Question Period Note: WATERFRONT TORONTO QUAYSIDE DEVELOPMENT

How is the Government of Canada supporting the proposed Quayside Development as part of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization?

• The Government of Canada is investing in infrastructure that is building greener, more modern and resilient communities – transforming our economy and making a difference for Canadians.
• We support Waterfront Toronto and their vision to reconnect people with the waterfront in a way that’s innovative and environmentally and economically sustainable.
• The proposed Quayside project is a great example of how technology and infrastructure can come together to support low-carbon community development.
• The Government of Canada will be engaging with Waterfront Toronto and government partners as the public consultation and evaluation process for the Quayside project unfolds.
• Broad consultation with the public and government partners will be an important part of any successful plans for the Quayside project and waterfront revitalization more broadly.

• Waterfront Toronto (WT) was established under provincial legislation as a not-for-profit entity to lead and implement the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Initiative (TWRI).
• In October 2000, Canada, Ontario, and Toronto announced a contribution commitment of $500 million each to the TWRI, which has supported a series of investments that serve as the first step to transform the waterfront into sustainable new communities and to foster economic growth.
• In addition, Waterfront Toronto decided in 2016 to seek an “innovation and funding partner” to test new and innovative approaches to addressing urban challenges, using a small 12-acre site along the eastern waterfront known as Quayside.

Quayside / Sidewalk Labs
* On October 16, 2017, Waterfront Toronto’s Board of Directors endorsed the selection of Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs as the preferred partner for the Quayside project.
* The Quayside project seeks to create a new community that would serve as a pilot project to test a range of mixed-use ‘smart’ community concepts, innovative building techniques and connectivity to build a climate positive city.
* In June 2019 Sidewalk Labs’ draft Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP) for Quayside was submitted to Waterfront Toronto and released to the public. This was followed by several weeks of public and online consultation led by Waterfront Toronto.
* The draft MIDP surfaced a number of “threshold issues” that Waterfront Toronto determined would need to be addressed by Sidewalk Labs before both parties moved forward into the next phase of the proposal (e.g., project geography governance models; and data management, use and privacy).
* Formal resolution of these issues was announced by Waterfront and Sidewalk on October 31, 2019, with many of the more challenging aspects of the MIDP being modified.
* Over the course of fall 2019 and into spring 2020 Waterfront Toronto will be consulting the public on the final Quayside proposals and evaluating the MIDP with the assistance of external experts, including a third-party Digital Strategy Advisory Panel that was established early on to guide Waterfront on how best to incorporate data privacy, digital systems, and the safe and ethical use of new technologies in the next phase of waterfront revitalization.
* Waterfront’s Board of Directors is expected to formally consider the results of the evaluation and its management recommendations a meeting scheduled for March 26, 2020.

None