Tag Archives: Toronto

G20 +1 year

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Almost a year has passed since the G20 meeting was held in Toronto and the media has begun reflecting on what happened and why. Like much of the G20 coverage to date, this reflection back one year later has been focused on the negative events. While most of my memories of that weekend would fall under the negative category I’m going to focus this post on the handful of things that I witnessed that weekend that after a year of my own reflection stand out and remind me that despite all that happened that weekend communities in Toronto could react positively to an adverse situation.

The NOT Burning Police Cars
While the cars I’m referring to at Queen and Spadina were eventually burned, they sat abandoned on Queen Street for almost 5 hours not being burned. It wasn’t a case of the Black Bloc sweeping in, forcing out the drivers and torching the vehicles. There was a huge gap in time where the cars sat surrounded and defended by regular Torontonians. There were so many people not interested in the destruction and so many cameras recording everything that happened that damage to them remained mostly cosmetic when I saw them. It was hours after I saw them that they were eventually burned. The story of the abandoned cars came out in much more detail in the months following the G20 but that weekend it was the dramatic images of police cars burning that caught the media’s attention. As a result the burning cars got the coverage rather than the hours that the cars sat wide open without a police officer in sight. I think in that scenario it was only a matter of time until one of the many people that were downtown bent on destruction would set the cars ablaze and the length of time it took for it to happen is shocking, in a good way.

Spontaneous Pedestrian Days
The G20 drove cars out of downtown Toronto, in many cases literally. Other than the vans for the riot cops, the streets were dominated by pedestrians and cyclists. It was my first and perhaps will be my only time where I could wonder through the downtown core without the main obstacle being cars. While it was hard to not focus on the many other alterations to the urban landscape brought on by the G20, the pedestrian dominated Queen and Yonge Streets gave me moments to enjoy being in the company of other Torontonians that did not vacate the city because of the G20 and instead embraced the opportunity to walk their streets and interact with their community.

Bike Bloc
The destruction and violence of Saturday prompted an already planned bicycle based protest calling itself the Bike Bloc (not to be confused with the Black Bloc) to embrace peaceful protest. After a bumpy start as police figured out how to escort the group (and in a few case learned how to ride their shiny new G20 bikes) the protest did a couple of circuits around downtown before heading to the temporary jail. Anyone who attempted to cover their face or do anything else out of line with the intentions of the protest was berated by others or asked to leave. It remained a peaceful protest through self-regulation. It was only during a stop at the temporary jail that things started to turn negative. The police tactic of kettling the group was used and otherwise calm and peaceful individuals panicked looking for a way to leave. Despite the reputation of police that weekend, I was able to talk one into giving us the opportunity to leave since many of us came with peaceful intentions. That was my only one-on-one interaction with a police officer that weekend and he acted just as I would have expected a reasonable person and responsible police officer should act. So many police officers and at times the entire force have been villainized related to the G20 (in many cases with good reason). Regular or even positive interactions with the police didn’t make the press even though they did happen. While I am in no way condoning everything the police did that weekend, it also doesn’t reflect what really happened if the media only focuses on the negative interactions.

There are countless other stories of the G20 that will be retold in the coming weeks. And many of them will focus on the negative events and unanswered questions. I think these are important conversations to continue. With this post I want to add a bit of perspective that there were moments during an overwhelming awful weekend where positive interactions reflected the Toronto I know and love.

