FREE: TAKE A COPY

ELECTION Q&A

Q&A WITH 2010 WARD 30 CANDIDATES

Paula Fletcher • Liz West • Andrew James • Mark Dewdney • Angie Tingas
With the 2010 Toronto elections around the corner (October 25th), Leslieville Post contacted Ward 30 candidates to get
their views on 6 key issues. Replies were received from Paula Fletcher, Liz West, Andrew James, Mark Dewdney and
Angie Tingas (contact information was unavailable for Mihaly Varga).

Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com

1

Paula Fletcher
Website: www.paulafletchercampaign.ca
1. How do you plan to promote and
develop local business?
Strong local businesses are essential to maintain
our vibrant neighbourhoods in Ward 30. Local
businesses were a strong community partner in
opposition to the proposed power centre on
Eastern Avenue.
As Ward 30 Councillor, I have worked hard to
protect the film industry and film jobs in Ward
30, both on Eastern Avenue as well as in the
Port Lands.
I have worked closely with business owners to
strengthen and grow BIAs including the
Riverside BIA, East Toronto Chinese Chamber of
Commerce, Danforth BIA, Greektown BIA, the
Gerrard India BIA and the latest Danforth
Mosaic BIA. All that is missing now is a Leslieville
BIA for the area from Booth to Coxwell and I
would be happy to work with Business owners
to develop this.
In the last 4 years, City Council has reduced
property taxes for small business and I will push
for this to be continued in the next term.
Strong and reliable public services such as the
TTC and Toronto Hydro are essential to support
local businesses and to build a strong economic
base.
2. What are your views on the ongoing
Smart Centres Inc. conflict? In general,
please help us understand your views on
land development and usage.
I am very proud of working with our community
to stop 20 acres of big box retail on Eastern
Avenue which would have drawn over 7 million
cars trips a year through the surrounding
residential neighbourhoods and had a
devastating impact on the studio district. The
OMB ruled against the development based on
the evidence of one of the City’s key witnesses –
this power centre would be contagious for the
whole area and the 7,000 existing jobs in the
Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com
employment area would be lost – including
many films jobs.
Good jobs, green jobs and city support for
economic initiatives that respect local
neighbourhoods will make sure our city remains
attractive for investment.
3. Crime levels vary across ward 30. For the
areas with greater illegal activity, what is
your plan to reduce neighbourhood crime
and drug use?
I have the greatest respect for the work of 55
Division. They are very responsive and move
quickly on issues of community concern. I have
held many community safety walks and
community meetings with officers from 55,
Licensing and Standards and city staff from
different departments. An engaged and active
community and constructive working
partnerships with the local division are both key
to a safe and caring community.
4. Some areas in ward 30 are established
(e.g. Riverdale) and some are in the
nascent stages of improvement (e.g.
Leslieville). How will you work to increase
residential property values in the lower-
rent areas?
The history of all of our neighbourhoods is one
of caring and inclusion. I will work to make sure
that everyone has a place in the community and
there is no discrimination - either against new
people moving in or against those who are
already live in the community. Social inclusion is
a trademark and hallmark of Riverdale and it is a
good goal for Leslieville.
5. What will you do to support kids'
education and extra-curricular
development?
When first elected as the Public School Trustee
in 2000, I worked with the school community
and former Councillor Jack Layton to keep Bruce
School open. We were successful in introducing
2
 Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com

an integrated joint kindergarten and childcare
and parenting centre program which has
become the basis of the full day kindergarten
program being tested across Ontario.
Working with Trustee Cathy Dandy and parent
activists we stopped the closure of school
swimming pools not only in Ward 30 but across
the city. I have also collaborated with Trustee
Dandy on school playground improvements and
in developing our schools into community hubs
serving all ages.
all efforts to maintain and enhance our safe,
clean parks and open spaces.
Waterfront Development is steadily moving
east. City Council approved the new East Bay
Front and Lower Don Lands plan which is the
next stage of sustainable Waterfront
redevelopment and it will finally realize the Don
Greenway.

