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Where The Sidewalk Ends: The Governance Of Waterfront Toronto's Sidewalk Labs Deal, Alexandra Flynn, Mariana Valverde
Where The Sidewalk Ends: The Governance Of Waterfront Toronto's Sidewalk Labs Deal, Alexandra Flynn, Mariana Valverde
All Faculty Publications
In May 2020 Sidewalk Labs, the Google-affiliated ‘urban innovation’ company, announced that it was abandoning its ambition to build a ‘smart city’ on Toronto’s waterfront and thus ending its three-year relationship with Waterfront Toronto. This is thus a good time to look back and examine the whole process, with a view to drawing lessons both for the future of Canadian smart city projects and the future of public sector agencies with appointed boards. This article leaves to one side the gadgets and sensors that drew much attention to the proposed project, and instead focuses on the governance aspects, especially the …
Operative Subsidiary And Municipal Authority: The Case Of Toronto's Ward Boundary Review, Alexandra Flynn
Operative Subsidiary And Municipal Authority: The Case Of Toronto's Ward Boundary Review, Alexandra Flynn
All Faculty Publications
This paper analyzes what the principle of subsidiarity means for municipalities, arguing in favour of “operative subsidiarity” in the design of provincial legislation. First, I outline the meaning and origins of subsidiarity, including critiques in the potential of its application. Second, I discuss the judicial treatment of municipal authority in Canada over the last twenty years. I advance that municipal authority as interpreted by the SCC has increasingly made room for municipalities as governments deserving of deference, unless the action breaches fairness or human rights. However, despite this judicial evolution, provinces have not drafted legislation with the principle of subsidiarity …