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ACORN to Delegate to Council Opposing Tax Grant for Malleum Properties – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 4, 2021
540 King Street East was one of Hamilton’s more affordable apartment buildings before its purchase by Malleum Real Estate Management in 2018.
Malleum specializes in purchasing older buildings and conducting extensive renovations to ‘reposition’ the units into higher rent apartments.
On Monday, Council will vote on Malleum’s Hamilton Tax Increment Grant Program approval for $169,801.83 over five years.
HTIGP approvals are usually a rubber stamp. Once a government offers an incentive,
Four members of ACORN, and a fifth citizen, are asking to speak to Council in opposition to the grant.
Malleum’s business strategy is gentrification.
ACORN states the City must stop supporting all forms of gentrification by ending incentives for projects which result in renovictions for existing tenants and substantially increased rents for post-renovation tenants.
The HTIGP gives developers tax rebates based on increased municipal property taxes resulting from renovations or redevelopment.
Malleum spent approximately $2,775,000 on the renovation, which is expected to increase the property’s assessed value to $4,643,000 from $2,542,000.
The result is an increase of $55,600.61 per year in municipal property taxes.
The HTIGP rebate will be $56,600.61 in year one, $45,280.49 in year two, $33,960.37 in year three, $22,640.24 in year four, and $11,320.12 in the final year.
Council will likely approve the grant as they offered the program, deciding not to approve risks creating uncertainty for new developments.
In June 2021, Council voted to eliminate the tax incentive program during its next review. The rationale is that approving the B-Line LRT creates the economic conditions for development without the need for HTIGP.


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Blog: Coleman’s Notes on Hamilton GO Service Expansion to West Harbour – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 26, 2021
There’s a deliberate campaign to fix public transit to and within Hamilton.
The federal and provincial governments have announced over $3.8-billion in new funding for transit in Hamilton: 100% funding of LRT, significant funding for the new HSR maintenance and storage facility (the bus barn), many smaller pots for transit initiatives, and now all-day train service to West Harbour.
Today, the provincial Progressive Conservative government announced all-day-everyday GO train service to the West Harbour station starting August 7.
In addition, rush-hour service at both the Downtown GO Centre on Hunter Street and West Harbour station will return to pre-COVID service levels. The route 16-QEW Express bus service continues and I expect it will return to pre-COVID service levels shortly as well.
On weekdays, trains will depart West Harbour at 13 minutes past the hour between 5:00 am to just past 10:00 pm (05:13, 06:13 … 21:13, 22:13).
Weekday return trips from Toronto Union will depart at 45 minutes past the hour with the first trip leaving at 06:45 am and the final train at 11:45 pm (06:45, 07:45 … 22:45, 23:45).
On weekends, the last trains will operate an hour late with the final train out of West Harbour leaving for Toronto at 23:13, and the final train from Toronto Union leaving for West Harbour at 00:45.
Travel time is one hour and 17 minutes. The full schedule is here.
All four trains out of the Hamilton Downtown (Hunter Street) station are back in service. These four trains are stored overnight on the tracks just east of the station and are critical to GO returning to 15-minute peak service between Oakville and Oshawa.
The trains will serve all stops. Prior to the pandemic, peak service trips of Hamilton operated express from Clarkson station to Union Station. The additional stops add 12 minutes to travel time.
We may see further schedule changes in September.
[Due to much lower passenger levels, the dwell time in each station is shorter than usual. This decreases the journey’s length.]
GO operates extra trains during special events, and those “extras” have resumed in recent weeks for Toronto FC soccer games and to respond to increase leisure travel during weekends.
Even if the extras continue to end at Burlington GO or Aldershot GO, the hourly West Harbour service remains attractive for going to events in Toronto.
It is fairly hassle-free to ride the extra out of Union Station and transfer at Burlington GO to finish the trip to Hamilton
As a bonus for non-event Hamilton riders, the hourly West Harbour service provides an alternative to over-capacity buses which did not previously exist.
In the immediate future, the answer is no. The 4-Bayfront passes by the station, during weekdays the 20-A Line passes by the station as well. The 20-A Line does not operate during evenings.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger states the HSR will review the A-Line schedule and he hopes it will integrate with GO’s West Harbour service.
“There is an intent to expand and improve the service frequency and in volume, and that will directly connect to this GO station”, the Mayor stated.
The question was asked by CHCH to Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney.
Mulroney responded, “the overall cost is part of our overall budget for Hamilton.”
I asked Metrolinx what is the hourly operating cost of a ten-passenger car train, and if they consider the additional service a 30-minute cost (13 minutes each direction from Aldershot GO) or the added cost of a full train set on the Lakeshore line to provide the service.
The response by email was “a breakdown of operating costs by train isn’t available.”
[If you wish to read about the challenges of determining operating costs from budget statements, here’s a recent academic attempt to do so at the University of Toronto]
MPP Donna Skelly (Flamborough-Glanbrook) took the opportunity to contrast her Conservative Party from the previous Liberal Party government stating the Liberals repeatedly promised all-day GO service and it is being delivered by a Conservative government.
Minister Mulroney praised Skelly for securing the all-day service, spoke about the importance of all-day GO service, and how happy she is to be announcing transit funding for Hamilton again.
Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger thanked them for the latest funding announcement and jokingly ended his thanks with “Phil, that, you know, we do have a Confederation Station down the road. What have you done for me lately?”
The joke was delivered well and people chuckled with everyone enjoying a good news event.
During media questions, one of the young journalists who recently moved to Hamilton asked when service will extend to the “Centennial” and Grimsby stations. Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster answered that GO is working to add the tracks out of West Harbour and improvements needed to get all-day train service to the “Confederation” station and beyond.
The reporter politely followed up stating their question was about the “Centennial” station. People quickly noted Centennial/Confederation are the same station. Centennial may be a better name for the station as Centennial Parkway is a better-known landmark than Confederation Park.
[The present group of early-career reporters in Hamilton are excellent and are learning Hamilton. They are interested in our localisms, curious about our city, and happy to be here.]
My two questions focused upon operations. Mayor Eisenberger answered my question on HSR service.
To Metrolinx, I asked how they will deal with service interruptions noting Lakeshore West trains often terminate at Burlington GO instead of Aldershot GO due to freight trains having priority on the rails at the CN yard in Aldershot. Adding to the logistical challenges of servicing West Harbour, the extremely bus rail interchange between CP and CN at Bayview Junction.
How will GO get people to West Harbour during service disruptions?
Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster stated they are working on the details of those service interruption plans.
“Our ownership of our lines really ends at Burlington”, Verster stated. “The work we’ve done at Bayview Junction, which was both track and signalling to separate freight lines, [the CN] yard, and our own services was really crucial.”
Verster says Metrolinx is working to add its own tracks between Burlington and Aldershot. Of the answers today, this is the most interesting. When GO owns all the track into West Harbour, Hamilton will be able to see trains every 15-minutes.
We can all easily imagine a near future with an efficient reliable HSR service connecting to trains that leave every 15-minutes going to both Toronto and Niagara.
Onwards to the future.

source: news-thepublicrecord

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


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BRIEF: Lobbyist Wants Hamilton to Adopt Bus with Rails Concept – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 4, 2021
Steve Ostrowski is registered to lobby Hamilton City Council to pitch buying conceptual hybrid buses with rubber and steel wheels to operate on the B-Line corridor instead of light rail trains.
The Hamilton LRT project funding is for building and operating a light-rail transit system.
Ostrowski’s idea would require more buses to carry the same number of passengers as LRT, resulting in higher operating costs than light rail.
There are no manufacturers of Ostrowski’s hybrid buses.
His website is here.


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COLEMAN: What Purpose Does the Sir John A Macdonald Statue Serve? – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 7, 2021
What purpose does the Sir John A Macdonald statue in Hamilton’s Gore Park serve?
To celebrate the Confederation of Canada in 1867?
To honour Sir John A Macdonald?
A hundred or so Hamiltonians would gather each January at the foot of the statue in the late 1990s and well into the first decade of this century to celebrate Canada’s first prime minister’s birthday.
In Hamilton monarchist tradition, drinks and birthday cake followed in the Royal Connaught Hotel, emphasis on Royal.
Why did we gather? As a teenager, I joined Hamilton’s Sir John A Macdonald Society.
I can only speak for myself. To me, celebrating Sir was to celebrate Canada, the nation of generosity, peacekeeping, the perfect nation crafted by our achievements wrapped in Hamilton celebrating its many firsts.
The speakers remind us that Hamilton was the first city to erect a statue celebrating our first prime minister.
Hamilton’s historical societies and associations all sent representatives to the event.
I loved history, still do, and that was part of the draw.
As I, as we, as our society has learned more, as we continue to progress towards meeting the ideals we espouse, Sir John A Macdonald is no longer revered.
There are maybe a handful of members left in Hamilton’s Sir John A Macdonald Society.
Many of Hamilton’s leading historical advocates long ago walked away and are silent today.
A handful will delegate in favour of maintaining the statue in Gore Park. Their best argument for Macdonald is the idea that without Macdonald, there be no Canada. There be some form of a democratic state or states in the Westminister tradition north of the border with the United States.
What is there to honour about Macdonald? Not much.
Even his hometown of Kingston removed their Macdonald statue from its pedestal.
Do we need Macdonald to celebrate Canada? No, we do not.
The legacy of Macdonald’s decisions is a stain upon our nation, a bloodstain that we can never forget.
It is time to put the Macdonald statue away or in a museum.


