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Joey’s Notepad: On the Election Compliance Decision to Cut a Candidate a Break – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 11, 2023
Hamilton’s Election Compliance Audit Committee deliberated for nearly 100 minutes before deciding Thursday against pursuing action against a candidate who filed a grossly incorrect campaign finance return.
The decision makes practical sense. The Committee cannot impose sanction or penalty at a first hearing. It can only vote to hire a licenced accountant to audit a candidate.
If the auditor’s report confirms a campaign finance violation, the Committee can impose the penalty of barring the candidate from running in the next municipal election.
This brings us back to today’s decision. Ward 4 Council candidate Cindy Kennedy claimed she spend nothing on her election campaign and raised no funds. She spent at least a couple hundred dollars of her own money.
Kennedy was initially unapologetic before finally accepting she made a mistake and stating she would accept any decision of the Committee.
The Committee scorned Kennedy and closed the book on the matter.
An auditor will cost four figures, paid for by taxpayers, to confirm the obvious. Disqualifying Kennedy from running in 2026 is of no practical effect.
Thus, Thursday’s decision makes practical sense.


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Latest Hamilton Farmers Market Consultant Report Says Reno or Move Market – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 3, 2023
The question of what to do with the struggling Hamilton Farmers’ Market remains unanswered, as the latest consultant’s report lists issues that need solving, without providing firm solutions.
The hiring of the consultant prompted the Market Board’s long-time citizen members to resign in protest of continuous spending on consultants.
The 77-page report, released Tuesday morning, recommends one immediate action – spending $200,000 to hire a consultant to produce a market design and layout study.
The design and layout study will then recommend renovations or moving the Market.
City Hall should fund the renovations or move of the Market, write the consultants.
A renovation option could include converting the upper level to a food court.
The remainder of the recommendations are high-level, obvious, and without implementation plans.
They include:
– “more local farmers, local producers, and pop-up vendors”;
– “regular seasonal street closures”;
– “stronger connections” to Jackson Square, York Blvd, the Library, and surrounding buildings;
– “after hours and expanded culinary offerings”;
– allowing liquor licenses for food-serving establishments;
– “increase management capacity and funding sources”; and
– “expand hours (for at least parts of the Market)”; and
– maintain and ensure the availability of parking.
The report does not provide actionable recommendations on key issues, including governance, rental rates, amount of city operating funding, and hours of operation.
On the contentious issue of Market hours, the consultants state is disagreement among vendors regarding enforcing present hours of operations.
Meanwhile, the report states customers “strongly desire” “expanded operational days/hours.”
On programming and pop-up vendors, the report notes that “not all vendors want” short-term and daily vendors.
The Market needs 1,322 parking spaces per day, the consultants write.
The City “transacted” its parking properties surrounding the Market to a private consortium, Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG). The City no longer holds ownership control of any lands near the Market.
The role of the City in governing the Market remains a point of contention. The report notes a history of distrust between some vendors and the City.
During the past decade, the Market Board was plagued by internal dysfunction and conflict of interest problems.
The third consultants’ report, released in September 2020, called for disbanding the Market Board due to the “deliberate obfuscation” by vendor representatives.
The third report called for enforcing Market vendor contracts – including requirements to be open during business hours.
In the following months, Hamilton City Council voted to be the only municipality not to flow through federal COVID rent relief funds to market vendors.
The City of Hamilton pocketed the funds and demanded full rent from vendors with threats of eviction.
$100,000 was budgeted for this, the fourth consultant report.
Council will consider the report during a special meeting on Monday, May 8. The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. People can register to delegate up until noon on Friday, May 5.
(Scroll down the page to find the online registration form. Enter the committee as “OTHER ADVISORY/SUB-COMMITTEE” with the name “Sole Voting Member of the Hamilton Farmers’ Market”)

source: news-thepublicrecord

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Mayor Andrea Horwath and Councillor Maureen Wilson Speak About the Late Mayor Bob Wade – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 5, 2023
Mayor Andrea Horwath says Bob Wade helped “create one big city out of a number of very diverse communities” as Hamilton’s first post-amalgamation mayor during the 2001 – 2003 term of Council.
Wade brought a “style of leadership that was very, very thoughtful,” Mayor Horwath says.
“I always saw him as a very calm person … he always brought a sense of calmness” to the work of leading Hamilton.
The 2000 mayoral race was close between Mayor Bob Wade of Ancaster and Mayor Bob Morrow of the former City of Hamilton.
Following the election, Horwath says her then-young son asked “as only children do, Mum, do you have to be named Bob to be the mayor of a city?”
Horwath says Wade’s “straightforward, very calm” leadership held during “a lot of fraught conversations” and “some fraught times” bringing the six former municipalities together into one new City of Hamilton.
Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson served as Wade’s Chief of Staff for the first two years of his term.
“He played an important role at an important time,” Wilson says of leading the new City of Hamilton. “He brought a level of dignity to the office.”
Wilson says Wade saw politics as a public service and listened to people.
“It was calm, thoughtful belife that everybody had a right … to be heard.”
Being from Ancaster, Wade ensured “that people from Ancaster, Dundas, or Glanbrook could see themselves in this city, that there was a place for them, and that their style of leadership and their priorities could be heard,” Wilson says.
Wade ensured the legitimacy of the new City of Hamlton, Wilson adds.


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Mayor Horwath Strikes Optimistic Tone at Chamber Speech – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 16, 2023
Mayor Andrea Horwath says Hamilton’s best days are ahead as the City grows thanks to its strategic location, world-class educational institutions, and people.
“I’m so proud of our city’s history and our relatively recent achievements, from the redevelopment of LIUNA station to McMaster’s expansion downtown, to the West Harbour GO train system to our burgeoning airport, and many, many other examples. Hamilton has long been putting in place the conditions for success. Now it’s time to realize that success.”
Over 500 people attended the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Mayor’s breakfast on Thursday, May 11, to hear Horwath’s first major public speech since she took office on November 15, 2022.
Hamilton’s growing health industries, logistics hubs, food and agricultural sectors are key contributors to growth and addressing Hamilton’s reliance upon a residential property tax base, she told the audience.
Horwath shared her excitement about Summit Station Dairy’s expansion and plan to launch door-to-door milk delivery in Hamilton this year.
“Summit Station will be Hamilton’s only family run on farm dairy, and has plans to bring back local milk deliveries to the front door of Hamiltonians. I just want to know, has anybody ever been delivered milk at their door in this room?”
The crowd enthusiastically responded, a few people putting up their hands.
“Okay, there’s a couple of us here.”
The mayor praised the growth of the film industry in Hamilton, the increase in cargo being handled at the port and airport, and increasing revenues in Hamilton’s manufacturing industry.
The crowd applauded when the mayor thanked the provincial and federal governments for spending $900 million to assist ArcelorMittal Dofasco in replacing its coal-fired coke ovens and blast furnaces.
Ending coal-fired steel production will decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent, Mayor Horwath told the audience.
“That’s the equivalent of taking 725,000 cars off the road. We don’t even have 725,000 people in Hamilton, not yet.”
Mayor Horwath strongly condemned hate in our community.
“The rise in hate crimes and hate incidents in Hamilton is completely unacceptable … There’s absolutely no place for hate in Hamilton.”
Hamilton recently declared homelessness, mental health, and addictions a “state of emergency” to draw more attention from the provincial and federal governments.
“Addressing these challenges is a responsibility for all of us,” the mayor said.
She said this is why City Council is increasing its funding for affordable housing in the 2022 budget.
The Mayor has yet to announce more details on her promised Task Force on Transparency, Access and Accountability.
During her speech, Horwath promised the citizen-led Task Force “will hold staff to account and set measurable KPIs [key performance indicators] so that we can actually see the changes that we need to see in terms of doing everything we can to move our city forward.”
Council approved the Task Force in January. Co-chairs have not yet been named.
Mayor Horwath was asked how the City can improve opportunities for women to participate in the workforce.
“What strategies will the city undertake to build an inclusive economy?”
The end of her response drew applause from across the room.
“I’ve always felt I had a role as a public person, as a leader and as an elected representative, to model the reality that women have a lot to contribute, and that women can be leaders,” Mayor Horwath stated. “And that we need to make sure that that doesn’t stop.”
Mayor Horwath’s speech will air on Cable 14.


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Notepad: New Report “The Municipal Role in Transportation” – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 1, 2023
The Who Does What Series – academic papers which explore and try to explain Canada’s dynfunctional federalism in which municipalities have no constitutional status yet are required to deliver essential services – issued its latest paper “The Municipal Role in Transportation.”
The report notes how higher levels of government are willing [I’ll say happy] to provide municipalities with capital funding for new infrastruction, but not providing sustainable operating subsidies.
I did not know “Ottawa has the second-highest proportion of bicycle commuters in North America (after Portland, Oregon).”
On the failure of public-private partnerships:
“The public-private partnership (P3) model, which the federal government has made a condition of its recent contributions to capital financing of major transit infrastructure, further undermines the role of municipalities. It is well documented that P3s regularly fail to reduce costs, keep projects on budget, or ensure on-time completion of construction, nor do they remove risk (financial or otherwise) for governments,” writes York University Professor Patricia Burke Wood.
On the dysfunctional governance of transit in Toronto, Prof Wood notes:
– Metrolinx no longer has municipal representation, “its board is appointed by the provincial cabinet without legislative review”
– There is no coordinating body for transit in the GTHA.
– Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario lacking coordination with each other.


