Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22

December 2016 //

Canadian Government Executive /

The Interview

ed to conserve and present Toronto’s history for the benefit of resi-

dents and visitors. We are responsible for ten historical museums

directly administered by the City as well as a portfolio of a hun-

dred mostly heritage buildings across the City that are used for a

variety of cultural and other purposes. These range from places

like the 43-acre Fort York National Historic Site and the mid-nine-

teenth century Montgomery’s Inn to Casa Loma and the Berkeley

St. Theatre. In addition we operate storage facilities that house

the City collections of historic objects (including things like the

Eaton family collection), archaeological objects and 2,500 works

of moveable fine art.

Tell me about what the City of Toronto is doing for

Canada 150 in 2017.

We are looking forward to a great year-long celebration in the City

to mark Canada’s Sesquicentennial! I think the tag line that we

have developed — “TO Canada with Love: Honouring 150 Years”

— says it all.

We will be kicking things off with a massive public party at

Nathan Phillip’s Square on New Year’s Eve and following that up

with a number of major events and smaller events throughout

the year. These include the commemoration of the 100th Anni-

versary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a celebration of National

Aboriginal Day on June 21 followed by four days showcasing

aboriginal history, arts and culture. There will be major activa-

tions of performing artists at four locations in the City on July 1st

including a four-day celebration at Nathan Phillips Square from

June 30th to July 3rd. The

Doors Open

event will focus on 150

years of Canadian architecture and our ever-popular all-night

long public art event “Nuit Blanche” will focus on the theme of

“Many possible futures”.

We are also planning a number of great exhibits during the year

including one entitled “The Maple Leaf Forever: Toronto’s take on

a national symbol”. One other captivating year-long event is called

MomenTO

and it will be commemorating and celebrating persons,

places and events that marked the history of both Toronto and Can-

ada under broad themes such as “Canadian innovation in Toronto”

and “Canadian music in Toronto.” Through this event we hope to

engage many different partners, groups and institutions across the

City. We hope people will join us! It’s all listed on

www.toronto.ca

Do you think there are special challenges to get-

ting the word out on Canada in such a busy, multicul-

tural community of millions?

One of the things that struck me when I arrived here was just how

busy and diverse Toronto is. Like many others, I passed through

the City over the years on business or to take in an event of some

type. But it was only when I actually moved here that I really

began to appreciate just how much is going on regardless of the

time of the year. From festivals to exhibitions to special events of

various types there is always something happening and residents

and visitors have many different choices. So trying to get your

message out and make your voice heard in the midst of all of that

can be a challenge. For example, in 2015 we had the privilege of

hosting the fantastic exhibit

Magna Carta: Law, Liberty and Legacy

at Fort York as part of a cross-Canada tour. In order to be success-

ful and make the public aware of it we had to make use of every

communications channel at our disposal over a significant period

of time. In a city like Toronto, it’s a real challenge.

How do you measure your success as an executive?

I think that success can be viewed in a number of different ways.

First, I want to ensure that I have created or helped create the

conditions that support the success of our team members. So, for

example, is there a clear vision that has been articulated? Have

clear objectives and expectations been set and have they been

effectively communicated? Are the necessary tools and resources

to achieve those objectives in place?

Success is also related to ensuring that our efforts and our results

are aligned with those of the Economic Development and Cul-

ture Division and with the broader strategic objectives that have

been set for the City of Toronto. So, in the case of MHS are we ef-

fectively contributing to the cultural dynamism that I mentioned

above which in turn supports the goal of city building? I want

answers to these questions all the time.

Finally, as part of the senior executive leadership team within

the Division and within the City, I have to see success as a mea-

sure of how me and my team are contributing to the advance-

ment of the City’s general objectives.

Picture yourself on December 31, 2017, What do

you wish for that date?

I will want to know that it will have been a very busy but very

gratifying and significant year here in Toronto and across the

entire country. Canada’s Sesquicentennial will have been cel-

ebrated by people from coast to coast to coast, some awesome

memories will have been created and we will all have had an

opportunity to reflect on, and gain a greater appreciation for, this

amazing country that we call home.

Perhaps someone will one day be asked….”You are old enough

to have been around in 2017…what do you remember most about

it”? On December 31, 2017 I’ll be very happy if I know that To-

ronto will have given people great experiences they will want to

remember fifty years from now.

From festivals to exhibitions to special events of various types

there is always something happening and residents and visitors

have many different choices. So trying to get your message out

and make your voice heard in the midst of all of that can be a

challenge.”