There are only seven days left for businesses, individuals and community groups to complete the Toronto Office of Recovery and Rebuild’s survey on the City’s recovery strategy. The survey was announced last month by Mayor John Tory and Saad Rafi, head of Toronto’s economic recovery efforts, to gather input on how the City should prioritize its efforts and to compile proposals from a range of stakeholder groups. This channel has been used by a large number of businesses as a first step in flagging concerns with City policies and to identify red tape and items requiring urgent government attention in discussions between the City, the Province of Ontario, and the Federal Government.
Recent experience has shown that the Office of Recovery and Rebuild is being given significant latitude in coordinating Toronto’s recovery efforts and Sussex has been able to make quick inroads for companies who have completed the survey and require additional follow-up from the City of Toronto. Many medium and longer-term strategies are still being developed, so this is an ideal time for businesses to have their voices heard to shape the City’s plans in a way that reflects their day-to-day needs and experiences on the ground. It is expected that engagement may become more difficult later this summer as many of the most urgent plans under development reach City Council for final approval and in light of a possible deadlock in talks between the Province of Ontario and the Federal Government concerning emergency funding for municipalities.
Those who have yet to complete the survey can find it, and related materials, on the City of Toronto website here. If you are interested in this process, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Municipal Team who can follow up directly on your concerns/input with City officials.
