My Background
My family arrived in Canada from Calcutta, India in 1966. I was raised all my life in Toronto and witnessed its growth through the years. My Father's family was of Spanish, English and Scottish origin. My Mother's family originated from Cork, Ireland and had immigrated to Delhi, India.
My parents taught me always to be appreciative for what we have and learn to do without if things were not affordable. Most of my summers were spent camping at Bon Echo Provincial Park where I learned to value Nature and to respect the Original Peoples of this land.
I attended Francis Libermann Catholic High School and was the first graduating class in 1981. I then joined 709 Communications Reserve Regiment in 1982 and eventually enlisted full-time in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1986. I have lived all over Canada. I was specially trained in Defense analyzation, crypto deciphering, accounting, financial evaluation and digital decoding, in which I was trained to learn 52 basic languages and matching codes for each.
I am so proud to have served my country, Canada, the best place to live on this beautiful Earth. I have lived all over the world from Dubai, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, most of the Asian countries, the Artic, the Islands, from ship to land to air and submarine.
I have been an avid volunteer with the community for the past 40 years with churches, organizations, sponsorship programs and outdoor activity groups.
My hobbies I enjoy are baseball, the study of Art, artist myself, cooking, baking, landscaping, walking, wrestling, writing and reading, especially the classics.
My Priorities as Mayor
Building That Trust Within The Community
Crime and Resolutions
The continuous rise of crime in the city and the subway system is a pivotal moment in our changing democracy. Overall, hiring more security officers, cameras, trauma response programs are not the solutions. These are just repetitive crowd pleasers with temporary results.
Seek and find the core, where it stems from. The community. You cannot find the cure without knowing the cause.
We need to invest back into each neighborhood. Create community coalitions within each ward. Assemble volunteers who know what is occurring in their surroundings. Bring in police representation where people can share their ideas, frustrations, experiences. Talk with each other. Listen. Citizens are the best first-hand witnesses and representation which reflects the nature of the causes of the crime.
Housing and Homelessness
What is the definition of housing? Housing is a place to call home, a roof over your head for protection. Every one matters, from low-income families to people residing in the streets.
It was reported that in the past ten years over $300 million was spent on the shelter system. Last year there were over 1.3 million vacant houses, plus thousands of empty apartments. Money needlessly wasted, which could have been properly spent filling those units, by taking people off the streets and occupying them.
Re-zoning about 65-70% of untouched land in the city could be re-developed, building low-level apartment rental buildings with nearby parks, retail, schools.
Also the land could be converted to bungalow houses, each with front and backyards, self-maintained. Non-profit concepts would be a welcome return to mainstream equitable-shared neighborhoods.
Transportation
The rise in demand for TTC services, the reduction in availability and the increase in fares has placed an incredible strain on the taxpayers, especially people on low or fixed incomes. Budget cuts should have started from the top, with retiring outdated over-salaried positions and perks, administration expenses reduced, putting the money back into public services. There needs to be more community involvement when it comes to accountability of affordable livability and reduced stress of all levels of income.
Also, some companies reimburse their employees for TTC fares, easing their burden. Government incentives could be established in which the citizen and employer would both benefit.
Youth Input and Outreach
City Hall lacks youth involvement. There are a few youth groups but they do not represent a greater need in which young minds can contribute to the future of the city.A creation of mentor programs could implement an interest for young citizens to become involved with future government issues. For example, a number of schools would have a mayoral or councilor volunteer program, where they could learn the daily routines and responsibilities of these elected positions. Also, other job titles such as administration and finances could be beneficial to young adults still undecided about what career path to follow.My Visual Platform
T O R O N T O
IN M O T I O N
P R O J E C T
The Continuous Flow of:Food DistributionSenior HospitalityTransportationHousing ExpansionLeisure ActivityCommunity Sharing