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OLT Brief: First Post Bill 23 Cash-in-Lieu Parkland Appeal Hearing Dates Set for October – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 8, 2023
The Ontario Land Tribunal will hold a two-day contested hearing to decide if Effort Trust will pay the City of Hamilton either $836,416 or $190,000 in cash-in-lieu of parkland fees for its development at 71 Main Street in Dundas.
As TPR detailed in March, at issue if development charges are calculated upon the issuing of the first building permit or the final building permit.
The shoring permit for the 64 residential condo unit development was issued in May 2022. The final building permit was issued on December 6, 2022.
In between, Bill 23 imposed a new formula and cap for calculating parkland dedication fees. Effort Trust argues the fee should be calculated on December 6, the City argues May 10.
Effort Trust paid $836,416 in protest. If their OLT appeal is successful, the City will be required to refund approximately $646,416 plus interest.
The property’s valuation is another matter of dispute.
Both sides told the OLT during a May 5, 2023, Case Management Conference their property value assessments are “not far apart.”
The two-day hearing will be held on November 16 and 17 by video conference.


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Violent Incident Results in Closure of Counters at City Hall – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 17, 2023
Hamilton City Hall is reviewing its security processes following a violent incident on Friday.
Multiple sources have shared information with TPR regarding what occurred.
The accounts vary in some details, as expected after a violent and disturbing event.
The accounts are consistent that the man threatened to kill city hall employees, they had jumped over the desk in the business facilitation centre in the lobby, and that staff had to flee and lock themselves into rooms.
Accounts include descriptions of the man dressed in business casual and wielding and swinging an object.
A pillar in the City Hall lobby has what appears to be new damage.
It is stated he commented about being angry at the display of “nudity” on a Sicilian carretto displayed in the lobby of City Hall.
The City has an existing competitive bid open for upgrades to public service counters to create more secure separation between staff and the public. The bid was posted before Friday’s incident.
City Council will discuss the incident in closed session.


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Ward 4 Council Candidate Cindy Kennedy Failed to Disclosure Election Spending – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

May 3, 2023
Hamilton’s Election Compliance Audit Committee will hold its first meeting reviewing the 2022 municipal election campaign next Thursday morning at City Hall.
They will decide what action to take about Ward 4 Hamilton City Council candidate Cindy Kennedy’s failure to disclose election spending.
Kennedy held a fundraising and awareness event during the Crown Point Community Garage Sale, during which she rented a bouncy castle, purchased ballots with her name on them, and held a fundraising raffle to support her campaign.
Kennedy’s campaign finance return states she spent no money on her 2022 election campaign.
Another candidate, Pascale Marchand, submitted a photo of a Kennedy campaign balloon to the City, requesting a compliance audit.
Ontario’s Municipal Elections Act states, “costs incurred for goods or services by or under the direction of a person wholly or partly for use in his or her election campaign are expenses.”
The balloon is an expense.
Responding to the complaint, Kennedy writes she only spent funds on a meet and greet. The event included a fundraising raffle for her campaign.
“I did have a meet and greet the candidate on the day of the Crown Point Community Garage Sale,” Kennedy writes. “On this day, I rented a bouncy castle for the children at my own cost and had free water and popcorn for people in attendance.”
Kennedy writes that her “sole purpose” at the garage sale “was to talk to neighbours regarding my campaign.”
She defended her decision not to disclose stating she raised less with the raffle than she spent on the event.
“This was the one and only event that I had and the costs that I incurred were far greater than the monetary value that I received as you see it wasn’t about raising money it was raising awareness to who I am and my vision for what I wanted to do as councillor.”
Candidates are required by the Act to disclose their own contributions to their campaigns.
Kennedy’s statement also includes numerous comments against Marchand for filing the compliance request.
“I have nothing to hide and in my opinion this is just a huge waste of taxpayers money,” Kennedy writes. “To me this whole thing is a huge waste of time and money and I’m not sure what the outcome will be.”
The Election Compliance Audit Committee can order an audit of Kennedy’s campaign.
Following an audit, the Kennedy could face the penalty of being ineligible to run for council or school board until after the 2026 municipal election.


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CN and City Enter Confidential Mediation Over Jamesville Redevelopment – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 29, 2023
The Ontario Land Tribunal says the City of Hamilton and CN Rail will conduct confidential mediation talks during July and August in the hope of reaching a settlement to allow the construction of housing at the Jamesville site at 405 James Street North.
All parties, the City of Hamilton, CityHousing Hamilton, Jamesville Redevelopment Limited Partnership, and CN Rail, attended a video OLT Case Management Conference this morning.
The four sides are still discussing the issues brought forth by CN. No issues list was presented to the Tribunal today, with all parties requesting a second hearing date while stating they will conduct settlement talks during July and August.
CN is appealing to the OLT to have the Tribunal impose more rigid noise mitigation requirements for the proposed 447-unit redevelopment of the site located approximately 230 metres east of CN’s Stuart Street Yard.
“Specific concerns are centred around safety considerations, odour vibration and noise,” CN legal counsel Katarzyna Sliwa told the Tribunal.
“CN is not objecting to the development and principal provided that the impact on the adjacent rail operations are accounted for, and appropriate mitigation measures are applied.”
Sliwa made the formal request for Tribunal-led confidential mediation.
Lawyers for the City, CityHousing Hamilton, and the developer Jamesville Redevelopment Limited Partnership, stated they support conducting mediation.
Ontario Land Tribunal presiding Member Steve DeBoer expressed optimism the parties will reach an agreement before the next CMC hearing date on September 8.
The scheduled CMC “may be moot considering … mediation,” DeBoer stated.
“Hopefully, there will be some resolution through Tribunal led mediation that will end this matter as quickly as possible,” DeBoer stated in his closing remarks.
UPDATE, July 19: The OLT’s written decision is now posted to CanLII. It includes how to join the scheduled September 8 video conference CMC.


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Council Close to Beginning Interviews for Citizen Appointments to Local Boards – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 4, 2023
Following over a dozen closed meetings claiming the City’s plans on how to appoint residents to agencies, boards, and committees (ABC) constitutes a trade secret of monetary values that if known to the public will significant harm the interests of City Hall, Hamilton City Council is nearing the interview stage of the 2022-26 citizen volunteer appointment process.
Yes, that paragraph was long.
Council will decide upon who will be interviewed for some of these ABCs during a meeting on Monday morning.
Residents selected for interviews will have ten (10) minutes to answer a series of questions from members of City Council.
The new Council has decided to retain the existing process of appointing for all positions at the beginning of the Council term and all appointments expiring at the beginning of the next Council term.
Applicants must be age 18 to apply, meaning someone who is presently age 17 must wait another four years for the next appointment cycle. City staff have stated that staggered appointments – common in other municipalities – would create an administrative burden.
Hamilton’s “Integrity Commissioners”, the firm Principles Integrity which is co-owned by retired Hamilton City Solicitor Janice Atwood-Petkovski, writes in an unsigned opinion that “As members of Council it is expected that you would have extensive connections in the community, and it is not unreasonable to think that some of those ‘connections’ would be in competition with each other as candidates for appointment.”
Councillors are only in conflict if the person is a relative as defined by the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, reads the unsigned opinion.


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Hamilton’s City Clerk Violates Freedom of Information Processes Again – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 30, 2023
Hamilton City Clerk Andrea Holland has again ignored Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner.
In a ruling released on June 21, the IPC states Holland’s Office failed to submit any representations to the IPC’s adjudicative process, despite the IPC contacting the Clerks numerous times to remind them of their obligations under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
“I sought representations from the city by sending them a Notice of Inquiry, but did not receive representations from them,” writes IPC Adjudicator Cathy Hamilton. “IPC staff contacted the city by email on two occasions to ask when the city would be providing representations. The city confirmed that they had received the Notice of Inquiry and advised staff they would be providing representations to the IPC. However, the city has not submitted any representations, nor did it request an extension of time in which to submit their representations to the IPC.”
A person filed a freedom of information request for “records relating to the cutting down of a tree.”
The Office of the City Clerk denied the FOI request stating the records were already “published or available to the public.”
The City did not disclose where, when, or how the records were published.
The requestor filed an appeal to the IPC, arguing the records were not publicly available.
The IPC directed the appeal to mediation. The City Clerk “did not respond to the mediator,” the IPC states.
Adjudication followed, with the Office of the City Clerk misleading the IPC that it would make representations.
The IPC has ordered the City to release the record.
The City of Hamilton Clerks have been repeatedly cited by the IPC for failing to following the freedom of information process. MO-3752-I MO-3752-I MO-3764-I MO-3771.
In MO-3771, an IPC Adjudicator publicly chastised the City Clerk, writing:
“I feel it necessary to point out that the city … did not participate in the inquiry of the appeal. I remind the city of its obligations as an institution under the Act” after the City Clerks “did not respond to the letter or to the mediator’s voice message.”
In November, the IPC had to order the City Clerks’ Manager of Records to explain how the City’s FOI office can claim not to have basic records it is required to keep by law.


