Thursday April 3, 2008

Welcoming Remarks

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the City of Toronto’s Tsunami Relief Forum. We are delighted that you have joined us today for this very special celebration.

We have with us Mayor David Miller and many of my colleagues from Toronto City Council. I would like to extend a special welcome to the representatives from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities – especially Berry Vrbanovic, FCM Vice-President, and Sebastian Hamel, Deputy Director of the International Centre for Municipal Development.

We are proud to be joined today by so many municipal colleagues from across Canada who have contributed to the tsunami relief work in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia – we extend a warm welcome to representatives from Kitchener, Durham, Dufferin County, Ottawa and Waterloo (Ontario), Ladysmith, Nelson and Port Moody (British Columbia), Fredericton (New Brunswick), Calgary (Alberta), Ile Perrot and MRC des Collines (Quebec).

This tsunami relief forum is a celebration of the human spirit. In December 2004, when one of the most devastating natural disasters in centuries struck halfway around the world, our everyday lives here in Toronto and in Canada were profoundly shaken. Many in our communities had family, friends, and loved ones in the devastated areas. As our neighbours experienced this deep loss, we shared their loss and we shared their grief.

This strong bond meant that we, as Torontonians, needed to help the people and communities in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. I am very proud of how quickly our City responded, mobilizing immediately to provide much needed help.

We knew that by working not alone, but with others, that we could make a strong and lasting impact in these communities. Toronto joined resources with sister municipalities under the leadership of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. FCM’s sustainable approach to development has been a proven strategy for rebuilding communities in need. Obviously, FCM’s extensive expertise and time-honoured method of providing development assistance was the best partner for us, and other Canadian cities, in the tsunami relief effort.

After the initial assessment missions by FCM in Sri Lanka and Indonesia in early 2005, it became apparent that we needed to establish clear priorities to have a positive impact. The need was so great that we had to harness our resources for maximum impact.

Toronto chose to focus on two key cities – Banda Aceh in Indonesia and Batticaloa in Sri Lanka. Our aim was to develop programs and create projects which could serve as role models and demonstration projects for other communities to emulate. We focused our work in Sri Lanka on waste water drainage and a public education campaign on environmental management and waste disposal. In Banda Aceh, we concentrated on solid waste management and public education campaigns on the 3Rs. We also looked at providing assistance with improvements to the library system in Pidie (Indonesia).

In November of last year, I was privileged to be part of the FCM mission to Sri Lanka with my colleagues Berry Vrbanovic, Pat Fiacco, Mayor of Regina, and senior FCM staff, to review the results of our efforts. As part of the evaluation mission, we visited the cities of Batticaloa, Galle and Trincomalee, three of the five districts where Canadian municipalities have been providing assistance. I was struck by the significant and fundamental change that FCM, together with staff from the City of Toronto and other Canadian cities, have accomplished in tsunami-stricken communities. I was especially gratified by the dedication of our staff, working and living in very difficult conditions.

I met with local staff in Batticaloa who received training from City of Toronto engineers to effectively clear waste water drain pipes. I watched a play by a group of school children, used to educate the public on sanitation issues. I walked along a road that we were giving the expertise to build, offering access to the local garbage dump. During my time there, I witnessed a transfer of knowledge, skills and expertise that exceeded all expectations.

Although this mission did not bring me to Indonesia, I have been equally impressed by the reports of our staff’s excellent work in Banda Aceh (Indonesia). How wonderful is it that our Mayor’s Clean and Beautiful initiative has been transported miles and miles away to distant shores – the Clean and Beautiful Toronto campaign provided the impetus for the Clean and Beautiful Banda Aceh campaign. I have also been thrilled by the wonderful work of our Toronto Public Library staff, who created a user-friendly and inviting library space for the community members of Pidie.

I know that words are an imperfect tool to draw a picture of our important role on the ground, the significance of our influence, and how much we have accomplished in rebuilding these communities.

We will now present a short film: this collage of images, photos and interviews will let you experience first-hand what it was like to live and work in communities devastated by the tsunami. The film will allow you to experience a day in the lives of these communities and show the difficult and rewarding work done of our staff, who have contributed their time and skills for the betterment of these communities.

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Closing Remarks

Today we have been treated to some inspiring stories of how we, as Torontonians and as Canadians, have reached out to assist communities in need in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia. We have built a bridge between us and our sisters and brothers thousands of miles away.

The bridge that we have built between us and communities in Sri Lanka and Indonesia is solid and rooted in a firm foundation. In the weeks to come, we will continue to travel across this bridge to further develop and expand on the success of FCM’s projects in these communities. This month, for example, City of Toronto staff will participate in a technical exchange mission to Matara, Sri Lanka, to assist the community in developing a cultural plan, as well as staging a series of cultural events. At the same time, staff from the Toronto Public Library will go on another series of missions this year to assist in enhancing and improving library services in Indonesian communities.

One of the most striking images from my time in Sri Lanka was the sight of 400 unused houses, with no windows or roofs. These houses were partially built by another country’s NGO, then abandoned, when the money ran out. A member of one of Sri Lanka’s municipalities told me that, while most of the world’s NGOs have gone home, Toronto and FCM remained to finish the job. Had the City of Toronto simply thrown $1 million at the problem, our house might not have a roof, either.

I would like to thank you all, once again, for joining us this afternoon for this celebration of our achievements. I would also like to thank staff one more time for their dedication and hard work, and to congratulate them on their successes in helping to rebuild communities.