The housing market is in the process of correcting itself through natural market forces, and the City and Region can support that transition by speeding up approval processes and reviewing development charges. All housing types are needed across the Region, and the City and Region have done good work on the master plan — a significant amount of high-density housing is coming online over the next year, alongside a good amount of medium-density development on the outskirts. The one gap is government-supported transitional housing, paired with the right support services, sited in areas equipped to provide that support without disrupting established family neighbourhoods.
Every elected official has a duty to manage public funds as carefully as their own — spending wisely, with prudence and transparency, and measuring success by how many people are served for every dollar spent. I'd like to see the police budget reviewed to find efficiencies, with social services taking a greater lead on mental health and addiction calls so police can focus on the work only they can do. I'd also like the social housing budget reviewed so we can serve more people within the funding available, and I believe a community-based addiction recovery centre would pay for itself by reducing strain on other services. On council compensation, while current pay may make it harder to attract the full range of qualified candidates, I don't believe now is the right time for an increase. I'll also work to keep in-camera meetings and non-disclosure agreements to the legal minimum — used only when the law requires it — because transparency is core to a healthy democracy.
The Region needs a community-based addiction recovery centre that combines housing and outreach services, giving people who want it a real path back to stability. The upfront investment could save a great deal in the emergency services currently relied on instead, with the goal of meaningfully reducing homelessness and encampments across the Region over time — making our community safer for everyone.
Many of the calls currently handled by police — particularly around mental health and addiction — could be better handled by compassionate, specialized service providers, freeing police to focus on violent crime and community safety.
We have a solid transit system at a fair price, and residents who need reduced fares are generally able to access that support. Transit should always remain a public service, accessible to everyone in our community. I'd also like to help find funding partners to make the Cambridge ION extension a viable project for our Region.
In order: water, farmland, and addiction. Water quality was raised as a concern years ago and should have remained under continuous, transparent monitoring since then — I'm committed to making sure it never falls off the public radar again. Agricultural land should be protected wherever possible, with brownfield sites prioritized ahead of productive farmland for large-scale industrial development, and decisions of that magnitude deserve full public consultation. And I don't believe the addiction crisis has been treated with the urgency it deserves — I'll advocate for a formal feasibility study into a community-based addiction recovery centre as a priority of my term.
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