Craig's Current - April 2025

April has been a very busy month at City Hall, so it has taken us a few extra days to compile this month’s newsletter. We apologize for the delay, but we thought it was best to take the time to ensure you receive updates on the big topics from the past month. There’s a lot in here, so here’s a list of what you can find in each section. 

Council News: 

• Vacant Unit Tax update 

• Options for the LINC & Red Hill Valley Parkway 

• Stormwater Funding Changes 

• Incentives to Build More Housing 

• Barton-Tiffany Outdoor Shelters 

• Urban Boundary Expansion Applications 

• Report from the Mayor’s Taskforce on Transparency, Access & Accountability 

AROUND WARD 12 

• Ward 12 Virtual Town Hall: May 5 

• Temporary Closure of Ancaster Municipal Centre 

• 387 - 409 Hamilton Dr Development Proposal 

• 559 Garner Rd E Development Proposal 

• 159-163 Sulphur Springs Rd Development Proposal 

• Update: Wilson St / Academy St Development  Proposal

• Richardson Hyslop Frebold House 

• Free lawn bowling lessons 

IN OTHER NEWS 

• Free Tree Giveaway 

• National Youth Week 

• Rain Barrels  

• Park Maintenance 

• Roadside Grass Cutting 

• Oasis Forest Project 

HAPPENING AROUND HAMILTON 

• Doors Open Hamilton - May 3 & 4 

• Youth Town Hall - May 10 

• Happening Around Town Event Listing 

CLIMATE CORNER  

• Your Voice, Your Art, Our Climate Contest 

You can also keep up to date with news, public notices, media releases, and Council Communication updates directly from the City at News and Notices 

All homeowners in Hamilton are required to complete their Vacant Unit Tax (VUT) declaration. The deadline to declare your property status for 2024 was April 30, 2025, but if you have not yet declared, please do so as soon as possible. The City will not be charging late fees for this initial year of the new process. The VUT aims to increase the supply of housing in Hamilton by encouraging homeowners to keep their properties occupied rather than vacant. 

All residential property owners must submit a VUT declaration for each property owned, even if the property is their primary residence and is occupied. This includes homeowners living in their own homes, as well as those who own secondary or rental properties. Note that principal residences are one of the many exemptions from the tax, but you still need to declare. The VUT supports the City’s broader housing strategy and helps meet the evolving needs of Hamilton’s growing community. 

How to Complete Your Declaration: 

To complete a declaration, homeowners need the roll number and access code found on their Notice or Reminder to Declare Letters or their most recent 2025 property tax bill. Declarations can be submitted in various ways, including online, by phone, by email, by mail, and in person at drop-in declaration clinics. Printed declaration forms will also be accepted at all the Municipal Service Centres across the city. Full details, including in-person clinic locations and times, are available online at hamilton.ca/VacantUnitTax. 

Residents who need assistance completing their declaration can contact the City via email at [email protected] or by calling 905-546-2573. 

The City thanks all homeowners for their participation; approximately 93 per cent of homeowners have made their declarations to date, with 85 per cent completed using the online declaration portal. A courtesy notice will be mailed the week of May 12, allowing residential property owners a final opportunity to declare. 

Quick Fact: 

• The Vacant Unit Tax applies to all properties classified as residential under MPAC, including single-family detached, townhouses, row houses, and multi-family dwellings (duplexes to sixplexes). In Hamilton, this represents approximately 180,000 properties. 

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In early April, Staff brought a report to the Public Works Committee about how to address the growing traffic congestion on the Lincoln Alexander and Red Hill Valley Parkways. The report told Committee that an expansion from two to three lanes in each direction was technically feasible and would cost an estimated $138M in 2022 dollars. We know that construction costs have continued to climb so that the actual number would be much more than that.  

The report also asked for Committee’s direction to continue with the environmental assessment process to determine possible options to address the congestion, to engage the public, and then report back to Committee. 

One does not have to look far to observe that expanding highways is not a solution for traffic congestion. The QEW through Burlington and Oakville, as well as the expansion of Hwy 401, are good examples. The problem is rooted in the concept of induced demand: more lanes mean more people are incentivized to travel via single-occupancy vehicles, which in turn adds more congestion, leaving us no further ahead. The problem is further exacerbated when viable transportation alternatives do not exist.  

It was with that knowledge that I moved an amendment directing Staff to look at the problem more holistically so that a broader suite of options could be considered and that their effectiveness over time, along with their impact on public health and Hamilton’s Climate Action Strategy, be included in the analysis. My approach to city-building decisions like this is to consider the needs of today while also considering long-term impacts on future generations. When Council could spend north of $138M, we need to be confident that the money is invested to achieve the best possible outcomes well into the future.  

