J’can-Canadian businesswoman runs for city councillor in by-election

TORONTO:

Jamaica-born businesswoman Shelly Scott-England is among 15 candidates vying for the post of city councillor of Ward 5 in the upcoming June 10 by-election in Mississauga, Ontario.

A former primary school teacher in Kingston, Jamaica, she believes that her relentless advocacy for students and parents as a teacher at Duhaney Park Primary School in St Andrew, Jamaica many years ago has fully prepared her for the municipal position.

Originally from Montego Bay, St James, she attended Westwood High School, and later completed her teacher training in Kingston. She migrated to Canada with her husband in 2014.

She notes with concern that while the average voter turnout for a normal election is 21 per cent, in Ward 5 it is significantly lower. Not surprisingly then her focus is on encouraging more people to engage in public life and service to the community.

“Growing up, it’s embedded in us that civic involvement is very important. It’s your responsibility, it’s your duty to be involved in that process. If you want your voice to be heard, you have to be present.”

Scott-England’s vision for the Ward includes four key pillars: affordable living, prioritising public safety, neighbourhood services, and economic development.

She wants to eradicate food insecurity, ‘food deserts’, precarious housing, while advocating for fairer car insurance rates.

The businesswoman who describes herself as action-oriented, explains that it was while knocking on doors and speaking with residents of Malton, a neighbourhood in Mississauga, that she first learned the term ‘food deserts’ – areas in which there is a single supermarket to serve a large population. It sparked a business idea to help local communities which face the same challenge.

“One of the proposals that I have is do a co-op supermarket, which is a supermarket that’s owned and managed by the people. The profit on that has the potential to be small; (but) the community can decide how much of it they want to actually go back into the pocket of the community.”

She notes that there are models of the concept already in operation in Toronto, Hamilton, and several across the United States.

The supermarkets partner with local farms and organisations which supply fresh produce, such as fruits and vegetables, as well as larger supermarkets to purchase supplies at a competitive rate. This allows them to stock their shelves to provide for the community.

Scott-England also wants to address crime and public safety, and empowering communities through diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, family wellbeing and youth engagement programmes.

She currently leads the City of Mississauga’s Black Caucus Alliance and is a member of former Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie’s Community Advisory Board. In addition, she is a member of the Rotary Club of Mississauga, Saint Peter and Paul Catholic Women’s League, and past president of the Congress of Black Women of Canada.

Scott-England will hold two community events designed not just as fundraisers, but opportunities for people of Ward 5 to connect, discuss, and share in her vision for their area.

An afternoon of conversation and refreshment, ‘Shelly’s Tea Party Fundraiser’ will be held on May 19 at Nyla’s Room in Oakville. ‘Shelly’s Last Lap Brunch’ will be on June 8 at her campaign office in Mississauga.

Ward 5 is located in north-east Mississauga and includes the communities of Malton, Northeast near the Frank McKechnie community centre, Airport Corporate, Gateway and part of the communities of Hurontario, and Uptown. It is home to the Britannia Farm and Pearson International Airport.