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City Staff Propose Expansion of Election Sign Bylaws to Include Citizen Campaigns – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 9, 2022
City of Hamilton staff are asking Council to approve changes to the City’s sign bylaw which will give the City Clerk greater powers to regulate political signs and move the fines to an Administrative Penalty System, making it easier for the City to issue penalties for violations.
The new bylaw removes election sign regulations from the general sign bylaw and creates a new separate bylaw.
The new bylaw broadens the City Clerk’s regulatory power to include all political message signs.
Staff are recommending that Council discuss the changes in closed session, citing legal advice. The ability of municipalities to regulate political speech is limited under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and it is likely staff will discuss potential legal challenges to the new by-law.
If passed, the City Clerk’s regulatory authority will expand include signs “influencing electors to vote for or against an issue associated with a Candidate, Election or political party” such as issue signs on topics of neighbourhood development, transit, and any other political matter as deemed by the City Clerk.
The previous definition limited the City Clerk to regulating “signs advertising or promoting the election of a political party or a candidate for public office in a federal, provincial or municipal election.”
Ontario’s Municipal Elections Act does not grant municipal clerks the power to regulate political expression regarding issues.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs website states “signs saying “Support local businesses” or “Keep the waterfront green” would not be third party advertising, even if a candidate has made those issues part of their campaign.”
The public report does not include any process for appealing a decision of the City Clerk, nor criteria for how the City Clerk will decide what constitutes “influencing electors” or what is “an issue associated with an Election”.
There is a separate “confidential” legal report which is not being released to the public.
The bylaw change comes as lawn signs are becoming a common tool in awareness campaigns such as the recent Stop Sprawl HamOnt campaign opposing the expansion of the urban boundary, and increasingly by neighbourhood groups against development projects.
The existing ban on displaying election signs until 28 days prior to the date of a municipal election remains in place. The new bylaw states there is a $50 fine for posting signs early.
The new by-law clarifies the ban against election signs on public property. candidates remain forbidden from placing their signs on public lands and roadways; however, the by-law clarifies they can use handheld signs, signs affixed to vehicles, and purchase commercial advertising space that is on public lands.
Candidates may be fined $200 for each sign on public property.
Plastering road medians with signs on election day is a campaign tactic some candidates have used to maximize their name exposure.
Election signs will now be prohibited with 100 metres of any voting place on election day and during advance polling. The ban includes signs on vehicles. As written, the by-law does not exempt private property lawn signs from the 100-metre regulation.
There was no public consultation regarding the bylaw.
Council will debate the changes during their Planning Committee meeting on January 11.

created: January 9, 2022


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COLEMAN: A Vague Sign Bylaw is a Bad Sign Bylaw – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 9, 2022
The City of Hamilton staff-initiated overhaul of the City’s election sign regulations is fatally flawed because of vague language and a lack of due process in exercising new powers being assigned to city staff under a proposed administrative penalty system.
The creation of an election sign by-law separate from the City’s lengthy signs and advertising regulations is a good idea. A clear separate bylaw is useful to everyone involved: candidates, citizens, and city staff who must referee disputes.
The concern with this new bylaw is the City seeks to exercise new powers to regulate political speech that are not lawfully granted to them by the Province.
Under the new bylaw, the City Clerk can order the removal of signs “influencing electors to vote for or against an issue associated with a Candidate, Election or political party.”
The Province clearly states the Municipal Elections Act does not regulate “advertising about an issue”, ” For example, signs saying “Support local businesses” or “Keep the waterfront green” would not be third party advertising, even if a candidate has made those issues part of their campaign.” [Emphasis added]
The City Clerk can issue an automatic $50 fine for each sign they deem to be inappropriately “influencing”. There is no mechanism for appeal, nor does the City Clerk have to provide reasons for an order.
As presently written, the City Clerk can order the removal of lawn signs such as those used by the Stop Sprawl HamOnt campaign again urban boundary expansion, and issue a $50 fine for each sign.
City Council needs to remove this vague language, it is not consistent with the MEA.
The new by-law adds clarifications to regulations prohibiting candidates from displaying their signs on public lands, making it easier for the City to issue fines to candidates who place their signs on public lands – such as the common practice of plastering roadway medians with signs on voting day.
This is good.
The changes include clarifying that candidates can stand alongside roadways waving their signs. Technically, holding signs on public land violated the language of the existing sign bylaw.
Common sense obviously applies to the intent of the old bylaw, prohibiting candidates from planting signs not holding them for a few hours. Sadly, common sense is all too uncommon. Surely the City dealt with complaints regarding what was a technical violation.
The new bylaw adds a prohibition banning any election signs “within 100 metres of any Voting Place on Voting Day or on an Advance Voting Day.”
As written, City managers are required to fine residents $200 if they have a campaign lawn sign and live within 100 metres of a “Voting Place.” As written, a sign in your window, within 100 metres, is a separate $200 fine.
This is where broad vague language is problematic.
The intent, it seems (we do not know because the reasoning is a secret “confidential” report only available to Council), is to ensure the appearance of neutrality at polling locations, and strongly discourage candidates from plastering signs nearby.
How does one know if they live within 100 metres of a Voting Place?
How the City is measuring 100 metres is not included in the bylaw. Is it 100 metres from the front entrance of a building? 100 metres from the building? Or 100 metres from the property line of the voting place?
I’ll use Glendale Secondary School in Ward 5.
The School Board property is effectively the entire city block, minus the city park. 100 metres from the front door encompasses homes on nearby streets that are not visible from the school.
100 metres from the building, now homes nearly 200 metres from the front door are prohibited from having lawn signs. 100 metres from the property line, homes nearly 300 metres from the front doors technically could be issued fines.
Absurd, I know, the true absurdity is how poorly written and thought-out this bylaw is.
Council needs to send the draft back to staff, then them to hold public consultations, and return with a better defined and restrained bylaw.
Most importantly, Council must make the “confidential” staff reports public. There should be no secrecy involved in election rules.

source: news-thepublicrecord

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


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COLEMAN: On Brenda Johnson’s Announcement to Not Seek Re-election – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 5, 2022
Ward 11 Hamilton City Councillor Brenda Johnson is not seeking re-election in October.
Johnson shared the news with Metroland’s Glanbrook Gazette. The free weekly publication is delivered to every home in Ward 11, landing on doorsteps today.
The news is a bit of a surprise.
Johnson remains one of the most productive members of Council, with a stellar attendance record, and is very engaged in long-term capital planning at City Hall.
She won overwhelmingly in 2018 with 88% of the vote, against a single challenger.
First elected in 2010, Johnson has quietly worked at her priorities over the past 11 years.
She lives in Winona. The sprawling Ward 11 included Winona until the 2018 boundary realignment, at which time the ward was shrunk to only cover the areas of Glanbrook and Binbrook.
Johnson often quipped that Ward 11 has everything “from A to Z, airport to zoo.” [The Killman Zoo is actually on the Haldimand County side of the Hamilton-Caledonia border; nonetheless, the point is taken.]
Ward 11 is a challenging seat to represent, with many of the challenges resulting of poor land-use planning.
The plans to expand Binbrook came about in the 1990s.
Facing increasing costs to transport leachate from the Glanbrook landfill to the Woodward Water Treatment Plant, the regional government enter into agreements with private land developers to extend sewage pipes to the dump.
The Region no longer needed to transport leachate, and developers could build houses on their assembled farmland.
This is why Binbrook is an urban island that is separated from many of the services common to urban areas. As Johnson often notes, there isn’t even a gas station in the car-dependent community.
Many new residents expect the amenities that existed where they previously lived in older 905 communities. Johnson engages with residents in a manner that prevented these frustrations from turning into anger directed at her personally.
The population of Binbrook grew by 78.5% between the 2011 and 2016 censuses. [2021 census data will be released on February 9.]
On the other side of Ward 11, Mount Hope is experiencing change from the substantial growth in cargo flights into Hamilton Airport, commercial development along Upper James Street, and intensification in the “village” of Mount Hope.
In Mount Hope, Johnson’s direct and honest manner regarding growth did not earn her many friends initially. Over time, many in the village came to see Johnson as an honest broker who was doing her best to manage conflicting interests.
At the Council table, Johnson went along to get along during the past decade. She wasn’t anybody’s pawn, but rarely split from the majority Old Guard voting bloc.
An environmentalist before being elected to Council, Johnson’s voting record includes supporting the Cootes Paradise sewage leak cover-up.
Most of Ward 11 is in the watersheds of the Niagara region and within the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. The NPCA was Ontario’s worst conservation authority during the 2014 to 2018 term. Some of the corrupt practices are detailed in the Ontario Ombudsman report Inside Job.
Johnson bears a level of responsibility for the fiascos, both as an NPCA Board representative from Hamilton, and the fact, the person at the centre of the scandals, Carmen D’Angelo, was originally a City of Hamilton employee appointed to the NPCA by Hamilton City Council.
During this term of Council, Johnson must be commended for turning the NPCA around. As Chair of the NPCA Board, she helped transform the NCPA into an efficient citizen-responsive agency which puts environmental stewardship at the forefront of its operations.
This transformation was made possible by the people of Niagara kicking out the self-dealing politicians involved in the corruption and cover-up scandals in Niagara. It was this change that gave Johnson the ability to implement reform. Arguably, any attempt to address the rampant self-dealing at the NPCA during the 2014 to 2018 term would’ve been futile with Johnson being outvoted by the Niagara bloc.
Johnson’s time on Council is likely best summarized as that of a good honest person who found themselves in a den of self-dealing, self-serving career politicians.
She tried to figure out how to navigate the den to achieve positive results for her community, and individually achieve some cultural change under challenging circumstances.
In November, Johnson spoke out against developers bullying City staff.
She brought honesty and integrity to the City’s small grant Enrichment Fund funding process – ending decades of practice in which community group funding was allocated by ward councillors with no criteria, vulnerable to political whims.
Ultimately, it is a loss for Hamilton that Johnson is choosing to retire at this time.
Yes, it opens a seat on Council in the coming election. However, Johnson would’ve been an asset for a new Council seeking to fix City Hall, much as she’s been at the NPCA this term.
Johnson will not be “fading into the sunset”, she will remain active in the Winona Peach Festival, with the various Legions in our community, and at the Warplane Heritage Museum.

