Making Municipal Voting Matter Thursday, October 1, 2009 9 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 89 Chestnut Street - St. Patrick Room
Elections in Toronto are not meeting our expectations. Voter turn-out is surprisingly low. New faces on City Council are uncommon. And perhaps most importantly, our City Council does not reflect the evolving demographic of Toronto’s population. What are some options for renewal?
Agenda
9:00 – 9:10 Coffee and mingling
9:10 – 9:20 Welcome (Maytree President Ratna Omidvar)
9:20 – 9:30 Agenda overview and introduction of the panel
9:30 – 10:30 What's the problem with our municipal elections?
- Professor Myer Siemiatycki, Ryerson University
- Professor Robert MacDermid, York University
10:30-10:45 Options for Renewal
David Meslin, Better Ballots, Toronto City Summit Alliance Emerging Leaders Network
10:45 – 11:00 Case Study: iVote Toronto – Extending municipal voting rights to permanent residents
11:00 – 11:15 Break
11:15 – 11:45 Group discussions
11:45 – 12:00 Team leads report on groups
12:00 Adjournment
Professor Robert MacDermid teaches Political Science at York University, specifically Canadian Government and Politics, Democratic Administration, and Contemporary Political Analysis. His research interests include voting behaviour in Canada with an emphasis on political parties, election campaigns, and campaign advertising. He has published widely on municipal election financing and he has been called “ground zero” on the question of corporate campaign contributions, about which he is often called upon by the media for comment.
Myer Siemiatycki is a Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. Much of his teaching has been on Local Government. His research interests currently focus on the civic participation of immigrants in Toronto. Myer currently serves as Community Research Domain Leader at the Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration & Settlement (Toronto). He is a frequent media commentator on political matters. Read Maytree Policy in Focus on his report Municipal Franchise and Social Inclusion in Toronto: Policy and Practice (2006) http://maytree.com/PDF_Files/MaytreePolicyInFocusIssue1.pdf
Participants
1 Name Organization 2 Abby Deshman Canadian Civil Liberties Association 3 Agnes Kruchio Stgeorge Publishing 4 Alejandra Bravo Maytree 5 Alexander Dow Malvern ANC 6 Amanda Cain Rush The Vote 7 Annie Continuing Education Students' Association at Ryerson 8 Anthony Schein Councillor Joe Mihevc 9 Arthur Flach 10 Blake Connoy InterSector 11 Ceta Ramkhalawansingh Diversity Management and Community Engagement, City of Toronto 12 Charles Ritchie 13 Clyde Mc Neil BOSS - Best Opportunity to Support Self 14 Courtney Doldron Mas Players International inc. 15 Dave Meslin Better Ballots 16 Desmond Cole I Vote Toronto 17 Ed Reed Social Development Division, City of Toronto 18 Graham Mitchell Councillor Janet Davis 19 Hazel Jackson Parkdale Activity & Recreation Centre 20 HiMY SYeD Torontopedia.ca / IslamBank.com / T.oronto.ca 21 Jerome Kisting 22 John Campey Social Planning Toronto 23 John Stillich 24 Jonathan Goldsbie Toronto Public Space Committee 25 Josh Stuart ACORN Canada 26 June Macdonald Fair Vote Canada 27 Larry Gordon Fair Vote Canada 28 Lele Truong 29 Linda Gilbert Toronto Community Housing 30 Linda Sheppard Fair Vote Canada 31 Madiha 32 Marco Bianchi St. Stephen's Community House 33 Margaret Norman 34 Mark Kuznicki Remarkk 35 Melissa Wong Toronto Women's City Alliance 36 Michael Warren Magomus Sounds 37 Mohamed Jama 38 Nick Van der Graaf Fair Vote Canada 39 Nidhi Tandon NID 40 Pam Hyatt 41 Pat Chastang 42 Rachel Gostenhofer Toronto Democracy Initiative 43 Rob Newman 44 Samuel Getachew Friends of Ethiopia 45 Sandra Gonzalez Toronto Community Housing 46 Sandra Lopes Maytree 47 Sean Hill Stratagem 48 Sonny Yeung 49 Stephen Devine Ryerson University 50 Stephen Thiele The Toronto Party 51 Stuart Parker Toronto Democracy Initiative 52 Tamara Balan Toronto City Summit Alliance 53 Todd Irvine 54 Todd Ross 55 Vivien Dzau Emerging Leaders Network - TCSA 56 Wangari Muriuki Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14) 57 Wayne Smith Fair Vote Canada 58 William James
