As the federal election gets underway its important to see local issues front and center to ensure Kingston’s key priorities requiring federal partnership can be achieved. Kingston City Council recently approved a set of strategic priorities for the next four years, several of which involve partnership and collaboration with the federal government. As the parties…
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One of the things I always tell people is: I live in the city’s west end, I work in the city’s east end (though now just part-time at RMC), and when I want to relax and enjoy some free time, I head downtown. One of my favourite downtown events is coming up this Saturday –…
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This week we’ve heard a lot about secondary suites in the news, particularly revolving around the concerns of Westbrook residents who are seeing lots of secondary suites introduced in their area. So what is a secondary suite? How do they help the housing supply in Kingston? And how can we ensure this policy leads to…
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The Kick and Push theatre festival is underway here in Kingston and from my experience at the opening night it’s clear that a great new summer attraction has arrived in our city. Attending the launch of Ambrose at the Grand Theatre was my first taste of sight-specific, immersive theatre and it was without question the most unique and innovative theatre experience that I have…
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Missed Council but want to stay engaged with the hot topics? Check out the latest version of From the Mayor’s Chair, a segment with Station 14 where I break down the latest decisions of Council. Watch the July 14 Council meeting edition here: For an archive of previous From the Mayor’s Chair segments visit the media tab at…
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A citizen group called Kingston First (www.KingstonFirst.ca) is calling for more transparency and accountability for the tax dollars that go to KEDCO, Kingston’s economic development agency. They’ve provided data that suggests that a number of other cities in Ontario have economic development agencies with much smaller budgets. Here are my thoughts: I fully support the…
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What incredible Canada Day celebrations we had here in Kingston this year! As mayor I am so proud and so inspired by the incredible patriotism that was on display throughout our community. From the Red and White people parade to the huge crowd at the civic ceremony to the many other great events taking place across the city…
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The Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce is calling on Kingston City Council to reconsider its previous decision not to explore the Memorial Centre site as a possible location for the new high school set to replace KCVI and QECVI. By way of background, the Limestone District School Board approached the City of Kingston to explore…
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Promoting innovation and fostering entrepreneurship is one of the key elements of council’s vision to make Kingston a smart and livable 21st century city. Today I’m excited to introduce one of the ways we are going to achieve this goal: by transforming the old Portsmouth Town Hall into a new small business acceleration centre. The Portsmouth Town Hall…
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This week marks six months on the job as your mayor, and so I’d like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to all of the incredible volunteers I have met at countless fundraisers, walk/runs, awards ceremonies, grand openings and community events. You may not think there is much in common between a science fair…
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