The TCBN is encouraged by the City of Toronto’s leadership to advance a new Framework for Inclusive Economic Development, and agrees with the pressing need for a paradigm shift in the City’s approach to economic growth as economic prosperity has not been equitably shared among Toronto residents.
According to the 2021 Canadian Census, close to 35% of Toronto residents made an after-tax income of less than $30,000 a year, whereas an estimated 10% made an income of more than $120,000. The overall average after-tax income was reported at $49,080. Census data collected every five years shows a pattern of average income levels in individual Toronto neighbourhoods moving further away, both up and down, from the overall city average.1
The TCBN recommends that the City take into consideration the following measures as it develops its approach and Framework for Inclusive Economic Development:
- Acknowledgement of systemic racism and discrimination that permeates our society as a first step towards dismantling the barriers that hinder the progress of equity-deserving groups, particularly Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities in building community wealth. The disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on these communities have highlighted the entrenched inequalities that have long existed. Disaggregated data tracking, monitoring and reporting must be a critical component of this Framework
- The City must be clear and intentional in setting goals and targets for what change it intends to achieve to ensure decent work and inclusive economies by: a) improving employment standards and working conditions for local residents, especially in precarious sectors of the economy b) developing tools to remove barriers to economic participation like access to capital, access to procurement opportunities, training and affordable child care c) improving the quality of life of Toronto residents through local pathways to good jobs, business opportunities and housing options across the affordability spectrum
- The City must acknowledge the intersections of the climate crisis, housing affordability crisis, and economic inequality, recognizing that these issues are intrinsically linked and require holistic solutions and the development of new and innovative tools/approaches.
- The City must identify immediate opportunities to update, monitor, report on and strengthen existing City levers like the Social Procurement Program, Community Benefits Framework, Fair Wage Policy and advocate to other levels of government to be part of the solution in strengthening the local economy, promoting and protecting good local jobs and building community wealth, equitably.
To read TCBNs full letter to the Economic and Community Development Committee please visit here. We thank City Councillor and Chair of the Economic and Community Development, Alejandra Bravo and Committee members for their deep engagement on this important item.
Summary (from City website)
This report proposes the endorsement and application of a three-pillar framework to advance city-wide inclusive economic development (IED) and neighbourhood / area focused community economic development (CED) in Toronto. The three pillars of the proposed inclusive economic development framework are (a) inclusive workforce development and sector pathways; (b) inclusive entrepreneurship and asset ownership; and (c) research, monitoring and equity impact.
This framework posits that inclusive economic development occurs when economic opportunities and outcomes improve across Toronto's population and neighbourhoods - including its Indigenous, Black and equity-deserving communities - in parallel to overall growth of the city and regional economy. Inclusive economic development refers specifically to municipal touchpoints with the labour market and Toronto business sectors, particularly focussed on supports for employment pathways, entrepreneurship and business development.
Visit the City website here.