The housing market is red hot in Kingston right now, and with such a strong demand for housing, it’s critical we build as much new housing as possible. Otherwise, house prices and rental rates will continue to rise quickly. The Mayor’s Task Force on Housing identified harmonizing the City’s zoning by-laws as the most important…
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During this year’s budget deliberations, Council made a decision to draw $1M from the City’s reserve funds to help small businesses, non-profits and artists who have been hardest hit by the pandemic. The goal of this funding is to address gaps in existing support programs from the provincial and federal governments. For example, businesses that…
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With the emergence of ride sharing providers like Uber and Lyft, cities all over the world have been working to implement the right mix of regulations to ensure that these platforms provide a safe and reliable experience for users. In Kingston, we have a number of regulations in place for how taxis operate, and these…
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Throughout the pandemic, the City has been focused on repurposing public space to open up the downtown and ensure pedestrians can physically distance and businesses can expand operations. This week City Council approved a new and improved Love Kingston Marketplace, an initiative that will once again transform the downtown core to create a safe and…
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Introduction COVID-19 has impacted many facets of our community including amplifying existing challenges such as issues of homelessness, mental health, addiction, and access to affordable housing. It has also placed significant strain on our local post-secondary institutions, threatened the livelihood of our downtown and cultural sector, and the survival of many local businesses remains in…
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The Kingston Economic Recovery Team has been focused on several key priorities to ensure we build back in better and more inclusive ways on the other side of the pandemic. One of these priorities is to create more opportunities for underrepresented and marginalized groups. We want everyone in our city to have access to employment…
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With all the challenges we’re facing as a community as a result of the pandemic, it’s never been more important to explore new ideas and approaches to help support our recovery and ensure we build back in efficient and innovative ways. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the 4th annual Mayor’s Innovation…
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The financial challenges facing our local businesses and non-profit agencies have been front and centre for myself and Council during this week’s budget deliberations. As mayor, I continue to press the federal and provincial governments for financial supports to help small business owners and their employees through the current lockdown. While upper levels of government…
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Next week Council will meet to make final decisions on the City’s budget for 2021. A lot has changed over the last year, and this year’s budget is meant to address and respond to the financial challenges faced by both the City and those across our community. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re projecting a…
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Today is the first day of the new provincial state of emergency that will be in place for at least the next 14 days and is meant to reduce the spread of COVID-19 cases across Ontario. So what does that mean here in Kingston? First and foremost, you should avoid travel outside of the Kingston…
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