Sidewalk Labs’ Port Lands vision not guaranteed, says new Waterfront Toronto chair

Thestar.com
Feb. 27, 2019
Donovan Vincent

Waterfront Toronto isn’t compelled to go along with Sidewalk Labs’ expanded vision for the Port Lands, says the man city council has chosen to chair the board of the corporation.

In a unanimous 26-0 vote Tuesday, Toronto city council picked prominent developer Steve Diamond to head the 12-member Waterfront Toronto board.

In a unanimous vote, city council picked DiamondCorp president and CEO Steve Diamond to lead the 12-member Waterfront Toronto board.

His three-year term on the tri-government board is expected to begin once the provincial cabinet signs off.

Diamond says the province has already called to ask him to chair and that Ottawa has already said yes to him moving into the position.

The appointment comes at a highly controversial time for Waterfront Toronto, which is in a partnership with Sidewalk Labs to develop a proposal for a data-driven smart-city housing development on the waterfront.

Leaked documents recently obtained by the Star showed that rather than only developing a 12-acre parcel on the waterfront and turning that into a smart city, Sidewalks hopes to develop far beyond that scope and include 350 acres on the Port Lands, an idea that surprised and upset many, including several politicians
at the local, provincial and federal levels.

But Diamond, 66, president and CEO of DiamondCorp, a large real-estate development firm, says Sidewalk Labs’ proposal is by no means a given.

“Sidewalk (Labs) has the opportunity to put forward a vision for a larger parcel of land -- anyone can do that as part of a proposal. But in assessing whether this is in the public interest, Waterfront Toronto and (other levels of) government have no obligation whatsoever to accept what they propose. That’s a fundamental point that’s been missing from the debate,” Diamond said in an interview with the Star after the city council vote.

Diamond said he can’t say too much about the Sidewalk project because there is no final proposal yet -- Sidewalk, a sister of tech giant Google, must first put forward a draft and then final master plans, expected in the coming weeks and months.

But he did say he believes it’s important for Waterfront Toronto to “establish leadership” on the Sidewalk Labs file.

Critics have complained that Waterfront Toronto has failed to take charge of the Sidewalk project on issues such as data governance, privacy and now the Port Lands issue.

“It’s difficult to comment on (Sidewalk Labs’) proposals until we understand the important business terms around these proposals. We want to evaluate them and go to a public and transparent process in coming to any particular conclusions,” Diamond added.

But on the issue of data security, privacy and governance, Diamond says the public debate around Sidewalk Labs’ proposal has sparked an important dialogue on the topic. He added that government will play a key role in resolving a lot of these concerns.

Diamond says Waterfront Toronto has made progress, including steering forward a multi-level government-funded $1.25-billion flood protection project in the Port Lands and he wants to see more waterfront revitalization initiatives come forward.

Diamond’s pick by city council also comes at a time of controversy on the board itself. Developer Julie Di Lorenzo resigned this past summer from the board over Waterfront Toronto’s handling of the Sidewalk Labs file.

And then in December, provincial Infrastructure Minister Monte McNaughton sacked three members including the chair after Bonnie Lysyk, Ontario’s auditor general, released a report slamming Waterfront Toronto.

Among her many complaints, Lysyk said Waterfront Toronto didn’t adequately consult with governments concerning the Sidewalk Labs project, an accusation Waterfront Toronto has disputed.

Diamond had planned to quit the board last year given the large time commitment needed to devote to weighty topics such as Sidewalk and the flood plan.
But the mayor convinced him to remain on board until next month for stability reasons.

Diamond says given the city council vote, approval from Ottawa and the expected nod from the province he believes he’ll be in a strong position as chair.
Mayor John Tory expressed confidence in Diamond’s ability to the lead organization.

“I believe that Mr. Diamond has the necessary skills, qualifications and experience required to lead the revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront on behalf of
the governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto. City council’s unanimous vote (Tuesday) is a further sign of that confidence,” Tory said in a statement.

In 2014, Diamond gave $1,000 to the mayoral campaigns of Olivia Chow and Karen Stintz, and $2,100 to eventual victor Tory.

Diamond’s donations in the 2018 municipal elections were not immediately available at press time.