A Way Forward

About a month ago, TMAC filed a statement of claim against the City of Toronto and the property developer Urbancorp. It was a sad end to a four-year collaboration that was supposed to result in a new media arts centre our neighborhood, members, and community could be proud of — a place to build the future of our organizations.

When that was taken away, we felt hopelessly backed into a corner.

But as stewards of public funding, as small non-profits with long histories planning our future as part of this collaborative organization, we could not simply shrug our shoulders and walk away.

As the weakest party in a three-way agreement, and without the City as an advocate, we had no choice but to protect ourselves by filing a claim.

We want our building back, yes! We also want West Queen West to have the community-engaged arts space it very much deserves and needs. The one Active 18, the community and all our organizations have worked so hard for.

And we want to ensure future Section 37 deals between developers, the City and non-profits do not go as terribly sideways as ours did at the last minute.

We can fix this together. We want to fix this together. Bring TMAC back to the table. Rebuild the trust and goodwill needed to ensure Toronto can continue to secure the cultural spaces that make our city both vibrant and livable. {class=”alert alert-success”}