Hot Tubbin' For...GGCLC: Toronto, Scarborough, Oshawa, Port Hope, Elmhirst Resort

Today marks our final hours with Ontario 1 – after the meeting with the Deputy Police Chief of the Toronto Police Department – O2 is on our own. A quick walk to the TPD takes us to the meeting with Deputy Chief Jeff McGuire. We have a quick chat about the sustainability of the police force and the new recruiting initiatives that are taking place. The face of the Toronto PD is changing to reflect all the diversity of the city so it's interesting to hear how there is an increase in women, ethnicities and First Nations recruits. We then take a turn and start talking about the G-20. I appreciated the time with Chief McGuire but I couldn't help but realize as soon as this topic came up all we’d get were sound bites. Ah well, I found the conversation about the changing face of the police force more engaging and interesting.

Next up was a trip to Scarborough to the East Scarborough Storefront. The facility is nothing to look at – it looks like a big shoebox. We are immediately greeted by a very friendly program coordinator who takes us into the newly renovated commercial grade kitchen. Inside there are about 8 people – various staff and partners who greet us with smiles. We sit down and are treated to a First Nations smudging – they burn sage and we wave it over our eyes, ears, mouths, head and hearts. This signifies a spiritual cleansing. Then we are treated to a drum and song performance. What a welcome! Scarborough is in a rough part of Toronto – lots of low-income folks, refugees, immigrants, First Nations and the Storefront is a safe place where people in the neighbourhood can go and access services like, internet, printers (we met a woman who was there to print her son’s homework), language, resume help, services for women, children, disabled (the store front is one of the most accessible buildings in the area). It’s friendly and BUSY. Sure, the same services are available in other parts of the city but this is obviously a place where people are made to feel welcome. The new kitchen was designed with professional partners from the private sector but also included youth in the design process. The kids picked the colours. They partner with the Native Children’s Centre which is right down the street for children's programming and parental help. They get the residents of the area involved and have them do safety inspections to make sure sidewalks are accessible – that way they can report to their city councilor who can make the changes. It’s been successful so far and they keep growing. I left the Storefront inspired who consult with the people who live there and make the changes they need, not what they THINK they need.

East Scarborough Storefront

Next we stopped at No Frills to pick up some food and drinks for our 8 day road trip – so water, juice, fruit, cheese, crackers and a hell of a lot of chips, we were off to Oshawa to go to the GM Canadian Regional Engineering Centre where we would be meeting with engineers and designers. As we enter Oshawa and it feels like a factory town – GM is a major employer for both research and development but also assembly. We got word a few days before where one of the assembly lines in the plant was looking like it’s going to shut down, meaning 2000 people would lose their jobs. Sucky. We couldn’t really get into that too much as the R&D is a separate entity.

We are given a quick presentation and then split into 2 groups. We are on our way to test drive the new Chevy Volts! GM’s only electric car – we split off into pairs, each with an engineer and go for a spin. The car is QUIET and the gas pedal is sensitive. We drive about 5-6kms and then back. Then it’s onto the 3-D studio to look at the designs for aerodynamics and fuel consumption. We head into an area where they are working on technology that uses alternate energy options. Then it’s a quick pick-up for our lunch boxes and back on the bus.

Onto Port Hope – a community that has been given a $1B contract to clean up the low level radioactive material in the community. When we get into town we notice their Main Street that has been redone. It feels weird though – it’s charming but there is an underlying darkness to the feeling there. We head to City Hall and are met by the Mayor. Beforehand we are briefed that there will be media there, included in our meeting. This is a departure from what we’re used to because the whole idea of the study tour is that everything is in-camera where people have the freedom to be candid. We meet with the Mayor, the city council, the former mayor, community members, representation from Cameco (the nuclear power plant). We sit down and hear from all sides about the LLRW. It was interesting – we heard from all sides but like all meetings, it’s short so we only get the tip of the ice berg. We’re told that there aren’t any health implications but I wonder why such a big contract is awarded to clean this up…

Port Hope City Hall

After Port Hope we travel on a country road on what seems to be in the middle of nowhere. We pass by baby cows (cute!!) and lots of farmland. We are staying at the Elmhirst Resort for the night in lakeside cabins. Once we check in it’s dinner time. The dining room is beautiful – a full on view of the lake and we are greeted with wine. We meet with community members – first a husband and wife duo who have a goat farm up the street. They supply a plant in Niagara with goat milk to have cheese made. They are both graduates from the University of Guelph and both families have serious roots in farming in the area. Then we meet with family members who run a business called Flying Colours who refurbishes and designs private planes.

Dinner is delicious – we start with fresh asparagus topped with bacon and a poached egg. Then it’s an Elmhirst raised aged steak and potatoes gratin. We finish with a trio of rice pudding (the recipe has been in the Elmhirst family for generations), cheesecake and tuille. A beautiful dinner with gracious hosts in a gorgeous setting  - oh, and there was a tv show filming right outside. We then debrief and get into a 2 hour conversation of everything we saw. This is the first time where I really understand the point of this conference. We’re all coming at this from very different perspectives and all stereotypes are blown out of the water. The people in my group are smart, compassionate, curious and we get into debates – gone are the niceties of being polite. It’s around midnight at this point and it’s time to call it a night. After a loooooong day it was time to crash into some very comfortable beds (which is welcome after sleeping on hard cardboard mattresses at the Ryerson residence).