What makes Market 707 different from other markets in the city?

It was created to provide accessible and affordable retail opportunities for people in the neighbourhood — with a focus on racialized folks, newcomers, youth and/or people living on a low income.

Market 707 is a social enterprise. A lot of the revenue generated through that program goes back into our programming, which allows us some flexibility. So, let's say a program has been funded by the provincial government, youth honorariums are an ineligible expense — but we know that honorariums are critical to the work, so we can use some of the revenue from our social enterprise funds to fill that gap.

And there’s a really low barrier to accessing the containers at Market 707. Vendors basically just need to have insurance, and we can even help them figure that out. We don't ask for formal financing like credit cheques. So, I think just keeping the opportunity really accessible and creating a pathway to entrepreneurship that's realistic for people.

Obviously, the concept of Market 707 is affordable rent — rent as low as $15 to $16 a day. The integrity of Market 707 lies in ensuring accessible and affordable pathways for emerging businesses, and in creating a real community amongst the entrepreneurs.

You’ve been working at SCCC for five years now. What has been your biggest lesson so far?

I've learned a lot about community and economic development from the community perspective — from learning how to do things that are driven by community members and not from the top-down perspective.

Just over the last few years, I’ve been learning more about participatory planning and the importance of having the voices of the communities that we serve involved in all of the development work that we do.

I feel like I can't have this conversation without speaking a little bit to the history of Alexandra Park because the community members really wanted to take ownership and have a say in all of the decisions that were happening, so they established Atkinson Co-op. None of the redevelopment work in the neighbourhood happens without the consultation of the community members.

For example, people in one of our seniors' groups are very adamant that they are involved in the budgeting of their program. We call that participatory budgeting, so they basically sit down with us and ask, “How much do we have?” and they're like, “This is what we want to do.” And so, a lot of it is us just listening and really taking to heart what the participants and community wants.