W. K. Lis
Superstar
The Star article seems to concentrate on Toll Roads:
From the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development see this link for the article
See this link to read OECD Territorial Reviews: Toronto, Canada:
Key recommendations in the report:
Congestion charges, also known as road tolls, could help make the Toronto-area economy more productive, says a new report on the city's competitiveness.
About 71 per cent of the region's population is dependent on the automobile. Not only is that costly for commuters, traffic tie-ups hurt the economy, says the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Traffic delays represent "a direct hit on productivity, especially in certain economic sectors dependent on rapid delivery (e.g. retail, logistics and food)," says the 213-page review of the region's economy released Monday during a global cities forum at the Toronto convention centre.
Economists in the past have estimated that traffic costs the GTA more than $2 billion in lost productivity.
"A congestion charge has proven to be an effective tool for reducing traffic congestion in a variety of metropolitan regions," the report says, suggesting tolls could be applied on the 400-series highways and other major arterial roads.
Mayor David Miller said he supports tolls being levied region-wide to raise money for expanding transit. But Metrolinx, the regional transit planning authority, has been wary about climbing on board.
"Metrolinx decided to look at its financing strategy in a couple more years, once it's started building ... and then look at financing the next wave," Miller said.
Tolling "will be something that has to be considered, as long as it's done on a regional basis. I think that's the way you have to look at that kind of issue, particularly because the congestion is often worse immediately outside Toronto than it is inside Toronto."
Between 1995 and 2005, the Toronto region posted lower growth in economic output and lagging labour productivity compared with other cities studied by the OECD.
While the city has renowned educational and research institutions, that has not translated into positive economic indicators such as patents awarded and growth in high-tech employment, the report said.
It calls on government to expand innovation initiatives such as the MaRS medical research centre.
Miller said investment in cities is vital to encourage innovation.
"There's tremendous research happening there, but the innovation doesn't often enough lead to job creation."
From the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development see this link for the article
Toronto is home to 40% of Canada’s business headquarters, the world’s seventh largest stock exchange, and it produces almost 20% of the national GDP.
Toronto is also home to some 5 million people, half of them immigrants, making it one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the OECD. By comparison, in New York and London, about 28% of residents are foreign-born. With more than 100 ethnic groups, Toronto’s large pool of language and cultural skills are a major asset and a factor boosting its competitiveness.
Despite these benefits, the region’s GDP per capita and GDP growth are lower than the Canadian average and its annual economic and labour growth are lower than average compared to other metropolitan regions in the OECD. A major manufacturing hub, with automotive, biomedical, computer/electronics and entertainment companies, Toronto is nonetheless facing strong competition and losing manufacturing jobs.
Releasing the Review in Toronto, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said that “Cities like Toronto are the drivers of local, regional and national growth. They are the hubs of higher education, finance, industry and innovation.But as they compete with each other to attract talent and investment, they must constantly upgrade the services they offer.â€
OECD’s new review of the Toronto region makes numerous recommendations to make the city more sustainably competitive:
- Innovate - Toronto could boost innovation by encouraging greater collaboration between the region’s industries, small businesses and universities and strengthening links between firms. Governments could build on and expand laudable initiatives like the MaRS Discovery District in downtown Toronto, where technological start-ups in life sciences are assisted with work space and services, allowing for inter-linkages between sectors.
- Employ skilled immigrants - To profit from the economic and employment opportunities offered by Toronto’s cultural diversity, initiatives such as bridging programmes and internships should be expanded. Reviewing the credentials of prospective immigrants before they arrive in Canada and a pan-Canadian framework for foreign qualification recognition would speed the employment process. To provide housing for new immigrants, regional agreements could define the share of low-cost housing to be included in new developments
- Improve transport infrastructure - Financial incentives to use public transit instead of cars, such as congestion charges, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, local fuel taxes and parking taxes could be considered, as could more revenue sources for Metrolinx, the regional transportation agency. The federal government should work with municipal governments on predictable, long-term, infrastructure funding and evaluation with a view to contributing to the competitiveness of the Toronto region and the country as a whole.
- Green the region - Initiatives such as Toronto’s Mayor’s Tower Renewal project, which links social and environmental sustainability, should be expanded to include greening affordable housing and focussing on green jobs and industries. This would stimulate SMEs to develop alternative technologies and energy sources, allowing industry, transportation, etc to phase out carbon-based energy.
- Improve co-ordination and communications across all levels of government – Ontario could intensify strategic planning for the Toronto region’s economic development, social integration and environmental sustainability. Existing networks of municipalities and non-governmental stakeholders could be further developed as part of a provincial urban policy agenda which would start with the Toronto region and extend to other cities. The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, announced in August 2009, will encourage federal involvement in fostering a sustainable competitiveness agenda for the Toronto region.
See this link to read OECD Territorial Reviews: Toronto, Canada:
Key recommendations in the report:
- Boost innovation, by focusing on niches, university-firms linkages and cluster development and by phasing out subsidies [Chap. 2.1].
- Addressing obstacles to the acknowledgement of foreign skills, for example by bridging education programmes and internships [Chap. 2.2].
- Tackle transportation challenges by creating incentives for reducing car use, access to additional revenue sources, longer term funding commitments by federal government for investment [Chap. 2.3].
- Apply a green overlay to the Toronto region’s competitiveness agenda [Chap. 2.4].
- Intensify strategic planning at the level of the Toronto region [Chap. 3.2].