2022 Campaign Platform

Expand Housing Options

• Create a new Kingston affordable housing fund, where housing subsidies are funded directly from new revenue the city receives from growth
  Using strong-mayor powers over the last few years, I have directed specific investments toward new affordable housing. This includes more than $10 million in new transitional and supportive housing in the City’s 2025 budget.
  

• Promote innovative housing solutions such as modular housing, tiny homes and 3D printed houses

  Over the past four years, we’ve seen the opening of the new tiny homes built next to the Rideau Heights Community Centre and the transformation of the former Travelodge Hotel on Princess Street into new affordable housing units. The new St. Vincent de Paul community centre was constructed using Lodestar modular building technology, which can facilitate future housing construction on top of the community centre.

• Facilitate a range of new purpose-built housing communities for seniors, with supports and services to help residents age in place
  As a City, we’ve helped approve several new senior-friendly housing developments in the city core and supported grassroots initiatives such as the Kingston Senior Co-Housing project and visioning for the future of the Providence Care long-term care home. We’ve enabled the construction of new long-term care and retirement homes and continue to encourage construction and/or redevelopment of new or existing seniors' housing.

• Work with neighbouring mayors to establish regional approach to housing development in Kingston region
  I launched the new Regional Mayor’s Council in late 2022, and since then this group has enabled cooperation among Kingston’s neighbouring municipalities on housing and other key files such as regional transportation links and recreational facilities.

Help Ease Cost of Living Pressures

• Use new revenue from growth to keep property tax increases as one of the lowest among Ontario cities, while still maintaining existing city services

  For each of the last four years, Kingston’s annual property tax rate increase has been one of the lowest among other large cities in Ontario.

• Reduce price of monthly transit pass to provide a lower cost transportation option
  Back in 2023, we introduced a 50% price reduction on an affordable monthly transit pass for low-income families and individuals.

• Expand city business parks to make room for more good paying jobs and help people earn the income they need
  We have expanded the business park lands in the east end and launched negotiations with Novelis to acquire some of their surplus land in the central area of the city.

Create New Partnerships to Meet Community Challenges

• Enable creative community based solutions to address homelessness, food security and facilitate affordable supportive housing
  We’ve established new supportive housing at the site of the former Extendicare long-term care home on Queen Mary Road, opened new transitional housing in several neighbourhoods across the city, and opened a new homeless shelter on Sydenham Road. We’re also supporting a number of food security programs through dedicated funding I’ve included in the City’s budget.

• Collaborate with health care partners to attract more family doctors and enhance mental health supports
  Over the last four years, we’ve attracted more than 30 new family physicians and introduced a series of City funding grants that have allowed existing family physicians to adopt new technologies that reduce their administrative burden and free up more of their time to take on more patients. The wait list for access to primary care has been drastically reduced as a result.

• Facilitate community transition to electric vehicles and renewable natural gas through investments in utilities infrastructure

  In my role as Board Chair for Kingston Hydro, I’ve helped champion the path to the construction of a new transformer station – a much-needed investment to ensure we can meet the electricity demand of new housing and industrial development in the city.

• Assist local businesses and job seekers by convening a new community action based forum to help get the right people into the right jobs

  Through a monthly community leaders meeting and other collaborations with business advocacy groups and employment agencies, we’ve helped address labour shortages in past years and are now shifting to identifying new employment opportunities.