Now that the dust of Bill 31 has settled, it is time for Torontonians to put their minds to the issues that matter in the upcoming municipal election.

As a city that is regarded as one of the best destinations in North America for investment, Toronto has much to be proud of: a diverse population with a highly skilled labour force, a place that generally welcomes immigrants and refugees from around the world, and vibrant LGBTQ communities that openly celebrate their pride.

But as two recently released reports have shown, hidden behind the façade of tolerance lies an ugly reality of a city deeply divided along race and class.

The first is the paper by Prof. David Hulchanski of the University of Toronto. Using the 2016 census, Hulchanski shows low income neighbourhoods in Toronto are overrepresented by “visible minorities” or racialized communities, while the reverse is true for the high income neighbourhoods.

A similar finding is highlighted in a joint community report that confirms child poverty disproportionately affects racialized and newcomer communities and a staggering 84 per cent of Indigenous families with children are living in poverty.

With poverty, come many other serious challenges that racialized communities — both communities of colour and Indigenous communities — must face.

To start, they are more likely to live in neighbourhoods with limited community as well as commercial resources and support, which in turn limit their job opportunities.

Living in poverty also means racialized communities are more likely to be in core housing need — i.e. they are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. As the real estate market continues to boom and rents continue to rise in Toronto, it will become that much more difficult for racialized communities members to find affordable housing.

Black and Indigenous peoples face the additional challenge of being over-policed. It certainly did not help when the province decided to reverse some of the legislative reforms introduced by the previous Liberal government to enhance police accountability. The burden now falls on the new city council, which has jurisdiction over the Toronto Police Services Board, to ensure there is effective oversight of our police.

The recent increase in shooting incidents has led many Torontonians to call for gun control. But the more important question is how to address the root causes of violence, which many believe to be the same factors that underlie inequalities in our society.

No one expects city council to act alone to solve these long-standing social ills, however progressive and resourceful it might be. With the increase in ward size, the new city councillors will have an even tougher job responding to residents’ needs while pursuing significant citywide policy initiatives.

But if there is a will, there are certainly ways whereby the city can improve the life chances and living conditions of marginalized communities’ members.

As an employer, city council can support employment equity at the city level to hire more people from under-represented groups, including people of colour and Indigenous peoples. Through its procurement process, the city can also require all of its contractors and suppliers to implement an equitable hiring process by instituting mandatory community benefits agreements, hence providing a route out of poverty for many.

The new city council can commit itself to supporting the federal government on its national housing strategy, and push the province to legislate an inclusionary zoning policy.

To better understand the depth and scope of racial inequities, the new council should also support the collection, analysis and use of disaggregated data by the city for all of its programs and services — including Toronto Police Services.

Making public transit work better in underserved areas, such as Malvern or Rexdale, would go a long way to improve quality of life for the mostly racialized residents living in those neighbourhoods.

Finally, much can be done to promote greater access to city-owned assets and services for racialized youth, while working with other public institutions (including school boards) on similarly making their facilities more fully and equitably accessible to the community generally.

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So far, most candidates vying for a position on city council appear to have said very little about any of these issues, let alone what they will do to address them if elected.

With only 25 council seats to fill, Torontonians will have an important decision to make this month. Let’s hope they make the right one and choose a council that works to ensure our city’s prosperity will be equally shared by all, and our diversity will truly become our strength.