GTA Housing Action Forum Backgrounder - November 18-19, 2014

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GTA Housing Action Forum
     Backgrounder

     November 18-19, 2014
Table of Contents

Process to date
Objective
Agenda
Framing the issue
Draft goal and mission statement of the GTA Housing Action Lab
Areas of intervention and action items
Research agenda
Appendix: Participant bios
Acknowledgments

                               2
Process to date                                         Objective
The GTA Housing Action Lab (HAL) was launched           Our objective for the November 18 and 19
in 2013 to bring together experts from various          forum is to review and refine the four areas
sectors to identify actionable solutions to the         of intervention and draft Action Plan we have
issues of affordability and sustainability in the       outlined in the context of a shared description
GTA housing system.                                     of success to build a housing system that
                                                        supports smart intensification, housing
We began by conducting nearly 50 interviews             affordabilty and a diversity of form and tenure
with experts and practitioners in early 2014,           throughout the housing system.
leading to a foundational workshop in June 2014.
Since then we have connected with many of you           Right now, we have roughly 15 action areas
individually to expand on the outcomes from that        which emerged from our conversations and the
session. Additionally, we convened a small group        two workshops to date. We need to bring this
in September to advance the thinking.                   down to a more manageable action list and
                                                        identify which of the participants in the HAL
This document contains the results of those             will lead and participate in the priority actions
interviews, our additional discussions,                 identified.
background research and the two workshops.
We have compiled all of this knowledge into the         The draft Action Plan will feature a combination
following draft framework for the GTA Housing           of types of action items, which may include
Action Lab.                                             research, policy proposals, and civic
                                                        engagement. Using the thinking and material
The thinking has coalesced around four main             generated by this session we will further shape
areas of intervention:                                  the framework and strategy of the GTA Housing
                                                        Action Lab working towards having a final
                                                        strategy by the end of 2014 and beginning
1. Taking a regional approach - connecting              implementation in 2015.
   regional growth strategies and policies

2. Where we build and what we build -
   enabling diversity in form, tenure and cost of
   new supply

3. Investing in affordability - providing income
   support to residents and maintaining the
   existing stock of private rental and social
   housing

4. Changing the narrative - new public
   discourse about the housing system

                                                    3
Agenda

Tuesday, November 18 (9:00am–5:00pm)
Evergreen Brick Works, BMO Atrium
550 Bayview Ave, Toronto

(Arrivals and breakfast 8:00–9:00am)
Morning session (9:00am–12:15pm)
• Welcome, introductions and update on activities
• Co-creating a description of success for a sustainable
  housing system
• Break
• Presentation of research | Derek Burleton: TD Economics
• Panel discussion of key focus areas
Lunch (12:15pm–1:15pm)
Afternoon session (1:15pm–5:00pm)
• Review and revsion of action planning for key areas
  of intervention
• Synthesis

Wednesday, November 19 (9:00am–1:30pm)
Evergreen Brick Works, BMO Atrium
550 Bayview Ave, Toronto

(Arrivals and breakfast 8:00–9:00am)
Morning session (9:00am–11:00am)
•   Welcome
•   Synthesis presentation
•   Exploring and shaping new narratives
•   Next Steps
(transportation will be provided from Evergreen Brick Works to
the InterContinental Hotel)

Wednesday, November 19 (11:45am–1:30pm)
InterContinental Hotel
225 Front St W, Toronto

Luncheon hosted by the Economic Club of Canada with
keynote speech by Ed Clark

                                       4
Framing the issue                                         Draft goal and mission
We build housing very well in the Greater                 statement of the GTA
Toronto Area (GTA). The market, responding                Housing Action Lab
to economic trends and regulatory conditions,
has managed to build a huge amount of new                 We have developed the following goal and
housing to accommodate the fastest growing                mission station for the HAL to share with this
region in North America. And yet we face some             group for feedback.
critical interrelated challenges that are affecting
resident’s well-being and the future sustainability       Goal:
and affordability of housing in the region. These
challenges include:                                       Our shared goal is to build a housing system
                                                          that creates a diverse, dense, affordable supply
• Growing affordability issues and lack of                of housing for residents of the GTA. This will
  housing options for GTA residents, in particular        enable us to meet our Places to Grow targets in
  at the lower end of the income spectrum,                an affordable and sustainable way, creating the
  including families with children                        foundation of the future economic, social and
                                                          environmental prosperity of the region.
• Broader regional economic vulnerability as
  a result of elevated household debt levels              Mission Statement:
  and the economic costs of inefficient growth            The GTA Housing Action Lab is a collaborative
  patterns                                                working group that has come together to build:

• Threats to the region’s environmental                   • Programs and policies that support the
  sustainability from auto-based travel patterns            affordability of housing to ensure residents
  and pressures on energy and water systems                 of all incomes have the best chance to live
                                                            in a suitable home and have a choice in their
The impacts of these can be seen in:                        housing

• The cost of housing rising disproportionately           • A more sustainable housing system in the
  to incomes                                                region by increasing public support for
                                                            intensification, awareness of the benefits
• Growing social housing waiting lists and repair           of complete communities, and policies that
  costs                                                     support creative infill in our urban centres
                                                            and a connected region
• Few new lower income rental and affordable
  ownership options                                       • A policy and regulatory framework that
                                                            encourages diversity in form and tenure,
• A lack of diversity in the form, tenure and cost          intensification and affordability, and creates
  of housing resulting in a lack of choice for              incentives aligned with the needs of the
  residents                                                 residents of the region while creating an
                                                            economically viable housing sector
• Challenges to the process of intensification and
  a disconnect between development patterns
  and regional growth and transportation
  planning
                                                      5
TAKING A REGIONAL APPROACH

                           WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE

          1. Integrated land use transportation and housing policies across the region
 2. Coordinated regional approach to housing issues including approvals process and municipal
                                land use and housing service plans
            3. Public narrative about land use / density / housing as a regional issue

                                     HOW WE GET THERE

                       Utilize existing legislation

                                                                              Enable regional
 Reviews of Growth Plan for GGH,
                                                                               coordination
The Big Move, Greenbelt Act, and
                                        Identify the                              across
  Long Term Affordable Housing
                                                           Advocate for        municipalities
             Strategy                  best Provincial
                                                          a modernized
                                         vehicle for
                                                             Land Use
                                       intensification
 Advocate for        Develop &                           Planning System
                                       around transit
 coordinated       submit recs for
   reviews            reviews

           RESEARCH                      RESEARCH           RESEARCH?           RESEARCH?

                                                               POLICY             POLICY
         POLICY DESIGN                POLICY DESIGN
                                                              DESIGN?            DESIGN?

