Tag Archives: Toronto

Consultant Woes, Community Relations Worker Doubts, and Bureaucratic Stasis at Toronto Public Housing in the late 1980s

Aerial image of an urban landscape.

In a reflection of the city itself, the racial, religious and ethnic dynamic of public housing had changed dramatically over the preceding decade. And for all the discussion among consultants, MTHA administrators, Community Relations Workers, and tenants themselves, Metropolitan Toronto Housing Authority managers and employees seemed oblivious to initiatives that might specifically address that transformation and how it was impacting the lives of tenants.

Helter Skelter: Dreams and Disappointments in Social Service Programming at Toronto Public Housing in the late 1980s

Photo of a man with long hair and glasses pointing at a building model. There are other people next to and behind the central figuure.

key impediments made the implementation of a sound social service strategy impossible. First, and to their great credit, CRWs dreamed big on program implementation. But many (not all) harbored questionable, socially conservative assessments of tenants and their problems. That is, the socially conservative basis of their analysis of tenant lives and what programs were needed was often flawed.

The Curious Case of Canadian Television – What’s Old is News

https://pdcn.co/e/media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2024_05_28_11_02_25_3419d11f-0356-4e86-ac18-3e91b5f3f8cc.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week I talk with Jennifer VanderBurgh, author of What Television Remembers: Artifacts and Footprints of TV in Toronto. We discuss the challenge of studying Canadian television, how to find old programs, and why television researches often rely on the public. We also talk about Toronto as a television Canada’s television… Read more »

Inheriting Her Life: Toronto’s Poet Laureate Remembers Emma Goldman

Franca Iacovetta & Cynthia Wright, with thanks to A.F. Moritz …the new Toronto comrades engulfed you, a happy flood, and carried you like a spirit in its pinnace, its canoe, on a shining spate, a spring rill of refreshing flame through a magic land to that evening’s party. When the pandemic came, we were planning a symposium to mark the… Read more »

History Slam 208: The Story of Yonge St, a City’s Transformation, & The Heart of Toronto

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/History-Slam-208.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham If you’ve visited Toronto for any length of time, you’ve probably found yourself on Yonge St. Starting on the shores of Lake Ontario, the street includes theatres, the Eaton Centre, the Air Canada Centre, and one of the city’s subway lines. Every day, thousands of people head to the street to… Read more »

Visiting and Recognizing the Past: Toronto’s 1919-1920 Smallpox Outbreak

Alt text: A crowd dressed in hats and coats fills a city street. There are banners with the following text: “Stop the slaughter of the innocents! Protest against compulsory vaccination” and “Compulsory vaccination German born – down with compulsion!!”

Sara Wilmshurst A few years ago, on this very site, I published an article about combatting vaccine resistance with historical education. Surely, I thought, if people understood how devastating preventable diseases could be, everyone would be eager to roll up a sleeve and be jabbed. Such is the pain of living through historic times. At least I learned something. Like… Read more »

Food First, Then Archives: Precarity and Community Memory

This post by Lilian Radovac and Simon Vickers is part of the “(In)Security in the Time of COVID-19” series. Read the rest of the series here. Alternative Toronto is a DIY digital archive and exhibition space that documents the history of alternative communities in the Greater Toronto Area from 1980 to 1999. As archive director and volunteer coordinator for Alternative… Read more »

The Real Estate State and Housing Insecurity in the Time of Covid-19

This post by Max Mishler is part of the “(In)Security in the Time of COVID-19” series. Read the rest of the series here. Toronto, ON, is the beating heart of Canadian finance capitalism. Global investment banks, mining companies, and consultancy firms dominate the downtown corridor and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The city is also home to several professional sports… Read more »

COVID-19 and Warehouse Work: The Making of a Health Crisis in Peel Region

Catherine Carstairs and Ravnit Dhinsa During COVID-19, thanks to e-commerce and video chats, it was possible for many workers to pick up their laptops and set up their office on the kitchen table. This could be stressful, especially for parents who had children at home, but at least these workers were safe from exposure to COVID-19. The essential workers powering… Read more »

History Slam 182: Shelter

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/History-Slam-182-Shelter.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham Shelter has its World Premiere tonight as part of the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. If you’re in Ontario, you can buy tickets to the virtual screening here. In the decade following the Second World War, the population of Toronto doubled, in large part because of a steady influx of immigrants. By… Read more »