Through the Community Centres in Ward 30, we

have built partnerships with schools for the
successful development of after school
programs.

6. Please explain how you would make

ward 30 a more sustainable place to
live.
The strength of Ward 30 lies within its vibrant
and strong neighbourhoods.

I have worked with many residents across the

Ward to make ongoing improvements to our
neighbourhoods. There are four pillars to
sustainability – social, environmental, economic
and cultural. Citizen creativity and drive for a
better community have been the basis for the
solar thermal project, ending incineration at
Ashbridges Bay Sewage Treatment Plant and
stopping the transmission line coming down
Pape. As well, our communities have developed
exciting initiatives around community gardens,
outdoor markets and local food strategies.

Maintaining good jobs, film jobs and continuing

to support our terrific arts community are
priorities. Encouraging and assisting with the
amazing range of local festivals and events such
as Taste of the Danforth, the Gerrard India
Bazaar, the Leslieville Tree Festival, Riverdale
Artists Walk contributes significantly to our
sustainability.

Reliable and well run public services like Hydro

and TTC are critical to our community’s health.

I will continue to support our business districts

which make Ward 30 a great place to live and
work and to collaborate with the community on

3

Liz West
Website: www.lizwest.ca
1. How do you plan to promote and
develop local business?
The City the needs to be a partner to small
business, not a barrier. Small business is the
engine of prosperity in Toronto. Too often, City
Hall’s maze of regulations and high taxes only
serve to discourage small business. When we
lose our small businesses and main streets, we
lose our communities. The City has to be a
friend and a partner, not an adversary.
2. What are your views on the ongoing
Smart Centres Inc. conflict? In general,
please help us understand your views on
land development and usage.
Let’s create jobs in Ward 30. I will take a
common sense approach to all land
development decisions in our neighbourhoods.
It’s important to investigate the impact of
fending off a particular development, and
providing the community with all the facts. I will
make community consultation the priority and
give your voice the respect it deserves at city
hall. Together we will find the best solution that
benefits the most residents, not just the special
interests of some.
3. Crime levels vary across ward 30. For the
areas with greater illegal activity, what is
your plan to reduce neighbourhood crime
and drug use?
I support our police and want them to have the
tools to do their jobs well. Crime reduction and
prevention is the key to making Ward 30 a
better place for working families. Paula Fletcher
is invisible on this issue and refuses to deal with
the problem. New leadership is required to
make sure that the law is enforced, and that we
give alternatives to a life of crime and drug use.
Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com
4. Some areas in ward 30 are established
(e.g. Riverdale) and some are in the
nascent stages of improvement (e.g.
Leslieville). How will you work to increase
residential property values in the lower-
rent areas?
The Pan Am games must be a catalyst to clean
up the Portlands. The Pan Am games present us
with an opportunity to finally deal with the
Portlands. We must use this opportunity to
transform what has been an industrial
wasteland into a people-friendly jewel. Instead
of fighting against anyone who dares dream of a
new beginning, the City has to take a lead role
and make sure we don’t miss the best
opportunity we will have in a generation.
5. What will you do to support kids'
education and extra-curricular
development?
I will fight for more value in our Children's
programs. Increases in user fees for children’s
programs have not resulted in an increase in
quality. In fact, the quality of these programs
has often declined.
6. Please explain how you would make
ward 30 a more sustainable place to live.
Before we invest any money in green initiatives
we need to deal with our bottom line. We need
a back-to-basics approach to spending. City Hall
has to take the same approach to spending that
we all do: let’s do the things we have to do at
the lowest price and highest quality possible.
Back-to-basics means that the pot-holes are
filled, the parks are clean, the streets are safe,
and the buses run on time. Wasting money, like
spending $43 million on renovating Nathan
Philips Square, has got to stop. It’s time to get
our priorities straight.
4

