Toronto Area Interfaith Council
Breaking the cycle of poverty
MANDATE
Building Relationships Towards Reducing Poverty
TAIC, or The Toronto Area Interfaith Council, is the leading interfaith organization of Toronto (the world’s most diverse, pluralistic and cosmopolitan city). Comprising of the city’s most influential faith leaders, the TAIC brings together diverse congregations to effect social change.
Different Ethnicities
Different Ethnicities
250
Residents Not Born In Canada
Residents not born in Canada
51%
Different Languages Spoken
Languages Spoken
170
Our City
Mission
The Toronto Area Interfaith Council (TAIC) is an organization of representatives of faith communities and groups in the Toronto area. TAIC is dedicated to affirming the importance of ethics, spirituality and faith in daily life and to the promotion of understanding, harmony, respect and acceptance among the faith communities of the Toronto area. TAIC functions in association with individuals and organizations devoted to multi-faith activities.
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There is no debating the increasing levels of poverty in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto’s Mayor, Mr. John Tory acknowledged that Toronto has become a “city unfairly and unjustly divided by income, class and geography”.
This observation has been substantiated in many reports and analyses in recent years. A recent article in the Toronto Star reports that Food Bank visits in Toronto are back to levels seen during the height of the recession almost 10 years ago. According to the newest “Who’s Hungry” report by the Daily Bread Food Bank, usage by seniors has increased by 27 per cent.
A 2018 Toronto Child and Family Poverty Report drawing on released census data reveals a disturbing picture of child and family poverty in Toronto and in every single ward across the city.
The Toronto Region Board of Trade’s, “Closing the Prosperity Gap” paper notes that the GTA is confronted “by worrying trends that threaten to undermine our social cohesion and economic strength, in effect creating a “prosperity gap”.
About Us
Our Story
In 2004 Fr. Damian MacPherson, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, then Director for the Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs for the Archdiocese of Toronto, saw the need for a more collaborative relationship with non-Christian leaders within the greater Toronto Area. The hope arising from such an initiative was to eventually create needed interfaith dialogue. The likelihood of such an endeavor seemed long overdue, especially since Toronto was the most ethnic diverse city in the world. The first step in any initiative to bring about such a group was the extension of hospitality and building relationships of trust.
Our Story
TAIC's Timeline
COVID-19
The COVID 19 Pandemic has required that TAIC conduct its meetings using the ZOOM platform.
Parliament of the World's Religions
The most significant event since TAIC was founded in 2014 was bringing over 8500 people to Toronto to participate in the Parliament of the World’s Religions for seven days in November 2018.
Parliament of World's Religions
Participating in the Parliament of World’s Religions, Salt Lake City: Toronto’s Accepted Proposal.
Founding
TAIC was founded.