           ADVOCACY                      ADVOCACY           ADVOCACY            ADVOCACY

          PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, NARRATIVE AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

                       PRELIMINARY HOUSING ACTION LAB GROUP

                                          Pembina
                                        York Region
                                            OHBA
                                             ULI
                                         CivicAction
                                        Paul Bedford
                                          CityWorks

                                              6
Areas of intervention and action items
 | Taking a regional approach

Fragmentation across municipalities and levels               planning decisions associated with regional
of government throughout the region has led to               transportation hubs including mobility
misaligned and sometimes contradictory housing               hubs and GO stations. If this authority was
policies and regulations that do not encourage the           enabled Metrolinx would be able to actively
kind of growth we need.                                      encourage transit supportive development
                                                             and shape the land use associated with
The sector also lacks a cohesive housing strategy            nodes in the regional transportation network.
between public, private and not-for-profit actors.           An alternative method could be improving
In order to create a sustainable housing system              the Growth Plan to include and mandate
for the GTA we need better regional coordination             intensification targets for transit lines hubs
aimed towards facilitating affordability and density         and stations.
in the right places.
                                                           • Advocate for a modernized Land Use
                                                             Planning System: While Ontario’s land use
• Influence upcoming Provincial legislative                  planning system has evolved over the past
  reviews: The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden            decade, there are additional steps that could
  Horseshoe, The Big Move and The Greenbelt                  be taken to create the conditions for a more
  Act will all undergo reviews by 2016. The                  affordable and sustainable housing system.
  province will also release an updated Long-                The Province could ensure that municipalities
  Term Affordable Housing Strategy. The plans                have up-to-date Official Plans and zoning
  have wide ranging impacts on the future of                 by-laws that conform to provincial policy
  the region, setting priorities for Ontario that            and support transit oriented development to
  will greatly impact the housing system. The                create a framework that provides certainty,
  confluence in timing of the reviews presents               establishes clear rules for development
  a unique opportunity to align the reviews                  and determines how communities grow.
  to ensure that they can make the greatest                  Municipalities could also use planning tools
  collective impact and work in tandem rather                created by the provincial government to
  than create misaligned priorities. There                   ensure the best possible planning outcomes
  is also the opportunity to either create a                 in the development of strong, healthy and
  joint submission or at minimum coordinate                  complete communities.
  submissions from external groups that drive
  forward shared priorities.                               • Enable regional coordination across
                                                             municipalities: A lack of coordination both
• Identify the best provincial planning vehicle              between different municipalities in the
  to mandate minimum intensification targets                 region, as well as between the municipal,
  for new transit corridors, hubs and stations:              provincial and federal governments hinders
  possibly through the enactment of the Metrolinx            the development of the diverse and flexible
  Transportation Planning Policy Statement.                  housing system we need. Better regional
  The Metrolinx Act includes a provision that                coordination would allow for standardization
  the Minister of Transportation can issue                   of policies that affect private sector
  Transportation Planning Policy Statements                  development as well as an alignment of
  that would allow Metrolinx to influence                    priorities for public investment in housing.
                                                       7
WHERE WE BUILD AND WHAT WE BUILD

                                         WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE

                                  1. Increase choice of tenure and form across the region
                                          2. Increase affordability of new housing
                                      3. Densify / intensify housing in the right areas

                                                     HOW WE GET THERE

     Unlocking innovative                                                              Build in the   Build the right mix of
                                             Reduce cost to new supply
         approaches                                                                    right areas           housing

  Experiment                                            Fix and align
                                                        the rules and       Activate            Pilot as
with new forms                                                                                                  Federal
                                       Fast track         incentives      underutilized         of right
 and tenures      Create “new                                                                                 government
                                       approvals         [eg parking       public land       development
  [eg 6 story    housing action                                                                              incentives for
                                     for complete      rules, parkland    [and private          permits
wood, laneway     framework”                                                                                 purpose built
                                     communities         dedication,     eg big box and        in target
housing, multi                                                                                                   rental
                                                          secondary          plazas]        neighborhoods
owner houses]                                               suites]

 RESEARCH?         RESEARCH            RESEARCH          RESEARCH           RESEARCH                           RESEARCH

POLICY DESIGN    POLICY DESIGN      POLICY DESIGN      POLICY DESIGN                        POLICY DESIGN   POLICY DESIGN

  ADVOCACY        ADVOCACY            ADVOCACY          ADVOCACY            ADVOCACY          ADVOCACY         ADVOCACY

 PROTOTYPE/       PROTOTYPE/          PROTOTYPE/                           PROTOTYPE/        PROTOTYPE/
PILOT PROJECT    PILOT PROJECT       PILOT PROJECT                        PILOT PROJECT     PILOT PROJECT

                                   NARRATIVE AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

                                     PRELIMINARY HOUSING ACTION LAB GROUP

                                                           OHBA
                                                        York Region
                                                           GTAA
                                                         CityWorks
                                                          Pemina
                                                  United Way of Greater TO
                                                             ULI
                                            Affordable Housing Office, City of TO
                                                        Paul Bedford

                                                              8
Areas of intervention and action items
| Where and what we build

                                                            developers and non-profit groups would
When the Greenbelt and Places to Grow Act were              innovate in their provision of new housing
created, they put in place a valuable framework             for a diversity of residents.
to accommodate growth in a way that protects
valuable land and encourages vibrant and                  • Experiment with new forms and tenures
transit supportive communities.                             (E.G. 6 story wood frame, laneway housing,
                                                            flex housing, co-ops, multi-owner houses):
While we are starting to see a move towards                 New forms of housing like 6 story wood
more compact housing types across the region                frame, laneway houses and tiny houses can
and densification, there is a noticeable lack               offer innovative, cost-efficient solutions
of diversity in both the form and tenure of                 to intensifying the city. Currently many of
the housing we are building across the region.              these forms are not permitted under zoning
There is also a lack of diversity in price limiting         and other regulations in the GTA. There are
choice available to residents. This lack of                 also alternative housing tenures such as
diversity has resulted in a sector that, in recent          co-ops and multi-owner houses that could
decades, has primarily built small market rate              provide new affordable housing supply. There
condos and few rental or affordable ownership               is an opportunity use pilot projects to start
projects. With increasing population and                    conversations with government officials on
changing demographics we need to learn how                  how to overcome existing barriers.
to build the right things in the right places.
Without this smart intensification the Growth             Reduce cost to supply
Plan is in jeopardy.
                                                          • Fast track approvals to complete
                                                            communities: A major costs to development
Unlocking innovative approaches                             is the lengthy period required to obtain
• Create an aggressive “new housing action                  approvals from municipalities. By fast
  framework” for housing partnerships                       tracking approvals for specific types of
  between municipalities, developers,                       development we can encourage complete
  non-for-profit agencies and financial                     communities.
  institutions: Adopt incentive measures
  to formalize and scale up the current                   • Fix and align the rules and incentives:
  case by case housing partnerships                         Many of the existing rules and incentives
  where municipalities will work with the                   encourage the wrong kind of development.
  development community and non-profit                      The rules and incentives governing
  sectors to create the housing needed for                  development across the region are also
  smart, affordable intensification within the              inconsistent which causes delays, additional
  GTA including new affordable rental housing.              costs and confusion. Fixing and aligning the
  A “new housing action framework” would                    rules and incentives would reduce the cost
  seek to provide a diversity of new rental                 of new development and encourage the right
  housing across the income spectrum while                  kind of development. Some examples are
  tapping into the resources of all partners.               existing parking standards, prohibitions on
  Governments would look to standardizing                   secondary suites and the parkland dedication
  a range of rental housing incentives, while               system.