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COLEMAN’S NOTES: “Save Farmland”, Intensification, and Third-Rail Politics – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 4, 2021
“Save Farmland”
Residents across Hamilton are placing lawn signs in front of their homes, calling upon Hamilton City Council to freeze the urban boundary and require intensification within Hamilton’s existing urban area.
The signs are seemingly everywhere, especially in Ancaster and Dundas, calling for residents to respond to the City’s urban boundary survey by selecting “Option 2 – No Urban Boundary Expansion”.
The political alignment is interesting.
Those who oppose any height limits in Downtown Hamilton and those who oppose three-storey retirement homes in their suburban neighbourhoods have a common cause.
Ward 12 (Ancaster) City Councillor Lloyd Ferguson stated at Council two weeks ago:
“When I read it [the survey], oh my goodness, this thing is going to be overwhelmingly in favour of intensification, which will be very sensitive to my community.”
Ferguson is a proponent of sprawl, and his remarks are accurate.
In Ancaster, there are online debates about what intensification means for the mainly low-density suburban community. What does “Missing Middle” development mean for Ancaster?
There will be three and four-storey developments along arterial roads – this is inevitable even with sprawl. This growth will see more retirement housing, townhomes, and even some stacked townhomes.
Intensification may result in the developments arriving sooner.
The two large commercial plazas on Wilson Street West will become multiple-storey mixed-use buildings, similar to what exists in Dundas.
Over time, large lots with single homes may become two lots with two single detached dwellings.
As one person wrote, “the intensification question that could be very detrimental to Ancaster!!”
A map highlighting potential development sites in Downtown Hamilton’s Central neighbourhood is circulating in the Ancaster discussion with the suggestion these “underutilized spaces, empty lots and surface parking in the lower city” is “where gentle intensification could occur with better planning.”
We need to plan for intensification everywhere.
Eight years ago, a three-storey extension of 120 suites to the Highland Retirement Home at 307 and 325 Fiddler’s Green Road sparked significant opposition.
“The proposed development is vastly out of character with the surrounding neighbourhood and represents an obvious over-intensification,” read a community petition.
“Overall, the neighbourhood feels that it is under attack by the proposed development … It is not extreme to suggest that if this development is approved, the flood gates will open.”
Developers will propose new homes beside heritage homes on existing large lots.
322 Mount Albion Road is an example of this in-fill intensification form. The site developers applied to sever the property and build four homes: one on Mount Albion Road and three at the rear of the property fronting along Glen Forest Drive.
City of Hamilton planning staff reviewed the application finding it confirms with provincial planning regulations and respects the existing heritage-listed house.
Ward 5 City Councillor Chad Collins, responding to opposition from neighbours, opposed the intensification and wrote to the Committee of Adjustment. The Committee of Adjustment denied the application, and the matter is now at the Ontario Land Tribunal (formerly known as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal / Ontario Municipal Board).
It is expected the OLT will approve the proposal.
[The developers are opposing plans to designate the existing home under the Ontario Heritage Act, the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee will debate the designation in the future.]
Returning to the different groups finding common cause opposing intensification.
Stop Sprawl HamOnt is a coalition that includes farmers, urbanists, downtown neighbourhood associations, naturalists, social justice activists, and environmental organizations.
They are distributing the “Save Farmland” lawn signs we now see in nearly every neighbourhood.
Can SSHO keep this coalition together for the difficult conversations needed to ensure intensification is well planned and Hamilton is prepared for the future?
The first test? Area-rating of transit – the third-rail of Hamilton politics for the past 20 years.


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Councillor Nann will put Sir John A Macdonald Statue to Vote at Council Next Week – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 2, 2021
Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann says it is time for the City of Hamilton to remove the Sir John A Macdonald statue from Gore Park. Nann plans to move a motion on Thursday afternoon at the Emergency and Community Services meeting to direct staff to remove the statue immediately.
The decision will go to a final vote at the full Council ratification meeting scheduled for Friday morning.
Sir John A Macdonald is Canada’s first Prime Minister. He played a critical role in the creation and expansion of the residential schools.
Calls to remove the statue from Gore Park have grown since the publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports in 2015.
Hamilton’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee asked Council to remove the statue in 2015. City staff reported promising to review the request. The Committee passed subsequent motions repeating the request.
In December 2020, City staff told the Committee they are “seriously” considering the removal, and City Manager Janette Smith would present a report to Council in early 2021. The report is not yet public.
In recent weeks, following protests at the statue, the City Manager’s Office states the overdue report is forthcoming to Council. The report will not be specific to the Macdonald statue and will outline a process for reviewing monuments across Hamilton.
Nann states the City needs to act now, and this is why the motion is being put to Council next week.
The Hamilton motion comes less than a month after the City of Kingston’s Council voted to move its Sir John A Macdonald statue from a predominant location in that city’s downtown City Park. Kingston’s statue is now in storage, with consultation underway with Indigenous communities regarding its relocation into Cataraqui Cemetery, a National Historic Site where Sir John A. Macdonald is buried. Macdonald lived in Kingston after coming to Canada, and he was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Hamilton was the first place in Canada to erect a statue of Sir John A Macdonald.
In recent weeks, protesters covered the statue with a tarp. A few days later, a white nationalist injured himself attempting to remove the tarp. The next night, the white nationalists pulled the tarp off the statue. The City Manager’s Office initially claimed that City staff removed the tarp. The white nationalists posted a video of themselves removing it, and the CMO retracted their claim.
On Wednesday of this week, the statue was covered in red painted handprints to symbolize the thousands of Indigenous children who died at residential schools. Within hours, the City Manager’s Office ordered the cleaning of the statue to remove the handprints.
The Emergency and Community Services Committee meets at 1:30 pm on Thursday. Anyone can request to delegate to the Committee by filling out this form on the City of Hamilton website.
During the same meeting, a motion to rename Ryerson Recreation Centre will be presented on behalf of Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson.


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DiCenzo Pitches Building 42-Storey and 38-Storey Towers Beside Landmark Place – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 11, 2021
DiCenzo Construction Company is proposing two mixed-use residential towers with a height of 42 and 38 storeys with 792 residential units, 672 parking spaces, and ground-level commercial units.
The proposal was submitted in September 2020 with Graziani + Corazza Architects hired for the project. This firm is well known for designing tall buildings.
Reviewing staff in Hamilton’s planning, development, and public works divisions provided numerous comments regarding changes required to the proposal.
The site is permitted up to 20 storeys in the Downtown Secondary Plan (DTSP).  The DTSP sets a height limit of approximately 30 storeys for all developments in Downtown Hamilton.
“Maximum building height within the Downtown Hamilton Secondary Plan area shall be no greater than the height of the top of the Escarpment as measured between Victoria Avenue and Queen Street” is the DTSP policy.
DiCenzo can seek a site-specific zoning amendment for the height above the escarpment limit. The DTSP’s companion Hamilton Tall Building Guidelines contemplate taller buildings, emphasizing such proposals require design excellence.
In conversations with community leaders during the creation of the DTSP, City of Hamilton planners stated taller proposals will require Section 37 [Planning Act] community benefits agreements.
[An application by LiUNA/Fengate to exceed the height limit as a “minor variance” will be considered by Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment on July 22nd. If approved, the Downtown Secondary Plan’s design and height requirements will effectively be removed.]
Staff provided critical comments in 2020, encouraging DiCenzo to return with a new plan which conforms with the DTSP.
A resubmission is pending.
The company has yet to build any tall buildings on this scale.


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Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh Makes Campaign-Style Visit to Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 16, 2021
Jagmeet Singh made a campaign-style visit to Hamilton on Friday, visiting local steelworkers, environmental organizations and Indigenous leaders. He attended Hamilton’s Downtown Mosque in the afternoon, only days after a hate crime against two Muslim women in Ancaster.
Speaking to media inside the union offices of United Steelworkers Local 1005, Singh said the New Democrats have a plan “distinct from other parties” that will create “better quality work,” Singh stated, with local NDP candidates standing behind him.
Singh says his party is ready for the “looming” election that he says is only happening because Liberal Prime Minister “Justin Trudeau wants power.”
Singh said, “there’s a lot of work that needs to be done” in Parliament now.
“We’ve got two years left on our mandate. Let’s get back to work. Let’s go back to Ottawa, not in September, and pass legislation to get people the help they need!”
The NDP wants a recovery that focuses on people.
The key messages were clear: jobs, pharmacare, dental care, and strengthening corporate laws to ensure the economy works for all people, not just the rich.
Singh says the COVID pandemic has shown what government needs to fix. “We also know that this pandemic exposed that a lot of the things that we need to keep each other safe.”
“We don’t produce here in Canada. We need to be able to produce protective equipment in Canada. We should be producing vaccines and critical drugs here in Canada.”
“We need to take better care of each other,” Singh says the NDP will implement paid sick leave for federally regulated workers. “So no one has to make the impossible choice of going into work sick, risking infecting their colleagues or staying at home and not knowing if they’re actually going to get paid enough to make their bills at the end of the month.”
“No one wants to see the money that we invest in long-term care end up in the pockets of CEOs or in dividends paid out to shareholders,” Singh stated. “So we want to get rid of profit out of long term care, invest in not for profit and public long term care, invest in creating good jobs.”
Singh took a question from a journalist asking his position on removing statues and renaming public streets.
“So no one has to make the impossible choice of going into work sick, risking infecting their colleagues or staying at home and not knowing if they’re actually going to get paid enough to make their bills at the end of the month,” Singh said.
“It’s clear given the horrific impact of residential institutes on Indigenous people that genocide that was perpetrated, anyone affiliated with it, anyone affiliated with being the architect of these institutions, having their name on a public space will not be welcoming will not send a message of inclusivity,” he continued.
“There’s a place for our history, of course, our history can be maintained in museums. We can keep statues and memorials in museums to know our history. And we need to know the great things that have happened and the horrible things that have happened.”
“That’s a part of the history of any nation. It’s important for us to know [history] so that we can move forward, we can build, we can improve, and we can move in the direction of justice in acknowledging the injustice of the past.”
NDP candidates Malcolm Allen (Hamilton Mountain) and Nick Milanovic (Hamilton East-Stoney Creek) were among those with Singh at the Steelworkers offices.


