Council hopeful, Randy Narine hoping to secure seat

September 29, 2022 · 0 Comments

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Council candidate Randy Narine had no intentions of running in the 2022 municipal election, but after years of following council he says he’s had enough of decisions being made that are not beneficial to the town.

“I’ve been watching what Council has been doing and I’ve been very frustrated by a lot of the decisions that they’ve been making. It was a very last-minute decision to run,” Narine told the Free Press. “In my opinion, they’re not looking out for the best interests of the citizens of Shelburne, they’re more trying to please them, but not actually trying to long-term help them. Instead of sitting on the sidelines and complaining, I want to put my hat in and do something about it.”

Narine has been a Shelburne resident for over a decade and is married with two children. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 2004 with a Bachelor of Commerce, with a focus on accounting and finance. He currently works as a professional firefighter with the City of Brampton.

Narine has worked for the Ministry of Labour for the last three years, overseeing the health and safety for firefighters in the province and was appointed this year by Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones to the Fire Safety of Ontario, where he oversees fire safety for the province of Ontario.

He is also board chair for Choices Youth Shelter and has been a key role in opening the first men’s shelter in Dufferin County.

An avid volunteer, Narine has been a Rotarian with the Shelburne Rotary Club for 11 years and has spent seven years as a volunteer firefighter with the Shelburne and District Fire Department.

As he runs for the 2022 Shelburne Council election, Narine is using the slogan “Actions Speak Louder Than Words” for the basis for his campaign platform. One of the focuses of his campaign is helping the vulnerable and at-risk communities in Shelburne.

“I work very closely with the homeless in Dufferin County and I know that 30 per cent of the kids at Choices Youth Shelter come from Shelburne. We support 10 families and children right now that we deliver food baskets to every week because they are on the brink of being homeless. There are four homeless men in Shelburne that we are working actively to get off the streets,” said Narine. “The problem with council is they don’t see it, they’re too busy catering to their richer friends, than looking at the at-risk and needy of Shelburne.”

Another one of Narine’s campaign platforms is working to shift more of the tax burden to commercial rather than residential.

“No one on council is actively looking for companies to come in and set up shop in Shelburne and from what I hear, it’s very difficult for them to set up shop in Shelburne; there’s no incentive to come here. We need to attract business to and take the burden off the citizens of Shelburne,” said Narine.

He will also be campaigning on the need for upgrades and the development
of infrastructure.

“The infrastructure in this town is falling apart under the watch of council. The fire department has desperately needed a new facility and equipment and they’re not getting it,” said Narine. “The new sewage treatment plant, they just sent it to get planned. The entire term of this council has neglected the critical infrastructure that’s needed and now they’re jumping on it at the end of term.”

Narine is among twelve candidates running for one of the five open councillor seats in the municipal election.

“My whole campaign is based on doing what the town needs to put us in a better situation in the future,” said Narine.

The municipal election will be held on Oct. 24.