Sinan Erdemir

The Mayor and City Council

After knocking on many doors and speaking with residents in our neighbourhood, I've come to realize that many (myself included) have lost faith in city services. It is easy to see why, just look around to see how neglected our streets have gotten. I will prioritize city services such as making the TTC much more reliable; ensuring that our streets are regularly cleaned and maintained, which includes proper green spaces and proper snow removal; holding our city-run programs to a higher standard.

Housing

I will prioritize increasing supply to make better use of existing homes, making it easier for homeowners to rent out a room, basement, or other part of their home by creating a financial incentive or tax break to do so. I will also ensure that we improve our current support for landlords who do not receive their rent payment on time. I will continue to support renters and enforce maintenance of property and other responsibilities by the landlord.

Cost of Living

It boils down to management. Everything trickles down from there. We must be more diligent in our spending. Sometimes it isn't about making cuts, and instead about looking at it from a different angle. For example, we can ask: Will this cost the city more long-term, or will it cost more up front but save us long-term? I firmly believe that we can manage our tax dollars more effectively. A tax increase would not get my vote.

Safety in Public Spaces

I've noticed that our streets are getting darker and darker, so I will prioritize supporting faster implementation of the City's plan to convert our streetlights to LED. The result will be brighter and more efficient. I will support expanding the recent AI-assisted cameras which has piloted at TMU subway station; this should be on subway stations, subways, streetcars, and busses. I will encourage and support expansion of Neighbourhood Watch into something similar to "Nightwalkers" in Sweden, which is a proven method to decrease crime.

Getting Around the City

I will push for a redesign of our bike lanes. I believe that bike lanes can exist without the need to be on the road and take up road space which should be for vehicles. Bike lanes can exist by using a portion of the boulevard (the grassy area between the sidewalk and the curb) and they can exist on the same elevation as the sidewalk. This ensures safety. This also solves our e-scooter dilemma. E-scooters are currently illegal on city property, but this is not enforced because there is no solution yet. This redesign ensures safe space for all.

Confronting Hateful and Hostile Behaviour

I will not tolerate hateful and hostile behaviour and will support appropriate consequences. However, we must look at the root of what is causing this behaviour and try to prevent this in the future. When newcomers come into our city with no real expectation or support of learning different customs and doing things differently from how they are used to, this creates a divide that nobody wants. Too often, we let newcomers just figure things out on their own; when an expectation is created and supported, I believe this will prevent hostility.