TORONTO — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced last week that his government will commit $15 million to UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s $400-million Tomorrow Campaign.
Premier Dalton McGuinty [Sheri Shefa photo] (with video)
TORONTO —
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced last week that his government
will commit $15 million to UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s
$400-million Tomorrow Campaign.
Premier Dalton McGuinty [Sheri Shefa photo]
But the money isn’t new.
The grant was originally made in 2007, when it was revealed that it came from a $20-million fund that the opposition parties said had no formal application process and no published eligibility criteria, and that they said was being used to fund multicultural groups that were friendly to the Liberal party.
Federation spokersperson Howard English said that last week’s announcement came after a report on the fund by the provincial auditor general cleared federation “of any wrongdoing,” and in fact “praised the way in which we applied for [the money].”
Speaking in front of the new Lipa Green Centre on what is now called the Sherman Campus – located on Bathurst Street, between Sheppard and Finch avenues – McGuinty said he was representing 13 million Ontarians who will all benefit from the campaign.
Launched in April 2000 as the Jewish Toronto Tomorrow Initiative, the Tomorrow Campaign is a “gift to a country, to a province and a city that permitted us to flourish so vigorously,” said Larry Tanenbaum, who along with Gerry Schwartz is the campaign co-chair.
He said the first phase of the campaign comprised the renovation of the downtown Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre and the construction of the Wolfond Centre for Jewish Student Life at the University of Toronto.
The 27-acre Sherman Campus, where the press conference took place, “is in the midst of an exciting redevelopment.”
Tanenbaum said the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre is part of the second phase of the Tomorrow Campaign, while the third component of the initiative, the 50-acre Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus in Vaughan, is also taking shape.
McGuinty said the new centres “represent the very best of Jewish traditions, values and beliefs,” and he said his government decided to contribute $15 million to the project, because “it means, of course, more jobs today at a time when they are needed most and a better quality of life for years to come.”
He said that since the building phase began in 2007, 200 construction jobs have been created.
“We are pleased and proud to participate in these initiatives. We support our Jewish community and we recognize your disproportionate influence for good,” he told the gathering.
Among the notable attendees at last week’s event was Health and Long-Term Care Minister David Caplan, MPPs David Zimmer, Greg Sorbara and Monte Kwinter, and the mayor of Eilat, Meir Yitzhak-Halevy and the mayor of Eilot, Udi Gat.
The mayors’ appearance coincided with a trade conference last week in Toronto, in which Israeli companies from the Eilat area that specialize in low-emissions power technology were seeking investors. Eilat is also partnered with Toronto’s Jewish community through federation’s Partnership 2000 (P2K) initiative.
In his remarks, McGuinty referred specifically to the Israeli mayors and said he plans to visit Israel, calling it a “model of perseverance and innovation.
“It is remarkable in terms of what has unfolded there, such a relatively new country, and its achievements,” he added.
He said that the Tomorrow Campaign – which Tanenbaum boasted is the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by a Canadian Jewish community and one of the largest in the Jewish world – is developing “places where we celebrate art, culture and learning, where we honour and remember the sacrifices of previous generations and where all are welcome.”
McGuinty added that the Jewish community’s commitment to ensuring its future as a thriving community reminded him of a quote by Rabbi Hillel, an ancient Jewish scholar, who said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?
“It also reminds me of something my father used to say… ‘None of us is as strong as all of us working together’… The Jewish community has proven that sentiment to be true time and time again, and it seems there is nothing you cannot do when you put your minds to it.”
Tanenbaum, who is also the chair of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, said that almost all of the campaign funds raised to date – $400 million – have come from private sources and that the financial assistance provided by the provincial government will help the Jewish community realize “this remarkable dream.”
McGuinty said that UJA Federation “is at the heart of this community, which is at the heart of this city, and when you are strong, we all stand strong together.”
The premier was presented with a plaque from Federation as a thank-you for the grant. A plaque that recognizes the province’s contribution to the initiative will also be hung on the “donor recognition wall” in the Lipa Green Centre, alongside plaques for other major contributors.