My motion was defeated in a 6-9 vote. This is what I proposed: 

That staff BE DIRECTED to analyze alternatives to address increasing private vehicle usage on Hamilton’s key Central/South Mountain and East Hamilton arterials and parkways supported by available research, best practices from other jurisdictions and industry thought leaders, and that factors considered include but not be limited to; 

• A high-level lifecycle cost comparison 

• Impacts on greenhouse gas emissions 

• Air pollutants causing human and environmental health impacts 

• Induced travel demand and mode share outcomes 

• The expected effectiveness over time of the proposed options 

Read the Hamilton Spectator report HERE 

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The costs for maintaining our stormwater system are growing, and the City needs to ensure reliable funding to keep up with the demand. In April 2026, a new stormwater fee will replace the existing funding from municipal water bills. This is not an incremental tax as the City is not collecting any additional funding above and beyond what it already needs to spend on stormwater infrastructure; it is revenue-neutral to the City’s finances. This change is a modernization of the funding source to increase reliability and to improve the fairness of how costs are spread across residents and businesses. 

The new fee has been developed via a thorough and thoughtful process to more fairly share the costs of our stormwater infrastructure in both our rural and urban areas. Today, many urban homeowners connected to the municipal water system are paying more than their fair share for stormwater because the fee charged on their bill is based on how much water they use, which is unrelated to the stormwater system. In contrast, large retail plazas with large roofs and expansive, impermeable parking lots pay very little because they don’t use very much water. Similarly, rural residents and businesses contribute less than the City spends in maintaining rural ditches, culverts, stormwater ponds, and for the rural share of contributions to our local Conservation Authorities.  

Council was presented with seven options to consider that were evaluated against seven criteria: fair & equitable, climate resilient, environmentally sustainable, affordable, financially sustainable, justifiable, and simple to understand and manage. The highest scoring option and the one that Council selected was a fee that will be based on the impervious surface area of the average single-family home. Every hard surface like a roof, driveway, patio etc., results in water flowing into the stormwater system, so from all the potential ways to approach a fee, this one best satisfied the criteria. It’s important to acknowledge that there are many variables that affect how much water any given home or business feeds into the stormwater system. It would be entirely impractical to customize the fee for every property, so this measure, called a ‘single-family-unit (SFU)’ is being used as the base unit each single-family home will be charged. Townhouses and multiplexes will be charged less, and large commercial areas will be charged more based on how many multiples of the SFU they have in impervious surfaces.  

By way of example, the expected fee for one SFU – the annual fee that most homes in Hamilton will pay starting in April 2026 – is estimated to be $200.75. The amount could change through the 2026 Water budget process, but that remains to be seen. Don’t forget that your water bill will be reduced at the same time. For larger households, or those that use a lot of water for gardening or washing vehicles etc., the reduction may be larger than the fixed annual fee, so your overall annual costs will be less. Low water users may experience an increase in annual costs. 

By way of contrast, large plazas will shoulder a much larger share of the costs. Let’s use the Walmart / Canadian Tire plaza bounded by Wilson, Shaver, Garner, and McClure as an example. Although I don’t know what their current collective water bills are, the estimated stormwater fee is $76,302, or roughly 380 SFUs, and represents a fair shifting of cost to them based on their contribution to stormwater entering our system.  

The City has established a Stormwater Fee Estimator for you to explore.  

In Rural Hamilton, the City collects about $1.5 million annually for stormwater via property tax bills, which is the rural funding contribution for our local Conservation Authorities. Annual spending in Rural Hamilton to maintain rural infrastructure, including ditches, culverts, and stormwater ponds, is an estimated 3 to 4 times that amount. This funding is currently sourced from municipal water bills in the urban area. 

However, if applied as approved by Council, the stormwater fee would inflict undue harm on our farmers and our essential agricultural industry as a whole. With that in mind, I put forward a motion that Council fully supported to create incentives for rural farms and businesses that aren’t connected to urban stormwater infrastructure. The most significant credit for this part of our City is the Green Space Credit (see below) that reduces the incremental charge beyond the SFU base charge by as much as 50% to 100%. These credits do shift some of the cost burden back onto the urban part of the city, but it was a necessary and appropriate decision to fine-tune fairness across Hamilton’s diverse landscape. 

Details on Stormwater Credits and Incentives 

Non-residential property types and large, multi-residential property types, including commercial, agricultural, institutional, industrial, and multi-residential properties (more than six units) can be eligible for the following credits to help offset the stormwater fee. 

