Evidence of meeting #137 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was rfp.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
That consultation was also a public consultation as you moved forward, taking a look at the site in conjunction with the City of Toronto's planning department as well as with public stakeholders along the waterfront?
4:55 p.m.
Chief Development Officer, Waterfront Toronto
Absolutely. In fact, there was a lot of planning already in place for the Quayside site and also the Port Lands long before the RFP.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
How many weeks of consultation get done before a deal is even firmly on the table? In other words, how much public consultation has happened before there's even a deal to do a project?
4:55 p.m.
Chief Development Officer, Waterfront Toronto
We've been out in the public now for 18 months, and we have quite a number of months still ahead of us.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
After the deal is presented publicly to Waterfront Toronto, will there be more public consultation?
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
In fact, the complaint often is that you consult too much.
4:55 p.m.
Chief Development Officer, Waterfront Toronto
It does take us a little longer sometimes, but we try to get it right.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
In terms of the Auditor General's report, the Auditor General's report that the member opposite is embracing, the Auditor General's report also suggests that this entire project, all 300 acres, should be done by charity. They cite Millennium Park in Chicago as the high-water mark of waterfront development and suggest that Waterfront Toronto, instead of using government funds, should get donations to build the LRT, donations to build the water parks, donations to build the parks and donations to build infrastructure; the entire 300 acres should be done on charity.
Do you support the Auditor General's finding that the most important real estate in the country, I would argue, should be done by a charitable foundation and not by government?
4:55 p.m.
Chief Development Officer, Waterfront Toronto
I don't actually recall that in the AG's report.
4:55 p.m.
Chief Development Officer, Waterfront Toronto
What I would say is that we are certainly looking into philanthropic opportunities for things like public spaces. I don't know if there is an example anywhere in the world where philanthropy has been used to build infrastructure such as LRT.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Just as a final note, nothing gets built here, nothing gets approved here and no infrastructure is touched unless the City of Toronto approves.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
And there's nothing the federal government can do to change that.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
This is a project that is funded federally, funded provincially and funded municipally, but at the end of the day, governance is given to the City of Toronto.
4:55 p.m.
Chief Development Officer, Waterfront Toronto
The final approvals on any land use, any building permits, etc., are all the City of Toronto—and land transactions and any infrastructure.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Not one penny of tax dollars to pay for an LRT can be raised, collected or spent by Google or Alphabet or Sidewalk Labs without the full consent of the City of Toronto. Only the City of Toronto can provide that consent under provincial planning law.
5 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Bob Zimmer
It looks like we're done.
I want to thank all of the witnesses for appearing today.
Thanks, Mr. Fekete, out in TV land.
Have a good weekend, everybody.
The meeting is adjourned.
