President's Message - June 2021
Greetings, Scarborough community members!
It’s been a busy month. Here’s just some of what we’ve been working on over the past month to “connect, promote and renew Scarborough”.
Promoting the Eglinton East LRT to the Prime Minister
On May 19, SCRO was invited to a virtual celebration hosted by the Prime Minister and featuring Mayor John Tory, Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, and the six members of the Scarborough federal caucus.
The occasion was an opportunity to recognize federal funding for the Scarborough subway extension, which supplements funding from the Government of Ontario that was announced previously.
SCRO is grateful to both levels of government for stepping up so we can finally get shovels in the ground for this transformative infrastructure project.
This was also an opportunity to promote the need for an extension of the Eglinton East LRT from Kennedy station to U of T Scarborough and then to Malvern. Our advocacy was well received by the Prime Minister, Mayor Tory and Minister McKenna.
The link to our conversation with the Prime Minister can be found on our home page at www.scro.ca which links to the Prime Minister’s twitter account. See SCRO’s advocacy starting at the 20:00 minute mark. Minister McKenna speaks enthusiastically about the project at the 31:00 minute mark.
SCRO looks forward to working with the Scarborough federal caucus to help move this project forward over the coming year.
SCRO also thanks Toronto City Council for freeing up $1.2 billion in February to partially fund this project.
SCRO will continue to work with all levels of government to make this project a high priority for future funding announcements.
Promoting better internet service for Scarborough businesses
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of strong internet service as a baseline requirement in today’s society. However, some areas of Toronto do not have strong internet service.
SCRO is working with City staff in the ConnectTO program, which will be launching a pilot project later this year to leverage City-owned broadband infrastructure to enable internet service providers to improve broadband service in priority residential neighbourhoods and in business parks with poor internet service.
Two of the areas identified for the pilot project are in Scarborough: the Golden Mile and Malvern.
The Malvern pilot will focus on improving broadband service in Malvern’s business parks. The Golden Mile pilot will focus on improving residential broadband service.
The choice of Malvern for the commercial pilot was influenced by a survey of local businesses conducted last year by SCRO, the Scarborough Business Association, and the City’s Economic Development Department which identified commercial districts in Malvern with poor internet service.
SCRO is pleased that the ConnectTO pilot will include the needs of small businesses, as well as the needs of residents in priority neighbourhoods.
You can learn more about this program on the City’s website: https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-council-approves-program-to-increase-access-to-affordable-high-speed-internet-in-toronto/
Relaunching the Scarborough Walk of Fame (SWOF)
SCRO is now managing and operating the Scarborough Walk of Fame, which has been celebrating the achievements of accomplished Scarborough residents and community leaders since 2006. SCRO took over the leadership of SWOF on March 1.
We are now planning our next celebration! We’ll want to hold it in person, so we’re planning to hold an event in 2022. Further details to follow.
SCRO has put in place a committee of talented and inspiring community members to plan the next event and to manage the selection of inductees.
You can learn more on our website: https://scro.ca/walk-of-fame
Organizing the “Our Scarborough” Speaker Series – have you registered yet?
Our Scarborough” features Scarborough leaders and people doing important work in Scarborough. It’s a great learning opportunity for us all.
Here’s what’s coming up next:
June 10 Mitchell Cohen, CEO of The Daniels Corporation regarding their vision for renewal of the Golden Mile. This event also includes Barb Dickson, author of Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo , a book about life at the Scarborough munitions factory during World War II.
June 24 Lee Soda, Executive Director of Agincourt Community Services Association. We’ll also have a short talk about the Scarborough Walk of Fame.
July 15 Krystal Jagoo, a social worker and artist.
August 12 John Stapleton, Scarborough’s leading social policy researcher and advocate and a board member of SCRO.
More speakers are already booked for this fall!
“Our Scarborough” is where you can mix and mingle with other Scarborough leaders (virtually, of course) and learn about important and interesting matters affecting life in Scarborough.
Please register at https://scro.ca/our-scarborough
Have you become a member of SCRO yet?
You can become a member of SCRO at no charge this year! Please visit https://scro.ca/membership.
Please add your voice to those of other Scarborough leaders. Let’s all work together to create a stronger and more cohesive Scarborough!
Larry Whatmore
President
Scarborough Community Renewal Organization
(416) 562-2101
Larry Whatmore, President of SCRO