As a member of the North York Board of Education, North York Council, and Toronto City Council, John Filion has a very long list of accomplishments. Below are just some of the highlights, in chronological order.

As a school trustee and Chairman of the North York Board of Education, John instituted his vision of schools as the hub of the community. He started Hollywood All*Stars , McKee McKids , and Finch Flyers child care programs – leading to the creation of a city-wide policy to encourage parent-run child care   in schools. He opened school doors to active parents' groups and community users.   He initiated plans to rebuild McKee Public School and Earl Haig Secondary School .

As a member of North York Council, John gave more power to ratepayer groups and helped start community organizations. As Chair of the North York Parks and Recreation Committee, he was instrumental in creating more parkland, building new playgrounds, improving tennis facilities, and constructing a community centre at Mitchell Field .

He preserved community outdoor skating and hockey rinks. John found funds to rebuild McKee McKids Child Care and to help Lansing Co-operative Nursery School .

John introduced a bylaw to protect city trees. He championed early efforts to reduce the unnecessary use of pesticides.

On a North York Council that was extremely pro-development, John was often the only voice predicting the traffic problems which would result from too many large buildings. Although outvoted in his efforts to reduce the amount of new development, he was able to institute a large number of neighbourhood protections . On Finch Avenue East, for example, John limited building height to three storeys. If not for John's presence on Council, residents living close to development areas would certainly have been much more negatively affected.

With amalgamation, John was elected to Toronto City Council, where he has continued to oppose development that hurts our neighbopurhoods. Because applications rejected by City Council have often been approved by the unelected Ontario Municipal Board, John has pressed the Province for OMB reform as an essential step to protect residents.

Working alongside local homeowners' associations and condominium boards , John was instrumental in getting changes to the new Official Plan so that neighbourhoods are better protected from nearby development. As Chair of the Planning and Transportation Committee, John recently introduced reforms so that residents will review development proposals as early as possible.

As the first Chair of the new Toronto Board of Health in 1997, John introduced the province's first comprehensive smoking ban for bars and restaurants. He improved the inspection of restaurants to ensure cleanliness, and initiated a public rating system for clean restaurants . This year, John helped introduce mandatory training for those who prepare food in restaurants.

John has established many community and school committees to help solve traffic problems. He has consistently fought to preserve North York services and to provide financial assistance to homeowners suffering from basement flooding.

John has protected tenants faced with eviction due to redevelopment or conversion to condominiums. He has successfully appealed unfair property taxes for several thousand Willowdale homeowners.

He has established an annual Bicycle Safety Day , a Neighbourhood Skate and a Neighbourhood Swim. He has sponsored community barbecues. Each year, John provides a community service award to a student from each graduating class in Ward 23.

As Chair of the board for the Toronto Centre for the Arts, John helped ensure that the Willowdale centre remained open after the company operating it went bankrupt.   Last year, when a private television station tried to take over the centre's small community theatre and evict community users, John organized local theatre groups to successfully fight the move.

There are many such examples of how John has successfully taken on powerful interests for the good of the community.   With John Filion as our councillor, we can feel confident that he will continue to protect neighbourhoods, assist local organizations, and consistently act in the public interest. 

In 2002, John Filion received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for distinguished service to the community.  

Neighbourhood skate is one of several annual family events sponsored by John.

Each year John organizes a cleanup of the Yonge Street area with community volunteers.


John, shown with his children David and Rachel in earlier years, opened many new playgrounds in Willowdale


When a developer illegally cut down several healthy city trees, John obtained $200,000 in compensation to incorporated community ratepayers' organizations, to be used to protect our neighbourhoods.