The Province is Moving in a Dangerous Direction
I was in Ottawa this month representing Hamilton as part of our delegation to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). In part, I was there to support the nomination of Ward 4 Councillor Tammy Hwang to the AMO Board (she was successful), but also to participate in face to face meetings with representatives from the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Health; and Education and to attend sessions on issues important to cities.
It was a learning experience for me, and I walked away with some useful insights. Here are a couple that I think are important to share -
Most cities in Ontario are struggling with the same issues facing Hamilton - in a number of conversations with Ministry staff, other delegates, and in sessions I attended, it was clear the issues we brought forward to Provincial government Ministries were shared by almost every city they met with at AMO
Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) have an influence, but only if they can gain a consensus - OBCM represents Ontario’s 29 largest cities and when they’re on the same page, as they are with respect to solving the homelessness and mental health crisis, the Provincial government is much more likely to listen
I also thought it was important, especially as International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) approaches on August 31, to address the announcement Minister of Health Sylvia Jones made at AMO to close 10 of 17 supervised consumption sites in Ontario under the guise of “protecting communities”. This policy is dangerous and will adversely impact people who depend on supervised consumption to survive addiction.
In Ward 2, this means the City’s only Provincially funded SCS, run by Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre out of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, will be permanently closed. Let me be crystal clear - this will be a death sentence for some. In the wake of this news, many are sharing their stories of survival and how supervised consumption sites have saved their lives.
Lest anyone think the Province doesn’t have enough information to inform their decision - the Province commissioned a review of one of the locations Minister Jones quoted in her speech at AMO to justify this new policy. Along with calls to increase operating hours and improve the services offered, the report recommends 48 measures aimed at making the services better. There were no recommendations made to eliminate these services.
The Province asked for advice from experts, got it, and has ignored it, despite being told directly how harmful this new policy would be. Sound familiar? It should. This is exactly why cities in Ontario are currently facing overlapping mental health and homelessness crises. Decades ago, when the governments of the day made decisions to defund mental health care and supportive housing, experts urged them not to, explained why defunding mental health care and supportive housing was a mistake, and outlined the impacts it would have. They didn’t listen then, and they’re not going to listen now, because this isn’t about evidence, accountability, or care. The Province is playing politics with people’s lives.
This is a time of deep crisis. In these difficult times, people look to the government to help, not harm.
I am hopeful that, no matter what happens with Provincial funding, the City will do everything in its limited power to continue to provide safe, supportive, and compassionate services to people who use drugs. This is not the time to turn our backs on those in our community who are asking for help.
City Council Summary - August 16, 2024
The Council debates leading up to August 16 centred around the City’s Encampment Protocol, the Downtown Entertainment District, demolition permits, the speed cushion installation processes for fall and spring, costs of the cybersecurity incident, and algae blooms at Bayfront Park.
City’s Encampment Protocol
General Issues Committee - August 12, 2024
City Council - August 16, 2024
The General Issues Committee received 3 information reports from City staff on the Encampment Protocol. These came about as a result of a series of motions, including one from Councillor Tammy Hwang asking for an analysis of sanctioned sites. There was another on distance protocols, and one related to the impacts on businesses (see links below to read the reports). It was a lively discussion, with several delegations from local businesses and BIAs, though no decisions were made. Information Reports are not decision points, but are written to share professional staff input with members of Council on a particular issue. Before the discussion could take place or the reports be released to the public or Council, the Mayor issued a directive for staff to report back in September with recommendations (not just information) on exactly how it would be best to implement sanctioned sites and what the costs would be to do so (though much of this information was made available as a result of Councillor Hwang’s motion). To be honest, the discussion around this was mostly a chance for everyone to restate their broad opinions on the Encampment Protocol and signal where they were headed for the debate in September. Some took the unusual step of voting against even receiving a staff Information Report as a means of demonstrating their opposition (see the vote breakdown below). The reports did have another impact, which I think was helpful - Councillors Danko, Francis, and Jackson all withdrew motions set to ban encampments from parks in their wards.
