Jamie Hari

City/Township Council · Waterloo

All topics Housing Getting Around Climate Food Growth & Planning Budget & Taxes

This candidate finalized their responses after this guide and scoring methodology was published.

Housing & Homelessness 3 questions

Housing & Homelessness

How should municipalities and the Region balance providing permanent housing with the management of encampments in public spaces?select up to 3 per part

A. Pathways to permanent housing

Partner with non-profit and supportive housing providers
Increase funding for deeply affordable and supportive housing
Directly build and operate additional public non-market housing.

B. Interim management of encampments

Establish and maintain clear minimum standards (sanitation, safety, outreach)
Require that enforcement actions be linked to the availability of adequate indoor alternatives
Allow temporary encampments to persist while permanent housing options are actively being developed

C. Accountability and collaboration between levels of government

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

Create a new public rental registry which requires all landlords to be licensed and disclose their rental holdings and complete rental histories on a municipal website as part of a larger rent control program expansion.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on housing?candidate's own words

Housing is a human right and believe it's the government's legal obligation to guarantee it, irrespective of the budgetary cost. I also believe that billionaires caused this affordability issue and so should be the ones pay to fix it; we can't raise taxes on the middle class or cutt other social services.

Getting Around 4 questions

Getting Around

How should municipalities use existing street infrastructure to better prioritize walking, cycling, and public transit?select up to 3

Reallocate space on selected streets (e.g. road diets, transit lanes, protected bike lanes)
Prioritize active transportation improvements during routine resurfacing
Close busy ION corridors and heavy pedestrian traffic areas to regular car traffic.

What role should public transit play in regional growth, and how should future transit investments be prioritized?ranked from highest to lowest importance

Use transit to shape land use
Invest in rapid transit to anchor growth
Prioritize maximizing operational efficiency
Prioritize expanding coverage area
Prioritize lower-cost or incremental transit improvements

Do you support the municipality taking responsibility for snow removal from sidewalks adjacent to private properties?single choice

Yes, sidewalks should be cleared alongside roads as part of regular winter maintenance

Do you support expanding fare-free transit for the Region?single choice

Yes, for all residents

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on transportation?candidate's own words

While not the first one that comes to mind, personal mobility is a human right too!

Please describe one criterion or principle that should not be compromised when making transit investment decisions.candidate's own words

Accessibility must not be compromised at any cost. Transit must be for everyone!

Other priority not listed abovecandidate's own words

Local transit should be free; I would propose dramatically cutting the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) budget in favour of reducing or eliminating transit rider fees.

Please name one specific street, corridor, or project where you would prioritize these changes.candidate's own words

While not the most important change, something that could be implemented relatively quickly would be to close King St S in both directions to regular car traffic, between Laurel Trail (Waterloo Public Square) and Union Boulevard.

Climate & Sustainability 3 questions

Climate & Sustainability

How should municipalities and the Region incorporate climate and sustainability into policy, including development and infrastructure decisions?select up to 3 per part

A. Perspective on climate change

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

B. Building and development standards

Require green infrastructure as part of development approvals (e.g. stormwater management, tree canopy, permeable surfaces)
Use development agreements to require climate sustainability measures as a condition of approval
Implement new punitive fines for builders and landlords found in violation of existing and expanded environmental building standards.

C. Infrastructure and capital planning

Require climate risk and lifecycle cost analysis in major capital decisions
Prioritize active transportation and transit investment
Require climate change mitigation and adaptation impact assessments for large growth decisions (greenfield expansions
settlement boundary changes) AND 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

Mandate energy performance standards for all new housing (i.e., rental and purchased) and all existing rental properties.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on sustainability?candidate's own words

The planet is literally dying and somehow we are not in the streets with pitchforks every day demanding action from our governments. We've officially passed 1.5C; terrible global impacts are now inevitable. The only thing we can do now is act to lessen how bad it will be.

Food Systems & Security 3 questions

Food Systems & Security

In the context of growing pressure for economic development and the connected loss of farmland, what role do municipalities and the Region hold in promoting local food livelihoods, production, and processing?ranked from highest to lowest importance

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
Develop a local food strategy, including research on how land-use change affects the food system
Encourage and support local landowners to rent to newcomer farmers
Leave local food livelihoods to the private market

How should municipalities and the Region approach food insecurity and affordability?select up to 3 per part

A. Access to food

Support the development of community buying clubs or municipal grocery stores
Support programs to prepare food for those who are unhoused or unable to cook
Fully subsidize local charities
non-profits
and other organizations to guarantee access to food locally
as necessary.

B. Access to land for growing food

Make public lands (Regional and municipal) available for sustenance food provisioning, including in urban and peri-urban spaces as cities expand
Enable access to land and resources for local people who want to grow their own food (e.g. the community-garden model)
Introduce a vacant arable land surtax on local privately-owned land that is gated up for profit while people starve

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to strengthen the local food system.candidate's own words

Introduce a deluge of new bylaws intended to undermine monopolistic and other uncompetitive practices by corporate grocers like Walmart, Metro, Zehrs, and Sobey's to protect local farmers and independent grocers.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on food systems?candidate's own words

There's absolutely no excuse for the profit motive in the food sector. Food is a human right and I'd entirely ban private corporations from the entire industry, if I had my way.

