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Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Who makes decisions for public health is changing in Hamilton
Community members are now at Hamilton's public health decision-making table after long-awaited governance reform got the green light from the province. 'I think it's so vitally important to have those voices there,' Coun. Cameron Kroetsch said in an interview with The Spectator. 'I think, also, it just frankly gives the community more confidence that we have both councillors and health experts who can give a balanced perspective.' Public health policy will no longer be decided by the 16 members of Hamilton's city council after legislative changes passed third reading on June 3 and received royal assent on June 5 as part of Bill 11 , More Convenient Care Act. Instead, six appointed community members , with health expertise or lived experience, will work alongside six city councillors and one education representative to oversee public health. Coun. Cameron Kroetsch says it is 'vitally important' to have community voices on the board of health. The Progressive Conservative government made the required amendments to the City of Hamilton Act at council's request. 'The community pushed really hard for this,' Kroetsch said. 'It's been a long journey.' City council will provide one final approval at its meeting on June 18 but the vote is considered a formality. The new board is expected to meet for the first time on July 7 — over four years after calls for change started in March 2021 when COVID-19 brought inequities, related to social determinants of health, to the forefront as some groups fared better than others during the pandemic. Advocates — including doctors, social workers and academics — argued for a board of health that better reflects Hamilton's diversity, including racialized residents and those with disabilities. 'We didn't have that kind of community voice available to respond to issues of public health in our city and so I think this is going to be great,' Kroetsch said. 'Having these key people around the table, we learned during COVID, would have made things so much better … I just can't say enough about how important I think it is for community voices to be at the table.' The changes bring Hamilton more in line with about two-thirds of the province's public health units that are overseen by autonomous boards. Hamilton's board will be semi-autonomous as decisions related to the budget, the annual service plan and the appointment of medical officers of health will still be approved by city council. Toronto and Ottawa also have semi autonomous boards. However, policy decisions would no longer need any further approval so the board's vote would be binding. 'There's not really a way for council to override the board of health,' Kroetsch said. 'We've given over that autonomy.' The governance reform initially had the unanimous support of council in January 2024. While awaiting the legislative changes, a public health subcommittee was created that will now become the board of health. Up until now, its decisions needed to be approved by city councillors. But opposition to the changes flared up in May after a disagreement over how restrictive the city should be about drinking on municipal property revealed a divide between councillors and the subcommittee. The proposed changes to the municipal alcohol policy were passed with almost no discussion by the subcommittee. In stark contrast, councillors voted 13-1 against it after a charged debate and an in-camera session to get legal advice. It raised questions about what would happen in the future when the semi-autonomous board of health no longer needed councillors' approval for such policy decisions. The subsequent vote went from unanimous to passing 9-5 on the makeup of the future board of health. But Kroetsch, who has been chairing the subcommittee, expects the transition will now be smooth. 'It's just going to be a new day for Hamilton in terms of having that expert advice from the community on the board of health to be able to weigh in on matters that are important,' Kroetsch said. 'We're talking about something that has literally a life and death impact for people. Public health is one of those areas of municipal governance that can impact people's day to day lives.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Students will soon be allowed to play on former Hamilton high school's sprawling lawn, unused for 7 years
For the first time since 2019, kids will be allowed to play and run around on the sprawling lawn at the former Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School in the middle of downtown Hamilton. In an agreement with the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB), Coun. Cameron Kroetsch told city council's public works committee he will use Ward 2 reserves to pay $60,000 for a new fence around the field. It will then be safe in September for elementary students attending Hess Street school across the street to use. There's no green space in the K-8 school yard besides a small turf field. "My question routinely [to HWDSB] is, 'can't we do something with this land?'" said Kroestch. "The answer is, 'yes we can.'" His motion was approved unanimously by the committee on May 20, with council getting final say this upcoming Wednesday. The school board will extend crossing guard hours at the busy Hess Street North and Cannon Street West intersection to help groups of students safely cross as they make their way to and from the field, Kroestch said. Coun. Jeff Beattie, a former HWDSB trustee, said he's "keenly aware" of the limitations at Hess Street school. "This is a really, really creative idea, kind of like, 'duh, why didn't we do this before' moment," he said at public works. "I can't say enough good things about this and I happily, happily support it." A downtown sore spot The three-hectare property has sat unused since HWDSB closed the high school seven years ago. The board told CBC Hamilton in 2023 that it spends about $135,000 a year to maintain the Sir John A. Macdonald property. Kroestch said he's asked about it often by residents who are confused as to why such a large piece of land can sit vacant amid an affordable housing and homelessness crisis. His usual response is that the province, through the school board, has the ultimate say about what happens with the land, not the city, and there's not much he or staff can do to spur development, he said at the public works meeting. "The province refuses to move on it," Kroetsch said. Closing the high school was part of HWDSB's plan to replace it with a new elementary school and community hub, including a child care centre. But the Ministry of Education has denied the $30-million funding request four times between 2017 to 2022. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment. In a letter to HWDSB in May 2022, obtained by CBC Hamilton through a freedom of information request, Ministry of Education assistant deputy minister Didem Proulx said demand for capital funding was "significant" with 290 requests from 58 school boards that year. "After careful review of your board's submissions, the ministry does not approve funding," she wrote. No other reason was given in the letter. Kroestch said last week HWDSB is currently working on a fifth application to redevelop the site.
