Candidate Report Card

Candidates were recently given a survey on some of the important issues in our ward. Below you will find the questions that were asked and the responses by each candidate that participated. Take the time to read each response and then 'grade' the candidates answer on a scale of 1 - 5. On the final page of this survey you will see a tally “Report Card”, scoring the candidates based on your grades.

Responses are for your personal use and are not being collected or saved. Once you exit the form your results are cleared.

Question 1 - Community Representation

If elected, how will you ensure that the voices and needs of the community are heard and addressed at City Hall through your office?

Suman Roy Q1 Response

As a resident of Ward 20 I understand the needs of the community and the importance of responding to the community in a timely manner. I pledge a 3-business day meaningful response time for calls and emails to my office to ensure timely assistance and feedback. I'm committed to ensuring that our community's voices and needs are heard and promptly addressed. We'll hold regular town halls and ensure community consultations on various issues to facilitate open and direct communication. This approach guarantees that your concerns will not be left unattended. Your involvement is crucial in shaping the policies and initiatives that affect our community, and by prioritizing transparency, accessibility, and responsiveness, we’ll find a way together.

Malika Ghous Q1 Response

City Hall must be accessible to all residents of Toronto. As your City Councillor, I promise to build a constituency office that is employed by local residents, to serve local residents. I’m also committed to establishing my constituency office in Scarborough, so that residents can have better access to city services.

Anna Sidiropoulos Q1 Response

One word; listening. My office will conduct a listening tour in my first 100 days in office. I’ve tentatively scheduled four town hall meetings for January 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th in 2024. There’s a lot of expertise in the communities of ward 20 that remains untapped. During this campaign, I have met people with expertise in transit, finance, engineering, urban planning, human resources, and many, more disciplines. They tell me no one at city hall has ever asked them their opinion. The lack of a basic process of consultation has driven a wedge between voters and elected officials. I will, along with my staff, personally review all past unresolved constituent complaints to see if there is an opportunity to resolve them with a fresh pair of eyes. On a day-to-day basis my office will return your call within 24 hours. I will Put Scarborough First.

Kevin Rupasinghe Q1 Response

As an active Cliffside resident, I will continue to be visible and accessible at community events and destinations to hear from neighbours about priorities and feedback on my decisions.

Beyond that, my team will strive to:
-Constituency office in the ward with regular hours
-Offering regular town halls, both in-person and online, with key updates and open invitation to have residents add agenda items and join as guest presenters
-Continue door knocking between elections to hear directly from residents
-Participatory budgeting to invest in community priorities together
-Create a SSW Youth Council with representatives from all local high schools
-Hire a tenant-specific organizer on constituency team
-Create neighbourhood-specific working groups with local residents
-Launch a Citizen’s Assembly comprised of a random sample of SSW residents (different neighbourhoods, ethnicities, age, gender, income, etc.) to determine the short-term and long-term priorities and actions needed for SSW

Parthi Kandavel Q1 Response

I come before you with a proven 8 year track record of accessibility, accountability and action as the TDSB Trustee of Scarborough Southwest.

Having the experience of working with thousands of parents and community members through my 8 years as Trustee, I'm acutely aware that meeting the needs of a broad demographic is a complex endeavour. I routinely organized regular town halls, sent frequent newsletters, and engaged residents with responsive correspondence.

I commit to:
1. Hosting monthly public meetings in an “Ask Me Anything” format to ensure transparency, clear communication, and accountability.
2. Hold regular office hours in the ward.
3. Create Community Working Groups with active residents, so we work together on development applications.

There is a mountain of problems waiting at the desk of the next councillor for SSW. We cannot afford on-the-job training. As Councillor, I can start on Day 1 and start working for our community.

Question 2 - Housing Development

An unprecedented scale of development is being proposed in Ward 20. How will you ensure the interests of current residents are addressed, appropriate infrastructure and amenities are built to support this growth, retail space and employment are preserved and development impacts are considered holistically across the ward.

Suman Roy Q2 Response

There is a shortage of affordable housing in Ward 20 and Toronto as a whole, we can’t stop development, but we can do it in a Scarborough way. I’m committed to bringing the City officials to the community through meaningful community consultations and holding the City to account for the changes to our Neighbourhoods. I have successfully advocated green and community spaces in the past and will continue to advocate at Council for the City to develop comprehensive master plans for each ward that consider all aspects of development, including infrastructure, amenities, housing, and employment. Through community consultations, this plan should align with the community's vision and address growth equitably and sustainably.

Malika Ghous Q2 Response

I was born and raised in Scarborough Southwest, so I’ve seen firsthand the immense growth in development projects over these last few years. I also understand that every development plan begins with someone’s idea. We must encourage ideas that will help promote the economic and social vitality of Scarborough Southwest. As your City Councillor, I will develop a comprehensive and rigorous public consultation process. Resident feedback will be the driving force behind how we shape our community.

