Dear Ward 8 Residents,

It has been an absolute pleasure and honour to have served as your Ward 8 Councillor in the last few years and have the opportunity to work together towards bettering our community and navigating the pandemic together.

I connected with some of you over the last four years to provide assistance in resolving your City-related matters, and to gather your feedback and comments through our Community Information Meetings for a number of development proposals in the neighbourhood.

During my first year as City Councillor, I met many of you at my very first Community BBQ. While we have not had the chance to organize another BBQ due to the pandemic, I was still able to connect with you through my subsequent events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I held a COVID-19 Care Package Giveaway, 1,500 care packages filled with PPE supplies and other necessities sponsored by local businesses were given out to Ward 8 residents.

Last Christmas, I organized the 2021 Fight Hunger Food Drive, gathering over 9,000 lbs of food, as well as $100,000 for three separate food banks. And after learning about the difficulties many residents had in obtaining a COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Kit, I held another giveaway in March of this year after I was able to secure a limited supply of test kits. I have continued to deliver these kits to residents and organizations.

This term certainly cannot be described as ‘normal’ in any sense. While our community faced unprecedented challenges, we have all had to learn to adapt and find solutions. And in facing adversity, we united stronger than ever.

As a member of the Race Relations Committee, it has been an honour to take part in the developing of the City of Markham’s Diversity Action Plan update to represent current realities and changes occuring in society. This update was done through extensive public consultation and a lot of hard work from staff, and is nothing short of a major milestone for our community.

We have had extensive meetings in the development of the Markham Centre Secondary Plan, the Milliken Centre Secondary Plan, annual budget meetings and much more, all of which will help shape and improve our community.

Thank you for this opportunity to be your voice on matters that relate to how we live, work and play in the City of Markham, both now and in the coming years.

As this is a municipal election year, Members of Council are unable to issue any ward-wide or mass constituency communications as of May 1, whether print or digital. So this will be the last eNewsletter you will receive from me for now. If you would like to stay up-to-date on City news, you may sign up for the City of Markham’s eNews here.

I will be seeking re-election, and hope I will have the opportunity to continue to serve as your Ward 8 Councillor and strive for a better future together.

I hope everyone exercises their right to vote in both the upcoming provincial and municipal elections. Till then, you may continue to reach out to me directly via email or phone. I will be here to assist you in any way possible in the months to come.