"World Youth Days"

Conference in Canada and Toronto in 2002 AD

The Economic Development Committee recommends the adoption of the report (October 29, 1998) from the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism subject to the addition of the following new Recommendation (1) and the renumbering of the remaining recommendations accordingly:

"(1)That City Council endorse the initiatives of the Canadian Catholic Conference of Bishops in obtaining the World Youth Days Conference for Toronto in 2002";

The Economic Development Committee submits the following report (October 29, 1998) from the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism:

Purpose:

City staff led by representatives of the Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Department have responded to a request for support from a potential event organizer, (the Canadian Catholic Conference of Bishops and Archdiocese of Toronto) in their efforts to bring business activity to the City of Toronto, in the form of the "World Youth Days" Conference in 2002 AD. This report is to advise Council as to the background and status of this initiative.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

Not required at this time.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the staff of the Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Department continue to provide support to the representatives of the Canadian Catholic Conference of Bishops and Archdiocese of Toronto in their efforts to secure the "World Youth Days" Conference;

(2)staff facilitate the continued involvement of the federal and provincial levels of government in the bid process;

(3)staff continue to report on the process and status of the City's involvement in the "World Youth Days" Conference, as well as on appropriate co-ordination and events planning mechanisms.

Council Reference/Background History:

The "World Youth Days" Conference is an 8 day event initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Delegates (pilgrims) visit dioceses all across the host country during the initial 3 days of the program taking part in community based projects. During the final 5 days, all pilgrims congregate in a single city to celebrate their religion, concluded by a Papal Mass conducted by the Holy Father.

The conferences have been hosted in various international destinations on a bi-annual basis since their inception. The most recent conference was hosted in Paris in 1997 with over 1 million participants in attendance (see presentation book page 8). Future plans will see Rome as the host city celebrating the new millennium in 2000 AD; followed by a continuation of the bi-annual time frame in the future years. 2002 is the next available date for a site to be considered.

The Auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop of Toronto, the Most Reverend Anthony Meagher, was asked to chair a committee for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, studying the possibility of hosting the "World Youth Days" Conference in Canada in the year 2002 AD. The city selected by the Canadian Conference as host would then be one of several international destinations to be considered in the spring of 1999 by the Pontiff, Pope John Paul II, as the host for this event.

Bishop Meagher contacted Tourism Toronto seeking required information about Montreal and Toronto as potential host venues. He followed up with correspondence to Mayor Lastman July 30, 1998, outlining his intentions to discuss this matter with the Mayor (see presentation book page 3). Subsequently, the Mayor met with the Bishop and both agreed that further investigation was warranted.

A staff team was established to support the initiative. City staff facilitated a series of meetings including one with key individuals involved with the 1984 Papal Visit in order to revisit issues related to being the host location for such an event.

This would be the largest single conference ever hosted in the history of our City, should Toronto be selected by the Holy Father as the world destination.

Faced with a tight time line, the strategy was to develop two "sales" products for presentation by Father Roberts and Bishop Meagher during the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops' Fall Plenary Session, October 14-18 in Niagara Falls. The first, a presentation booklet, circulated under separate cover, provided details about Toronto's existing infrastructure, including capacities and photos of potential venues. The second, a video was used to provide a more graphic illustration of the Toronto and the multitude of potential resources available to conference organizers.

Comments and/or Discussions and/or Justification:

The Province of Ontario and Federal Government have offered support in principle (as noted on pages 4 through 6 of the presentation booklet). As the conference organizers, the Bishops Conference have yet to strike an organizing committee to determine the specific needs of the event, therefore no further commitment from any level of government was required at that time.

Furthermore, it was understood by all parties involved in the development of this bid package that the City of Toronto Council has yet to review the 2002 "World Youth Days" Conference and Papal Visit and must do so through due Council process.

Conclusions:

Through a spirit of co-operation which will no doubt become commonplace in the new City of Toronto, bid team representatives worked with industry partners to develop the necessary tools to support a request from the CCCB and the Archdiocese of Toronto to present Toronto as a potential venue for the 2002 "World Youth Days" Conference to conference delegates at the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Representatives made presentations on October 15, 1998, and Toronto was selected by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops as the Canadian destination of choice for the 2002 "World Youth Days" Conference.

Toronto Archdiocese representatives have determined that the next step in the process should be to develop the terms of reference for a comprehensive feasibility study. The study should identify the specific needs of the event organizers, any associated costs and the potential sources of revenue which will make this conference financially self-sustaining.

Contact Name:

Stan Walton, Manager, Administration and Support Services, North Region,

Phone: 395-0364, fax: 395-7886

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The following persons appeared before the Economic Development Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:

-Mr. Stan Walton, Manager, Administration and Support Services, North Region, Economic Development, Culture and Tourism;

-Father Norm Roberts, Director, Office of Catholic Youth, Archdiocese of Toronto;

-Mr. Kirk Shearer, President and C.E.O., Tourism Toronto;

-Councillor Korwin-Kuczynski, High Park; and

-Councillor Mihevc, York Eglinton.