Ed Joaquin Campaign
Your Strong Community Voice

ED JOAQUIN STANDS UP FOR COMMUTERS

Ward 3 bi-election candidate Ed Joaquin requesting greater scrutiny by Town staff when issuing building permits at or near the Unionville and Centennial Go Train stations.

Unionville (Markham) - Today, Ed Joaquin, candidate for Ward 3 wrote a letter to the Mayor of the Town of Markham and councillors requesting they ask Town staff to review the process for issuing building permits at or near the Unionville and Centennial Go Train stations.

Recently, construction at the Unionville station has caused gridlock and delays on exiting the adjacent parking lot of over an hour. "Commuters who use the Go train service know that traffic congestion is a serious problem in the area and they are making the choice to use public transportation. If they are delayed by 1 or even as much as 2 hours in exiting the lot, they may decide the choice is not worth it and take their cars to work instead" says Ed Joaquin. "I want the Mayor and Council to consider whether we should require Police Officers on duty in these cases to direct traffic." added Joaquin about why the letter was sent to the Mayor and council.

Ed Joaquin is a regular user of local public transportation and regional systems like the Go and shares the frustrations of commuters. "My opponents in this election are locals who both live and work in Markham and Unionville exclusively. I work throughout the GTA and know the frustration that commuters face when unexpected delays occur. I want to encourage more commuters to use the train, but they won't do that when existing users are subject to these delays." Joaquin adds.

The letter sent to the Mayor and council this morning reads as follows,

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His Worship Mayor
Frank Scarpitti
Town of Markham
101 Town Centre Blvd
Markham, ON, L3R 9W3

From : Ed Joaquin
Ward 3 Candidate - Unionville
Re: Construction at GO Train stations

November 9, 2009

Dear Mr. Mayor,

I wanted to bring to your attention an important issue that is of great concern to many residents of Ward 3. Recent construction at the Unionville GO Train station has caused gridlock and many commuters are stuck in the parking lot for over an hour, in some cases as much as two hour delays are being experienced.

As a regular user of public transit including the GO, I know how important it is now, and as Markham continues to grow, to encourage the use of public transportation. When delays like the recent ones occur, it makes it difficult to convince new users of the benefits.

I would like to request that town staff examine the possibility of having future construction permits at or near the GO train stations include conditions for police officers to direct traffic or some other measures to reduce the added congestion. Perhaps setting restricted hours so construction only occurs during non peak traffic times would be sufficient.

Thank you for your attention and efforts on this matter.

Yours Sincerely,

Ed Joaquin
Ward 3 Candidate - Unionville
905-209-1882

Cc: Deputy Mayor Jack Heath, Regional Councillor Jim Jones, Regional Councillor Gordon Landon, Regional Councillor Joseph Virgilio, Ward 1 Councillor Valerie Burke, Ward 2 Councillor Erin Shapero, Ward 4 Councillor Carolina Moretti, Ward 5 Councillor John Webster, Ward 6 Councillor Dan Horchik, Ward 7 Councillor Logan Kanapathi, Ward 8 Councillor Alex Chiu

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For more information, please contact: Quito Maggi, office of Ed Joaquin - quito.e.maggi@gmail.com or (416)570-3762

ED JOAQUIN FORMS PETITION TO SAVE THE NAME "UNIONVILLE"

Ward 3 bi-election candidate Ed Joaquin starts petition aimed at Town of Markham and federal government to restore the name "Unionville" to the postal code reference library at Canada Post.

Unionville (Markham) - Today, Ed Joaquin, candidate for Ward 3 launched a petition aimed at restoring the name "Unionville" on the Canada Post postal code reference library.

This petition has nearly 100 signatures in just a few short hours of discussions with local residents. The petition will first be aimed at the Town of Markham but if those efforts fail it will be directed to the House of Commons since Canada Post is a federal Crown Corporation.

"We hope that the members of council take an interest in this issue and attempt to resolve it with Canada Post" said Ed Joaquin. "If we are unsuccessful at this level, we will direct our efforts to the House of Commons, our MP John McCallum who is the Member for Markham-Unionville will surely see the value in the name and help us petition the government"

The petition reads as follows,

We the undersigned residents of Canada know that Canada Post has deleted Unionville from the postal code reference library. We request that the Town of Markham, the Region of York and/or the Government of Canada and the House of Commons assembled recognize the existence of Unionville by taking all necessary actions to have Canada Post restore the name of Unionville to the postal code reference library.

We will be making petition forms available across Unionville and Markham in the coming days. If you wish to sign the petition now, please contact the Ed Joaquin campaign to info@edjoaquin.ca and we can email or fax you a form.

"I know that Unionville has a long and proud history that needs to be preserved and protected. Part of that process is protection of the name and brand so that Unionville's future is as long and proud as its past" added Ed Joaquin.

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For more information, please contact: Quito Maggi, office of Ed Joaquin - quito.e.maggi@gmail.com or (416)570-3762

Markham - With the deadline for filing coming on October 9th 2009, Ed Joaquin is one of 8 candidates seeking election to the Town of Markham Council for the position of Ward 3 Town Councillor.

"I am eagerly anticipating a spirited and competitive campaign and look forward to the opportunity to discuss issues with the residents of Ward 3" said Ed Joaquin.

Ed Joaquin is a well known community activist and has worked with many charities and organizations across the Town of Markham, the region and the GTA for the last decade. Ed brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the field for Ward 3 council, having worked with organizations such as the Centre for Dreams, Markham Board of Trade, the Markham District Veterans Association, and the Markham Arts Council to name just a few.

"In my 20 years of community involvement and volunteerism I have built networks across various groups to successfully deliver events, programs and achieve fundraising goals" said Ed, "I want to bring those skills and more importantly the enthusiasm and drive to Markham Council" he added.

Ed Joaquin's campaign will focus on issues near and dear to him as follows,

• The environment and environmental initiatives at the Town of Markham
• Volunteerism and youth engagement, encouraging participation in all aspects of society
• Diversity, ensuring continued support and representation that reflect the diversity of the Town and the Region

"I will be announcing a series of policy issues which I hope to focus on during this campaign in the coming days and I look forward to hearing the ideas of the residents of Ward 3 and the other candidates." said Ed "In my experience the best policies and initiatives come about through open and honest dialogue across a wide array of individuals and groups and that will be my approach on council as it has been in my years of community involvement."

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For more information, please contact: Quito Maggi, office of Ed Joaquin - quito.e.maggi@gmail.com or (416)570-3762