Housing: It would be easy to fill in "support" on all your questions, however the available funding, zoning differences between our eight municipalities and the availability of appropriate sites are not one word answers.

Indigenous Sovereignty: The Region has taken significant steps to address the issue of reconciliation and recently hired its first director of reconciliation.

Social Services: Increasing funding is only possible if we have the support of the federal and provincial governments.

Housing: Indeed, there is stark and glaring evidence of social inequality visible at urban sites within our region. I find the same circumstances exist in in other municipalities that I have visited recently. Reviewing nation-wide media reports I conclude that the same circumstances exist in virtually all urban areas of Canada. I’m going to refer to this metaphorically as Canadian society, a body, suffering from a chronic disease.

Continuing the metaphor, our community is an integral part of the body and the symptoms of the disease are painful. Urgent action is required treat the symptoms locally and action is required Provincially and Federally to cure the illness. The cure needs to be authentic, such that the symptoms are not masked and the infection does not return.

To answer your question directly, as it pertains to municipal council, the immediate action is to employ all means of jurisdiction to stabilize the situation. This involves mustering the resources of the municipality as well as community organizations and individual citizens to triage and address the most acute needs, for example the safety and security of the unhoused living in the encampment. Council’s role is to guide our regional municipality to co-operate with its constituent municipalities and its community organizations and individual citizens in managing the acute situation. Hiding the problem by forcing the displacement of those citizens to a less conspicuous location is a non-starter for me.

Longer term, the availability of housing that citizens can afford can be influenced by municipalities through the official plan, property zoning and the review of developer’s plans. It is the role of Council to ensure that the municipality makes the quality of life of all citizens the driver of development. Successive Provincial governments have continued to erode the authority of the municipalities to carry through with a plan that developers might find less profitable by allowing them appeal to provincial authority. There is a vital role for non-profit agencies, like Habitat for Humanity and Twin Cities Family Housing Foundation for example, to actually build the affordable housing. On Council I would advocate scaling up not-for-profit development of housing in the Region.

Recognizing that a municipality cannot address the root causes for citizens to become unhoused, it is the role of Council to hold the Provincial and Federal government to account. This can be accomplished through driving a new and concerted effort with all municipalities through the AMO and the FCM or perhaps a new forum. If we go back to the days of Paul Martin balancing the federal budget by downloading the bulk of health and social programs to the Provinces, without most of the funding, we can see the start of the infection. Then successive Provincial governments similarly downloaded to the municipalities. The end result is that the property tax rolls of the municipalities are unable to sustain the cost of services required by citizens. The fact that vulnerable citizens are languishing in encampments while provincial taxes are funding highway 413 seems wrong.

Public Safety: I did not provide an opinion on the criminality associated with 2a and 2d because the statements are misleading. For example the sex trafficking is the exploitation of humans by other humans and should remain a criminal offense. The trafficking of narcotics results in the onset of addiction and should remain a criminal offense.

Transportation: Vision Zero should not be used as a wedge issue. Creating adversarial relations between people using vehicles and people not using vehicles is counterproductive. The quality of life for all citizens in our region is enhanced when we all forms of transportation can coexist in harmony. Recognize that the rights of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are equal. Many citizens of our region have no choice but to rely on their motor vehicles for daily transportation because distances, cargo or physical mobility limitations make walking or cycling impossible. Implementing infeasible speed limits and hazards in the roadway and inordinate signalling at intersections as deliberate predatory measures toward motorists is a denial of the rights of those citizens to expedient transportation.

I support a way forward that accounts for the quality of life of all citizens of our region. I support the long term vision for transportation and will work to fins solutions that are fair and equitable for all modes.

Housing: Let's work together to make these priorities a reality in Waterloo Region.

Public Safety: When appropriate upstream resources are in place individuals will have the supports they need so that they will not be forced into sex work against their will. Those who prey on vulnerable people for sex work need to be held accountable to the law.

Social Services: I feel very strongly about actualizing the above initiatives.

Transportation: Please note that policies to improve the mobility of cyclists should also include those with wheelchairs and other mobility devices.

Other: The initiatives you describe in this survey align significantly with my campaign platform.

Housing: In principle, I think the policies of your group align with my opinions. Rather than subsidize, my preference is to create units which have rent pegged to minimum wage, but in any case, all people must have access to a dignified space.

Public Safety: I am open to the crime prevention council, but not informed on the details. I think investment in crime prevention is far more effective than enforcement. Pressuring to reduce police budget will be a difficult battle, I would rather get the funds where needed first, and then worry about trying to reduce police budget.

Indigenous Sovereignty: I don’t like the idea of a voluntary fund, my opinion is that the region needs to come to a fair agreement, and apply it equally. I am open to creating paid positions for Indigenous people, but not if the positions are unable to affect any actual change. There are also multiple Indigenous nations in the area, and I would want to ensure there’s a fair method for candidates to be nominated.

For parks and statues, I don’t have any emotional attachment. I don’t agree with destroying statues, but if it offends community members, I would be happy to see statues moved to a museum or a less conspicuous place, or have context added, such as paint or plaques.

For Charles St, I don’t have a firm opinion yet. I think it’s an amazing location. I would like to see a place for Indigenous people, but If the region was investing, my preference would be to have some space available to all, for example a museum or community centre, but owned or and operated by Indigenous nations, while additional floors would be available to use at any discretion. I think we ought to have a space where Indigenous and settlers can interact, and share history and knowledge.

Social Services: For #1 and #2 - I believe access to washrooms and water 24x7 is critical, and one of the issues that made me run for office.

#3 - I think any health issue should have a science based approach, where we also leverage our universities to conduct studies, and actually measure the effects of our policies to see if they match predictions. It should apply to Covid, but also addiction, crime prevention, etc.

#4 - I’m not certain about re-investing, I’m not clear on your policy, but I am in favour of ensuring that anyone who wants to work will have affordable childcare near their workplace or home.

Transportation: I want free transit, and think it would overall save money, but will also accept options for reducing fares and increasing frequency in the short term. For slower speeds in neighbourhoods, I am not convinced that putting slower speed signs actually reduces speed of cars. Cars usually drive at the speed the driver feels comfortable with. I would prefer to see narrower streets in residential neighbourhoods, with protected bike lanes, as I believe that will slow traffic more effectively.