Tornto international fim festival

Tiff Week

This week was an exhilarating experience for a small town guy out searching for the truth about our economic situation. It was the Toronto international film festival also knows as TIFF week and I found myself caught up in all the excitement and hype that comes with it. The streets of Toronto were transformed overnight to resemble Hollywood complete with Limousines, broadcast trucks and paparazzi on every street corner each vying to get the perfect shot of that elusive celebrity .There certainly was quite a buzz in the air as reports of A list stars were spotted dining in various restaurants around town. Hotels and clubs hired extra security people to help shield the famous from the diligent crowds who refused to leave their post in hopes of catching a glimpse of their favorite celeb. The energy in the city was one of excitement and joy as the onlookers clutched their cameras firmly in their hands not risking the loss of that rare shot. It was a nice feeling to see so many ordinary people having such a great time smiling and having so much fun and all for free. What could be better? Well I was very fortunate to actually meet a few celebrities and be invited to some A list parties. How I got invited remains a mystery to me. But never the less I was thrilled to be a part of all the festivities. I was honored to meet several icons from my past as well as the present. When I watched them on the big screen they were larger than life to me. I’m very happy to report they were all very kind and sincere just genuine people doing their jobs. Most importantly the staff at the many restaurants and hotels that hosted these gala events really went out of their way to be accommodating to me and were so wonderful, they made me feel very special and I so appreciate it. I stayed up most nights into the wee hours of the evening trying to breathe in all the good energy that could be felt by all. Of course I did not let my mission get clouded by all the fuss. At times I felt my theory must be wrong being surrounded by such opulent settings. But as the exotic cars left the streets and the stargazers retired for the night, I was left talking to the people who actually organized this event and work in the trenches year round not just for this magical week. The hard working people who managed the magnificent hotels explained to me how bad their vacancy rate is the rest of the year and in fact many have been operating at a loss for two years or more. Some are for sale with no perspective buyers in sight. Several of the finest restaurants report sales down forty to sixty percent an alarming number for any business to endure. The servers at these establishments claim their gratuities are down to the point where they cannot make ends meet. A small condo in the city ranges from 350k to 450k. When you combine utilities, insurance and cost of living one would have to make 120 k a year just to make ends meet. Most do not. Many hard working people in the city core work two jobs or more and log many hours just to survive. Some have resorted to roommates in their quest to become property owners. Once again these are not lazy people for the most part they are continuing to educate themselves and put in long days just to live the dream. This dream once seemed to me to be so easily attainable and now appears to be slipping out of the grasp of so many deserving people. With unemployment at record levels and no solution in sight it makes you wonder. Commercial rental vacancy is now approaching the double digits due to the laying off of workers. It is becoming very clear to me my little town with all the mighty factories sitting idle are not the only casualties in this changing of times. I do not care for the word recession; I feel it is not an accurate reflection of what we are facing. All the red carpets have been rolled up. The stars have left town in their private jets, the cameramen are gone and the streets are returning back to normal. I just wonder if normal can carry these businesses through until the next extravaganza comes to town. I must say the economy does not seem to discriminate against my small town any more than it does against the big city. I think it is time to go and investigate other places to find that town that is prospering and see how and why they are doing it. Wherever that may be.

Jeff Gardner