CBC Toronto hosts a Municipal Election Listening Session in Jane and Finch

On Oct. 18, residents of Jane and Finch had a chance to engage with the three candidates running for city council in Humber River-Black Creek: Amanda Coombs, Christopher Mammoliti and Anthony Perruzza. The gathering, organized by CBC Toronto, took place at the San Romanoway Theatre in Jane and Finch. 

During the Listening Session, residents talked about the issues that mattered to them with the candidates in an open discussion. The conversations centred on three topics, housing, policing and opportunities for young people. With new condo developments and the incoming Finch West LRT raising the cost of housing in the community, affordable housing was top of mind for residents. The candidates offered their own ideas on how to address the issues.

"We need to make sure that the residents have a voice at the table. For the condominiums that are going up, we need to make sure that there are subsidized spaces," said Amanda Coombs. 

"The things I'd really like to see is start looking into things like rent-to-own structures. I think we need to be building equity into community members. And I think had we been thinking about this the last 20 years, that ten year real estate boom that we've been seeing would have been going directly to our community," said Christopher Mammoliti.

"Any new housing should have affordable components built into it. Any new housing or developments should come in as complete communities, they have the amenities, they have the parks, they have the hubs," said Anthony Perruzza. 

The opportunity to have face-to-face dialogue with the candidates allowed residents to learn more about them and their platforms.

"There are definitely a lot of things that you can't find online, that you can find at these sessions. Just because you get the direct answer that you want," said Quincy Johnson, a local resident who attended the session.

The Listening Session was part of the CBC Toronto Jane and Finch Community Bureau, which has been dedicated to telling stories from the Jane and Finch community.