COMMUNITY PRIDE A KEY IN WARD 41
Nicholas Keung – Staff Reporter

Toronto Star, Canada
Oct 23 2006

Rooming house, parking violations seen as vital issues
Half of residents in Canada less than 15 years

Residents of Ward 41, Scarborough-Rouge River, are tired of uncut
lawns, garbage-strewn sidewalks and out-of-control street parking.

They point to a concern that has plagued the community for years:
the growing number of illegal rooming houses.

"The lawns are poorly maintained. There are so many cars on the
driveways and people just leave their junk on the sidewalks even
when it’s not on a collection day," complained Valerie Plunkett,
a retired TV production assistant who has lived in the ward for 17
years and heads the 1,600-household Rosewood Taxpayers Association.

"And you don’t see any bylaw enforcement because we are so short of
bylaw-enforcement officers."

Bounded by Steeles Ave., Highway 401, Markham and McCowan Rds. and the
CNR tracks to the west, Scarborough-Rouge has both a huge immigrant
community – nearly half the residents have been in Canada less than
15 years – and a higher median income and homeowner rate than Toronto
as a whole. More than half the residents are of Chinese heritage.

It’s no coincidence the three front-runners in a 10-person race for
the vacant council seat – long-time civil servant Hratch Aynedjian,
grassroots activist Chin Lee and former Etobicoke politician David
Robertson – tout community pride and ownership as key platform
points.Scarborough-Rouge, formerly held by Bas Balkissoon, is destined
to see one of the tightest races in its history on Nov. 13.

"It’s a wide open field," noted Tom Chang, who has lived in the
Brimley Forest neighbourhood more than two decades. "With that many
candidates, the votes are going to split. Whoever manages to get 10
votes plus one is going to win."

Media-savvy Aynedjian, 42, born in Lebanon of Armenian heritage,
has 16 years experience as a political assistant at city hall and
Queen’s Park. He said he’d prioritize the city budget to focus on
hardcore services such as maintaining infrastructure rather than
"soft" services like shelters. Tackling illegal rooming houses is a
top priority for him.

"Every other street in the ward has an illegal rooming house. The
problem is we’ve never had bylaws regulating it across the amalgamated
city."

A Scarborough resident since 1979, he has drawn fire from opponents
for living outside Ward 41. He has promised to relocate if elected.

"That’s a big issue," said long-time resident Clement Edwards.

"If someone is coming from outside, he or she may not know or even
care about the community."

Lee, 53, who came here as a Malaysian in 1971, believes his grassroots
involvement with the local police liaison committee and other community
groups will serve him well.

"When I first moved into the ward 17 years ago, it was much cleaner,
better-kept. But the community seems to be falling apart, and we need
to work hard to build a more stable, strong and vibrant community,"
said Lee, who ran (unsuccessfully) for a Scarborough council seat in
1994 to keep the incumbent from being acclaimed.

"Some of the people living in rooming houses are newcomers. They don’t
know anything about property standards and bylaws. It’s not just about
enforcement. We need to do a better job in educating our newcomers."

Robertson, 44, an Etobicoke councillor from 1978 to 1991, said he’s
upset with deteriorating recreation programs and would like to boost
immigrant-settlement services in the ward.

"We need to introduce a new property standards committee to strengthen
the city bylaws and enhance our neighbourhoods," said Robertson,
who teaches English as a second language and ran unsuccessfully for
the NDP in Scarborough-Agincourt in the federal election.

While Lee and Aynedjian, both from the Liberal party, have pledged to
roll back the 9 per cent council pay hike awarded this year, Robertson
said he would donate the raise (minus inflation) to community groups.

Also running are Jose Baking, John Ching, Min Lee, Malcolm Mansfield,
Thadsha Navamanikkam, Scott Shi and Sonny Yeung.