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Toronto, March 14: Kevin King wants Toronto to understand the "penalty for poverty" that low-income immigrants to the city face.
Mr. King, 23, born in Jamaica and raised in a high-rise in Rexdale, is not intimidated by being by far the youngest member of the new Toronto City Summit Alliance, which is writing a blueprint for improving Toronto's future. Most on the panel -- which last week called for a 3-per-cent hotel tax to finance tourism marketing, a proposal the hotel industry is taking seriously -- have the titles CEO, president or chairman. But Mr. King, too, has impressive credentials. Last week, nearly a decade of youth activism garnered him this year's Ontario Premier's Award for student leadership, the latest addition to a rack full of achievement awards. He hopes his unique insights into life at the low end of the pay scale can help give Torontonians an equal opportunity to achieve.
"Toronto has to examine policies that just settle people without helping them to find a job," he said in an interview, noting that the system can put up insurmountable roadblocks to success. We have doctors driving taxicabs and mathematicians cleaning floors" because Canadian professional associations do not recognize their degrees and experience in other countries," he said. "They come to Canada with the expectation they will be able to work but might have to go back to school for up to 10 years to be certified in their fields. They are at the point in their life where they have family responsibilities, so they go on survival mode and have to take menial jobs. You just think of the amount we are losing because of arrogance. These people are not given the opportunity to reach their potential and become Canadian in the fullest sense."
He saw this happen in his own family. Born near Mandeville, a town in rural central Jamaica, Mr. King became a diligent student because several of his relatives were teachers. He came to Toronto when he was 13, with his mother, who had immigrated to find greater opportunity but had to work in a factory to support him. He said there is a great deal of homelessness among the immigrants in suburban areas such as Rexdale, but it is not as obvious as it is downtown. "It's house-hopping -- a few days staying here or there with friends or relatives but no permanent address" because people can't afford to pay rent.
"The mindset becomes survival, just to eat and live. You can't think about long-term things like school or work," Mr. King said.
Newly graduated from George Brown College, Mr. King has an infectious enthusiasm that is a good fit with a new job he has found in corporate public relations. Even in high school, he worked on student associations and a local youth council, lobbying for improved services for the area with a majority of low-income immigrants. He was named chairman of the Toronto Youth Cabinet, an advisory committee of city council from 1998 to 2000.
"All my training is in organizing. No one thing got me into it, but I have a philosophy [that] you've got to believe in something so fervently that you will devote your life to it," Mr. King said.
His biggest inspiration remains his deeply religious grandparents, Hubert and Eulalee King, who live in Jamaica. "They have never been to Canada, but they have had an impact on Canada through me. That's how wisdom and basic values are passed on through the generations."
Mr. King cautions that he is only one voice in the summit alliance, which includes nearly three dozen people from a broad range of fields. The panel will make recommendations this year intended for use in developing policies to keep the city livable.
The alliance, formed in December, is chaired by David Pecaut, president and CEO of iFormation Group. Other members include former Toronto mayor David Crombie; Board of Trade president Elyse Allan; Anne Golden, CEO of the Conference Board of Canada; Shirley Hoy, CAO of the City of Toronto; Gordon Nixon, CEO of the Royal Bank; and the presidents of Toronto's universities.
Mr. King hopes to receive matching donations to the $5,000 he received with the Ontario Premier's Award, to set up an endowment to provide a scholarship for low-income students. He wants to name it after his grandparents, the Hubert and Eulalee King Fund.