                                                      9
• Activate underutilized land (public and
  private E.G. big box and plazas): One of
  the largest costs to new development is the
  cost of land. By activating underutilized land
  including public holdings, big box store sites
  and plazas we can increase the supply of
  land therefore decreasing the cost to supply.
  (Note fits both in “build in the right areas”
  and “reduce cost to supply”)

• Pilot development permits in target
  neighbourhoods: A significant cost to
  any new development is securing permits.
  Piloting as-of-right development permitting
  processes in target neighbourhoods could
  encourage development in the areas where
  it’s most needed and where intensification
  should be encouraged. (Note fits both in
  “build in the right areas” and “build the right
  mix of housing”)

Build the right mix of housing
• Advocate for a federal government role
  for purpose built rental: The federal
  government formerly played a significant
  role in facilitating the development of
  purpose built rental. These programs
  have been phased out in recent decades
  and are scheduled to come to an end in
  the near future. The federal government
  should explore tools that would incent
  the development of purpose-built rental,
  including zero rating (or full pass through)
  of the GST on rental construction, or using
  CMHC as a loan instrument to provide low-
  cost financing for affordable purpose-built
  rental projects?

                                                    10
INVESTING
                 WHERE        INAND
                       WE BUILD  AFFORDABILITY
                                    WHAT WE BUILD

                                            WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE

                            1. Provide income support to enable people to enter the housing market
                                       2. Maintain existing affordable private rental stock
                                            3. Maintain existing social housing stock

                                                      HOW WE GET THERE

                                                                              Maintain existing social housing
Income support         Maintain existing affordable private rental
                                                                                           stock
                                                                                                                  Support existing
                                                                                                                     or emerging
                                                                                                                   initiatives that
                  Fix the rules                                                                    Create new        support the
                                                                                Support           federal and      affordability of
Create income-                      Achieve better        Initiate tower
                                                                            closing the gap        provincial       housing with
tested housing      Establish       enforcement of      renewal programs
                                                                              campaign for      revenue streams   scaling potential
    benefit       property tax       housing laws         across the city
                                                                             social housing         for social
                     parity                                                                          housing

                                       RESEARCH                                                   RESEARCH          RESEARCH?

POLICY DESIGN    POLICY DESIGN                                                                  POLICY DESIGN     POLICY DESIGN

 ADVOCACY         ADVOCACY             ADVOCACY            ADVOCACY           ADVOCACY            ADVOCACY           ADVOCACY

                                                         PROTOTYPE /                             PROTOTYPE /
                                                        PILOT PROJECTS                          PILOT PROJECTS

                                      NARRATIVE AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

                                        PRELIMINARY HOUSING ACTION LAB GROUP

                                                           CityWorks
                                                   United Way of Greater TO
                                                          CivicAction
                                                              HSC
                                                         Paul Bedford

                                                               11
Areas of intervention and action items
| Investing in affordability

Many low income residents live in the region’s          • Achieve better enforcement of housing
private and social rental housing which is over           laws: Current housing laws are often not
40 years old and faces substantial repair and             enforced or when they are the system
revitalization challenges.                                incentivizes compliance officers to simply
                                                          close cases, which leads them to focus on the
We also need to improve the ability of lower-             buildings of owners they know will comply
income residents to afford housing, and we also           rather than cases where there are serious
know that there is vacancy in the private market          systemic issues. Rethinking the way that
that could be better used.                                housing laws are enforced would allow for
                                                          better living conditions for renters and a
                                                          more predictable system for owners.
Income support
• Create an income-tested housing benefit:              • Initiate Tower Renewal programs across
  The housing market in the GTA has become                the city: Over 25% of Torontonians live
  so expensive that many people are unable to             in towers built between the 1950s and
  afford suitable housing. Creating an income-            1980s. These towers are deteriorating and
  tested housing benefit with a structure                 surrounded by underutilized greenspace left
  similar to the Ontario Child Benefit would              over from failed modernist tower-in-the-
  allow many individuals and families to enter            park utopian visions. The City of Toronto
  the housing market and find suitable housing            has established an office for Tower Renewal
  who weren’t previously able to do so.                   on the model that owners could do infill
                                                          on their properties to re-urbanize the area
                                                          and then reinvest the profits back into the
Maintaining existing affordable                           aging properties. The model has not yet been
private rental                                            implemented on a wide scale. Demonstration
• Establish property tax parity: In Toronto               projects that will test the viability of the
  rental properties pay a higher property                 model are currently underway and will
  tax rate than owner-occupied units. This                hopefully lead to widespread implementation.
  discrepancy is a holdover from historical
  conditions, most municipalities have                  Maintaining existing social housing
  established parity. Bringing Toronto to parity        stock
  would be a quick win and an easy way to
  bring more affordability to rental housing, as        • Support closing the gap campaign for
  any saving would by law have to be passed               social housing: The City of Toronto and
  on to tenants, and the alleviation of this              Toronto Community Housing Corporation are
  additional cost could lead to additional                currently working to make necessary repairs
  investment in the buildings (and even                   to social housing across the city. The City
  potentially more new construction)                      has committed $156 million but cannot

                                                   12
complete the necessary repairs without
  funding support from the provincial and
  federal governments. Supporting the close
  the gap campaign will help maintain the
  existing social housing stock which is already
  overloaded and in desperate need of repairs.

• Create new federal and provincial revenue
  streams for social housing: Municipalities
  in Canada face a fiscal gap between the
  responsibilities they have been assigned
  by the provincial and federal governments,
  and the fiscal tools that they have at their
  disposal to address these tools. Municipalities
  own nearly 50% of all infrastructure assets
  yet collect just 8 cents on every tax dollar.
  Remedying this imbalance would help
  municipalities adequately invest in the repair
  of existing social housing units and the
  construction of new units.

