Denzil Minnan-Wong

1963

As of 2016, he is the Chair of the Striking Committee, the Employee and Labour Relations Committee, and the Civic Appointments Committee. He is also the Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee and sits on the TTC Board, the Employee and Labour Relations Committee, the Debenture Committee, the Committee of Revision, and is part of the Nominating Panel for Facilities and Finance. In 1994 North York councillor Barry Burton died of cancer and the North York city council appointed Minnan-Wong as interim councillor. Later that year he was elected to the position in the municipal election. In 1997 he was elected to the city council of the new amalgamated city of Toronto. In 2011, he led an initiative to contract out garbage collection in Toronto west of Yonge Street in 2011 which projected savings of $12 million a year. Minnan-Wong was accused of "poisoning" the relations between Toronto Civic Employees Union and the Toronto government after supporting Tory"s position to privatize the city"s garbage collection. Although Minnan-Wong didn"t learn to ride a bicycle until the age of 46, he supported the development of the first on street separated bike lane network in Toronto resulting in the creation of the Sherbourne, Wellesley, Hoskin, Richmond and Adelaide protected cycle tracks while voting for the removal of 3 painted bike lanes on Jarvis Street, Pharmacy Avenue and Birchmount Road. In 2013 he facilitated the move of the Bixi public bike share system to the operation of the Toronto Parking Authority. He was appointed to the TTC by City Council under the Mayor Rob Ford administration in December 2010. He was one of 5 councillors on the TTC board who voted in 2012 to terminate the services of the TTC General Manager Gary Webster. Andy Byford was hired as Webster"s replacement. As a result of the decision to terminate Webster the five Councillors who supported the termination, including Minnan-Wong, were removed from the TTC board by council on March 5, 2012 before the end of their appointed term as a result of a motion by Councillor Karen Stintz, who was Chair of the TTC board. On December 2, 2014 he was appointed again to the TTC board by City Council after the election of Mayor John Tory. Minnan-Wong was named Deputy Mayor of Toronto by John Tory on December 1, 2014.

Denzil Minnan-Wong

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lawyer

Background

Minnan-Wong is the son of Denzil Minnan-Wong, Senior, a Chinese immigrant who became a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. His father died in 1988 at age 53.

Education

He was educated at Osgoode Hall Law School and became a lawyer specializing in immigration issues.

Career

As of 2016, he is the Chair of the Striking Committee, the Employee and Labour Relations Committee, and the Civic Appointments Committee. He is also the Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee and sits on the TTC Board, the Employee and Labour Relations Committee, the Debenture Committee, the Committee of Revision, and is part of the Nominating Panel for Facilities and Finance. In 1994 North York councillor Barry Burton died of cancer and the North York city council appointed Minnan-Wong as interim councillor.

Later that year he was elected to the position in the municipal election.

In 1997 he was elected to the city council of the new amalgamated city of Toronto. In 2011, he led an initiative to contract out garbage collection in Toronto west of Yonge Street in 2011 which projected savings of $12 million a year.

Minnan-Wong was accused of "poisoning" the relations between Toronto Civic Employees Union and the Toronto government after supporting Tory"s position to privatize the city"s garbage collection. Although Minnan-Wong didn"t learn to ride a bicycle until the age of 46, he supported the development of the first on street separated bike lane network in Toronto resulting in the creation of the Sherbourne, Wellesley, Hoskin, Richmond and Adelaide protected cycle tracks while voting for the removal of 3 painted bike lanes on Jarvis Street, Pharmacy Avenue and Birchmount Road.

In 2013 he facilitated the move of the Bixi public bike share system to the operation of the Toronto Parking Authority.

He was appointed to the TTC by City Council under the Mayor Rob Ford administration in December 2010. He was one of 5 councillors on the TTC board who voted in 2012 to terminate the services of the TTC General Manager Gary Webster. Andy Byford was hired as Webster"s replacement.

As a result of the decision to terminate Webster the five Councillors who supported the termination, including Minnan-Wong, were removed from the TTC board by council on March 5, 2012 before the end of their appointed term as a result of a motion by Councillor Karen Stintz, who was Chair of the TTC board.

On December 2, 2014 he was appointed again to the TTC board by City Council after the election of Mayor John Tory. Minnan-Wong was named Deputy Mayor of Toronto by John Tory on December 1, 2014.

Achievements

Toronto was awarded Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) gold status from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in April 2015, an award criticized by local cycling advocates.

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