How did City Council vote on receiving the 3 Information Reports from City staff?
Analysis of Sanctioned Site Models (HSC24031)
In favour (15) - Beattie, Cassar, Clark, Danko, Francis, Horwath, Kroetsch, Jackson (mover), McMeekin (seconder), Nann, Pauls, Spadafora, Tadeson, A. Wilson, M. Wilson
Encampment Impacts on Hamilton Businesses Consultation Results (PED24143)
In favour (15) - Beattie, Cassar, Clark, Danko, Francis, Horwath, Kroetsch, Jackson (mover), McMeekin (seconder), Nann, Pauls, Spadafora, Tadeson, A. Wilson, M. Wilson
Encampment Protocol Distance Proposals - HSC24027(a)
In favour (11) - Beattie, Cassar, Clark, Danko, Horwath, Kroetsch, McMeekin, Nann, Tadeson, A. Wilson, M. Wilson
Against (4) - Francis, Jackson, Pauls, Spadafora
Downtown Entertainment District
General Issues Committee - August 12, 2024
City Council - August 16, 2024
About a year after the announcement was made that OVG would be joining HUPEG as part of the entertainment precinct consortium working on the renovations to the FirstOntario Centre, the group was back in front of Council to share an update. It was mostly a summary of tasks completed to date, projections of future success, and a recommitment of the nearly $300m being invested in this project by OVG. But, as Councillor Brad Clark noted, there was one party who was not in attendance. HUPEG, the arm of the consortium with whom the City has a direct relationship for delivering on this project, did not send someone who could speak on its behalf. It remains confusing to me why an annual update would be scheduled when one of the key partners was unavailable to attend. As part of this discussion, there was a confidential appendix that Council went into a closed session to review. When Council reconvened in public, I voted against keeping it confidential (I was the only one). Council ultimately decided to refer the report and its appendix back to staff for further review, so no decision was made about the final disposition of the report (whether it will all remain confidential or not). The report will now be coming back to the first General Issues Committee meeting in September and I’m hopeful more of my colleagues will vote with me to make all of the information about this project public.
How did the General Issues Committee vote on referring the report and its confidential appendix back to staff?
In favour (11) - Cassar, Danko, Horwath, Hwang, Jackson, Kroetsch, Nann, Pauls (mover), Tadeson, A. Wilson (seconder), M. Wilson
Speed Cushion Installation Processes for Fall and Spring
Public Works Committee - August 14, 2024
City Council - August 16, 2024
City staff have been working with Council on new processes and policies for street safety in our communities. Part of this work involves clearer timelines for Councillors to get speed cushion installations reviewed by staff. Getting clarity around this for the public and Council has been an important issue to address because residents are routinely confused about how things work, why they can’t happen faster, and how they can best advocate for safety improvements in their neighbourhoods. As part of this discussion, it was determined that the upcoming Public Works Committee meeting, on September 3, would be Council’s last opportunity to bring motions related to speed cushions in time for installation this fall. This didn’t, however, provide enough time for petitions to residents (but that will be resolved in time for the spring deadline). Speed cushion petitions are an important way for members of Council to engage with the community about where to allocate resources, but they can sometimes go against staff advice - it’s a delicate balance and one that’s been discussed frequently this term. As the City continues to develop more comprehensive equity policies, this process will continue to improve and change and I hope I will be able to outline it more clearly as part of a future town hall so that residents have more confidence in and understanding of how the City is making the installation of traffic calming measures easier and more sustainable.
Costs of the Cybersecurity Incident
City Council - August 16, 2024
There was a brief, albeit informative, report to Council on the current cost estimates for the impacts of the cybersecurity incident. In a table in the report linked above, the estimated costs for these impacts currently total $7,402,622. It’s a lot of money for our City and not something anyone around the table takes lightly. It’s clear the City needed to have made some more serious investments in previous years, but it’s also quite clear the landscape around cybersecurity is changing rapidly and can be unpredictable. Many organizations, including some who have state of the art systems, are falling prey to ransomware, data theft, and other cyber crimes. I think a more proactive approach is important going forward. I’m confident these investments will not only help us to restore as much lost data as possible but will help us to prevent this from happening in the future. I look forward to more information being released to the public as this progresses - it’s important everyone in our communities understands how these things happen, what we’re doing to prevent them, and why these investments in our systems are so important.
