My Platform

My name is Babak Eslahjou.  I am 48 years old.  I am an architect and a part time photographer.  I am one of the founding partners of CORE Architects Inc.  I moved to Toronto with my parents and sisters when I was 20 years old.  I have lived in Toronto for the past 28 years.  I have practiced architecture in this city for 24 years, 14 years of which as a principal of CORE Architects Inc.

I am part of the “recent” wave of immigrants to this country.  I belong to the 50% of the Toronto residents who live here by choice.  I know our city well and I bring an international perspective to what I do every day.

I live in the Casa Loma area with my wife Mojan and my two boys Victor and Dorient.  My life is calm and is generally in line with what I had planned it to be, so why get involved with the stormy Mayoral debate??!!

Like no other time in its’ history, Toronto needs ideas.  We have had a spectacular growth in the last 30 years and the next 30 years will add one million inhabitants to our City.

This is no time to cut back or to retreat.  This is a time for inventions and ideas. We need to respond to our future today.

1. Toronto is choking in its traffic.  Any day of the week try driving in Toronto.  It is chaotic and congested.  Subways and streetcars are no better.  Stations are poorly maintained and suffer from over capacity during rush hours.  The “better way” is not so much better.  Toronto’s transportation infrastructure was designed for a smaller city.  Unless we move on this issue, we will see a decline in Toronto’s fortunes.  Businesses and residents cannot function without proper movement.  We need to make the TTC one of the best in the world.  The answer lies in my auto commuter charge.
2. Toronto and other Canadian urban centres house 85% of all Canadians. Toronto’s next Mayor needs to challenge the Federal and Provincial governments to give us back our fair share of the taxes we pay, especially the HST which is weighing heaviest on the wealthier cities.
3. Cuts to Municipal spending and government are not the right answer. Toronto is amongst the fastest growing cities of the developed world. We need to increase spending and services to respond to this growth. This increased spending should come from the taxes we already pay to the Federal government and not from new, or increased, municipal taxes.
4. Ideas are the weapons of the future. Faced by mounting problems, candidates are offering cutbacks and promising to shut doors. This is the time to face the challenges by thinking big and delivering it.  This is not the time to retreat to the good old 70’s!!
5. I am calling for a “City Architect” to replace the “Chief Planner”.  The new “City Architect” will take on new challenges such as our zoning by-laws, the Gardiner Expressway, the waterfront, our parks, our CO2 Free routes, our streets and many other aspects covered in my platform.  We need to move ahead and meet our future rather than stand by and let another 4 years go by.