Saying goodbye to Toronto Civics 101 - 2009

On behalf of the staff team who planned, developed and ran the inaugural Toronto Civics 101 I'd like to thank all of you for your participation and for making our first attempt so successful.

We has some worries (would anyone apply?), some bumps along the way (how come the videos of each session couldn't be viewed by everyone?), excitement (meeting session participants and anticipating how you would react to each session) and some wistfulness when we said good by to all of you and to the last session.

We are sifting through all of the evaluations and will be posting summaries in the next few weeks here and on the City's website. Many of you have commented that you enjoyed the program, would like to continue to learn about the City and recommend a similar opportunity for other Torontonians - we'll be figuring out our plans for 2010 soon - and will be in touch with you over the coming months.

Guest Blogger - Toronto Civics 101 Final Session: Grassroots

~ Guest Bloggers can submit posts to this site - the opinions of the authors are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the postion of the City of Toronto, Civic Engagement Toronto or Toronto Civics 101. ~

The following post comes to us from Adil Dhalla:

Do you demand more from your government?

I do and I have often felt that by demanding more, I was doing my leaders somewhat of a service. Having high expectations, after all, may be considered foolish by some but it can also be a flattering indication of one's perceived potential. I know my city is consistently ranked among the world's best but like many, I have this prevailing feeling that we can be better. It’s for this reason why I originally applied for Civics 101 - to determine whether or not my expectations were flattering or in fact foolish. It turns out that they were indeed flattering but rather than finding myself demanding more from City Hall, I'm now demanding more from us.

Discussion Topics for Session 6 - Preliminary List

Listed below are topics proposed for small group discussion during Session 6 of Toronto Civics 101. These topics have been submitted by participants and City staff. In some cases, similar discussion topics submitted have been synthesized into a single topic.

New topics can still be submitted by posting a comment here or sending an email to engagement@toronto.ca up to the start of discussions on December 3.


1. Next Steps - Post Toronto Civics 101
Now that you have completed Toronto Civics 101 and gained this information – what will you do with it? Discuss your plans with your fellow participants.

2. Compare Notes on Organizing with Social Media
Blogs, Facebook and Twitter are some of the tools gaining popularity to communicate with and organize people with common interests. Share your stories about using these tools.

3. Volunteering Stories
Volunteering is one way to get involved in your community and contribute to your City. Discuss some of your lessons from volunteering experiences.

Session 5 - Themed Report on Elections Exercise

Attached are images of the themed report on the elections exercise participants discussed during Session 5. There were two questions asked during the exercise:

1. What influences your decision to vote?
2. What is the one thing that you think would increase voter turnout in Toronto?

Themes that emerged from question 1:
1. Youth Outreach
2. Special Day, Date and Time
3. Making the issues relevant to Citizens
4. Fines or Incentives
5. Education, information, awareness and Advertising
6. Hold Candidates/ Elections Accountable and Civic Duty
7. Representative Electorate
8. Other

Themes that emerged from question 2:
1. Duty, Rights and Privilege
2. Local or Critical Issue
3. The Candidate
4. Don't vote
5. Each Vote Makes a Difference
6. Good Information
7. Political Platforms
8. Other

Agenda for Session 6 - Send Us Your Ideas!

This is a message for all participants in Toronto Civics 101.

For the sixth and final session of Toronto Civics 101, we want you to help us form the agenda.

Throughout this series, you've had the opportunity to meet and talk with people who share your curiosity and passion for Toronto - people with an interest in making a great city better.

In this session, “Lessons and Leadership”, you will have the opportunity to discuss what you have learned through the program with other participants. Topics may include something people were curious about coming into the program, something mentioned during one of the sessions, or an idea you have generated from what you've learned. You will have at least 45 min during the session for this purpose.

Do you have an idea for discussion? Submit your idea here by commenting on this post, or send it directly to us at engagement@toronto.ca by November 26. Keep your description brief (no more than four lines) and with a clear title. We will post proposed topics here leading up the session, so that participants can see what groups they are interested in joining.

T.O. Civics 101, Session 5 – Are City Councillors Overworked?

~ Guest Bloggers can submit posts to this site. The opinions of the authors are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the position of the City of Toronto, Civic Engagement Toronto or Toronto Civics 101. ~


The following post comes to us from Bill Gaw:

During yesterday evening's discussion on municipal elections and the councillor's presentation on the roles/activities of a municipal councillor, I started out being impressed with the scope of effort required, and gradually became concerned about the weight of that work on the poor folk who win election. As their employer I began to worry that we are over-stressing our representatives.

If councillors find themselves overworked, I'm sure there is some mechanism for them to bail out without too much harm, but what about the effect on work quality?

Do we have research to suggest limits on how many roles a councilor can manage before their performance in terms of level of understanding, attention to detail, ability to attend meetings, and the ability to focus on the critical agenda, begins to fall apart and produce poor quality decisions? Have councillors themselves expressed a view on work load versus work quality?

I found it educational to attend the Budget Committee Capital Budget Hearing this morning. The member councillors seemed to have a fair grasp of the issues; the non-member councillors appeared to be vague on detail; a surprising number of councillors did not appear to be paying attention to the public presentations; and two councillors were asked to leave the committee room so that their side conversation would not distract a presenter. It was also interesting to note how often staff did not know the answers to perfectly reasonable questions from councillors.

Bill Gaw

Your City on the Web - an event at the Toronto Reference Library

Here is news of an event that may be of interest to Toronto Civics 101 participants. Thanks to Michael Shelley for suggesting it!
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Your City on the Web

Learn about the City of Toronto's website and how to find housing and job information, financial assistance programs, recreational events and more. Find out about your neighbourhood, who your City Councillor is and how to get in touch.

Thursdays, Sept. 17, Oct. 22, Nov. 19, Dec. 17, 2:00-3:00 pm
Le@rning Centre 1

For more information, call the Toronto Reference Library user education line at 416-393-7209 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm or visit their website.