Bike Bloc

Playing for Keeps

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Toronto and surrounding communities will be hosting the Pan/Parapan American Games in 2015.  While these events aren’t the same scale as the Olympics/Paralympics, they are none the less an opportunity for the GTA to host a significant sporting event with 41 nations participating in 37 sports.  But once all the events have happened and the medals have been handed out, some are already wondering what will be the point of the millions of dollars spent by all three levels of government and countless sponsors and NGOs.  Sure there will be the couple weeks of the events when Toronto and the rest of the GTA will be in the sporting news spotlight.  And yes, we’ll have the new sports facilities and the long awaited redevelopment of Toronto’s waterfront.  But the question on the mind of one new coalition of NGOs and government departments is, what is in it for the people of Ontario – how will their lives be made better because of the Pan/Parapan American Games?  This coalition calls themselves Playing for Keeps and their goal is to make sure that communities in Ontario benefit from hosting the Games both during, but more importantly in the long-term.
Playing for Keeps promises to create a legacy of healthier, more active and stronger communities and a deepened sense of belonging through a collaborative, innovative and strategic approach.  It is organized by The Toronto Community Foundation, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, University of Toronto – Faculty of Physical Education and Health, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Get Active Toronto and many other organizations to build social capital legacies by leveraging the 2012 Ontario Summer Games and the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.  I attended one of their three design workshops last week that kick started the process of determining how to leverage the Games and to start getting organizations to commit to enhancing social networks and develop social capital before, during and after the games.

The Pan/Parapan Am Games already focuses on improving the health through lifestyle choices.  The focus of Playing for Keeps is on social capital rather than lifestyle.  They define social capital as the social networks and connections of diverse individuals and groups with shared values and assets.  And it includes the socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors that are often just as important, if not more, for health (also known as the social determinants of health).  The initial activity of the design workshop was to develop principles around aspects of social capital, including belonging, diversity, values and norms, citizen power, networks, trust and safety, reciprocity, and participation.  These are all things that are valuable to communities but difficult to measure and complex to address.

Playing for Keeps is ambitious and aspiring to tackle some really wicked issues in our society.  I hope that they make positive change by harnessing the potential of the Pan/Parapan American Games.  As someone who has never lived in a city leading up to or during a major international sporting event of this scale, I am hopeful.  But maybe those in Vancouver have a different perspective.   How did it work in Vancouver for the Olympics/Paralympics?  Was there a similar coalition?  If so, what has happened now that the Games are over?  If not, do you think one would have made a difference?  I look forward to learning more and observing how large sporting events can be leveraged for healthy people and healthy communities.

How to Start Seeds Indoors

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Because our growing season in Toronto is fairly short, many of my favourite vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, onions, and leeks, need an early start. It is easy to start seeds in your own home and I know many people that have had success with little or no experience.
The following post highlights the basic steps for starting seeds indoors. For a more detailed description and answers to any questions you might have check out: The New Seed-Starters Handbook http://www.green-seeds.com/pdf/seed_starters.pdf

When to Start Seedlings

Timing is one of the most important considerations when starting seeds indoors. This is often based on the last expected date of frost. In Toronto this is May 9th. Other last frost dates can be found at: http://usagardener.com/breaking_ground/frost_dates_canada.php
Some plants, like onions, leeks, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbages can be started inside as early as February. Others plants, like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, should be started by the end of March or early April. Finally, there are a number of plants that do well in our short growing season, like beans, peas, beets, and greens, which can be planted directly into the ground once the snow melts and temperatures rise.

What you will need:
- Seeds
- A potting soil mix
- Containers (a few inches deep and with bottom drainage)
- Water
- A south facing window (or a “grow-light”)
- Newspapers (for easy clean up)
- Labels (to remember what you planted)
- A bit of time

Steps to Starting Seeds:

1. Prepare the seeds if necessary (for example some may require pre-soaking – check the specific information for the type of plants you are growing before you start)
2. Gather the equipment (containers, soil, newspapers, labels, markers)
3. Prepare the work space (make sure you have room and spread newspapers to gather the dirt for easy clean up)
4. Review seeds and prepare labels for each to prevent later confusion
5. Prepare the containers by putting a layer of newspaper on the bottom if the drainage holes are large; this will prevent soil loss from the bottom of the container
6. Moisten the soil in a separate container – do not water log the soil since this may promote mold growth or cause the seeds to rot
7. Fill the containers loosely with the moist soil – do not pack the soil tightly
8. Plant the seeds: first spread them on the soil the appropriate distance apart and then cover the seeds with the appropriate depth of soil (this will vary according to plant type)
9. Cover the container – it does not have to be airtight and seeds do not need light to germinate (but watch for mold, which can be remedied with greater ventilation).
10. Place the seeds in a warm place to await germination.

