What kind of leader does Toronto need?
Social Planning Toronto is hosting a non-partisan event to help voters think through Mayoral candidate platforms in the upcoming by-election. The event will feature Toronto-based thought leaders who will share their insights and reflections on the type of leadership and change that’s needed in Toronto. With 102 candidates registered to run, this by-election poses a challenge for voters to navigate the complex world of campaign promises, platforms, and rhetoric. The event will include tips and resources to help voters decipher and analyze candidate platforms, with the aim of bringing clarity leading up to the vote.
This event is sponsored by the #ShowUpTO campaign. You can visit the campaign website for more information: www.showupto.ca.
Date and Time: Thursday, June 8, 2023 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. EST
Type: Virtual Event
Speakers:
Heather Dorries, Assistant Professor, Centre for Indigenous Studies & Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto
Heather Dorries is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed to the Department of Geography and Planning and Centre for Indigenous Studies at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the dynamic interplay between resurgent Indigenous world-making and the violence of settler colonial urbanization. Specifically, it examines how settler colonialism, as a mode of racial capitalism, is supported by planning processes. It also considers how Indigenous intellectual traditions — including Indigenous environmental knowledge, legal orders, and cultural production — can be applied to anti-colonial planning practices and develops the theoretical and methodological frameworks this transformation requires.
Debbie Douglas, Executive Director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
Debbie Douglas is the Executive Director of OCASI, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants. Through her work in the NGO sector, and particularly at OCASI, Debbie has highlighted issues of equity and inclusion, including race, gender, and sexual orientation within the immigration system, and promoted the creation of safe, welcoming spaces within the settlement and integration sector. She was a member of the Government of Ontario’s Expert Panel on Immigration which published the report Routes to Success and led to the province’s first immigration legislation (2015).
Jennifer Hollett, Executive Director, The Walrus
Jennifer Hollett is the executive director at The Walrus, Canada’s Conversation. The Walrus is known for its award-winning independent journalism, fact checking, and national ideas-focused events. Prior to this role, Jennifer was the head of news and government at Twitter Canada and has worked as a host, reporter, and producer with CBC, CTV, and MuchMusic. She has her Master in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. Jennifer served on the board of directors at Social Planning Toronto and Toronto Environmental Alliance, and helped raise $74,000 in student scholarships with Media Girlfriends.
Inori Roy, Associate Editor, The Local
Inori Roy is a Toronto-based journalist and Associate Editor at The Local, an online magazine covering social issues and urban health. She has previously written for the Toronto Star, CBC, and environmental publications The Narwhal and Unearthed. She specializes in data journalism and longform investigative writing on issues related to inequity, urban infrastructure, health, labour, and climate, and has developed The Local’s 2022 and 2023 election coverage, particularly through Candidate Tracker.