Provincial Election 2025: Scarborough Southwest NDP candidate Doly Begum answers our questions

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Beach Metro Community News sent these questions to candidates we were aware of in the riding Scarborough Southwest. Not all candidates responded in time for them to be published in this edition. Please visit our website at www.beachmetro.com for more information on the candidates.)

QUESTION 1: Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself and why you are running in this election?

I have lived in Scarborough Southwest most of my life, I went to school in Scarborough, made friends in Scarborough. My family is here and this is my home that I love.

I was first elected in 2018 and it has been my honour to represent this community for the past 7 years. I have been a strong advocate for my community speaking out at Queens Park about the challenges people in our community face and offering solutions, through several proposed pieces of legislation on health care, making life more affordable, housing, road safety, transit and community safety.

I care deeply about this community and I want to continue to be a strong advocate for Scarborough.

QUESTION 2: Please tell our readers what you and your party will be doing to deal with the lack of affordable housing and homelessness issues in Scarborough Southwest, and if you are in favour of the City of Toronto’s plans to build an 80-bed homeless shelter in the Gerrard Street East and Clonmore Drive area?

New Democrats are committed to building at least 300,000 permanently affordable rental homes in non-profit and co-op housing, with our costed Homes Ontario plan.

We will provide real rent control and close the unfair loopholes, legalize more housing and limit short term rentals.
I am committed to listening and advocating for concerns brought by residents in our neighbourhoods.

Many neighbours raised significant concerns about the growing population of unsheltered and vulnerable individuals, as well as the lack of immediate supports. Concerns were voiced by area residents about the location for the shelter in our community.

I successfully advocated that the community be consulted and I will continue doing so. I want to share that my team members were present at the community consultation meeting on January 21, and recorded in writing statements, comments and questions local residents shared. There should always be transparency in these matters – the needs of the neighbourhood residents must be considered alongside those of the city’s strategy.

I am committed to advocating for more affordable housing, to demand support and services for anyone facing homelessness as well as consultation with the community. Working together we can ensure the best decisions for all people.

QUESTION 3 – What do you think is the issue in your riding that you can have the most impact on if you are elected MPP?

We must build permanently affordable housing with Homes Ontario. We are committed to doubling affordable housing by providing funding, low cost financing and public land for nonprofit and co-op housing providers. We’ll bring back real rent control and fix the residential tenancy board so that people can get action on their concerns efficiently and fairly.

We are committed to a $120 per month, per family grant for help with the cost of groceries – not a grant that requires a complicated application process – it will be automatic for every family that pays taxes.

Every person in our province should be able to access good quality health care. The Liberals created hallway medicine and sadly, the Conservatives have made it so much worse. Over 2.5 million people in Ontario do not have access to a family doctor. We will change that. We are committed to an action plan to fix our health care including: recruiting 3,500 new doctors and 15,000 new nurses; expanding residency spaces to allow internationally educated health professionals to be certified in Ontario; creating a centralized referral system to reduce wait times and open underused operating rooms on evenings and weekends to clear surgical backlogs.

QUESTION 4 – How will your party and your party’s leader deal with the economic and other challenges facing Ontario and Canada that are presented by the Administration of U.S. President Donald Trump?

We must strengthen Ontario’s economy in the face of tariffs and defend workers’ rights to tariff proof our province. We are committed to working with industries affected by tariffs to find new export markets for our products. We’ll provide bridging for interruptions in production to protect jobs and launch a new Buy Ontario Plan. Finally, we’ll negotiate a joint federal-provincial income assistance program to support people whose livelihoods are impacted by tariffs.

We’ll also take action by creating a Premier’s task force to work with exposed industries, to provide direct support, create new supply chains and find new export markets. Infrastructure projects will be accelerated on transit, school repairs and home building to keep people working. Finally, we will direct all government-funded agencies to buy goods locally.

I have a track record of hard work and standing up for our community over the past seven years. I am on your side. I will always put you, the people of my community that I love, first in whatever I do. Along with my colleagues we will invest in what matters to average families and we’ll govern with integrity.