New face for Vaughan: council adds a member

NRU
July 19, 2017
By Sarah Niedoba

Last month, Vaughan city council welcomed a new councillor to its ranks.

Following the resignation of regional councillor Michael Di Biase, council selected Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women executive director Sunder Singh, out of a pool of 56 candidates.

“It’s a really wonderful opportunity, and it’s very meaningful to me, because I’ve worked in Vaughan for some time now, and I’m excited about the opportunity to be able to represent my community on council,” Singh told NRU.

Singh has lived in Vaughan for the last 10 years, and has worked as the executive director of the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for 12. As executive director, Singh oversaw programs that provided support for female victims of domestic abuse.

As councillor, she intends to focus on improving the lives of women across Vaughan.

“It’s very important to me that women in Vaughan feel heard, and feel that they have a voice in this city,” says Singh.

“I want to work to empower women, and get them involved on a community level.”

Singh says the improvement of senior services is her other key objective. She hopes to speak with seniors across Vaughan to gain a better understanding of their needs.

“I want to create spaces where seniors can mingle and network, sharing their wisdom and experience with others,” says Singh. “Seniors deserve a great quality of life - I have worked on a microscale on this issue in my time at the centre, and now I would like to apply that on a macro level.”

Singh says that she also wants to work to improve sidewalk accessibility, so that seniors in motorized vehicles are able to better move around the city.

“Mobility issues can be huge for seniors - I want to do what I can to ensure they are able to get where they need to go,” she says.

When it comes to her lack of political experience, Singh says she’s taking things day by day, and still has a lot to learn.

“I’m working very hard to make sure that I am able to add value,” she says. “Right now, I am learning - learning what each of the different departments do, how the city is progressing, and so on. Everyone at city hall has been extremely helpful and welcoming.”

Singh says that, at present, she is not interested in running in the 2018 municipal election.

“At this stage, I am on a sabbatical from my work at the centre, so I do think I will return there eventually, and have no plans to run currently,” she says.