Hamilton's budget out of touch with problems city is facing, say residents

Thestar.com
Nov. 10, 2021
Kevin Werner

Frustrated Hamilton residents, who have repeatedly appeared before council demanding action on various issues with little action, say councillors need to take the social issues that are impacting people and the city seriously rather than simply ignoring them and hoping they go away.

“You have an enormous budget, (but) there is no willingness to look outside the box,” said an irked Don McLean, of Hamilton 350 Committee. “The world has changed.”

Even though Hamilton council declared a climate emergency in 2019, he said councillors have done little to address climate issues.

“There is no commitment to when to do it,” said McLean, during a Nov. 8 budget session that allowed public delegations. “It is continuously treated as a minor (issue).”

Karl Andrus, a member of the Hamilton Community Benefits Network, echoed the comments, telling councillors despite a pandemic, a climate crisis, and an emerging homelessness problem, the proposed 2022 budget does nothing to address these issues.

“It feels the same,” he said. “It needs to be ambitious. Be bold. Do something transformational.”

During the more than three-hour virtual meeting, councillors heard from about 25 live delegations and four people who submitted pre-recorded videos.

Several people spoke to councillors from J.C. Beemer Park on Victoria Avenue in the downtown, which has a large number of people living in tents. They urged councillors to invest in housing, build additional shelter spaces and simply help people who are forced to live outdoors.

Gabriel Baribeau said people are continuously being turned away at shelters because there are no spaces.

“There is no surprise we have seen a rise in homelessness,” said Baribeau, against a background of tents.

At one point Sabrina Dahab told councillors to “stop eating popcorn and get off their phones” and listen to people demanding action.

Violetta Nikolskaya, a senior analyst at the YWCA, said the need for shelter space has skyrocketed, especially with women being turned away.

“We have a crisis,” she said.

Kojo Damptey of Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion and a member of the Just Recovery Coalition said council has only adopted 18 of the group’s 140 recommendations to recover from the pandemic. Among the items that must be part of the budget are investing in women, mobility and disability justice, eliminating systemic racism, creating jobs and supporting green infrastructure, he said.

He suggested councillors increase the city’s enrichment fund to community groups, as well as take any increase earmarked for the Hamilton Police Service and redirect it to social services, such as mental health programs, combating hate crimes, and preventing encampment evictions.

Anthony Marco, president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council, said it felt like deja vu all over again appearing before councillors’ budget committee to ask that the city provide a living wage to all its employees. Over the last several years he has been doing the same thing, with little action.

“It’s time to step up,” he said.

Councillors in 2020 rejected the idea of spending $292,500 for one year and $877,660 over three years to pay its arena workers, summer students and other part-time employees a living wage.

The Social Planning Research Council recently announced that the living wage for Hamilton is $17.20 an hour, an increase from $16.45. Ontario’s minimum wage is currently $14.35 an hour, but the province is increasing it to $15 starting in January.

There were several McMaster University students who urged the city to set an example and pay a livable wage to students. Ayla Bahram, a fourth-year McMaster student who lives in Ward 6, said she works three jobs to support her family, while still going to school full-time.

“A living wage would greatly benefit students,” she said.

The city’s preliminary average tax increase is about four per cent, but councillors have indicated they want the 2022 tax hike to be at least below two per cent and hopefully as close to zero as possible.