Hamilton City Council marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and approved a tree planting ceremony at Gage Park in May. Councillors also debated changes to lobbyist-registration safeguards, new restrictions on councillors communicating with the Committee of Adjustment, and a staff study on shelter-system demographics and whether people are being sent to Hamilton from other municipalities. Council approved several community funding items, including support for youth sports and park improvements, and discussed the province’s plan to merge conservation authorities.

Topics Discussed

Lobbyist Registration Safeguards

Council reviewed lobbyist-registration procedures after what Councillor Francis described as “the second incident… where a lobbyist was suspended for improperly failing to disclose or be registered with the city,” adding, “clearly there’s a gap here to be addressed.”

Integrity Commissioner David Begoian told council there is currently no requirement for senior leadership to verify lobbyist registration before meetings. He also cautioned that “making those inquiries could spur members of the public who are unaware of the requirement to register aware of that requirement.” At the same time, he said council could add a requirement, stating, “There is no impediment to council imposing such a requirement” for a mandatory verification or disclaimer step before certain discussions, including non-competitive procurement.

Committee of Adjustment Representation Ban

Begoian said councillors should not write letters of support or opposition to the Committee of Adjustment (COA), describing the COA as “a quasi judicial body required to apply legal and planning principles” that “should not be unduly or improperly influenced by support expressed by members of council.”

He added that “whether it’s a letter of support or if it’s an aggregated summary of opinion of a neighborhood against… that type of interaction with the COA is deemed to be inappropriate and therefore forbidden.” Councillor Clark supported clarifying the rule, saying, “I think it’s important that we have those things clarified so that there are no further issues.”

Homeless Shelter Demographics Study

Council approved a motion directing staff to study shelter intake and residency patterns, including whether other municipalities are sending people to Hamilton. Councillor Maureen Wilson told council, “the shelters in some of uh our neighboring municipalities are putting individuals on a bus, sending them to to Hamilton.”

Other councillors questioned how reliable any residency findings could be if information is self-reported. Councillor Crutch argued, “In this data, we don’t have any confidence in the data. We just have the confidence that the person told us that they live here,” adding that if people know there is a restriction, “they can just say they live here and that solves that problem.”

A staff member, Jim, said the work is intended to test claims that are currently unproven: “a lot of that’s anecdotal… I think this gives us the opportunity to either prove or disprove that by providing answers to self-reported information.” Councillor Spatafora framed the issue as a question of municipal responsibility, saying, “We can’t provide those services for everybody in Ontario. Not our job.”

Golden Age Transit Pass Expansion

Council directed staff to analyze lowering the eligibility age for the Golden Age Pass, which currently provides free transit for seniors aged 80 and older. Councillor Cooper said, “By the time seniors pay for their utilities, pay their taxes, sometimes there’s not enough money for food, let alone transit.”

Councillor Jackson noted current uptake, saying he was “thrilled that nearly 3,200 seniors of 80 years of age and older have been utilizing it,” and asked staff to explore whether lowering the age threshold could expand access for seniors “meeting an income threshold.”

Conservation Authority Merger Opposition

Council discussed the province’s plan to merge conservation authorities. Councillor Clark said, “Over 14,000 people wrote letters… opposing the direction that the province was proposing,” and argued the response did not reflect that feedback: “they didn’t really, in my humble opinion, consider the letters that came in.”

Clark also emphasized the purpose of conservation land acquisition, saying, “We don’t buy development lands to prevent development. We buy lands that are natural hazard lands that are floodrone or have marsh lands in them and we purchase them to preserve the ecological function of those lands.” On the merger’s impact, he added, “we don’t know the ramifications in the future.”

Motions

Passed: - Chernobyl 40th Anniversary Commemoration — tree planting at Gage Park in May
- Lobbyist Registrar Inquiry Report (LRI 2206-001) — received
- Better Homes Hamilton Pilot Program made permanent (FCS26050)
- Golden Age Pass eligibility study — staff to analyze lowering age threshold (16-0)
- Homeless shelter demographics study — Items A, B, and D (16-0); Item C (13-3)
- International Children’s Games funding — $13,900 for Taiwan trip (15-1)
- Carpenter Park play structure funding reallocation (15-1)
- Barton Street repaving budget clarification (16-0)
- AMO Board endorsement for Councillor Tammy Wang (16-0)
- Ward 3 capital reinvestment allocation — $150,000 (16-0)
- Barton Village mural project — $10,248.75 (16-0)
- Hamilton Police Service Board seven-member composition (16-0)
- Youth soccer sponsorship at 245 Canora Avenue — up to $3,375 (15-1)
- 13 bylaws (26070 to 26085)

Received: - Hamilton Utilities Corporation Shareholder minutes (HUS 26-001) — 16-0
- Public Works Committee minutes (PWC 26-005) — 16-0
- Planning Committee minutes (PLC 26-005) — 16-0
- General Issues Committee minutes (GIC 26-006)
- Audit, Finance and Administration Committee minutes (AFNA 260 005) — 16-0

Closed Session Items (all 16-0 or 15-0): - Property acquisition citywide (PIED 26066)
- Sport training facility development (HSC26038)
- Cybersecurity follow-up audit (CM260001)
- Property lease (W12) — 14-0 with conflict of interest declared

Attendees

Present: Mayor Andrea Horvath, Councillors Wilson, Nann, Francis, Clark, Beeby, Pauls, Jackson, Crutch, Casar, Spatafora, McMeekin, Tatison, Wang, Cooper, Mikin (16 members)