Candidate Profile: Mark Saunders
Bio
- Mark was the former Toronto Chief of Police from 2015-2020.
- Saunders was a PC candidate for Don Valley West in the provincial 2022 election.
- In 2020, Saunders joined the COVID-19 vaccine task force.
- He was named the province’s special advisor for the Ontario Place redevelopment project.
Key Themes
- Safety
- Addressing issues of safety on the TTC.
- Controlling drug use in the city.
- Mental health supports.
- Criminal justice system.
- Transportation
- Reduce bike lanes on University Avenue and reverse the decision to make Yonge Street bike lanes permanent.
- Deprioritize the Bloor Street West bike lane expansion.
- Limit weekend road closures and require work on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to be done at night.
- Limit the number of road closures in the city at any one time.
- Housing
To build livable homes Torontonians can afford, Saunders will:
- Permit 1-2 more floors per rental or condo building – or up to 20 additional units – where appropriate.
- Change the current requirements for the Housing Now program, which make it very difficult for builders to get financing to build affordable housing.
- Take the property tax off affordable housing units in future developments to help spur the rapid development of more homes. This will have no impact on city finances.
- Press the federal government to waive the HST on all new large-scale purpose-built rental housing projects.
- Explore the possibility of tax and other incentives for purpose-built affordable rentals.
- Review Toronto’s development charge framework to ensure that monies collected are being directed toward their intended purpose. If they are not, look at reallocating some funds to community improvements in underserved areas.