Anna Sidiropoulos Q2 Response

Change is coming to Scarborough Southwest. I will only support development applications that fit our community. Changes to the Planning Act have occurred at an alarming rate, giving less control to council and communities, and more control to developers. We as a community should take pro-active steps. I would host a multi-day, design charrette with the community to search for common ground. The community should shape and mould the way in which we grow. I’ll work to create and implement a design guideline bylaw that would give the community more leverage in the case of rezoning applications that are appealed to the Toronto Local Appeal Board. The use of an interim control bylaw would not be off the table to be imposed on certain properties. This is OUR neighbourhood and we need to be proactive and in control. I will Put Scarborough First.

Kevin Rupasinghe Q2 Response

My background is in Cities Engineering with a focus on transportation, land use, infrastructure resilience, and sustainability. As a long-time community advocate who has led many successful changes at City Hall, I know the best results are achieved when elected officials, professional experts, and community members come together to guide change.

To guide necessary growth in our community, I will:
-Work with local neighbourhoods to identify key gaps in existing infrastructure or services
-Develop neighbourhood-level and ward-level plans for key amenities and services that should be addressed through development, e.g. new daycare, missing dog park, added grocery store
-Host multiple robust, interactive community consultations for each development proposal throughout the development cycle with residents, developers, and City staff
-Direct City staff to create detailed Secondary Plans along key development corridors, e.g. Kingston Road, jointly led by the City Planning, Transportation Services, and Economic Development divisions

Parthi Kandavel Q2 Response

As Trustee, I observed the disparity in how the system allocated resources. For example, we only had a couple of French Immersion programs, whereas Beaches-East York almost had French immersion in every school. After years of being consistent and strong in my advocacy, utilizing data, maps, and social policy arguments, I’m proud to share that we now have 6 French Immersion programs across our ward.

Similarly, I will centre good planning principles and similar tools to create accountability and consistency to development. As Councillor, I will include and work with residents in all development proposals through authentic community in-person consultations.

I’ll stand up to the rezoning of employment and commercial lands into residential developments. SSW has lost vital resources because of bad planning. The Sun Valley supermarket was rezoned for residential use, and has left a community without access to groceries.

Question 3 - Transit

With the elimination of minimum parking requirements for new developments transit has become even more important. How will you make it so SSW residents can affordably and efficiently get where they need to go?

Suman Roy Q3 Response

I will advocate for the expansion and improvement of TTC routes in Ward 20, including increasing the frequency and coverage of buses. I will work to address our "last-mile" problem by promoting walkability and expanding the TTC Community Bus pilot to our ward in order to increase connections between transit stops and residential areas within the ward. In order to maintain our world-class city status we have to focus on sustainable transit and we need to increase our Wards safety and walkability by expanding our sidewalk network.

Malika Ghous Q3 Response

I’m committed to making transit a priority. We need to take a closer look at both our public transit and roads. Our public transit has not been affordable for years, which is why I will propose an immediate freeze on TTC fare increases for the remainder of my term. We also need to make public transit more accessible for our residents, so that they can move with ease from home, to work, to school. If I’m elected your City Councillor, I’ll fight to have more bus stops on routes that lead directly to Kennedy, Warden and Victoria Park subway stations.

We also need to make driving more efficient. We can’t have our residents sit in traffic all day. As your City Councillor, I’ll be proposing a by-law mandating that all road construction projects be completed within 30 days from the start of the project.

Anna Sidiropoulos Q3 Response

The scandal of the Eglinton Crosstown is a slap in the face to residents of Scarborough. Infrastructure that goes billions over budget and years over schedule only happens because for one of two reasons; corruption or incompetence. Neither is acceptable. As a city councillor, I will move a motion to ask the province to hold a public inquiry. It is the only legal means for public accountability. I will ride transit everyday to city hall from ward 20 until we have a safer, more reliable system that serves our community with the respect they deserve. We have the benefit of multiple GO stations in Scarborough but seemingly little coordination with the TTC on scheduling. Why don’t TTC buses drop riders off at GO stations in Scarborough to make travel seamless? I will promote better Wheeltrans access for seniors and expand community bus services in ward 20.

Kevin Rupasinghe Q3 Response

As a transportation engineering professional, resident who depends on public transit, and someone who has long advocated for safer, faster, better transport options, I am the strongest candidate for helping SSW residents move around.

