Ward 2: Encampments, housing and the police budget top of mind for downtown candidates

CBC Hamilton asked all candidates running for Hamilton city council to share their priorities and speak to an issue that stands out to them as needing to be addressed in their ward. Their answers are left here in full, with lightediting only for spelling/grammar. For the candidates who did not answer the CBC Hamilton questionnaire, information has been drawn from their websites, when possible.All of CBC Hamilton'selection coverage can be found here.

In Ward 2, all five candidates appear to agree that housing is the main challenge the community faces.

The downtown ward is home to numerous renters andresidents experiencing homelessness, with encampments increasingly prominent in its parks and other green spaces over the past two years. Other issues that recur through each candidates' promises include fixing unsafe street design and increasing access to safe injection sites.

Coun. Jason Farr is running again after unsuccessfully running for the Ontario Liberal Party in the most recent provincial election.Farr was first elected in Ward 2 in 2010.

Hehas championed the restoration or redevelopment of CityHousing Hamilton affordable housing properties in the ward, and pushed to get four new bylaw staffers hired to clear encampments from parks "within 12 to 72 hours" of them being reported.

His competitors largely favour a different approach to encampments, with all but Robin McKee opposed to clearing them.

Farr, amember of the Police Services Board,isa staunch supporter of increasingpolice presence, but told CBC Hamilton he is undecided on the idea of shifting funding from the police budget towardsocial services and agencies. Several of his competitors support this idea.

Ward 2 is an urban ward situated in the centre of the lower city, bordered by the Niagara Escarpment to the south, Hamilton Harbour to the north, Queen Street to the west and Wellington Street North to the east, connecting to Claremont Access.

The downtown ward includes city hall, Jackson Square, Gore Park, FirstOntario Centre, the Hamilton Farmers Market, St. Joseph's Hospital, the Art Gallery of Hamilton and FirstOntario Concert Hall (formerly called Hamilton Place).

The north section of Ward 2 includes Bayfront and Pier 4 parks, and the Hamilton Waterfront Trail which links Wards 1 and 2. It is also home to a large development in progress on Pier 8 that will see the construction of about 1,500 new residential units, including a 45-storey tower designed by architect Bruce Kuwabara.

The area is home to 33,600 residents, with a comparatively low population of minors and a high population of people between the ages of 20 and 39. It contains fewer married people than the city as a whole, and more couples who don't have children.

Issues surrounding poverty are often at the forefront in the ward, which has a much higher proportion of households with an average total household income below $25,000 than the city as a whole, and more than double the proportion of children living in low-income households.

Downtown Hamilton is often a landing spot for new immigrants, and is home to 10 per cent more first-generation immigrants than the city average. Those newcomer residents are overwhelmingly from Asia, followed by Africa, then the Americas.

Here's more on the five candidates running to represent Ward 2 on City Council.

Shahan Aaron

Aaron is 30 and describes himself as a aMaster of Business Administration candidate who is involved in financial services and is an accessibility advocate.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Unsafe streets and neighbourhoods have become the current pressing issue in Ward 2. If elected, I would work with community organizations to increase the number of shelter spaces to reduce encampments. With the support of community organizations, I wouldimplement safe injection and inhalation sites to reduce public usage and discarded paraphernalia. I would create a Safe Street program to implement community vigilance, street clean-up and climate justice. This multi-pronged approach is new. Current council leadership has proposed ideas and audits, but with no action. Past consultations show that a multi-pronged approach is necessary for effective change.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:All new commercial residential builds should have at least 40 per centunits as affordable units which are based on the median rent of Ward 2. I'd directly connect with residents and community partners for information exchange and to collaborate on ideas and positive change. I'd increase access to public washrooms, multi-purpose garbage and recycling bins, and drinking fountains.

