Hamilton council members have approved new plans to support people experiencing homelessness in the city, by introducing more temporary shelter spaces. But Ward 2 Coun. Cameron Kroetsch says this is not something people should be “excited about.”
While speaking with CHCH News’ Louis Butko on the Newsmakers podcast Thursday morning, Kroetsch said the issue of addressing homelessness in the city is a complicated one.
“I think [the temporary shelter plan] is important, but I don’t want people to think this is a permanent solution, or that this is something to be excited about,” he said. “This is a pretty tough situation, and we’re responding the best we can.”
READ MORE: Hamilton city council passes vote to make Tiffany Street lot temporary shelter site
He said the end goal is to seek out the Hamiltonians in most dire need of help, and move those individuals from temporary shelter services to permanent housing.
“I think these shelter spaces will help, but ultimately we need provincial and federal governments to help us with the housing costs, because we’re talking about billions of dollars to solve the problem that they put us into,” Kroetsch said.
“Until they’re willing to come to the table with that money, we’re going to be dealing with this for years.”
Hamilton City Centre continues to sit in disrepair
Another topic brought up with the councillor on the podcast was the derelict Hamilton City Centre.
The mall closed to the public on Dec. 31, 2022, in anticipation of the building being demolished to make way for a condo building. All store owners were given until the following January to leave.
But that plan has faced setback, after setback.
IN8 Developments President Darryl Firsten told CHCH News last year that the real estate market was not looking promising, and demolition would be on hold until there was a viable real estate market.
READ MORE: Condo developer planning on revamping Hamilton City Centre
Now, nearly two years after its initial closure, Hamiltonians are stuck with a building that hasn’t been demolished – but can’t be used.
Councillor Kroetsch said the electrical and plumbing systems had been removed, making the building “dead in a certain kind of way.”
He said going forward, guidelines should be put in place when companies buy large buildings or plots of land to prevent the predicament the Hamilton City Centre is in.
City council in the dark on LRT timeline
When asked about another long-delayed project, the Hamilton LRT, Kroetsch said he was just as frustrated as the community.
“People are feeling impatient, this has been going on for 15 years at this point,” he said.
Kroetsch said while councillors in the city have repeatedly asked the province for an updated project timeline, they’ve mostly been kept in the dark.
No clear end to suspension from police board
Finally, Kroetsch touched on his suspension from the Hamilton Police Services Board, which began in March.
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission launched an investigation into a complaint against the Ward 2 councillor from the board, alleging that he breached the board’s code of conduct regulations in several ways.
While he believes some progress has been made over the last six months, Kroetsch says “they’re not really at the end of their investigation yet.”
He is hoping to be back with the police board in the coming months.
READ MORE: Kroetsch to temporarily step away from police board duties amid complaint investigation
