It was an absolute pleasure to represent the people of Scarborough Centre, Ward 38, for the past 15 years.
As of Nov. 30, 2018, I returned to the life of a private citizen. While I’m no longer a City Councillor, I continue to be a committed Scarborough resident and community advocate.
Following a provincial decision that saw my ward chopped in half and redistributed to neighbouring areas, I decided not to seek a seat on the new Toronto Council that returned to City Hall in December with fewer councillors and much bigger wards. Rather than fighting against former colleagues, I decided it would be more positive to invest my energy in branching off in a new direction. (Visit my site again, and I will keep you posted on what the future holds for me!)
Back in 2003, after my first election victory, my slogan became: “Results you can count. A councillor you can count on.” In addition to the Rouge Park and the Scarborough subway—the latter of which I successfully defended at council 10 times—I take pride in leaving behind the following tangible results:
- a library at the Scarborough Civic Centre
- a recently opened centre for kids with autism
- new splash pads and playgrounds throughout the ward
- several new parks in various stages of completion
- thousands of children and young adults with happy memories of my summer movies in the park
- national status for Scarborough’s Rouge Park and the beginnings of a waterfront trail
- thousands of new street trees
- a spay and neuter clinic for feral cats and a no-kill policy at all city animal shelters
- several off-leash areas for dogs, including Toronto’s largest, and another for shelter dogs, and
- a vibrant hydro corridor that has come to life with community gardens, a four-kilometre hiking and biking trail, and 80 acres of meadow habitat for birds and butterflies, all of which will now serve as a pilot project to be replicated across the city.
While I’m proud of these accomplishments, the thing I loved most about the job was working with my dedicated team of assistants to help thousands of Scarborough residents solve problems that greatly impacted their quality of life.
It’s truly rewarding to help someone find a job or deal with a flooded basement—and a sunken sidewalk may not seem important till you get a call from a senior who tripped on it and broke a tooth.
When asked if I have any regrets, I tell people that I wish the Scarborough subway fight had not caused so many hard feelings at council. But I don’t regret standing up for Scarborough. I do believe that decades from now, when my former colleagues and I are long forgotten, the next generation will take for granted that Toronto’s subway system reaches all four corners of our city. I think history will prove the pundits wrong and the people right.
While I’m sad to say goodbye to my constituents, I am happy I had the chance to serve them. For 15 years, my job was to help people. It was an amazing ride!
Cheers,
Glenn De Baeremaeker