Germination:

Basically this is the sprouting phase for the seeds which can be anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Factors that influence germination include:
- The condition of the seeds and the type of plant
- The presence of water (keep moist but careful of drowning and if possible water by filling a tray underneath the container with water rather than pouring water on top)
- Sufficient air (which is why seeds need to be planting shallowly and the soil should not be packed too tightly)
- Temperature (germination requires warmth, usually 24-32oC)
- Light usually doesn’t matter for vegetable seeds but may for flowers
- Soil conditions (do not need much if any fertilization because it may slow germination)
What you should do:
- Check the seeds containers at least once a day
- Ensure that the soil is moist by not soggy
- Provide regular intervals of air (i.e. uncover the containers for a couple of hours especially if mould develops)

What Seedlings Need:
Once the seedlings start to appear their requirements start to change.
- Light – as soon as they germinate they will require light, either artificial or natural (6 hours minimum)
- Temperature – they do not need to be as warm as they did for germination, often slightly cooler than room temperature is ideal
- Space – soon after the leaves unfold the seedlings will require more space (so that they are not competing for light, moisture, or nutrients) and it is at this point some seedlings will be thinned out by cutting them off with scissors (uprooting them may damage the roots of the remaining seedlings).
- Soil – the seedling will quickly use up the nutrients in the container, which is one of the reasons that seedlings grown indoors often need to be transplanted to a larger container with more nutrient rich soil

The List gets Dissed!

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In Order, Julian’s Magic Links:

How Rob Ford Became Mayor

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Rob Ford, Toronto's New Mayor

After 10 months of election campaigning, Rob Ford is the mayor elect for Toronto.  While the results are enough to induce thoughts of leaving the city that I’ve called home for the past five years (maybe Calgary is accepting applications for an environmental historian and sustainability/food systems planner?), I didn’t really find the results that surprising even though they have the potential to be devastating to the vibrancy and sustainability of our communities.  The reason that I didn’t find Ford’s win surprising is the legacy of Mike Harris’ provincial government set up Toronto to be politically divided between its downtown and suburbs.

Mike Harris, for those of you who don’t know, was the premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2003 and is best known for leading a conservative tax cutting bonanza called the “Common Sense Revolution.”  Among his many major cost-cutting and efficiency-seeking actions, Harris undertook a major restructuring of municipal governments, with the most controversial being the creation of a “mega city” of Toronto.  Prior to this, Toronto was governed by two tiers – local governments (including the old city of Toronto, Scarborough, Etobicoke, York, North York, and East York)and Metro Toronto (that took care of services such as economic development, welfare and social services, police, transit, arterial roads, ambulance, and parks).  The amalgamation created a tension that still hasn’t been worked out between Old Toronto and the suburbs.  It was only in the past year that new city-wide zoning was proposed to replace the zoning of the pervious local governments.  Residents from these former cities continue to have different needs and wants from their municipal government.  The Harris Government also downloaded services to municipal governments.  So, services that used to be paid for by the province became the responsibilities of municipal governments, adding a huge financial burden to their budgets.

The first mayor of the newly amalgamated mega-city was Mel Lastman.  You may have seen him in ads for Bad Boy Furniture dressed in a prisoner costume: “Who’s better than Bad Boy?… Nooooooobody!”  He is often remembered for embarrassing Toronto (he is the one who called in the army after a snow storm) and for saying shockingly inappropriate things (death threats to then CITY TV reporter and now city councillor Adam Vaughan and commenting during a visit to Africa that he didn’t understand why people would go there because “I just see myself in a pot of boiling water with all these natives dancing around me.”)  He won with most of his support coming from the formerly suburban municipalities of North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke.  And from what I can tell he relied on a structural deficit (spending the existing cash reserves), selling public assets and the public-private partnerships to provide services.

