Jo-Dee Burbach

Born and raised in Toronto, I have also lived in California, Texas and Thailand. After earning a BA, I returned to Canada and began a graphic design and computer training business in the GTA. In 1999, I chose Stratford as my home because it's a beautiful, vibrant and unique community that has so much to offer, and it has been a wonderful place for my three children to grow up. After several years of commuting to Toronto. I decided to transition my business to Stratford, and since then I've had the pleasure of working with many local small businesses and arts groups. I went back to university in 2014 to enrich my skills by completing a Masters degree in Communication Studies.

I have volunteered for many local organizations and groups, including Bedford School Council, Foundation for Education Perth Huron, Cycle Stratford, School Travel Planning working group (ATAC), The Local Community Centre, Avon Mennonite Church Community Meal, Stratford BIA, Doors Open Stratford, To Stratford With Love, House of Blessing Empty Bowls, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Soup's On Green Team, StopVAW and Stratford's Al Fresco project. I also currently volunteer as a Board Member for Here For Now Theatre.

In 2016, I was honoured to be a nominee for Optimism Place's Women of the Year award in the Arts category. In 2020 I was nominated for and received the Woman of the Year Award, Allyship & Advocacy for my efforts focused on anti-Black racism in our community.

In 2018, I was elected to serve on Stratford City Council. I am Vice-chair of the Infrastructure, Transportation and Safety Committee, and I am a member of the Social Services and the Community Services Subcommittees. I am also a member and current Chair of the Energy & Environment Advisory Committee, and member and past Chair of the Active Transportation Advisory Committee, a Trustee of the Board for Gallery Stratford, and a member of the steering committee for the Community Equity Action Team (a Stratford Police Services advisory group). I am also a member of Climate Caucus.

Some of the many things that I love about Stratford are its vibrant local arts community, a wonderful library, great dining, beautiful gardens, world class theatre, and the fact that pretty much everything is within walking or biking distance. I like to walk and cycle as much as possible and enjoy the natural beauty of our city.

1. What will be your unique contribution to council?

Being a small business owner, a community volunteer, an environmentalist and an active transportation enthusiast provides me with some unique perspectives that I can contribute to the next Council. I've lived in Stratford for 23 years and my children have grown up here, and I believe I have a good understanding of and connection with many people in our community. My experience as a councillor over the previous term will also be of real benefit to the next Council. I've learned how municipal government works, I've had some unique leadership opportunities, and I better understand how to make change happen.

2. How will you tackle urban sprawl and protect prime agricultural land?

We need to tackle urban sprawl by updating our Official Plan to reflect a better focus on infill developments, increasing density, and creating mixed-use neighbourhoods that allow residents of all ages to easily walk or bike to shops, appointments and work. An Official Plan is a document that looks 20+ years into the future, but the vision we had 20 years ago doesn't take into account our quickly changing world and it needs to be updated. I believe that building more housing within our built boundaries, close to public transit and active transportation infrastructure, should be our priority moving forward.

3. How will you encourage businesses and individuals to respond to climate change?

There are a couple of ways we can encourage businesses and individuals to respond to climate change. The first is to provide subsidies or interest free loans for property owners to add heat pumps, solar panels or make other property improvements that aren't currently subsidized by other levels of government. One example of this that was recently introduced is the Tree Power program, which subsidizes native trees for residents to plant on their properties. The second is to provide lots of information, education and encouragement for property owners to make changes that help reduce GHG emissions and make environmental improvements.

4. What is your idea(s) to attract new industry to Stratford?

I believe that as we attract new industry to Stratford, it's important to first ensure that we have places for workers to live, a good public transit system and a strong active transportation network. People should be able to live, work and play right here in Stratford, and creating jobs for workers who will have a long commute every day creates more emissions and takes us in the wrong direction. When attracting new industry toStratford, I would like us to look at industries like argi-tech, veterinary pharmaceutical or film production, all of which will build upon existing local strengths.

5. How will you address wealth inequality, homelessness and poverty in Stratford?

These are very important issues and all three levels of government need to be actively involved in tackling them. Moving forward, it will be critical to continue to work with our community partners on existing initiatives such as the Connection Center, the living wage initiative, and building and staffing supportive housing units. Research shows that supportive housing for those who are finding it difficult to stay housed is a much more successful model than building a shelter. We should continue to pursue the funding and partnerships that will allow us to create these supportive units within the next few years.

6. How will you engage and inform the public about current issues and legislation?

There are so many channels out there for engagement, and both as a City and as councillors we need to find the right ones to connect with residents. The City has begun to use an engagement platform called Engage Stratford, and this promises to be a good tool for engaging community conversation for larger projects. As a councillor, I am available via e-mail, telephone, or to meet for a coffee and have a face-to-face conversation, as well as being active on social media. I also attend many community events and I'm happy to engage with citizens in real life.

7. Would you support term limits? Why/why not?

Yes, I would support term limits for councillors. Being a councillor is quite a complex role and it has a steep learning curve, so having some municipal council experience is a real asset for people serving on Council. It's also very important, however, to have new people with a fresh perspective and new ideas regularly joining the Council team. Having term limits would ensure a good mixture of experienced and new councillors on council. It's my opinion that a three term limit would be appropriate for councillor and the mayor positions.

8. What is your plan to better engage youth in Stratford?

We have to meet young people where they are at, whether that's on social media, at the schools or at other places where youth gather. A few years ago the City tried to establish a Youth Advisory Group to Council, but unfortunately it was not successful. I believe we need to find ways to engage with youth that are different from the way we engage with adults and to do that, we need to listen to ideas from youth themselves rather than imposing the old methods that have proved to be less than successful in the past.