Ceta Ramkhalawansingh is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

civil servant and former politician, who was appointed on July 7, 2014 to represent Ward 20 (Trinity—Spadina) on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The c ...

, following the resignation of

Adam Vaughan Adam G. Vaughan (born July 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2014 until 2021. Vaughan represented the Toronto area riding of Spadina—Fort York as a member of the Liberal Party. He previously sat ...

."Toronto council appoints activist Ceta Ramkhalawansingh as new councillor for Trinity-Spadina"
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', July 7, 2014.

Background

Originally from

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, Ramkhalawansingh emigrated to Canada in 1967, and studied political science and economics at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

."Ceta Ramkhalawansingh"
''Passages Canada''. While still an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, she was actively involved in establishing the

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

program in 1971. Ramkhalawansingh also undertook graduate studies at the Institute for Child Study and at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) where she completed an MA degree and coursework towards a doctoral degree. She worked for the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franc ...

before joining the municipal staff at

Toronto City Hall The Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, is the seat of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Viljo Revell and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened i ...

. Her final position with the city was as director of diversity management and civic engagement within the city staff, a position from which she retired in 2010."Former city official picked for council seat"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', July 7, 2014. As an activist in the downtown Toronto Grange neighbourhood, Ramkhalawansingh was involved with protecting rental housing, saving heritage buildings from demolition, campaigning for responsible and appropriate development, including restrictions upon institutional expansion. Her work on women's issues was recognized by Toronto City Council in 2012 with the Constance E. Hamilton Award, whose recipients are selected by the women members of council.

Council term

Ramkhalawansingh was appointed after a council vote that split along ideological lines, with mayor

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...

and most conservative councillors favouring former Peel Region police chief Robert Lunney. Ramkhalawansingh was elected by council on the second ballot with 22 votes to Lunney's 18. Her term ended on November 30, 2014; she did not stand as a candidate in the 2014 municipal election. In August 2014, Ramkhalawansingh put forward a motion that Toronto City Council adopt a resolution to request that the federal government change the wording of "

O Canada "O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...

", specifically the line "all thy sons command", to be more gender-inclusive. One of the important projects which she undertook while on council was the establishment of the Toronto Book Garden at

Harbourfront Centre Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at 235 Queens Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the Government of Canada to create a waterfront park, it became ...

. The Toronto Book Garden highlights the literary hub established at Harbourfront Centre with the Toronto International Festival of Authors and The Word on the Street.

Post-council work

In December 2015, she co-founded the Campaign for Gender Equality in the Senate, which urged the Prime Minister to fill all 22 vacant positions with women, which would have the effect of achieving equality. In 2022, she announced that she was donating many of her career records to the

University of Toronto Archives The University of Toronto Libraries system is the largest academic library in Canada and is ranked third among peer institutions in North America, behind only Harvard and Yale. The system consists of 39 libraries located on University of Toronto ...

, as well as donating many books to the New College library.Steph Davidson
"For more than 50 years Ceta Ramkhalawansingh has been one of the city’s most-esteemed human-rights advocates"
''

'', January 16, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramkhalawansingh, Ceta Toronto city councillors Living people Women municipal councillors in Canada Women in Ontario politics Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Indian descent Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)