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Australia Cancels Hosting 2026 Commonwealth Games: insidethegames.biz – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 17, 2023
Insidethegames.biz reports that Premier of Victoria (Australia) Daniel Andrews “has scrapped plans to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of funding issues.”
They report the Games budget has ballooned to AUD$6 billion [$5.39 Canadian] from its original AUD$2.6 billion.
“I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost [which] is estimated and budgeted for last year,” Premier Andrews is quoted as saying.
Follow insidethegames for their ongoing coverage.
The Commonwealth Games Federation issued a statement early Tuesday morning (UK time) stating they are “disappointed” and ” taking advice on the options available to us and remain committed to finding a solution for the Games in 2026″
A private bidding group sought to bring the 2030 Commonwealth Games to Hamilton. The Games were founded in Hamilton as the British Empire Games in 1930.
Hamilton100 pivoted to offering to host the 2026 Games back in 2020 when there were no bids for the 2026 Games.
Hamilton100 could not secure provincial funding support because the Province of Ontario was already committed to subsidizing the 2026 FIFA World Cup games in Toronto.
When Victoria Australia announced they would host the 2026 CWG, the Hamilton bid returned to planning for 2030.
In February 2023, Commonwealth Sport Canada announced Hamilton will not be the Canadian bid city for 2030. A bid group in Alberta is preparing a bid with support from the Province of Alberta and various municipalities.
The Commonwealth Games’ relevance has steadily declined in recent decades as both its importance as a sporting event and the cultural connections of the former British Empire have diminished.
With no host for 2026, it is hard to see how the Commonwealth Games Federation survives as an entity.
In 2014 John Oliver asked on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight, How Is This Still a Thing?
Nearly a decade later, the question appears to be answered.


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BRIEF: Hamilton and the new Provincial Electric Power Strategy – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 10, 2023
The Province of Ontario released a new growth plan for Ontario’s electrical grid.
The plan notes the conversion of steelmaking in Hamilton to electric arc furnaces will increase electrical power demand.
“As Ontario continues to secure massive investments, electricity demand from our industrial sector will continue to rise. Taken together, the forecast increased electricity demand from Umicore, Stellantis,Volkswagen and the electric arc furnace at Algoma and Dofasco are equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the Ottawa Region,” reads page 36 of the Report.
Ontario expects power demand to more than double by 2050. The provincial government already announced plans to expand nuclear generation.


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BRIEF: Ontario Ombudsman Rules People Need Not Identify Themselves to Attend Meetings – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 16, 2023
Ombudsman of Ontario Paul Dubé says municipalities cannot force residents to identify themselves as a condition to observe Municipal Act public meetings.
Dubé writes the Township of Alberton violated open meeting laws by removing observers from Zoom video meetings who did not identify themselves.
The municipality said it requires people to be identified to prevent “Zoombombing” of meetings.
Zoom bombing describes people intentionally joining and disrupting video meetings, often by posting hate speech, nudity, and pornography.
“Municipalities have an obligation to ensure that the public can freely access and observe open meetings,” Dubé writes in a report issued July 12. “Municipalities must be careful about placing conditions on the public’s ability to do so.”
“I acknowledge that the Township was concerned about ‘Zoom bombings’ at its council meetings. However, requiring the public identification of all attendees at open council meetings is an overly intrusive measure to achieve this objective.”
The Ombudsman notes nearly all public bodies use livestreaming or webinars for the public to observe electronic meetings.
[The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board uses Microsoft Teams. The public must enter a username to observe meetings. People have used the feature to express their viewpoints on matters before the Board. I wrote about the potential Charter implications of this in March 2022]
Dubé’s report is instructive for in-person meetings.
“My Office has found that the Act’s open meeting requirements do not preclude council from taking appropriate measures to preserve security and maintain order at council meetings”
The Ombudsman noted the 2019 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that security screening may be conducted by government bodies, emphasizing the Court wrote requiring individuals to identify themselves may be considered too intrusive a restriction upon attending public meetings.
The City of Hamilton is considering new security measures for City Hall following a recent isolated incidence of violence in May.


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City and Owner of 45 Barlake Apartments Agreed on Hot Water Fix – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 14, 2023
The owners of 45 Barlake Avenue will replace and upgrade hot water boilers in the building by September 6.
The City of Hamilton’s bylaw office told the City’s Property Standards Committee the building owner is replacing boilers in the building and the City agrees to an extension until September 6 for the work.
Residents have experienced intermittent issues with a lack of hot water in the seven-storey building.
The City of Hamilton requires landlords to maintain a minimum hot water temperature of 43 degrees celsius at all times.
On March 31, the City ordered Pat and Dia Ltd, the owners of the building, to fix hot water issues by May 23, 2023.
At Friday’s meeting, city officials state the owner is now replacing the system and have provided documentation stating the work will be completed this summer.
City officials told the committee the building is experiencing water capacity issues due to more residents per unit than in the past combined with people installing “unauthorized appliances” such as washers in their units.


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City Taking Darko Vranich and Sergio Manchia to Court Over Election Over-Contributions – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 4, 2023
Hamilton’s Election Compliance Audit Committee is launching prosecutions against two of Hamilton’s highest-profile real estate developers for municipal election donation limit violations.
The Committee says it is in the public interest to hire a prosecutor to pursue provincial offence charges against Sergio Manchia and Darko Vranich for exceeding the maximum individual contribution limit of $5,000 during the 2022 municipal election.
Vranich donated $9,600 to eight candidates, nearly double the limit.
Manchia donated $5,300 to 13 candidates.
The charges will be heard in Ontario’s Superior Court. The Municipal Elections Act provides fines of up to $25,000 for violating donation limits.
Lawyer Patrick Mc Ilhone told the Compliance Committee that Manchia believed the contribution limit was $5,500, and that his client made a “minor” error.
It did not rise to the level that warrants punishment, Mc Ilhone stated.
Manchia contributed over the limit during the 2018 municipal election by $350. In 2018, no action was taken.
“The Committee is satisfied that the Contributor is sophisticated, with past experience relating to contribution limits as set forth in the Act given that he was the subject of a Clerk’s Report during the last election cycle,” reads the ruling of the Committee.
“The Committee finds that the commencement of legal proceedings is warranted and that it is in the public interest to commence legal proceedings against the Contributor who has exceeded the contribution limits without reasonable explanation.”
Vranich did not appear before the Committee during its June 16, 2023, hearing.
The City states Vranich [or legal counsel] submitted a written response to the Audit Committee after its June 19, 2023, meeting.
“Later that day the Clerk’s office received a short email statement from the Contributor, which was provided to the Committee,” reads the decision of the Audit Committee.
The Committee granted Vranich an exception from the requirement to appear publicly before the Committee.
The Committee writes Vranich was sent a letter by registered mail, but it was not claimed.
The Vranich statement was considered in secret without public notice, contrary to the Municipal Elections Act requirement for the Committee to conduct hearings and receive evidence in public.
The Committee states Vranich “admitted to making over contributions and apologized for the error, stressing that the error was unintentional and was due to his lack of knowledge of the cumulative contribution limit respecting multiple donations.”
City Clerk Andrea Holland has not released the statement from Vranich and/or his representative.
Section 88.34(9.1) of the Municipal Elections Act requires the Clerk to release the document.
Section 9(1.2) of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act also requires the City Clerk to release the document.
The City will appoint a prosecutor to file charges to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.


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COLEMAN: Council Needs to Respect Its Own Summer Recess – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 17, 2023
Hamilton City Council is embarrassing itself by holding unnecessary meetings during its traditional summer recess.
Council usually recesses meetings for three weeks in July and three weeks in August.
Yes, the time is used for vacations.
More importantly, it is used to catch up on administrative work, meetings with constituents, and prepare for fall council meetings.
This year, Council is interrupting the recess to hold one-off non-urgent meetings by video conference.
The result?
Embarrassment.
Take the July 5th Governance meeting.
“It is July the fifth today. I really resent the fact that I have to be here if there’s no point to this meeting,” declared Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko from his cottage.
Danko was not wrong. His timing wasn’t right.
The time to speak up was when the City Clerk called the meeting.
For the next 45 minutes, Council debated the pointlessness of the meeting, then held a pointless debate trying to define the word “majority” without actually defining “majority.”
[This clip of the “majority” definition debate captures the absurdity.]
Today, Monday, July 17, Council was recalled from recess for a CityHousing Hamilton shareholder meeting.
The purpose? Rubber stamping the 2022 annual report of the municipal housing agency.
Council struggled to make quorum.
Only half the councillors were present for the 2:00 p.m. start time.
Three were in the Council Chamber, five were attending by video conference, and the other eight not present.
An ninth councillor showed up at 2:11 p.m.
The meeting began despite Ward 11 Councillor Mark Tadeson taking a phone call with his video conference microphone muted.
Council repeatedly lost quorum during the 45 minute meeting.
The summer recess benefits more than just the members of Council.
Their political staff and the employees of the City who support Council need the time to take their vacations without missing important decisions or having their inboxes overflowing upon return.
Well performing organizations have vacation periods.
It is time for Hamilton City Council to sort themselves out.


