1. Accessibility of municipal services for ethnocultural populations in Toronto and Montreal
- Author
-
Tate, Ellen and Quesnel, Louise
- Subjects
Toronto, Ontario -- Social policy ,Montreal, Quebec -- Social policy ,Municipal services -- Research ,Ethnic groups -- Research ,Government - Abstract
The increasing density and residential concentration of some ethnocultural groups in some Canadian cities raises challenges for the planning and delivery of municipal services. This study examines the accessibility and receptivity of municipal services for ethnocultural populations in Toronto and Montreal. The analysis centers principally on a comparison of the Toronto Multicultural Access Program (MAP) and the Bureau interculturel de Montreal (BIM) and their relationships with selected municipal departments and political bodies. Results show that, as expected, Toronto, with a higher proportion of different ethnocultural populations, had greater accessibility and receptivity of municipal services than Montreal did: MAP was found to have a narrow mandate focused on improving accessibility of services, whereas BIM was found to be responsible for a wider range of services affecting ethnocultural populations. Public relations work occupied a large proportion of BIM resources. While MAP addressed the improvement of accessibility in a systematic and structured way that involved all departments in the administration, BIM tended to intervene in a more varied manner based on the needs of particular groups, districts of departments. A discussion of the possible reasons for the different approaches and their implications for urban development and planning is presented along with suggestions for future study in this area. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
- Published
- 1995