As we continue to see our urban forest, farmlands and wetlands depleted and unprotected, we need to recognize and claim our responsibility for providing a healthy city – today and for tomorrow – and be ready to meet the challenges of Climate change. Through smart planning, enforceable Policies and by-laws, we CAN sustain, protect and enhance our green space while promoting infilling in appropriate areas in keeping with the culture of the existing area and providing affordable housing for our residents of all ages, work force and for the vulnerable. I am committed to advocate in providing leadership that will provide sustainable growth for Welland in this manner.

To stay current with Provincial mandates, and urban growth, we need to stay current on our existing policies, to ensure effectiveness for the future – both for the residents and the City. Policies are necessary to provide guidance to Council and Staff in effectively navigating issues with good governance and need to be reviewed on a consistent basis.

While the City continues to grow, I will continue to seek that our level of services are enhanced and maintainable. While this may be in Public Works and Parks, or in keeping up with our aging infrastructure to reduce water/sewer breaks, road rehabilitation or in reducing inflow and infiltration of storm water into our sanitary sewers to reduce residential flooding. From Health Care, to basic Customer Service – we are responsible to the residents, to provide quality service.

Wellanders have the right to feel safe in our City, in our parks, in our neighbourhoods and in our homes. We seem to have temporary or makeshift solutions that are not fully addressing those unhoused or in addiction. We need to work towards deeper integration of responses to homelessness, addiction, and mental health and we need to make these supports available by working with the Region and other levels of government. Unfortunately, Welland doesn’t stand alone in these challenges.

I believe we should be helping people before situations escalate into emergencies. This means adopting a sustainable plan of care. It may require us to shift towards health and social infrastructure focused on recovery, treatment, housing, and on-site wraparound support, using an integrated model of housing and healthcare to improve service access, system coordination and actual community health and well-being outcomes. It also means securing federal and provincial funding to invest in outreach and system navigation that gets folks off of the streets and into care.