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Hamilton Market Board Not Covered by Open Meeting Rules: Ontario Ombuds – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 7, 2022
The Hamilton Farmers’ Market Board of Directors is a municipal service corporation and “is not subject to the open meeting rules under the Municipal Act, 2001,” writes Ontario’s Ombudsman Paul Dubé in response to a closed meeting complaint from The Public Record.
The Board held a secret meeting on September 28, 2020, to discuss a consultant’s report which revealed substantial dysfunction on the Market Board. The report was provided to the City Manager’s Office, having been commissioned by John Hertel who was the Director of Strategic Initiatives prior to retiring in 2020.
TPR learned of the meeting and requested a video recording of the meeting. In 2020, CMO Chief Digital Officer and Director of Innovation Cyrus Tehrani, the Market Managing Director for the City of Hamilton, stated the City did not retain the video of this meeting.
Following this incident, citizen members of the Board have ensured video recordings are kept and made public after each meeting.
Ombudsman Dubé writes “the Hamilton Farmers’ Market is also a municipally-controlled corporation, and as such, it is subject to Ombudsman oversight under my Office’s general municipal jurisdiction.”
In this capacity, he recommends the Board “should amend its rules to require that adequate notice be provided to the public in advance of meetings.”
The Market Board will discuss the Ombuds’ letter at their meeting on Monday. It will be on the Council agenda for the January 19 meeting.

created: January 7, 2022


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Hamilton Election Blog: Daily Roundup Day T-278 – Keanin Loomis Launches the Mayoral Race – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 19, 2022
Keanin Loomis is the first major candidate to definitively declare they are running for mayor of Hamilton in the 2022 municipal election.
Former Mayor Bob Bratina and current Mayor Fred Eisenberger have issued statements indicating they are leaning towards running. Loomis is first out of the gate.
I have three columns forthcoming on Loomis’ announcement and a post looking at some similarities to Winnipeg’s 2014 mayor race which saw a candidate with some similarities to Loomis win.
The columns are in draft format. The full columns will be posted in the coming day.
Here are the summarized versions of them.
Jumping out of the gate first will improve Loomis’ ability to recruit key campaign advisors and secure donors. It increases his name recognition because nearly every media story about the municipal election will mention his candidacy.
Today is an example. If Loomis were running for Ward 1 councillor, it be news, but it would not be *thee* news.
To an extent, Loomis may discourage Eisenberger from running.
Loomis and Eisenberger will try to straddle the same area of the political spectrum, and ‘splitting’ voters wherever on the spectrum they land will be disadvantageous to both campaigns.
Rumours of a left-centre candidate, a well-regarded and experienced NDPer, continue to grow. Loomis may hope to capture some donors and volunteers which both he and this rumoured candidate will compete for.
The “bully pulpit”, as it is often called, is only as good as the mayor preaching behind it, and the mayor is only as good as their staff.
Staffing is a potential strength for Loomis, his hiring record at the Chamber is good. I’ve watched during the past decade as hires, fresh out of university, have got their start at the Chamber. After a few years, having grown working at the Chamber, they’ve moved onto roles of great responsibility – including on Parliament Hill and at Queen’s Park.
The Chamber’s budget is not public, but its staffing complement is similar to that of the Mayor’s Office.
A mayor with good research and policy staff, led by a savvy chief of staff, gets to set the agenda at Council. Loomis will benefit from a wide network to recruit talented staff.
Staffing won’t be a public campaign issue. It is something TPR will watch during the campaign for each candidate, will their mayoral campaigns follow them into 71 M
Loomis had his speaking points today. All politicians have speaking points. This is not a criticism. It is just a fact.
Today’s plan for Loomis? Talk about character, change, and establish his Chamber experience as bona fides for becoming mayor.
On CHCH Morning Live, he said he is “ready to tackle” the “big issues” and the “great opportunities” coming up in Hamilton.
“I’m not a politician. I’m a very political person, but not a politician. And I’m hoping that there’s an appetite for that as well,” Loomis stated to establish himself as the outsider candidate, while at the same time acknowledging that as Chamber head, he’s been and is a political figure.
On CHML, “I have so much more leadership to provide in this community.” “There’s a huge desire for change and for fresh faces and new voices at City Hall. And I want to be that.” Loomis emphasized his experience and experiences during the past nine years leading the Chamber.
Bill Kelly asked, “do we need improvement change for the sake of change?” Loomis quickly responded, “Yeah, we need change for improvement. That’s for sure.”
Issues?
They were not part of today’s campaign. Change, bridging divides, leadership, change.
That’s the candidate’s message today.
The candidate was not the only speaker today.
People on the left and centre-left of the political spectrum engaged in the campaign, and they discussed character. On Twitter, a few people wrote critically of the positions advanced by the Chamber of Commerce under Loomis’ leadership.
Winnipeg is as close to a twin city as Hamilton has within Canada. Winnipeg is a city with similar geographical, socio-economic, and land use divides.
The Red River and Assiniboine River serve much as our Niagara Escarpment escarpment and rivers valleys do, geographically creating distinct clear neighbourhoods of interest. There are large socio-economic disparities. Winnipeg’s mayor must navigate the challenge of an urban core versus a suburban dynamic.
In 2014, Winnipeggers were “galvanized by an opportunity to elect a new mayor – the highly unpopular incumbent, Sam Katz, had chosen not to run – and to shake up City Council. with their unpopular mayor,” is how University of Winnipeg associate professor Aaron A. Moore describes the dynamic entering the municipal election.
Sound familiar?
In Winnipeg, there was a clear media-declared front runner, former NDP MLA, provincial cabinet minister, and MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis.
Lawyer Brian Bowman entered the mayoral race as a political newcomer. He focused his campaign upon a message of change and his experience as a former chair of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.
Lawyer, Chamber of Commerce, sound familiar yet?
Keanin Loomis is, of course, a lawyer by training, running on his Chamber experience.
Bowman’s 2014 campaign outlined a clear vision, built excitement for his campaign, and Winnipegger’s turned out to vote in record number.
Turnout increased to 50.23%. Bowman, the political newcomer, won with 47.57% of the vote. Wasylycia-Leis was left a distant second at 24.92%.
As for the ward councillor races, voters unseated three incumbents. The ward races are another election blog post for a later date.

created: January 19, 2022


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Hamilton MoH Dr. Richardson Seeks to Make 40 “Temp” COVID Positions Permanent – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 7, 2022
UPDATE: Council approved the proposal, at 40 new permanent positions
Hamilton’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson is asking Council to convert 40 full-time equivalent temporary COVID response positions to permanent positions, increasing the Public Health division’s permanent staffing level.
Dr. Richardson writes the City needs to retain “key staff in order to continue responding to COVID-19 and rolling out the vaccination program.”
The City is experiencing a turnover rate of approximately 35% among the temporary staff hired to respond to COVID and cannot fill positions they are posting for hire.
Hamilton pays Registered Practical Nurses between $32.551 – $36.990 per hour. Halton pays RPNs between $36.22 to $37.56, Niagara $26.75 – $33.05, Haldimand Norfolk $23.87 – $35.22.
Other public health units are reporting similar turnover and challenges recruiting staff.
“Several key positions and skillsets within the public health sector are in high demand making it a challenge to recruit and retain staff,” Dr. Richardson writes. “Many organizations in response have decided to recruit additional permanent staff in response, making temporary jobs unattractive.”
“Over time, as COVID-19 transitions to an endemic state … it is anticipated the resources required for an ongoing program for COVID-19 will be of similar FTE,” Dr. Richardson writes.
The positions will be funded by provincial COVID funding for 2022 and will not be reflected in the City’s 2022 budget process.
Dr. Richardson writes there are 111 temporary positions the City is unable to fill.
There is 27 FTE public health staff who are presently eligible, or will be before August 31, to retire with a pension.