Andrew James
Website: www.jamesforchange.ca
1. How do you plan to promote and
develop local business?
I am a huge supporter of local business, whether
retail or commercial. It's obviously greener for
to shop and/or work locally, and mixed-use
neighbourhoods have a vitality that
homogeneous areas can't match.
First, I would push for council to reduce
Toronto's business tax levels to 2.0 times that of
residential, competitive with the 905 area. The
current plan is for 2.5 by 2013. The Canadian
Federation of Independent Business is pushing
for a 1.5 multiple. Given that Toronto residents
pay lower taxes than the 905 (and for good
reason, it's cheaper to maintain higher density
neighbourhoods), I think 2.0 is a fair
compromise.
Second, I would pro-actively work with
developers to ensure that the Official Plan goal
of smaller-scale, mixed use developments is
met. There's far too much focus on all-
residential development right now, and we need
commercial space.
Third, I would push the city to underwrite micro-
finance initiatives, particularly amongst the
recent immigrant population and youths. We
need to help a new generation of entrepreneurs
get on track, and a properly administered
program will not cost a lot.
2. What are your views on the ongoing
Smart Centres Inc. conflict? In general,
please help us understand your views on
land development and usage.
I was glad that the OMB was able to block the
SmartCentre proposal "on a technicality" (while
dismissing all of the city's arguments). But the
onus on the city is to have a bullet-proof,
consistent official plan so that developers can
plan. Finally, a decade after amalgamation we
have the new city-wide zoning by-law.
To repeat what I said above, I support local
businesses that don't have a dramatically
Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com
negative effect on the liveability of adjacent
residential neighbourhoods.
3. Crime levels vary across ward 30. For the
areas with greater illegal activity, what is
your plan to reduce neighbourhood crime
and drug use?
A few years ago I participated in the East York
Strategy, which was based on the Boston
Strategy to give local youth options to crime. I
would certainly work with local churches to
implement that concept here in Ward 30. I'm
proposing that our off-hours schools can be
used as community hubs to give local youth
something to do under the supervision of a
police officer, even late into the evening.
In terms of enforcement, I applaud Chief Blair's
re-emphasis on community policing, and would
support taking it to the next level. If a high crime
area could benefit from a foot patrol, I would
definitely push for that.
4. Some areas in ward 30 are established
(e.g. Riverdale) and some are in the
nascent stages of improvement (e.g.
Leslieville). How will you work to increase
residential property values in the lower-
rent areas?
I support densification along transit corridors,
again with mixed use developments, to get
more people there who can support local
businesses and give vitality to the
neighbourhoods.
5. What will you do to support kids'
education and extra-curricular
development?
I enrol my own kids in city-run programs, and
definitely support those initiatives. A key
problem is to make sure they are properly
targeted. I know of an excellent city-subsidized
drop in centre for children in a poorer
neighbourhood, but it's mostly nannies of
children from wealthier families that bring the
kids there. That makes no sense. The city has to
5
 Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com

reach out to families in lower-income

neighbourhoods, and come up with programs
and schedules that meet their needs.

6. Please explain how you would make

ward 30 a more sustainable place to live.
Toronto Hydro, which sells us electricity, is also
in charge of encouraging conservation. To avoid
the possible conflict, I would support creating an
independent body with authority to push
Toronto Hydro to help residents make the
dramatic cuts to their carbon footprint that our
society needs.

Of course, expanded transit and connected bike

lanes are a must.

