WHY I LOVE TORONTO

My native city is generally scorned by everyone else in Canada.That's not bad enough. The principal detractors are the chattering classes right here in good old Hogtown. Journalists earning a living right here in this city are the first to throw stones.

So this is for all those people who sneer at the city. To Montrealers who insist that we don't know what a good smoked meat sandwich is, or have no idea what the "right" bagel is. To the Vancouverites who sit smugly in their little town famous for it's wonderful view, and I admit, for it's growing chic. To the Calgarians whose hubris is manifest in a very puffed up version of their cowtown. To Maritimers who think our city is unfriendly and unwelcoming to everyone from "away." These are the usual annoyances we citizens of beautiful Toronto have to endure. And the antipathy goes 'way back. I remember w wonderful radio play by Lister Sinclair on the CBC "Stage" series: "Why we all hate Toronto."

And yes, I remember this place when the only presumably "good" food was stuff like the coconut cream pie at Bassel's, the breaded veal cutlet at LaPlaza and the roast beef at the Royal York. I admit - we used to be a gustatory wasteland.

I am moved to write this paean to my city because today, in honour of the passing decade the Star's Rosie Dimanno wrote an unfortunately amusing column about the zany stuff that has happened here. But it was the headline, probably written, not by Rosie, but by some headline writer who couldn't resist the chance to make a point: "As the city at the centre of the universe never tires of boasting about itself: We're world-class jackasses."

It is that self-loathing that bothers me most. It begins with the cityscape critics who complain endlessly about the "ugly wall of condos that rims the harbour," and about how "the Gardiner cuts off the view of our waterfront." And about how we should learn from Chicago which is proud of its uncluttered vista of Lake Michigan.

It's all rubbish! I happen to love the ride into the city from the west along the Gardiner, especially at night when the lights highlight the view. On my right are condos and on my left are (if you subtract the ugly billboards) the office and condo towers of a city where people want to live downtown. As for the "walk" along the water, there is no better urban view that a walk along Harbourfront with the bay on one side and the towers on the other. And for a Chicago-like walk, something Chicago does not have, the Island. The southern side with beaches and a stunning lake view. The north side with it's equally stunning view of the city. Want another kind of "view?" How about a stroll or a bike ride from Cherry Beach all the way to Balmy Beach?

The chronic scorners of the media; the ones who endlessly compare the joys of Chicago to the mess called Toronto, also giggle out loud at our pretentiousness in calling our city "world class." The CN Tower comes in for a lot of scorn, because as a symbol of our city it is not the Eiffel Tower. True, they have heaped praise on the Gehry-designed Art Gallery of Ontario, but have perversely approved of the recent designation of the new Liebskind ROM as the ugliest building of the decade.

They don't talk about the wonderful downtown resting places like the elegant little plaza behind the old Bank of Commerce Building, or the peaceful serenity of the park at St. James, or the growing number of people who make up the critical mass that enriches downtown living, or the St. Lawrence Market, or the wonderful restaurants, the abundance of music and drama.

I make my own little joke about being a Toronto-booster. Some facts: did you know that Toronto is the fifth largest city in North America? Did you know that Toronto is the third largest English-speaking theatre centre in the world? Did you realize that the CN Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in the world?
We don't seem to be first with anything, except old stuff like Insulin was discovered here.

I am a home exchanger. I have the pleasure of trading places with people in Paris, Chicago, Stockholm, Aberdeen, Auckland, and North Carolina, to name a few. I enjoy showing them around. They are always startled at how much there is in this city. Our friends in Paris, with whom we will exchange for four months starting in April, will spend at least two months based in Toronto.

I am sorry that so many of us short-change this city. I am even sorrier that the media leads the charge.

And a happy New Year,even to those unlucky enough to live somewhere that is not Toronto.