Jason Farr (incumbent)

Far is 53 and is the current Ward 2 councillor.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Safety and security. There is a growing demand in our Ward 2 neighbourhoods and commercial areas. BIAs[business improvement areas], neighbourhood groups and residents have been expressing an interest in seeing more police presence around their homes and businesses. As a member of the police service board, I can share that we are responding. There are more police redeployed to uniform duty. We've increased innovative programs partnering with health professions in rapid Intervention and we've quadrupled social navigators to four assisting individuals findingand maintaining specific supports. While one Ward 2 candidate tweets demands to defund police by 279 officers, I remain committed to innovative policing and increasing their presence. Respecting pedestrian safety and security, we have also recently established a police traffic safety division with approximately 20 officers (throughout the city and Ward 2) and as most appreciate, Ward 2 leads the way respecting safe street infrastructure with much of the bump out, speed cushions, 30 kilometre per hourspeed limits, protected bicycle lanes lanes and much more the direct result of citizen input. I will continue to engage and support pedestrian safety.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:Municipal budget maintenance Hamilton was recently named the most frugal municipality in the GTHA while enhancing services. [Ed. note: Farr is referring to a study by the Conservative-leaning Fraser Institute.]We need experience more than ever on council to continue crafting annual budgets that do not result in unmanageable tax increases. Your cost of living has ballooned, city council must create added pressure. Affordable Housing CityHousing Hamilton has threelocations (approximately 250 units) of affordable housing is being built in Ward 2. These ongoing projects include Jamesville, Bay and Cannon and units for homeless individuals on King William. Ken Soble tower is fully environmentally restored (146 units).Eleven hundredhomeless individuals and families housed during the pandemic. Eighty fiveunits of short term housing for our women, LGBTQ and non-binary residents underway and improved our shelter system. Mission, build on our unprecedented investments. Maintain the Momentum you see it everywhere in Ward 2. New buildings, parks and community centres have dotted our landscape in the last four years. Strong leadership with solid public and private sector relationships is how we do it. There's been 2800 new residential units with 10,000 more planned.

Cameron Kroetsch

Kroetsch is 43 and describes himself as a small business owner.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:One pressing issue facing Ward 2 is housing. Housing broadly includes everything from deeply affordable housing to the health and safety of rental property. If elected, to address the lack of deeply affordable housing, I would immediately draft a motion that the city complete an audit and assessment of its land assets. The city owns approximately 1,000 acres of land that are classified as surplus, vacant, or underutilized. I would leverage available land assets to work with other levels of government, and affordable housing providers, to bring more deeply affordable beds to the downtown community. If elected, to address the serious issues with the health and safety of tenants living in rental housing, I would immediately draft a motion to implement local landlord licensing and local tenant protection policies (including regulations around renoviction and demoviction) to ensure that the city was doing its part to meaningfully improve the condition of rental property downtown. If implemented, these would be new approaches. The City of Hamilton needs to start thinking differently if it is ever going to meaningfully address the staggering, and overlapping, housing crises in Ward 2.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:Collaborate with neighbourhoods to redesign unsafe streets this will slow down streets, make neighbourhoods more livable, and make it safer for everyone to get around in their city. Accelerate the expansion of green spaces and parks this will help to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands and aid in the development of the urban forest canopy; it will help neighbourhoods adapt to rapid change and provide more equitable access to outdoor spaces. Create safe city-supported spaces for members of communities that have been targeted by discrimination and violence this will help to address the needs of Hamiltonians with disabilities and members of Two Spirit, BlPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour), LGBTQIA+, Muslim, and Jewish communities, who have all been asking for these supports for many years, especially those without direct support from a city department.