Support existing initiatives
• Support existing or emerging initiatives
  that support the affordability of housing
  with scaling potential: Social housing
  systems have significant assets in their
  properties but cannot unlock their value to
  access financing needed for repairs or new
  construction. Innovative financing models
  should be explored to address this. For
  example, the Housing Services Corporation
  in Ontario is working with other social
  housing providers across the country to
  explore a pooling of their reserves, which
  would enable them to float a bond to make
  key investments in the repair of the existing
  housing stock. Efforts such as this should
  be supported by government (ie CMHC
  guarantees the bond).

                                                    13
GTA HOUSING ACTION LAB RESEARCH AGENDA
CORE TOPIC AREAS
                                                             Mapping                                                              Economic impacts                                                            Plans and policies

                                                                                                                                                                                       • Taking a regional approach: provides framework for what changes/types of
TIE INS TO WORK                                     • Taking a regional approach:                                                                                                          actions will create real change, and identifies what needs to be changed
                                                                                                                       • Narrative: provides argument for why change
AREAS                               provides a state of the region’ to contextualize possible actions                      is necessary and the affects the housing                    • Where and what we build: provides framework for what changes/types of
                               • Where and what we build: need a picture of what is there before we                         system has on the future of the region                       actions will create real change, and identifies what needs to be changed
                                       can decide what we need. Will also show opportunities                                (e.g. how transit needed to be made an                    • Investments in affordability: provides framework for what changes/types of
                                                                                                                                        economic issue)                                   actions will create real change, and identifies what needs to be changed
                                         • Narrative: provides data needed to build narrative
                                                                                                                                                                                            • Narrative: provides context and support for argument for change

PHASE 1                                                                                          Synthesize existing reports and who’s doing what relating to HAL focus areas and best practices
Landscape research
FALL 14                                                                                                          Hire researcher, possible candidates: Pembina (Cherise Burda)

PHASE 1.5                                                  Housing data bank                                          TD Economics research paper on challenges related                                                       ULI / Ryerson / York Region research on
Concurrent research,                                                                                                 to affordability and diversity of supply issues. Details                                                incentives for building rental and how to
need to identify tie-ins                                                                                              expected downward movement in home ownership,                                                                   apply principles in GTA
                                                             Work needed:
foundational research      Data is complete, possible augmentation [need to identify candidate for research],
                                                                                                                     and slight up-tick in purpose-built rental and lays out
                                                                                                                                        possible solutions
                            graphic design / animation by CityWorks, released at CivicAction April 14 summit

PHASE 2                                                                                                                                                                             How does the housing market
Core research projects     Mapping the opportunity for new             Identifying the gap between what              The macro economic              Analysis of factors
                                                                                                                                                                                 respond to plans and policies? An
WINTER 14/15               housing infil in the GTA on under-           we’re building and what we need             impacts of the lack of          contributing to the                                                           Identify the rules, policies and
                                                                                                                                                                                   examination of the response of
                            utilized and empty land, viewed           by mapping existing housing stock,             diversity in and high          cost of housing (i.e.                                                       incentives that run counter to the
                                                                                                                                                                                 GTA housing system to the Ontario
                             through the lenses of transit,            future construction and projected            cost of housing in the         interest rates, cost of                                                      objectives of smart intensification
                                                                                                                                                                                  Growth Plan and other plans and
                             employment and other factors                   housing needs in the GTA                          GTA                    construction etc)
                                                                                                                                                                                    policies over the last decade

                                                 Hire researcher, possible candidates:                                      Hire researcher, possible candidates:                 Hire researcher, possible candidates:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Hire researcher, possible candidates:
                           Murtaza Haider (Ryerson & IMDG), Margie Carlson (HSC), Greg Suttor (U of T), Markus         TD Economics, Steve Pomeroy, Cushman Wakefield,           Neptis (Marcy Burchfield), Murtaza Haider
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       [Needs to be identified]
                                                         Moos (U of Waterloo)                                                       Hemson (Yousaf Shah)                                   (Ryerson and IMFG)

                                                                                                                                Other research candidates:
                                                                                                                 Mowat Centre (Noah Zon & Matthew Mendleson), Anne Golden

PHASE 3                                                                        [NOTE: PROJECT SPECIFIC RESEARCH PIECES ARE STILL IN FORMATION AS THE OVERALL PROJECT AGENDA IS STILL IN FORMATION]
Project specific
SPRING/SUMMER 15
                                                                                                                             Changes required to Growth Plan for GGH, The Big Move,
                                                        New revenue streams for social housing                                                                                                                    Better enforcement of housing laws
                                                                                                                                         Greenbelt Act for submissions

                               Affordable housing partnership frameworks including                                                                                                     Models for fast tracking approvals for complete
                                                                                                      Federal government incentives in purpose built rental
                                                benefits and costs                                                                                                                                        community
Appendix: Participant
Biographies

Pedro Barata                                                  the Canadian Institute of Planners, with more than
Pedro Barata joined United Way Toronto in January             40 years’ experience in urban planning and city
2011. As Vice President, Communications and                   building. Since retirement in 2004, Mr. Bedford has
Public Affairs, he leads media relations, message             been appointed adjunct professor at the University
and brand positioning, internal communications,               of Toronto and Ryerson University planning
issues management and stakeholder relations.                  schools. He also serves on the Waterfront Toronto
Pedro has more than a decade of involvement in                Urban Design Review Panel, and the Centre for
the non-profit sector in areas such as community              Addiction and Mental Health Property Committee
development, research and policy development,                 in Toronto. He served two terms on the Greater
communications and public affairs. Most                       Toronto Transportation Authority (Metrolinx), and
recently, Pedro was responsible for strategic                 was appointed vice-chair of the Transit Investment
communications and poverty reduction funding                  Strategy Advisory Panel by the Premier of Ontario.
programs at the Atkinson Foundation. He was also
a member of the Ontario Social Assistance Review              Antoine Belaieff
Advisory Council and has held roles with Family               Antoine Belaieff, MCIP, RPP is the Director of
Service Toronto and Campaign 2000.                            Innovation at Metrolinx, responsible for advancing
                                                              innovation and sustainability at Metrolinx. He
Carly Basu                                                    also oversees the Smart Commute Transportation
Carly Basu is a Senior Associate with the Growth              Demand Management Program, and the Transit
Policy team at the Ontario Growth Secretariat.                Procurement Initiative (which works with transit
In this role, Carly is responsible for undertaking            systems to purchase buses and related goods and
policy research and development to support                    services). Antoine is a Professional Planner, who
growth plan implementation. One of her key                    holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from
research focuses over the past few years has been             McGill University in Montreal, a Master’s Degree
on housing affordability, both within the Greater             in Planning from the University of Toronto, and
Golden Horseshoe region and more broadly. Prior               a Master’s Degree in Strategic Leadership towards
to joining the Secretariat in early 2011, Carly was           Sustainability from the Blekinge Institute of
based in Australia, working as a researcher and               Technology in Sweden.
urban planning consultant on a range of projects
for municipal, state and federal governments, as              Maya Borgenicht
well as for private sector and not for profit clients.        Maya Borgenicht is a Project Manager with
Carly holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Social Science             Evergreen CityWorks. Prior to joining Evergreen,
and a Masters’ Degree in Urban and Regional                   Maya worked with Toronto Artscape. Before moving
Planning. She is an avid traveller and uses these             to Toronto, Maya worked with the Regional Plan
experiences to enrich her work as a planner.                  Association in New York City where she led projects
                                                              in the Open Space and Environment Department
Paul Bedford                                                  and worked on regional planning initiatives. Maya
Urban mentor and former chief planner for the City            has a bachelor of arts in urban studies from Vassar
of Toronto, Paul Bedford is a member and fellow of            College.

