New Vision for Toronto Waterfront Unveiled

Liberal Member of Parliament Dennis Mills released his report Friday on how Toronto's waterfront should be revitalized. Prepared in just six weeks, it recommends 39 projects that Mills says can be completed over a six month to two year period. The projects include "a bid for the 2015 World's Fair, a campus of the United Nations Peace University, an Arctic Ocean aquarium, Shakespearean outdoor theatre, an aboriginal cultural centre, a sports facility, a dragonboat racing course and a lot of parkland." Some questions remain over the timing of the announcement (Mills will be fighting for his political life in the upcoming election against New Democratic Party leader and former Toronto City councillor Jack Layton) and also over which agencies will be responsible for handling federal funds allocated to the projects (Mills was earlier responsible for the creation of the now widely-despised Toronto Port Authority). The press conference where the plan was released was also interrupted by anti-poverty activists who demanded that Mills resign over what they claim is a broken promise on his part to provide affordable housing. [Editor's note: The plan can be viewed at http://www.greenfootsteps.ca]

Thanks to Geoffrey Singer