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Hamilton Police Board Violates Open Meeting Rules, Again – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 25, 2022
The Hamilton Police Services Board held a closed meeting Monday in violation of the Police Services Act.
The Board screencasts its meetings, whereas most agencies stream their meetings to YouTube using native streaming features in WebEx and Zoom.
HPSB Administrator Kirsten Stevenson sent an email at 2:19 p.m. Monday informing the public of the Board’s plan, citing “problems” with the screencasting audio.
“Please be advised the Board is continuing to have problems with our livestream audio. The Board was in recess from 1:32 PM until 2:11 PM while we attempted to correct the problem. The problem remains unresolved. At 2:11 PM the Board commenced recording the Webex public session and will post the recording on the Hamilton Police Service Board website as soon as possible once the meeting has been completed.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Stevenson has not posted the recording.
Section 35(3) of the Police Services Act requires the Board to meet in public. During COVID, provincial regulations mandate this requires live streaming meetings.
Police Services Boards are exempt from oversight by the Ontario Ombudsman, with the Ontario Civilian Police Commission responsible for oversight of Police Boards.
In municipal closed meeting complaints, the Ontario Ombudsman has determined that public bodies must stream public meetings in real-time and stop meetings if they encounter technical issues preventing a live stream.
“Posting the videos on YouTube at a later date does not satisfy the open meeting requirements of the Act,” writes Ombudsman Paul Dubé.
In Westport (Village of) (Re), 2021 ONOMBUD 5, the municipal clerk sent an email to local media stating the council would be meeting without a live stream due to technical issues.
“The email advised that the council meeting would not be broadcast, but that it would be recorded and made available following the meeting,” reads the Ombudsman’s report.
“It is undisputed that the public was not able to virtually attend the September 15, 2020 meetings due to technical issues with the live stream. Accordingly, the committee of the whole and special council meeting were improperly closed to the public contrary to the Municipal Act, 2001,” wrote Dubé. “While I am sympathetic to the difficult situation that the CAO/Clerk and council faced, and cognizant of the practical need to transact the business of the municipality, council should not have met or transacted council business when the live stream was not functioning.”
In Hamilton (City of) (Re), 2021 ONOMBUD 9, the Ombuds stated meetings must be live-streamed, and technical issues are not an exception to open meeting laws.
In Bonfield (Township of) (Re), 2021 ONOMBUD 14, “As the May 12 special and regular meetings, and the June 9 regular meeting of council were not broadcast or livestreamed, or otherwise made accessible to the public in real time, these meetings were closed contrary to the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act. Posting the videos on YouTube at a later date does not satisfy the open meeting requirements of the Act.”
In Niagara Falls (City of) (Re), 2021 ONOMBUD 13, “Whenever the public is excluded from in-person attendance, it is imperative that the alternative electronic format selected enables the public to observe all portions of a meeting except a duly constituted closed session.”
Hamilton’s Police Services Board held a secret meeting on September 2, 2021, violating the Police Services Act. The Board also used at least one GMail account for official business, contrary to provincial requirements to use official emails for public business.

created: January 25, 2022


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Joey’s Notepad: Hamilton Municipal Election Voter Turnout Data – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 15, 2022
I compiled City of Hamilton voter turnout percentage data from a few sources into a CSV spreadsheet, and am sharing it here. (Download the CSV)
An important note regarding a limitation of the data. Hamilton’s ward boundaries changed in 2018, resulting in significant changes.
[This is the reason the ‘featured image’ for this post is a chart of 2000 to 2014 voter turnout by ward.]
The Ward numbered “14” in Flamborough was eliminated and a new Ward “14” was created on Hamilton Mountain.
The boundaries of the wards numbered 6 to 15 underwent extensive changes which make comparing voter turnout between the 2014 and 2018 elections impossible. The data is broken down to the ward level, not at the level of polling district.
Ward 1 remained the same, Ward 2 decreased in size, with most of the Stinson neighbourhood shifting to Ward 3. Ward 4 gained the Rosedale neighbourhood from Ward 5. Ward 5 gained Olde Stoney Creek from the former Ward 9.
It is impossible to know the past voter turnout in the neighbourhoods which transferred wards. I am assuming the difference is not significant enough to invalidate comparisons of 2014 to 2018.
The following graphs show voter turnout by ward each election.
DATA CSV
https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/hamilton-ontario-municipal-election-voter-turnout-2000-to-2018.csv
SOURCING
2018 data: https://www.hamilton.ca/municipal-election/election-results/2018-election-results
2014 data: https://www.hamilton.ca/municipal-election/election-results/2014-election-results
2010 data: https://old.hamilton.ca/clerk/election/2010-election-results/
2006 data: https://old.hamilton.ca/clerk/election/2006-election-results/
2003 data: https://old.hamilton.ca/clerk/election/2003-election-results/
2000 data: Vallance-Jones, Fred. “Where did it all go wrong for the six-term Morrow?: [Final Edition].” The Spectator, Nov 15, 2000, pp. A01.

created: January 15, 2022


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Joey’s Notepad: On UHOP Changes Removing Fifty Road and QEW as a “Future Multi Modal Hub” – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 8, 2022
The conformity updates to Hamilton’s Urban Hamilton Official Plan (UHOP) include removing Fifty Road as a “Future Multi Modal Hub” for inter-regional transit services.
Here’s a brief on why and what it means.
Metrolinx built its Stoney Creek GO rail station at Centennial Parkway. The City of Hamilton expected it would be at Fifty Road. No rail means no multi-modal connections.
UHOP continues to show plans to build higher-order transit along Highway 8 in Stoney Creek which will have a terminus in the vicinity of Fifty Road and Barton Street. This is likely a decade away at least.
Metrolinx is building a commuter rail station at Casablanca Blvd and the QEW in Grimsby.
This effectively means Casablanca will be the transit hub for Winona and Grimsby. Hamilton’s public transit will eventually need to operate to this GO Station to provide connections to eventual Niagara public transit when that service eventually connects to the station.
The higher densities being built along the QEW will continue to be built.
The Provincial Policy Statement and A Place to Grow: Growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe require intensification in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area.
People are buying residential units with quick access to the 400 series highways. Developers will keep building.
Even now, when planners reference future higher-order transit in this area, it is a fig leaf. We all know the City of Hamilton has no actual plans to expand transit in Winona and that new residents will be driving as their primary means of transit.
[The Hamilton Cycling Committee, a citizen advisory group, is trying to hold the City to its cycling master plan and is asking the City to add bike lanes to roadways in Winona.]
Eventually, the City of Hamilton will be forced to run a bus between the lakeshore Winona area and the Confederation (Centennial Parkway) GO Station, with buses continuing to the Eastgate LRT station.
Stoney Creek resident, and one of our best Council watchers, Viv Saunders points out the removal of the multi-model hub designation comes a month after the City’s planning staff recommended approval of a higher density development at 1290 South Service Road and 5 and 23 Vince Mazza Way near Fifty Road.
Staff cited this very transit designation as one of the reasons favouring approval!
I do not know why Council was not told this change was imminent. While I lean towards blaming silos within the bureaucracy, a more plausible explanation is due to COVID, the chatter various planners have over coffee and lunch is not happening – thus siloing.
Not that it matters for the public. People can reasonably look at this and ask if it would make a difference.
Betteridge’s law of headlines applies here, the answer is no.
Returning to provincial planning policy requires density, and as much there is more traffic than a few years ago, from a planning lens, existing highway access means there is sufficient capacity for development.
As millions of people are added to the GTHA, traffic will worsen, unless politicians begin prioritizing transit. Let’s face it, there are no ribbon cuttings for adding buses to Winona. In fact, people will be furious at the tax increase to provide those buses. That is a note for another day.

created: January 8, 2022


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Keanin Loomis Makes It Official, He is Running for Mayor of Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 19, 2022
After nine years leading the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce as President & CEO, Keanin Loomis is leaving the Chamber on March 4 to run for Mayor of Hamilton in this year’s municipal election.
He announced on CHCH Morning Live shortly after 8:30 am this morning.
“I’m ready to tackle a lot of the other big issues in this community and also the great opportunities that exist in Hamilton coming up,” Loomis started on-air.
“I think that there is a huge, huge appetite for change in this community in for fresh voices and new faces to be around the council table, making the important decisions for this community.”
“I’m not a politician. I’m a very political person, but not a politician. And I’m hoping that there’s an appetite for that as well. I think that what we’ve seen is, you know, the incentive structure is there, the systems are there. And they seem to be preventing authentic people with integrity and politicians from seeking these types of leadership opportunities. And so I think, would that desire for change is also the desire for politicians being around the council table and actually focused on you know, solving the issues, instead of getting clicks or likes,” he stated.
Loomis took over as head of the Chamber in 2013. At the time, the organization was trying to expand its membership while also navigating the tricky task of being a politically engaged organization.
Most notably, the Chamber has been a steadfast champion of the B-Line LRT project, and for a period of time became the leading civic organization lobbying the federal and provincial government to reach a deal to fund the project. Last year, after many previous false starts and cancellations, the federal Liberals and provincial Conservatives announced a joint agreement to fully fund the project with a budget of $3.4-billion dollars.
During the past two years of the pandemic, the Hamilton Chamber has been the lead organization in distributing rapid tests to essential and small businesses across the region. With each rapid and unexpected change in COVID regulations from the Province, the Chamber has issued clear and concise explanations of the regulations, always within hours of their announcements.
At City Hall, the Chamber has led on numerous open for business files during the pandemic, securing permissive rule changes and some temporary fee relief for some of the hardest-hit business sectors.
Loomis, a lawyer by training, was the chief operating officer of Innovation Factory before becoming Chamber head. Born in the United States, Loomis was raised in London, Ontario, added university in Waterloo and completed his law degree at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
He moved to Hamilton in 2009. He, his wife, and their three children reside in the Kirkendall neighbourhood.
“Keanin has led the complete transformation of our 176-year old institution,” said Louis Grilli, Chair of the Chamber’s Board, in a written statement.
“When he started in 2013, the Board tasked him with reestablishing the Chamber into a relevant, modern pillar institution in our community – I would say he’s done that and then some. He is leaving the organization in optimal health for his successor.”
Loomis succeeded in expanding the Chamber’s membership during the past decade and increased the Chamber’s staffing with smart hires that have increased the effectiveness of the Chamber in Hamilton and beyond at Queen’s Park and on Parliament Hill.
The Chamber states it “will initiate a nationwide search” to find its next executive head. During the search, Marie Nash, the Chamber’s Chief Operating Officer, will serve as the organization’s interim CEO.
Candidates can officially register for the election when nominations open on May 2, 2022. Election day is October 24, and the new Council term will begin on November 15.
Keanin Loomis’s personal statement can be read on Twitter here, and the statement from the Chamber can be read here.


