Charter City Status: A Solution for What Ails Toronto?
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Since Confederation, Canadian cities and towns have been seen as creatures of their provinces. To this day, virtually any decision made by a municipal council can be overturned by a provincial government. After Doug Ford upended Toronto’s municipal election in 2018, a group of Torontonians consulted widely before developing a two-pronged solution to this longstanding lack of local control. In his presentation, our featured speaker, Tim Grant, will highlight the key features and engage those in attendance about what services empowered cities should be providing.
Tim Grant is a member of the Steering Committee of Charter City Toronto. He has run 4 times as a Green Party candidate in the riding of University-Rosedale and for seven years, he chaired the Harbord Village Residents’ Association (i.e. the neighbourhood immediately west of the Koffler House).
Our guest musicians will be CITIZEN JANE, a Toronto-based folk-pop duo that evocatively weaves powerful vocal harmonies with innovative string textures to create an emotionally charged soundscape.
The duo consists of married couple Reenie Perkovic (vocals, guitar, mandolin) and Lea Kirstein (viola, fiddle, cello, vocals), who met while studying classical music on the west coast of Canada. The ladies have since made a home in Toronto’s vibrant music scene.
Reenie grew up in the Toronto area, after her family escaped the civil war in her birthplace, Sarajevo, Bosnia. Reenie was a semi-finalist in the 2016 UK Songwriting Contest, and has released 3 solo albums. She has opened for Juno-nominated Alysha Brilla, and Annabelle Chvostek (Wailin’ Jennys).
Lea is an acclaimed violist and fiddler, who grew up in Victoria, BC, where she studied viola and music education at UVic. Classical musician by day and fiddler by night, Lea discovered new ways of melding the two styles into one. Her passion for these genres took her across Canada & the U.S. with the Folk Arts Quartet. She has recorded with Juno-nominated artists Oliver Schroer and Teresa Doyle.
Check out their website https://www.citizenjanemusic.com/
Every week we gather to be inspired, entertained, motivated and build our secular community in Downtown Toronto. Our core values are: People are more important than beliefs. Reality is known through reason. Meaning comes from making a difference. Human hands solve human problems. Be accepting and be accepted. Check out our website: www.torontooasis.org.