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Fengate / LiUNA Seek to Exceed Downtown Hamilton Height Limit – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 7, 2021
Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment is being asked to effectively eliminate Hamilton’s downtown building height limit as a minor variance.
The Downtown Hamilton Secondary Plan states buildings shall not exceed the height of the escarpment – unless they provide design excellence and community benefits to be negotiated.
For most sites in the DTSP, this translates to approximately 30 storeys. The height limit provides predictability to developers, both on what they can build and to measure land prices. One of the goals of the limit is to manage land speculation and flipping by upzoning.
Fengate Hamilton Land GP is asking Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment to eliminate the height limit as a minor variance for their tall building planned at 75 James Street South.
The proposed development of nearly the entire block is a LiUNA project.
The Downtown Secondary Plan sets a height limit of 94.2 metres at this site, the developer is asking for 111.0 metres without any conditions such as design and community benefits.
Eliminating the height limit is one of the 12 minor variances sought. Variances are being sought to setback further than allowed, façade glazing amounts, a decrease in bicycle parking, exceptions from vehicle parking stall sizes, and an increase in the maximum allowed lot coverage.
The proposed tall building containing 635 unit multiple dwellings and 1290.0m² of
commercial space if built to 34-storeys.
Ontario’s Planning Act does not define minor variance. [I wrote on this in 2017]
In Hamilton, Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr has used minor variances to approve tall buildings, declared the demolition of James Baptist Church to be a “minor heritage alternation“, and attempted to allow a minor variance to eliminate family apartment units at 181 John Street North & 192 Hughson Street North.
Committee of Adjustment will make its decision on Thursday, July 22, 2021, at 2:45 pm.


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Hamilton City Hall Will Release Municipal Office Reopening Plan in September – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 3, 2021
Hamilton City Manager Janette Smith writes that planning to reopen City Hall is underway and “A report will be brought forward in September 2021, detailing the focus of the City’s recovery efforts”.
Upon Council approving the plan, “Staff working from home since March 2020 will be
transitioned back to the work space as in-person service delivery resumes and City
policies will be updated to incorporate emerging workforce trends related to
telecommuting, use of technology and health & safety considerations”.
The first Council ratification meeting in September is scheduled for Wednesday September 15.
Last week, a City Council committee voted to recommend that public meetings by conducted by video permanently, with the public being able to view meetings on monitors in City Hall. Councillors will have the option of attending video meetings while seated in the Council Chambers. Council is expected to consider this in August.


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Hamilton Cycling Committee Will Vote on Call for City to Limit Highway Truck Hours in Urban Neighbourhoods – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 8, 2021
The Chair of Hamilton’s volunteer citizen Cycling Committee wants highway trucks to use highways.
Chris Ritsma says the proposed changes to Hamilton’s Truck Route Master Plan are insignificant to ensure the safety of cyclists and pedestrians in lower city neighbourhoods and across Hamilton Mountain.
Hamilton City Hall proposes to continue designating most arterial roads in lower Hamilton as truck routes to allow trucks to continue shortcutting through Hamilton’s downtown to access Highway 403 instead of using the Burlington Street parkway to access provincial highways.
City Hall describes the new plan as balancing competing interests that the shortcutting will be limited to 7 am to 7 pm.
Ritsma says this is insignificant to ensure the safety of cyclists and residents along the truck routes.
At yesterday’s July meeting of the Cycling Committee, Ritsma issued a notice of motion.
“Whereas the proposed Truck Route Master Plan includes truck routes 7 am to 7 pm, which is the most common time cyclists and pedestrians will be utilizing roads. In parts of the year, this is after dark, which is far more dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians”, states Ritsma’ motion.
“Whereas there are alternative routes for trucks to take, such as small detours and longer ones around Burlington Bay, the Linc, Red Hill Valley Parkway, 403 and Burlington Street. While cyclists cannot take detours to avoid trucks under the current plan. The Cycling Advisory Committee would recommend truck routes be removed from the urban core of the city, including Cannon and Bay Street. Truck routes be removed from Rymal Road. Truck routes that have limited hours be reduced to 10 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday to avoid the most common time cyclists will be on Hamilton roads.”
The Cycling Committee will debate the motion at their August meeting.
On June 24, during Truck Route Master Plan public information session, Ritsma stated:
“You’d typically put a freight rail away from people, you wouldn’t run a freight train down Cannon Street … a truck is just a freight train, but on wheels, and running it through what is essentially a residential neighbourhood.”
“I don’t think the truck route should go through the downtown in terms of extension of time, from the most westbound industrial site to similar areas. You’re looking at maybe an extra 10 minutes to go around the bay. And in terms of why they’re going through the city, I kind of understand why it’s a balance of industrial needs and people’s needs. But I think that the industrial needs are going too high on this priority list.”
The Hamilton City Manager’s Office removed the Cycling Committee’s meeting video from the City’s public YouTube page.


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Hamilton Moving Towards Mail-In Voting Option for 2022 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 14, 2021
Hamiltonians will have the option to vote by mail in 2022 if Council approves changes to Hamilton’s election by-law. The proposal made it through Council’s Governance Committee today in a unanimous vote.
“Most municipalities have set up their vote by mail system so that t required to have the ballot into City Hall by Election Day,” says Hamilton’s new elections manager Aine Leadbetter. “Meaning that any ballots that are received beyond that date would not be included.”
Hamilton’s proposal is the same, requiring residents to mail their ballots at least a week before the election to ensure Canada Post delivery to City Hall on or before Election Day. There will also be a secure election ballot drop box at City Hall for ballots to be dropped.
“We’re not interested in a system that would extend the counting of votes. We want to make sure that the election results are available on election day,” Leadbetter said.
City staff expect up to 10% of votes could be mail-in ballots, which means around 4% of voters making use of the mail-in option. Voter turnout in Hamilton was 38% in 2018.
City Clerk Andrea Holland said adding mail-in ballots to the by-law “also gives me the flexibility to shift if we need to should something happen in during the pandemic.”
Presently, the City Clerk cannot shift to mail-in ballots. In light of the pandemic, this could be an issue if there are any by-elections between now and October 22.
Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson said she supports the initiative and the $125,000 budget citing that “famous saying democracy is expensive, but not as expensive as the alternatives.”
Wilson asked if mail-in balloting will increase turnout.
Citing studies and research, staff say they do not expect this to increase turnout.
Hamilton’s voter “has stagnated under 40% for some time”, Wilson noted. “I don’t think any democracy would claim that to be victorious or healthy.”
Leadbetter says there will be polling stations at both McMaster University and Mohawk College in 2022.
Hamilton was the only municipality in Canada to not place polling stations at post-secondary campuses.
The plan passed the committee unanimously, with Wilson (1), Brad Clark (9), Lloyd Ferguson (12), and Arlene Vanderbeek (13) in favour. Absent were Maria Pearson (10) and Mayor Fred Eisenberger.
It will go to full Council for ratification in August.


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Hamilton’s Associate Medical Officer of Health Hopeful for August Reopening – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 13, 2021
Dr. Ninh Tran, the deputy to Hamilton’s top doctor Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, says he expects the Province will lift nearly all COVID restrictions in early August.
“I think the way things are headed, assuming we get and continue to have good vaccination rates, and what the province saying that at some point in August, you’re not gonna see very many restrictions at all from a governmental perspective,” Dr. Tran told Hamilton’s business improvement area leaders this morning.
“There really is no Step Four. From what I understand, it goes from Step Three to what I understand is full reopening, and there’s going to be lifting of most of the restrictions.”
Business leaders shared stories of people stating they are double vaccinated and refusing to wear masks, sharing the challenges of planning for fall events.
Dr. Tran states Hamilton’s public health officials expect a “full reopening” in “early-to-mid August,” and the big question is “which public health measures are going to be required by the province after step three is over.”
Ward 7 Hamilton City Councillor Esther Pauls, who is on the BIA advisory board, asked Dr. Tran once everything is reopened, “What would be one thing that you think as a doctor would be a thing that we cannot do?”
“If you’re sick, don’t come into work, don’t come into school,” Dr. Tran responded. “That’s one of those things where you still want to have it in place … it may not be COVID, but you could be spreading further germs and infections out there.”


