Toronto's Chinatown needs heritage designation, community advocates tell city

Advocates are calling on the Cityof Toronto to designate Chinatowna heritage site to helpprotect the historic neighbourhood from the pressures of the pandemic, rising racism anddowntown real estate development.

It follows a call from Chinese community leadersacross the country to create a national action plan to help Chinatowns recover afterCOVID-19. The rise of anti-Asian racism and discrimination havealso brought additional challenges for residents and businesses of Chinatown, they say.

Amy Go, the president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, has lived in Toronto for more than 30 years.She's one of the many community leadersseeking a heritage designation for the neighbourhood.

"It really symbolizes the resilience, resistance, and solidarity of the community regardless of the challenges, hardship and racism we face," Go said.

Advocates like Go say such a designation would also help Chinatown push back against threats such asencroachment from developersand a lack of affordable housing.

Representatives of Chinatowns in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver askedthe federal government for anaction plan in June. The Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations, which is based in Montreal, is spearheading the initiative.

WATCH | Community advocates call on City of Toronto to make Chinatown a heritage site:

Advocates are calling on Toronto to designate Chinatown as a heritage site

3 years ago

Duration 2:17

Advocates are calling on the City of Toronto to designate Chinatown a heritage site. As Dale Manucdoc explains, its part of a larger initiative nationwide to protect Chinatowns across the country from gentrification.

Go recalls anothertime when the neighbourhood faced an even greaterthreat. It was backin the 1960s when the city'soriginal Chinatown had to movewest to Spadina Avenue and DundasStreet West to make way forconstruction of the new city halland Nathan Phillips Square.

Further developmentin the downtown core in the 1970s also added pressure to an already beleaguered neighbourhood.

"With the development of Eaton Centre, businesses, real estate prices, the Chinese community had to survive and push to the west and develop here," Gosaid.

Since then, Chinatown has seen waves of immigrants from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, but it's also home to many newcomersfrom Southeast Asia and East Asia, and it's a popular hub for international students.

Gosays more than half a century later developmentis againthe most significant issue threateningChinatown's survival.She thinks a heritage designation will help preservethe neighbourhoodalong with itsarchitecture, businesses, and its community.

"We want to further ensure that new developments, real estate, housing, high-end high rises are not going to come in here," Go said.

"We want to ensure people in Chinatown who live and work here still have the financial, economic, and social opportunities regardless of their immigration status."

In June, Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante recognized calls from local Chinese leaders, saying the neighbourhood had significant cultural and heritage value worthy of protection.

Montreal announced it was taking actionfollowing extensive consultations with community members.

They include increasing pedestrian access to the area and improving access to downtown and Old Montreal, adding green space, supporting business owners with the creation of a merchants' association, and developing social and affordable housing units.

Go would like to see a similar response from Toronto Mayor John Tory.

"I think it would be great to have our mayor in the city of Toronto coming up with a plan to develop in an affordable and sustainable way for people who work and live here," she said.

"We need all parties, all levels of governments, giving migrant workers the right to work, the status to work, preserving jobs, preserving nature, and the social fabric of the community."

City 'worse off' without Chinatown, councillor says

Coun.Mike Layton, who represents University-Rosedale,the ward where Chinatown is located,says thereare anumber of reasons whyit's important to underscorethe historical significance of neighbourhoods like it.

While he admitsneighbourhoods change naturally, he saysit's a shamewhen change is forced on themby gentrification, development, or a lack of affordability.

"We can't let that happen. We can't let the drive for profit force people from those communities and take that historic soul out," Layton said.

"The city will be worse off," he added.

City of Toronto staff are evaluating a possible "cultural district plan" for similar neighbourhoods, including Little Jamaica.

However, the citydoes not have any "protective mechanisms" in place right now, Layton said.

"Our heritage powers at the city and province don't protect the cultural elements of a space, they protect the physical building," he said.

"Some planning powers can help manipulate what buildings look like, how they're read, and how big some spaces are, which can impact the affordability of it, but it gets less specific with tenants, types of businesses, etc.," Layton continued.

"I think it's important to try to shift our focus."

Laytonalso recommends looking at what other municipalities are doing to preserve districtslike Chinatown.

"We've got tolook for new rules, even if we don't have them, doesn't mean we should try to find them."