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Council to Debate LRT Operational Models at July 26 Meeting – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 20, 2023
Should the City of Hamilton ask to take on LRT operations, and if so, how much of the operations?
Hamilton City Council’s Light Rail Transit Sub-Committee will begin debating this question next week, with a decision vote planned for the end of November.
Ultimately, the Government of Ontario and Metrolinx will decide who operates the LRT and how operations will be financed.
The City of Hamilton is contractually bound to “to pay Operations and Maintenance Costs, save and except lifecycle [maintenance] costs, whether or not the City or HSR is the operator.”
[Section 4.1 of the LRT Memorandum of Understanding.]
City of Hamilton staff state there are four options for Hamilton’s LRT operations:
Model 2 is similar to how LRTs are operated in the Region of Waterloo and how Mississauga’s LRT will be operated.
Model 4 is the model used for the Confederation Line in Ottawa. [Ottawa’s LRT is out of service again due to more newfound mechanical defects.]
Council is not being asked to approve any motions at next week’s Wednesday, July 26, meeting.
Staff write they will provide recommendations on a preferred model in November, with a presentation of a “preliminary analysis of operational models” to be presented at the September 25 LRT Sub-Committee meeting.
The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting is available on the City website here.


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Hamilton City Manager Janette Smith Announces Retirement – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 21, 2023
Mayor Andrea Horwath says City Manager Janette Smith is retiring.
“Janette led our public service through some of the most difficult years Hamilton has faced,” the Mayor wrote in a statement this morning.
“I know she will continue to make a difference for city residents and staff for years to come, and I thank her for her service to Hamilton.”
“A posting for the City Manager role will be released shortly, with the goal of naming a successor by the end of 2023,” the Mayor’s statement continues.
Smith has been Hamilton City Manager since May 6, 2019.
Smith’s hiring was greeted with optimism, her Hamilton roots were celebrated, and she was frequently seen in the community meeting with a wide range of people.
She quickly lost public trust in November 2019 when the City’s cover-up of a 24-billion litre sewage leak into Chedoke Creek and Cootes Paradise was revealed by an unknown whistleblower.
When the COVID state of emergency began in March 2020, Smith was away and entrusted then General Manager of Healthy and Safe Communities Paul Johnson stepped in to manage the City’s response to the pandemic.
Smith’s most decisive action was ending the employment of the City’s General Manager of Public Works, and the Director of Water in September 2021.
Smith and the new Council have been out of step on various files.
Most glaringly, city staff failed to follow Council direction to address renovictions.
Most recently, Smith’s office organized the widely criticized Encampment Protocol Town Halls.
“Jason Thorne, General Manager of Planning and Economic Development, will serve as Acting City Manager until the search for a new City Manager is concluded,” reads the Mayor’s statement.
Smith’s retirement is effective October 31.


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Hamilton Farmers Market Hours Change After Labour Day – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 13, 2023
The Hamilton Farmer Market hours and days of operation will change after Labour Day.
The Market will now open on Wednesdays, shifting from Tuesdays to be open Wednesdays to Saturdays.
Wednesday and Thursday hours will be 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Market Board of Directors approved the new hours during a June 26, 2023, meeting.
The change follows over three years of the market operating using hours implemented at the height of the COVID pandemic.
Newer vendors in the Market have told the Board that COVID hours made it hard for people to shop there.
Market hours, and vendors not operating during Market hours, have been an ongoing issue for the city-owned Market.


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Hamilton Waterfront Trust Faces Deferred Maintenance Problems – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 3, 2023
The Hamilton Waterfront Trust’s accountant says the City-owned and controlled corporation hasn’t been properly maintaining its assets in recent years.
“The other biggest challenge, I think, is basically we’re facing the cost of a lot of repairs on the building and the equipment,” Andrew Pulcins stated at the June HWT Board meeting. “You know, it’s aging [and] hasn’t been maintained properly over a lot of years.”
Pulcins says this may cause the Trust to have a deficit this year.
“The problem is we’re getting a lot of expenses, but they are city-owned assets, but we are paying for them.”
The future of the Trust is under review by the current City Council that was elected in October 2022.
HWT Interim Executive Director Christian Wiley says “it is time” for the City and HWT to reach an agreement to “understand where these need to be paid from” because “these expenses are starting to pile up.”


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Joey’s Notepad: Effective Allocation of Public Funds and Transit in Stoney Creek – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 17, 2023
Beginning Labour Day weekend, Hamilton’s public transit system will provide conventional bus service to Fifty Road in Stoney Creek.
This long overdue service expansion (more of a catch-up since Fifty Road has been fully urbanized for well over a decade) is part of an overhaul of bus routes in Stoney Creek.
The HSR will eliminate the underperforming route 58 Stoney Creek Local bus route.
This is an excellent public spending decision.
The 58 provides a direct connection between Downtown Stoney Creek and Eastgate Square.
However, it is a redundant route.
The 5-Delaware (Stoney Creek) and 44-Rymal both service the same streets.
Decades ago, the 58 was necessary.
The 5-Delaware (Stoney Creek) was a limited service route which did not operate in the evening. The 44 Rymal was introduced in 2009.
The only downside is the few riders who use the 58 will now transfer between buses at Centennial Parkway South and King Street West.
[King Street East (Hamilton) becomes King Street West (Stoney Creek) at the former municipal boundary. Yes, driving eastbound, King Street East becomes King Street West.]
The 58 bus has entire trips in which it has zero passengers. Here’s a photo I took in 2017 as the only passenger on the bus one evening.
On board a 58 bus today [Monday], a person was organizing a petition against the route change.
I listened intently. The five passengers on the bus are unhappy they will have to transfer buses to ride to Eastgate Square or the Red Hill Library branch.
[A vocal group of seniors who live in Downtown Stoney Creek continuously complain the Saltfleet branch of the Hamilton Public Library is well used by teenagers. The library branch was originally integrated with the high school. Over a decade ago, the City separated the library from the school. This is a whole other story.]
One believes the City is out to “destroy” Downtown Stoney Creek. Another thought it was “wasteful” to have ‘two buses in place of one’.
These kinds of responses to route changes are expected.
A petition is ultimately futile – the changes are finalized. Bus schedules have been printed, bus operators have been assigned to drive, and bus stops are being installed for the expansion to Fifty Road.
This brings us to an actual problem – the HSR’s lack of communication.
The new bus schedules are top secret, the HSR does not plan to release them until late August.
The new bus routes are also top secret. Will route 5 Delaware be extended a few blocks to connect with route 55 at Highway 8?
Will the HSR improve bus stops at Centennial Parkway and King Street?
All questions the HSR is not answering.


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Joey’s Notepad: Quick Notes on the Retirement of City Manager Janette Smith – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 21, 2023
Our politics is well served when personnel matters are settled diplomatically.
Today’s announcement that embattled Hamilton City Manager Janette Smith is retiring is diplomatic face-saving.
Smith’s record in Hamilton speaks for itself, and it is bad.
This written, Smith is an good choice to hire as an adjunct in a public administration program.
She was very competent at the General Manager / Commissioner level of municipal government, has worked in all types of municipal government, and has a strong passion for mentoring young women entering public service.
Much of the early optimism, when Smith became Hamilton City Manager in 2019, was how quickly she moved to support CityLab and other youth leadership programs.
Smith’s departure was widely anticipated amongst City Hall chatter.
The question was not if she was leaving, but how.
Under the new “Strong Mayor” powers, Mayor Andrea Horwath can hire and dismiss the City Manager.
Horwath gained those powers on July 1st.
Reaching a retirement agreement with Smith is better than having to formally exercise power.
Power is most effective when exercised as influence.
The appointment of Jason Thorne as Interim City Manager is both a good choice, and an obvious one.
General Manager of Finance & Corporate Services Mike Zegarac holds the most seniority among the four General Managers. However, as Interim City Manager in 2018, Zegarac was involved in all the major cover-ups of the last Council.
The other two GMs, Angela Burden and Carlyle Khan are relatively new hires.
Thorne knows Hamilton, lives in Hamilton, and knows what Council must achieve during the coming months.
He is no caretaker.
We as a City cannot afford any pause in addressing homelessness or any of the other challenges facing us.
The formal search for the next City Manager is now underway.
Informally, people in municipal circles have known since October’s election that Hamilton will be searching for a new City Manager.
There are some great obvious candidates out there, and some great unknown candidates.
Mayor Horwath is well-regarded at Queen’s Park and in municipal academic circles.
We have a new Council, a new Mayor.
Behind the scenes, Mayor Horwath is telling her contacts that Hamilton is looking for a bold new City Manager who will come in, implement the difficult personnel decisions needed to address poor performance, and bring new ideas and innovations to Hamilton.
The next City Manager will have the full support of “strong mayor” Horwath.
There are many reasons for Hamiltonians to be hopeful that change is finally here.
There will be more retirements and departures to follow in the coming months. The question is not if. It is when.
Mayor Horwath says she has a plan. We are finally seeing the public implementation.
The question I ponder is, has the eight-month wait already been too long?
That’s another column for another day.
(Political memoirs from the one-term Ontario NDP government of Bob Rae and one-term Nova Scotia NDP government of Darrell Dexter share a common theme, the insiders feel their NDP governments failed to be decisive upon taking office. One of the memoirs states that Nova Scotia’s NDP set its own defeat during the first eight months.)


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NOTED: OLT Case Management Ruling on 405 James North (Jamesville) – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 19, 2023
The written Ontario Land Tribunal decision following the June 29, 2023, Case Management Conference for the Jamesville project is now posted to CanLII.
The ruling includes information to observe the September 8, 2023, follow-up Case Management Conference.
As reported here in June:
The four sides are still discussing the issues brought forth by CN. No issues list was presented to the Tribunal today, with all parties requesting a second hearing date while stating they will conduct settlement talks during July and August.
The four parties will update the Tribunal at the next CMC.


