Greater Toronto Summit 2011 Breakout Session
The Challenge: Our vision is to be a flourishing region renowned for environmental action and innovation by its leaders and diverse communities.
We live in an increasingly urban world, where over half the global population and 80% of Canadians live in urban areas. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is Canada’s largest urban region with six million people, and our population is expected to surpass nine million by 2036.
Our challenge is to seize the opportunities available through our region’s growth while protecting the health of residents and our natural ecosystems so our region is a healthy and flourishing place to live, work and invest in the long term.
Find the backgrounder for Environmental Action: The Path to a Flourishing Region here.
Moderator: Mary Wiens, CBC
Speakers
- Carolyn Egan, President, Steelworkers Toronto Area Council and Co-Chair, Good Green Jobs for All
- Tom Rand, Cleantech Practice, Lead Advisor at the MaRS Discovery District
- Claudia Marsales, Senior Manager, Waste and Environment, Town of Markham
- Cam Fowler, Executive Vice-President, Personal and Commercial Banking Canada, BMO Bank of Montreal
Questions for Discussion:
- Considering the promising developments and the recommendations outlined above, what actions will improve our region’s environmental performance?
- Does the action meet our criteria: drive the greatest environmental, social and economic improvement; be realistically achievable; show visible results quickly; best engage the diversity of governments, households and organizations in the GTA?
- What will it take to develop this action (incentives, ways to address barriers)?
- What’s the next step to develop this idea and get it to action?
- Are there organizations that are well-positioned to take initial leadership on this action?
