Waterfront Toronto Concludes Digital Panel and Thanks Panelists for Lasting Impact

September 21, 2020, TORONTO, ON – Today, Waterfront Toronto offered sincere thanks to the members of the Digital Strategy Advisory Panel (DSAP) and informed them that the panel is being dissolved.

The DSAP was formed in 2018 by Waterfront Toronto as an independent body to guide and inform the revitalization of the Toronto waterfront on issues of digital governance. The Panel is advisory to Waterfront Toronto management. Over the last two years the panelists have provided important review and evaluation of proposals for the Quayside project.

“Thanks to the review and advice of the panel, important conversations are happening across all three orders of government of how to structure digital governance, address privacy concerns, and determine how data is collected, used, and administered in an increasingly digital landscape,” said Michael Geist, Chair of the Digital Strategy Advisory Panel.

“It has been a privilege to work with such a diverse group of leading minds and gain their insight into how digital issues weave themselves into every aspect of imagining what our cities could look like in the future,” said Kristina Verner, Vice President, Innovation, Sustainability and Prosperity at Waterfront Toronto. “Waterfront Toronto thanks the panelists for their expertise and contributions.”

Since the formation of the DSAP, federal, provincial and municipal governments have each undertaken processes to modernize their data and privacy frameworks. Governments should be front and centre in this effort. Materials that were created by the DSAP and through the public consultation process regarding digital matters for the Quayside project will be shared with governments for their reference.

More recently, the withdrawal of Sidewalk Labs from the Quayside project and the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Waterfront Toronto to revisit its original goals for Quayside with an eye to integrating a strategy to support aging in place, including long-term care, affordable, and supportive housing.

As Waterfront Toronto’s moves forward with Quayside, Port Lands Flood Protection, and other waterfront revitalization projects, the organization remains committed to taking a broad view of how technology could integrate and impact its work and will consider any issues that arise an integrated manner. The Corporation will work with all three orders of government to ensure that digital innovations deployed on the waterfront meet the high standards for democratic accountability that were established during our review of the initial proposals for Quayside.

— 30 —

Media Inquiries:

Media Relations
Waterfront Toronto
media@waterfrontoronto.ca