Tuesday, April 29, 2025

The public inquiry into the Red Hill Valley Parkway began April 25. In February of 2019, Hamilton city council was shown that a friction report of the Red Hill Valley Parkway’s surface was below U.K. safety standards but that report was generated in 2013.

Eisenberger says the outcome of the inquiry will not be revealed until sometime next year.

“I don’t think there was a lack of transparency, I think there was a lack of a report coming forward that was not conclusive about the status of the road and that’s still something that is being debated by professionals that are providing testimony,” said Eisenberger. “We are as open and transparent as we can be on all issues, clearly delivering 72,000 documents is an effort to provide as much material as the judicial inquiry is going to need.”

City Worker Vaccine Mandate

The city has recently voted to keep mandatory vaccine mandates for city workers.

Eisenberger says the city is encouraging city workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine. On June 1, he says employees who are not vaccinated will be terminated.

“The vaccine is the path forward on the serious coronavirus and as we have heard today, the hospitals are still overrun with COVID cases and are still challenged to provide healthcare right across the board,” said Eisenberger. “Unless you have a medical exception, there is no reason why you cannot and should not take that vaccine.”

Ukraine Support

The city is launching support for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. Eisenberger says the city does not know how many Ukrainian refugees are in Hamilton, but that the city is prepared for them.

“We are ready, willing and able to welcome them,” said Eisenberger. “Just recently, the city of Hamilton identified $50,000 to help with humanitarian aid, shipments of goods that are needed in the country right now for everyday citizens, and we have actually funded four shipments of goods that have been collected here.”