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Hamilton’s DRP Gives Conditional Thumbs Up to Vrancor’s latest Proposal at 213 King West – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 15, 2021
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel (DPR) says Vrancor needs to redesign its proposed 30-storey development at 213 King Street West to address a potentially dangerous wind condition. As currently designed, the building is “expected to cause uncomfortable or even unsafe wind conditions” on the southeast corner of King Street West and Caroline Street South.
Overall, DRP members provided favourable comments regarding the proposal, including statements supporting a minor variance from the Downtown Secondary Plan to allow the building to feature a six-storey podium.
“I want to compliment you on the massing. There are elements of it, I think that are really, really bold and clear and powerful,” said DRP member Ted Watson, who is an architect..
“I appreciate the level of detail that you showed in your streetscape and private amenity areas,” stated DRP member Jennifer Sisson who is a landscape architect and planner.
The current proposal for the building is a 110-unit hotel in the podium and 241 rental units in the tower. Parking will be within the existing parking structure in the 20 George Street apartment building directly to the south. The two buildings will be connected on the parking levels.
The wind study for the development states it is “expected to cause uncomfortable or even unsafe wind conditions around the northwest building corner during the winter season.” The Design Review Panel discussed the wind condition problem at length.
Hoda Kameli, a DPR member who is a landscape architect, made two statements to the developer regarding this corner of the building. “I encourage you to look for that again … based on the report, it’s an uncomfortable zone for sitting. So I encourage you to look for that for the second time.”
Jana Kelemen, a DPR member who is a planner and urban designer, also stated concerns with the design of the northeast corner of the building, which creates the wind concern. “The corner massing seems a bit messy to me … I think that portion should be looked at more carefully to create a stronger corner statement. And maybe because this area is of concern regarding the wind study, there is an opportunity to redesign it with the pedestrian comfort in mind.”
The developer’s architecture firm says they will implement mitigation measures, including overhangs on the north side and adding trees and planters.
How the design of the new building will relate to the surrounding block is a concern for some members of the panel.
20 George Street, the tall building to the south, was approved as a “minor variance” with Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr lobbying for its exemption from the scrutiny of the complete zoning amendment process. The problems of creating separation between the two buildings, as a result of 20 George’s design, were discussed.
McMaster University is planning to build on the east side of this proposal. McMaster’s submitted plans to the City of Hamilton show a smaller building immediately east, with a 30-storey tower at 10 Bay South.
“My biggest concern is the overbuilding of a fairly small site in regard to the separation distances on the south and east. So I strongly encourage you to revise the design to provide reasonable separation distances to the adjacent properties” stated Kelemen.
“I think its relationship to the existing building to the south is extremely unfortunate,” said DPR member architect David Dusiau. “I think in a way the building to the south has sterilized the potential to some degree for the development in this case.”
Vrancor is now expected to revise its plans to reflect the comments of DRP and to address the wind concerns. Following this, they will need to seek a minor variance for the podium from Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment.
No timelines were discussed for these steps.


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Hamilton’s DRP Praises Plan for Three Tall Buildings Downtown at John and Wilson – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 16, 2021
Three new towers may soon rise in the north part of Hamilton’s Downtown Core as Emblem Developments plans to build three tall buildings of 30 storeys each at 41-61 Wilson Street & 97, 99, 117 John Street North.
The current proposal is 908 residential units with 1,784 m2 of retail on the ground level of a proposed seven-storey podium. The podium will internally contain 505 motor vehicle parking spaces and 469 bicycle parking spaces.
Hamilton’s Design Review Panel praised the plan with some reservations about the bulk of the podium, the public realm surrounding the buildings, and the podium’s relationship with the Lutheran church on the northeast corner at Hughson and Wilson.
“I do appreciate your very thoughtful and appropriate response to the City’s tall building guidelines,” stated DPR member Dayna Edwards. Edwards is a planner and urban designer. “I think it’s a strong development in that the parking is wrapped in the podium with active uses, you have good ground floor retail, and I do appreciate the three-bedroom units … I think that allows for families to also move into downtown Hamilton.”
“I agree with the others around the opportunity for a podium that better responds to the scale of the church, and I think there’s a couple of ways that you could do that,” stated Edwards. “You could also look at more brick on the podium that would fit in better with the heritage context.”
“This proposal is not very sympathetic to the historic buildings and the public realm,” said DPR member Jana Kelemen. Kelemen is a planner and urban designer. “I would strongly suggest that the podium along Wilson [Street] should be lowered and both of the podiums around the church along Hughson [Street] and Wilson should be pushed a little bit farther into the site, even if just a little bit to give that church the prominence and the views that it deserves.”
The project’s architect, Mansoor Kazerouni, explained how their design relates to the church.
“The church obviously occupies a very prominent location, a prominent presence at the corner. In terms of the materiality, we were keen to let it stand on its own and not try to mimic the red brick,” Kazerouni stated. He said they plan to use Winham brick “which has this vertical expression that really came out of the vertical buttresses that prominently occupy this face of the church” that picks up on the “rhythm of vertical piers interrupted by windows”.
A single-family home and an automotive garage business on John Street will be demolished to make way for the development. DRP member Joey Giaimo, an architect with a specialization in heritage, suggested a focus on salvaging and reusing materials from the existing buildings instead of conventional demolition.
DRP Chair David Clusiau, an architect, encouraged the developer to use underground parking to lower the podium as this be “more in keeping with the fabric” of the surrounding area.
“It’s extremely solid submission,” Clusiau stated. “We do have a sense of quality that this development will have in the long run and will encourage you to go further.”
Emblem is presently building a 14-storey condominium tower at 1 Jarvis Street. Construction at John and Wilson is expected to start after that project is complete.
The developer’s submissions to the DRP are available on the City of Hamilton website.


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Hamilton’s new Elections Manager recommends allowing mail-in ballots for 2022 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 7, 2021
Hamilton’s new elections manager wants to increase voter turnout by increasing the number of polling days, having more days for advance voting, and allowing mail-in ballots.
Aine Leadbetter, Manager Elections, Print and Mail, is asking Council to pass a by-law authorizing mail-in ballots for the 2022 regular municipal election scheduled for October 24, 2022.
Leadbetter estimates adding mail-in ballots will cost approximately $125,000 for the next election.
Council’s Governance Committee will vote on the recommendation during their July 14 meeting. It will go to full Council for ratification in August.


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How Ready is Hamilton to Support Immigrant Populations During an Extreme Heat Dome – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 11, 2021
In the latest Environmental Health Review, the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors journal, Joann Varickanickal writes how Hamilton can better assist immigrant and newcomer populations during extreme heat events (EHE). Varickanickal is a MA candidate in geography at McMaster University.
“Although ambient temperatures may be much higher in origin countries, humidity is a complicating factor preventing sweat from readily evaporating, making humid heat more dangerous than dry heat,” Varickanickal writes, describing a unique challenge of heat in Southern Ontario.
Varickanickal’s research included 12 interviews with individuals working in agencies providing services to newcomers.
Addressing language barriers and providing information in more languages will improve Hamilton’s heat response, the paper finds, noting that signs for cooling centres are primarily in English.
During extreme heat, regular business and civic activities continued. In warmer countries accustomed to extreme heat, activities shut down in the middle of the day.
The research notes that an extreme heat event during the Muslim celebration of Ramadan “could be a problem” and “it is important to consider religious customs during EHEs if it means that practicing individuals may be at increased vulnerability to heat-related illnesses.”
Hamilton’s primary method of response during EHEs is to extend outdoor swimming pool hours.
Interviewees state this is insignificant “it is important to recognize that individuals may not have the swimming skills needed to participate. Cultural norms in some regions may not include swimming, and not knowing how to swim may pose a problem among some newcomers who want to stay cool during heat events”.
Many new arrivals live in high-rise apartment buildings. Apartment units become hotter during EHEs than houses and take longer to cool. With overnight minimum temperatures increasing more than daytime highs, the risk to residents in apartment buildings during EHEs is worsening.
The death toll of the extreme “heat dome” event in British Columbia is not yet known. The B.C. Coroner’s Office says it likely contributed to 719 sudden deaths in a week.
Environment Hamilton is hosting two online discussions on how Hamilton should prepare for extreme heat. The first is this Wednesday, July 14, at 6:30 pm.


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Joey’s Notepad: McKenna Says She is Not Running for Mayor of Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 7, 2021
“No, I don’t want to be Mayor of Hamilton”, Catharine McKenna stated directly to CHCH News in an interview recorded Monday.
“I think Hamilton is great. But [I’m] taking a break from politics, I’m just trying to figure out where I can make the most difference.”
“I’m thinking a bit about how I can make a difference globally.  … We’re seeing what’s happening in DC, with these massive fires that are literally torching communities in the space of hours. So we need to be focused. And that’s something I’m really passionate on. And I just really want to make a difference on what I believe is the most important issue [climate change] going forward.”
During the past week, Catharine McKenna’s tweets feel like she is running for Mayor of Hamilton.
Tuesday at the Hamilton Farmer’s Market, Saturday tweeting in support of the Stop Sprawl HamOnt campaign, Friday swimming in Lake Ontario, King William Street on Wednesday, and Hamilton greenery earlier in the day.
People are tweeting in support of the idea. Last Monday, I wrote a few small paragraphs about the idea and why being Mayor of Hamilton is a good place to address climate change – I did decide it unlike McKenna would run.
We will see what happens in the coming year. It is premature for any mayoral candidate to declare. I will be watching.


