Dispatches by Master of Global Affairs and Master of Public Policy students at the University of Toronto. Organized by the Urban Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.
Walking through the streets, full of red-golden maple trees with a cold brisk in the air, my colleagues Rebecca Hellam and Adiba Hasan, and I went have placed signs for independent Councillor-in-running, Cheryl Lewis-Thurab. Though I currently live in Scarborough and understand the general position that Scarborough has on particular issues, i.e., TTC, throughout the experience, I have realized two main key elements that provides me a new perspective on how the municipal process runs in practice.
First, given the new ward changes issued out by the provincial government, while it can be argued that the new changes have no technical bias of gerrymandering since the present ridings are the same for provincial elections and that it aids those in City Hall to pas new plans and programs more effectively and efficiently, when one is on the ground canvassing in a particular ward, one realizes how big and diverse a ward can actually be. Walking in the southern-area of Rouge-Park, it has proved to be a long trek; tiring us all out after the hour. And that was just only in the southern-area of the ward. One can only imagine the immensity of its actual size and what a big of a job canvassing in such a big terrain actually is.
Moreover, regarding its social diversity, Cheryl provided me some insight regarding its makeup: given how big and how diverse the area is, there is a great multitude of concerns and desires that voters desire in their Councillor. This can be proven to be a big challenge for a Councillor to accurately represent and address as much as many concerns of its population. This is especially the case since the needs of the southern part of the ward is different from the needs of the northern part of the ward. Regardless of who becomes the new Councillor of Ward 25, this is a challenges that he or she will need to address.
And second, I have found that there are still some people who care about the issues and are not afraid to challenge Councillors-in-running. Towards the end of my time with Cheryl, she began talking to a senior citizen, who is a home owner in the area. As Cheryl began to explain her position regarding certain issues and her professional experience, the potential voter began to question Cheryl rigorously; regarding social and mobility programs for senior citizens. As they had a really insightful discussion, it has given me some hope regarding the electorate, that they still want to be a great part of the democratic process. In most recent years, there have been discussions on the low voter turnout rate and the high level of apathy regarding the electoral process. While that may be the case, that does not mean that people still do not care; they just may need someone running who they can actually believe and depend on. Whether this will be translated in this election, we will have to wait and see. Regardless, seeing someone from the older generation caring has given me the will and inspiration to still care about municipal politics, at the age that I am at now and in the future.
Overall, the experience may have its physical and mental obstacles, it was still very enriching. It has provided me new insight that made me think much more critically about how Toronto elections affect Scarborough and its voters. I personally recommend those who are interested in politics to one day canvass with a Councillor, regardless whether you agree with their position or not.
P.S. I would like to thank Cheryl Lewis-Thurab for inviting us to canvass with her campaign.
Submitted by:
Alexandra Harvey (MGA)
Antona Christus-Ranjan (MPP)
Samuel Kearey (MGA)
We were lucky enough to spend the day canvassing with the team of the incumbent candidate for Councillor Anthony Perruzza, who had partnered with a candidate for school board trustee named Matias de Dovitiis. Through canvassing, we were able to meet people who lived in the area and got a sense of the social and political issues from the other canvassers. They stressed how transit and responsiveness were key issues in the area.
As we were canvassing, we learned that many of the people on the team did not live in the area. This surprised us, we thought that people canvassing would only be interested if they would personally be in the jurisdiction of their candidate. We were told that they want to campaign for candidates outside of their area because these are more competitive ridings. One canvasser told us that they viewed progressive campaigns as being “easy wins” in the downtown core, but that similar policies were more challenging to implement in farther away wards. They viewed Councillor elections as potentially more important than mayoral elections, because the composition of Councillors can constrain or enable a mayor.
On the issue of transportation, there appeared to be the general view that the option of LRT installation was preferable to additional subway lines. It was interesting to note that though this was the general opinion, they did not campaign on either option specifically. Apparently, it is such a divisive issue that taking a firm stance one way or another can have negative impacts on a campaign.
While knocking on doors with Matias, we learned that school funding can become more of an issue for wards farther away from the downtown core. The case was made to us that schools downtown receive more funding and better staff, which was why he was inspired to run for school board trustee.
Submitted by:
Simon Malevich (MGA)
Proud Scarborough Mandem
Resident of Ward 24
“Scarborough doesn’t need the subway extension. They’re just a bunch of rich white bougie people.”
So often, Scarborough is abandoned by City Council. Since amalgamation, Torontonians view of Scarborough hasn’t changed. They ask, “Why does that isolated community east of the Don Valley need any money?” They call our part of the city names like ‘Scarberia’ or ‘Scarlem’. Even the term for people who reside in Scarborough sounds rough around the edges, ‘Scarb’. The language we speak might even be slightly odd to the average Torontonian, with slang terms like ‘mandem’ scraping the eardrum.