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Keanin Loomis’ OShow Interview Summary – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 27, 2022
Mayoral hopeful Keanin Loomis sat down this week with Laura Babcock on the OShow.
He discussed minimum wage, homelessness and encampments, and urban boundary expansion.
Loomis states he supports developing the whitebelt lands of Elfrida in Upper Stoney Creek, saying the planned Hamilton Street Railway higher-order BLAST network S-Line makes this an appropriate site for intensification as the City of Hamilton grows.
In the interview, Babcock challenged Loomis regarding policy positions he represented as CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
One of the issues discussed was the Chamber’s opposition to the Ontario Liberal government’s Bill 168 and increasing the provincial minimum wage.
“How do we look at … you know and say, can this guy even understand the needs of people who are vulnerable in this community? Or are we going to get more talk but really no compassion?”
Loomis responded the Chamber’s taken many positions in submissions on legislation, and his role “as the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce … [is] to represent my members.” On minimum wage, Loomis states the Chamber’s concern was the speed of the increase “thirty percent over eighteen months.”
“The Chamber network was very much in support of raising the minimum wage and indexing it,” he stated. “Bill 168, It was just a matter of pacing, really, it was, it was too much too soon for our membership, and many of our members appreciated that advocacy.”
“Talk to any of my colleagues across the country, within the chamber network; they will say that the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce is the most progressive Chamber in the entire country. And I’m very, very proud of that … especially when it comes to the Basic Income pilot.”
The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce succeeded in convincing other chambers across Canada to support Basic Income, with a call for the federal government to launch a basic income pilot. The Hamilton Chamber was also the first in Canada to become a Living Wage Employer.
Asked if he has a political party affiliation, Loomis stated he was a member of the Democratic Party in Virginia “to support Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton.”
“I don’t like partisanship … I want to be a free thinker, and somebody who can reach across party lines and, and find that the solution to whatever challenge we’re trying to tackle, by looking at all of the various stakeholders and in reality, I think it’s the solution is always kind of in the middle,” Loomis stated. “I’m proud to say that I’m a radical moderate, you know, that’s on my Twitter bio. I’m about to change that. I know that some people have had some issues with that.”
How will Loomis respond to homelessness and encampments?
Loomis says it is a problem that “obviously we need to deal with right now.”  He plans to meet with stakeholders, advocates, and academics to find solutions. He says all three levels of government need to be at the table “to tackle this problem.”
He says he will be studying the issue further.
“Obviously, … when it comes to how are we actually going to tackle these really hard issues, I know that I have work to do, but I’m looking forward to that. And again, I think it’s a matter of talking to the right people here in the community to find the solutions.”
How will Loomis ensure affordable housing along the B-Line LRT corridor?
Loomis says the overhauling of infrastructure along the route will enable intensification. He says this will increase housing supply, adding the City needs “to make sure that within these developments, there is an element of affordable housing, it’s I think that’s really important.”
He says he will be releasing his affordable housing policy plans during the official campaign.
As Chamber CEO, Loomis supported urban boundary expansion into the whitebelt.
“We did support the staff position, which was to expand the urban boundary up to the Greenbelt. We agreed that the Greenbelt should be protected.”
He says the Chamber was “not supporting sprawl, as usual,” that an urban expansion in Elfrida (Upper Stoney Creek) would be dense.
He supports “a mixed-use community that is dense, it is served by transit and does become a destination for folks in that part of the city.”
Loomis says, “there’s been no bigger supportive intensification in this community than I have been.”
He cited the fact Hamilton is not meeting its present intensification targets and that Hamilton needs to be smarter about growth. This is why he supported the ‘Ambitious Density’ plan favoured by the City of Hamilton’s professional planning staff.
He describes his position as “a little nuanced” and conditioned upon ensuring the success of the planned HSR BLAST network, including the S-Line.
The S-Line is planned to run along lower and upper Centennial avenues and Rymal Road between the Confederation GO station to the Ancaster Business Park.
“I really want to make sure that the S-Line is as successful as the L-Line and the B-Line, the A-Line and the T-Line,” Loomis states. “I really do think that there is room to be able to intensify along the S-Line.”
Is Loomis “Fred 4.5”? Babcock asked. “What distinguishes you from the current mayor?”
Loomis cites his work at the Chamber:
“We have worked with anchor institutions. We worked with the LGBTQ community. We’ve worked with Black-Owned HamOnt. We have worked with environmental groups. We’ve worked with transit user groups. We have worked with everybody!”
He says the Chamber worked with people on “a whole host of other issues,” and he intends to do this as mayor to find “the solutions to all of the various issues” “across all the various divides in this community.”
On the toxic culture of City Hall, how will Loomis deal with it?
“I think that there’s going to be a lot of change at City Hall,” Loomis says. “I think that this is the best opportunity to change the culture and set a new tone, and it has to be done right away.”
“I think that the culture is obviously set by the people who sit around the table,” he continued. “I think some great progress was made in the last election in bringing on great people who understand that and we can finish the job and this election, and culture change at City Hall is the top of my priority list.”
The full interview, which includes questions not summarized above, can be watched on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhgRA_qggjU

created: January 27, 2022


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OLT Approves Six-Storey Development at 11 Robert, Dismissing Neighbours Appeal – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 6, 2022
The Ontario Land Tribunal dismissed an appeal seeking to stop the building of a six-storey 28-residential building without parking at 11 Robert Street near James Street North in Ward 2’s Beasley Neighbourhood.
Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment approved the development at a March 4, 2021 hearing after the City of Hamilton’s planning staff recommended approval of zoning changes as minor variances for the project.
The project was the subject of a Design Review Panel meeting in 2020.
The OLT, in its ruling released just before Christmas and made public on Monday, agreed the plan represents good planning, is desirable, and the variances qualified as minor.
“The Tribunal finds that the proposed height variance maintains the purpose and intent of the Urban Hamilton Official Plan and the Downtown Secondary Plan,” wrote OLT Member Hugh S. Wilkins in the Tribunal’s decision.
The proximity of the West Harbour GO Station and Downtown Hamilton, combined with on-street parking for loading in front of the building, are reasons the Tribunal rules it is appropriate for the development to not include underground parking.
The developers can now fill their Site Plan Applications to the City of Hamilton to move forward with obtaining demolition permits for the existing single-storey commercial building on the site, and building permits for their mid-rise building.

created: January 6, 2022


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Ontario Land Tribunal Approves Intensification on West 5th and Stone Church – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 31, 2022
The Ontario Land Tribunal says the City of Hamilton must intensify along primary corridors such as Stone Church Road and West 5th Street, which the City designates as “minor arterial” routes.
In one of two significant decisions in recent weeks, the Tribunal declared that “on a prima facie basis” that “proposed density and degree of intensification .. is not excessive or unreasonable and is supported by the UHOP.”
In a rare two-member ruling, the OLT rejected the City of Hamilton’s position that the Urban Hamilton Official Plan policies for density limit development on minor arterials near low-density residential uses, and the surrounding low-density neighbourhood character should constrain intensification along primary corridors.
“In the Tribunal’s view, what is appropriate is a level of intensification well beyond that of detached, semi-detached dwellings or of townhouse built forms, and the Subject Property, under the criteria, warrants a multi-unit building with a rather significant density.”
OLT Vice-Chair David Lanthier presided over the hearing, with Member Anthony Cornacchia sitting on the panel.
The prima facie declaration by the Vice-Chair, read with the recent ruling regarding 1630 Main Street West, can be read as the OLT establishing a new framework for intensification in the City of Hamilton and clearly instructing Hamilton City Council that if it fails to allow intensification, the Tribunal will uphold provincial planning direction.
The City of Hamilton opposed a mid-rise 10-storey 244-residential rental unit building proposal for the southeast corner of the Stone Church and West 5th intersection.
The applicant, T. Valeri Construction Ltd, filed to the OLT for non-decision.
During the appeal, the developer revised their proposal to nine-storeys with 216 units with a density of 309 units per hectare.
City Hall sought low-rise structures with a density no greater than 200 units per hectare.
The City argued the development did not appropriately consider the character of the broader neighbourhood and the adjacent properties. The City also stated the proposal does not conform with urban design policies but did not call any urban design expert witnesses. The City argued the development should be lower to transition to the neighbouring church parking lot.
The OLT rejected the City’s position that because the neighbouring properties are low-rise buildings – a church, a retirement home, as well as three and two-storey townhouse units – the intersection property should be low-rise.
“The Tribunal is of the view that the broader area is certainly one in transition and an area where there is a lack of uniformity of built-form, uses, development type or neighbourhood character. There are many undeveloped lands, opportunities for infill, and land use designations that indicate that the Subject Property is one of many in an urban area of Hamilton that has already changed and is undergoing change that is anticipated and planned for,” reads the OLT decision.
“Growth must not occur at the expense to Neighbourhood stability, but Neighbourhoods can not remain static, and they must accommodate change.”
Significantly, the OLT cited a development at 445 Rymal Road, 1600 metres away.
“The Tribunal finds that 445 Rymal is very much a part of the broader area surrounding the Subject Property in a state of transition and evolution as low rise dwellings and vacant lands evolve to a more dense residential built form such as multiple dwellings or townhouses.”
The Tribunal rejected the City’s arguments that both Rymal Road and Upper James are too far from the property to be part of the broader neighbourhood character.
Citing UHOP, the Tribunal reminded the City that “high density residential uses are to be located within safe and convenient walking distance of existing or planned community facilities and services including public transit, schools and recreational facilities.”
The proximity of the city-wide William Connell Park, transit along arterial roads, shopping and employment on Upper James were cited as reasons to locate mid-rise density along arterial roads.
The Tribunal states the development will add “badly needed rental housing in the City” and encourages the City and developer to resolve issues during the Site Plan Approval process to implement its ruling.
The Tribunal remains seized of the matter during the Site Plan Approval process, with the OLT stating “may be spoken to in the event of a disagreement between the parties” during the implementation of the ruling.
The full ruling can be read on CanLII here: https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onlt/doc/2022/2022canlii3289/2022canlii3289.html
More information regarding the planned development, including all studies and reports produced by the developer, is available on the Urban Solutions website here: https://urbansolutions.info/1021w5th/