CBC
09-05-2025
- CBC
Part of James Street N., closed Friday for 1st Art Crawl of the year
Social Sharing Art Crawl is back on and so too are scheduled road closures on James Street N. The City of Hamilton says the downtown road will be closed to vehicles from York Boulevard to Murray Street E., between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday as artists and vendors line the road to show and sell their wares. Art Crawl is scheduled on the second Friday of every month from May to October, Tourism Hamilton says on its website. Pedestrian-only Art Crawls started in 2023. At the time, Coun. Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2) said the experience would be safer for attendees.
CBC
06-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
As ban on encampments takes effect, Hamilton council beefs up staffing to enforce it
A ban on tents in parks takes effect Thursday in Hamilton, with four municipal law officers to be reassigned to enforce the bylaw full-time as a way to "manage and regulate municipal parks," city staff said this week. Councillors voted 13-2 Wednesday in favour of enacting their January decision to rescind the city's encampment protocol in Hamilton parks, which was introduced in 2023 and allowed temporary shelters in groups of no more than five. The January decision noted the recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice finding that clearing encampments from parks doesn't violate Charter freedoms. City officials said in Hamilton there are about 1,600 people experiencing homelessness and 200 in encampments. At this time, there are approximately 76 encampment sites that will require investigation although this number fluctuates daily, the city says. The city says there are currently 25 full-time municipal law enforcement officers in its Municipal Law Enforcement section. Eight of those officers are assigned to provide enforcement for council-approved special programs including vacant buildings and encampments. Four will now be dedicated to enforcing the encampment ban. At Wednesday's meeting, councillors also approved the transfer of one full-time project manager at an estimated cost of $110,223 from Housing Services Division, Healthy and Safe Communities, to the Licensing and Bylaw Services Division. Councillors reminded of their human rights obligations A last-minute effort by Ward 2 Coun. Cameron Kroetsch to delay the vote did not find favour with Coun. Tom Jackson. "All around the world [there are people] who recognize that when we move people forcefully they will suffer harm. We know people have died in situations like that, and so I'll continue to stand on the side of that not being a thing we should do under any circumstances — to create that kind of harm for individuals in our community who [are] deprived of housing," Kroetsch said. "People who found themselves without housing, without shelter in our communities didn't plan for this, didn't ask for this, and punching down on them isn't going to make the situation any better for them... Housing is the only solution here." Kroetsch also read from a letter from federal housing advocate Marie-Josée Houle who expressed grave concerns about "the proposed plan to adopt a strict by-law enforcement approach to homeless encampments in Hamilton once the Encampments Protocol comes to an end on March 6, 2025." In the letter, Houle urged councillors to reflect on Hamilton's human rights obligations before voting. "A human rights-based approach calls on municipalities to ensure that they are doing all that they can to protect people living in encampments from harm and violations of their human rights while also working on solutions that will offer adequate housing and supports," the letter reads. "Before you vote this week, I urge you to review my report and recommendations so that you are fully aware of my recommendations and your human rights obligations." Citing Houle's letter, Kroetsch questioned whether city staff had "considered the legal implications" of the enforcement before bringing it forward to councillors. "She's saying to us that city staff or the city should be reaching out and speaking to her before we vote this week … and so not taking that step, I think, puts the municipality at in a risky position," Kroetsch said. But Coun. Jackson said he found it "fascinating" that the housing advocate "at this late hour, 24 hours away from enacting the rescinding of the protocol" is trying to intervene. According to Jackson, removing encampments and cleaning up city parks is "what our citizens across the city overwhelmingly have begged and pleaded for." "I am not going to support any direction to further potentially delay the... rescinding vote post-protocol to provide relief, happiness, joy and safety for the 568,000 other Hamiltonians that are looking forward to it," Jackson said. City 'already making' investments in housing: councillor Coun. John-Paul Danko was among councillors who voted in support of the city moving forward with the encampment ban. He said advocates "conveniently ignore" that the City of Hamilton is spending about $200 million in the 2025 budget to support housing and homelessness. "We are doing that despite a significant lack of support from both the federal and provincial governments, where I believe this year we'll be spending about $130 million, 67 per cent from municipal property taxpayers, on this problem," he said. "So, all of those things that these paid advocates say that we need to do, we're already doing them. We're already making those investments. We're already putting hundreds of millions of dollars every year into solving these problems." Danko also said advocates ignore the impact on neighbourhoods, communities and businesses. "We spend an inordinate amount of time, as we probably should, talking about the needs of homeless individuals, but what is ignored is the needs of the residents, of the community, of the businesses, and of the greater city, Hamilton," he said. The director of the city's bylaw division has been directed to report back to the General Issues Committee later this year with an interim assessment of encampment enforcement, along with quarterly reporting.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hamilton council targets big and small to shave about $500K off proposed 2025 city budget