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Joey’s Notepad: On Jagmeet Singh – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 17, 2021
On Friday, I listened to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s press conference in Hamilton.
This was the first time I can recall listening to a full Singh speech. I expect Singh’s polling numbers will improve during the election as more people are exposed to him.
I spend more time at Hamilton City Council meetings than even Hamilton City Councillors do. I get most of my federal political news in soundbites and tweets.
A few times a week, I’ll chat with journalism colleagues who cover federal politics. Every few weeks, I reach out to contacts in Ottawa. I like to think I’m moderately informed.
The NDP platform sounds good, it appeals to the party’s voting base and to the voters who traditionally vote Liberal.
Singh is mindful that the NDP’s coalition includes working-class voters who can be alienated by culture war issues. The struggles of the UK Labour Party reveal what happens when a social-democratic party becomes disconnected from a large bloc of its voters on cultural issues.
Asked about historical statues, Singh gave a detailed answer acknowledging the reasons why some statues need to be removed, and some places renamed. He added that our history can be learned in museums – both the good and the bad.
“We need to know the great things that have happened and the horrible things that have happened.” [See my story on Singh’s visit for his full response]
Grappling with our past is a process. It took me time to accept the fuller picture of Macdonald and to conclude we do not need to celebrate Macdonald to celebrate Canada.
A leader needs to bring divergent groups together in pursue of solutions. This position does that. Singh will be able to counter attempts to tar the NDP as radicals on these issues – which is important to gaining seats such as Hamilton East-Stoney Creek.
Make no mistake, the NDP can win Hamilton East-Stoney Creek by focusing on economic issues.
“Better Jobs. More Jobs.” is the NDP’s focus in Hamilton. Adding prescription medications and dental care to universal health care, improving protections for workers, and focusing on abuse of federal COVID funds by corporations are issues people care about.
Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is doing well in public opinion polls, and the Liberals believe an election now is a good opportunity to gain majority control of Parliament – especially with their success procuring COVID vaccines which are bringing the pandemic in Canada to an end.
Sir Winston Churchill led Britain to victory in World War II over Nazi Germany. Victory in Europe day arrived on May 8, 1945. On July 5, 1945, Britains voted in a general election and handed Churchill a stunning defeat. They had not soured on Churchill, who remained wildly popular. Britains looked to the future.
The NDP platform looks to the future, speaks to the concerns of a large number of voters, and does not provide wedge issues other parties can deploy against the NDP.
In 2011, the NDP entered the election polling in the mid-to-high teens. As Jack Layton reached more voters, the NDP gained popularity. On election day, the NDP won 103 seats – their best federal showing ever.
Today, the NDP’s polling numbers are similar to 2011. What happens next is anyone’s guess.


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BRIEF: Mary Sinclair Steps Down from Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 5, 2021
Long-time Hamilton Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities member Mary Sinclair resigned last month citing health reasons.
Sinclair’s invaluable contributions to ACPD and the City of Hamilton will benefit Hamiltonians for many years to follow.
Conversations with Sinclair are insightful; she is a prolific reader who uses visual aids to compensate for her diminished vision. Her depth of knowledge and experience is second-to-none; name any Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act policy or regulation, she knows it.
A tireless advocate for urban braille, Sinclair always ensured the City of Hamilton met its requirements when rebuilding sidewalks.
Sinclair uses a mobility device and led ACPD in making City Hall accessible after the 2009/10 renovation. To make the renovation “on budget”, the City cancelled the installation of door openings for public meeting rooms. The City completed the work in 2014.
Sinclair was always available to discuss how the City can improve services for those with visual and mobility needs.
She offered me tips to improve my journalism as well.
Her insight will be noticeably absent.


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Nearby Homeowners Say Eight Storeys is Too Tall at 415 Main West, File OLT Appeal – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 16, 2021
Two homeowners on Jackson Street West say eight-storeys is too tall for Main Street West between Locke Street and Dundurn Street.
Matthew Bury and Robin Jeanveau both filed separate appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal stating Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment errored when they approved a six-storey 107 residential unit mid-rise building at 415 Main Street West as a minor variance.
The site, on the south side of Main Street, used to be a Dairy Queen location.
At the approval hearing in March, nearby residents opposed to the development said it will decrease their enjoyment of the neighbourhood, harm their privacy, and decrease the values of their properties.
“A development of this nature would serve to build value for Matrix Developments and the City of Hamilton in the way of increased property tax revenue,” wrote Matthew Bury in March opposing the development. “At the same time, this development will almost certainly impact the growth of my property value and all abutting properties.”
Bury lives on Jackson Street West, directly south of the planned development.
“The approval of this variance will result in large costs involved in the recuperation of privacy and usability of the north-facing side of my property.”
In the appeal, Bury says the Committee of Adjustment “at best, dismissed” neighbours’ concerns.
In a separate appeal filing, fellow Jackson Street West resident Robin Jeanveau writes, “the planned development has been granted a variance to build to 26.25 metres, that is 9.25 metres, or roughly 55% taller than the stated maximum height. Under no circumstances can this be considered minor in nature.”
“This building would also represent a significant change to the existing mature residential neighbourhood. A building of this scale would be the tallest structure of any type for 650 metres in any direction and thus would dominate and overpower everything around it. For this reason, it is neither appropriate nor desirable.”
Jeanveau writes the proposal will “eliminate all privacy enjoyed by homeowners” and “completely obscure views to the north.”
Both residents are self-represented.
No date is yet set for the pre-hearing at the OLT to determine how the appeal will proceed.
The developer for the project is Matrix Development Group.


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New Vrancor Tower at 154 Main East Will Pay $400,000 More Per Year in Property Tax – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 4, 2021
The nearly complete 26-storey mixed-use building at 154 Main Street East, on the southeast corner of the intersection at Walnut Street South, will generate $403,672.89 more in municipal property tax revenue per year compared to the previous two-storey commercial building on the site.
The figure is included in a City of Hamilton economic development staff report recommending granting $1.2-million under the Hamilton Tax Increment Grant Program.
The HTIGP gives developers a declining rebate on increased tax assessment resulting from development. The goal is to encourage higher-density developments, which generate greater tax revenue for the City.
Developers are given a 100% rebate in the first year, stepping down by 20% each year.
Therefore, the numbered company which developed the site – controlled by Vrancor – will receive approximately $403,672.89 in the first year, $322,938.31 in the second year, $242,203.73 in the third year, $161,469.16 in the fourth year, and approximately
$80,734.58 in the fifth year.
Council will vote Monday and is very likely to approve the grant.
In June 2021, Council voted to eliminate the tax incentive program during its next review. The rationale is that approving the B-Line LRT creates the economic conditions for development without the need for HTIGP.


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The Politics of SJAM and POGG in Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 13, 2021
Peace, order and good government, Canadians love POGG.
Hamilton’s desperate city council hopes to make POGG versus the “social media mob” the ballot issue in 2022. As a political strategy, it is all this scandal-plagued Council has left.
This explains their 12-3 vote to keep the Sir John A Macdonald statue standing in Gore Park, hoping the “social media mob” tears it down.
This week alone:
On Monday, we learned it will cost around $150-million to clean up the environmental damage Cootes Paradise from the 24-billion litre sewage leak.
On Thursday, an auditor revealed City Hall senior managers are skirting competitive procurement rules by splitting large projects into multiple $149,900 contracts to exercise their authority to spend up to $150,000 without competitive bidding.
On Friday, Council voted to divert $30-million in federal gas tax funds into $2-million each for their ward “discretionary spending” accounts to spend during the 2022 municipal election. In order to spend their new slush funds before the election, Council voted to waive all procedural and procurement rules. So much for process!
Keeping the Macdonald statue in Gore Park goes against the national trend of removing monuments to Canada’s first Prime Minister.
Macdonald’s hometown of Kingston voted in June to remove their predominant monument and move it to a graveyard. In May, Charlottetown removed their monument, a tourist draw in the city that hosted the 1864 Conference that led to Canada’s creation.
Macdonald was Prime Minister of Canada from 1867 to 1873 and again from 1878 to 1891. He died in office in 1891. He is held responsible for his role in creating the residential school system to assimilate Indigenous peoples, a system that seized children and unsubjected them to unspeakable horrors. The discovery and ongoing documentations of unmarked graves of children who died in these schools sparked renewed calls to remove monuments to Macdonald.
Instead, Hamilton councillors clutched their pearls, declaring there needs to be a process, there needs to be a review, they cannot prejudge the review, and dammit, this is a Council that follows process!
“I do not support this. I support the proper process going forward”, said Ward 10’s Maria Pearson. “I have no problem in supporting the installation of a statue that recognizes the atrocities that have occurred and affording an opportunity for the public to understand and know, so everybody understands that.”
“I did put forward a motion to develop an art in public places and monuments review process, that was in 2017”, said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. The policy “clearly sets out, you know, a comprehensive process in collaboration and dialogue with Indigenous communities, on all of these matters that are before us, not just some.”
“We are simply just following due diligence based on the existing policies of the City of Hamilton of naming our own facilities,” said Ward 4’s Sam Merulla on the related motion to remove Egerton Ryerson’s name from the City recreation centre attached to what was recently known as Ryerson elementary school.
“We have a process in place … that’s all,” Merulla continued. “The process is there … so I’m not sure why we would take this one-off outside of that process that we established years ago.”
Council is “investing over $70,000 to a city-wide review of monuments and names and report backward recommendations. That is a prudent decision. I fully support that work”, said Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko. “I believe that a comprehensive approach is consistent with my personal focus to try to reach evidence-based decision making.”
Council is hiring First Peoples Group to review the merits of keeping the monument in place. FPG recommended the removal of Kingston’s monument.
Hamilton Council’s vote indicates they believe FPG will determine the statue in Hamilton is more historically relevant than both Kingston and Charlottetown.
Canadians are political centrists, and they love peace, order and good government. Public opinion polls show a strong majority rejects tearing down statues and monuments.
Hamiltonians are especially centralists.
Lincoln Alexander and Ellen Fairclough were Red Tory Conservatives.
Long-serving NDP politicians David Christopherson, Bob Mackenzie, and Andrea Horwath are centre-left members of the NDP. (Christopherson famously voted his conscience to support a Conservation motion on the Canada Summer Jobs attestation in 2018).
Hamilton’s monarchists and historians are quiet about the statue, reflective of POGG centralism.
Council wants social media flooded with pictures of a mob tearing down the Macdonald statue. The more shock value, the better for Council to channel into their desired political narrative.
The question now, does Council get what it wants?
Or do activists place a new veil over the statue, forcing Council to address the white nationalists who will return to remove the veil – turning POGG against Council and placing them in a box, at least until they put the statue into one instead.