created: January 31, 2022


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Ontario Land Tribunal Approves Mid-Rise Building on Main West – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 27, 2022
The Ontario Land Tribunal has declared the Ainslie Wood Westdale Secondary Plan (AWWSP) “dated” ruling that the 2005 plan does not comply with current provincial planning policies and using the plan “would have a detrimental effect on achieving good planning outcomes as envisioned by provincial policy.”
The statement comes in a 32-page decision approving a nine-storey residential midrise at 69 Sanders Boulevard and 1630 Main Street West, approximately 800 metres west of the McMaster University campus, nearly across from the Fortino’s plaza.
The site is along the proposed HSR rapid transit BLAST network with future expansion of the B-Line LRT planned to University Plaza.
When built, the condominium building will contain 160 residential units. There will be 22 townhouses behind the building to create a transition into the surrounding residential neighbourhood.
The City of Hamilton “adamantly opposed” the proposal, telling the Ontario Land Tribunal that the character of the Main Street West in Ainslie Wood is that of a “stable residential neighbourhood.”
The City’s planner argued that the AWWSP should supersede the Urban Hamilton Official Plan, the city-wide planning document that identifies arterial roads as appropriate for intensification.
The City argued three-storey townhouses are the appropriate built form for the site.
The permitted height “would be reduced to 3-storeys or perhaps 4-storeys at the most”, the Tribunal wrote in response to the City’s submission.
The Tribunal accepted and agreed with the opinion of the developer’s planner.
Registered professional planner Matt Johnston, of Urban Solutions, stated the development was appropriate for a major arterial road and that the Main West community is in the process of intensifying to higher-density uses.
Johnston submitted that Main West near the planned Light Rail Transit corridor is an appropriate and proper corridor to intensify due to its proximity to major institutions, commercial and retail centres and higher-order transit.
The City agreed the site has adequate water, sanitary and stormwater infrastructure, and traffic can be accommodated within the existing road network.
In its arguments, the City stated the development does not meet the angular plane and shadow requirements when the urban design guidelines of the Downtown Secondary Plan are applied to this site.
The Tribunal rejected both arguments. The balconies of the neighbouring building are already shadowed by their own building.
“The Tribunal finds that the reference in the AWWSP to absolute limits on heights and densities is an unreasonable and overly rigid policy expectation that, if enforced literally,” writes OLT Member Anthony Prevedel, “would have a detrimental effect on achieving good planning outcomes as envisioned by provincial policy.”
Prevedel declined to issue a holding provision requested by the City, writing “that there is no need to have a Holding Provision, as this would add another layer of bureaucracy to the process.”
The development application will now proceed to the completion of technical studies, reports, drawings, and Site Plan approvals.
Urban Solutions is posting all planning documents on its website here: https://urbansolutions.info/sanders-garden-condo/


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Vrancor Queen & King (354 King West) Towers Case Management Conference on Wednesday – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

January 6, 2022
The Ontario Land Tribunal will hold a full-day Case Management Conference next Wednesday to begin organizing the Vrancor appeal for non-decision at 364 King Street West.
The conference will begin at 10:00 am and is scheduled until 5:00 pm. During the meeting, the OLT will identify parties, determine the issues that will be contested in the hearing, see if the City and Vrancor are open to mediation on any or all of the issues, and set dates for the hearing of the appeal.
Members of the public may watch the video conference online: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/112328205 [NOTE: the Tribunals Ontario prohibits any recording or rebroadcast of hearings]
Vrancor wishes to build a 25-storey 1,002 bedroom unit building beside its already approved 12-storey hotel on the northwest corner of the intersection of King Street West and Queen Street North.
They appealed for non-decision 192 days after submitting their planning application, the Ontario Planning Act allows for non-decision appeals after 180 days. However, it is rare for developers to appeal shortly after 180 days as most major applications take 12 to 18 months to complete municipal approvals, including follow-up studies and revisions.
The proposal is opposed by many residents in the surrounding community, who have formed a group called the Strathcona Shadow Dwellers.
Non-decision appeals mean there is no statutory public hearing held by City Council.
Anyone who wishes to send a statement to the Tribunal regarding this proposal must request participant status prior to Wednesday’s meeting by downloading the “Participant Status Request Form and Participant Statement Form” and emailing their completed form to the Tribunal case coordinator.
The OLT file number for this case is OLT-21-001127, and the case coordinator’s email is john.norris2@ontario.ca.
The Public Record plans to cover the CMC next Wednesady.


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2021 StatsCan Annual Population Estimates Show GTA’ers Moving to Hamilton – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 12, 2022
The surge of Torontonians becoming Hamiltonians is not your imagination, Census 2021 data released by Statistics Canada during the past month shows people moving from the Greater Toronto Area into Hamilton is increasing each year.
Data released in January showed nearly 5,000 people moved to Hamilton from other parts of the GTA between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021.  The Census metropolitan area data is available here, Hamilton’s CMA includes Burlington and Grimsby.
The surge of GTA arrivals began prior to the pandemic and continued into 2021.
Immigration had been the largest segment of Hamilton’s population growth, but due to pandemic border restrictions, immigration to Hamilton was limited during the first year of COVID.
The census’ age demographic data shows many of the new arrivals are in their child-bearing years and they are having children. School boards will use this data to project future enrolment and determine where schools need to be located.
An animated infographic by Vancouver data scientist Jens von Bergmann beautifully illustrates the age demographics of new arrivals to the Hamilton CMA.
The visualization shows the importance of international students to Hamilton’s population growth, especially during the past decade as international enrolment has increased at both secondary (Columbia College, Southern Ontario College) and post-secondary (Mohawk College, McMaster University) in Hamilton.
The effect of the two secondary schools is clearly visible in the 2019/20 components of population growth graphic showing a large number of international students (orange) arriving in their late teens.
New arrivals from elsewhere in Ontario (green) data shows most are in their mid-20s to early-40s in age.
Ryerson’s Centre for Urban Research and Land Development details with data that it is “affordability issues, not the pandemic” which is driving people to leave Toronto and Peel Region. CUR states that while “Toronto and Peel region had more net loss of population in 2021 than in 2020.” That “once again this is the continuation of a longer-term trend and not unique to the pandemic period.”
CUR’s data analysis shows people are leaving Toronto and Peel for more affordable regions, with Durham and Simcoe counties the most popular destinations.
Reuters on the “exodus” from Toronto, noting the rise of remote work as a reason for accelerating migration out of Toronto. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/so-long-toronto-covid-19-pandemic-hastens-canadas-urban-exodus-2022-01-13/
The Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-toronto-montreal-populations-decline-as-urban-exodus-accelerates/ quotes a Hamilton realtor stating Hamiltonians are being displaced in the housing market.

created: February 12, 2022


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295% Increase in “Long Overdue” Items Since October 2020 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 19, 2022
The Hamilton Public Library says the number of “long overdue” items has increased 295 percent since October 2020.
Items more than 35 days past due are considered “long overdue.”
The HPL eliminated late fees early in the pandemic, with the HPL Board permanently ending late fees in May of 2021.
It is not known if the elimination of fines, or people not returning items due to the pandemic, is causing the increase.
“It is a bit of an experiment in the sense that you don’t know whether it was the pandemic or changes in borrowing habits that has necessarily caused what we’re seeing,” says Dawna Wark, the HPL’s Director of Public Services – Branches.
In early February, HPL reports state 145,802 items were checked out by members, of which 17 percent (24,121) were long overdue at 35 days or more.
The borrowing period for most HPL items is 21 days. The HPL automatically renews times up to three times, provided no one else is waiting for a hold on the item. An item can be checked out for 17 weeks before becoming long overdue.
Long overdue items peaked at 26,880 in June 2021. The HPL resumed mailing overdue notices in July 2021 and implemented blocks preventing members with an item more than 90 days overdue from borrowing.
Long overdue items decreased to 21,686 in October, but have increased since then.
There is “a steady increase in the volume of member complaints regarding the wait time for
hold requests to be fulfilled,” writes Chief Librarian Paul Takala in a report sent to the Library Board last week.
“7,341 hold items are currently overdue with 57% (4,183) of items overdue by 35 days or more and 40% (2,913) by 100 days or more.”
Hold items tend to be newer and more popular titles, movies, games, and other materials.
Wark says the HPL is considering increasing the number of copies it purchases of popular items to respond to increasing wait times.
Beginning March 1st, the HPL will impose blocks on the accounts of any member who has an item that is more than 21 days late.
Library Board member Stu Laurie suggests creating incentives to encourage people to return items.
“In the absence of the stick, maybe we double down on the carrot,” Laurie states.
He suggests regular contests and draws.
“Every time you return on time, you get an entry into our ballot.”
For the time being, the HPL says it is monitoring the situation.