6

Mark Dewdney
Website: www.markdewdney.com
1. How do you plan to promote and
develop local business?
Council needs to find better ways to work with
& jumpstart BIAs. For example, the Danforth BIA
is a good example of results; no empty stores,
fantastic promotion, most businesses on
Danforth say they feel well-represented. By
contrast, Gerrard-India BIA is split in half, with
infighting and lack of promotion bringing the
SouthEast Asian Fest down to less than half the
foot traffic it used to have.
There are also, at last count, five empty
storefronts between Coxwell and Greenwood -
one of which has been empty for TWO YEARS. I
believe that a cross-promotion between The
Danforth and Little India can only benefit BOTH
BIAs - and an "East York" card, giving a small
discount to visitors (and available for free online
and in newspapers) would increase volume
tenfold.
Another point - according to merchants, there is
not enough parking – lack of easy access to
parking is one recipe for business - and area -
failure.
2. What are your views on the ongoing
Smart Centres Inc. conflict? In general,
please help us understand your views on
land development and usage.
I'm not impressed with the handling of the
Smart Centres conflict from beginning to end.
For starters, it was NOT a conflict to the
MAJORITY of Leslieville residents - at the door, a
LOT of Leslieville residents have been PLAIN
about how little they cared, and they felt that
their concerns were hijacked by Councillor
Fletcher - instead of listening to what residents
WANTED, the councillor made the issue about
the word "no" – with no plan in place for what
to do INSTEAD.
As if to prove this point, even the vocal minority
(those opposed to the SmartCentre) are now
upset as well, because Councillor Fletcher has
said that there's nothing she can do about the
Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com
car dealerships now poised to move in instead -
and about the "big box" that was permitted to
grow - and EXPAND - at Leslie & Lakeshore
(Canadian Tire, etc, on the southwest corner).
Residents are perplexed by the dual message
and lack of planning, and this makes them
angry. Let's move on here; I believe that high-
value commercial and "green" industrial
businesses, including web design, small-business
support, etc., must be brought to the Leslieville -
AND DONLANDS - areas, whether by tax breaks,
better infrastructure, whatever means
necessary, so that the area can properly grow -
and therefore support more investment both by
the private and public sector.
For certain, putting in $88m 4-stack arenas that
even Councillor Fletcher says Toronto can't
afford is not the answer - it is your Councillor's
job to find solutions that WORK, not to say "no"
to every plan that comes along with no thought
to the future.
I will look decades, not months or years, down
the road - we'll find business opportunities that
work, are sustainable, and that will work with
and HELP our infrastructure, not just tax it.
3. Crime levels vary across ward 30. For the
areas with greater illegal activity, what is
your plan to reduce neighbourhood crime
and drug use?
In the warmer months, I would encourage
Toronto Police to have a greater foot-patrol
presence; when residents interact with police on
a one-on-one level, the "occupying army"
stereotype goes away somewhat, and a degree
of co-operation occurs, with crime being
reported earlier since residents come to trust
police more than if they simply see them driving
by in anonymous cruisers.
Street fairs and other "get-together" ways to
meet neighbours are also good, since residents
will then know each other - and be better
equipped to spot those who are not area
residents (therefore reducing opportunities for
7