Other priority not listed abovecandidate's own words

Create and operate and city-owned nonprofit grocer.

Growth & Planning 4 questions

Growth & Planning

How should councils weigh the long-term cost of maintaining existing infrastructure when making decisions about outward growth and expansion?ranked from highest to lowest importance

Prioritize infill and intensification where infrastructure
Limit outward growth unless full lifecycle infrastructure
Require detailed cost and risk analysis before approving
Use development phasing tied to infrastructure capacity
Proceed with outward growth to address housing supply

How should councils balance provincial and regional mandates for increased housing density with neighbourhood opposition and local infrastructure constraints?select up to 4 per part

A. Planning & zoning tools

Expand as-of-right zoning to reduce case-by-case political decisions on housing forms
Focus incremental density near transit, schools, and commercial areas
Allow small-scale housing forms city-wide as-of-right (e.g. up to four units per lot)
Eliminate parking minimum requirements

B. Managing neighbourhood opposition

Use public engagement to inform design, not to veto density
Proceed with adopted plans when facing local NIMBY opposition

C. Infrastructure & servicing

Approve density where infrastructure capacity already exists
Pair density approvals with targeted infrastructure upgrades
Use development charges or conditions to fund needed upgrades

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

A big part of our water infrastructure issues is sprawl. Transit corridors should prioritize public use and dense residential, not more McMansions.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on growth?candidate's own words

We can't and shouldn't tell people where to live, but we can prohibit wealthy corporations and individuals from taking far more than is sustainable or than they even need.

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

While it's currently impractical to entirely stop contracting public works to private industry, we can tighten up contracts significantly with developers who consistently overcharge, under-deliver, and get away with no accountability. Similarly, while we can't ban landlords, I would propose making it far less profitable to speculate undeveloped and underdeveloped land in the city with vacancy taxes and increase civic pressure with a public land registry.

Budget & Taxes 5 questions

Budget & Taxes

Do you think the Region's or municipality's budget process should be more transparent and accessible to residents?single choice

It should be more transparent and accessible

Municipal and regional costs have generally risen faster than revenues restricted by property tax rules and limited local revenue tools. How would you balance tax increases against maintaining service levels and long-term financial sustainability?select up to 3 per part

A. Revenue approaches

Actively pursue provincial and federal transfer funding and grants
Change the flat percentage tax rate to a progressive tax
where the rate is exponentially higher as the value of the property is further from the median property value. In effect
houses under the median will see a property tax decrease while mansions will see significant tax increases.

D. Growth & cost recovery

Ensure new development pays a greater share of long-term infrastructure costs
Re-evaluate development incentives or subsidies that create long-term liabilities
Increase a suite of new progressive development fees which aggressively de-incentivize unaffordable development (e.g.
punitive surtaxes on units valued more than 100% above the median value)

B. Service levels

No cuts to services
except cutting the Waterloo Regional Police Services (WRPS) budget by half.

C. Capital & infrastructure

Prioritize maintenance and state-of-good-repair over expansion
Require lifecycle cost analysis before approving any new infrastructure
Defer or cancel capital projects with low long-term return on investment
except critical infrastructure projects

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 vehemently oppose setting user fees or creating any new fees that aren't means-tested. It's absolutely unsustainable, not to mention unfair, to ask the most vulnerable to pay any more than they already are.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on budgets?candidate's own words

Human needs are human rights - and should be above the budgetary process. We can debate how much to spend on fireworks and flowers, but there's not debate about how many people in our region should have food and shelter.

If you chose "It should be more transparent and accessible", please describe how.candidate's own words

Enshrining free FOIA requests in the constitution would be nice, but in the meantime having an interactive website like OurCommons.ca for City and Regional councils would be great!

About the Candidate3 questions

About the Candidate

Why are you running for this position?candidate's own words

I first got into politics in 2025, when I ran for Member of Parliament for Waterloo in the federal election. My two main motivations for running again this year remain: to spend time with my son, who is attending Wilfrid Laurier for Political Science this fall, and ultimately to make a better future possible for him. We had a fun (and educational) experience last year going through the process to get nominated, collecting nomination signatures, preparing for the debate, and even doing a local radio show together on Radio Waterloo. I am looking forward to more of that time with him this election, too. With that said, things are seriously wrong and getting worse at an alarming rate, locally and globally. Unemployment, homelessness, food insecurity, and the cost of living are all at multi-year highs. Federally and provincially, our democratic rights are being eroded at an ever-faster pace. Municipal governments are consistently underfunded and scapegoated by the provincial government. I don’t blame municipal politicians for this, except for staying quiet about it. I think mayors need to get loud and actively fight back against the corruption at Queen’s Park and in the House of Commons.

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

Bill 100 was the final nail in the coffin for cities' ability to materially control their own destiny. Regions now have complete control and report directly to the Premier's office.

Please describe one specific area where you think the governance structure helps or hinders good decision-making.candidate's own words

Transparency, which ultimately leads to accountability. Shady deals are made in dark corners for a reason. We need more time allotted to public review and comment on legislation, not less. Doug Ford has used his ill-gotten majority to fast-track bills which directly affect cities and regions without adequate consultation and feedback - and exempted himself from Freedom of Information requests! The same applies at the municipal level. The city and region have lots of work yet to do to make decisions more transparent to the public.