Governance

The Steering Committee of eight individuals was put together by community organizations in March 2019 at a community town hall. The Committee was meant to be an interim committee for three months and was to report back to the community on how to move the community centre project forward. 

For the following three reasons, the Committee has decided to incorporate with the current eight members of the Steering Committee as “First Directors” in order to advance critical processes of the community centre. This idea was presented at the community town hall in August 2019 and it was accepted given the progress the Committee has made to date.

  1. Through the Committee’s engagement with the Mayor’s Office and the City of Toronto, it came upon an opportunity to secure land in north east Scarborough for this project by spring/summer 2020. In order for the City to designate this land for the project, the Committee has to enter into a Lease agreement with the City. The Committee can only sign that agreement through incorporation. 
  2. Simultaneously, the Committee saw the opportunity for this project to apply for a federal and provincial fund that would cover 73% of the construction costs of the project. In order to apply for this funding, the Committee needs to be an incorporated entity.
  3. The Committee also believes the project should have charitable status from the start in order for it to be successful and financially sustainable. It helps with fundraising because donors will get a tax deductible on their donation, along with creating a sustainable long term operating budget. Incorporation starts the process of obtaining charitable status designation.

The Committee knows that determining the governing structure for the community centre is an important topic of the project for the community. The Committee understands it will take time and meaningful discussions with individuals and organizations of our community. The Committee plans on spending next year consulting with the community on a governance structure for the community centre. The Committee will do this by meeting directly with community organizations, hosting public townhalls, and online through our website. If you have other ideas on how the Committee can engage the community on this topic, please let email info@tamilcentre.ca. The Committee looks forward to the robust discussion that will take place on this topic next year and putting together a representative governance structure for the community centre.