Promises of community access to new sports complex go unfulfilled
by Barry Marsh and Peter D’Gama (Issue #27 – Dec 2011 / Jan 2012)
When Rexdale residents in the Finch and Martin Grove area first learned in 2009 that Father Henry Carr (FHC) Catholic Secondary School was being “revitalized” with millions of dollars in infrastructural investments – with a new artificial turf multi-purpose field, a six-lane rubberized track, night lighting – the people must have been pleasantly surprised. Surprised, because the investments came with no forewarning or community consultation. So imagine the disappointment in the community now that the ‘Field of Dreams’ sports facility has been completed (June 2011) and is barred from public use and fenced in for paying users only.
Prior to renovation, the track was widely used by the community for more than a quarter of a century. On any given day people could be found running, walking or playing during non-school hours in the early morning, evenings and on weekends. This usage was consistent with community use of school property all throughout the city. The track and field was an important community recreational asset for Rexdale residents.
A refurbished track and field facility on the FHC grounds could have been a great opportunity for the community. Rory McGuckin, the Toronto Catholic District School Board Superintendent, expressed as much at the ceremonial shovel-in-ground event in June 2010 when he said “that [the] vision today is a high performance field in an area that is known as a high priority area. I’m glad everybody got it right this time, because high priority refers to the need to put more resources into a community that can be shared by all.”
Yet, this vision has deteriorated into yet another process lacking in transparency and riddled with broken promises. Adding insult to injury, not only are community residents being denied free access to the field when not in use by paying users, the investments for the field were actually secured from higher levels of government under the pretense of broadening out community access.
On May 29, 2009, the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) requested federal and provincial funding for the refurbishment of the outdoor athletic facility under the Recreation and Infrastructure Program Canada (RINC). The proposal came forward at a time when the Catholic District School Board was placed under trusteeship by the provincial government because of its mishandling of funds. The province appointed Norbert Hartmann to supervise Board activities, and Hartmann worked alongside then Director of Education Ann Perron in the submission of the funding application. So from day one, the proposal has been able to avoid the scrutiny of a democratically-elected body, an undemocratic process only made worse by the complete lack of notice to the public for input as to the terms of the redevelopment.
Yet, in that May 2009 TCDSB report it was explicitly stated that: “The community will benefit because an artificial field can be used all day regardless of weather or season. Therefore, the opportunity is present to let the field be used by the community and sports groups in the evenings, summer and weekends when school is not in operation.”
When these promises of community access were made, nothing was said about user-fees in the funding applications. Paying for the use of a facility previously open to the community has left the community locked out and excluded from the use of and all decisions pertaining to the “Field of Dreams.”
The accompanying Letters of Support for the funding application further attest to the lack of consultation and transparency, as the only voices consulted were Ron Tavner, Unit Head of 23 Division of the Toronto Police, Police Chief Bill Blair, and Archbishop Collins of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Instead of relying on the opinion of these funders (the Archdiocese contributed $10,000 and the Police Services Board contributed $50,000), a wider consultation with community organizations and residents using the track should have been sought.
Notwithstanding being kept in the dark, the TCDSB’s proposal leveraged the “Priority Neighbourhood” status of the area to obtain the funding, stating in its terms of reference: ”The community has been identified in the Toronto Strong Neighbourhood Strategy as one of the neighbourhoods appropriate for investment where social services are most out of step with need.
As soon as approval for government funding was secured – with the provincial and federal governments each contributing $523,143.00 towards the construction of the facility – and with the ceremonial shovels in the ground, a fence was immediately erected in June 2010 with the community still being kept in the dark as to the purpose of the new construction.
The exclusion of the wider community from the facility was made most evident recently when a group of students from Elmbank Junior Middle Academy were prevented from coming onto FHC property to watch a football game. The ‘Field of Dreams’ now only accessible through the FHC building due to the fencing, after being prevented from entering the school, the Elmbank physical education class, humiliated, literally had to watch the game from outside the fence along Finch Ave.
When Barry Marsh (one of the authors of this article) asked FHC Principal Michael Rossetti why the community was not allowed to use the facility, he told Marsh that “We need to protect our investment.” Rossetti’s response sounded like a businessman concerned with turning a profit on his ‘investments.’ Perhaps Rexdale residents are not so much of a ‘priority’ after all.
It has been frustrating for residents to see the TCDSB pursue such an exclusionary policy, especially because it contrasts sharply with the aims expressed in the funding application for the ‘Field of Dreams.’ On most days, residents watch, from a distance, as the newly renovated facility lays idle.
Community organizers have consulted residents and are circulating a petition asking that the Board live up to its promises made in the funding proposal. The petition asks that the Board make the facility accessible and inclusive to the community.
A presentation will be made before the TCDSB on December 15 outlining residents’ concerns and a petition will be presented consisting of over 200 signatures (at the time this issue of BASICS went to print). Those interested in voicing their concerns can also contact TCDSB Trustees Ann Andrachuk (the Board Chair) at 416-512-3402 and Peter Jakovcic at 416-512-3401. Residents interested in assisting with petitioning and community organizing can contact Peter Dgama at [email protected].
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I am glad to see that the community is speaking out and singing a petition for the use of the FHC field. It is time for the Catholic School Board to live up to its promises and become a positive influence for both its students and the community on a whole.