created: February 19, 2022


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Analysis: Looking at the 547 Hamilton “Convoy” Donors on the Hacked GiveSendGo List – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 16, 2022
The hacked list of donors to the “Freedom Convoy” GiveSendGo includes 547 unique email addresses with self-reported Hamilton postal codes.
$56,891 US Dollars ($72,169 Canadian Dollars) were contribution in total in 571 separate donations. An additional $3504.81 was donated as “tips” to GiveSendGo.
Funds from the campaign have been frozen by the order of Ontario’s Superior Court following a request from the Government of Ontario to stop the funds from supporting the ongoing occupation in Ottawa.
TPR analyzed the donor list to better understand who donated, and potential reasons that motivated some of the top donors.
Only one of the Hamilton donors used a government email, a Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation employee who donated $10.
Financial support for the “Freedom Convoy” was most pronounced in rural areas of Hamilton, Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, and the West Mountain.
All amounts are in US dollars, GiveSendGo does not operate in Canada.
Postal codes in the Local Delivery Areas of the rural Hamilton FSA L0R gave $9,276.
Ancaster FSAs L9G and L9K gave $6,777, Dundas FSA L9H gave $5805, Flamborough’s L8B gave $5260, and West Mountain’s L9C gave $3540.
Donors east of Nash Road below the escarpment (FSAs L8E and L8G) gave $6056.
L8K donors, Wards 4 and 5 south of Main Street and Queenston Road, gave $3025.
Upper Stoney Creek’s L8J gave $2402.
Ward 4’s L8H, north of Queenston Road including Ward 5’s Beach Strip and Kentley West neighbourhoods, gave $2125.
The 19 donors in the newer South Mountain’s (south of Stone Church, west of Upper Wentworth) L9B neighbourhoods gave $1910.
A handful of large donations tied to commercial addresses near Nebo Road account for most of L8W‘s $1885 in donations. Two donations account for $1425 of this total.
The largest single donations were $1000 each, with four donors giving this amount.
There are 35 donors who gave $250 or more.
Many of the top donors own their own businesses, with many donating using their corporate postal codes.
Their businesses are in a wide range of different sectors: audiobook publishing, commercial refrigeration and HVAC, construction management, custom home building, financial and investment advisors, florist, landscaping, mortgage brokers,  vacuum tube distributor, and yoga and personal coaching.
Three of the donors appear to be academics or authors.
TPR looked at their online footprints for clues why they donated.
TPR is not revealing individual identities because we have not been able to confirm with the individuals they made the donations in question.
Numerous names on the Canada-wide list, which TPR is using, have been confirmed by other journalists across Canada, the aggregate data is valid.
Many of the Top 35 donors have profiles showing them obeying COVID regulations during the first year of the pandemic.
During the first week of March 2020, a $1000 donor retweeted a few threads calling on governments to act to contain the spread of COVID by implementing measures to flatten the curve, including social distancing and prohibiting non-essential activities.
After March 31, this person would not tweet about COVID again until November 2021, at which time they began retweeting videos questioning the motivations of government officials for continuing restrictions. They begin posting links on Facebook questioning vaccines, public health restrictions, and linking to the disinformation website The Epoch Times.
An $800 donor posted a video to Instagram from Parliament Hill on January 30.
This person’s profile shows them following COVID regulations in 2020, including attending an outdoor church service. Their church follows COVID regulations. This person’s social media does not provide clues leading up to the Parliament Hill video.
A $500 donor posts to Facebook multiple times every day linking to anti-Trudeau and anti-vaccine stories on RebelNews, True North, Russia Today, and other sites. They support the Canada Unity MOU calling for the Senate and Governor General to remove Parliament.
Donor comments are included in the hacked list. Many of the Top 30 donors reference “tyranny” and express anger at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Instagram profile of another donor ($400) shows them following COVID rules, including only allowing one person at a time for outdoor pickup at their small business, during the first 15 months of the pandemic.
In August 2021, this person post negatively about restrictions on the number of people who can attend funerals. They write her 90+-year-old mother’s death is imminent. There is obvious anguish in having to decide which family members to exclude from attending the funeral.
They express frustration that only those vaccinated can attend in person, and question what they see as inconsistent COVID rules. Why can people attend church services without vaccination, but not a funeral in that same church, they ask.
The emotional sentiment of other donors shifts in fall 2021. A few begin questioning continuing restrictions following most of the population being double-vaccinated against COVID.
Posts expressing frustration increased in December when the Ontario government announces new COVID regulations in response to the spread of the omicron variant.
TPR choose to limit our search to these top 35 donors.
The hacked listed includes the public comments donors posted.
“Peaceful protest continues to effect global political change. The science supports this. Thank you for your sacrifice and courage,” reads a Feb 5 $100 donation.
“One of the most worthwhile causes in the world right now, literally fighting for our human rights against a tyrannical government. I wish I had a truck and could be there myself. I hope this helps!,” reads a Feb 5 $1000 donation.
“Keep on trucking – an inspiring pro-freedom movement against tyranny and corruption,” reads a Feb 7 $400 donation, the second donation by a person who also gave $400 on Feb 5.
“Once you understand that Justin Castro is but a puppet of his radical-left handlers, and that they want to destroy our successful Canadian culture, everything he does will make perfect sense,” reads the comment of a $200 donation.
How did we get here, and why?
The donors’ list will be used by social scientists who will conduct deeper research in the coming months and years to better understand how a “convoy” organized by alt-right radicals grew into a catalyst for disenchantment related to range of issues, and ultimately caused both the provincial and federal governments to declare states of emergency.
FSA        # of Donors        Total Amount (USD)
L0R        62                $9276
L8B        52                $5260
L8E        38                $3315
L8G        35                $2741
L8H        24                $2125
L8J        27                $2402
L8K        36                $3025
L8L        20                $1850
L8M        9                $917
L8N        13                $800
L8P        18                $1236
L8R        2                $90
L8S        17                $1984
L8T        13                $935
L8V        20                $861
L8W        10                $1885
L9A        13                $877
L9B        19                $1910
L9C        39                $3540
L9G        42                $5642
L9H        48                $5805
L9K        14                $1135

created: February 16, 2022


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Census 2021 Hamilton Population Data: Unoccupied Units – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 14, 2022
StatCan says there were 233,564 private dwelling units (DU) in Hamilton in 2021, up from 222,918 in 2016, an increase of 4.8%.
Of the 233,564 DUs, 222,807 were “occupied by usual residents”, leaving 10,757 DUs not “occupied by usual residents.”
These units are not necessarily empty, some are secondary suites “which owners may absorb back into the main unit for their own use”, others are used for students rentals.
In Hamilton, approximately a quarter of these ‘unoccupied’ DUs are student-occupied housing.
Students whose primary residence is elsewhere are not “usual residents” in Hamilton. They are counted by the census at their primary residence, usually their family home.
This leaves their Hamilton units ‘unoccupied’ as we can clearly in map visualizations.
Approximately 14 percent of the ‘unoccupied’ DUs are in the neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale near McMaster University.
Another approximately 8 percent of Hamilton’s ‘unoccupied’ DUs are located in dissemination blocks within walking distance of Mohawk College, with most of them concentrated in the area bound by West 5th Street, Fennell Avenue West, Upper James Street, and Mohawk Road West.
There is a pocket of ‘unoccupied’ DUs in the Ancaster neighbourhood where Redeemer University is located.
A dissemination block (35250408002) on bound by Dundurn Street South, King Street West, New Street, and Main Street West contains 141 DUs, of which 40 are not occupied by “usual residents.” The student room rentals (across from the Fortinos Plaza) are the likely explanation for this.
The percentage of “unoccupied” DUs varies across the rest of Hamilton, with no particular trends evident from census data.
Renovation projects create “unoccupied” DUs, such as the Indwell conversion of a former bar into affordable housing at 180 Ottawa Street North. The census registers 22 unoccupied units, creating a 43 percent unoccupied DU rate in its dissemination block.
Occupancy data can be useful to Hamilton City Hall as a tool to compare against their own vacancy estimates.
City staff estimate there are approximately 1135 vacant homes (a different unit of measurement) across Hamilton.  Staff estimate that a 1% vacant home tax on these properties will generate $4.3-million in revenue at a cost of $2.2-million to administer.
Last week, City Council voted to ask the province for approval to implement a vacant home tax.
Censusmapper.ca provides an interactive map displaying the percentage of “unoccupied units” by dissemination block. (Click here to look at Hamilton)
The City of Hamilton must estimate the number of students who live in the areas surrounding post-secondary campuses.
The obvious reason is that municipal ward boundaries must include an estimate of student populations because the Ontario Municipal Board (now the Ontario Land Tribunal) has repeatedly ruled students are a community of interest that must be considered in municipal decision-making. [See: 500176 Ontario Ltd. v. London (City) 27 O.M.B.R. 118, Wiener v. Kingston (City), [2013] O.M.B.D. No. 931, Dobrucki v Hamilton (City) MM170025]
The City has attempted to get student housing data from post-secondary institutions. Students are required to provide their permanent addresses to institutions, most do not provide their student housing address.
City of Hamilton staff continue to explore methods of better estimating the student populations.

