Friday October 20, 2006
They represent you at City Hall but do they really represent Toronto as a whole?
You’ll be getting a chance to tell your local councillor exactly what you think of his or her work on your behalf when the election is held November 13th.
But many communities in the city are wondering why, when they look at council chambers, they don’t see their own ethnic members sitting in the seats.
Many believe it’s because voters tend to re-elect the same people over and over again.
“The way elections are structured right now, it’s heavily weighed in the favour of the incumbents,” suggests Karen Sun of the Chinese Canadian National Council. Her group has launched an offensive to change that before the big vote.
Of 44 councillors, almost all are white and most are men. Only 13 women and just two visible minorities make up the rest of the politicians at City Hall.
“It’s the same ideas that are going around and around and around, and I think if you have someone who comes from a different background, from a different culture, from a different part of the world who might speak a different language, there is a different way of thinking,” Sun believes.
Some advocacy groups want fixed terms as a way to encourage diversity on council, but others are sure the entire system needs a major overhaul.
“I think more should be there, but is the opportunity there for them to present themselves is another matter,” worries voter Eleanor Campbell.
“It sounds unfair,” adds Abie Takeuchi. “But I don’t know what the cure is.”