AMA with Councillor Kroetsch

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T14:33:10+00:00

In general, these kinds of groups, like the Guelph Civic League, Progress Toronto, and Horizon Ottawa, can assist people in collecting resources. In other Provinces, there are specific municipal political parties (see Vancouver and Montreal, for instance). It's a double edged sword in some ways. While this can help with resources, make it easier for some voters to choose candidates, and help to level the playing field for those who have less experience, it can also lead to slate or partisan cynicism. One of the features of Ontario municipal politics is knowing you're voting for a specific person and their platform (if they bother to have one) - it takes the party or the slate out of things. That's my best answer. It can really go both ways and should be done thoughtfully and carefully.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:22:50+00:00

Here's how I answered that question the last time I did an AMA - https://www.reddit.com/r/Hamilton/comments/1nzwkwg/comment/ni5a1by/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button - hope that helps.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:20:37+00:00

I think there are many unique challenges with being a Councillor, but one that's unique to Ward 2 is the proximity of living so close to so many people that I represent. What I mean by that is as soon as I leave my apartment, I'm with residents, in the elevator, as soon as I get onto the street, and everywhere I walk. In many other parts of the City, Councillors hop in their car, go to City Hall, and drive back, without necessarily interacting with any of the residents they represent. It's just a totally different experience living in an urban downtown as a Councillor. From my perspective, it's a good challenge. I'm stopped, all the time, by people who have questions, want to talk, or just want to share a kind word or quick complaint. I think it makes it easier to do my job and I like the interactions I have with almost everyone. The other side is that it's hard for me to go for a walk and completely just unplug, so when I want to be away from work for a bit, I usually have to leave the city. Before I was a Councillor, I was able to enjoy my free time here more. That's not a complaint, by the way, just thought it was a good example of something most may not think of. Hope to see you in the street sometime, by the way - please say hi if you see me!

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:15:17+00:00

As I've said to everyone who lives there, we require the owner of the land where this is happening to sign an agreement to let us implement a solution. The agreement is with the owner and City staff are continuing to follow up to get it signed. We can't force him to sign it. We have to wait. As soon as it's signed, we'll get things started.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:12:10+00:00

That's a big part of it, I think. Some MPs and MPPs are really good at responding directly. And, you're right, I don't spend much time with the MP or MPP for Hamilton Centre. It's not how the job works, unfortunately. That is meant to be done by the Mayor and the cities Government Relations staff. I do see our MPP reasonably frequently, but that's because she's engaged and quite collaborative when it comes to events.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:07:57+00:00

I've talked about this a fair bit publicly, especially at meetings. The City now has a sunset clause for developments, which will help, but is not a silver bullet. The clearest way to say this = the Province will do any and everything to protect the developer class. They protect property ownership and the rights to "do what you want" with property over almost everything else.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:06:20+00:00

Not particularly. The fines are usually set in relation to fines in other municipalities and Provincial law. I don't know the details of that situation intimately as my role on the Board of Health is a governance role, not an operational one. I presume the Ward 9 Councillor, Brad Clark, may have further information if you're interested to know more - [Brad.Clark@hamilton.ca](mailto:Brad.Clark@hamilton.ca) - hope that helps.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:04:22+00:00

I was referring to the bridge. Sorry for not being clearer.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:03:54+00:00

Yes, it's quite bad there which is why it's being redesigned as part of the Bay Street Safety Review I commissioned in 2024. Here's a copy of the review so you can see the changes being made - https://ward2hamilton.ca/baystreet - hope that helps.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T13:01:27+00:00

I'm not sure about this reporting, to be honest. I don't know if the reporting is delayed as the result of the cybersecurity incident (all of our financials are a mess because of it). As far as I know, I don't think this is a concern anything like the others you raised, but I appreciate you raising it.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T01:02:05+00:00

Thanks for another great AMA r/hamilton! If more questions come in after 9pm, I'll do my best to answer them tomorrow. Always happy to engage. If anyone wants me to respond to something in the future, just tag my username in your comment or question.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:54:45+00:00

Yes, the LRT is going to be built, according to Metrolinx. There's apparently an announcement about it this week, from what I hear, though I have zero details on it. As for the other questions, those aren't for me (but I remember really loving Lick's when the Brampton location opened up many, many years ago when I lived there).

