Community Wealth Building

This photo captures a moment more than a decade in the making. I’m standing with long-time collaborators from the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN) and the Labour Education Centre on this sub-zero Sunday morning. It’s opening day for Line 5 Eglinton and we’re about to board the newest section of the Toronto transit system... Read more >

I appreciate this opportunity to think aloud with you about this day and the way ahead. Since leaving home early yesterday morning, I’ve been thinking about expectations – mine, yours and ours. I expected to have a long day of travel with a transfer in Vancouver on Wednesday. That flight was delayed and I ended up on a direct flight to Victoria... Read more >

The Atkinson Foundation turned 80 this year. We arrived at the threshold of a new decade quietly, in stark contrast to the boisterous celebration of our 75th anniversary at 1 Yonge Street, in the space that once housed the Toronto Star’s printing presses. In  October, Atkinson’s Board and staff members raised their glasses to Joseph Atkinson and Elmina Elliott... Read more >

“Musicians are the original gig workers. Same as Uber drivers and food delivery workers. I realized we’re in the same fight.” Rollie Pemberton (aka Cadence Weapon) said this in response to a question about artists as workers at a public reading of his new book, Bedroom Rapper.  Read more >

In this first month of the crisis, we’ve been seeing organizers in lower-income communities do what they do best: amplifying the voices of people most affected by this crisis, and keeping them connected to each other. Read more >

“I wasn’t a failed DJ. I was pre-successful.” This is just one of the flashes of brilliance that made me a true fan of The Good Place, a wildly funny, philosophical sitcom about life, death, good, evil, redemption and frozen yogurt that premiered in 2016. The series finale aired late last month. Read more >

Is it possible to have a competitive economy that is also fair? This question was on my mind when I moderated a panel on economic democracy at the Progress Summit earlier this year. Economist Rocío Martínez-Sampere, sociologist Julia Posca and workers’ rights organizer Deena Ladd joined me for what turned out to be an inspiring economic myth-busting session. Read more >

Last fall, I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to hear Gloria Steinem speak. In a panel discussion, she was asked about the challenge of right wing populism and the threat to social justice. Read more >

Almost four years ago, I became a member at Karma Co-op Food Store—a small, historic food co-op in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood. The co-op began as a cost-effective way for the residents of the area to access high-quality, local, fair-trade, organic produce and health products in the early 70s, back when such things weren’t readily available at your local grocery store. Read more >

With the support of the Atkinson Foundation, Meg Ronson and I published a new paper called The Co-operative Opportunity: A Strategy for Small Business Succession in Ontario this fall. Our research pursued signs of massive generational change in this sector. Read more >