx, and former Deputy Minister Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ontario
- Hon. John Godfrey, P.C., former Minister of State for Infrastructure and Communities
- Janice MacKinnon, former Saskatchewan Minister of Finance, Professor, Department of History, University of Saskatchwan
12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. Luncheon
12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Luncheon Keynote :"The Balancing Act"
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Breakout Panels
Drawing on research from across Canada, in municipalities of different sizes, panelists will discuss the state of policy in these important fields and what needs to be done to improve. (There will be ample opportunity for dialogue between delegates and presenters).
1. Urban Aboriginal Policy
Moderator: Alison Pilla, ADM Strategic Policy and Planning,
Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Ontario
Moderator: Peter Paul, ALLIES, Maytree Foundation
3. Emergency Planning
Moderator: Dan Hefky, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief of Emergency Management Ontario
- Gordon McBean, University of Western Ontario
- Luc Juillet, University of Ottawa
- Malcolm Grieve, Acadia University
4. Image Building and Cities
Moderator: Marcelle Crouse, Director Intergovernmental Relations and Partnerships Branch, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ontario
- Caroline Andrew, University of Ottawa
- Cristine de Clercy, University of Western Ontario
- John Lehr, University of Winnipeg
3:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Infrastructure/Stimulus Packages and Cities
Governments will be spending unprecedented amounts on infrastructure as part of the economic stimulus program. Are cities the priority? Where is the money flowing and what is being funded? How do we evaluate the benefits for cities?
Moderator: Jim Milway, Executive Director, Martin Prosperity Institute, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
- Jean Langevin, General Director, Centre for Expertise and Research on Infrastructure in Urban Areas (CERIU), Montreal
- Bradley McLellan, Partner, WeirFoulds
- Grant Hopcroft, Director of Intergovernmental and Community Liaison, London, Ontario
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Delegates' Reception
Friday September 25: The Future of Cities
8:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:25 a.m. Welcome - Gabriel F. Sékaly, IPAC CEO
8:30 a.m. Keynote: A Smarter Planet
Dan Fortin, President and CEO, IBM Canada
"A Smarter Planet" New levels of global integration mean that we are all now connected: economically, technically and socially. But to survive and thrive, being connected is not sufficient. We need to infuse intelligence into our systems and ways of working. We meed to become smarter.
9:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Urban Design
Cohesive urban design can help cities strengthen communities and public interactions, attract tourists, and encourage economic development and creativity. How can governments help build beautiful, vibrant, healthy and accessible cities and public spaces for all citizens to enjoy?
Moderator: John Sewell, author The Shape of the Suburbs, former city councillor and Mayor of Toronto, founder of Citizens for Local Democracy
- Jack Diamond, Architect, Diamond + Schmitt
- John Lorinc, author, The New City
- Joe Berridge, Urban Strategies
10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Cities and Economic Prosperity, Sustainability and Climate Change
Must cities keep growing in order to be prosperous? How can we balance sustainability and development? Is there a trade-off at all? What are the lessons from around the globe?
Moderator: Dana Richardson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Local Government and Planning Policy Division, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ontario Government
- Eva Ligeti, Executive Director, Clean Air Partnership
- Glen Murray, President and CEO,Canadian Urban Institute, former Mayor of Winnipeg
12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. Luncheon
12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Luncheon Keynote
- Brock Carlton, CEO, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
"Canada at a Crossroads: The Future of the Cities and Communities Agenda"
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. The Future of Multilevel Governance
Power, mandates and money: has the multilevel framework yielded good results? What are the costs, the complications, the benefits and possible future directions?
Moderator: Enid Slack, Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, Munk Centre,University of Toronto
- Andrew Sancton, University of Western Ontario
- Neil Bradford, Huron University College
- Robert Young, University of Western Ontario & PPM
2:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
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