David Miller

Mayor David Miller (who is still acting mayor for a few weeks more) burnt a lot of his political capital to getting Toronto out of the financial mess left by downloading, amalgamation, and Lastman.   One of his accomplishments was getting special powers from the province to tax in ways that other municipalities can’t as a way to address the deficit while still supporting all the services that the city has to provide.  He implemented a car registration tax (the first thing Ford promises to dismantle) and a land transfer tax (also high on Ford’s list).  Miller was not much of a “tax and spend” Mayor, as he cut the budgets of most departments, implemented a hiring freeze, and tried to tackled the unions (last summer’s garbage strike).  Not all of this was ideal, but the city desperately needed to be on a stronger financial footing to prevent everything from crumbling.

Through this, Torontonians outside the urban core felt that services they were receiving didn’t match up with the higher taxes that they were paying.  Ford’s slogan was simple – “Respect for Taxpayers”.  And he’s thrown out lots of ways, most irrational and some just impossible to reduce city budgets and therefore taxes while maintaining or improving services.  He has promised that we can have our cake and eat it too.  And frankly I believe if he is able to fully implement his platform we’ll be back in a place just as bad if not worse than after Lastman.

At the same time as taxes were increasing under Miller, residents of Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough, saw one of their main issues, the amount of time they spend getting to and from where they need to be, getting worse.  Miller’s government put a lot of work into planning a networking of cycling infrastructure and a significant public transit investment called Transit City (that focused on light rail).  These plans however did little to help the residents outside of the urban core spend less time in their cars, especially in the short term where implementing these plans was actually making their commutes longer as they lost car lanes to bicycles on arterial roads and had to endure light rail construction that can drag on for years.  It is not hard to see why these residents feel that there is a “war on cars” (and therefore them), even though what is being done is in my opinion necessary to return vibrancy and a sense of community to streets that have become commuter corridors and to prepare us for a future where peak oil and climate change will dramatically change the way we live if we don’t start getting ready now.

In this context of taxes and cars, the fact that Rob Ford won doesn’t surprise me.  This doesn’t mean that I’m happy about the result.  But the entire mayoral election campaign didn’t really offer a real option for anyone who wanted an inspiring vision for what their community could be.  George Smitherman offered himself as the anti-Ford and liberal alternative, but had the lingering legacy of the E-Health Ontario controversy.  And Joe Pantalone promised the status quo, using tacky name calling to attack both Ford and Smitherman and offering no original thoughts that I could see.  It was a campaign that entirely lacked inspiration.  And one where I really didn’t want to vote because of the struggle between voting strategically to try to keep Ford out versus voting closer to my values for someone that didn’t really seem to want to be mayor.  My hope now is that the mayor only has one vote on council and that the 44 ward councillors will collectively be progressive enough to minimize the damage that Ford can do to the city in the next 4 years.

Toronto Beer Week

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The first Toronto Beer Week wrapped up this past Sunday. It was a week to celebrate craft brewing in Ontario and beyond. The craft beer movement has been gaining momentum all over Canada for a few years now. We’re following the path forged by our neighbours to the south. Despite that stereotype that Canadian beer is simply better, Americans are leaders in the craft beer movement and making a wide variety of amazing beer inspired by traditions, merging beer types, and new ingredients. The term craft beer is different than microbrewery. Microbrewery refers to scale and breweries making beer under a set quantity. A craft brewery on the other hand is about quality and including using traditional and natural ingredients and methods (don’t expect to see corn or rice on their ingredient lists). Often craft breweries are small and independent, but in principle craft brewing can happen on any scale.

I imagine in large part Toronto Beer Week was a response to the big brewery dominated Beer Store and Toronto Festival of Beer. Smaller, independent craft brewers are rarely distributed through the Beer Store (the monopoly beer distributor owned my Labatt, Molson and Sleeman) and the Toronto Festival of Beers had only a paltry offering of beers that I’d not tried (so I didn’t even bother attending). The LCBO (the government run monopoly) is a bit better and is now working on their distribution model to make it easier for smaller independent brewers (and vintners) to have shelf space. The demand for craft beers in Ontario has been growing despite these distribution challenges. The demand for local, artisan foods has spread to beverages, boosting demand for both local wine and beer. As folks try beers that are flavourful and authentic the generic blandness offered by most factory scale beer just doesn’t satisfy.

