Immigration Is Our Biggest Selling Point

Toronto's "creative equity"


Just as Toronto assigned a superstar architect (by their definition) to build one of the most unsightly buildings in the city, now they've got an American, Richard Florida "rock star academic" - a term he doesn't even flinch from - to plan the city's future. His position is Director of The Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto.

TV Ontario had him for an interview - you can listen to a clip here - where he was effusively thankful for being given a chance to work in Toronto. As the interview progressed, it was clear why he made the decision to come here.

Immigrants. Which translates to: Diversity.

Yes, those ever-profitable experiments that businessmen, politicians, social scientists, and now city planners, are using to mold their vision of the future.

Florida, who declared half way that he was more of an NDPer then a Liberal, making him in the far left sliding scale of Canadian politics, mentioned the word "equity" several times. (Also here on a Charlie Rose interview in 2004). His future village is global, where everyone works in harmony - the lion next to the lamb, as imagery goes - and where everyone is creative. In fact, his most successful book is called: The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. The equity of creativity.

Florida found his ideal population in Toronto because of these factors - taken from The City of Toronto's Release of the 2006 census on ethnic origin and visible minorities

46.9% of the city of Toronto's population is visible minorities Visible minorities increased by 10.6% since 2001 and by 32% since 1996 in the the city of Toronto The GTA received 33% of visible minorities between 2001 and 2006 The top four visible minority groups in the city of Toronto are: South Asian: 12% Chinese: 11.4% Black: 8.4 % Filipino: 4.1 % Latin American: 2.6% Percentage change in visible minorities between 2001 and 2006: Latin American: + 19% Filipino: +19% South Asian: + 18% Chinese: + 9% Black: + 2%

A whole city full of experimental visible minority immigrants, where his mantra - we are all equal, we all do things equally, we are all creators - can play itself out. Florida is creating his own heaven on earth, and found just the right petri dish in Toronto. His liberal utopia is a sacrilege on the true lamb and lion story.

Isaiah 11:6

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Maybe in the future he might consider an office in one of those shiny buildings rising up on the Ryerson Campus. After all, it is the same population group that attracted him to Toronto in the first place that's driving the Ryerson growth.

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