burglary, etc, which support drug habits - dry up
the demand, and the suppliers will look
elsewhere to sell.)
I also applaud TAVIS (Toronto Anti-Violence
Intervention Strategy) for their efforts; through
their mentorship, youth are starting to realize
that there IS a chance beyond crime; even the
simple act of painting over graffiti with a nice
mural helps them feel talented and gives them
an ownership stake in
the area, while simultaneously denying would-
be gang members a place to advertise - by
"tagging", these members "claim" their
neighbourhood, something that IS taken
seriously by area residents "in the know".
4. Some areas in ward 30 are established
(e.g. Riverdale) and some are in the
nascent stages of improvement (e.g.
Leslieville). How will you work to increase
residential property values in the lower-
rent areas?
I call this the "nice garden" theory. As I visit
doors in Leslieville (all 24,000 of them in Ward
30), I notice that those who take care of their
properties tend to take care of their
neighbourhoods. This may sound simplistic, but
simply finding ways to encourage residents to
repair and beautify their properties will raise
values; those who do not wish to participate will
move, and those who stay will continue to build
the community that we can ALL see Leslieville
turning into. One house at a time, one family at
a time, Leslieville IS improving - all on its' own.
HOWEVER, that's not to say that I can sit back
and watch it grow; efforts must be made to
improve the streets & infrastructure, including
expanding the Toronto Fire Academy into a full-
time fire station, and ensuring that TTC
continues to serve the area; I believe that an
Eastern Avenue rush-hour route is NECESSARY,
both to serve Leslieville and to take some
pressure off the Queen streetcar, which needs
all the help it can get right now.
5. What will you do to support kids'
education and extra-curricular
development?
Though it's trite to say (and not fashionable any
more), our kids ARE our future, and we've got to
Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com
keep developing spaces where residents and
their kids can play - safely. Yes, play IS just as
important as "in-class" learning for developing
well-rounded children; socialization and exercise
are just two of the benefits of a good recreation
program. For example, the schoolyard at Bruce
Jr Public School (off Berkshire Avenue, north of
Eastern) could use a "kid-friendly"
redevelopment; the schoolyard is worn down
and not well taken-care of.
At very least, a new playground - and perhaps a
water feature, much like Toronto's other
splashpads, could be added. When it comes to
education, I would like to be "hands-on" with
local school trustees as they continue to rework
Toronto's public-school and Catholic-school
systems; I do bow to the expertise of the school
board, but I feel that a closer brand of oversight,
coupled with a strong will to work towards
SOLUTIONS that we can present to the Ministry
Of Education, will result in a clearer more
definite view of what it will take to turn out
Canada's best-educated - and developed - kids.
6. Please explain how you would make
ward 30 a more sustainable place to live.
I will be honest - I don't know enough about the
science of sustainability to speak in an educated
manner, and I'm not given to pretending that I
know everything. I DO believe that options such
as rainwater collection, solar power and "white
roofs" must be explored further, since they've
shown results (I've ordered 2 solar arrays for my
OWN balcony!)
Other than that, I will defer - and listen - to the
experts; I know how to read a report, find the
facts, and ask enough relevant questions to
know whether a project will be useful and good
for the environment - or whether it's simply a
waste of money, based on weak science.
One thing I will concentrate on is Toronto's
approach to hydro rates and usage - I do NOT
approve of selling Toronto Hydro, since rates
usually jump by up to 300% after sale to private
enterprise, and I will also continue hounding the
City Of Toronto's various departments to cut
energy use, install proven alternatives and find
original solutions, including better construction
methods, to the dilemma of sustainability.
8

Angie Tingas
Website: www.runningfor30.blogspot.com
1. How do you plan to promote and
develop local business?
Let's start with getting people to our local
businesses, the buses have the worst working
schedules and other than streetcars getting into
our ward other than the Danforth can be
tedious to say the least and most don't want to
trek to this side of the city. How about fostering
the businesses that are... I can be frequently
found in the ward, shopping, eating, and
exercising!
We need to engage the dwellers of the ward to
come and be part of the local businesses and
help the local businesses to keep growing and
allow for them to provide the best experiences
as possible. I would like the Work/live lofts to
continue to promote the work part in their
equations; we need to provide people adequate
space to continue to grow the working parts of
our ward. We all can't live off working in the
hospitality industry, we need to help continue to
grow the film portion of our ward, many movies
are made in Canada... Toronto needs to stay
competitive to continually bring those jobs here
and keep those who live here working in those
fields to stay in the ward and find work in our
ward.
2. What are your views on the ongoing
Smart Centres Inc. conflict? In general,
please help us understand your views on
land development and usage.
This is such a hot button issue and one that
takes a lot of continual discussion with the
constituents of the ward. So we don't want the
Wal-Mart to open because it will be bad for
local business, but we rather turn a corner of
green space into a TTC yard, how will that
engage people to want to continue running the
boardwalks, taking part of the Portlands. I am
not an advocate for either; but let us not forget,
that there are very low income families in the
ward and we need to provide them with
adequate accessible shopping which they don't
need to get to by subway (which I already
discussed needs an overhaul for our ward).
Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com
We should weigh out all the options whatever
direction they are... but if Smart Centers mean
more jobs in the ward, I can't say I will be
completely opposed to the idea either.
Everyone needs help... not the owners of the
Smart Centers, but if Canadian Tire and
Shoppers Drug Mart help the ward, who knows
what else can bring more people into the ward.
To spend their hard earn money in our ward.
3. Crime levels vary across ward 30. For the
areas with greater illegal activity, what is
your plan to reduce neighbourhood crime
and drug use?
How do you fix a problem like that, there is so
much policing and community service you can
throw at people... what I would rather is engage
Woodgreen Services as a primary social service
in the area and police come together and
amalgamate their ideas for the ward. We don't
want to alienate the citizens, we don't want to
pick and choose how to deal with these few
situations. I believe though that if someone is
scared no matter what part of the ward they live
in, they should take the time to call the local
police department and make a complaint, they
can't fix something they aren't aware of. I think
a soft police option might be something to
watch, bicycle police officers who hang out in
parks and police the streets by foot. A presence
that makes the citizens feel safe without feeling
threatened and those who behave
inappropriately to be aware that there is a
chance if they continue this behaviour they will
eventually be caught.
4. Some areas in ward 30 are established
(e.g. Riverdale) and some are in the
nascent stages of improvement (e.g.
Leslieville). How will you work to increase
residential property values in the lower-
rent areas?
I am not sure that home values are as low as this
question reads. Leslieville is a hot new location
and will only get more popular as the years go
by. To say that some homes are on the lower
scale of the price brackets, it might be reflective
9