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A Year Since Its Late Public Update, Red Hill Inquiry Continues Collecting Information – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 4, 2021
“We are continuing to collect and review relevant documents, interview people who may have information to assist the work of the inquiry, and to work on the overview documents contemplated by the Rules of Procedure”, writes Lead Inquiry Counsel Robert Centa in a statement to The Public Record this week.
The last public update from the Inquiry Commission was on July 27, 2020 – over a year ago.
The Inquiry does not have a timeline for its next public hearing, or for what the main inquiry hearings will begin.
In April 2021, lawyers for the City of Hamilton told Council the Inquiry was interviewing City staff who are witnesses to information the Inquiry is investigating.
The list of current and former city staff identified by the Inquiry was initially 36 witnesses when provided to the City in October 2020, this list expanded to 64 witnesses in January 2021.
Lawyers for the City of Hamilton told Council in April that interviews of these witnesses began in March.
The April report states the Inquiry Database of documents contains approximately 115,000 documents, and “it is expected that additional documents will be included in the Inquiry Database”.
No two public inquiries are the same. However, we can look to other inquiries to understand the processes and timelines involved.
The most recent municipal public inquiry was the Collingwood Inquiry which looked into the 2012 sale of the municipality’s share of the local hydro utility.
Collingwood Council called their inquiry in February 2018, and hearings began in April 2019 with the final public hearing in December 2018. The final report was released in November 2020.
The Inquiry Commission will issue a public notice announcing the start date of the public hearings. This notice will include the format of the hearings.
The public can follow the RHVPi on Twitter, where the Inquiry notifies the public of updates: @RHVPi
The Inquiry’s website is www.rhvpi.ca

created: August 4, 2021


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Brief: Mayor Eisenberger Says City Planning to Return Staff to Offices Before End of 2021 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 27, 2021
Mayor Fred Eisenberger revealed Thursday that the City of Hamilton is planning for its staff to return to offices later this fall.
“We’re intending to at some point between now and the end of the year, have our employees come back into the workplace, for those that are working from home.”
The City Manager’s Office is being secretive about its return to office plan. Contacts in the City Hall orbit have told me the return to office plan would come to Council in late October or early November.
Hamilton’s downtown businesses are struggling without government employees working downtown. Most restaurants are no longer open for lunch. Nations Fresh’s food court remains closed.
Manager-level and above city staffers spend good money in the various restaurants and cafes. The city’s workers are important customers for the many fast food outlets and coffee shops.
The longer city staff are working from home (or those working in offices brown bag their lunch), the more service businesses will close due to COVID.
Will enough city staff be vaccinated, and the COVID virus controlled enough, for the City to return to offices in November or December?
Many are awaiting the answer to that question.


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City Hall Knows About Illegal Shipping Containers on a Property, Needs Someone to Complain – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 29, 2021
Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment denied a “minor variance” request to permit the construction of a “temporary building” at 414 Glancaster Road to store COVID supplies by a private corporation.
During the meeting, committee members noted the discovery of illegal structures (twelve shipping containers).
Despite discussing the violations during the meeting, committee members state the City needs a complaint to act. At the end of the hearing, the acting chair expressed a desire for someone to file a complaint.
Jonathan Benczkowski, representing the owner Alpha Group, argued the temporary structure is “in the public interest” as they will be storing “COVID relief supplies” in the building.
The property’s current zoning does not allow the proposed structures as permanent buildings. This requires a zoning amendment.
Committee members were skeptical that the proposed buildings would be temporary.
“On a temporary basis if the structure is allowed, what happens at the end of two years if it’s not renewed, you know, will the structure be taken down? Will all the gravel that was put on site be removed and put the site back to the state it was before you started all this operation” stated committee member Melvin Switzer.
Benczkowski stated the owner intends to get permits for a permanent development of the site during the next two years.
“If after a two year period, we’re not to have a concise development, I guess the two options would be to come back before the committee today for an additional time because, as we know, development does take time, or if the owner at that point chooses not to proceed with it, it would be to remove it, and I would assume we bring it back to a state that previously was,” stated Benczkowski.
Switzer says the property owner is installing utility lines similar to that used for a permanent structure near the proposed temporary buildings.
“The first problem is, you’ve gone ahead with some construction here without any permits at all,” stated Switzer. “Containers are classified as a structure once they’re placed on the ground because they have they are not mobile.”
“I also visited the site yesterday, and I was surprised at the size of it. It’s not like we’re giving somebody the okay to go ahead and put a temporary garden shed in the backdoor yard,” said member Leverne Gaddye.
He described all the work already done on the site without permits.
“It’s sitting on a bit of gravel. It’s got to be two to three feet above grade. And so, all that gravel has been trucked in there without a permit. All the [shipping containers] have been put in there without a permit,” Gaddye stated. “They started putting the rafters … there are loading docks at the west end of it. So there’s been a lot of work done in there with no permit.”
“It sure concerns me that somebody would take the liberty to go ahead and build all of this without a permit,” he continued. “I’m a little skeptical of somebody telling me, ‘Well, it’s a temporary building,’ and we’ll take it down, or we’ll do whatever in two years.”
Committee of Adjustment unanimously denied the application.
After the vote, the committee members discussed the existing illegal containers they discovered.
“Does that mean that those structures have to be removed?” asked member Nancie Mleczko.
“I don’t think there’ll be moved unless somebody calls and complains,” noted member David Serwatuk. Enforcement is “on a complaint basis,” he noted.
Members asked the City staff member who coordinates CoA meetings if they inform the by-law division of violations discussed in meetings.
The staff member stated they do not.
Switzer, the acting chair of CoA, encouraged someone to file a complaint.
“Any concerned neighbours that are listening in, you can follow up on that by phoning by-law.”


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COLEMAN: I Swore By The QEW Express Bus, I’m a West Harbour Train Convert – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 30, 2021
The all-day GO train service between Hamilton’s West Harbour station and Toronto’s Union Station is fantastic.
Reliable, convenient, comfortable, and the best view of Hamilton Harbour is included in the ticket price.
As someone who pounded my keyboard tweeting undying loyalty to the QEW Express bus, I now tweet the same for the all-day West Harbour train service. I am a convert.
I appreciate the extra productivity I gain riding the train. I set up a “portable office” on board, complete with a power pack. (Yes, I am that guy.)
The West Harbour service began on August 7, and it appears to be very successful during its first few weeks. There were around 18 passengers on the first August 7 trip.
There are approximately 30 passengers per train in random non-scientific observations when I take the train or walk by the station during arrival/departure times.
It is a good start for a new service regardless of the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, the four rush-hour departures from West Harbour averaged 81 people per day, 20 per train.
I was skeptical regarding the value of all-day service to West Harbour. While GO Transit does not reveal the hourly operating cost of their passenger trains [I asked, they declined to answer], they are not cheap to run.
The earlier ridership alleviates my concerns about this becoming a white elephant. 30 passengers per train during the first month while in a pandemic indicates we can expect over 100 passengers per train in the future.
Last week, GO Transit announced they are increasing train service to West Harbour after Labour Day.
Before anyone frets about losing the QEW Express bus, GO Transit is very clear in their official and unofficial communications that they will increase bus service as ridership returns.
Wednesday’s 20:30 trip left Union Station with around 40 passengers. (I took the 20:45 West Harbour train, more room to work on the train.)
It appears GO is attracting new riders with the West Harbour service and that riders are returning to the QEW Express.
We can expect a discussion of preliminary ridership statistics at the September 9 Metrolinx Board of Directors meeting. I will watch for them.
Until then, I’ll be enjoying the views of Hamilton Harbour from the train.


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Coleman: Lyndon George a Great Choice for HARRC Exec Director – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 23, 2021
Lyndon George is the first Executive Director of Hamilton’s new Anti-Racism Resource Centre. The announcement came this morning in a City Hall media release.
Some of you will know Lyndon in his capacity as constituency manager in MPP Andrea Horwath’s local Hamilton Centre office.
It is a challenging and demanding quasi-political role. Hamilton Centre is a dynamic riding, and the constituency office deals with a wide range of people’s needs.
With Horwath being the Official Opposition leader, she needs to be at Queen’s Park for nearly every day the Legislature sits or its committees are meeting. As NDP leader, she must travel the province campaigning and fundraising the party.
Many of you do not know Lyndon. That is how good he is in this role – the job is to make sure Horwath’s constituency is well-served, and people see her exceeding expectations.
He is exceptionally qualified for the administrative work of HARRC.
Lyndon attends many community meetings in Hamilton Centre, quietly observing on behalf of Horwath. Afterwards meeting with key stakeholders individually to provide the support they need from their MPP.
He’s already active in the work of anti-racism and addressing the systemic issues undermining the ideals of our society.
Activism achieves results when honest brokers work to leverage the pressure of activism to gain results. When people march in large numbers in front of City Hall, Lyndon is the person who brokers the talks between vocal advocates and risk-averse bureaucrats.
The honest broker role is the most critical aspect of the HARRC executive director’s job. It is in this capacity the public will see Lyndon George most.
Hamilton’s politics, especially in any City of Hamilton funded role, is a minefield. George has over a decade of experience both avoiding the mines of Hamilton politics. Most importantly, his expertise in defusing volatile political problems and finding solutions will ensure the success of HARRC.