Toronto Beer Week was a festival that spread over most of the city. Restaurants served meal cooked with and matched to beers. Bars and pubs hosted tastings and special beer selection. New beers, brewed especially for

the week, were launched. Contests of homebrews and cask ales were held. An urban adventure race, Toronto Beer Quest, closed out the week. It was an event to build the craft beer community. Brewers had a chance to share and celebrate their trade. Participants, whether just being introduced to craft beer for the first time or already a convert could find something new to delight their taste buds. It was a week were delicious, creative beers were actually easy to find and the hardest part was choosing where to go.

During this glorious week of beer, Jim and I made it to three events (other commitments like work, hosting a cookbook reading group, and marathon training unfortunately got in the way of taking part in more beer festivities). But we chose well and managed to try around 30 beers.

The Adventures of the Gourd Harvest Beer Festival at the Rhino was our first stop. There was a flight of beers and delicious snacks to match guided by Bill White (brewmaster and beer writer in TAPS magazine). The pumpkin beers are what attracted us. Both Grand River Highballer Pumpkin Ale and

Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale were available in cask and keg, giving us a chance to compare two beers, each conditioned in two different ways paired with pumpkin tarts (cask beers don’t have additional carbon dioxide or nitrogen pressure added that keg beers do, instead the yeast is reactivated in the cask to condition the beer resulting in less carbonation and less acidity). Other beers we tried include Church Key Cranberry Maple beer (sour) paired with a maple tart, an aged Denison’s Dunkel (strong malt flavour) paired with sausage, Black Oak’s 10 Bitter Years and Muskoka Harvest Ale paired with cheeses, and the Scotch Irish Porter paired with mussels.

The second event we attended was Festival of Breweries held at C’est What. There were over 40 beers available and they were almost all $1 each to try. My best count is that I tried 18 beers and it was a confirmation of my love of hops and casks. My three top beers were F&M’s Chachi Pilsner (cask), which was dry hopped and had a beautiful floral flavour, Railway City’s Double Dead Elephant, at 70 IBU (which is 23 IBU (international bitterness units) higher than the original Dead Elephant), and the Granite Hopping Mad (cask). We also ran into our two favourite brewers, Scott and Greg, who make us delicious custom beers at Fermentations and love to talk beer the whole time we are bottling (see Jim’s previous ‘boot post about Craft-U-Brewing).

The final event we participated in was Toronto Beer Quest, an urban adventure race based on Toronto’s beer history. Teams of two had to solve 10 clues about Toronto’s beer history and photograph themselves in front of the location. Armed with smart phones to help us solve clues, navigate

and photograph ourselves, Jim and I competed against over 35 other teams. While we didn’t win (we wanted to complete all the clues rather than strategically skip clues and take 10 minute penalties to win), we did have a good time. Since it was the first year of the race it didn’t go off without a hitch, a mistake in one of the clues made it unsolvable and the complicated math at the end meant only the winners were announced and we never figured out where we placed. But the event organizers welcomed our suggestions on how to make it even better next year, so we’re looking forward to competing again.

Overall, Toronto Beer Week was a delicious adventure in craft beer that we thoroughly enjoyed. I hope that it was as successful for the brewers, restaurants, pubs and other event organizers and I’m already counting down to next year!

Oh Canada, Oh No…

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Everything is okay...except, perhaps, Canada's declining international reputation.

I’m on vacation. And, I’ve gotta say, things started off pretty fantastically. Until this morning, that is. As I took an extended dose of daily media, things got a bit weird.

Today I had a little extra time to peruse my Facebook news feed. Wow. Some weird things have happened in Canada over the past few days. No fewer than 30 of my friends have posted videos, stories, infographs, and links about the G8 and G20 meetings in Toronto – the information and opinions range from critical to scathing.  Headlines like “Erosion of Rights” and “Wasteful Spending” and “Is this what the world thinks of Canada?” and “What was Stephen Harper Thinking?” Even the National Post gave a fairly biting review of the event.