                                                         14
Alan Broadbent                                          Cherise Burda
Alan is Chairman and CEO of the Avana Capital           Cherise is Ontario director at the Pembina
Corporation, and Chairman of The Maytree                Institute, directing research and implementation
Foundation. In support of its investment activities,    strategies for transportation and renewable
Avana initiates and funds civic engagement              energy solutions, including policy initiatives for
projects to strengthen the public discourse on          urban form. She is a regular spokesperson on
civil society, including: the Institute on Municipal    transportation, renewable energy and Ontario
Finance and Governance at the Munk School of            policy issues. Since joining the Institute in
Global Affairs, University of Toronto; the Jane         2007, Cherise has written dozens of energy,
Jacobs Prize, which celebrates “unsung heroes”          transportation and urban development
in the Toronto Region; and Ideas That Matter, an        publications, including: Behind the Wheel, Live
organization to convene discourse on progressive        Where You Go, Making Tracks to Torontonians, the
ideas concerning the public good. Alan is also          RBC-Pembina Home Location Survey, and Plugging
Chairman of several related organizations,              Ontario into a Green Future. Cherise’s 17-year
including the Caledon Institute of Social Policy        career as a policy specialist and senior manager
(co-founded by Maytree in 1992), Tamarack - An          includes past experience as a program director
Institute for Community Engagement (co-founded          with the David Suzuki Foundation and a senior
in 2001), and Diaspora Dialogues, which supports        researcher with the Polis Institute at University of
the creation and presentation of new writing            Victoria’s Faculty of Law.
that reflects the diversity of Toronto. Alan is
also Chairman of the Tides Canada Foundation;           Derek Burleton
advisor to the Literary Review of Canada; Co-Chair
                                                        Derek is Vice President and Deputy Chief
of Happy Planet Foods; Member of the Governors’
                                                        Economist for TD Bank Group. In his role, he
Council of the Toronto Public Library Foundation;
                                                        leads a team of economists that provides leading
Senior Fellow of Massey College, and Member of
                                                        analysis on the Canadian economy and financial
the Order of Canada and recipient of the Queen’s
                                                        markets. Each year, he travels extensively across
Jubilee Medal. He is the author of the recently
                                                        Canada, speaking at more than 50 events on
published book, Urban Nation.
                                                        economic and financial developments. As a
                                                        respected commentator, Derek has been quoted
John Brodhead                                           by many media outlets – including the Globe
John is the first executive director of CityWorks, a    and Mail, Financial Times and the Economist. He
strategic initiative of Evergreen. Prior to joining     also is frequently interviewed on the radio and
CityWorks, John was deputy chief of staff for           television. Derek maintains a strong interest in
policy and cabinet affairs for Premier Dalton           Canadian public policy issues, and has written
McGuinty and served in other roles in the Office        substantive reports on health care sustainability,
of the Premier, including executive director            education and immigration reform. He participates
of communications and senior policy advisor.            in a number of advisory and steering committees
John was also vice president for strategy and           both internal and external to TD Bank Group and
communications for Metrolinx. Prior to joining          currently serves on the Board of the Toronto
the provincial government, John served in various       Association of Business Economists (TABE). Derek
capacities in the federal government, including the     Burleton received his Bachelor of Commerce from
Ministries of Infrastructure and National Defence.      Queen’s University and a M.Sc. in Economics
John is currently an executive fellow at the            from the London School of Economics. Derek has
Mowat Centre for Public Policy at the University of     fifteen years of experience as an economist in the
Toronto.                                                financial industry.

                                                   15
Daryl Chong                                               responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Daryl Chong is the President and CEO of the               Prior to returning to government, he was the
Greater Toronto Apartment Association. He                 Manager of Programs and Research for the
worked inside Toronto City Hall for six years as          Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance
the Executive Assistant to a Councillor; then             (IMFG), a cities research institute at the University
pursued a career in consulting for more than a            of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.
decade. His clients have included a wide range of         André has also worked for the Ontario Ministry
industries including eCommerce, procurement,              of Finance, the Public Policy Forum and the City
Telecommunications, Energy, Advertisement and             of Toronto, and has done consulting work for a
Transportation.                                           range of organizations. He is a graduate of the
                                                          University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and
Michael Collins-Williams                                  Governance, and of Queen’s University.

Michael Collins-Williams is a Registered
                                                          Aaron Denhartog
Professional Planner and is the Director of Policy
at the Ontario Home Builders’ Association. He has         Aaron Denhartog is currently the Government
over a decade of experience in the residential            Relations Program Manager for the Cooperative
construction and land development industry, is            Housing Federation of Canada where he advocates
a member of the Ontario Professional Planners             on behalf of co-op housing members to various
Institute and is a graduate of the Ryerson                levels of government. Prior to joining CHF
University School of Urban and Regional Planning.         Canada he participated in the Ontario Legislative
                                                          Internship Programme where he served in a non-
Harvey Cooper                                             partisan role for backbench MPPs in both the
                                                          government and opposition. He studied political
Harvey Cooper has Cooper has worked over the              science at York University and has been involved
last 3 decades in the Co-operative and Non-               with a number of community organizations.
Profit housing field. He currently serves as the
Managing Director for the Ontario Region of the
                                                          Joe Deschênes Smith
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. The
Federation represents some 100,000 non-profit             Joe Deschênes Smith is founder and principal of
housing cooperative residences, home to over a            Trillium Housing. Trillium Housing uses impact
quarter million Canadians. As Managing Director           finance to deliver its mission to create housing
of CHF Canada’s Ontario Region, Harvey oversees           affordability. Trillium Housing invests in the
a staff of 9 that provide a full range of services        development of affordable ownership housing
to member housing co-operatives in Ontario. One           with conventional developers and provides its
area in particular that Harvey has honed a well-          innovative Trillium 2nd Mortgage to enable
regarded expertise in, is assisting stakeholder           modest-income families to own their home. Before
groups to effectively represent their interests to        founding Trillium Housing Joe helped grow another
government at all jurisdictional levels.                  non-profit in affordable housing finance. He was
                                                          also Chief of Staff to the Ontario Minister of
André Côté                                                Municipal Affairs and Housing had a hand in the
                                                          development of several policy initiatives including
André Côté is a Policy Advisor to the Honourable          the 2007 Ontario Planning Act, Residential
Deb Matthews, Deputy Premier of Ontario,                  Tenancies Act, City of Toronto Act and Ontario
President of the Treasury Board, and Minister             Housing programs.

