Introduction

Hamilton has become one of the most expensive cities to rent and buy in North America. Since the pandemic, across Ontario more and more neighbours struggle to afford housing, face homelessness, or have had to live encamped. Cities have no option but to be at the forefront with real solutions that foster affordability, safety and belonging for all our neighbours.

The solution rests in housing as a human right and requires a spectrum of solutions rooted in building new, repairing homes and supporting our residents with services that meet their deepest needs. However, cities can’t do it alone. Each level of government must be aligned in strategy and funding to truly solve the housing crisis. And in Hamilton, we need solutions in every neighbourhood across the city.

It has been an honour for me to deliver housing solutions since being elected, like:

• Over 180 new affordable housing units built and occupied in Ward 3 with 470+ currently underway.

• As President of City Housing Hamilton, championed the organization’s first ever multi-year Strategic Plan and Development Strategy to amplify the organization’s impact as a non-profit housing leader. This has resulted in:

• Secured funding to repair 476 existing units, all now tenanted

• Vacancy rate reduced from over 9% to 2.2%

• Added 161 brand new units across four new buildings to Hamilton’s affordable housing supply, all slated to be occupied by Summer 2025. 

• Approved investments for 272 additional beds to help right-size our shelter system and provide low-barrier options for those who were living encamped in Hamilton. Of these 138 are being operated in Ward 3 and 80 other beds in Hamilton’s first temporary outdoor shelter at the Barton-Tiffany lands.

• Championed Ontario’s first municipal Renovation License & Relocation Listing By-law to protect tenants from bad-faith renovictions, regulate repairs, & preserve affordable housing with ACORN Hamilton.

• Led the approval and establishment of Hamilton’s Vacant Homes Tax designed to ensure empty homes are lived in. The program framework includes annual revenues collected going directly to offset costs of the program and to fund additional affordable housing across Hamilton.

• Supported the new Safe Apartment Building By-law ensure health and safety for tenants in apartments with 6 or more units, with 2 or more stories. This will result in a city-wide registry of apartment buildings. 

• Improved Vital Services By-law as a result of the experiences of renters in Ward 3 to better protect tenants in service disruptions and hold landlords more accountable.

• Advocated for an Adequate Temperature By-law requiring units do not exceed 26°C as we all face an increase in extreme heat. 

• Ended the era of public funds going to renovations resulting in evicting tenants and called for the transformation of the City's Tax Incentive Grant Programs to ensure it never happens again. 

• Catalyzed the Hamilton Is Home coalition, bringing together the non-profit social housing sector to work collaboratively towards a bold scale of a full spectrum of new affordable and supportive housing units across Hamilton.