Jeyas Balaskanthan

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

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

The City of Waterloo already operates a Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Grant program via the city’s funding from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. We are also pursuing one of Canada’s most ambitious affordable housing projects on University Avenue using city lands. We must also make the most of the land that the city has acquired at 250 Lincoln Ave to ensure it addresses our need for affordable housing in a manner that fits within the context of the local community. As mayor
I would continue to champion the city’s pursuit of similar initiatives with existing funding where appropriate
and also work on helping to create the conditions for senior levels of government to easily build affordable and supportive housing.

B. Interim management of encampments

Establish and maintain clear minimum standards (sanitation, safety, outreach)
Expand the hours and capacity of extreme-weather shelter protections beyond current levels

C. Accountability and collaboration between levels of government

Establish clear regional leadership with coordinated municipal roles
Assign clear municipal responsibility for public-space management
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 would support the prioritization of outreach and addiction supports in alignment with the Region’s Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. This plan integrates a human rights and housing-first based approach to addressing homelessness that we should continually be monitoring to ensure that it achieves its goals. We must continue to advocate to the provincial and federal governments for sustainable funding to operationalize the plans already developed by and with the community.

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

Municipalities can play small roles in addressing deeply affordable housing and supportive housing, but cannot do it at the scale we need to address the problem. As a mayor, I would focus on ensuring that we are directly supporting affordable housing development where we can. The most important thing we can do is create the conditions that make it easy for affordable housing to get built: responsive permitting and approvals; allowing enough density to ensure projects are viable; and flexible land use rules (e.g. reduced parking minimums) that make non-profit and public housing development cheaper to build.