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Gordon Joseph Chong (October 28, 1943 – July 13, 2018) was a Canadian politician and public servant active in Toronto.
He served as a Toronto city councillor and was vice-chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission in the 1990s. He served on the board of GO Transit from 2000 to 2006 including periods as vice-chairman of GO Transit and chairman. He was also the final chair of the Greater Toronto Services Board (2001).
At various times in his municipal career, Chong also served as chairman of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority and as a member of the Toronto Police Services Board.
In the 1987 provincial election, Chong was a Progressive Conservative candidate in York Mills, losing by 3,000 votes to Liberal Brad Nixon.
In 2010 he served as a part of new mayor Rob Ford's transition team.Royson James. " Ford backers to get plum jobs in new regime" Toronto Star Nov 15 2010
In 2011, he was appointed to head up the Toronto Transit Commission’s consulting subsidiary at a $100,000 yearly salary, raising controversy about Ford's recruitment and hiring practices. His recommendations for road pricing or a congestion charge to pay for an extension to the Sheppard subway were rejected. Chong later endorsed the construction of a Sheppard East LRT instead of a subway.
Chong had also been involved with the Toronto Head Tax Action Committee, a group, a group which lobbied for an official apology and redress for the head tax imposed on Chinese migrants to Canada from 1885 to 1923. He also served as chair of the board of the YMCA of Greater Toronto and served as a citizenship judge.
Chong was a Toronto Sun columnist at the time of his death and had previously written a column for the Toronto Star and op-ed pieces for the National Post.
He died at the age of 74 in palliative care after having suffered from a heart condition for several years. He was married to civil servant Shirley Hoy, who had been his partner since the late 1990s, and he was previously married to Lorinne Matsui for 31 years.
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