Garbage woes, homelessness, traffic gridlock -- Is Toronto the Good losing its lustre?
York University experts delve into municipal election issues across the GTA, Ontario

TORONTO, October 27, 2000 -- Ontario is caught in election fever with an overlap of campaigning for the Nov. 27 federal and Nov. 13 municipal elections. But the higher-profile national campaign is not eclipsing contentious local issues also on centre stage, such as Toronto’s doomed Adams Mine garbage site proposal and this week’s report by the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee which claims Toronto’s shelters don't meet UN refugee camp standards.

To discuss these issues and more, York University offers up the following faculty members who can provide informed and timely analysis on the municipal elections and answer such questions as:

• What will the federal election mean for municipal election voter turnout?
• Can the mayor and council continue to cope with the provincial down load of services onto the city?
• What do fewer municipal politicians mean for local democracy?
• What are the repercussions of urban sprawl into green areas such as the environmentally sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine?
• Have Toronto politicians been able to stem the tide of businesses leaving for the 905 region?

Peter Homenuck, a professor at York's Faculty of Environmental Studies and a former coordinator of the urban studies program, has been consulted on virtually every major waste management project (landfill, incineration and recycling) in the province over the last 20 years. He is familiar with provincial and federal environmental assessment legislation and has served as an officer in federal hearings. Homenuck has also been involved in major studies on affordable housing, such as the effects of high-rise, high-density development on people, and including the review of many proposed projects in the GTA. He can also discuss the potential environmental impact of the Olympics coming to Toronto and says that without a commitment to improving transportation infrastructure, downtown Toronto will be beset by gridlock during the Games. Homenuck is also an expert on the Oak Ridges Moraine. He can be reached at: (905) 660-1060, ext. 223, (416) 736-5252, ext. 33033, or at home: (905) 939-8846.

Engin Isin, professor of social science can provide a multifaceted overview of Toronto and its governance from historical, social, economic, political, geographic and cultural points of view. He can comment on developments in Toronto since amalgamation, on poverty and homelessness, and the politics of food distribution. He is editor of Democracy, Citizenship and the Global City (Routledge 2000). Isin can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 20346 or by e-mail: isin@calumet.yorku.ca.

David Bell, a political science professor and director of York University's Centre for Applied Sustainability, can discuss the principles behind a green Olympics and a green city. He is a member of the environmental consultation group which briefed David Crombie on Toronto's 2008 Olympic bid. Bell can be reached at: (416) 736-2100, ext. 77095 or at home: (905) 889-2873.

Gerda Wekerle, a York Environmental Studies professor can discuss a variety of municipal election issues relating to social policy and planning, urban and community planning, urban politics, crime prevention, and green space. Her most recent research has been on new immigrants and refugees and how their gardens become tools of communication. Wekerle and photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo collaborated on a photo exhibit entitled Growing Cultures, now showing at the Royal Ontario Museum until January 2002. The exhibit demonstrates how immigrants enhance the life of a city by reshaping neighbourhoods, introducing new cuisine and expanding the potential for urban gardens. Wekerle can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 22636, at home: (416) 486-6490, or by e-mail: gwekerle@yorku.ca.

James McKellar, a business professor and director of the Real Property Management Program at York’s Schulich School of Business can discuss how businesses are being lured away from downtown Toronto to the 905 region, and whether lower taxes and new and better infrastructure are factors in this. He can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 20104, (416) 736-5967, or by e-mail: jmckella@schulich.yorku.ca.

Harvey Schwartz is a professor of economics in the Faculty of Arts at York specializing in regional and applied economics and cost-benefit analysis. He has conducted extensive research on the political and economic effects of municipal amalgamation across Ontario, with a focus on problems in social services and transportation. He can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 33653, or by e-mail: schwartz@dept.econ.yorku.ca.

Paul Grayson, a former director of York University's Institute for Social Research (ISR), is an associate dean in the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies. He initiated an annual quality of life survey in January, 1998 to measure public satisfaction with the quality of life in Canadian cities. The survey was initially confined to Toronto and was expanded in 1999 to include Montreal. The on-going surveys help track the effects of short and long-term social changes stemming from such policies as municipal amalgamation, provincial down loading of services, and changes in property tax assessment. The surveys also monitor marked differences between how Torontonians and Montrealers feel about various aspects of city life. Grayson can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 33186 or by e-mail: grayson@yorku.ca.

Jon Caulfield, professor of social science, teaches urban studies and can talk about the many challenges faced by Toronto since amalgamation. He can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 30125, at home (416) 537-4805, or by e-mail: warbler@yorku.ca.

Edmund (Terry) Fowler, a professor of political science at York University's Glendon College, is an expert on municipal affairs, local government structures and amalgamation, and intergovernmental politics. He can discuss the Harris government’s municipal restructuring across Ontario and the affects of down loading of services (local water testing for instance). He can be reached at: (416) 736-2100, ext. 88323, or at home: (416) 651-9772.

Roger Keil, professor of environmental studies, is an expert in urban politics. Keil is very knowledgeable about world cities and has conducted in-depth studies and comparisons of Toronto, Los Angeles, Frankfurt and Berlin. Since the early 1990s, he has been particularly interested in issues of urban ecological politics. He is a founding member of the International Network of Urban Research and Action and has been involved in labour and community groups. He is also able to do interviews in German. He can be reached at: (416) 736-2100 ext. 22604.

Bryan Massam is a professor of geography and an expert on public infrastructure decision-making on projects such as highways, airports, and landfill sites. He can discuss the tearing down of the Gardiner Expressway as well as plans to extend the Yonge/University subway line northward. He can be reached at (416) 736-5107, or by e-mail: bmassam@yorku.ca.

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For more information, or additional experts, please contact:

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
kturriff@yorku.ca
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