Hamilton councillors say they're still looking for ways to reduce a projected average property tax increase of about 5.6 per cent, but savings won't come from freezing the police budget or cutting the city's poet in residence. Both were suggestions proposed by councillors Friday as part of a general issues committee meeting focused on the 2025 city budget. Throughout it, councillors moved motions targeting expenses big and small. The cumulative result was about $500,000 in savings, Mike Zegarac, general manager of finance and corporate services, said at the end of the meeting. He said the proposed average property tax increase went from 5.66 per cent at the start of the day, to about 5.62 per cent at the end of the day. Here's some of what councillors decided. Council rejects motion to freeze police budget Coun. Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2) moved a motion that the Hamilton Police Service Board's proposed budget increase of 5.7 per cent (or about $12 million) be rejected and not increased at all. The result, he said, would have been about a 0.9 per cent reduction to the projected property tax increase. The police budget, Kroetsch said, has historically received more consistent support from council than any other departmental budget. Despite that, he said, residents continue to tell him they're not getting what they want or need from the police. The motion was not an effort to defund the police service, but to assert that funding can't go up until police answer community members' calls for change and more transparency, said Coun. Alex Wilson (Ward 13), who seconded the motion. Other councillors condemned the motion, saying their constituents overwhelmingly support spending on police and want more service. Coun. Mike Spadafora (Ward 14) called the motion "unacceptable" and said most Hamiltonians want police "in their neighbourhoods protecting their families." "They love the police," he said. "Don't tell me we don't need police. Don't tell me they're not doing their jobs," Coun. Brad Clark (Ward 9) said. The motion failed 2-14. Poetry pilot off the chopping block A much smaller budget item also generated significant debate: the city's Poet in Place pilot, through which the city hired a poet in residence for work including performing and hosting workshops. The program is a sore spot for many residents, several councillors said. For some, Clark said, it's an "exemplification of city hall's waste." Coun. Matt Francis (Ward 5) moved to end the program and reallocate the funds to infrastructure. Staff said that due to a 60-day termination clause in the contract, the move would save the city about $8,300. "Every dollar counts," Francis said. "I don't care if this program costs $10. People hate it and they want it gone." Mayor Andrea Horwath was one of several on coucil who defended the program, saying coming after such a relatively small expense seemed more political than practical. She said cities need "vibrancy" programs like this one. "I think poetry is important and we don't get enough of it," Coun. Ted McMeekin (Ward 15) said. The motion failed on an 8-8 tie. Councillors vote to clean up underpasses At least one of Friday's motions proposed spending rather than saving money. Kroetsch moved to add $130,000 to the budget to improve the cleanliness and safety of underpasses in Wards 1, 2, 3 and 4. Kroetsch said that in response to concerns about dead pigeons, bird poop and poor lighting under bridges, he consulted city staff, who then identified 14 bridge underpasses that could be cleaned more regularly. He noted improvements that had been made under bridges, like the one near Hamilton GO Centre station on which netting to deter pigeons and brighter LED lights, make for a safer and more pleasant downtown. The James Street South underpass has been improved by brighter LED lights and mesh to deter pigeons, Coun. Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2) says. He successfully moved a motion on Friday to spend more on routine underpass maintenance in 2025. (Justin Chandler/CBC) Coun. Tom Jackson (Ward 6) said although he wanted to reduce spending, he would "reluctantly" support Kroetsch's motion, adding he was "just shell shocked" to learn about the lack of maintenance. Horwath also expressed frustration, saying from her perspective, the city should be able to manage regular cleaning without councillors having to weigh in. The motion carried 13-3. Out-of-order motions On the advice of city clerk Matthew Trennum, meeting chair Coun. Maureen Wilson (Ward 1) ruled a few motions out of order on Friday, saying they did not directly impact the budget process and would need to be discussed in a different forum. One such motion was Coun. John Paul Danko's (Ward 8) to "realign City funding" to organizations proven to be "good faith community partners." He said it was disappointing he didn't learn the motion was out of order sooner. At multiple points throughout the day, councillors expressed frustration with the budget process, which is different this year because of the Ontario government's expansion of strong mayor powers. Budget deliberations will continue at the Feb. 12 council meeting.
