Westmount vote 2021:
Anitra Bostock – District 5

WestmountMag.ca invites Westmount City Council candidates to present their platform

WestmountMag.ca extended an invitation to all eleven Westmount council candidates and those acclaimed, to provide an article about themselves and their platform on a first supplied, first published basis. Here we present Anitra Bostock, candidate in District 5.

The articles are reproduced verbatim without corrections.

While the City of Westmount is small in size – only 4 square kilometres – the city is mighty in all that it offers its 21,000 residents, including a myriad of excellent municipal services, numerous parks and green spaces, two commercial districts, and many cultural, religious and educational institutions.

Serving this small but mighty community as a city councillor over the past four years has been an honour and a privilege, and I look forward to the possibility of renewing my term for another four years.

Commissioner of Public Security
In my current role on council, I am the Commissioner of Public Security and Traffic. In this role I have worked diligently to provide safe spaces for all residents by implementing an annual back to school safety campaign, working with the city’s pedestrian and cycling associations to improve sidewalk and bike lane safety, collaborating with the SPVM and Public Security to identify areas where speeding is an issue, adding increased security at the Summit Woods and Westmount Park, and introducing traffic calming measures such as bollards and planters to narrow roads and reduce speeding infractions.

I am also proud of the work that was done to protect our most vulnerable seniors during the COVID-19 lockdown. During those challenging days city council worked with public security officers who went above and beyond by handing out masks to residents, calling isolated seniors, grocery shopping and travelling door to door delivering food to those seniors with no other means of support.

My “Other” Job
Most Westmount City Councillors also have day jobs and careers, and I am no exception. When I am not working for the city, I spend my time as a Community Development Project Manager for the Teresa Dellar Palliative Care Residence in the West Island, where I help people with advanced age, frailty, chronic and/or life-limiting illness to live at home or in the community for as long as they possibly can. It is rewarding work, and a job that has certainly helped to strengthen my understanding of the needs of seniors. It was, in fact, my “day job” that inspired me to collaborate in the creation and implementation of the Westmount Accessibility Advisory Committee, a group that has developed recommendations on how to improve and integrate accessibility measures into the city’s existing infrastructure.

Lifelong Westmount Resident
Raised in Westmount on Hallowell Avenue, I am also married to a lifelong Westmount resident, who was raised on Burton Avenue in District 5. My stepchildren, now away at college, were also born and raised in Westmount. As a family we feel so fortunate to live in this community and we do all we can to give back when we can. I spend my down time volunteering as a soccer coach while my stepdaughters spent many years teaching skating at the Westmount arena, and volunteering at Westmount Family Day.

Still more to do
District 5 is a complex part of our community due to the density of its residential and commercial populations, and its proximity to the City of Montreal. There is much work to be done in the district, particularly in the areas of traffic and speeding, bike path integration, and in environmental improvements such as introducing composting to apartment buildings and adding more electric vehicle charging stations.

District 5 requires an experienced councillor to speak on behalf of its residents. Having spent the last four years as an active voice on council, I believe I have the right experience and city expertise to allow this vital district to flourish.

I hope you will consider voting for me. In the meantime, I want to hear from you! Please follow the link surveymonkey.com/r/ANITRA to a survey so you can tell me what is important to you!

Image: courtesy of Anitra BostockRead other candidate platforms