                                                     16
Victor Doyle                                              Nicole Giles
Victor has been a professional planner for almost         Nicole Giles is the Manager of Housing Services with
30 years at both the municipal and provincial             the Canadian Mental Health Association, Toronto.
levels where he is currently Manager, Planning            CMHA is a nation-wide, charitable organization.
Innovation, in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs          CMHA Toronto provides direct service, participates
and Housing. For the past 25 years he has                 in advocacy and conducts research. Nicole has 24
been directly involved in driving, developing,            years of experience in the voluntary sector, 15 of
implementing and defending strategic provincial           which have been with CMHA Toronto. She currently
planning initiatives in the Greater Golden                manages over 500 rent supplement units in a
Horseshoe. His most recent efforts on housing             scattered apartment model in partnership with over
include overseeing the release of Ministry’s              70 private market landlords.
2011 publication “Municipal Tools for Affordable
Housing”, leading the changes to the Planning Act         Dina Graser
requiring municipalities to authorize second units
                                                          Dina Graser was most recently the Director,
and undertaking ongoing research on housing/land
                                                          Community and Stakeholder Relations at Metrolinx,
supplies.
                                                          where she managed its first community relations
                                                          team, and oversaw public and stakeholder
Jan Fordham                                               engagement for the organization. Prior to joining
Jan Fordham is a Manager in the Healthy Public            Metrolinx, Dina worked as a communications
Policy Directorate at Toronto Public Health where         lawyer at a major Bay St law firm, as a community
she is responsible for knowledge synthesis and            organizer, and as an independent producer of live
exchange, healthy public policy development and           shows, conferences and events. She co-founded
advocacy, and applied research and education              a citizens’ group, People Plan Toronto, which
in relation to the social determinants of health.         advocates for stronger community engagement
She works with a multidisciplinary team on                in the planning process, and sat on the board
issues ranging from income security, suicide              of Toronto Artscape, which develops affordable
prevention, mental health promotion, employment,          live/work space for artists, for six years. She has
racialization and health, and transit affordability.      a BA from McGill University, an MFA from the
For the past several years, she has coordinated           City University of New York, and an LLB from the
the research ethics review process within Toronto         University of Toronto.
Public Health.
                                                          Jason Hastings
Sean Gadon                                                As a social planner Jason leads a team at York
Sean Gadon is the Director of Toronto’s Affordable        Region that develops strategies to address issues
Housing Office, responsible for working with the          in housing, accessibility and immigration. A fan of
non-profit and private sectors to delivery new            collaboration and tackling tough issues, he works
affordable housing. He is also facilitating the           with a range of community partners to make change.
implementation of the city’s recently adopted 10          Jason previously held similar posts with the City of
year housing plan Housing Opportunities Toronto.          London and United Way and holds an MPA from the
Sean cares deeply about our city and has been             School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University and a
active in Toronto politics and housing advocacy           BA in Political Science from Western University.
since the late 1970’s.

                                                     17
Sean Hertel                                              Juliet Jackson
Sean is a Toronto-based consulting urban planner         With more than 20 years of experience in the field
with 17 years of public and private sector               of human services, Juliet Jackson’s career has
experience both inside and outside the city. He          included a mix of front line, middle and senior
currently anchors inter-disciplinary teams on a          management roles within the Region of Peel. Juliet
range of complex development and transportation          is currently the Director of the Strategic Planning
projects in the Toronto region and beyond                division, in the Human Services Department, which
including land use planning for the 95th Street          includes the Service Manager role for Peel’s Housing
Corridor Transit Corridor in Chicago, the planning       System. Peel’s housing system consists of 47
analysis for a 40-storey mix-used project in             housing providers, 2 transitional housing programs,
downtown Toronto, and an international design            and three shelters.
competition to spur market rental housing in York
Region. He led the formulation of York Region’s          James Janeiro
intensification and transit policies, managed
                                                         James Janeiro is a born and raised Toronto native.
the Richmond Hill/Langstaff Gateway Regional
                                                         He completed his BA (Hons) in political science,
Centre, and established the Centres, Corridors +
                                                         history, and languages at Victoria College in
Subways Program to advance the planning and
                                                         the University of Toronto, which included stints
implementation of transit and transit-oriented
                                                         studying at the University of Tartu in Estonia and
development. He is currently a researcher at the
                                                         the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick. He
City Institute at York University where he conducts
                                                         received his Masters in Public Policy and Governance
suburban governance research as a Coordinator
                                                         from the University of Toronto with a special focus
of the Greater Toronto Suburban Working Group.
                                                         on social policy and income inequality issues. Since
Sean is a frequent lecturer and critic at university
                                                         graduating in 2012, James has held both partisan
planning schools, and is a frequent media
                                                         and non-partisan positions in the public sector,
contributor on urban issues.
                                                         mostly recently as Senior Policy Advisor to Ted
                                                         McMeekin, then Minister of Community and Social
Saralyn Hodgkin                                          Services, where he held the social assistance and
Saralyn Hodgkin is the Director of Collaboration         poverty reduction files. James is currently serving
Programs and Evaluation at The Natural Step              as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Premier,
Canada. She has played a leadership role in              with responsibility for social policy files including
growing the organization since 2004 and is               housing, poverty reduction, and accessibility.
currently leading two new initiatives: developing
the Sustainability Transition Lab program, and           Lauralyn Johnston
introducing Developmental Evaluation across
                                                         Lauralyn Johnston is a planner at the City of Toronto
the organization. Prior to joining The Natural
                                                         committed to social, environmental and economic
Step, Saralyn was an early participant in the
                                                         sustainability. She works with Community Planning,
sustainability movement when she graduated
                                                         Buildings, Municipal Licensing and Standards and
from Mount Allison University with a degree
                                                         Legal to implement the City of Toronto’s Official
in sociology, commerce and geography. After
                                                         Plan Housing policies and Chapter 667 of the
completing a Masters in Environmental Design
                                                         Municipal Code in situations where rental housing
at the University of Calgary, she joined a United
                                                         is going to be demolished, intensified or converted
Nations Global Compact project.
                                                         by development. Working closely with applicants,
                                                         she works on protecting the City’s rental stock and