I mean, I know that Oh Canada is – as far as national anthems go – fairly terrible, but should its being sung in the streets of Toronto be reason to send throngs of riot police into the crowd of peaceful protestors? Check this out:

Sure, the video is out of context – who knows what was said, spat or thrown before – and the Toronto Police did their best to troubleshoot a truly unwinnable situation, but it certainly reflects the powder-keg-esque circumstances into which the City of Toronto was thrust.

Needless to say, Amnesty International has asked for a full review of the 900 arrests that took place during the summit and Stephen Harper is receiving a heckuvalot of criticism from all sides – the left, right, middle, and, haha, anarchist* – for paying too much in human, natural and economic capital because the G20 was held in Toronto.

When I came to this morning, I groggily awoke to the dulcet tones of our iconic Canadian friend, Jian Gomeshi. He hosted a panel discussion of how this event – and the way it was well-handled and simultaneously mishandled – reflects poorly on Canada’s international reputation.

Speaking of our international reputation. The Queen arrived today. And she said, “it’s good to be home.” Okay. That’s a bit weird, eh? And it also nicely reflects the weirdly contradictory nature of Canada.

We’re an independent, democratic nation, but technically exist under the rule of a foreign monarch. We are an open-minded, multi-cultural society with a high self-perception of our stance on human rights, but suspend civil liberties when it suits our aims. We’re multi-lateral, but collude with dictators. Like I said, it’s all a bit weird.

Oh Canada, what kind of community are we?

Readers of the Daily Gumboot, what say you on this question of Canadian community?

- JCH

*sorry, jackasses, but global capitalism still exists and will continue to exist as long as there are hardworking businesspeople who wake up early in the morning and rebuild their enterprizes that you heartlessly broke en route from your aimless protest back to your parents’ basement.

The Real Pete – Mystery Man

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Who are you?

My name is Pete and I am a Social Media Expert and Event Management Consultant in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). I monitor and contribute to over 100 blogs and provide feedback and suggestions to them all and sometimes it isn’t what they want to hear even if it’s the right thing! My event management work is mostly with an urban adventure company that specializes in bringing extreme sports into the cities (like rock climbing buildings, base jumping, bungee jumping, and zip trekking (like in Vancouver for the Olympics).

What do you do for fun?

For fun I work by getting a sense of the best blogs out there, teach others about what I know with social media, volunteer in politics and garden.

What is your favorite community?

My favourite community is New Orleans I do so much business there and love to party with clients and take them out for real gumbo and jazz!!! Sun, fun and sin baby! Going down to the Big Easy to help with the oil spill in a few weeks.

What is your superpower?

Speed is my superpower. How can I do 40 hours of work in a 24 hour day? Organizing, multi-tasking and speed. I have good eye for detail and never have to read anything over once. Think. Write. Send. Its how I do so much business. And it builds community by my ideas and suggestions getting into businesses and people’s minds all over the world all at the same time. I get to every community at once.

Our three favorite things about the Real Pete are…

John: Spellinh. Honestly, I spend 15% of my work day correcting grammar and spelling mistakes for graduate business students – and there are many, many mistakes. Pete just doesn’t have time to spell things write or even to care about whether or not people should care about what they spell or how they spell it. And it gets me thinking, what if I didn’t care about spelling? And what if I told my students – and maybe the staff of the Gumboot – that they shouldn’t care about spelling, sense and all the rest of it. What if we just thought about it, wrote it, and sent it? Yeah. Then we’d have efficiency we could only dream of. Oh, and irony…so, so, so much irony.

Fake Pete: His Manichean view of the world. With John being at the fulcrum, because he is the only one of the Gumboot-staff who is allowed to be both the ying and the yang in Pete’s world – the best and the worst of our contributors that is. Pete is a black and white-man and when he’s made up his mind you can be sure that he won’t waver. Knowing what I do now, Pete is really the role model of the “well informed gentleman of the 21st century”. It’s just not a miracle that he manages to spot things that others don’t perceive. Like the fact that we’re all secret commies at the Gumboot. Okay. Before this ends in dire satire and a bloody feud: Pete is dead-honest. I gotta hand it to him: He won’t give you no bullshit or politically correct phrasing if he thinks otherwise. And even though I sometimes hate his guts because his comments often are on the verge of rudeness I gotta say “kudos!” for that.

