Housing: I support the concepts behind all of the questions listed above and believe access to shelter for all people is critically important. The services listed above are managed by the Region of Waterloo, as opposed to the City of Waterloo therefore, I do not feel right saying yes to questions for which, if elected, I will have limited ability to affect political change on.

Public Safety: I support the concepts behind all of the questions listed above. The police budget and services budgets associated with the above are managed by the Region of Waterloo, as opposed to the City of Waterloo. Similarly legislation associated with the criminal code and enforcement of it is not a City responsibility. Therefore, I do not feel right saying yes to questions for which, if elected, I will have limited to no ability to affect political change on.

Indigenous Sovereignty: During the last term of Council the Indigenous Initiatives, Anti-Racism, Accessibility and Equity team was created. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with this team and seek their direction related to reviewing internal challenges, removing systemic barriers, collaborating with local action groups, and communicating the goals of the team.

Social Services: I support the concepts behind all of the questions listed above. Public Health is managed by the Region of Waterloo, as opposed to the City of Waterloo. I am the founding President of the Butterfly Learning Centre in Waterloo, a not-for-profit Childcare centre in Waterloo. I believe deeply in improving access to affordable childcare. Fundamentally, I do not feel right saying yes to questions for which, if elected, I will have limited to no ability to affect political change on.

Transportation: Public Transit is managed by the Region of Waterloo, as opposed to the City of Waterloo. Therefore, I do not feel right saying yes to questions for which, if elected, I will have limited to no ability to affect political change on.

Housing: I would be interested in proposing a way to directly re-investing money currently spent on policing unhoused people into services and housing. I think this could be a way to defund the police in a way that the public majority may be more inclined to support.

Public Safety: *see my statement on the housing policy proposals

Indigenous Sovereignty: I would also seek to consult with both Indigenous groups in Waterloo and Six Nations of the Grand River land offices about the Kraus lands. This piece of land, located in Ward 4, is on the banks of the river and is one of very few pieces of undeveloped and undesignated land left in the region. Recent years has seen some proposals to develop this land, but I think that it presents a really important opportunity for direct reconciliation and to answer calls to give land back.

Social Services: Something I would be interested in exploring is leading COVID safety for workers by example, by working with labour unions to develop policies for city employees which would secure their right to work remotely if they so choose, policies which guarantee all employees a minimum of 10 days of sick days per calendar year, etc. Beyond this, I would be in favour of and advocate for a municipal mask mandate, and would like to explore opportunities to pedestrianize main strips so that people can better social distance themselves and so that businesses are able to have sidewalk patios without taking away from pedestrian space.

Transportation: Prioritising pedestrian and cycling snow clearance over road clearance is one of my top priorities. A major challenge we face in fighting against car culture is that people feel like non-car travel is a seasonal option. Prioritising roads over sidewalks puts pedestrians in direct danger because it encourages drivers to feel safe about driving full speed in poor conditions while pushing people out onto the roads to walk. The idea that all sidewalks should be cleared by homeowners is also a terribly ineffective way of ensuring these spaces are accessible - many people do not, or are not physically capable of, clearing sidewalks adequately. Completely re-assessing the snow clearance system is something that is needed for Waterloo to be able to expand and improve the accessibility of its active transportation network.

Other: I am a candidate that strongly believes in a need for immediate and radical change. I do not believe in prioritising business associations and worrying about the costs of certain programs above the need to ensure that all citizens have their basic needs met. I strongly believe that it is also important for municipal leaders to advocate for change at the provincial level - municipalities have power to fight against provincial policies which negatively impact the health of their communities. I have no issue openly critiquing the provincial government and explaining how their policies negatively impact the local scale (eg no direct access to income taxes for municipalities, they are dependent on grants, the government cutting public funding for healthcare exacerbating a crisis making it so that municipalities need to cover the loss of services etc.)