How did City Council vote on receiving the report?
In favour (15) - Beattie (seconder), Cassar, Clark, Danko, Francis, Horwath, Kroetsch, Jackson, McMeekin, Nann, Pauls (mover), Spadafora, Tadeson, A. Wilson, M. Wilson
Algae Blooms ay Bayfront Park
City Council - August 16, 2024
As many of you know, and as I outlined in a detailed public statement recently, there have been severe algae blooms (cyanobacteria) at Bayfront Park this year. In sum, the City is taking an evidence based approach to addressing this problem, rather than a reactive one as it had done in previous years. The science tells us that disturbing the algae will make it worse. This doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it, but that we’ll have to plan better for future blooms, including in time for next year’s wet weather season (as a result of climate change). Councillor Maureen Wilson and I moved a motion to ask staff to report back on what can be done to mitigate these impacts at Bayfront Park in future years. I look forward to hearing staff’s recommendations and will do everything I can to ensure our water is as safe and healthy as possible. As I said during my remarks on the motion - water is life. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to read my public statement which addresses this all in much more detail.
How did City Council vote on the motion to get recommendations from staff to improve conditions in future years?
In favour (15) - Beattie, Cassar, Clark, Danko, Francis, Horwath, Kroetsch (seconder), Jackson, McMeekin, Nann, Pauls, Spadafora, Tadeson, A. Wilson, M. Wilson (mover)
Upcoming Meetings and Events
This section lists important upcoming Committee and Council meetings, community and City events, and Ward 2 town halls. To read Committee and Council Agendas and Meeting Notices, please subscribe to updates directly through the City’s website.
Local Meetings and Events
Hamilton Overdose Awareness Day - August 30 - Gore Park - 10:00am to 2:00pm
Labour Day Parade and Picnic - September 2 - Bay Street North and Stuart Street to Bayfront Park - 10:30am to 2:30pm
Ward 2 Community Survey - Eastwood Arena - open from September 3 to October 15
Ward 2 Community Survey - Strachan Linear Park - open from September 3 to October 15
Festitalia - September 4 - Michelangelo’s Banquet Centre - 6:30pm
Housing Needs Assessment - Community Pop Up - September 7 - Hamilton Farmers’ Market - 10:00am to 12:00pm
Housing Needs Assessment - Community Pop Up - September 7 - Hamilton Public Library - Central Branch - 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Hammer City Roller Derby - Waterfront Scrimmage - September 8 - Pier 8 Rink - 2:00pm
Supercrawl - September 13 to 15 - James Street North
North End Reunion and North Ender of the Year Awards - September 14 - Macassa Bay Yacht Club - 2:00pm to 6:00pm
Take Back the Night - September 19 - City Hall Forecourt - 5:30pm to 9:30pm
Art Exhibits, Installations, Performances, and Events
QUARTZ - Queer Art Hang! - September 5 - Art Gallery of Hamilton
DATABODIES - Haoran Chang, Arturo Jimenez, Carmela Laganse, Taien Ng-Chas - September 6 to October 11 - Centre[3]
Foreign Dreams - Simranpreet Kaur Anand, Conner Singh VanderBeek - September 13 to December 14 - Workers Arts and Heritage Centre
The book of [un]Happiness - Olivia Shortt - September 13 to November 2 - Hamilton Artists Inc.
The Gold Boxes - Ravinder Ruprai - September 13 to November 2 - Hamilton Artists Inc.
Sent from a Distant Party - Sal Shivji - September 13 to November 2 - Hamilton Artists Inc.
Jan Wade - Soul Power - until January 5 - Art Gallery of Hamilton
Radha S. Menon - Touched by Devi - until January 5 - Art Gallery of Hamilton