Too often we forget the virtue of collective action for collective good. That is the key lesson of the success of the Pam Am Games: at their best, governments can be very effective at accomplishing significant public benefits.

Leaders must be dedicated and willing to commit sizable sums of public money; they must co-ordinate the interests of public agencies and private companies; they must engage members of the public; over time they must show imagination and flexibility as problems arise in the execution of the program.

Those conditions were all met with the Pan Am Games under the leadership of the Ontario government, with the federal and city governments playing lesser but supportive roles. The athletes performed well, as athletes often do, but it was everything else that made the events such a success. The governments handled the transportation challenges well, while learning lessons in how to clear up accidents and traffic snarls quickly for the future.

The large number of cultural events, particularly the free musical performances at Nathan Phillips Square, attracted great crowds of people, as did the stages at the Distillery District and Exhibition Place. The large Toronto logo in Nathan Phillips Square was universally praised.

The commissioned theatrical pieces had sold-out performances, the photographic exhibits in Union Station were well attended, and the Aboriginal exhibits at Fort York were considered very innovative. Pride House was opened for gay athletes. Thousands of people were committed enough to the Games that they volunteered their time and energy to help make it a success.

And the Games were a good excuse to finish a number of public projects: the Queen’s Quay promenade and bike lane were opened; the Union Station Plaza became a crowded public space; the Union Pearson Express train service began service. Even the fountains on University Avenue, which had not functioned for years, again spouted into the air. Flower boxes were placed along many downtown bike lanes.

There were bound to be a few complaints. The hotel industry found that too many rooms remained vacant as regular summer visitors to the city stayed away, and their absence was not made up by the number of who came just for the Games. The taxi industry made the same complaint.

Those complaints don’t take away from the larger point: government can be an effective leader. The public sector can spend public funds in ways that people think are worthwhile, doing things the private sector could never do.

Many of our local leaders are now urging the city to submit a bid for the 2024 Olympics, which would have a cost tag of $15 billion or more. The city doesn’t have that kind of money — it apparently doesn’t even want to increase property taxes enough to prevent a transit fare increase in 2016 — but those leaders are ready to ask the provincial and federal governments to ratchet up their taxes to cover this cost.

It’s the wrong response. Now that we have again recognized the virtue of collective action for collective good, we should set our minds to tackling some of the most significant problems in Toronto, such as the high level of youth unemployment.

Those issues cry out for dedicated leadership, co-ordinating the actions of public agencies and private companies, the commitment of significant public funds and imagination and flexibility in program execution — the skills that we know from the Pan Am Games that the public sector has at hand.

Forty years ago Toronto City Council decided to tackle the issue of affordable housing, and with the support of the provincial and federal governments, it met with great public success, building communities such as St. Lawrence and dozens of smaller projects in neighbourhoods throughout pre-amalgamation city of Toronto.

Government then exhibited the same ability to accomplish much public good that continues to this day.

The lesson from the Pan Am Games is the great ability of the public sector to address public needs, a lesson we should again set in motion to address our troubling social problems.

This article appeared in the August 25th edition of Post City Magazine.