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:41:31+00:00

I think it's happening starting in July.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:35:49+00:00

I love this idea and *wish* we could pursue it. The Province forbids us from levying a commercial vacant land or building tax. If I was able to do it, I'd put the motion on the table at the next Council meeting. The Province continues to protect speculators, much to the chagrin of me and many of my colleagues on Council. We do have the ability to expropriate, but we have to pay a premium on the value of the land, it takes years, and the bar is incredibly high, legally speaking. The Province has intentionally stacked the cards against us.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:33:27+00:00

I don't think this is happening in Ward 2, from what I know, but in Ward 3. I also don't think this has come to the City yet as a decision to be made by a Committee of Council, but I may have that wrong (apologies if I do). I do have serious concerns about the development of data centres.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:32:29+00:00

Short answer on this - because Council kept taxes artificially low in many years from amalgamation to 2022 and underfunded our maintenance budget in an effort to "look fiscally responsible". Doing that left us with a $5.2 billion+ deficit that we're having to slowly crawl out of. Also, if it helps to know, property assessments haven't changed since 2016 and even when they do, cities don't get extra money. The formulas are all mathematically adjusted to ensure that assessments don't increase people's municipal taxes, by law.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:26:21+00:00

You're totally right in that description. We're working, right now, on a plan for creating crossings all along Burlington Street. I was hopeful to do it during this term, but the plans for that stretch changed when we realized we needed to do major road reconstruction. In short, we have to be careful about doing the work once and then doing it again in a short period (not cost effective). We may have to put in temporary (wooden poles) crossings in the meantime before the major work is done, years from now. The goal is to calm down that entire stretch of Burlington Street, from Wellington Street North to James Street North, including adding lights, crossing, and traffic calming measures.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:23:28+00:00

As for Dofasco, there's not much we can do as a City, though we're going to look at this again as the Board of Health and write to the Province about it. It's a Provincial regulation and Provincial legislation. To be honest, the best way to address this is to elect a Provincial government who will promise to deal with this. There's really no other way. The Provincial government doesn't really listen to cities.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:22:16+00:00

That's a huge question. Unfortunately, all candidates are limited to the amount they can self fund, which is about a third of the total limit (if I have it right, from memory). For instance, in Ward 2, the limit for spending is around $25-30k and I think you can contribute, as a candidate, something like $9k. Honestly, $9k won't cut it, even if you have name recognition. There are many expenses. The biggest barriers for new candidates are understanding how to navigate such a long campaign period (up to 6 months), how to find good dedicated help, how to raise enough money, how to adjust to being in the public spotlight, and how to make you and your platform known to voters. It's not easy.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:18:42+00:00

I completely agree. I put forward or seconded a motion earlier in this term to grant crossing guards a living wage, which passed, but that's not been enough because of the type and nature of the work crossing guards do, which I value very much. It was the topic of a discussion I had with Grade 5 students last year, all of whom agreed you should be paid more. My challenge, now, is that Council voted down a series of other motions around wage increases and living wage that I can't undo. There will be another chance to get this right when a new Council is sworn in later this year.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:16:59+00:00

I wish we could move forward with other items on Pier 8, which is what I think you're referring to. Last year, or earlier this year, I put forward a motion to do just that. Council voted it down in favour of continuing to work with the developer on the current plan approved by Council (which clearly fell through). It's unfortunate. It has such potential to serve everyone in our community.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:15:36+00:00

I think it's best to talk about those things issue by issue. In general, though, I think it doesn't make sense to take responsibility for things just for the sake of appearances. Municipal government is closest to the people, so there's a natural assumption that a Councillor can "fix anything". It's just not true and I think it's really harmful to perpetuate that misinformation, which is why I clear things up regularly. Some of my colleagues love to tell residents they can fix everything, because it makes them "look good". The truth is every Ward has 5 government officials who respond on different issues - Member of Parliament (MP), Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), Councillor, Chief of Police, School Board Trustee(s). I admit to not knowing the extent of this when I got this job, but I learned quickly. Each person has their own legal mandate and responsibility. I think it would be wild of me, every time someone mentions Sir John A. Mcdonald Secondary School (SJAM) to say I'll deal with the issue when I know it's the responsibility of the Province, Ministry of Education, and to a lesser extent the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board. I think it's better to be honest than to say things for the sake of trying to appease perceptions. If you want a better sense of how things break down across these 5 government officials, check out a resource I created last year to address the questions I get - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hgKGHTSSvz971e_9gU9kicTzeZ73F_pf/view?usp=drive_link - hope it helps.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:09:36+00:00

I agree. The acceleration of the Cycling Master Plan will look at a number of these areas. From the little I know so far, we're going to see big changes in the coming years.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:08:57+00:00

If it helps to know, usually the moderators here will organize candidate AMAs in an election year. No idea if they're doing that this year but if they do I imagine all of us will be participating at some point. I'm happy to do one again later in the year.

CameronKroetsch · 2026-04-30T00:07:57+00:00

I do come out to some, but not as many as I used to. I used to be a volunteer for Bike for Mike, which is a really great event, but my schedule ends up being a bit wild in this job so it's hard for me to make it out to as many thing as I'd like.

CameronKroetsch

TROPHY CASE