Participatory Budgeting (PB) has gained momentum and spread to many cities around the world as the desire for greater citizen autonomy in the economy continues to grow. PB is “a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget” (The Participatory Budgeting Project, 2022). Since being successfully implemented in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989, various forms of PB have emerged within Canada with varying degrees of success, such as Guelph, Ontario, in 1999. The City of Toronto engaged in a participatory budget pilot program between 2015 and 2017 which was limited in size and scope and ultimately left much to be desired (Murray, 2019). Today, Toronto is gripping with program cuts, service provision deficiencies, and other lingering consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research project argues for a new, expanded PB program as one potential solution to Toronto’s challenges. By leveraging existing structures and working with key stakeholders, an initial framework of PB that addresses both the existing social inequities that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and socioeconomic barriers preventing citizens from adequately participating in their local economy could be implemented in Toronto.
Background
PB systems typically arise when citizens lack power and agency over local decisions, when inequality is high, and in situations where there is a culture of grassroots community organizing. The socio-economic environment in Canada helped pave the way for the city of Guelph, Ontario, to launch its PB program in 1999 as “citizens and politicians search[ed] for innovative ways to redistribute resources, alleviate poverty and develop more democratic institutions and participatory practices” (Pinnington et al., 2009, 460). Porto Alegre’s PB program was successful in part because of its ability to “address the lack of essential infrastructure or services” in poor and underdeveloped areas (Pinnington et al., 2009, 459).
Context
The pandemic and its impacts are far from over and Toronto is continuing to suffer today as a result. A July 2022 report indicated that the City of Toronto would be making “as much as $300 million in cuts to its capital budget” due to its budget shortfall deriving from the effects of the pandemic, unless it receives more provincial and federal assistance (Spurr, 2022). According to City Councillor Perks, “unless the city finds a solution to the pandemic financial crunch, ‘just about every service that Torontarians rely on will get worse’” (Spurr, 2022). Toronto’s service provision is already 38 percent lower than it was in the fall of 2019 (Mussett, 2022). Toronto’s property taxes are its largest contributor to the city’s budget and yet, Toronto has one of the lowest homeowner tax rates in the province (Pagliaro & Pilla, 2021). PB offers the residents of Toronto an opportunity to fund services, programs, and projects that are being paused or cut as a result of inadequate funding and inept leadership.
Solutions
Recognizing that municipalities within Canada do not have a lot of legal autonomy, communities and their elected representatives are looking for innovative methods to address the increasing inequalities within Canada both economically and socially (Pinnington et al., 2009, 459). One such method is PB. Why we selected PB as an option for addressing these inequalities is because it invites community members to be involved in how allocated funds are spent from initial stages of proposing the ideas to voting for projects they believe will better the communities in which they live (Murray, 2019).
Toronto’s PB pilot project increased interest among cities regarding this model due to potential opportunities for greater transparency and engagement among all community members (Murray, 2019). Porto Alegre, Brazil is considered to be a successful example of PB because it “brought those usually excluded from the political process into the heart of decision making, significantly increasing the power and influence of civil society and improving local people’s lives through the more effective allocation of resources” (Case Study: Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2016). Experiences from Porto Alegre that we are interested in exploring more include the redistributive effects when a higher percentage of the budget is allocated to PB and implementing tiered meetings, specifically for Toronto at the city and ward levels (Case Study: Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2016). Additionally, we plan to examine Guelph’s use of redistributing funds based on consensus and not majority vote, as well as their focus on community services and not infrastructure, identified differences from the city of Porto Alegre (Pinnington et al., 2009, 468).
Methodology
We plan to reevaluate Toronto’s PB pilot potential utilizing the Expansive Learning change process methodology. This is particularly timely as the pandemic has exacerbated economic and social inequalities. Considerations for step 3, our modeled solution, will be an allocated operations budget for implementation and outreach, comparison of funding at the ward and city level, specifying eligible projects, and involvement of elected officials (Murray, 2019). Our initial model or pilot will focus on a specific relevant area where money from the larger city budget could be allocated. An example of this approach is the City of Victoria’s current PB process which allocates approximately $50,000 annually to community initiatives that are voted on each year (City of Victoria, 2022). The examination and testing phase will allow us to apply frameworks and lessons from our research to “real” Toronto data or context with the goal of addressing the issues impacting the city. Our project will however make recommendations on expanding the program, the benefits the program would have even for the communities outside the focus of PB and strategies for continued engagement in PB both within Toronto and its communities.
Stakeholders
In addition to city employees and residents, particular community groups are important stakeholders due to their common goals and/or experience. A key takeaway from Toronto’s initial PB pilot was a lack of local participation (City of Toronto, 2019). Therefore, departments within the municipal government such as the Strategic Public and Employee Communications division, as well as neighbourhood activist groups and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation who have engaged in their own participatory budget process since 2016 (Toronto Community Housing Corporation, 2022) will be essential in communicating and rendering support for this initiative.
