There’s a certain pomp to events like “The State of the City” that make you wonder how useful they are.
No disrespect to the Chamber of Commerce staff who do such a good job putting it all together, but the event is usually an exercise in lavishing praise on the magnificence of our city with some pre and post networking opportunities, the value of which I find highly debatable since I’ve often felt that “networking” is code for “punishment for the socially awkward.”
Leaving my issues aside, there was a surprising moment in yesterday’s State of the City address.
In an unscripted pause in his prepared remarks, Mayor Cam Guthrie said “I have failed as a mayor, as a leader, in the last four years in regards to [homelessness].”
“No longer can I say ‘it’s their problem, it’s the provincial government’s problem or it’s the federal government’s problem’ and a year goes by and another year goes by and another year goes by and the same people aren’t getting help. There have been people that are dying in our city. We must step up and I will not fail as the leader of this city in the next four years.”
Bold words, and a bold bit of self-analysis. I think it even caught the attendees by surprise, who gave the mayor a round of applause after his divergence from the main speech.
I want to add that if you don’t attend the State of the City, it is not a cheerleading routine like its counterpart in Washington. There’s no abusive calisthenics as the gallery rises again and again for one standing ovation after another.
Now, the cynical may argue that Guthrie was projecting a tone of righteousness. They might point out that this is a mayor who seemed genuinely surprised by the degree of inequity in the city. I think I was one of those people, come to think of it.
I will also add that I’ve become rather numb to these events based on the idea of Guelph’s awesomeness. Yes, Guelph is awesome. That’s why I live here.
But my point, as was the mayor’s at the State of the City, is that Guelph is not equally awesome for everyone.
Still, I think the message that Guthrie was trying to send might have been mitigated by eight pages of cheerleading on city accomplishments and a spoof video of The Office with city council playing Dunder-Mifflin staffers
Perhaps a tone more akin to Gerald Ford’s 1975 State of the Union would have been more appropriate. “Today, that freshman Member from Michigan stands where Mr. Truman stood, and I must say to you that the State of the Union is not good,” said Ford.
Not may were in a position to disagree at that place, and at that time.
Now I chuckled at The Office parody. Guthrie is at his best when he’s summoning the universal whimsy of dad humour.
But a few weeks ago, after the second meeting of the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness and Community Safety, Guthrie said it was his intention to “use the strength of the mayor’s office,” to rally support for the discussed initiatives in tackling homelessness.
He told the media that he was going to use the State of the City to call on the business community to tackle “a menu of things that are needed in the community to be able to address [homeless] issues.”
Well, Guthrie read the menu out, but he didn’t really seem to be asking for anyone’s order.
I flashback to the task force meeting, where Tina Brophey, a peer member of the task force with lived experience being homeless, said, “All of these [measures] are really important, but I don’t feel any sense of urgency.”
“The ambulance will be here in five years,” Brophey added.
Some have been waiting more ambulances a lot longer.
I’ve found myself in conversations lately with people who have been fighting the good fight on homelessness for years. I’ve asked them how we in the media should be using our platforms to cover poverty.
John Clarke of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty told me that we have to put pressure on government and big business. They control the levers of power, and the means to raise people out of poverty and homelessness.
Paul Tavares, who’s travelling Ontario spending 13 weeks living out of tent to raise awareness, has his own lived experience with homelessness. He says he’s through waiting for the people in power to address the need, and that he’s making his appeal to the people themselves.
Back at the State of the City, Guthrie promised to bring forward extension items to fund his priorities to tackle the homeless crisis. This will be in addition to the 3.96 per cent increase that staff has already proposed for the Tax Supported Operating Budget.
I say this because I’ve already seen people gagging on that number on social media.
But Guthrie called homelessness a “community crisis”, so is there now a community appetite to act? Stay tuned.