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COLEMAN: Man Taken to Hospital with Self-Inflicted Injuries on Hughson Street North – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 31, 2021
In a tweeted statement, Hamilton Police state that they responded to Hughston Street North in Downtown Hamilton this afternoon for “a person in crisis call.”
The person “has been taken to hospital for self inflicted injuries”, Hamilton Police write.
I witnessed the incident’s aftermath, arriving at 1:30 p.m., approximately a minute after a third ambulance arrived on scene. The third ambulance was travelling with unusual haste when it passed me nearby.
There were seven marked Hamilton Police vehicles and three ambulances that I could see.
A loud male voice was heard, alternating between groaning with pain and raging with anger.
A paramedic attempting to treat the man inside the ambulance was shouting to other paramedics and police for assistance.
At least seven police officers and at least two paramedics were attempting to stabilize the man on a stretcher and get him into the rear of an ambulance for transport to Hamilton General Hospital.
The struggle took approximately nine minutes from when I arrived until the ambulance’s back doors were closed. During this time, paramedics from two other transport ambulances brought what appeared to be restraints from their vehicles.
Blood was visible on the man’s legs.
After over ten minutes of struggle, paramedics and police were able to close the rear doors of the ambulance. There were at least three police officers, two paramedics and the injured man in the back of the ambulance as it left.
Nearby residents, standing on their porches, stated the man used a sharp object (knife) to inflict a significant cut on his chest.
Hamilton Police used conductive energy weapons during this incident.


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Councillor Danko on Ancaster Sewage Bypass Motion – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 14, 2021
Ward 12 Councillor Lloyd Ferguson wants to add an emergency bypass pipe to discharge sewage into Ancaster Creek during the most extreme weather events. He says it is preferable to the potential for basement backflows.
Other council members’ responses were mixed, many noting the environmental impacts of putting any sewage directly into waterways, especially in this case as discharged sewage will flow into Cootes Paradise.
The City of Hamilton is presently subject to an Ontario Ministry of Environment order to clean up Cootes Paradise after discharging over 24 billion litres of wastewater into Cootes.
Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko cut through the debate with an astute argument why he was voting in favour.
“In the event of a catastrophic flood that overwhelms the system, right now that overflow sewage would be flowing into people’s homes, into their basements and then in Ancaster Creek, so there’s really no difference if you just overflow directly into the Creek and avoid people’s homes,” Danko said adding “that makes perfect sense.”
Danko continued this proposal will need to be added to capital budget plans and is unlikely to occur because ” the stormwater management system does not receive adequate funding right now as it is.”
“I’m just pointing out that a funding source in the event that we were approved for this would be from a stormwater management fee,” Danko added.
Danko and newer members of council want a stormwater run-off charge to address Hamilton’s sewage overflow problems. A fee would both provide funds to improve the system while decreasing storm run-off into the system by encouraging on-site water retention by property owners, including large parking lots.
The Ministry of the Environment is extremely unlikely to approve the sewage by-pass pipe, which Ferguson acknowledges.
Ferguson criticized the Ministry of the Environment as a bunch of ‘bureaucrats in Toronto’ who “may live on the 25th floor of a condo in Downtown Toronto and not appreciate the risk of this sort of thing”.
Ferguson wants to force the Ministry of the Environment to turn down the application “If they’re going to turn us down, let’s let them turn us down. And then we can go public with that to show that we at least tried.”
The vote at Public Works Committee on Wednesday passed unanimously with Farr (W2), Nann (W3), Jackson (W6), Danko (W8), Pearson (W10), Ferguson (W12), and Vanderbeek (W13) in favour.
During the debate on Friday at the Council ratification meeting, there was much pushback to the proposal.
The matter was deferred to September because no Public Works senior managers were present to answer questions.


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Developer to Remediate Dunsmure Road Site for New Rental Townhomes – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 8, 2021
The last industrial site between King and Main Streets is going to be remediated as part of a residential development which will see 64 new rental townhouses built on Dunsmure Road directly to the west of the CP rail site.
Hamilton City Council is expected to approve a $629,184 grant to the developer of 260 and 276 Dunsmure Road towards the estimated $1.875-million costs of remediating the site which “contains five vacant industrial/commercial and administrative buildings associated with its historical use as a lumberyard for Lawson Lumber Company Ltd.”
The City expects the site will increase municipal taxes from $37,399 to $118,742 per year. The grant represents 80% of this increase over ten years.
The project requires minor variances. A construction timeline was not included in the grant report.
Demand for ground-oriented housing is extremely high. It is reasonable to expect construction to begin as soon as the Site Plan is approved by the City of Hamilton.

created: August 8, 2021


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Gore Buildings Proposal Praised by Heritage Review Committee – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 8, 2021
After a decade of neglect, Wilson-Blanchard promises to build its latest 18-30 King Street East proposal.
Wilson-Blanchard’s Hughson Business Space Corporation says they will build a six-storey commercial building with ground-level retail at 18 to 28 King Street East while retaining three of the four existing facades and recreating the facade of no. 24.
Hamilton’s Heritage Permit Review Subcommittee, a volunteer citizen committee, supports the plan.
“I’m completely on board with everything that has been proposed, I think it’s a really, it’s going to be a beautiful job”, said committee member Carol Priamo.
Priamo is also a member of the Beasley Neighbourhood Association. The Gore buildings are in the Beasley neighbourhood.
The historic buildings on the south side of Gore Park have been deteriorating since 2012 when Wilson-Blanchard sought to demolish the buildings. Shortly after filing for demolition, they agreed to pause the demolition to negotiate with the City of Hamilton.
Those talks broke down in late 2013, and City Council voted in December 2013 to designate the buildings under the Ontario Heritage Act – blocking demolition. In 2017, Council approved the demolition of the buildings with the condition that two of the four facades be rebuilt.
The latest proposal retains three of the four facades. The fourth facade will attempt to recreate as much of the original appearance as possible.
“There’ll be various approaches to the different facades based on their condition and their heritage value,” says Megan Hobson, a cultural heritage specialist with an MA in Architectural History who is a consultant to the developer. “18 to 22 has very high heritage value and is in good, it’s got a lot of condition issues, but it can be stabilized in place.”
Jeff Feswick’s Historia Restoration will do the restoration work.
The heritage committee discussed at length the importance of windows to the heritage character of the site.
“The windows are so important, even in a building that’s partly restored, partly replicated,” says committee member Charles Dimitry. “The wood frame windows are part of the design.”
Feswick says all windows will be meet the heritage character of the original facades, and he will be working with the Ontario Heritage Trust.
Project architect David Premi of DPAI says work will begin this fall.
Fall work involves:
During the winter, the dismantled heritage features will be restored in an off-site warehouse.
Construction on the new building will begin in spring.
City of Hamilton planning staff are reviewing the site plan submission proposal.


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Hamilton City Council Holds Emergency Meeting and Ends Encampment Protocol – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 9, 2021
Hamilton City Council says homeless encampments now represent “a situation or impending situation that constitutes a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property” and invoked rarely used powers to declare an emergency meeting tonight.
At the end of an hour long closed session, in a private video conference room, Council emerged with Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr moving a motion to end the Encampment Protocol agreement the City reached last year with various advocacy organizations.
Council voted 10-2 to cancel the Protocol with Ward 1 Councilor Maureen Wilson and Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko against the motion.
Farr’s motion read “that the enforcement protocol be repealed with a three-week grace period after council ratification with the direction provided to staff in closed session … remain confidential.”
The emergency meeting was held with two hours’ notice, with the City posting an agenda but not tweeting it in the list of today’s meetings.
“I would’ve thought Council would have the decency to reach out to us and talk before making such a drastic move,” says lawyer Wade Poziomka by phone tonight. Poziomka was co-counsel with lawyers from the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic during the 2020 encampment litigation.
“I’m a bit shocked and surprised by the action,” says Dr. Tim O’Shea. He was unaware that City Hall was considering the action.
Dr. O’Shea is an associate professor of medicine at McMaster University who specializes in infectious diseases. Dr. O’Shea is a doctor with the Shelter Health Network and was involved in negotiating the Protocol.
Both O’Shea and Poziomka state there are unaware of the City providing any notice of the impending decision, and the City has not provided reasons for the emergency decision tonight.
They each separately say discussions will occur among the non-City parties to the agreement regarding the next steps and a statement will be issued by the members of the coalition which negotiated the Protocol.
The 2020 settlement avoided a Superior Court hearing in which advocacy groups planned to seek an injunction preventing any enforcement actions against camping in public parks.
Keeping Six, one of the groups which were party to the litigation in 2020, provides a timeline of events and actions which led to the agreement.
Under the Protocol, encampments were only allowed for up to 14 days at a time, as measured from the arrival of the first tent.
The 14-day timeline did not apply to those living in encampments with high acuity, defined as a score above 13 using the Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool test,
During the past 16 months, city councillors have received thousands of correspondences regarding encampments on all sides of the debate.
Newer advocacy groups such as the Hamilton Encampment Support Network have been formed to provide support to those living in encampments and to block the City of Hamilton from removing encampments. The HESN opposes the Protocol.
In a statement after the decision, the City of Hamilton writes the Protocol “has been deemed ineffective” and they are returning to “pre-pandemic enforcement of camping bylaws” beginning on August 30th.
“The City’s approach takes into consideration the safety and well-being of individuals living outdoors, as well as the broader community needs, including access to green space for safe outdoor recreation.”
“We are committed to meeting the needs of unsheltered and unhoused residents through continuity of service while supporting long-term housing stability for vulnerable residents,” reads the prepared quote from Mayor Fred Eisenberger in the statement. “Parks need to remain a safe place where all residents can enjoy and access outdoor spaces and amenities. Ensuring the safety and well-being of all residents remains a top priority for Hamilton City Council.”
The members of Council who voted to end the Protocol are: Farr (2, mover), Merulla (4, seconder), Collins (5), Jackson (6), Clark (9), Pearson (10), Johnson (11), Ferguson (12), Vanderbeek (13), Partridge (15).
Decisions made during public safety emergency meetings are final.