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OLT Give Final Approval to Three Tall Buildings at 310 Frances Avenue in Stoney Creek – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 17, 2023
The decade-long zoning saga at 310 Frances Avenue in Stoney Creek came to a quiet end on Monday with the Ontario Land Tribunal approving a settlement agreement to allow three tall towers of 34, 37, and 44 storeys atop a mutual podium of 4 to 5 storeys.
The approval allows for 1,390 residential units. The minimum number of apartment dwelling units will be 585.
The buildings will be constructed in phases.
The first phase will be the proposed 34-storey building with its own podium. The proposed 37 and 44 storey buildings will share a joint podium.
The City of Hamilton and New Horizon Development Group (NHDG) reached the agreement, presenting it to the Tribunal on May 25, 2023.
The local neighbourhood association, the Lakewood Beach Community Council, was not invited to the settlement talks and stated in May the City’s decision to settle was a “betrayal.”
The lands were rezoned in February 2010 with “no maximum building height” and “no maximum lot coverage” both added to the Mixed Use Commercial “MUC-4” Zone designation.
Then Ward 10 Councillor Maria Pearson voted in favour of the rezoning.
In December 2018, NHDG filed a site plan application to develop the site. The plan sought “three towers being 48, 54, and 59 storeys in height” with 1,836 dwelling units.
This began a series of contentious Council meetings, denial of minor variances, and a rare denial of site plan approval by the City.
The 2010 rezoning effectively determined the outcome at the Ontario Municipal Board.
The development will have 600 square metres of commercial space.
Ground-level “Apartment Dwelling Units” will be permitted “at grade within the four-storey podium of the building along Frances Avenue.”
Parking ratios will be 1.25 spaces per unit for Phase One and 1.1 spaces per unit for the remaining phases.
Commercial and residential visitor parking may be shared.
There will be “vehicular access from Frances Avenue and Green Road.”
The City will permit the developer to count “balconies and terraces” as amenities areas. The minimum amenity area of 18.0 metres squares per unit is reduced to 17 metres square, “which may include 1,000 square metres of amenity area internal to the building and balconies/terraces.”
Increased landscaped open space area to 45 percent. MUC-4 Zoning requires 50 percent. The developer initially sought 36 percent.
The ruling will be posted to the OLT website in the coming days.


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What Does A PostMedia Merger Mean for The Hamilton Spectator – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 7, 2023
The Hamilton Spectator may soon be a Postmedia publication as its parent company Nordstar Capital is in merger talks.
Nordstar Capital owns the Hamilton Spectator as part of its Metroland Media Group.
Nordstar is also the parent company of The Toronto Star.
The proposed merger will see Jordan Bitove, publisher of the Toronto Star and owner of Nordstar, retaining effective control of the Toronto Star.
Postmedia will hold the controlling interest in the remaining publications.
Becoming a Postmedia publication will devastate what’s left of the Hamilton Spectator.
Recent events at the Montreal Gazette foretell TheSpec’s future.
The Gazette is losing 25 percent of what’s left of its newsroom staff this year.
Following a decade of deep cuts, The Gazette is already a shadow of its former self.
The Gazette’s editor-in-chief and deputy editor are leaving this week, and the paper’s opinion section is on a “hiatus” from publishing freelance columnists.
The Gazette and TheSpec were Southam Inc publications during the golden age of newspapers.
Shortly after buying the Torstar media empire in August 2020 2022 , Jordan Bitove and Paul Rivett began meeting with Hamilton’s political and business leaders via video conference.
As relayed to me by participants, discussions focused on what people believe needs to change at the newspaper and the paper’s role in Hamilton.
Near the end of 2021, there was increasing chatter about change coming to TheSpec.
Hiring local writers to cover local stories was a consistent theme I heard.
Hopes for a revival of TheSpec – once the flagship of the Southam Inc. news empire – died as the corporate divorce of Bitove and Rivett’s partnership began.
After the divorce, in November 2022, Bitove gained ownership and control of Nordstar’s newspapers.
Bitove’s focus is the Toronto Star.
It is the paper he loves, the paper he wants to succeed.
The Hamilton Spectator is just another property in the Metroland portfolio.
The proposed merger gives Bitove what he wants and Postmedia yet another news brand to strip-mine for short-term profit.
The Postmedia chain traces its roots to the former Southam newspaper empire founded by Hamilton Spectator owner William Southam in 1904.
Postmedia’s name is derived from its flagship publication, The National Post.
The National Post was incubated in TheSpec’s former building at 44 Frid Street before its launch in 1998.
The Post was the passion project of media baron Conrad Black, who owned the Hamilton Spectator as part of his Hollinger Inc empire.
TheSpec was still part of the Southam family of papers.
Long story short, TheSpec’s building at 44 Frid Street in Hamilton was the operational centre of the Hollinger empire.
TheSpec experienced four ownership changes in the last half of 1998, eventually becoming a subsidiary of Torstar.
The national operations for the Hollinger papers remained in Hamilton, primarily copy editing and print production, located in a nondescript building at 1605 Main Street West.
Former Edmonton Journal editor Margo Goodhand wrote in 2016:
“Then the tour began, a distinctly depressing stroll past Regina Leader-Post sports pages, Arts fronts for the Montreal Gazette, editorial pages for the Vancouver Sun. The art director told me he was only allowed to use certain templates for section fronts—careful, pretty and bland, the opposite of what I was used to from the Free Press’s brilliant art director.
I leaned over one twentysomething’s shoulder and asked how he was able to edit an op-ed about Granville Street. ‘Have you ever seen Vancouver?’ I asked.
‘I’ve never been outside of Hamilton,’ he said. ‘But I’d like to.'”
It has to be written, people are doing good work at TheSpec’s new strip mall office on the East Mountain.
The paper is no longer at 44 Frid. That building was sold.
A sad milestone shared by other once-dominant newspapers across North America.
As staff retire, they are not replaced.
It is the classic newspaper death spiral. Fewer journalists equals less journalism. At the same time, readers are being asked to pay more.
TheSpec will continue to exist as a brand, eventually becoming a zombie publication.
It is a shame.
The newspaper that launches Canada’s greatest news empire is being reduced to not even pulp.
Related Read
Paul Wells, whose career began during the peak of Canadian newspapers that came with the National Post newspaper war, writes about the fate of The Gazette, how newspapers had an unsustainable monopoly, and what the end of the monopolies means for politics in Canada.


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White Star Group Coming Back to Council Again Over West Harbour Dispute – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 7, 2023
The White Star Group of Companies wants to argue a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision regarding “de facto expropriation” is a case for it to reopen an over decade-old legal battle seeking nearly $33-million in compensation from the City of Hamilton.
Paul Vermaat of White Star Group will delegate in front of Council on Monday (July 10, 2023).
Vermaat will have five minutes to speak, as is granted to nearly anyone seeking to speak to Council.
White Star spent nearly ten-year litigating after the City of Hamilton discussed expropriating property at 271 Bay Street North, 107 Stuart Street, and 34-36 Tiffany Street in the West Harbour during the 2010/11 plan to build a new stadium at the West Harbour.
The City made an offer to White Star for the lands.
White Star rejected a voluntary purchase offer and sought higher compensation by forcing expropriation.
The expropriation never occurred because the City decided to build the new stadium elsewhere. Critically, the City never issued a notice of expropriation.
White Star then tried to argue at the Ontario Municipal Board the City had de facto expropriated the lands, and the City prevented them from developing the properties.
The Ontario Municipal Board (now known as the Ontario Land Tribunal) rejected White Star’s arguments, slapped White Star with legal costs, and declared White Star’s behaviour vexatious.
Vice-Chair Richard Makuch ruled White Star engaged in a “pattern of making unfounded allegations of bad faith and bias against the City and its counsel.”
“The Tribunal finds that White Star has engaged in a repeated and deliberate pattern of unreasonable, vexatious, and bad faith conduct over an extended period of time in this case.”
Makuch further agreed with the City that White Star’s behaviour is “reprehensible, scandalous, and outrageous.”
Makuch scorned White Star’s claim the City prevented the development of the properties.
“Expropriation was only being considered by the City from 2010 to 2011. Outside of this time frame, there was no active expropriation process that might involve the Subject Lands”, Makuch wrote.
“This means that for 18 of the last 20 years, there was no completed or contemplated expropriation which would have prevented the claimant from proceeding with the development of its lands.”
Makuch continued, “The Tribunal notes an inconsistency in the Claimant’s [White Star] position here with the Claimant simultaneously arguing that the City hampered its plans to develop its property while also claiming that the City should have completed its expropriation of the Subject Lands, giving rise to an interesting question: How can the Claimant claim that it could not carry through on its proposed development while also demanding that the City complete an expropriation of its lands which would render development at this location by the claimant impossible?”
White Star writes that its delegation will discuss the “Supreme Court of Canada Ruling of October 21, 2022 as it relates to defacto expropriations/constructive taking where no land is acquired” and that “the Supreme Court rules that a private land developer can take the regional municipality to court for its plan to expropriate its land.”
In Annapolis Group Inc. v. Halifax Regional Municipality, 2022 SCC 36, the Supreme Court revisited “revisited the test for constructive taking, also known as de facto expropriation.”
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP provides a summary of the case here.
“In a 5-4 decision, the SCC clarified the circumstances in which government regulation of land use may amount to a constructive taking of private property. Instead of requiring a property owner to show that a government authority obtained a formal proprietary interest in property, the SCC explained that a claimant must demonstrate: (1) that the government obtained an “advantage” flowing from the property; and, (2) the regulation eliminates all reasonable or economic uses of the property.”
The circumstances in Halifax significantly differ from anything White Star can claim.
Annapolis Group Inc owns approximately 965 acres of land that the City of Halifax refused to initiate a secondary planning process to allow the development of.
Annapolis Group’s litigation results from not being able to develop its properties.
The White Star Lands are zoned for private development with no public-use zoning. (Annapolis will have to give some of its land for parkland and other public uses if they ever get to develop)
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled the Halifax case “raises disputed issues of fact that need to be decided at trial.”
The SCC’s plain language summary states:
“Writing for a majority of the judges of the Supreme Court, Justices Suzanne Côté and Russell Brown found that Annapolis’ claim of constructive taking raises disputed issues of fact that must be decided at trial, based on the constructive taking test set out in the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. case.”
White Star already litigated its case at the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Case closed.
The lands were subject to Power of Sale in 2021 and purchased by a development group.
No formal planning application has been filed with the City of Hamilton.
The land’s proximity to the West Harbour GO Station allows for high-density development to be considered at the site.


