A Nigerian-Canadian Editor-In-Chief of OASES NEWS; (a New Online News Media) Michael Kehinde Abiodun based in Toronto, Ontario, sat down with one of the Toronto Mayoral Candidates; Karen Stintz to feel her pulse on the on-going Mayoral race in Toronto. According to Michael K. Abiodun, OASES NEWS would go round the candidates to know what make them fit for the job.
Karen Stintz is the present city councillor in Toronto representing Ward 16. Karen was the former chair of the Toronto Transit Commission from 2010 until February 2014 before she stepped down to run for mayor. She holds BA, MSc and MPA degrees She has good plans for Toronto as she is “poised to solve human and vehicular traffic problems facing Toronto” that make Toronto rail transportation system congested especially during the rush hours. She promised to put more buses on the road if elected.
Her appearance on “Undercover Boss”, posing as Ruth Bear, which aired February 16, 2012 came up. She explained that the importance of doing that was to be able to figure out what could be cut and what should not be cut in the budget. According to Karen “you have to be creative to know how people feel, feel the pulse of the workers, be part of them, put yourself in their shoes ”. She went further; “Cutting the budget without taking the workers into consideration would be unfair. So I try to be humane and show a human face before any cut in the budget”.
According to Karen; “Toronto’s incredible ethnic diversity is one of its greatest strengths; visible minorities are now the majority in the city”. Karen attended the Yoruba Picnic organised by the Nigerian Community under the umbrella of Yoruba Community Association (YCA) on Sunday June 6, 2014 which she described as one of the best picnics so far and she said it was carnival-like. Interestingly, she said “I had a wonderful session with the Nigerian Community members at the picnic and was happy to see the huge attendance.” Karen posited that with what she witnessed at the Picnic, clearly there is solidification of cohesion and harmony evidencing the spirit of diversity and multi-culturalism in Canada regardless of ethnic, colour and race”. Karen said that “Nigerians are industrious, well-educated, amiable, supportive, responsible with enviable culture and Nigeria as a country is known all over the world”.
She added that her coming to this picnic gave her the opportunity to discuss a range of issues with residents and promised to ensure that more parks would be made available if elected as Mayor of Toronto since social gathering is a connecting centre.
Karen was quick to say that she is a legitimate candidate for the position of mayor because of her enviable proposals for the city. Karen emphasised that she has a nostalgic feeling for the TTC she chaired between 2010 and 2014 because of her unmatched and exemplary performances during her tenure, which has really improved her reputation in the eyes of the people.
