Commentaire 189 – commentaires et rétroaction

Syed Akbar Warsi
President
Islamic Foundation of Toronto

Please find attached of our letter submission.

attachment:

October 26, 2022

Subject: Combining Scarborough ridings.

Dear Honourable Commissioners,

As President of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto, I write to oppose the elimination or splitting of the Scarborough North riding where our over 50-year-old mosque and community hub is located.

While we serve the entire Greater Toronto Area, many of our congregants live in the surrounding neighbourhoods within the Malvern West community that includes the neighbourhoods of C.D. Farquharson, White Haven, and Malvern West.

The Malvern West community is the area bounded by Midland Avenue to the West; the train tracks and Finch Avenue E to the North; Neilson Road to the East; and, Highway 401 on the South. This area is very well served by being part of the present riding Scarborough North.

The Malvern West community is a "community of interest" because we all work together. An example is our partnership with the Scarborough Health Network hospital to administer vaccines during the pandemic.

Another example is our interfaith Iftar which we host with a local Rabbi, Catholic priest, and other faith leaders. We are proud to be part of this multi-faith community for over 50 years and to help facilitate these interfaith connections within the Malvern West community and Scarborough North riding.

We also ask you to keep the six ridings in Scarborough. Sarborough is extremely diverse with many newcomers and non-traditional residents who require multicultural services and strong representation. This is very much the case in Scarborough North.

Scarborough actually needs to have more representatives and services. Our community hub helps to try to make a difference through our community kitchen, tutoring for students, programs for seniors, etc.

Thank you in advance for standing up for Scarborough North and all six Scarborough ridings. We are grateful for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Syed Akbar Warsi (President)

Islamic Foundation of Toronto