created: August 9, 2021


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Hamilton City Council Votes 13-1 for COVID Vaccination Requirement for City Staff – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 26, 2021
Get vaccinated or submit to regular COVID testing.
In a 13-1 vote at a special meeting today, City Council approved a new COVID vaccination policy for the City of Hamilton’s 7000 plus staff to be vaccinated against COVID by November 1st.
Ward 7 councillor Esther Pauls voted against the policy. Ward 5 councillor Chad Collins was absent, and Ward 14 councillor Terry Whitehead is on medical leave.
Council voted 14-0 to call on the provincial government to implement an Ontario-wide mandatory COVID vaccination regulation with verification documents.
City staff have until September 15th to provide proof of vaccination.
“We still have a duty or responsibility to do our best for our employees [to protect them],” said mayor Fred Eisenberger. “We’re intending to at some point between now and the end of the year, have our employees come back into the workplace, for those that are working from home.”
The policy is effective immediately. Staff who do not have a medical or human rights exception have until November 1st to become fully vaccinated or be subject to a mandatory education session regarding the benefits of vaccination.
“Those choosing not to or unable to get vaccinated will need to get regular testing,” said Lora Fontana, executive director of human resources for the City of Hamilton. “We haven’t really finalized those details or logistics on how we’re going to manage the testing process … whether or not it’s once a week or twice a week is yet to be resolved.”
The policy will apply to all staff regardless of full, part-time, or casual employment as well as volunteers and members of City Council.
“There’s no distinction between employees working from home and those who are physically at work,” said Fontana. “Employees currently working from home will be subject to all the provisions in the mandatory policy.”
Ward 9 councillor Brad Clark sought assurance the policy complied with people’s right to informed consent for medical procedures.
“I understand the intention of the policy. I think it’s laudable what we’re trying to achieve. I’m trying to reconcile, in my own mind, how we’re complying with the doctrine of informed consent.”
City management confirmed they will not force anyone to get vaccinated, except those working in roles subject to provincial regulations requiring vaccination.
“Excellent. That’s how we comply with the Acts [provincial laws],” Clark responded.
The goal of the policy is to have 90% of city staff fully vaccinated against COVID.
“I know from talking to Dr. Richardson, in terms of our community at large, they really are hoping to get 90% vaccination rates for herd immunity,” said city manager Janette Smith. “And so you know, I think we would adopt that naturally as the city.”
Ward 8 councillor John Paul Danko asked if the City could extend the vaccination requirement to include visitors and users of city facilities and indoor services.
Smith states “at this point in time, we’re not looking at that.”
The City is determining if it can require outsourced staff to be vaccinated. The City pays companies to provide security services, cleaning, and provide temporary workers as needed.
“I know that this will likely be challenged somewhere along the line, one way or the other. If we did nothing, we will be challenged for not upholding that duty or responsibility to protect,” said mayor Eisenberger. “I would say that we’re on the right side of the issue.”
Ward 7 councillor Esther Pauls did not publicly state why she voted against the policy.
Council debated the policy at length in closed session, claiming they were receiving legal advice and the policy could be subject to litigation.


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Hamilton City Manager Launches Digital & Innovation Office – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 27, 2021
There’s a new Digital & Innovation Office at Hamilton City Hall. A job posting this week reveals the CMO is launching a new section.
For the first public hire, the CMO is looking for someone to “upgrade external citizen and internal business process forms to fillable PDF.”
The temporary “Digital Forms Developer” will pay between $20 to $25 per hour for up to four months.


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Hamilton Cmte of Adjustment Member Skeptical About COVID Vaccines – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 29, 2021
Mere hours after Hamilton City Council passed a COVID vaccination policy for all city staff, councillors, and citizen committee members, a member of the Committee of Adjustment discussed his skeptical views regarding COVID vaccines during the CoA’s regular meeting.
The discussion, broadcast live on the City’s YouTube page, is a glimpse into the dynamics of COVID vaccine skepticism and how people respond to it.
The City’s new vaccination policy applies to members of the CoA. They receive an honorarium in their roles as committee members.
CoA members must provide proof of vaccination by September 15 or attend an education session. If they choose to remain unvaccinated, they need to take COVID rapid tests.
CoA’s discussion began when the chair of the meeting, Melvin Switzer, asked if the committee’s staff are vaccinated against COVID.
Committee member Mark Dudzic, a real estate lawyer, interjected saying “If anyone is interested, I’m getting a list of the six top litigators in the province that if you want to consult about refusing to take one when being mandated at the threat of your job, just give me a shout.”
Member Bob Charters, a former City of Hamilton alderman, quickly challenged Dudzic asking, “Are you gonna take responsibility for the rest of the staff? If somebody gets sick? Because that’s the employer’s responsibility.”
Dudzic responded, “No, because the people that don’t take it still have their natural immunity, which works better against the Delta variant.”
A Science article on a recent Israeli study reads: “The researchers also found that people who had SARS-CoV-2 previously and received one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine were more highly protected against reinfection than those who once had the virus and were still unvaccinated.” Science is a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Medical doctors and infectious disease experts emphasize the need for people to get vaccinated and that vaccinations are not just safe, they are significantly safer than getting COVID.
The risk of hospitalization for unvaccinated people infected with the Delta variant of COVID is more than double the Alpha variant. A recent hospitalization risk study found fewer than 2 percent of infections occurred in fully vaccinated people.
Ontario’s hospitals report that more than 90 percent of COVID patients in intensive care are not fully vaccinated.
Dudzic continued stating discussed how immunity decreases over time from vaccination. (It also decreases following infection).
“I’ve pretty much listened to everything that has to do with it,” Dudzic stated. “My family’s vaccinated, but there still are issues, and people still have concerns.”
Other members of the committee challenged his assertions, stressing the importance of getting vaccinated.
Member David Serwatuk said, “50 percent of the reason why I got it is so I can go do things and travel. I mean, I had to give in, I had to throw in the flag and say, ‘Okay, I want to go do things.'”
The discussion turned to children and COVID.
“They want kids to take it now in the States,” said Dudzic. “If you watch CNN, that is their whole narrative now, just little kids to take it.”
Other members pushed back.
“Everyone has their own story about why they want to take it, and you just got to respect everybody’s own story,” said Serwatuk.
“We’ll see what happens in the next election,” Dudzic added. “Let’s see who does well or does poorly based on their narratives, and then you’ll see changes.”
Committee member Vern Gaddye asked, “Are we finished?” and the discussion came to an end.
[The discussion of COVID vaccinations begins at 2:42:13 in the meeting video]


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Hamilton Council Stands Firm: No COVID Rent Relief for Market Vendors – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 8, 2021
The City of Hamilton City Manager’s Office says the Hamilton Farmers’ Market vendors do not qualify for COVID rent assistance as municipal tenants.
The federal government provided the City of Hamilton hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID funding, including funds to provide rent support to municipal tenants in line with the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy program.
Mississauga, Cambridge, London, Guelph, and Kitchener are nearby municipalities that used their federal COVID funds for this intended purpose.
The Hamilton City Hall claims these municipalities are engaged in bonusing contrary to the Municipal Act.
In a report to Council this week, City Hall states Hamilton’s municipal market is uniquely different from every other municipal market.
The City claims that because the Hamilton Market has a Board of Directors, it is entirely independent of the municipality. City Hall says other markets are city-owned facilities with city staff who directly report to their municipality.
All decisions by the Hamilton Market’s Board of Directors is subject to Council approval.
The Market Board voted to use Market reserve funds to provide rent relief in line with other markets.
Hamilton City Council vetoed the decision.
The City Manager’s Office insists the Market is not a City of Hamilton operation.
The Market is a City of Hamilton municipal corporation. It operates in a City of Hamilton facility. Vendors pay their rent to the City of Hamilton. The Market managing director is a staff member in the City Manager’s Office. The Market Manager is a City of Hamilton manager. Market staff are all City of Hamilton employees. All decisions in the Market are subject to the approval of Hamilton City Council. The City of Hamilton does all Market spending.
The City continues to charge full rent to other small businesses renting in municipal facilities.
City Council provided a $500,000 bailout to the private operator of the Mohawk 4Ice Centre.
City Hall stated this was different because the ice rink was closed due to provincial regulations. Four market vendors were closed by provincial regulations, the City says those vendors are required to pay full rent for the closure period.
Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr, who no longer attends Market meetings, voted against rent relief for Market vendors.
Only Ward 7 Councillor Esther Pauls, who sits on the Market Board, voted to support the vendors.


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Hamilton Council’s Licensing Committee Down to Bare Quorum – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

August 27, 2021
Hamilton City Council’s Licensing Committee is down two of its five members with Ward 5 councillor Chad Collins absent campaigning to be the next Member of Parliament for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and Ward 14 councillor Terry Whitehead on medical leave.
The Committee, which hears appeals of staff decisions to revoke municipal licenses, is scheduled to meet on September 17 at Stoney Creek Municipal Centre. It has not met yet during COVID.
To achieve quorum, all three of the remaining members must attend.
The remaining members are Ward 3 councillor Nrinder Nann, Ward 9 councillor Brad Clark, and Ward 11 councillor Brenda Johnson.