Coalition wants budget that benefits everyone

Just Recovery Hamilton Coalition has released 126 recommendations in 39-page report

The Just Recovery Hamilton Coalition says that with new leadership around the council table, it’s time for “bold” ideas to be implemented to transform the city into a community that benefits everybody.

The coalition of 11 local organizations introduced 126 recommendations to improve the city in a 39page report, from investing in child care and protecting tenants to building more affordable housing and a new encampment strategy for councillors to consider adopting starting in this year’s budget.

“This is a road map for change,” said Karl Andrus of Hamilton Community Benefits Network during a news conference on Wednesday at city hall. “It will allow our new council and new mayor to do things differently. We just (had) a change election, brought in a whole bunch of new leaders trying to do things differently.”

Ian Borsuk, interim executive director of Environment Hamilton, said that with 10 new councillors, there are “heightened” expectations from the local groups involved in crafting the recommendations to make significant changes in housing, climate change, child care, public health and gender equality.

The recommendations include creating a task force on equity, diversity and inclusion; funding the creation of more sexual assault centres; creating a plan for more childcare spaces; building more affordable housing; expanding the tenant defence fund; eliminating transit fares for students 17 and under, seniors, Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program recipients; banning hate symbols in Hamilton; funding the city’s Urban Indigenous Strategic Plan; investing in the arts; funding the Hamilton Drug Strategy; and adding additional staff to the city’s new climate change office.

Councillors recently approved the 2023 capital budget, and will be discussing the operating budget later in February. The proposed average tax increase so far is 5.6 per cent, but there remains several items councillors still have to decide on that could be added to the tax levy.

The coalition’s document was a followup to its 2021 report that was released to the public prior to the 2022 budget discussions. It comprised about 150 recommendations that Andrus said the city “made great progress” on, but was stymied by a council that was “consistent” but unable to make “bold” decisions. Since the first document was released, group representatives reiterated that dialogue with city staff and political representatives, along with collaboration, has continued.

Violetta Nikolskaya, senior program analyst at YWCA Hamilton, said the goal would be for the recommendations to be implemented “as soon as possible,” but with several items involving significant financial investment, such as child care and housing, it is expected council will move toward the recommendations over several years, with the coalition monitoring the progress closely.

Andrus said there are many recommendations, such as restructuring the board of health or changing the city’s procurement policy to reflect a community benefits ideal, that can be implemented without costing taxpayers.

Kojo Damptey, executive director of Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, said it’s time to dismiss the idea of councils approving “maintenance” budgets, which will not address the city’s critical needs. “We need to create a city that we want to see where everyone belongs.”

‘‘ This is a road map for change … It will allow our new council and new mayor to do things differently.

KARL ANDRUS HAMILTON COMMUNITY BENEFITS NETWORK