Taiba Ahmed

The Mayor and City Council

Due to a technicality in the way minors are prosecuted under the criminal code, gangs recruit minors to do their dirty work in return for payment and a guaranteed soft sentence. Youth who get wrapped up in organized crime can sometimes be trafficked out of the province and country. I have experienced this indirectly in my family, and I know the damage it can do to friends, family, and loved ones. My #1 commitment will be to protect our youth and stamp out gang activity in our communities once and for all.

Housing

As councillor, my focus will be on providing more co-op housing solutions by knocking down legal barriers and waiving development charges on co-op projects. Torontonians need more affordable housing options and the city does not have the financial capacity to build it all by itself. I also want to punish and scrutinize bad landlords and developers who abuse vacancy decontrol to drive up our rents. I will push for stronger SafeTO audits on landlords who continually raid Toronto tenant’s wallets by endlessly driving rents up.

Cost of Living

One thing that I believe the city should be focusing on to make life more affordable for Torontonians is the price of groceries. It’s no secret that in Canada, supermarkets are owned by a cartel that is squeezing money out of the average Canadian. In Toronto, we have countless independent grocery stores and markets which already provide affordable prices and local products. I want to provide them with more support through zero-interest loans and grant schemes to keep them in business and give Torontonians options aside from the grocery giants.

Safety in Public Spaces

I believe the best way to improve safety in Scarborough’s parks and transit stations is by investing in and expanding the Neighbourhood Community Officer program (NCO). NCOs, unlike regular officers, are more embedded in communities, and take a more proactive role in preventing crimes and patrolling our streets. There’s a wealth of evidence that shows NCOs are effective in curbing petty crime in places like parks and transit, but they’ve only been deployed in 4 of 11 Scarborough Centre neighbourhoods. If elected, I will complete this rollout.

Getting Around the City

Currently, the TTC only measures bus on-time performance at the end of a line. This means a bus can arrive late or inconsistently at every stop on a route, but so long as it ends on time, it’s counted as on time. The TTC literally doesn’t know which routes have the worst performance. The city’s bus bunching reduction program aims to fix this. But it hasn’t been rolled out on enough Scarborough routes, where people need buses the most after the closure of Line 3! I aim to fix this, and get commuters to their destinations up to 10% faster.

Confronting Hateful and Hostile Behaviour

Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world, but living beside one another doesn’t always mean understanding one another. I want to incentivize cultural programming at major City-supported festivals, giving communities more opportunities to share their traditions and stories. I’d also explore free community bookshelves along the Line 3 Busway, featuring diverse authors and perspectives that residents can take, read, and exchange.