Mayoral candidate Khalil Ramal promises to provide London, Ontario with a full Bus Rapid Transit plan if he is selected for the city council’s top role in the upcoming local elections.
Former London fanshawe MPP unveiled his platform to dozens of supporters at the Best Western Plus Lamplighter Inn and Conference Center in south London on Tuesday morning.
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Former Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal enters London, Ontario. mayor race
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Former Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal enters London, Ontario. mayor race
Other promises include free transit for those over 65, a program to protect renters from negligent landlords and hundreds of new affordable homes within Ramal’s first month in office.
An online version of the platform is available on Ramal’s campaign website.
Homelessness, affordable housing, safety, jobs, environment and transportation are the central pillars of Ramal’s platform.
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Mayoral candidate Khalil Ramal unveils his program. The former MPP’s promises include 2 new “Homelessness Centers”, 100 affordable housing in its first month in office, a localized RentSafeTO program and the reintroduction of the scrapped North/West legs of BRT #LdnOnt pic.twitter.com/ky0zUJI65b
— Andrew Graham (@andrewjwgraham) September 20, 2022
homelessness
On the homeless front, Ramal is trying to put forward ideas first put forward by local advocacy group The Forgotten 519, which made headlines when one of its members went on a hunger strike to demand the city meet the group’s demands.
These ideas include two “homelessness centres”, one in the east and one in the city centre, to provide 24/7 support and stop the removal of camps, tents, campsites or squatted parks along the Thames Valley Parkway and on empty ones city plots.
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Ramal also wants to work with frontline agencies to address poverty and addiction issues in the city and expand the London Food Bank’s greenhouse program to provide fresh and healthy food to those in need.
Affordable housing
Ramal wants to see 6,000 new affordable homes over the next four years and has set an ambitious goal of creating “hundreds of new, truly affordable homes” within his first month in office.
“I’ve been working on this for over a year and a half,” Ramal told reporters when asked how he planned to build these homes, adding that he worked with consultancy firm Devonshire Financial to create a proposal.
Another promise includes a localized version of the RentSafeTO program “to protect London renters from absentee and negligent landlords”.
The Toronto version of the program includes building appraisals at least every three years, a phone system to track and respond to tenant service requests, and a registration fee payable by landlords.
The idea was rejected by current councilors in July, but local tenants’ association London ACORN wants the incoming council to reconsider.
“Someone last week mentioned building 50,000 units, 10,000 in the core and 40,000 outside – where’s the 40,000? On the farmland?” Ramal added a reference to the unveiling of his competitor Josh Morgan’s platform.
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“I’m interested in stepping up downtown building, revitalizing downtown, and building a community.”
security
Much of the focus on safety is related to increasing resources for the London Police Service.
That includes hiring “50 new frontline staff to work directly with police to respond to homelessness and addiction emergencies.”
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Ramal also wants to increase police foot patrols in the city center by 75 per cent and task the London Abused Women’s Center and ANOVA to train officers on how to work with “women who have been physically or sexually assaulted”.
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Facilities such as the local branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Ark Aid Street Mission are also seeking additional capacity.
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jobs
Ramal told reporters that many of his ideas would result in increased retention of current London workers while attracting new workers.
“Direct, accessible incentives” are promised to small businesses, and Ramal wants to set up a “Small Business Development Office” to provide grants and incentives to small businesses “that commit to paying a living wage”.
transport
Ramal intends to complete the previously scrapped north and west sections of London’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plan, which is currently intended to serve central, east and south London only.
BRT presented one of the most contentious issues for City Council in recent memory. Construction work for the multi-year project initially began in 2021.
“If we’re talking about attracting more students to London, if we’re thinking about creating more jobs, we have to think about efficient transit,” Ramal said.
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Ramal wants to make free transit available to people aged 65 and over and continues Mayor Ed Holder’s call to fully electrify London Transit’s fleet.
A “citywide safe and effective system of walking and cycling” is promised, along with better protected cycle lanes across London.
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Surroundings
The latest piece of Ramal’s platform promises a fully implemented Green Bin program in the first two years of London’s next term, along with finding a way to prevent sewage from being dumped into the Thames.
Ramal also wants to work with city officials, ReForest London and senior governments to “restore 40 per cent of our urban forests”.
Continue reading:
Mayoral candidate Josh Morgan promises 50,000 new homes for London, Ontario.
London’s next mayor will have just one vote on City Council, meaning Ramal’s promises will require the majority of his peers to be on board, something he’s confident he can achieve.
“I’m a good salesman, I’ve spent my whole life selling my ideas and convincing people to work with me,” Ramal said.
To fund his ideas, Ramal says there will be “no tax increases,” adding that he will instead seek private donors, private partnerships and senior government money.
“I will work day and night to raise money for these projects. I already have pledges from many philanthropists to fund some of these projects,” Ramal said.
“Londoners are generous people… they will donate when they see change and a brighter future for everyone in our city.”
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Ramal’s contenders for London’s next mayor include Brandon Ellis, Daniel Jeffery, Dan Lenart, Norman Robert Miles, Josh Morgan, Carlos Murray, Joanne Nichols, Sean O’Connell and Sandie Thomas.
The city’s municipal elections are scheduled for October 24.
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Social media is becoming increasingly common in local elections
Social media is becoming increasingly common in local elections
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