Earlier this month, I joined with other mayors from Ontario’s largest cities to discuss the ongoing homelessness, mental health, and addictions crisis.. The Ontario Big City Mayors (OBMC) Caucus represents 29 cities with populations over 100,000. It’s a very diverse group of mayors with different political leanings and backgrounds, but over the last two years we have been united…
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Like most other cities in Ontario, in Kingston, we continue to grapple with the multiple, overlapping crisis of homelessness, mental health and addictions. These challenges are incredibly complex and cannot be fully addressed without adequate funding from upper levels of government. But in trying to do our best with the resources we have, there are…
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One of the great treasures we have here in Kingston is our amazing waterfront. It’s a crucial part of our identity as a city and our quality of life as a community. One of my top priorities as mayor has been to expand public access to the waterfront and create new places, activities and experiences…
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As we head into the fall, one of the most important tasks here at City Hall is to begin work on next year’s budget. Since the introduction of strong mayor powers last year, it is my responsibility as mayor to present the budget to council early in the new year. That process begins here in…
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The on-going shortage of family physicians has been one of the top concerns in our community for the last several years. Fortunately, we are now starting to see some significant improvements in primary care access in Kingston, thanks to recent investments from the City, new funding from the province, and a team effort from a…
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After a few tough years during the pandemic, it’s great to see the City’s transit system expanding once again. In 2024, we are expecting transit ridership to return to the pre-pandemic peak of nearly seven million riders we first reached back in 2019. With the City’s population continuing to increase, we’re now ready to create…
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The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Kingston is one of many amazing community organizations that exist to help those in need in our city. For nearly 60 years, they’ve been providing meals, free clothing and household items, an emergency food pantry and other support services. The big challenge for them now is space. With…
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During the last election, I heard clearly from residents across the city about the need to enhance pedestrian safety, particularly for children and youth heading to and from school. Recognizing this priority, City Council is moving forward with a new pilot program to introduce photo radar here in Kingston. As a first step towards improving…
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Kingston is facing a critical need for more rental housing. Right now, the City’s rental vacancy rate is just 0.8 per cent, well below the three per cent threshold that reflects a healthy rental market. That means that for every 1000 rental units in the city, only eight are available right now. This pressure leads…
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A few months ago, the City agreed to purchase the Extendicare property here at the corner of Bath and Queen Mary Road. Extendicare will be moving to their new long-term care home over by the Rio Can Centre later this year, and there’s lots of interest from the community to know what the plans are for…
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