created: February 14, 2022


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Census 2021 Hamilton: Population Growth in Downtown, Binbrook, Upper Stoney Creek, Waterdown – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 14, 2022
Hamilton’s population increased by 32,436 between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, bringing our total population estimate to 569,353 people, an increase of 6.04 percent from the 2016 population estimate of 536,917.
11.7 percent of population growth during these five years occurred within or close to the provincially defined Downtown Hamilton Urban Growth Centre. [See map embedded directly below]
The population living between Queen Street to Wellington Street, between the Escarpment and CN rail line, increased by 3,783 people to a total of 31,876 people.
This represents an average of 894.11 new people per square kilometre (km2). These census tracts are Hamilton’s most dense area with an average of 8301.86 people per km².
Note: Census Tract 5370034, South Corktown, includes the Vista Condos east of Wellington Street at  467 Charlton Avenue East.
The population of the three census tracts between Wellington Street and Wentworth Street, between the CP and CN rail lines, increased by 993 people, the population of these tracts increasing to 11,650.
Overall, this wider downtown area absorbed approximately 14.7 percent of Hamilton’s population growth, with a total population of 43,526 people.
66,666 people live in the Lower City between Highway 403 and Wentworth Street representing 11.7 percent of Hamilton’s total population.
The land area of this portion of the Lower City is 17.57 km², 1.5 percent of Hamilton’s overall land, Hamilton is 1,138 km².
The average population density for this area is 6,004.66 people per km².
The population of the inner-core of Hamilton’s Downtown increased by 2,165 people, increasing the inner core’s population to 11,565, an increase of 21.85 percent.
The four census tracts of the inner-core absorbed 6.7 percent of Hamilton’s overall population growth, and are expected to see a higher rate of growth between now and the next census in 2026.
Hamilton’s most dense census tract is CT 5370039, West Durand, with a population of 5,127 people in an area of 0.35 km², a density of 15,986.7 people per km².
East Durand, CT 5370038, has a population of 4,172 people in an area of 0.33 km², a density of 12,539.8 people per km².
The population of Waterdown increased by 4,040 people, increasing by 40.7 percent to 23,858 people.
The population density of Waterdown is now 1,380.56 people per km².
Nearly of all Waterdown’s population growth was in the new subdivisions located within CTs 5370140.05 and  5370140.08. These two tracts grew by 3,962 people.
Two of the older neighbours of Waterdown saw slight decreases in population. The population in the areas bordering Dundas Street between Hamilton Street and Highway Six grew by 6.3 percent (CT 5370140.04).
Here’s a visualization using CensusMapper.ca:
The new developments in Upper Stoney Creek increased the population of this urban area by 7,612 people.
Over half of this growth was along the Rymal Road corridor. The two CTs (5370080.05 & 5370100.03) grew by 4,381 people combined between 2016 and 2021.
The CT south of Rymal’s population increased by 61.5 percent, from 4,726 people in 2016 to 7,631 in 2021.
The population decreased in the older subdivisions of the Valley Park neighbourhood CT (5370080.06) by 6.1 percent. The 2016 census reported a population of 5,276. In 2021, the population is 4,925, which is 324 fewer people.
We have to wait until population demographic profile data is released by Statistics Canada on April 27 to better determine possible reasons that can be attributed to age.
The average population density of Upper Stoney Creek’s urban area north of Rymal Road is 2,432.25 people per km².
The population density of the Felker neighbourhood CT (5370080.07) is 3,184.20 per km², with more housing being built in this CT.
The population of Binbrook increased by 1,983 people between 2016 and 2021, reaching an estimated population of 5,757 people in 2021.
The Binbrook CTs (5370100.04 & 5370100.05) both include agricultural lands, meaning density calculations require using dissemination block data.


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City Hall to Resume Enforcement of No Parking Beside Hamilton’s Gore Park Cenotaph – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 22, 2022
Following a request by Hamilton’s Veterans Committee, the City of Hamilton says it will no longer allow parking beside Hamilton’s Cenotaph.
The Veterans Committee was told Tuesday the City will be taking measures in response.
The east side of Gore Park in Downtown Hamilton is often used by various vehicles for parking as the City does not enforce parking regulations in this zone.
In recent months, cars and construction equipment have begun parking directly beside the Cenotaph.
An increasing number of vehicles are parking on both sides of King Street and the sidewalk, with construction workers, people picking up burritos, and people attending the courthouse all competing to find space for their vehicles.
The update did not include information regarding if the City will begin enforcing other parking regulations in Gore Park.

created: February 22, 2022


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City of Hamilton’s May 31st Vaccination Policy’s Arbitration Challenge – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 23, 2022
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore threw the City of Hamilton’s mandatory COVID vaccination policy under the bus last Thursday stating he has “not mandated immunizations.”
Dr. Moore stated the Province never mandated workplace vaccinations.
“I just want to make sure we are on the same page,” Dr. Moore opened his response to a media question. “We have not mandated immunizations, we have mandated organizations have immunization policies so that’s typically get immunized get educated regarding the benefits and risks of the vaccine and or have a testing strategy.”
The City of Hamilton’s COVID vaccination policy does not take full effect until May 31st. It is already being challenged by the union representing HSR workers and front-line supervisors.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 announced their labour arbitration challenge on February 8th.
The City of Hamilton’s policy was already vulnerable to being overturned prior to the announcement the Province is ending vaccination verification requirements.
The May 31st date for full implementation already meant the City’s policy was likely to be judged at a time when vaccination requirements were at least relaxed, if not eliminated as they will be on March 1st.
A labour arbitrator will be asked to rule if the policy is justified in the context of what evidence suggests the COVID situation will likely be at the end of May.
Asked Monday, if there is “any concern that Dr. Kieran Moore dropping the workplace vaccination policies will cause issues  [bringing] in mandatory vaccination on May 31?,” Mayor Fred Eisenberger replied, “It is a concern. And certainly, that is something that we’re every organization is going to have to grapple with.”
The Mayor stated the City is responsible for providing “a healthy and safe environment” and that “is something that we cannot ignore.”
“Putting the requirement in place was not an easy decision,” he continued, adding, “the likelihood is pretty high” the City will keep the policy.
Many other municipal policies are already in effect, including the Toronto Transit Commission which required staff to have their first COVID vaccination dose completed by December 31st.
The TTC terminated the employment of more than 350 employees. The Union, ATU Local 113, sought a court injunction against the policy, which they are challenging in labour arbitration.
The TTC’s Union was unsuccessful in gaining an injunction.
Many vaccination policies are presently before arbitrators. The few decisions issued thus far have not upheld policies that include mandatory termination.
Policies that include unpaid leaves of absence or discretionary language regarding potential termination have been allowed in carefully written decisions.
Law firm Crawford Chondon & Partners LLP provides an easy-to-read summary of key cases decided thus far.
Hamilton’s policy states employees who are not fully vaccinated (two doses) by May 31 will be terminated.
In light of the labour arbitration decisions released thus far, and Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health stating immunizations are “not mandated,” it appears unlikely Hamilton City Hall will succeed in defending the policy at arbitration.
No dates have yet been set for the arbitration hearing.

created: February 23, 2022


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City Staff to Return To Offices in April through to mid-May – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 22, 2022
City of Hamilton staff who are working from home will begin returning to their workplace offices in early April, says the City’s Director of Emergency Operations, General Manager of Planning and Economic Development Jason Thorne.
“All remaining staff across the organization who are currently working from home will commence a phased return to the workplace starting on April 4,” Thorne stated during a City COVID update on Monday. “We expected that phase return will take place over the course of about six weeks.”
The City will release its timeline for reopening various city in-person service counters to the public in the near future.
“At this time, only the first floor of City Hall, as well as our municipal service centers, are open to the public to access municipal service counters,” Thorne stated. “We’ve not yet set a date for the reopening of some of the other city hall counters to the public.”


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Committee of Adjustment Votes Against Allowing Secondary Unit Because Students – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 19, 2022
Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment voted against allowing a secondary dwelling unit near McMaster University because student housing “poses another problem both for the neighbourhood and for the, what do you want to call that? The comings and goings of that number of people renting within that house” in the words of CoA Member Nancie Mleczko.
The owner of a home at 33 Sterling Street sought minor variances to convert an exercise detached garage in the rear of the property to a three-bedroom secondary dwelling unit (SDU).
The home is presently rented to students.
The variances are required to allow the third bedroom, whereas Hamilton’s SDU bylaw permits a maximum of two bedrooms, and to allow a larger than permitted size because the existing structure is 81.0 square metres, whereas the bylaw only permits up to 75.0 square metres for a detached SDU.
The Committee of Adjustment discussed the application for nearly 18 minutes before the possibility of students living in the SDU entered the conversation.
It was then that CoA Member Nancie Mleczko stated students pose a “problem” and moved the motion to deny the application.
A few minutes prior, CoA Member Thomas Lofchik stated he could not support any variances to allow more bedrooms because it would set a precedent that “every basement could have three bedrooms.”
City staff stated the variances represent good planning, are in keeping with the intent of bylaws, and are “desirable for the development as no negative impacts are anticipated to arise for the subject site and surrounding area.”
The owner’s agent, Joseph Plutino, stated the variances are in keeping “the prevailing policy of the provincial government, which is to provide affordable housing exactly as is being provided here.”
Plutino stated the Provincial Policy Statement calls for “the provision of affordable housing for students and for anyone else” and “that means [the application] ought to be supported.”
“That’s the general intended purpose, not whether it’s three square meters bigger, or affords an additional bedroom,” he concluded.
Lofchik quickly responded, “Well, then why not provide three bedrooms in every basement?”
“Well, it’s not a basement,” responded Plutino.
Lofchik stated, “The by-law doesn’t say anything about basements. If you want to provide the maximum, you put three bedrooms in every basement, put five bedrooms in every basement.”
“We are not talking about basements,” replied Plutino.
At this point, Mleczko made her statement opposing because the intent is to rent to students.
The Committee of Adjustment stated it denied the application. The CoA does not disclose its votes. The Municipal Act does not require disclosure of votes in electronic meetings.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission explains that municipalities are required to “zone for land use, not for people.”
The owner and their agent can appeal the denial to the Ontario Land Tribunal. The OLT has traditionally held that post-secondary students are a protected class and has applied strict scrutiny to decisions that appear to ignore their interests.
If the owner appeals the decision, City Council will have to decide if they will hire outside counsel and planners to defend the denial, as the City’s internal planning staff recommended approval.


