Kitchener — Ward 10

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to address both encampments and permanent housing.candidate's own words

To address both encampments and permanent housing effectively, Kitchener must combine long-term municipal land management with immediate economic agency for unhoused residents. For long-term permanent housing, Kitchener should adopt the model of municipal land banking used successfully in Ulm, Germany. Under this approach, the city proactively acquires and holds vacant or underutilized land, preventing private land banking and speculation. By retaining control over municipal parcels, Kitchener can dedicate land specifically for non-profit supportive housing and three-storey gentle density projects, ensuring a permanent supply of affordable workforce housing that remains insulated from market volatility. While permanent housing projects are developed and provincial funding red tape is navigated, the city needs an immediate, dignity-based solution for residents living in encampments. We cannot rely solely on reactive enforcement or passive shelter waiting lists. Instead, I support establishing a municipal Peer Employment program, drawing directly from proven local efforts such as the pilot initiative between The Bridges shelter and the Cambridge Mill, alongside community partners like St. John’s Kitchen and Recycle Cycles. These programs demonstrate that low-barrier, dignity-based work provides individuals with immediate financial agency and purpose. Through this peer employment initiative, the City of Kitchener can hire unhoused residents for essential local work, including winter sidewalk clearing, trail maintenance, and municipal trade-support tasks. Providing reliable daily income empowers unhoused neighbors with the financial means to afford available room rentals, deposit payments, or transitional options right now, rather than leaving them stranded in encampments while awaiting government construction timelines. Combining Ulm’s municipal land banking strategy with a Bridges-inspired peer employment program creates a clear pathway from temporary crisis to permanent stability. This approach ensures Kitchener builds lasting, publicly controlled housing for the future while delivering immediate dignity, earned income, and housing mobility to our most vulnerable residents today. Notes i did consider Helsinki, Finland (Housing First) & Vienna, Austria (The Social Housing Model). But I think Ulm, Germany Municipal Land Banking is the best for Kitchener. Now any use of Kitchener land is Indigenous land, and we will absolutely need to have Indigenous communities at the leadership table for this. When it comes to the jobs that this initiative will create, I have zero issue with ensuring a quota of a certain percentage of Indigenous trade and skilled workers being employed and paid.

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

While addressing homelessness with dignity is vital, our municipal housing strategy must not overlook the hard-working residents who keep Kitchener running every day. In Ward 10, thousands of gainfully employed individuals earning under $90,000 annually from early childhood educators and healthcare aides to retail staff and apprentice tradespeople are quietly being priced out of the city they serve. The housing conversation too often focuses exclusively on opposite ends of the spectrum, leaving behind the working middle class who rent, pay their taxes, and simply want a fair shot at stable living costs. My platform ensures working-class renters are no longer forgotten in municipal decision-making. Through a dedicated Workforce Housing Initiative, I advocate for three-storey gentle density, triplexes, and garden suites that create realistic, attainable rental options within our existing neighborhoods. Alongside expanding smart supply, we must protect current renters through a Dual-Action Property Standards Bylaw. When corporate landlords neglect basic essentials like heat, water, or structural repairs, municipal fines should be paid directly to affected tenants as financial restitution, enforcing real property management accountability and keeping living costs manageable. Housing is the foundation of economic mobility and community strength. By pairing low-barrier economic opportunities for unhoused neighbors with strong tenant protections and workforce housing for our gainfully employed residents, we can build a Ward 10 where everyone has a stable place to call home. I am committed to delivering a practical, balanced housing strategy that serves all Kitchener residents with fairness and respect.

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to address both encampments and permanent housing.candidate's own words

Including supportive and affordable housing in all new municipal building projects — e.g. fire station, community centre, library, maintenance facility... we should use the most of our land by adding housing to any new capital project meant for the delivery of core city services.

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

The encampment at Victoria and Weber, like several other encampments across our region, exists because there is a lack of suitable supportive housing, shelter, and treatment options. When I visited the encampment to speak with neighbours there, I heard that there are many reasons why someone might find themselves unhoused. These range from fleeing intimate partner violence, to being unfairly evicted, to suffering a workplace injury, to struggling with addiction and mental health. Because there are so many different causes that might lead to homelessness, we need many different types of solutions. Kitchener is not unique in this scenario. Many cities across Canada are coping with the systemic underfunding of mental health and addictions supports, and the lack of social housing options relative to the need that exists. Justice Gibson ruled that evicting vulnerable people from the Victoria St. encampment without providing alternatives infringes on their right to life. A similar court ruling about an encampment in Montreal stated, “a human being cannot exist nowhere”. The conversation around growth can sometimes pit neighbours against each other. But something interesting happens when we design neighbourhoods with enough density for efficient transit, utilities, district energy, and housing choice. We get more options for homes at every stage of life. This means someone who wants to downsize from their single family home doesn’t have to move out of the neighbourhood, and can stay connected to their local community. Neighbourhoods that incorporate mixed-use, mid-rise development also provide more local job opportunities and give us the tax base we need to reliably maintain infrastructure for the long term. Unlike the current councillor, who put forward the motion to ban mid-rise housing in the Auditorium neighbourhood, I will advocate for a zoning bylaw that provides more housing choice in all areas of the city. Together with better protections for renters, new green spaces and trails, and expanded community gardens, our neighbourhoods can rise to the challenge of accommodating new growth while supporting livable communities.

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to address both encampments and permanent housing.candidate's own words

During my term, the City has supported 11 affordable-housing projects representing more than 420 homes and nearly $59 million in municipal investment, including five projects in Ward 10. I want Kitchener to keep using every appropriate municipal tool available including land donation, while continuing to press the Region, Province and Federal Government for the supportive housing, shelter, mental-health and addiction resources that fall within their responsibilities.

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

Housing is a good example of why municipal responsibilities need to be clear. Kitchener cannot control interest rates, market rents or provincial housing policy, but we do control important tools including land use, approvals, municipal land, incentives and property taxes. During my term, the City has supported 11 affordable-housing projects representing more than 420 homes and nearly $59 million in municipal investment, including five projects in Ward 10. I want Kitchener to keep using every appropriate municipal tool available while continuing to press the Region, Province and Federal Government for the supportive housing, shelter, mental-health and addiction resources that fall within their responsibilities.