Green Space Credit - Automatically applied to reduce fees. 
Farms, parks, and similar properties without a direct connection to the City’s stormwater system can qualify if their stormwater runoff goes to large green spaces. This credit will be automatically applied to eligible properties and reflected in the stormwater fee estimator tool. 

Stormwater Infrastructure Credit - Available upon application and approval. 
Property owners can get up to a 50% credit off their stormwater fee if they reduce the amount or improve the quality of stormwater that runs off their property. Owners must show that they have installed and maintained measures such as detention ponds, green roofs, or stormwater landscaping. 

Hamilton Harbour Discharge Credit - Available upon application and approval. 
Properties using private pipes to send stormwater directly to Lake Ontario can get up to a 90% credit. These properties must meet Provincial regulations related to discharge to the natural environment and prove that the discharge does not enter the City’s stormwater system. 

Residential property types - Single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes, and multiplexes (six units and under) rebates:

Rain Ready Rebate 
Homeowners can receive rebates for installing rain barrels, permeable paving, or other runoff-reducing solutions. This program is run by Green Venture, an environmental education not-for-profit organization in Hamilton, and funded by the City of Hamilton. For more information and to apply, visit Stormwater Incentive Program 

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Many factors have brought housing starts to a near standstill in Hamilton. This is incredibly concerning during a housing crisis where there are between one and two thousand people homeless, and many multiples of that in core housing need. Further, available housing is priced far beyond what many can afford. Without a meaningful investment in public housing from the Province or the Feds, and since Hamilton City Council lacks the financial means to make a dent in this predicament on our own, the private building industry is in dire straits. We’ve heard from industry leaders that layoffs are happening and will only get worse through 2025. 

City Council is working on several angles to be a productive partner, but the one I want to share with you now is a motion that Councillor Maureen Wilson and I worked on to move at the April 16 Council meeting, where it carried unanimously.  

The motion directed Staff to explore ways (many already enacted by other municipalities) to reduce the burden of development charges (DCs) on developers with the goal of getting more housing projects started in the near term. DCs are a complicated topic, but in a nutshell, they are a way the Province allows us to fund the costs of growth. If our population weren’t growing, we wouldn’t need to collect them, but because it is, we need to pay for new parks, expand our water treatment plant, build new recreation centres, hire more emergency responders, and many other things. Without these charges, which are collected with the philosophy that ‘growth should pay for growth,’ the costs would be borne by existing taxpayers. 

Progress on this topic is expected in early May, but it will require careful navigation and thoughtful planning because each incentive unlocked for industry has a direct impact on the City; essentially, we will need to fund any incentives through the tax levy, debt, or funding from upper levels of government.  

When considering the changes required to jumpstart housing, anything Hamilton can do might be helpful, but it will be far from sufficient to truly reinvigorate the private housing market. We desperately need more public housing, and that is something that newly elected Prime Minister Carney has committed to. Let’s hope he moves quickly.   

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Hamilton’s new temporary Barton-Tiffany Outdoor Shelter is now at full capacity, offering 24/7 supports like mental health care, housing resources, and other essential services. It hasn’t reached this milestone without complications and controversy. In this article, I’ll update you on what has been accomplished and speak to the cost overruns that were recently published.  

This new outdoor shelter is part of the City’s broader homelessness strategy to expand low-barrier shelter options in Hamilton. Since the shelter opened, Hamilton has seen a measurable reduction in encampments, with efforts ongoing.  

To date, 192 temporary beds have also been added, resulting in an 80% increase in shelter capacity. To bring the outdoor shelter to full capacity, the City prioritized direct placements from encampments, significantly improving safety and dignity for those residents. Since it opened, Hamilton has seen a measurable reduction in encampments, with efforts ongoing. Operated by Good Shepherd in partnership with the City of Hamilton, the shelter provides 40 heated and cooled single and double-occupancy cabins (20 of each), along with essential services and supports. The addition of this 80-bed site contributes to an 80 per cent increase (272 beds) in Hamilton’s overall shelter system.  

Designed to be low-barrier, the shelter accommodates individuals who may not access traditional shelters, including couples and those with pets. The flexible cabin design also allows for future redeployment in emergencies, beyond this immediate need. 

Learn more at: www.hamilton.ca/TemporaryShelterExpansion 

Now, to speak to the recently published cost overruns for the outdoor shelters. The General Issues Committee (GIC) reviewed the Staff report about cost overages at the Barton-Tiffany outdoor shelter site at its April 30th, 2025, meeting.  I was surprised and extremely disappointed by the report, which cited roughly $5M in overages. Given an option, there are many productive ways that this amount of money could have been spent on the City's housing and homelessness objectives. Here are some highlights from the report and the meeting that should give you a decent overview of the matter:  

• Council had not received a progress report from Staff to communicate details of the escalating costs. Despite the accelerated timeline of the project, the lack of an interim update was a huge miss and was addressed by Committee. 