-Secure funding for the SRT replacement busway and expedite its construction: www.kevrup.ca/SRT
-10-min frequency bus network on all major routes
-Fare integration with TTC, GO transit, and Bike Share Toronto
-Expand and improve overnight bus service to all parts of SSW
-Electrify the TTC bus fleet for less noise and cleaner air
-Invest in frontline staff to improve safety
-Support mandatory secure bicycle parking in new developments
-Move forward on safe street initiatives to give people of all ages and abilities the option to travel without a car for local trips
-Build complete communities that minimize need to drive overall by providing amenities and services within short distances

Parthi Kandavel Q3 Response

Transit cuts have been hard on Scarborough. A priority is to immediately reinstate bus services which were cut, increase frequency to address areas of growth or underservice, and keep fares at current pricing.

I’m determined to hold the City to its commitment of re-surfacing the now defunct SRT tracks into an express busway. Severe traffic congestion along Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue is impacting everyone. We need and deserve this.

Transit is challenging in Scarborough and more transit options are imperative. I’ll be a strong advocate for the Eglinton East LRT, which involves working collaboratively with the other 2 levels of government. As I’m not a partisan figure and thus not beholden to any party’s interests I can effectively collaborate with Scarborough’s federal and provincial representatives.

A robust transit system makes Scarborough, and Toronto, better.

Question 4 - Road Safety

Increased density, elimination of parking restrictions and increased competition for use of our roads threaten to make an already unsafe roads situation in Ward 20 even worse. How will you make it safer for my family to walk, bike and drive in our community?

Suman Roy Q4 Response

The City must listen to community voices and there is not a one size fits all solution for safety. As a resident of the ward, I believe that the core thing will be to communicate the needs and wishes of the Neighbourhoods with the city planners to come up with the most appropriate solution neighbourhood by neighbourhood to make our streets safer. I have worked with the community on the Toronto Police Liaison Committee in assisting to implementing traffic calming measures across Scarborough Southwest. Every neighbourhood deserves a meaningful voice in their safety. I will also advocate for increased traffic calming measures around new Developments to prevent increased Traffic ingress into our neighborhoods.

Malika Ghous Q4 Response

Our streets have become overwhelmed with traffic congestion. Poor public policy has allowed bicycles to be ridden on major streets in Scarborough; this has made transit unsafe for people driving in our ward. As your City Councillor, I will ban new bike lanes on major streets like Kingston Road and Danforth Road.

Taking bicycles off our major streets is not enough to address traffic safety. As your City Councillor, I will expand safety initiatives by reducing speed limits near school zones and high pedestrian intersections. Areas that are at even higher risk will require more stringent safety measures including speed bumps, enhanced signage and better lighting.

Anna Sidiropoulos Q4 Response

Residents tell me that drivers are speeding, racing and running red lights on Kingston Road. I’ve witnessed it myself. When they do that, they put all of us at risk. On Oct. 18th, a man was struck and nearly killed by a driver who ran a red light on Kingston Rd at Midland Ave, and he also hit a car. It was disturbing to witness. As your city councillor, I will fight to get red light cameras installed along Kingston Road, so that the drivers who speed and run red lights get big tickets for their reckless driving. Residents who agree with me can sign my petition at: RedLightCamerasNow.com. I’ve heard from many residents who would like traffic calming measures for their residential streets. I will deliver!

Kevin Rupasinghe Q4 Response

I have worked for many years to make streets safer in SSW and across Toronto - see my long history of successful safe streets advocacy: www.kevrup.ca/safestreets

Eliminating traffic deaths in our community will need an engineering, education, and enforcement approach:
-Redesign roadways to align posted speed limit and design speed limit
-Tighten intersection corners to slow turning vehicles on local & major roads
-Add safe crossings near bus stops to minimize mid-block crossing
-Implement safe school travel plans at all schools
-Work with local nonprofits, City staff, and school boards to include street safety education for all youth
-Expand the automated speed camera program with a goal of zero net revenue
-Add street lighting to both sides of major roads
-Ensure all road reconstruction projects include high-quality off-road active transportation infrastructure for people walking, cycling, running, etc.

Learn more about my platform: www.kevrup.ca/platform

Parthi Kandavel Q4 Response

Serious accidents and near misses are all too frequent in SSW. I’m determined to integrate the same traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps, which are standard in other neighbourhoods, like next door in Beaches-East York.

Speed cameras in school zones are LONG overdue. Driver behaviour improves with predictable tickets and fines. It’s the wrong use of a police officer’s time to issue tickets, when we have crime on the rise. The technology exists, so let’s use it to protect our children.

Bluffers Park has been operating for almost 50 years without a sidewalk. With heavy traffic in both directions, it makes it dangerous and inaccessible. There shouldn’t be any more delay - I’ll get it built.

The West Scarborough Rail Trail is a great example of repurposing underused land into a corridor for recreational and active transportation. I will see its implementation expedited.

These are your Report Card Results for each candidate out of 20. You can click “Back” to review the responses and your score. When you exit the form your results will be cleared.