Who can blame them for viewing Scarborough as a sleepy suburb? A lesion on the rest of the city that diverts money away from more pressing inner city issues? With regular naming conventions referring to major intersections like ‘Brimark Cleaners’ on the corner of Brimorton Drive and Markham Road, or ‘Bellemere Junior Public School’ signalling that the car is king in Scarborough, far removed from the bustle of the downtown core.
However, the Scarborough I know is a transitionary community, a landing place for newcomers to Canada scrambling for a piece of what makes this country great. Ward 24 was where my Grandmother arrived in 1953 after emigrating from a proletarian neighbourhood in Dublin, Ireland. She, like so many others, came to Canada for a better life; to escape political instability and strife, and to build a better future for their children and families.
This story is told over and over again in Ward 24. The neighbourhood I live in is the site of waves of immigrants from World War II and demobilized Canadian Soldiers. Not too far is Tuxedo Court, a series of market-price apartments, and the scene of viscous violence in the 1970s and 1980s during the first wave of immigration from the Caribbean. The apartments now play host to a gang known as the ‘Tuxedo Boys’, and is a majority South-Asian community. Also not too far on Lawerence Ave, a small community of Syrians has sprung up in the wake of the federal Liberals immigration and refugee policies, and the neighbourhood is now rated by BlogTO as a ‘must visit’ for Arab and Mediterranean cuisine.
Scarborough is entering the 2018 election uneasily. With the retirement of Deputy Mayor Glenn De Baeremaker (Scarborough Centre), and the Ford government’s decision to cut the number of Wards, Scarborough’s already small voice has been diminished. Although the Scarborough subway extension, Eglington East LRT and the relief line have been approved, their survival is in peril if Scarborough issues are to be sidelined for city politics. Ward 24 has seen an incredible amount of new development in the past few years, but if this is to be sustainable, we must ensure that the most vulnerable in our community are not priced out of their homes by ensuring proper community housing is built. We must not forget the Tuxedo Boys in our pursuit of luxury condos in their backyard.
Despite this adversity, Ward 24 and Scarborough have character, bearing witness to Canada’s immigration story. Although City Council may forget us, Canada cannot, as Scarborough’s story is Canada’s story.
Munk in the City in many ways is a microcosm for City Council’s attitude towards Scarborough. Faced by long commute times, the daunting task of riding on the Scarborough Rail Transit, my group abandoned Ward 24, and left the native of Ward 24 to fend for himself, writing this article where else but the 102 Markham bus to Warden Subway Station.
Caption (top photo): Tuxedo Court, one of the many series of low-rent apartments in Ward 24 that play host to newcomers to Canada. Historically, Tuxedo Court has been the scene of gang violence and poverty stricken Residents of Scarborough.
Caption: Luxury condos under construction in the backyard of the Tuxedo Boys and other low-rent apartment complexes at Markham and Ellesmere. With gentrification taking place in Ward 24, how will City Council ensure that the Tuxedo Boys aren’t priced out of their own homes?
Caption: Old and new waves of immigration in Ward 24. Real McCoy Hamburgers and Brimark Cleaners sit in the same complex as a beauty salon run by Tamils, and the construction office for the Markham and Ellesmere towers (ME2).
We began our morning of exploring Ward 21 Scarborough Centre with the Munk in the City initiative commuting from densely populated wards by bus, multiple subway lines, and the Scarborough RT, and met up at the Scarborough Town Centre.
Submitted by:
Meredith Nelson (MGA)
Jolene Funk (MGA)
Spotted some election campaign signs near Downsview Plaza in Ward 6 #YorkCentre as the municipal election race heats up in Toronto!
Fun Fact: Due to the new 25-Ward model that was recently introduced, the two incumbent city councillors from Wards 9 and 10 are now running against each other in the newly formed Ward 6!
Submitted by:
Harrish Thirukumaran (MPP)
Sarah Sutherland (MGA)
One of the hottest wards to watch and one of the highest contested ballot this #Toronto municipal election is Ward 1: Etobicoke North.
Also known infamously as #FordNation, this ward has 2 incumbents duking it out on the ballot. The nephew of the late former Mayor Rob Ford, Councillor Michael Ford and old friend of the late Mayor, Councillor Vincent Crisanti are the leading candidates to watch in these new ward boundaries.
With 62% of newcomers making up its population and 27% of the wars are between ages 27-44, the key urban policy issues here are definitely settlement and integration services, education, and employment.
Our group spent a few hours walking around Scarborough-Agincourt and took in the sights and sounds from one of the largest malls in Toronto. We also interviewed a few residents from #Ward22 and chatted about the #TOelxn, which can be found in the following Twitter thread: https://tinyurl.com/munkinthecityward22
This is a collection of blog posts that we’ve created after going on a couple walking tours in #Ward13 - #TorontoCentre. We talked to various residents in the ward, and took lots of pictures that can be found on our Tumblr page. Some of the topics covered in our conversations and that can be seen throughout our page are #affordablehousing, #mentalhealth, #disabilityfunding, #construction, #transit, and #bikelanes.
Here’s a link to our Facebook page that includes an album with more posts about our walking tours in Ward 13!
