The Harbord Village Residents’ Association holds two yearly general meetings: a Spring Meeting the third week of May, and an Annual General Meeting the third week of October.
Both meetings ask for active participation. In area caucuses, people living near each other discuss and define issues of concern. Reports on HVRA activities follow, then one or two invited speakers. Community Builder Awards are often a feature. Some Spring Meetings have presented Student Essay Prizes. The Annual General Meetings in October include a vote to elect Board members.
- The yearly HVRA Calendar of Events includes the dates for these two regular meetings, along with other events organized by HVRA. See our calendars for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and now 2022.
- Watch for more details in HVRA News e-newsletters (eblasts) and other places in this website, including the HVRA News and Coming Up Soon notices in the right-hand sidebar of every page.
- Minutes for all meetings are available here.
- HVRA now starts its public meetings with a statement of acknowledgement to the indigenous people who have lived in this area. (See also the first section of Richard Longley’s Historic Walks in Harbord Village)
It is important for us to acknowledge that the area we call Harbord Village has been a site of human activity for many thousands of years. This land is the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat First Nation, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Before European settlement, the area was included in the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Confederacy of the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. We respect that agreement and honour the history of past care for the land where we now stand.
Annual General Meeting, 21 October 2021 (online)
See details here. Read bios of people standing for election to the HVRA Board, and view a recording of the inspiring talk given by Matt Hoffmann about HVRA’s Net Zero initiative: https://youtu.be/Be8C7jawCF8
Spring Meeting, 18 May 2021 (online)
See details here. The image below shows Jessica Bell, the MPP for University-Rosedale, speaking to attendees.
Annual General Meeting, 22 October 2020 (online)
See details here. Read bios of people standing for election to the HVRA Board and scan Board documents relevant to the meeting, including the Agenda, Minutes of the 2019 AGM, the HVRA 2019-2020 Financial Statement, and the 2020 HVRA Report
Spring Meeting, 20 May 2020: meeting was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Annual General Meeting, 16 October 2019: see details here.
Spring Meeting, 15 May 2019: see details here.
Annual General Meeting, 17 October 2018
The 2018 AGM was well attended. Members gathered in area caucuses and discussed area issues and concerns, and Area Reps were elected for each caucus. Community Builder Awards were presented to Gord Brown, Sandy Smith, Coleen Whyte, Judith Robertson, Erik Schneiderhan and M.P Stevens. The slate of board members was approved. Tim MacFarlane on behalf of the Rusty Dragons presented an overview of the HVRA dragon boat team and encouraged people of all abilities to get involved. Lydia Wong gave an excellent presentation based on her study of the bees in the Harbord Village. For more information about her study, visit the HV Gardeners Page.
- Click on the arrows in the slide show below to see board members, residents and speakers in action in 2018. Photos by Richard Longley.
Spring Meeting, 16 May 2018
At the 2018 Spring Meeting Councillor Joe Cressy provided an update on happenings in the city, the ward and in the neighbourhood. The Transportation Committee gave a brief overview on the U of T engineering students report and recommendations regarding wrong way traffic on one way streets in the Harbord Village. With the larger group split into Area Caucus groups, discussions were held on what residents could do at the local level to help deal with wrong way drivers. Community Builder Awards were presented to
Lisa Edwards, Andrew Sliwa, and the Major Street Speedhump Crew. Sheila Murray presented an interesting overview of the work of her organization, CREW (Community Resilience for Extreme Weather), to help communities deal with extreme weather, from drought to floods to extreme heat. The main thrust of her talk was neighbours helping neighbours during extreme weather events. The HVRA will investigate ways for our community to become more resilient.
Annual General Meeting, 18 October 2017
About 60 people attended the 2017 AGM. The area caucuses aired several issues of concern, including problems finding parking spaces and questions about laneway housing. The slate of board members was approved. Councillor Joe Cressy announced new park space, and the invited speaker Andrew Farncombe showed how the TO Core planning study envisages appropriate development downtown and in nearby residential areas. (See his presentation slides here.)
- Click on the arrows in the slide show below to see board members, residents and speakers in action. Photos by Richard Longley.
Spring Meeting, 19 May 2017
The 2017 Spring Meeting saw a lively short demonstration of English Country Dancing, awarded two Community Builder Awards and heard from the fascinating young urban planner Anthony Smith. Anthony takes public data about life in Toronto and puts it onto maps that portray income disparities, population densities, and other facts about our city that are fascinating in themselves and useful to know as citizens. You can get a glimpse of his work in the images below and on his website. Photos by Anne Kerekes.
Annual General Meeting, 16 October 2016
Highlights of the 2016 Fall AGM included guest speakers outlining Greening Harbord Village ideas, Community Builder Awards, and changes to the Harbord Village Board and Constitution. Photos below by Graham Rempe.
Community Builder Awards
These meetings also celebrate contributors to HVRA work and to the neighbourhood. Click on the heading to go to a page with photos and notes about dozens of awardees going back to 2009. The list is long, but if you’re a Harbord Village resident you will recognize some of the faces and most of the work being celebrated.
Student Essay Prize
Students in local schools have been invited to submit short essays on the topic “How I’ve Made My Community Better,” and they respond with touching stories. Visit this page to see photos and details about the essays and the student authors.