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BRIEF: 541 Eatery & Exchange Extends Closure, Implements Layoffs – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 11, 2023
541 Eatery & Exchange is extending its temporary closure and has laid off its restaurant operations staff as the social enterprise works to revamp its business and service model in response to increased food prices and increasing demand for its services.
541 is best known for their pay it forward model in which patrons can purchase buttons for $1 each, and other people can use those buttons to help pay for food at the cafe.
Similar to all restaurants, 541 was hard hit by COVID closures. As businesses were allowed to reopen, 541 experienced decreased business with fewer people eating out, and fewer people doing business lunches.
Increasing food costs are an added pressure facing the business that seeks to maintain affordability.
Nearby Woodlands Park is home to many people living in encampments. Encampment residents have sought support at 541, exceeding the organization’s capacity.
“The climate and reality around us including the housing shortage, opioid crisis and mental health emergencies in our city have dramatically increased the volume and complexity of the needs of our community members,” reads the statement posted by 541’s Board of Directors.
The organization says they “anticipate a gradual re-opening starting in the fall.”


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BRIEF: OLT Approves Subdivision at 860 & 884 Barton Street, Stoney Creek – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 21, 2023
290 new ground-oriented housing units are approved for 806 and 884 Barton Street in Stoney Creek.
The Ontario Land Tribunal approved a settlement agreement between the City of Hamilton and Losani Homes which allows the development to proceed.
Losani filed a non-decision appeal against the City of Hamilton, bypassing a public City Council hearing to go direct to the Board.
Losani initially sought to build 324 housing units.


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BRIEF: Ontario AG To Release Special Report on Changes to Greenbelt – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 4, 2023
Buckle up.
Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk will release her office’s report into the events surrounding the decision by Premier Doug Ford to break his election promise to maintain the Greenbelt.
The release is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. this coming Wednesday, August 9.
Numerous media outlets have reported about land speculators and developers paying premiums to purchase Greenbelt land for development before the government announced changes.
Naturally, the chatter in Queen’s Park circles about what the report may contain is ripe with speculation.
We’ll find out what the AG’s Office uncovers on Wednesday.

created: August 4, 2023


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CUPE Adopting Strike Posture Against City of Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 3, 2023
The majority of the City of Hamilton’s unionized workforce is posturing toward a possible strike.
CUPE 5167 has requested a No Board Report as the union moves “to a position where a strike could be called.”
CUPE will be in a legal strike position 17 days after the Ministry of Labour issues a No Board Report.
It is unusual for public sector unions to go on strike immediately.
Being in a legal strike position is bargaining leverage in negotiations.
CUPE 5167 is seeking wage increases near the rate of inflation. City Council is keeping its offers private.
The union states the two sides are far apart.
As noted in the TPR Newsletter, the union’s key leverage is the upcoming Grey Cup game in Hamilton this November.
There is a wave of strike activity across Canada in response to inflation and cost-of-living pressures.
Since taking office in November, the new City Council has increased managers’ pay by eight to ten percent, with some managers receiving higher pay increases.
The union is citing these pay increases in its public statements.
The union is holding a members-only information meeting this evening, Thursday, August 3rd.
A union rally and press conference will be held in front of Hamilton City Hall on August 16 at 5:00 p.m.

created: August 3, 2023


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Hamilton City Clerk Andrea Holland Resigning to Pursue New Opportunities – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 9, 2023
Hamilton City Clerk Andrea Holland is ‘resigning’ to ‘pursue new opportunities.’
An internal announcement was sent to City staff just before the end of business today. (Wednesday, August 9, 2023)
Holland’s last day at the City of Hamilton will be September 8, 2023.
The announcement follows a series of Ontario Ombudsman closed meeting violation reports, rulings from Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commission ordering the Office of the City Clerk to comply with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Privacy Act, and last year’s election fiascos that included a significant privacy breach and the declaration of a local emergency due to serious problems on election day.
Before being hired by the City of Hamilton, Holland worked for the City of Burlington.
Holland’s resignation follows the early retirement announcement by City Manager Janette Smith two weeks ago.
Mayor Andrea Horwath and City Council have started the search for a new City Manager.

created: August 9, 2023


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Hamilton Committee of Adjustment Files of Note for August 10, 2023 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 10, 2023
Joey’s Note: Committee of Adjustment minor variance files are unpredictable. The public notices provide no context to the legalese of variances. It is hard to predict what will files will be debated, or not. Below are files that have uniqueness to them, or that staff are opposing the variances.
The August 10, 2023, Committee of Adjustment meeting will consider 19 minor variance applications. Here are some that caught my attention.
The property owner is seeking to “legalize the constructure of a shed” in front of their property.
Zoning bylaws prohibit sheds in front of homes, stating they must be in the rear yard. The shed “appears” to have been constructed within the City right-of-way.
Additionally, the shed replaces landscaping in front of the house.
For these reasons, City staff recommend denying the application.
The owners are seeking to build a rear garage at a height of 5.96 metres. The maximum permitted height for a garage is 4.0 metres. They also seek a zero metre (no) setback from the rear lot line instead of the required 0.45 metre setback.
City staff oppose the height increase, recommending denial of this variance.
The drawings for the proposed garage show a second level labelled “storage.” The upper level will have three windows.
Questions may be raised about the potential of the upper level being used for other purposes.
The owner submitted letters of support from neighbouring properties.
The new owners of this property are seeking to demolish and replace the existing home on the site with a new larger house that will include a secondary dwelling unit.
The house is at the north end of Bay Street North across from Pier 4 Park in the North End neighbourhood.
Residents of the North End are known for their engagement on planning matters. This is no exception.
This file has an added element, the trees and hedges in the public park across the street were illegally cut last year, with suspicion the cut was related to the sale of this home.
Neighbours are concerned about height, large windows, the size of the house on the lot, and the variances to lower setback requirements.
The application is now tabled for further negotiation. Staff comments were not released prior to tabling.
City staff support the conversion of commercial units at 845 King Street East into ground-level residential units.
845 King Street East was home to a long-time business, Kool Stuff, that had operated for 17 years in the location. The building was sold, the new owners doubled the commercial rent, and Kool Stuff had to close.
The owners will now have three more profitable residential units on the ground level.
“The proposed variance would allow for the conversion of the existing ground floor commercial units to residential dwelling units. Staff note that there is no planned commercial function along this portion of King Street East and that the intent of the TOC 3 Zone is to recognizes the residential nature of sections of the LRT corridor and the need to maintain these areas for residential purposes in the future. The TOC 3 Zones does not permit commercial uses. Accordingly, the proposed variance to facilitate the conversion to residential units brings the property more in line with the intent of both the Official Plan and the Zoning By-law,” reads staff comments.
[Committee of Adjustment staff comments are unsigned.]
A mid-rise proposal is seeking zoning approvals by minor variance along the Highway 8 corridor where many mid-to-higher density developers are occurring.
The land is zoned for commercial uses, the developer is seeking to rezone (without a zoning bylaw amendment application) to convert to residential use with some ground-level commercial.
City staff oppose the application. The Neighbourhood Commercial (C2) Zone allows 50 percent of gross floor area to be residential, the proposed development is a 70 percent residential use.
“The applicant is asking for a 40% increase to the maximum permitted ratio of gross floor area for residential, thus not minor. This is not the intention of the zone and thus the applicant should apply for a Zoning By-law amendment if they would like to have an increased number of residential units on the subject lands,” reads staff comments.[Committee of Adjustment staff comments are unsigned.]
City staff are inconsistent in using percentages to determine what is, or is not, minor.
A few years ago, staff have recommended a 33-storey tall building as a “minor variance” in zonings that only permit six storeys.
This application is to sever portions of two larger lots to create a new lot. The applicant wishes to build a new single detached home on the new lot.
City staff oppose stating the application should be a zoning bylaw amendment.
Staff write the owner submitted concepts to have more houses on the site in 2022.
“The Formal Consultation application FC-22-104 was to sever the subject property and proposed one of two options: (Option 1) create 4 lots for single detached dwellings or (Option 2) create 7 lots, 6 for semi-detached dwellings and one for a single detached dwelling. Staff determined a Zoning By-law Amendment to be necessary for both proposals. No formal submissions were made by the owner or applicant.”
The Ancaster Existing Residential Zone is one of Hamilton’s most restrictive, regarding minimum lot sizes of 695 square metres.
“The intent of the provision within the Zoning By-law is to ensure the lots within the Existing Residential Zone maintain the lot pattern and large lot area to support a building envelope and contain grading and drainage on the lot.”
“Having regard for the matters under subsection 51(24) of the Planning Act, staff are of the opinion that the dimensions and shapes of the proposed lots are not compatible with the existing scale and character of the surrounding area and the proposed lots do not conform to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law. Staff recommend that the proposed consents, as outlined in the Notices of Hearing, be denied.”
This is an application to build “a single detached dwelling, an accessory structure and accessory pool house” on a rural property in the Greenbelt.
Staff are opposing the application stating it is incompatible with the Rural Hamilton Official Plan, “may result in the disturbance of trees within the Significant Woodlot,” and the proposed structures are too large for the rural area.
The application is to had an addition detached dwelling unit. Additional dwelling units are not permitted in the C5a pedestrian oriented commercial corridor zone.
Staff are opposing the application for this reaosn.
“The applicant is seeking a variance to allow a farm labour residence to exist prior to the principle farm dwelling, whereas the Zoning By-law outlines that a farm labour residence shall only be permitted on the same lot as an existing permanent farm dwelling,” write staff to open their comments recommending denial of the application.
The property contains a dwelling with a second storey addition. Staff write the addition was “constructed without a permit.”
The property’s existing setback is closer to the provincial highway right-of-way than the minimum in the zoning bylaw.
The original building, heavily modified over the decades, was constructed between 1868 to 1900.
Staff recommend approval of variances. The Ministry of Transportation does not object to approval.


