Item - 2015.ED6.15
Tracking Status
- This item was considered by Economic Development Committee on September 18, 2015 and was adopted with amendments.
ED6.15 - Making Toronto a Tech-Friendly City and Bridging the Digital Divide
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Amended
- Wards:
- All
Committee Decision
The Economic Development Committee:
1. Requested the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to report back to the Economic Development Committee by Spring 2016 on actions City Council could take, including actions which could be incorporated into any broadband strategy the City may develop, which would provide free wireless internet in Toronto Community Housing Corporation locations, Toronto's parks, civic squares, privately-owned public spaces and interested Business Improvement Areas.
Origin
Summary
A decade ago, the City of Toronto partnered with Toronto Hydro to provide free wireless internet to the public in the downtown core. Unfortunately, this experiment faltered when it became a pay-for-use service hardly distinguishable from those services offered by for-profit corporations like Rogers and Bell.
Since then, we have fallen behind other Canadian cities like Quebec City and Fredericton, which offer free city-wide Wi-Fi coverage, and Vancouver, where coverage in community centres and other civic spaces was recently approved by council. An even greater concern for the City of Toronto should be the progress made by our closest competitors, including Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco, along with many cities around the world. These municipal governments have leveraged public-private partnerships to roll out extensive free Wi-Fi coverage- It is possible to achieve these goals without any cost to taxpayers.
I am writing to request that we re-visit this initiative and move quickly to provide free, reliable public Wi-Fi in our city’s parks, the squares and plazas at our civic centres, including Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) buildings and privately-owned public spaces (POPS). We should also work with our Business Improvement Area partners to facilitate Wi-Fi business districts. The City already offers free WiFi at all public libraries, and the Toronto Transit Commission is set to roll out similar Wi-Fi coverage, but we can and must do better.
Providing free public Wi-Fi in our parks and public spaces will signal to technology developers that Toronto is a tech-savvy jurisdiction and an excellent place to settle and do business. We already have a flourishing high-tech sector that has attracted tech giants like Google, LinkedIn, and Apple; we have an opportunity to become a tech-friendly global centre.
Also, free public Wi-Fi is an indispensable amenity for an increasing number of global tourists. International cellular data is expensive and inaccessible for most travellers who instead have to rely on infrequent and unreliable hotspots in some cafés or hotel lobbies. A city that provides free public Wi-Fi enables tourists to find their way off the beaten path to spend money in our neighbourhoods, and get a more personal, authentic experience that will make them want to come back and visit again.
Finally, the internet has become the essence of global communications, an invaluable informational and educational tool that should be accessible to all Torontonians, irrespective of income. It is vital that we overcome the “digital divide” and break down the barriers to affordable internet service by providing free public Wi-Fi at all Toronto Community Housing Corporation locations.
It’s time for Toronto not just to catch up with the opportunities of the twenty-first century, but to become a more connected, inclusive City. It is time for Toronto to revisit its decade-old vision of being a leader in public wireless internet access and finally make that vision a reality.
Background Information
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ed/bgrd/backgroundfile-82328.pdf
Communications
(September 15, 2015) E-mail from Dan Welland, Canadians for Safe Technology (ED.New.ED6.15.2)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ed/comm/communicationfile-55314.pdf
(September 15, 2015) E-mail from Cary Westfall (ED.New.ED6.15.3)
(September 15, 2015) E-mail from Sharon O'Sullivan (ED.New.ED6.15.4)
(September 15, 2015) E-mail from Shelley Wright (ED.New.ED6.15.5)
(September 18, 2015) E-mail from Heather Nixon-Kemp and Malini Menon on behalf of Kawartha Safe Technology Initiative (ED.New.ED6.15.6)
(September 15, 2015) E-mail from Linda Kates (ED.New.ED6.15.7)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Brian Pekrul (ED.New.ED6.15.8)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Craig Niziolek (ED.New.ED6.15.9)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Paulette Rende (ED.New.ED6.15.10)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Aloka Caduff (ED.New.ED6.15.11)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Dave Ashton (ED.New.ED6.15.12)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Joan Yates (ED.New.ED6.15.13)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Naomi Buck (ED.New.ED6.15.14)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Doug Stowe (ED.New.ED6.15.15)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Anthony B. Miller, MD, FRCP (C) FRCP, Professor Emeritus, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto (ED.New.ED6.15.16)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ed/comm/communicationfile-55338.pdf
(September 17, 2015) E-mail from Mark Mueller (ED.New.ED6.15.17)
(September 17, 2015) E-mail from Kristin Morrison (ED.New.ED6.15.18)
(September 17, 2015) Letter from Marva Burnett, President, ACORN Canada (ED.New.ED6.15.19)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ed/comm/communicationfile-55341.pdf
(September 17, 2015) E-mail from Mary Anne Kieran (ED.New.ED6.15.20)
(September 17, 2015) E-mail from Carey Robertson (ED.New.ED6.15.21)
(September 17, 2015) E-mail from Becky Hazelron (ED.New.ED6.15.22)
(September 18, 2015) E-mail from Margaret Friesen, Safer Wireless Radiation Manitoba (ED.New.ED6.15.23)
(September 18, 2015) Letter from Wendy Perkins (ED.New.ED6.15.24)
(September 18, 2015) Letter from Barbara Payne (ED.New.ED6.15.25)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Vladimir Gagachev (ED.New.ED6.15.26)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Briar de Lange-Riddell (ED.New.ED6.15.27)
(September 16, 2015) E-mail from Janet Johnson (ED.New.ED6.15.28)
(September 17, 2015) E-mail from Mary Gaylor (ED.New.ED6.15.29)
(September 17, 2015) E-mail from J Berg (ED.New.ED6.15.30)
(September 17, 2015) E-mail from Judy Lamb-Richardson (ED.New.ED6.15.31)
Speakers
Dr. Anthony B. Miller
Nahum Mann, Currant Co-op
Debra McCutcheon, Canadians for Safe Technology [www.c4st.org]
Wendy Perkins, Canadians for Safe Technology
Dan Welland, Canadians For Safe Technology
Andrew Marciniak, Lead Organizer, Toronto ACORN
Emily Daigle, Self-Accessibility and Transit Advocate
Councillor Josh Matlow
Motions
That the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture report back to the Economic Development Committee by November 2015 on actions City Council could take, including actions which could be incorporated into any broadband strategy the City may develop, which would provide free wireless internet in Toronto Community Housing Corporation locations.
That Motion 1 be amended by adding the following after "locations": "Toronto's parks, civic squares, privately-owned public spaces and interested Business Improvement Areas." and replacing "November 2015" with "spring 2016" so that the motion now reads:
"That the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture report back to the Economic Development Committee by Spring 2016 on actions City Council could take, including actions which could be incorporated into any broadband strategy the City may develop, which would provide free wireless internet in Toronto Community Housing Corporation locations, Toronto's parks, civic squares, privately-owned public spaces and interested Business Improvement Areas."