of the house's condition itself. And I am not sure
we need to raise the value of the homes in some
parts of the ward. We have a mixed income
bracket in our ward which gives our ward the
unique feel it has. And we need to continue to
have affordable living conditions in the city of
Toronto, not all homes need to be
unpurchasably expensive, home prices are
reflective in the popularity of the
neighbourhood. What I don't want see property
taxes rising and our home prices staying the
same. That would not be good for anyone in
ward 30.
5. What will you do to support kids'
education and extra-curricular
development?
How about refusing to let any other sitting
board of Toronto Public School board to close
one more pool... with epidemic of obesity in our
city, taking away extra curricular activities
should not be on a rise. We need to engage with
the Provincial government about funding and
alleviating the funds that we can save the
Ontario Health Departments if we create a
healthy response program to education and
extra-curricular activities. Let's prove to the
province that the city is with it, we are going to
make this happen for our kids because they
really are the future, they are the future of our
growing economy, they shouldn't be seen as a
an expenditure not worth the money.
They need to become thriving parts of the city,
they need to grow into continual developing
beings. I think every resource that the city owns,
and we own the school properties need to be
used to their maximal potential to offer the
Brought to you by Leslieville Post:
Leslieville Post
Life in a thriving Toronto neighbourhood
interact@leslievillepost.com
www.leslievillepost.com
Brought to you by LeslievillePost.com
most usage to our citizen even the citizens of
ward 30. This is a key issue of mine.
6. Please explain how you would make
ward 30 a more sustainable place to live.
I really do think that are carbon imprint in this
world is a serious matter, I know that the
citizens of this ward are highly conscious about
trying to live a green and sustainable lifestyle.
We need to continue to foster these growth
measures, but not just in the ward. How about if
the city is going to get contracts to build new
things, fix old things we are doing so in a
greener fashion. Sorting our garbage is a good
start, but how do you mandate a building that
collects insurmountable amounts of waste that
aren't divided while house owners are paying
higher taxes for waste collection. And let's
encourage that collection stays divided by
picking up organic waste more than once a
week, especially in the summer months. Let's
offer initiatives to make your home more
efficient, let's encourage all green groups,
maybe to participate in making our city the head
of the pact and work with the city to bring
initiatives to make our city far more sustainable.
If you would like to further speak or discuss
more policies I have in mind, where I see my
best assets inside of city hall... or how I plan to
be the biggest defender of Ward 30 as I am the
only candidate who actually lives in the ward
and is affected personally by the decisions that
happen in the ward.
Let's talk and maybe you can let me know what
further matters your readers are most
concerned about and how we can work to get
them done.
10