Advocacy Committee: Call for New Members

Are you passionate about making Toronto a great city for cycling and active transportation? Apply to join Cycle Toronto's Advocacy Committee!

What is the Advocacy Committee and what does it do?

The Advocacy Committee is responsible for supporting, planning, developing strategy for, and assisting in the advocacy of Cycle Toronto campaigns. The Advocacy Committee provides advice to Cycle Toronto’s board and staff and acts as a coordination hub between various staff- and volunteer-led advocacy activities.

The Advocacy Committee:

• researches mobility policy and best practices
• helps write position statements and policy documents
• engages on neighbourhood-based cycling and active transportation issues with community groups and other groups with shared values
• supports Cycle Toronto campaigns
• supports Cycle Toronto staff team to develop responses and feedback on municipal and provincial policy decisions

We realize we can always be doing better and want to do better at supporting our mission of making Toronto a healthy, safe and vibrant cycling city for all. As we grow and challenge ourselves we need your help to:

• Understand what different active transportation goals look like in different parts of the city including outside of the downtown core
• Develop relationships with community groups who may not have the same mandate but have shared visions and values to lift each other up in achieving mutually beneficial goals benefitting our city
• Know where we can lend our support to intersectional causes
• Consider Cycle Toronto's goals in relation to other road users, particularly with an accessibility lens

Should I apply? Am I a good fit?

Yes! You should. We are looking to build an inclusive committee of cycling advocates who come from different parts of the city, have different experiences with cycling (or none at all!) and different levels of experience with advocacy who can bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the committee. We can offer support to new members with a mentorship and training process so don’t worry if you feel that you may lack certain skills or experiences.

Cycle Toronto encourages applications in particular from people who live outside of downtown, individuals from racialized groups, Indigenous people, women, people with disabilities, people of diverse faiths, people of diverse social classes, people with diverse gender identities, and people with diverse sexual orientations.

All we ask that:

• You have an interest in cycling (infrastructure, culture, education) and active transportation
• Our mission, vision and values resonates with you
• You will support us in our anti-oppression work, whether it be learning with us or helping to hold us accountable
• You are willing to make a two year commitment, participate in our monthly meetings, and other related activities
• Be or become a member of Cycle Toronto in good standing*

* Cycle Toronto also offers a discounted membership option for anyone who is low-income, a student, or a senior. No proof is required to utilize this rate. Additionally, if cost—including the cost of a discounted membership—is a barrier, a bartered membership that exchanges volunteer time for your contributions is also an option.

Expectations, Roles, and Responsibilities

Advocacy Committee members are expected to attend a monthly 1 to 1.5-hour meeting that is currently held via video call. Future meetings may be in-person once that is permitted, but there is a strong interest in maintaining video calls in the future to increase access, particularly as members of the committee hail from many different parts of the city.

Members of the Advocacy Committee should expect to contribute an average of 1 to 5 hours of writing or research per month.

Please note that this is a volunteer position.

All members of the Cycle Toronto Advocacy Committee must read, understand, and adhere to the following documents:

• Articles of Governance
• Violence, Harassment and Discrimination Policy
• Tasks and Expectations Policy

Current Vacancies

The Advocacy Committee currently has up to seven vacancies to be filled by Cycle Toronto members for the 2021-2023 term. If you would like to join, please complete the following material by the deadline:

1. Send a brief (1 page maximum) letter to [email protected] with the following information:
   • Description of your interests and experience
   • Highlight any lived experiences or interests you have related to equity, diversity, and inclusion and active transportation and mobility
   • What you would like to contribute to the committee, such as the types of projects and advocacy work you are interested in
2. Complete the Cycle Toronto Advocacy Committee Recruitment survey

The deadline to submit all of the materials is April 12, 2021 at 11:59 PM EDT (Midnight).

The recruitment team will review the applications and contact selected candidates to arrange an interview. We thank all applicants for their interest but only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviews will be held after April 12.

If you have any questions feel free to contact [email protected] and/ or [email protected].