Population growth, development and transit top of mind in Scarborough-Rouge River

As one of the fastest growing wards in Toronto, Scarborough–Rouge River is dealing with a variety of issues that arise when population increases exceed infrastructure.

Incumbent Raymond Cho, who has been area councillor for 19 years, is being challenged by eight candidates in this election.Alex Dow is a facilitator for a local group called Malvern Votes, comprised of Malvern Action for Neighbourhood Change and variety of other social organizations. He helped to host 10 community consultations in Ward 42 between March and May 2009.

Using data from these sessions along with additional community input, Malvern Votes identified eight major issues in the ward, including youth, housing, child care, poverty, women’s issues, food security, active democracy and public transit.

Along with big changes in the ward’s appearance as empty fields are turned into housing developments, candidates are also looking to define a new local identity for the area.

The high-crime reputation that once stigmatized neighbourhoods in the northeast Scarborough ward, is not the same priority as in the 2006 election as the area now boasts one of the city’s lowest crime rates.

First time candidate Leon Saul, a 56-year-old publisher and theatre professional, doesn’t have political experience but feels years in the culture industry make him a good candidate to develop Ward 42’s new image.

By focusing attention on improving light rapid transit (LRT) access to the Toronto Zoo and stimulating the local entertainment industry, Saul said the ward could become a destination point.

“We can become like the downtown for the whole east end area. We are not really the boondocks for downtown Toronto, we could become the new downtown from a cultural and recreation level for the whole east end if we put in the right kind of facilities,” said Saul.

While crime is down, candidate Namu Ponnambalam, 44, said policing is still one of his central issues. Ward 42 is ethnically diverse and as a Sri Lankan immigrant, Ponnambalam has noticed a residual mistrust between residents and the police.

He said there is still racial profiling occurring in the area because of its past reputation.

“Institutionalized racism is there in our society and I want to eliminate this here. It is equal to the caste system in India and Sri Lanka and I want to fight for the underprivileged people here,” Ponnambalam said.

Between 2001 and 2006 the ward’s population grew by 24.6 per cent and housing has continued to boom.

However, securing adequate infrastructure to mirror that growth has been a problem, especially in new neighbourhoods such as Rougeville and Morningside Heights.

This was a major issue in the previous election and remains a big problem leading up to this year’s Oct. 25 vote.

At 22, Ruth Tecle is the youngest candidate on the Ward 42 ballot, but thinks her degree in urban and regional planning will go a long way toward making sure future developments are done in a sensible way.

“The majority of decisions that are made at city council are tied to land use and if you don’t have an understanding of that you are almost lost,” said Tecle.

“When I say land use, it sounds far removed from something like childcare or housing issues but every pressing issue that residents bring up, whether it be transportation, public services, job growth, expanding local economy, affordable housing or municipal finance reform, those are ultimately tied to our land use policies and how we can expand a tax base.”

She doesn’t think reforming public transit or bringing proper city services to the entire ward can happen overnight, but said she would take a realistic approach to making it work as the ward continues to grow.

Tecle said better planning would also help to sustain increased investment in public transit.

All candidates recognized transit as a major issue in the election but didn’t agree on how to deliver it.

The city’s current Transit City plan includes building an LRT line along Sheppard Avenue to Meadowvale Road and extending the Scarborough Rapid Transit line to the Malvern Town Centre.

The two candidates who deviate the most from the current plan are Cho and new candidate Shamoon Poonawala, 29.

Considering the rapid population growth over the last decade, Cho said a subway would be a better investment than the Sheppard LRT line. Poonawala agreed, but added private investors could be an option to fund the expensive subway lines.

“When I say that, a lot of people get scared because a lot of people don’t want privatized subways, but there is a creative way of doing it. Basically, we take the subway stations and turn them into malls,” said Poonawala, who takes pride in finding creative ways to provide services without raising taxes.

“When you have less money, you don’t ask people to just pay up because you have less money…in a household when you don’t have enough income coming in, you look at how you are going to spend your money.”

The other candidates all support the Transit City plan, with slight variations such as increasing frequency on bus routes.

George Singh, 36, thinks something as simple as increasing the frequency of the 131 Nugget bus would do a lot to help transit-starved residents in Ward 42.

Singh is focusing his campaign on local issues that affect the day-to-day lives of voters. These include trash collection, street signs and speeding. He is proposing a new approach to services such as snow removal and garbage collection, where if the city doesn’t render a service on time, residents would be eligible for a tax refund.

“In any type of business, if you don’t get the services you pay for you deserve a refund. If a resident puts a portion of money towards garbage collection and it isn’t being done efficiently, it needs to be analyzed,” he said.

Two local service issues that all candidates agree on are the need for more schools and aother community centre. The Malvern Recreation Centre on Sewells Road is the only community centre and children living in Rougeville don’t have a local school.

Ponnambalam, as a voting member on the Toronto District School Board’s Meadowvale/Sheppard Accommodation Review Committee, said he had taken the first steps toward constructing a kindergarten to Grade 8 school at Meadowvale and Sheppard.

He recommended the school be built there and the TDSB has since allocated $15.2 million to build the facility over the next five years.

“We managed to recommend only one school (Brooks Road Public School) closing at the time and a new school to be opened in the Rougeville community,” Ponnambalam said.

He said he will continue to fight against a TTC maintenance yard slated to be built beside the school.

All candidates also agreed on the need for a new community centre in the north-east area of the ward.

Cho, 72, said he has worked closely with fellow Scarborough councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker and budget chief Shelley Carroll to purchase a 17-acre parcel of land off of Staines Road that could be suitable for a community centre.

Funding for construction of the centre has not been secured, but Cho said that this, along with a library on the property, would be one of his priorities if elected again.

Cho said his main focus is on customer service for his constituents and small, community issues such as lowering speed limits and personally shoveling snow. He said he takes criticism for not being vocal during city council meetings, but he prides himself on being responsive to calls from his constituents.

Candidate Neethan Shan, who was elected as a school trustee in York Region in 2006, before recently buying a house in Ward 42 is the only challenger with experience as an elected official.

Shan, 31, has a history in social work and spent many years working with youth in Scarborough’s schools. “During those years I was pretty much spending from morning until night in Malvern,” said Shan.

He said many new residents who were unfamiliar with the neighbourhood in the 2006 municipal election will now be more aware of the issues. He hopes these new voters will be a factor in this election.

Shan thinks his political experience makes him the most qualified candidate to take the reigns from the incumbent.

Also registered in Ward 42 but unavailable for comment before deadline are Mohammed Ather and Venthan Ramanathavavuniyan.

- Eric Heino

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