The Transformation of Uber Eats
Sida Li, Ziying Liu, Xiangyi Zhang, Qifeng Zhong, Shuting Liao
During the years of pandemic, Canada’s unemployment rate has reached one of its highest levels in recent years, the rate was twice higher than usual, which was around 13% during the summer of 2020. (FX Empire, 2022) Therefore, the increasing of the unemployment rate has become one of the most serious impacts that COVID-19 has brought to the economy and the society. However, there still are companies and organizations trying to create more job opportunities for people to help them suffer from this difficult time. For our collaborative group project, we chose Uber Eats as our research target because Uber Eats not only plays the role of a food delivery company, it is also an important economic multiplier for restaurants, convenience stores and local businesses.It creates thousands of jobs for people through their platform, and indirectly to support thousands of more jobs through the wider supply chain such as car manufacturing, farming industries. (Uber, 2021) Democratizing the economy in Uber eats by connecting consumers, markets and workers and empowering workers with labor rights. Therefore, in our project, we will mainly study how the Uber Eats transformed from a one-demand economy, and by comparing with other similar platforms, propose more reasonable reform suggestions for them so that the company can make a greater contribution to the social economy.
Covid-19 has caused massive layoffs and the closure of numerous businesses, leaving many people without jobs while their livelihoods became precarious. The impact was huge for many ordinary families, which further implies the situation could be worsen for disadvantaged groups who did not have fair access to social resources, this phenomenon is opposed to the central idea of economic democracy. Economic democracy is employees as the main executors of the company’s decision-making power, they have equal rights in the company. On the other hand, small restaurants and businesses could not operate normally due to the health and safety protocols of the pandemic. As a result, expensive rents, meager revenues, along with the inflation left them in dire straits. As an organization, Uber Eats has been operating well during Covid-19 pandemic, saving many restaurants from shutting down while providing job opportunities for people who became unemployed, especially those who are from vulnerable groups.
Our proposed organizational changes for Uber Eats will be discussed from multiple perspectives, and the expected outcomes will benefit both the consumers, the organization, and the society. The first recommendation is to adopt a specific recruitment campaign targeting vulnerable groups. Although the mass unemployment due to the pandemic could harm any single individual, there is no doubt that people from vulnerable groups faced greater possibilities of losing a job or reduced compensation. Given the pessimistic economic conditions during the pandemic, the targeted recruitment campaign will make people from disadvantaged groups to secure a job in a relatively less competitive way. Another suggestion is to optimize the experience of its delivery partners by providing them with more benefits and resources during the work. A mandatory Occupational Health and Safety Awareness training should also be conducted to mitigate work-related incidents. Uber Eats should also consider exploring new business opportunities to meet the current market demand. To be specific, the first recommendation is to have a bike rental service for its delivery partners. This would help people without a transportation tool to easily start their career with Uber Eats. Next, Uber Eats can launch a “time-distance-based delivery service,” which is a new mode of delivery that allows delivery of any items from anywhere in the city. We will further introduce this service during the presentation.
In addition, these changes can first take place in the provinces that have the most higher unemployment rate and largest group of the population, this is because switching from a sole-demanding economy to more platform cooperativism will create a large number of job opportunities in a faster manner that can quickly mitigate the decline in the employment rate. Moreover, the trend of the unemployment rate should be also considered, if the unemployment rate is relatively low but it is increasing sharply, those areas should also be targeted. Based on the most updated data collected by The Canadian Press(2022), Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island have the highest unemployment rate; Alberta and British Columbia unemployment rates keep climbing. Therefore, the changes can first be tested in Ontario and British Columbia due to the large population base, and also Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island due to the high unemployment rate.
By cooperating with more businesses and organizations locally, Uber Eats can provide even more job opportunities. This will benefit a large number of groups from different perspectives and it needs a variety of efforts from each party. Drivers will be the top stakeholders in this change. Expanding the service range, more drivers would be needed to support the demands of deliveries. In the same way, local businesses are key stakeholders as well. During the pandemic, opening virtual stores and offering delivery options for customers did save a lot of stores from being permanently closed. Moreover, drivers without cars but who want to be Uber Eats drivers can rent cars for work which helps the car renting companies as well. Finally, Uber Eats’ transformation to more platform cooperativism needs local government support such as tax deductions or business bonuses on meeting certain employee hiring indexes that helped solve local unemployment issues; or providing tax benefits for drivers that rent cars for work to improve the local economy.
In order to let Uber Eats make a difference concerning employment, our group would examine and evaluate the changes based on the Expansive Learning change model. Firstly, questioning: If Uber Eats provides enough guarantee (insurances, healthy and safety care, etc.) for its drivers? Secondly, analysis: Uber Eats uses other logistics companies like Closer Logistics to have drivers, which means these drivers do not directly belong to Uber Eats (APF, 2021) so it would be hard to guarantee drivers’ rights and they are easy to be fired. Then modeling: establishing a specific recruitment campaign for hiring vulnerable and unskilled employees and providing free training, providing bike rental services for partners, cooperating with local small businesses. Next, examining the model: evaluating the cost of the new changes, predicting the outcomes of what these changes can bring, assessing if these models are practical. Implementing: it requires co-operatives between the platform Uber Eats and other businesses, reorganizes its business line, trains its employees. Reflecting and assessing the process: more job opportunities will be provided. Finally, consolidating: Uber Eats should become a platform that provides job opportunities for a large different groups both in short and long terms through its sustainable development so that stakeholders’ profits can be kept.
In conclusion, the reform of Uber Eats is a step toward economic democracy. Workers and consumers or businesses can also interact in the market, just like the interaction between workers and consumers in the re-distributive market in the four pillars of economic democracy mentioned by Malleson (2014). If Uber Eats is successfully transformed into an economic democracy, it will play a certain role as a good example for other enterprises, and at the same time, it will reduce the harm of emergencies to vulnerable populations and increase social and economic stability.
