From Storeys:
In an ironic turn of events, Toronto City Planning is experiencing staff retention issues due, in part, to housing in Toronto being too expensive.
A report recently released by Toronto City Planning Chief Planner and Executive Director Gregg Lintern revealed that the vacancy rate in the City Planning department was just under 13% as of April 30, 2022.
“In what has been referred to as the ‘great reassessment,’ employees everywhere are reassessing their life choices including their employment opportunities,” the report reads. “Employers too are reimaging their services and their operations for changing circumstances and evolving interests of employees. City Planning is not immune from these dynamics and indeed, many divisions across the City are challenged in the same manner given the labour market and the myriad of disciplines the City requires to provide the broad range of services necessary for a diverse City of 3 million people.”
Constant promotions, resignations, and retirements are causing significant changes to the staffing situation, the report notes, with 25% of the current staff having been hired since January 2020. The recent pace of turnover is attributed to several factors, one of which being the cost of living in Toronto.