                                                    18
the existing tenancies of those affected, while             $600 million investment fund along with several
allowing for intensification. She also helps work           group procurement products and services that were
on policy analysis on the Official Plan’s policies on       specific to the needs of municipalities. In 2002 he
housing development and redevelopment.                      left to join OMEX (the Ontario Municipal Insurance
                                                            Exchange) as Director of Corporate Services to
Richard Joy                                                 expand the use of structured pooled insurance
                                                            programs.
Richard Joy joined ULI (Urban Land Institute)
Toronto in June 2014 as the District Council’s first
full time Executive Director. Prior to joining ULI,         Marshall Leslie
Richard served as the Vice President Policy and             Marshall Leslie is chair of the Consumers Council of
Government Relations at the Toronto Board of                Canada’s housing and energy committee. The Council
Trade and he was the Director of Municipal Affairs          is a national organization that works towards an
and Ontario (Provincial Affairs) at Global Public           improved marketplace for consumers in Canada. In
Affairs, a leading Canadian Government Relations            late 2013, it began to look closely at the impact of
firm. His extensive public policy knowledge and             residential intensification in the Greater Toronto and
experience comes from years of service at Queen’s           Hamilton area - a process that includes the work of
Park and Toronto City Hall. Richard was the Senior          a multi stakeholder panel. The Council has standing
Policy Advisor to the Minister of Municipal Affairs         in several other areas including: the ESA, OEB,
and Housing, responsible for the public policy              Tarion and TSSA see www.consumerscouncil.com/.
development for the City of Toronto Act. He also            Marshall Leslie is a consultant in the construction
served as executive assistant to MPPs George                industry, from Toronto.
Smitherman and Michael Gravelle, as well as two
City Councillors over a period that straddled the           Shawn Lowes
pre and post amalgamation of Metro Toronto.
                                                            Shawn has been with Province of Ontario since 2003.
Richard received his BA from Carleton University,
                                                            With wide-ranging experiences in strategic and
and was recently on the Board of Directors of
                                                            program policy, business planning, and stakeholder
Find help Information Services, a social services
                                                            management across a number of provincial
provider of 211 information services.
                                                            ministries including agriculture, corrections and
                                                            revenue, Shawn brings to the housing portfolio a
Sharad Kerur                                                strong understanding of government administration.
Since 2003, Sharad Kerur has been Executive                 With the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Director of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing                  for several years, Shawn is currently a Senior
Association where he leads a team of dedicated              Advisor, Stakeholder Relations in the ministry’s
staff and board members to represent 760 non-               Housing Policy Branch where he is responsible
profit housing providers in the areas of policy,            for leading the development, maintenance and
advocacy, research, government relations,                   enhancement of stakeholder relationships and
education, member support, communications and               processes to support effective and meaningful policy
group procurement. Prior to this, Sharad spent 17           and program development.
years from 1985 to 2002 with the Association of
Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) as Director in a            Heather McGregor
variety of different policy and corporate capacities.
                                                            As the Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Toronto,
While there, he helped to create and was the first
                                                            Heather McGregor oversees 30-plus programs and
CEO of Local Authority Services Limited, a wholly-
                                                            services dedicated to the support of women and
owned subsidiary company to AMO providing a

                                                       19
girls and located across the City of Toronto, more     a dedicated leader in sustainable development as
than 400 staff members, and a budget of over           the M5V Condominums will be registered for LEED
$31,000,000. Prior to her work at YWCA Toronto,        certification.
Heather held leadership roles in the Settlement
House movement. Heather has served on the              Colette Murphy
Board of Directors of the Social Planning Council,
                                                       Colette Murphy is the Executive Director of the
her daughter’s Day Care, the Homes First Society
                                                       Atkinson Foundation. Colette held leadership
and St. Michael’s Hospital. She has received the
                                                       positions with the George Cedric Metcalf Charitable
Constance E. Hamilton Award given by the City of
                                                       Foundation and United Way Toronto prior to joining
Toronto for her commitment to women and girls;
                                                       Atkinson in 2012. She began her career working
the YWCA Canada Cleta Herman Award for local,
                                                       in refugee resettlement with COSTI Immigrant
national and international contributions to the
                                                       Services. Colette has been a member of the Ontario
YWCA movement; and was the recipient of the WXN
                                                       Government’s Social Assistance Review Advisory
Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women Award in 2010.
                                                       Council and with Metrolinx’s Big Move 2.0 Project
Most recently she was installed as a member of the
                                                       Advisory Committee. She is currently a board
Order of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto.
                                                       member at the Wellesley Institute and at the
                                                       Shareholder Association for Research and Education
Michele McMaster                                       (SHARE), and a member of Legal Aid Ontario’s Clinic
As CMHC’s Corporate Representative for the Greater     Law Advisory Committee.
Toronto area, Michele is the first point of contact
for housing providers, developers, academics and       Sumera Nabi
municipalities wanting to access the affordable
                                                       With experience in the private and public sector,
housing, building science, market analysis and
                                                       Sumera has a strong passion for enhancing the
insurance programs and services of Canada’s
                                                       quality of life and preserving the dignity of
national housing agency. Through her work at
                                                       vulnerable individuals in our community. She
CMHC and previously, in consultancies and at
                                                       blends her background in economics/business
Ontario Hydro, Michele has designed and managed
                                                       with her interest in design/art/marketing to help
campaigns to drive public engagement and shift
                                                       develop sustainable long-term solutions to complex
behaviours. She is currently spearheading several
                                                       challenges. She currently works in the Housing
research and consultation initiatives that support
                                                       Division at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs
the housing and development priorities of Toronto
                                                       and Housing. Over the span of her career in the
and York Region.
                                                       Ontario Public Service, she has had an opportunity
                                                       to influence a number of important government
Mazyar Mortazavi                                       policies and programs including a transformative
Mazyar Mortazavi is a principal of TAS DesignBuild,    program related to homelessness prevention. She is
and has led the Toronto-based building and             excited about starting her MBA at the University of
development company with a passion for                 Liverpool, England in the near future.
community-based initiatives while pushing the
sustainable development agenda. TAS DesignBuild        Ryan Ness
is breaking new ground in Toronto with projects
                                                       Ryan Ness is the Senior Manager of the Research
such as M5V Condominiums – whose sales centre
                                                       and Development group at the Toronto and
is first to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy
                                                       Region Conservation Authority. In this role he
and Environmental Design) silver certification
                                                       is responsible for developing novel responses to
in North America. The company has emerged as
                                                       complex problems and emerging issues faced by

