Greetings, fellow Scarborough residents. It’s good to reconnect with you following a little downtime this summer, as we renew our collective passion for a better Scarborough.
Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean things have been quiet.
Scarborough is retaining our six ridings for provincial and municipal elections. In early August, the provincial government announced that it will not adopt the new federal riding boundaries resulting from the recommendations of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission. This is good news for Scarborough. Scarborough will retain our six seats at Queen’s Park and at City Hall. And our Victoria Park Avenue boundary will continue to be respected in its entirety, from Lake Ontario to Steeles.
This will not apply in Parliament, unfortunately. The next federal election will be conducted using the new boundaries approved by the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission. Scarborough will retain six federal
ridings but two of them, Scarborough Centre (which is renamed) and Scarborough Agincourt will include parts of North York, diluting their Scarborough focus. So we’ll have about five and half ridings. It could have been much worse though, were it not for the passionate advocacy by many of us last year, the
Commission to pull back from its initial proposal, which would have diluted Scarborough’s representation
even more.
The 2025 federal budget is coming. SCRO calls for public transit funding for Scarborough
The 2025 budget won’t be presented until next spring, but the House of Commons Finance Committee is
already conducting pre-budget consultations.
On August 2, SCRO submitted to the Finance Committee, calling for federal funding for the Eglinton East LRT extension, from Kennedy station to U of T Scarborough and then to Malvern. You can read SCRO’s submission on our website. It’s not just a submission; it’s a “call to action”. Our Scarborough Members of Parliamentwere copied. We have requested their support to the Minister of Finance.
Our ask is timely
The federal government recently announced a $30 billion public transit infrastructure fund, to be distributed over the next decade. SCRO’s ask is for $3 billion, spread over two years, to fund the $4 billion estimated total cost of this project, less the $1.2 billion already committed by the City of Toronto.
This project is getting closer to being “shovel-ready”. Design work is well under way and the provinciallym-andated Transit and Rail Project Assessment Process should be complete by this fall.
And a federal election is scheduled in 2025, which provides an opportunity for all of us to focus the attention of our politicians and candidates on high-impact Scarborough issues, such as this.
Scarborough’s population is likely to grow by 175,000 over the next 30 years. We need to get ready. Transit projects of this scale take a decade or more to build, even after all the design and engineering work has been completed. So procrastination is not an option.
Sheppard Avenue Subway Extension Project. Planning is under way
SCRO is involved. Metrolinx is considering extending the Sheppard subway from where it ends now, east alo ng Sheppard to McCowan, where it would connect with the McCowan & Sheppard subway station, and perhaps beyond. Youcan learn more on the Metrolinx website.
Metrolinx has established a stakeholder advisory group, to guide the project planning process. SCRO is
involved, as are other Scarborough stakeholders. The first meeting took place in August.
This project is very much needed, as we brace for significant residential densification along Sheppard Avenue over the next two decades. This project has no funding yet but it is strongly supported by our local MPPs.
Let’s keep planning process moving forward so we can get funding in place.
“Meet Me at the Plaza”. Promoting Scarborough’s vibrant food scene
In July, I had the honour of attending the launch of “Meet Me at the Plaza”, a promotional video screening at Scarborough’s own Common Good Beer Company, presented by Derek Spooner of Scarborough Arts and Howard Tam of Eat More Scarborough.
“Meet Me at the Plaza” promotes Scarborough’s many food stories and the inspiring small business owners behind them, while showcasing Scarborough’s unique food identity: authentic, tasty, affordable cuisine fromaround the globe. Scarborough’s strip malls are being transformed in to a suburban foodies mecca! And we’re now being noticed by culinary influencers with an international profile.
I wrote about this at length in the September issue of the Bluffs Monitor newspaper, where we celebrate the culinary accomplishments of our inspiring newcomer entrepreneurs. But we also worry that the affordable retail infrastructure that incubates so much of this is being put at risk as our neighbourhood plazas are beingbulldozed, one condo project at a time.
Toronto Business Summit this weekend at UTSC
SCRO congratulates Matrix Cares and the Scarborough Business Association for presenting the second annual Toronto Business Summit, with a strong focus on the priorities of small and medium-sized businesses.
Register to attend through the Toronto Business Summit website. There is no charge for general admission tickets.
“What can I do”, you ask?
Become involved in Scarborough affairs! Contact me. We’ll find the right place where your passions and
expertise can be put to best use, be it as part of SCRO or in another of Scarborough’s passionate civil society organizations.
Remember: if we don’t speak for Scarborough, others who don’t live here will speak for us. Let’s work together to shape the future of Scarborough, so it evolves in a way that makes us proud of the place we call home.
Larry Whatmore
President
Scarborough Community Renewal Organization
Larry.Whatmore@rogers.com
(416) 562-2101
