Brooklin Wallis
City/Township Council · Kitchener Ward 6
Back to candidatesHousing & Homelessness 3 questions
Housing & Homelessness
- Prioritize rapid acquisition or conversion of existing buildings
- Use publicly owned land for permanent or interim housing
- A mix of increasing funding for supportive housing and helping the market lower costs by reforming our zoning laws and approval system.
- Establish and maintain clear minimum standards (sanitation, safety, outreach)
- Expand the hours and capacity of extreme-weather shelter protections beyond current levels
- Require that enforcement actions be linked to the availability of adequate indoor alternatives
- Assign clear municipal responsibility for public-space management
- Actively advocate to the province for defined funding triggers and program supports
- Publish ongoing performance metrics (e.g. housing placements, shelter bed access)
Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to address both encampments and permanent housing.candidate's own words
I believe that, going forward, all city owned building should be built with affordable housing as a part of the design.
Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on housing?candidate's own words
I have a larger article about housing on my website! https://votebrooklin.ca/how-city-council-can-reduce-house-prices/
Getting Around 4 questions
Getting Around
- Reallocate space on selected streets (e.g. road diets, transit lanes, protected bike lanes), Adjust signal timing, curb use, or intersection design
- Prioritize active transportation improvements during routine resurfacing
- Use transit to shape land use
- Invest in rapid transit to anchor growth
- Prioritize expanding coverage area
- Prioritize maximizing operational efficiency
- Prioritize lower-cost or incremental transit improvements
Yes, sidewalks should be cleared alongside roads as part of regular winter maintenance
Improve existing subsidies and discounts, but maintain fares for most riders
Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on transportation?candidate's own words
Free transit remains a "would be nice" in my eyes. I don't know if Waterloo Region is there yet, but I'd absolutely support studies and information about financial viability
Please describe one criterion or principle that should not be compromised when making transit investment decisions.candidate's own words
High speed transit options are cheaper to build before the land has been built up. We need to take the hint from other countries and build things like iON stops to places that don't have the need for it yet, knowing that the demand will come once development catches up.
Please name one specific street, corridor, or project where you would prioritize these changes.candidate's own words
Prioritizing expanding our active transportation grid to connect to all schools, so children and teenagers can learn cycling rules from an early age and be more likely to stay cycling in adulthood
Climate & Sustainability 3 questions
Climate & Sustainability
- Climate change is an urgent and defining crisis of our time; reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be a primary consideration across municipal decision-making
- Commitments passed by previous councils, like the 50x30 pledge or declarations of climate emergencies, should guide current council decision making, Our local and regional governments need to renew coordinated action towards implementing the Transform Waterloo Region strategy
- Where possible, require or incentivize energy efficiency standards in new development, beyond current provincial minimums, Create financial incentives for low-carbon construction (e.g. development charge reductions, expedited approvals, density bonuses)
- Use development agreements to require climate sustainability measures as a condition of approval
- Require climate risk and lifecycle cost analysis in major capital decisions
- Prioritize active transportation and transit investment
- Require an assessment of impacts on aquifer recharge
Describe one concrete policy, incentive, or decision you would prioritize to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Where possible, explain how it balances environmental goals with fiscal responsibility.candidate's own words
Advancing the Green Development Standards that staff has been working on with myself and the rest of the Climate Change and Environmental Advisory Committee, and finding ways that we can encourage green development within the current legal structures.
Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on sustainability?candidate's own words
Our Green Development Standards were about to be ready and required for all development, but the Ford government removed our legal ability to do so last year.
Food Systems & Security 3 questions
Food Systems & Security
- Develop a local food strategy, including research on how land-use change affects the food system
- Promote and support low-barrier spaces for local producers to distribute and sell food
- Partner with other levels of government to develop local food hubs that reduce costs and barriers for small businesses
- Encourage and support local landowners to rent to newcomer farmers
- Leave local food livelihoods to the private market
- Support the development of community buying clubs or municipal grocery stores
- Support local food procurement for school food programs, including processing/preparation infrastructure, food literacy, and youth learning opportunities
- Support programs to prepare food for those who are unhoused or unable to cook
- Enable access to land and resources for local people who want to grow their own food (e.g. the community-garden model)
- Encourage and support private landowners to make lots available for food provisioning
Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to strengthen the local food system.candidate's own words
I would work with staff to identify local food deserts and find ways to promote those gaps being filled, such and preemptive zoning changes or incentives
Growth & Planning 4 questions
Growth & Planning
- Prioritize infill and intensification where infrastructure
- Require detailed cost and risk analysis before approving
- Use development phasing tied to infrastructure capacity
- Limit outward growth unless full lifecycle infrastructure
- Proceed with outward growth to address housing supply
- Expand as-of-right zoning to reduce case-by-case political decisions on housing forms
- Allow small-scale housing forms city-wide as-of-right (e.g. up to four units per lot)
- Eliminate parking minimum requirements
- Use public engagement to inform design, not to veto density
- Approve density where infrastructure capacity already exists
- Pair density approvals with targeted infrastructure upgrades
- Accept short-term constraints in order to meet housing demand
Describe one concrete zoning, planning, or development decision you would support (or oppose) that reflects how you would balance these priorities.candidate's own words
I strongly support removing parking minimums and following the principals of Strong Towns when rezoning areas.
What can the municipality/region do, if anything, about land which sits vacant for years because it is being used as an investment (land banking)?candidate's own words
Changing the way we tax those properties to more heavily charge people sitting on valuable downtown land and disincentivize using empty land as an investment.
Budget & Taxes 5 questions
Budget & Taxes
It is already sufficiently transparent and accessible
- Moderate, predictable tax increases to maintain service levels
- Area-specific levies where residents in a defined area receive or request a distinct level of service
- Exploring new local revenue tools where permitted by provincial legislation
- Re-evaluate development incentives or subsidies that create long-term liabilities
- Maintain current service levels, even if taxes rise
- Adjust service delivery models to reduce costs without reducing access
- Prioritize maintenance and state-of-good-repair over expansion
- Require lifecycle cost analysis before approving any new infrastructure
Please describe one concrete example of a trade-off you would support (or oppose) when costs rise faster than revenues.candidate's own words
I support time limited tax increases that are open and honest about what they are used for. I believe people are more likely to understand an additional line on their taxes that says "$10 - The Aud renovations (3 years)" than just having a $10 increase (as a totally made up example)
About the Candidate3 questions
About the Candidate
Why are you running for this position?candidate's own words
As a renter I bring a valuable voice for Kitchener in a time of great need! I also believe that the landlord councillor I would be replacing has no incentive to help lower housing costs, or to strengthen renter's rights.
How does the current two-tier structure of municipal and regional government affect the Region's ability to make coherent decisions on housing, planning, and infrastructure?candidate's own words
The current structure works well and coordination between levels is sufficient, I would support consolidation of some functions or municipalities
Please describe one specific area where you think the governance structure helps or hinders good decision-making.candidate's own words
In other attempts at amalgamation in this province, little to negative savings occurred, so I would need some convincing. I also believe that lower level governments help allow local representation and self-determination at the city level. There are some systems that could be mixed, such as the fire departments, but even in that case I'd want to hear from the Fire Chiefs on their opinions on that.