John Filion

John Filion
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 23) Willowdale
Assumed office
December 1, 2000
Preceded by Ward Created
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 10) North York Centre
In office
January 1, 1998 – December 1, 2000
Serving with Norm Gardner
Preceded by Ward Created
Personal details
Born 1950 (age 67–68)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation Journalist
Signature

John Filion ( listen) (born 1950) is a Toronto city councillor representing one of the two Willowdale wards, Ward 23 Willowdale. Although, he had planned to retire in 2018, after the legislation from Premier Doug Ford which expanded ward boundaries, he decided to run for re-election because he believes it makes it "virtually impossible for a community activist, known within one area, to get elected."[1]

Filion attended York University and he graduated with a degree in history. He became a journalist specializing in education issues. He was the founding editor of the Canadian World Almanac.

He first entered politics as a trustee on the North York Board of Education to which he was elected in 1981. From 1987 to 1990 he served as chair of the school board. He was elected to North York's city council in 1990 replacing retiring councillor Jim McGuffin. He moved to Toronto city council with the creation of the new city in 1997. He received a great deal of attention for his role as chair of the city's Board of Health. He used this position to push for a smoking ban in Toronto bars and restaurants and to force restaurants to post records of their health inspections. As a member of the police services board he was a sharp critic of chief Julian Fantino and also publicly accused members of the police force of monitoring his activities.

Mayor Rob Ford Stripped of Powers

In 2013, after admissions by Mayor Rob Ford that he has smoked crack cocaine, drove while intoxicated and purchased illegal drugs while in office, Filion drafted an emergency motion which transferred much of the mayor’s budget and powers to the Deputy Mayor. The motions transferred much of the mayor’s budget, removed his ability to set key matters on the legislative agenda, and removed his right to fill vacancies on the civic appointments committee. [2]

Chair of Toronto Board of Health

Filion as chair of the Toronto Board of Health created the DineSafe eatery inspection and notification system which rose compliance with food safety regulations in Toronto restaurants from 42% to 90% and reduced cases of food-borne illnesses in Toronto by 30% in its first 8 years. [3] He also championed the restaurant smoking ban. [4]

Toronto Parking Authority Land Purchase

Executives from the Toronto Parking Authority and Giorgio Mammoliti pushed for a deal that would have had the city overpay by approximately $2.6 million for a piece of land in Mammoliti's ward, according to a report to Toronto City Council by law firm Torys LLP. The deal was days from being completed when it fell through largely due to pressure from Filion. Filion repeatedly questioned the cost of the purchase. He also accused Toronto Parking Authority executives of withholding information. According to the report Filion told the TPA's vice president of real estate, Maria Casista, "I'm calling the cops".[5] Toronto's auditor general and the Ontario Provincial Police are currently investigating the land deal. [6]

A La Cart

Filion spearheaded Toronto's A La Cart program, an attempt to introduce variety into Toronto's street food scene.[7] The program was terminated two years into its three-year pilot program.[8] Some participants in the program complained they were left bankrupt from the experience.[9] Meddling city bureaucracy and expensive, city-specified food carts that malfunctioned were some of the reasons cited for the failure of Filion's program.[8][9] Councillor Filion wouldn't apologize for the failure but did admit to it being a humbling experience. He suggested he would do it differently if given the chance.[8]

Election results

2014 Toronto election, Ward 23[10]

Candidate Votes %
John Filion14,12855.49%
David Mousavi7,95131.23%
Kun-Won Park2,0498.05%
Chris Penny5932.33%
Scott Werle3801.49%
Carmen Kedzior3581.41%
Total25,459100.00%
2010 Toronto election, Ward 23[11]
Candidate Votes %
John Filion13,66665.9
Dusan Kralik2,45611.8
Peter Clarke2,12910.2
John Whyte1,4457.0
Charles Sutherland1,0555.1
Total20,751100

Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 am

2006 Toronto election, Ward 23[12]
Candidate Votes %
John Filion8,85357.4
Andrew Miller5,23534.0
Cornel Chifor5573.6
Mohammed Choudhary3942.6
Ignacio Manlangit3732.4

References

  1. ↑ Rider, David (6 September 2018). "John Filion shelves retirement plan, seeks re-election to Toronto city council | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Mendleson, Rachel; Edwards, Peter (18 November 2013). "Rob Ford stripped of power as mayor by Toronto council | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Cribb, Robert (17 April 2009). "DineSafe cuts rate of sickness | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  4. ↑ David, Rider (20 June 2018). "John Filion not seeking re-election to Toronto council | The Star". thestar.com. Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Lancaster, John; Smee, Michael (2 May 2018). "Mammoliti, TPA execs 'actively' pushed land deal with inflated $12M price tag, secret report says". CBC. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Dubinsky, Zach; Lancaster, John (25 January 2018). "OPP probing 'possible criminal activity' in aborted $12M City of Toronto land deal | CBC News". CBC. CBC. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Chung, Matthew (April 21, 2007). "Cuisine a la cart". thestar.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  8. 1 2 3 "City's recipe for a disaster". Archived from the original on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  9. 1 2 Rider, David (September 17, 2010). "Why Toronto's street food program is in shambles". thestar.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  10. ↑ "2014 General Election Results for City Ward 23 - Willowdale".
  11. ↑ City of Toronto elections page Archived 2010-10-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ City Clerk's Official Declaration 2006 Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine.
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