Big City Mayors complete Kitchener meetings to discuss housing and other priorities

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) completed three days of meetings in Kitchener this afternoon where they discussed housing, mental health, addictions, immigration and other issues. Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, joined mayors along with federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Sean Fraser and others to discuss a broad range of issues that impact cities.

“Big city mayors are committed to tackling the homelessness, mental health and addictions crisis in ways that best fit our different communities,” said Kitchener Mayor, Berry Vrbanovic. “Kitchener was happy to host the mayors, Minister Clark, Minister Fraser and others Thursday to provide recommendations on issues ranging from OBCM’s Health and Homelessness Strategy to immigration. We know that it will take an all-of-government approach and consistent funding to tackle these complex issues and we look forward to continuing working collaboratively with our government and community partners.”

During a media conference on Thursday, Mayor Vrbanovic discussed the importance of the province and local governments working collaboratively with the private sector to ensure we can achieve our goal of building 35,000 homes by 2031 and in the process, ensuring we remain whole in terms of financial resources to build the kinds of communities we need. He also acknowledged Kitchener’s work to add more affordable and attainable housing around major transit station areas (inclusionary zoning).

“As people get comfortable with inclusionary zoning and we understand the impact that it has in our communities, Council will continue to advocate for expanding it beyond major transit station areas in the future,” Mayor Vrbanovic said.

Vrbanovic joined fellow big city mayors in presenting recommendations on how municipalities and the province can work together to address the unprecedented health and homelessness crisis. The mayors are recommending the province to take meaningful steps to recognize municipalities’ challenges as a health priority and to explore scaling up the OBCM Health and Homelessness Strategy in advance of Budget 2024.

OBCM presented Minister Clark with the following recommendations, which were initially presented to Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in early April:

• Centralized and integrated intake and dispatch process that includes triage, warm transfer and dispatch process operating 24/7 by a multidisciplinary, multi-agency team.
• More provincial investment in low-barrier hubs providing 24/7 wraparound services to people who have not been accessing the traditional shelter services.
• More stabilization and treatment beds with experienced staff to support those in their treatment journey to support high-acuity clients on their stabilization pathway.
• More flexible and predictable funding for supportive housing in an effort to prevent evictions of tenants who are not capable of living fully independently.
• More provincial ministry and agency collaboration to reduce red tape and duplication as we support unhoused individuals suffering with mental health and addictions challenges.

Mayors also participated in a tour of Downtown Kitchener Friday morning, including visits to Communitech, 44 Gaukel, Kitchener’s newly opened SDG Idea Factory, and the new Region of Waterloo outdoor managed shelter on the Wilmot/Waterloo border.

“It was a great pleasure to show mayors from across the province Kitchener’s robust culture of innovation in technology and community building,” said Mayor Vrbanovic. “From admiring the all-Canadian Project Arrow electric vehicle at Communitech; to exploring the downtown incubator fostering our residents’ creative talent at 44 Gaukel; to being among the first visitors to our SDG Idea Factory — a hive for vibrant social entrepreneurs forging new initiatives to nourish our people and planet; the tour was just a taste of what makes Kitchener a great place to live, work and play.”

-30-

Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM, https://www.ontariobigcitymayors.ca/) is comprised of mayors of Ontario cities with populations of 100,000 or more. OBCM provides a voice for big city mayors in policy debates that impact Ontario cities. Through policy development, advocacy, discussion and partnerships, Ontario’s Big City Mayors support strong and effective cities.

OBCM media release

For more information, please contact:

Bethany Rowland
Director of Corporate Communications & Marketing
bethany.rowland@kitchener.ca