Toronto's Waterfront History

Before Khadafi came to power in Libya, Tripoli was known as the jewel of the Mediterranean because of the beauty of its waterfront boulevards. Beauty, however, can be dangerous especially when it references a colonial code that has just been overthrown. Khadafi's social revolution obliterated the legacy of the old political order by crushing the boulevards under a bleak shipping terminal that stretched far into the Mediterranean. What does that have to do with Toronto's waterfront? When there were no railways in Toronto's core, the waterfront was accessible and the young city on the edge of Canada's wilderness aspired to its own grand boulevard on a picturesque harbour. We know what happened to that vision. Toronto's waterfront was in-filled and industrialized once the railways severed the city from the lake. Due to an industrial rather than a social revolution, our waterfront was destroyed and Torontonians searching for natural beauty had to go north to cottage country. After more than a century we are being presented with an opportunity to re-beautify the waterfront. We all want it. Going to the cottage to find a piece of nature is a dream for most of us not to mention being environmentally harmful on a large scale. Why then are we unable to agree on an effective waterfront plan? What is preventing our governments from taking the money they have allocated and moving ahead with a sound vision? Why is the public good stymied by inefficient, quasi-political organizations like the Toronto Harbourfront Commission? Who gave these people the power to squander this rare opportunity to reconnect with Lake Ontario and add a social amenity to our city? Does anyone have the answer? We would like to know.