Development dominates Ward 16 debate
Orchard View and Duplex apartment building raises the ire of some candidates
By Shawn Star
 SHAWN STAR/TOWN CRIER TAME DEBATE: While some had been expecting an evening full of personal attacks and fireworks between the Ward 16 council candidates the event was rather civil. Hopefuls, from left, Michael Coll, Roy MacDonald, Terry Mills and Karen Stintz answered questions from the audience on issues related to development, arts funding and infrastructure improvement.
Avenue Road Eglinton Community Association (ARECA) at the North Toronto Memorial Community Centre hosted the congenial debate on Monday night.
The more than 100 people in attendance posed questions to the candidates on topics ranging from arts funding to improving sidewalks and even to the candidates’ favourite restaurant in the ward. The most consistent issue was development, which was incorporated into one-third of the questions.
At the forefront of the development talk was the approval of a 20-storey apartment building at the corner of Orchard View Boulevard and Duplex Avenue and the role of The Working Group, an organization of community members and associations that opposed the development.
The most raucous moment came when incumbent councillor Karen Stintzdefended her role in the approval of the new building by saying the majority of people in The Working Group supported it.
“The Working Group was created about two years ago and we had some new members who were added in the last few months,” she said, before suggesting those late-coming opponents were seated with her at the candidates’ table.
Candidate Michael Coll said he was there from the first meeting and there was no such majority. He then pointed to fellow candidate and member of The Working Group, Terry Mills and his work as an example of Stintz not taking the community’s opinion into consideration.
“Terry (Mills) put forward a thoughtful proposal,” he said. “And I’m sure he can testify that his recommendations were not followed through.”
Mills addressed the issue by citing his track record on the issue of development, and how the community can stop the approval process of a development site it’s not in favour of.
“In 2003 I stopped Greenwin from doing an enclosure of that corner,” he said. “RioCan then came back with an application and Karen (Stintz) endorsed it saying it was great. I stopped it. So you can do it.”
Rounding out the four candidates was elementary school teacher Roy MacDonald, who said when it comes to development, he thinks Stintz has her priorities backward.
“With what Karen was saying, the first thing I heard was ‘developers’, then I heard ‘city planners’, then farther down the line I heard ‘residents’,” he said. “I think that needs to change a little bit.” |
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