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Active Hamilton Library Members Decreases 20% During Pandemic – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 21, 2022
The number of active Hamilton Public Library users has decreased twenty percent since the beginning of the pandemic, and continues to drop.
There were 134,402 active cards at the end of January 2022, compared to 167,441 in March 2020 prior to the implementation of public health measures due to the pandemic.
The HPL defines active members as individuals who have used their HPL cards to borrow materials or to log into HPL online services.
HPL membership peaked in 2012 when there were 185,285 active members.
During the past five years, the number of members was steadily increasing. The HPL was hopeful of surpassing 30 percent of Hamilton residents being active members, which remains the HPL’s goal.
Physical visits to library branches reached 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels before the omicron wave of COVID.
Digital usage of HPL resources continues to level off from the early peaks of the pandemic.
Present digital circulation (use of online resources and electronic materials) is up only eight percent compared to 2019.
Total circulation, digital and physical, is down 36 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The HPL is planning to expand hours this spring, and is hopeful that both active membership numbers and circulation will increase as people become more comfortable with in-person activities again.
HPL stats to the end of 2021 can be read here: https://hpl.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=1272&MeetingID=109

created: February 21, 2022


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Demolition Permit About to Be Issued for 97 John Street North – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 23, 2022
The developer who owns the large parking lot on the northwest corner of Wilson Street and John Street North has filed their full planning  Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to redevelop the site into three tall buildings.
On January 18, 2022, they applied to demolish the vacant building at 97 John Street North.
City staff are recommending the demolition permit be issued.
The development application is now in the final stages of Site Plan Submission review following a successful presentation to Hamilton’s Design Review Panel in July.
TPR’s coverage of the DRP meeting can be read here: Hamilton’s DRP Praises Plan for Three Tall Buildings Downtown at John and Wilson


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Hamilton Airport Reporting Improvement in Finances Despite Year Two of Pandemic – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 22, 2022
Council’s Airport Sub-Committee will meet Thursday to receive the 2021 annual report from the operator of Hamilton’s John C Munro Airport.
It is expected much of the discussion will focus upon post-COVID recovery of passenger flights.
Airport land lessee and operator Tradeport is reporting an increase in its revenue-over-expenses for 2021 as it decreased its spending last year. Revenues remain down by over 20 percent compared to 2019 as COVID regulations decrease passenger flights.
Passenger traffic at John C. Munro Airport was one-third of 2019 levels with 250,019 passengers flying to/from the airport in 2021. There were 955,373 passengers in 2019.
International flights to sun destinations resumed on November 30, 2021.
The airport and City plan to spend approximately $275,000 on marketing the airport’s passenger services from April to November this year.
The City contribution will be $100,000.
The airport’s success as a cargo hub continues with total cargo aircraft billable weight up 44 percent compared to 2019. 766,394 tons of cargo is reported for 2021.
Cargo movements significantly increased in November and December, with the airport reporting these two months in 2021 were 30% above 2020. The annual weight increase for the twelve months of 2021 compared to 2020 was 16 percent.
Vancouver was the top cargo route for Hamilton’s airport in 2021 with 1,481 movements last year.
DHL Express opened its new $110-million International Gateway Facility at the airport on September 28, it is DHL’s largest gateway in Canada by volume.
The new 855,000 square foot Amazon Fulfillment Centre opened in January 2022.
Part of the meeting will be conducted in a closed session as Council continues to renegotiate its lease of the airport property to Tradeport.
Council members on the committee are Eisenberger (Mayor), Powers (Ward 5), Pauls (W7), Danko (W8), Pearson (10), Johnson (11), Ferguson (12), Whitehead (14), and Partridge (15).
The full agenda for the meeting can be read here.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am Thursday and can be viewed live on the City of Hamilton’s YouTube page.


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Hamilton City Council Public Works Committee for January 31, 2022 – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 1, 2022
Councillors approved a new roadside memorial policy, debated and tabled a proposed small kids playground climbing wall, approved speed bumps on a dead-end court, approved purchased twenty (20) new replacement articulated buses, and heard resident concerns about lighting at Victoria Park.
Councillors voted to approve a staff recommendation for a roadside memorial policy following recent instances where staff removed sizeable memorials as safety concerns. At the same time, friends and family of those who’ve died in motor vehicle collisions state the City’s removal caused them angst.
City staff state Hamilton’s new policy (pending Council ratification next Wednesday) “is meant to provide public transparency, consistent and respectful way in which we manage roadside memorials while ensuring a safe, accessible, and efficient transportation system for the movement of people goods and services across the city.”
They state the policy is based upon the practices of thirteen other municipalities and legalizes the practice of memorials.
Roadside memorials will be allowed for 18 months and can consist of “tributes, such as but not limited to, photos, wreaths or crosses.”
Locations for memorials are detailed in the policy to prevent them from being a safety risk.
Clr Tom Jackson says the policy will bring “a very delicate, thoughtful, considerate sensitive approach to this” and thanked staff for working in response to recent events following removals of memorials.
Existing memorials will be “grandfathered” staff told Council, and they will “look at those on a case by case scenario and consult with the best we can the stewards of those memorials and the ward councillors in which those memorials are installed.”
The policy passed unanimously.
The policy can be read here: https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=306808
Ward 8 Clr John Paul Danko wants to add a climbing wall at Newlands Park at the cost of $60,000 using the Ward 8 area-rated discretionary funds.
Danko said play equipment, in his opinion, is “a little bit over sterilized in recent years and in attempts to remove that element of risk” and “we’re becoming able to better understand the benefits of having a little bit more risky play elements, if you can put it that way, incorporated into our children’s routine. So they’re not just bubble-wrapped.”
Clrs Russ Powers and Lloyd Ferguson both expressed liability concerns and asked for more information.
City staff provided assurances any installation would meet safety standards and be regularly inspected.
Ferguson asked for more details, including pictures of the proposal.
Danko tabled his motion to a future meeting to provide more information.
“I think as long as we have the funding in place for the 2022 construction season, we can wait till the next meeting,” Danko stated.
Ward 7 Clr Esther Pauls wants to spend $14,000 from her ward discretionary funds to build speed bumps on Jeremiah Court, a dead-end street with 38 houses.
Pauls says she is receiving complaints of speeding on the street.
Ward 8 Clr John Paul Danko expressed some reservations about using two (2) speed bumps on this kind of street and changing the standards for installing speed bumps. He voted in favour.
HSR replacing 20 natural gas-fuelled articulated buses.
Twenty of the HSR’s New Flyer articulated 60-foot buses will be replaced in the coming year after Council approved sole-sourcing the replacements. The HSR is authorized to have 49 articulated buses in the fleet, which are primarily assigned to busier bus routes.
Clr Tom Jackson asked why the HSR is purchasing natural gas buses instead of electric buses.
HSR Director of Transit Maureen Cosyn Heath states the HSR does not have the infrastructure to operate electric articulated buses.
Nick Becker, a representative of a citizens group, the Victoria Park Assembly delegated to Council asking the City to replace the lighting for the baseball diamond at the park. The lights were used to illuminate the volunteer ice rink each winter and evening activities throughout the year.
City staff state the lights were removed for “health and safety reasons” near “the end of their usual life,” and replacing them will cost “likely around $350,000.” Staff told councillors, “there is a floodlight provided which is consistent with the other community ice rink programs across the city,” and will review lighting at Victoria Park.

created: February 1, 2022


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Hamilton City Hall Prepares to Oppose the Three 310 Frances Ave Towers at Ontario Land Tribunal – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

February 5, 2022
City planning staff updated councillors on the Ontario Land Tribunal appeals by New Horizon Development Group regarding their contentious three tower development at 310 Francis Street in Stoney Creek’s lakeshore community.
New Horizon is appealing the decision of Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment to deny minor variances sought for the development.
City of Hamilton staff opposed the minor variances, and will be participating in the OLT hearings to defend the denials.
New Horizon will seek the OLT to approve three towers (44, 38, and 33 storeys in height) with 1,346 dwelling units in total, a five-storey parking podium with 1,732 parking spots in total, and 11,943 square metres of amenity space, 1,562 sq m of which will be located indoors.
Staff say the parking is insignificant for an area without transit service, are not in favour of the reduced amenity space, not in favour of the developers request to have amenity space on the ground level instead of commercial space as envisioned in zoning bylaws, opposed only 36% of the site being landscaped where zoning requires 50%, and asked the Committee of Adjustment to hold the line on planting strips abutting a flood plain, among the variances requested.
New Horizon is also appealing the staff denial of its site plan application.
Anita Fabac, Manager of Development Approvals, states “following [the] denial by the Committee of Adjustment staff denied the site plan control application on December 21, 2021.”
“It is a monumental development, this is somewhere between 600 million to a billion in sales revenue. It’s going to take deep pockets to defend [the denial],” said Vivian Saunders of the Lakewood Beach Community Council. “We want to be part of that. But we will want to also be realistic going forward.”
Saunders stated it is realistic for the City to talk about mediation during the Tribunal process. The LBCC wants to be at the table.
Tuesday’s staff update was for information. Staff will return to Council at a future date for formal direction regarding the appeal, during the interim, the City’s internal legal counsel will oppose the appeal at the OLT.
The OLT files numbers for the CoA appeal is OLT-22-001995. The site appeal is being processed with a file number to be assigned.

created: February 5, 2022