When most people think of democracy, they think of elections. They think of showing up to vote every four or five years, hoping their chosen candidate will deliver on their promises. In between? Most of us feel shut out. Disempowered. Like democracy is something that happens far away — in some marble hall, behind a podium, beyond our reach.
But what if that wasn’t the full story? What if democracy didn’t end at the ballot box — but happened every single week?
In this week’s episode of How Shall We Live?, I talk with
, one of the founders of Civic Dashboard Toronto, a radically simple but powerful tool that allows ordinary people to exert extraordinary influence on policies.What’s Civic Dashboard?
Civic Dashboard is a volunteer-built platform that helps Toronto residents know exactly what’s happening at City Council (the local Toronto government) — and when and how to speak up. It changes the democratic system through a deceptively simple act— by making it reachable. As Ilya put it, “It’s a last-mile delivery service for democracy.”
Most cities, including Toronto, already have processes that allow anyone to depute — to show up and speak directly on proposed legislation. But hardly anyone uses this. Why? Not because they don’t care. But because they don’t know how.
“We believe Toronto is a city of vast civic motivation... It’s that there’s a lot of friction between that motivation and action.”
—Ilya
Civic Dashboard fixes that. It helps you track the issues you care about, gives you plain-language updates, and makes it easy to write or speak directly to Council — before laws you care about are finalized.
And unlike what the voice of overwhelm and despair makes us believe— your voice actually counts.
Why This Conversation Matters (Even Beyond Toronto)
This episode is about much more than just municipal policy.
It’s about rediscovering our agency.
It’s about rebuilding trust in each other and in the democratic process.
It’s about making global problems — like climate change, inequality, and polarization — feel actionable again.
I am highlighting a few key themes that the conversation covers.
Democracy isn’t just elections — it’s weekly participation
Every week, decisions that shape your neighborhood, your rent, your streets, and your safety are made — and you can speak on them. You don’t need to wait four years. You can show up now.
Ilya and I both spoke on issues of housing affordability and surveillance by self-driving vehicles. Real issues that make a difference to our lives in the here and now, and which we could act on.
You don’t have to be an expert — just someone who cares
Whether it’s about housing, safety, or noise in your neighborhood, your lived experience is enough. In fact, some of the most powerful deputations come from people who speak from personal pain or hope — not policy expertise.
An Uber driver showed up to respond to a report claiming drivers earned just $6/hour. “I’m angry,” he said. “They lied to me and stole ten years of my life.” His voice —raw, real was the most powerful in the room. He didn’t need to be a policy expert. He just needed to share his lived experience.
Most people don’t engage not because they’re apathetic — but because the interface is broken
The public process exists. But people aren’t aware of it. The data is there, but it’s unreadable, buried in PDFs and acronyms. Civic Dashboard didn’t uncover secret info — it reframed what was already public and made it accessible.
Raising awareness is a critical lever for driving action and is available to all of us. It is worth asking what other such levers are hiding in plain sight.
Systemic change comes from small, local acts
It is easy to get bogged down thinking of climate change or inequality as one massive global problem that we have no power to influence. But if climate change is to be solved, emissions must fall building by building, plant by plant, city by city. And at that level, the problem is tractable. You and I might not be able to solve nuclear fusion, but we can plant a 100 trees and get 10 friends together to go speak on an energy efficiency law.
Local levers matter — and they’re often more responsive than we think.
Action creates motivation, not the other way around
We don’t need to wait to feel inspired. The act of showing up — especially with friends — changes us. It restores a sense of hope and agency
We are not alone — and trust is contagious
Once you show up, it motivates other people to take action too. And when we act together, we stop feeling like ants facing the machine. We start to see that change spreads, and our effort matters. As I wrote here earlier—we start believing that we can win even in the face of seemingly impossible odds.
There are wonderful, selfless people everywhere trying to make a difference
Traditional economics tries to peddle the narrative that humans are narrowly, selfishly motivated. But the purely volunteer-driven nature of Civic Dashboard shows that this is simply not true. People seek purpose and community, and can come together in selfless ways to cooperate on a larger mission.
Theory of Change: Why It Works
Politicians are incentivized to get re-elected. When they hear from a dozen lobbyists and zero citizens, they act accordingly. They mistake silence for consent.
But if enough people show up? That changes the room. The politicians pay more attention to ordinary citizens because it tells them which way the next election will go. That changes the incentives.
Showing up reveals another important truth—the system isn’t completely broken or corrupt. In many cities, officials want your input. They’re just overworked and navigating difficult constraints. Engaging with them restores severely needed trust in the system.
Civic dashboard is a great example of the strategy I explored in my essay, Beyond Outrage: Build the Alternative. Critique isn’t enough to change systems. We need prototypes that show that a better way is possible. What’s more? We don’t need the perfect plan. We can begin by finding others and showing up. That’s how movements start.
There is much more that we cover in the conversation, and I urge you to listen to it in full. Ilya shares some powerful learnings that are transferable to other projects looking to drive systems change.
I hope the conversation leaves you feeling a little more hopeful, a little more empowered, and — just maybe — a little more willing to speak up the next time something important comes up in your city.
Check out Civicdashboard.ca and civictech.ca to learn more.
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