Robin McKee

McKee is 69 and describes himself as a retiree and as thehost ofhistoric walking tours in the city.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Homelessness: This is an obvious problem across Ward2 and it is increasing. Before the winter we need to find affordable housing for these folks with nowhere to go. These folks need a place. I propose a Tiny House Village in the North End. On the east end of the "park" is a parking lot where service vehicles and food trucks could be located to service and help the residents. Doesn't that sound good? "Residents" instead of homeless! Think of the paradigmshift of perception, if this happened. I would purchase the first Tiny House for the project. We need to take care of our fellow Hamiltonians. Another quick solution to this need is to open Sir John A. MacDonald High School to the homeless for washrooms and showers. Daily needs are lost when facilities are not available to you. Once the place is open and up and running, then future plans for a hostel/mission could be planned. The gyms could have cots for overnight stays. This would be a win/win/win situation. An empty building is repurposed, the homeless have a safe and clean area to be and the people we will need to administer the site would create jobs.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected: Freetransit for HSR and LRT: With the rising cost of everything it is time for the city to look into freetransit. It is possible if all the gas tax from the province is allocated to the HSR and that would offset the loss income from ticket sales. Ottawa has implemented it and that is to entice people to ride their LRT. Orangeville has freetransit (via a pilot).If Orangeville can do it, so can Hamilton. If free isn't for the city, then free passes for seniors over 65 and free passes to students. Free for those on a fixed income and freefor those who haveno income. Safe drug injection and inhalation sites: Theopioidcrisis is real and to help users have a safe place is important for their health and wellbeing. It will keep used needs off the streets. Temperature controls: We have a law that landlords have to turn on the heat and maintain that throughout the winter. That is a law. With climate change and our summers getting hotter and longer, we need a law for a maximum heat in apartments. In the winter you can add more cloths to be warm, but in the hot summer, nothing can bring down the temperature but air conditioning. A safe and cooler environment is necessary.

Raquel Rakovac

Rakovac is 36 and describes herself as an artist,local business owner, and fitness and health coach.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:I am in favour of action on both a short and long-term housing plan. We are spending resources on shuffling encampments throughout the city. However, short-term housing solutions are needed immediately while we continue to solve root problems and root causes associated with homelessness. We need to immediately engage with groups and municipalities to implement solutions for short-term housing for real permanent solutions. Encampments will only continue to grow in numbers if we do not address creative, proactive solutions and take action. I strongly support the city opening immediate dialogue and support with Hamilton Alliance Tiny Shelters (HATS), who will provide shelters and support resources on location. Their project can provide temporary shelters to the houseless community this winter. We must have the city be an active partner for support; I have engaged with other municipalities who are implementing these solutions, and they encourage the need for other cities to get progressive in their approaches. As I have been, I will continue to educate and speak transparently to the community door to door about what the Hamilton Alliance Tiny Shelters (HATS) plan looks like.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:Affordable Housing: Remove and amend challenges for local not-for-profit affordable housing projects. Amend our current policy concerning development charges for the not-for-profit sector to allow current affordable housing projects to move forward with fewer financial challenges. Transparency Improvement Initiative: Designate a Transparency Officer and 'Create an 'Open Records Policy. A Transparency Officer would set up comprehensive systems of accountability to ensure the city consistently complies with Hamilton's open records and ethics laws. Additionally, I support an open records website that would provide timely, easily accessible, comprehensive information about records requests, their disposition, and how to contact those responsible for fulfilling them. Implement 311 software as part of a digital and open government. The community wants to see action from the municipality when there are potholes all over a street or garbage in a public park. As we move towarda progressive city, we can digitize our 311 services through an app. This will provide a public documented history of issues and a quicker resolution that ties into transparency and accountability.

School board trustees

The candidates for school board trustees in the area are:

Public school candidates:

• SabreinaDahab
• TarekJalbout
• MichaelPeters
• AndrewSmyth

Mark Valvasoriis acclaimed as the Catholic school board trustee.

For more of CBC Hamilton's electioncoverage:

• City of Hamilton fumbles mail-in ballot process, with delays, privacy breach
• OPINION | At 18, I only recently realized the importance of community engagement and politics
• Here's why Hamilton's mayoral candidates think you should vote for them
• Why some Hamilton-area residents are choosing not to vote this municipal election