Kurt: Nostalgia. Every time the Real Pete comments, I’m reminded he’s one of our first and longest running fans/detractors. Some people might not know this, but the Real Pete provided one of our first commenters. I mark it as a watershed moment in our blog – one of the first times someone who wasn’t a friend posted on our site. And what a blistering first comment it was (all I remember is he pretty much called me out about my views on Toronto). Now, after many countless months, he continues to engage us in a blunt, offensive, humorous, and (I must say) weirdly supportive way.

Kendra Reddy – Blueprints and Strategies!

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Who are you?

Kendra Reddy. Passionate about empowering and motivating myself and others to own and be proud of who we are, while continuing to challenge and stretch ourselves (and each other) to grow and learn – both personally and professionally. I am driving my own existence and I am always looking for opportunities to help others drive theirs. I believe that everything we ever want in life is just outside of our comfort zones. Let’s go for it!

I am a career consultant who has a lot to say about a lot of things, including talent and career management, attraction, engagement, and retention strategies, social media, and personal branding. I am an advocate for Gen X & Y, and am missing the gene that says “thou shalt dread public speaking”. Pass me my soapbox and microphone please.

I believe in authenticity, action, integrity, and trust. I try to be an all around good person who lives by the Platinum Rule: treat

others as they want to be treated. I have a bit of a looney-bird sense of humour, and if anyone is going to crack a one-liner or laugh out loud (and loudly)…it’s probably me. *insert big grin here*

What do you do for fun?

Right now, I am training to run my first half marathon. Believe it or not, learning to run 21 km is actually fun. Honestly.

I love to throw parties, feed people, and introduce good people to good people. I love the culture and buzz of big cities and I try to spend as much time as possible in NYC (I’m running my half marathon there). I rollerskate and bike ride, and am always on the hunt for a good music remix or re-edit. The other joy in my life is taking my mini-da

schund to the park to watch him chase squirrels. Have you ever seen a wiener dog run? Hilarious.

What is your favourite community and why?

My neighbourhood is the St.Lawrence Market area in Toronto and I love it because it is a shining example of a blended society. It combines all incomes, ages, family units, ethnicities, and pets together seamlessly without judgment or division. Everyone takes pride in our community and treats each other with respect and courtesy. On one block you will see co-op housing next to a high end furniture store, next to a neighbourhood pub, next to a community centre that the entire community uses. True diversity.

What is your superpower?

My superpower is linguistics (aka The Gift of Gab). I also have the ability to move and multi-task incredibly fast.

How do you use it to build community?

I help people by facilitating conversation and giving others the language and confidence they need to connect with others. Whether it’s helping people understand how to articulate who they are, what they do best, what they want to do next, or more of; I enjoy seeing people become comfortable sharing their “stories” with each other and building genuine relationships on all levels.

My quick thinking and acting nature allows me to help people create a strategy and then execute it. In plain English this translates into “set ‘em up, and knock ‘em down”.  A vision without a plan can turn into an hallucination, and a plan without action can turn into paralysis. I try to use my energy, enthusiasm, and penchant for checking of boxes to help others achieve the results they aim for.

My Three Favourite Things about Kendra are…

1. Gift of the Gab. Not only is Kendra a talker, but she’s a great talker. And, being a talker myself, it was incredibly easy to find an immediate connection with this masterful storyteller.

2. Polite Persistence. This is a necessary skill in the world of business and, especially, consulting. I can tell that Kendra is a woman who gets what she wants because she possesses the unique combination of unflappable kindness and confident assertiveness. People just want to be a part of her world.

3. Maximizing. Through Blueprint Strategies, Kendra makes people better. She can take a group or an individual that is doing just fine and make them powerful performers. And that’s a beautiful thing!