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Hamilton Developers Given Special Access to Lobby for Greenbelt Land Removal, Stand to Make Billions from Changes – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 9, 2023
Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk says Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government “failed to consider environmental, agricultural and financial risks and impacts, proceeded with little input from experts or affected parties, and favoured certain developers/landowners” when it removed 7,400 acres of protected land from the Greenbelt in Fall 2022.”
Developers gained over $8.3-billion in land value from the changes, which were planned with “preferential treatment to certain developers with direct access to the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing” Ryan Amato.
The findings are detailed in a Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt.
The owners of the Book Road lands in Ancaster received preferential access to Amato, and were able to get their 1,809.37 acres moved over of the Greenbelt despite the 17.51 percent of the lands being a Natural Heritage System and restrictions on housing development in proximity to the airport.
[The AG notes that a Ministerial Zoning Order can remove those restrictions.]
The AG writes that removing the Book Road lands is “assessed as likely to have significant adverse impacts on the agricultural system.”
67 percent of the Book Road lands are Prime Agricultural Land Class 1-3. Nearly all of this prime land is actively used for agriculture, including fruit and vegetable production and two livestock operations.
The 9.82 acres removed from the Greenbelt on Barton Street in Stoney Creek is entirely a Speciality Crop area. Provincial policies state that these types of agricultural lands are to be protected from development.
Amato attended the Building Industry and Land Development Association’s (BILD) Chair’s Dinner on September 14, 2022.
At this dinner, Amato said a developer “provided him with information and requests to also remove the Book Road site in the City of Hamilton.”
Amato gave the information to staff, and the lands were removed from the Greenbelt.
“Altogether, those who had access to the Chief of Staff at the September BILD event ended up with land removals that accounted for 6,784 acres, or 92% (see Figure 7) of the 7,412.64 acres ultimately,” writes AG Lysyk.
Amato’s influence was not limited to these properties or a single event. The AG finds he heavily involved himself in and influenced the process.
“Almost all of the properties removed from the Greenbelt were identified and were provided to the Greenbelt Project Team directly by the Housing Minister’s Chief of Staff after he received material from or on behalf of certain developers,” writes Lysyk.
The City of Hamilton was kept in the dark during the process.
The Auditor General says the secrecy of planning surrounding the Greenbelt removals caused the Province to remove lands that cannot be readily developed for housing soon.
“Contrary to public communication, we found that the Housing Ministry’s Greenbelt Project Team did not analyze whether the sites proposed for removal from the Greenbelt could support housing development in the near future. Operating under a confidentiality agreement, the Greenbelt Project Team was prevented from contacting partner ministries and external parties such as municipalities, conservation authorities and developers, and could not assess the existing or planned infrastructure availability and ser¬vicing capacity for the sites.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark told the AG they were “unaware” of what Chief of Staff Amato was working on.
Amato stated he did not inform the Premier nor the Minister of what he was working on.
The AG’s report notes that email record retention was not followed, and personal emails were used to conduct government business.
The AG writes that Minister Clark “ought to have known that the Chief of Staff was the primary recipient and provider of lands to the Greenbelt Project Team, especially given the high-profile, politically sensitive and controversial nature of the Greenbelt Project.”
Lysyk recommends that “Given that the Premier and the Minister of Housing have communicated to us that they were unaware that the pre-selection of lands for removal from the Greenbelt was biased,” the government should “re-evaluate the 2022 decision to change the Greenbelt boundaries.”
Flamborough-Glanbrook Member of Provincial Parliament Donna Skelly supported the Book Road Greenbelt removal. Skelly has consistently favoured sprawl developments in her riding.
Premier Ford and Minister Clark are scheduled to speak at 1 p.m.


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Hamilton’s Homeless Deaths Continue, Data Shows Average Age of Death is 43 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 11, 2023
The Hamilton Homeless Mortality database posted its latest update, reporting 14 confirmed deaths of homeless individuals between December 2022 to May 2023.
The average age at time of death was 43 years old. Average life expectancy, according to Statistics Canada, is 81 years old.
Overdose was the leading cause of death, with eight deaths attributed to overdose. The researchers who collect the data note this number may increase as cause of death is determined for four people of the 14.
“It is imminently important that death as it relates to living without housing be a top priority acknowledged at every step of housing policy and planning at all levels of government including in the Hamilton community. Housing is a harm-reducing, life-saving resource. Premature death associated with living without housing as a basic human necessity is unacceptable,” write Gessie Stearns and Dr. Inna Berditchevskaia.


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INBOX: Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath on the Auditor General Report on the Greenbelt – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 9, 2023
Mayor Andrea Horwath issued the following statement at 2:05 p.m.:
Today, Mayor Andrea Horwath issued the following statement.
There is no doubt that the Greenbelt should be protected as a vital element of our environmental and agricultural resources. Today’s Auditor General report supports the City of Hamilton’s position that the proposed development of the Greenbelt is an unnecessary, ineffective, and misguided measure that will not contribute to meeting Hamilton’s housing needs.
I am calling on the Province of Ontario to abandon its plan to develop the Greenbelt and will be working with my Council colleagues and City staff to review the report and its implications for our continued advocacy against this provincial approach.
The City of Hamilton provided insights and information to Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk in the course of her investigation, and her findings notably reference the following in regard to Hamilton parcels of the Greenbelt:
I commend AG Lysyk for her work and extend my thanks to all Hamilton residents and elected officials who spoke out against the removal of Greenbelt lands.
We will continue our efforts to address Hamilton’s urgent housing needs while prioritizing intensification, affordability and our commitments to conservation, Reconciliation, and slowing the impacts of our climate crisis


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Is the Fork Finally Stuck in the Commonwealth Games? – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 4, 2023
Are the Commonwealth Games done?
The Government of Alberta is ending its support for the Edmonton/Calgary bid to host the 2030 Games.
Alberta’s Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow is quoted stating the potential $2.68-billion cost to host the Games is too great a financial risk for the Province.
The Australian Province of Victoria recently withdrew its support for hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The Commonwealth Games Federation is trying to present an optimistic tone, telling insidethegames.biz that they are focused on their 2023 Youth Games and hopeful of finding hosts for 2026, 2030, and 2034.
The Commonwealth Games began in Hamilton, with the first games hosted in 1930 as the British Empire Games.
They’ve declined in cultural significance during recent decades as ties between the former British Empire colonies have become less important.
Additionally, nearly all competitions at the Commonwealth are not used as Olympic qualifying events.
While there is no doubt the Commonwealth Games will eventually end, the question to watch is if Birmingham UK steps in to become a ‘permanent’ host to a quadrennial “Commonwealth Games” using their existing sports facilities.
Birmingham hosted the 2022 Games after Durban, South Africa, could not host due to financial constraints.


