Open Letter to Waterfront Toronto by 100+ Toronto-area residents re: Sidewalk Toronto

Image credit: Michèle Champagne

This is the full text of an open letter signed by over 100 Toronto-area residents and organizations that calls on Waterfront Toronto to provide full transparency in its negotiations with proposed Sidewalk Toronto development partner Sidewalk Labs. The letter’s signatories include tech workers, architects and artists; academics, labour organizers and entrepreneurs; residents engaged on transit, climate justice, decent work, human rights and equitable development; and residents who live and work on the waterfront and across the city.

The letter was initiated by the resident-led group #BlockSidewalk and has snowballed to include a diverse range of voices that have one common demand: that Waterfront Toronto commit to full public disclosure in its ongoing dealings with Sidewalk Labs. Torontonians are tired of a process that has largely been conducted behind closed doors and which still leaves key questions about Sidewalk Labs’ plan unanswered, including how much publicly-owned land is involved in the deal. The wide support the letter has received makes clear that Toronto residents will not accept the terms and conditions of any waterfront development proposal that is not based on the premise of public accountability. Toronto can and must do better.

Please direct media inquiries to: thorben@metstrat.ca, 647–409–8997

Download/view entire letter via Scribd:

https://www.scribd.com/document/432131432/Waterfront-Toronto-Letter-19-10-26

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