Waterloo — Mayor
3 candidates responded
Dorothy McCabe See responses
- Increase funding for deeply affordable and supportive housing
- This question isn't clear. The current situation is not one or the other - it's both and. As well
- the option to increase funding for deeply affordable and supportive housing is a key priority but it is a provincial responsibility.
- Given the ongoing court case regarding encampments
- I am declining to answer.
- Most of these options are already being done.
Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to address both encampments and permanent housing.candidate's own words
As Mayor, I initiated and led the housing development at 2025 University Avenue East - BuildNowWR - which is the largest per capita affordable, attainable and supportive housing project in Canada. The first building with 85 units is currently being constructed, servicing is being built and site planning for the remaining housing is currently underway. We are partnered with Habitat for Humanity and private and non profit housing developers. The city provided 25 acres of land, set high sustainability and accessibility standards for the entire site. The housing will remain in public ownership in perpetuity.
Jamie Hari See responses
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
Jeyas Balaskanthan See responses
- 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.
- Establish and maintain clear minimum standards (sanitation, safety, outreach)
- Expand the hours and capacity of extreme-weather shelter protections beyond current levels
- 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.
On the ballot but have not responded to survey (2)
- Jerry Jiang
- Shannon Weber
Full candidate list: CBC Waterloo Region election coverage ↗