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Joey’s Notepad: Maximum Phone Hold Wait Time for the Year is Not An Average – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 7, 2023
A recent audit of the City of Hamilton’s accessible transportation services managers revealed they were not even doing the basics of their jobs.
In December, auditors reported ATS managers were not verifying taxi scrip vouchers, and that fraud was possibly occurring.
“There is so much missing information from the redeemed taxi scrips that ongoing compliance assessment and monitoring for illicit activity … is not feasible,” stated the auditor.
None of the managers were held responsible for the mismanagement.
Last week, ATS managers posted their quarterly performance metrics report.
One of the metrics is the maximum time a person is on hold when calling ATS to book an accessible transit ride. The ATS managers continue to average the maximum time in their report spreadsheet.
Details matter. For a section of managers who are supposedly under the microscope, the fact their work remains sloppy is concerning.

created: August 7, 2023


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Active-Shooter Drill at Central Library Broadcast into Farmers Market – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 29, 2023
Vendors in the Hamilton Farmers Market were ordered to “run” from the facility on Monday, September 18, due to a “active situation” announced on the public address system shared by the Market with the Hamilton Public Library.
The Hamilton Public Library was conducting an Active Shooter drill for staff at the Central Library and accidentally broadcast their practice drill into the Market.
The Market is located in the basement of the 55 York Boulevard shared facility.
The announcements instructing people to “hide” “run” and that the building had been “compromised” did not state was a drill.
The Market is closed to the public on Mondays. Some vendors work on Mondays, including prepared food vendors who take online app orders.
Vendors who spoke to TPR state they were scared.
In an email to the City, a vendor wrote, the 9:21 a.m. PA announcement stated “Attention, attention, there is an active situation in the building. We advise you to run. I repeat, run!”
“The drill lasted over an hour and we thought it he situation was real. This caused extreme panic, stress and fear for our lives,” they wrote in the email.
On Friday, September 22, Market Manager Bill Slowka wrote vendors:
On the morning of Monday September 18th, the Hamilton Public Library conducted an active shooter training session for the benefit of their Staff on a non-Market day. The HFM staff was not part of the planning for this exercise and was not included in its protocol rollout to HPL staff. Unfortunately, the simulated security announcement broadcasted over the dual PA system, which includes the Market, did not identify the exercise as a “drill” and as a result, created confusion and angst for any stallholder(s) present in the Market at that time. Upon further investigation, I’ve since received confirmation that an email was sent outside Market hours in advance notifying me of the scheduled training session which was missed. For that, I deeply apologize to any stallholder adversely affected by my oversight. Moving forward, immediate steps are now being taken in consultation with the HPL and the City of Hamilton’s Corporate Security team to create a heightened level of communication protocols, thereby ensuring that all stakeholders are aware in advance of all training exercises that have the potential to impact the Market in the future. Once completed, the new communication protocols will be shared with the vendor community.
The Market’s Board of Directors will meet on October 2. Vendors are demanding the Board act on this matter.

created: September 29, 2023


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Changes to LiUNA Gardens Redevelopment Plan Delays OLT Hearing – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 26, 2023
The Ontario Land Tribunal is delaying the hearing on the redevelopment of LiUNA Gardens for two months to give the City time to review changes to the development proposal.
The delay will allow the City of Hamilton “a reasonable opportunity to review revisions to the development proposal (including changes to the proposed heights, massing and location of the proposed towers as well as reductions to overall unit count and further analysis and reports with respect to the traffic issues raised in the proceeding),” writes Ontario Land Tribunal Member Shannon Braun in a ruling released Tuesday.
A ten-day contested hearing was scheduled to begin on September 18. It will now begin on November 23, 2023.
The hearing will be eight days. The first three days will occur between November 23 and 25. The second portion of the hearing will be held the week of December 11 to 15.
The new proposal has not yet been released.

created: September 26, 2023


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David Boghosian will be Hamilton’s New Integrity Commissioner – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 26, 2023
Highly regarded municipal law expert David Boghosian will be Hamilton’s next Integrity Commissioner.
Boghosian is practising lawyer who is Managing Partner of Boghosian + Allen LLP.
He is Integrity Commissioner in numerous other municipalities, has argued municipal law cases at all levels including the Supreme Court of Canada, and is a prolific legal writer. He has also taught at York University’s law school.
The last practising lawyer to serve as Integrity Commissioner was George Rust-D’Eye in 2016.
In recent decades, Boghosian has been called upon to represent the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton Police Service, and it predecessors.
Boghosian was the outside lawyer that then-Hamilton City Solicitor Nicole Auty called for legal advice when it became apparent the Red Hill Parkway cover-up would become public.
Boghosian is recognized as one of the leading experts on municipal liability.
While providing legal advice, Boghosian wrote that when addressing the 2018-22 Hamilton City Council, “everything needs to be dumbed down as if they are children!”
Boghosian testified at the Red Hill Valley Parkway Public Inquiry.
The City retained Boghosian in an ongoing lawsuit against the City by a man who suffered catastrophic injuries at Albion Falls.
He represented the Hamilton Police Services Board at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Boghosian’s CV is available in a City of Sudbury report.
He replaces the firm of retired City of Hamilton City Solicitor Janice Atwood-Petkovski. The firm Principles Integrity was hired by City Council in July 2018 in a non-competitive process. They were reappointed in February 2020 following a competitive bid.
Boghosian expected to start work on November 1st.


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Jamesville Hearing Set for May 2024 as City, CN, CityHousing, and Developers Continue to Meet – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 8, 2023
The City of Hamilton and CN Rail will continue settlement talks in October regarding CN’s concerns about the planned 447-unit redevelopment of the former Jamesville social housing site at 405 James Street North.
Lawyers for the City, CN, CityHousing Hamilton, and the private developer consortium Jamesville Redevelopment Limited Partnership attended an Ontario Land Tribunal case management hearing by video conference today.
All sides agreed to set contested hearing dates while continuing to seek a settlement agreement using the OLT’s confidential mediation services.
A nine-day contested hearing is scheduled to begin on May 21, 2024. The parties will update the Tribunal at a third Case Management Conference on .
Update, October 3: The OLT states the CMC meeting is rescheduled to December 20 at 10:00 a.m.
OLT Member Steve deBoer directed the lawyers to bring an issues list and procedural order for Tribunal approval to the December hearing.
He stated his hope a settlement will result from mediation in October. The Tribunal will convert the December 19 date to a settlement hearing if needed, deBoer stated.
CN is seeking more rigid noise and environmental mitigation measures in the design of the new housing units, which will be approximately 230 metres east of CN’s Stuart Street Yard.
“CN is not objecting to the development and principal provided that the impact on the adjacent rail operations are accounted for, and appropriate mitigation measures are applied,” stated CN legal counsel Katarzyna Sliwa in June.
Additional, October 3: Video conference login information for both the December 20 CMC and May 2024 hearing is available in the CanLII OLT Oral Decision Memo.

created: September 8, 2023


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Mismanaged Public Meeting on HATS Cancelled – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

September 12, 2023
Hundreds of people tried to attend a public meeting about the HATS Tiny Homes project planned for Stratchan Street East at James Street North in the North End.
The meeting was cancelled after disruption, including shoving and threats, by a group of four or five individuals at the back of the undersized Bennetto recreation centre gym.
The meeting was poorly organized.
People arriving before the scheduled time had to set up their chairs from a stack, there was no sound system in the gymnasium, and it was never clear who (if anyone) was running the meeting.
The gymnasium reached its capacity around 15 minutes before the scheduled 7:00 p.m. start time.
Hundreds of people were locked out of the building. There was no communication about what was happening.
A group of men pushed their way into the gymnasium, scruffling with security guards.
Security retreated from the gymnasium. The City locked the doors, barring people from entering or leaving the gym.
Inside the gymnasium, the men shared conspiratorial theories.
Later, one of them would yell about a “stolen election.” A person on the other side of the room challenged them to explain what election was stolen.
Attendees posted about the increasing tensions in the gymnasium.
“Meeting about Tiny shelters poorly run and getting scary,” wrote journalist Kathy Renwald.
“This is the tensest community meeting I’ve been to,” wrote Tom Flood.
Shortly before 8 p.m., a City security official came into the room to announce the meeting was cancelled.
The City of Hamilton issued a statement at 9:20 p.m. saying the cancellation was “due to serious health and safety issues at the meeting site.”

created: September 12, 2023


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Another Damning IPC Ruling Against City of Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

October 16, 2023
Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has issued another damning ruling against the City of Hamilton for ongoing blatant violations of Ontario’s freedom of information processes.
Once again, the City of Hamilton refused to make representations to the IPC in response to a refusal appeal.
“I invited the city to submit representations in response to a Notice of Inquiry, which summarized the facts and issues in the appeals. The city did not submit representations. The appellant was then invited to submit representations and did so,” reads an IPC ruling.
The City is required by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to make submissions to the IPC when the City claims records do not exist or are exempt from disclosure.
One of Hamilton City Hall’s favourite violations is to force members of the public to file formal Freedom of Information applications, then claim the public cannot file a request because the City will make the information available by another means of request.
Ontario’s Information Commissioner has ruled this process violates the law.
In the latest incident, a individual filed request for records regarding a retaining wall and a tree protection plan.
The City of Hamilton denied the FOIs, telling the person to attempt to informally access the records by contacting a planning division senior project manager.
“The appellant attempted to retrieve the documents from the city’s office, as directed in its decision letters. Subsequently, the city mailed the appellant what it identified as the publicly available responsive records,” however, the IPC found the City withheld some records.
The requester filed an appeal to Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner to force the City to release records.
In a ruling issued on September 25, 2023, IPC Adjudicator Lan An order the City of Hamilton to conduct a proper search and release the records by October 24, 2023.

created: October 16, 2023