                                                  20
the TRCA, such as the accelerating impact of            worked on a variety of transportation, energy and
urban development on the natural environment            environment policy issues at the Ontario Ministry of
of the Toronto region, the vulnerability of             Transportation and Cabinet Office. Prior to joining
the region to natural hazards and ecosystem             the Ontario Public Service, Charles worked for
damage resulting from climate change, and the           Pollution Probe and Smart Commute Black Creek.
rethinking of regional environmental conservation       Charles has a PhD in Geography from the University
strategies in the context of urban sustainability.      of Durham (UK).
Ryan has undergraduate and master’s degrees in
environmental and water resources engineering,          Sevaun Palvetzian
and is currently a PhD candidate in the Social and
                                                        Sevaun Palvetzian is the CEO of CivicAction. Prior
Ecological Sustainability program at the University
                                                        to joining CivicAction, she served as Director of
of Waterloo.
                                                        the Ontario Place Revitalization project and several
                                                        leadership roles within the Ontario Government.
Michelle Noble                                          Palvetzian is particularly passionate about creating
Michelle Noble is the Director of Partnerships and      opportunities for young people, having launched
Consultation with the Ontario Growth Secretariat        the Youth and New Professional Secretariat, and
in the Ministry of Economic Development,                led the development of several new employment
Employment and Infrastructure. The Secretariat          programs including the award-winning Learn and
is responsible for Ontario’s efforts to manage          Work Program for at-risk youth. Prior to her work at
growth and development to create healthy,               the province, Sevaun worked in Washington D.C. for
robust and inclusive communities in a fiscally          Presidential Classroom and the World Bank Group.
responsible and environmentally sustainable             She has served as Chair of the Board of Directors
manner. Michelle joined the Secretariat in 2013         of Katimavik Youth Services, as a member of the
from Waterfront Toronto, the agency responsible         Advisory Board to the University of Toronto’s School
for Toronto’s massive waterfront revitalization.        of Public Policy and Governance, TRIEC, and was a
Forfive years she led marketing, communications         Canada-Germany Young Professionals Leadership
and consultation efforts for the innovative city        Fellow.
building organization. Smart growth planning and
city building are just the latest stops on what         Chad Park
has been a varied and exciting career. After an
                                                        Chad Park is the Executive Director and a founding
early career as a health care journalist and editor,
                                                        member of The Natural Step Canada team. He brings
Michelle made the switch to public relations and
                                                        over 10 years of experience with The Natural Step
marketing where she built the profile of brands,
                                                        to his leadership position at the organization. Chad
industries, companies, products and causes while
                                                        regularly writes and delivers presentations on a
in various corporate, agency and association roles.
                                                        wide range of sustainability and social innovation
This included stints with the University of Toronto;
                                                        topics, including collaborating for systems change,
Canadian offices of Nike, Labatt and Eli Lilly; the
                                                        sustainability-driven innovation, organizational
social marketing firm Manifest Communications,
                                                        change, and sustainability leadership. Prior to
and the food and consumer products industry
                                                        joining The Natural Step Canada in 2002, Chad
trade association.
                                                        worked on sustainability and corporate social
                                                        responsibility initiatives with Mountain Equipment
Charles O’Hara                                          Co-op, Vancity Credit Union, the Canadian Eco-
Charles O’Hara is the Manager of Growth Policy          Industrial Network, the Sustainability Asset
at the Ontario Growth Secretariat. He has also          Management Group, and the Zero Emissions Research

                                                   21
and Initiatives Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland.         buildings. Since joining TAF in 2009, Bryan has
Chad holds a Master of Science in Environmental            managed the LightSavers program, including a series
Management and Policy from Lund University in              of LED lighting pilot projects across the Greater
Sweden, where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial                Toronto Area, and TAF’s ongoing TowerWise program.
Scholar. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce              Bryan is working in partnership with City of Toronto
degree from the University of Alberta.                     staff on the development and implementation of a
                                                           number of key environmental programs and policies,
Diana Petramala                                            including the Home Energy Loan Program, the
                                                           Toronto Green Standard for new developments, and
Diana Petramala joined the Economics department
                                                           the proposed Energy Reporting Requirement.
at TD Bank Group in June 2008. She has six
years of experience in economic analysis and
research within the private sector. Diana’s primary        John Purkis
responsibility is analyzing and forecasting the            John Purkis is a Senior Associate with The Natural
Canadian economy. Diana also contributes to a              Step Canada (TNS). John is a sustainability expert,
wide variety of TD publications, writing on such           facilitator and systems change specialist who works
topics as international trade, household balance           with municipal governments, business and multi-
sheets, inflation and monetary policy. She is              stakeholder collaborators to create and implement
frequently quoted by the media on economic                 bold visions for a sustainable future. John has
issues. Prior to joining TD Bank Group, Diana              worked with clients such as Avison Young and
worked as a research analyst for BMO financial             The Town of Whitby to the City of Halifax and
Group. She holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts                the Abu Dhabi department of municipal Affairs.
degree in Economics and Financial Management               John speaks regularly at conferences and has
and a Master of Arts degree in Business Economics          written a number of guides and reports including:
from Wilfrid Laurier University.                           Amazing Neighbourhoods-Guide to engagement and
                                                           sustainability planning, Embedding sustainability
Robert Plitt                                               into the Culture of Municipal Government, and
                                                           From Great Ideas to Great Communities: A guide for
Robert leads the CityWorks Lab practice
                                                           Implementing ICSP’s in Nova Scotia. Prior to joining
focusing on multi-sector collaborations,
                                                           TNS John worked for the Federation of Canadian
change theory methodologies and collective
                                                           Municipalities, where he helped lay the foundation
impact. He has worked for two decades in co-
                                                           for the Green Municipal Fund, an innovative fund
creating transformative city-focused projects
                                                           that provides grants and loans for sustainable
first with Toronto Artscape and most recently
                                                           infrastructure projects, feasibility studies and plans.
with Evergreen. Projects of note include the
redevelopment of Evergreen Brick Works, the
Wychwood Green Arts Barns, the Distillery District         Salima Rawji
and the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts. He has        Salima is a Director of Development for Build
a master’s of fine arts from the State Academy of          Toronto, an innovative real estate development
Fine Arts in the Netherlands.                              corporation created as part of the City of
                                                           Toronto’s strategy to enhance Toronto’s economic
Bryan Purcell                                              competitiveness. Her previous professional
                                                           experience ranges from managing property
Bryan Purcell is the Program Director at Toronto
                                                           developments for SmartCentres, structuring
Atmospheric Fund (TAF), where he oversees
                                                           venture capital deals for Care Enterprise Partners,
programs and research related to low carbon
                                                           to producing some of Toronto’s most successful

                                                      22
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