• There was broad consensus that the Mayoral Directive and subsequent Council direction issued to Staff set unreasonable expectations for executing this novel and complex project. Both the Staff report and the Committee meeting contained a debrief on the matter and there are several important lessons learned and next steps outlined in the report. 

• The April 30, 2025, report and a summary of the spending are available here. The report contains a verbal summary, but Appendix B has the actual spending by high-level categories. The majority of the additional spending was related to site remediation and construction. 

• During the committee meeting, I worked with Councillor Francis on a motion that he moved directing staff to report back with a more detailed public report of the initial budget vs. actual expenditures.  

• The City appropriately followed its procurement process for the purchase of the shelters and received proposals from three potential vendors. See Appendix A at the link provided above. The proposal from the chosen vendor was best able to meet the City's requirements. I asked Staff about the shelter unit price, and they confirmed that the pricing for the shelters ordered is on par with what other municipalities have procured from the market for a similar product. 

• Regarding the newness of the chosen vendor, the shelter industry is an emerging market, so most vendors are not well-established. The City's procurement process does not disqualify vendors based on their establishment date. 

• The City is working to exercise its legal rights for contracts that did not deliver what the vendor committed to. 

• Property tax money is not being used for the overage. It will be covered by a grant from the Federal Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative (Federal Community Encampment Response Plan) and will not jeopardize any other projects in the City's Housing and Homelessness work plan. This fact does not excuse the additional costs incurred.   

• Hamilton's Auditor General is conducting an audit on this file 

In conclusion, tackling the housing and homelessness crisis is complex and challenging. We have made progress over the last few months, but news like this is frustrating, and I know that it does not inspire confidence. Although this project was a critical part of providing temporary shelter space that relieved much of the pressure that encampments were putting on parks and other public spaces, the planning and execution were rushed, and that was costly. On behalf of both Council and Staff, I apologize, and we all commit to learning from the situation and using the experience to do better going forward.  

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In case you were unable to attend the City-hosted online public meeting, HERE is the recording of the Virtual Open House held on April 17, 2025, about two privately-initiated applications to expand Hamilton's urban boundary: Elfrida & White Church Urban Boundary Expansion applications. Both will be decided at the June 25, 2025, Planning Committee meeting.  

Please be sure to send your comments and thoughts to Staff concerning developer-driven urban boundary expansion applications.  

Send your email to [email protected] 

Learn more at the City’s website Urban Boundary Expansion  

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The Mayor’s Task Force on Transparency, Access, and Accountability was created early in this term of Council. Its purpose was to provide a path forward for the improvement of trust and transparency between the City of Hamilton and its residents and diverse communities. It also aimed to “solicit concerns and opportunities from citizens about public access, transparency, and accountability at the City of Hamilton and provide actionable recommendations to the General Issues Committee for improvements.” In striking this Task Force, Hamilton City Council agreed this mandate was important, and that making meaningful progress on these topics can improve the City of Hamilton’s performance, helping build resilience and capacity in the face of challenges. 

The feedback garnered from a cross-section of the community was concerning, and found that the relationship between Hamilton’s municipal government and the people it represents is fractured in several ways. As a result, several broad recommendations were made, including: 

• Launch a Digital Transformation at the City of Hamilton 

• Restructure Communications 

• Make Equity a foundational principle guiding operations in the City 

• Professional Development for Staff and Council 

• Action on Accountability 

 Council has referred the report to Staff to analyze and recommend next steps. For more details, please see the full report 

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Everyone is welcome to the Ward 12 virtual town hall on May 5, 2025, at 6:30pm!  

Join us for an online meeting to learn about some exciting programs!  

• Green Venture / City of Hamilton's new Rain Ready Rebate grant program with up to $5000 in grants available. 

• Hamilton Naturalists' Club's information on how to source and plant pollinator flowers to boost Hamilton’s biodiversity and get your garden on the Pollinator Map. 

• The latest updates from Hamilton’s Office of Climate Change Initiatives. 

 Spread the word! RSVP at this link. 

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As a result of life-cycle maintenance requirements, the Ancaster Municipal Service Centre at 300 Wilson Street East will undergo work to replace the roof and HVAC system. As a result, a planned closure will take effect from May 5th to June 2nd, 2025, with a contingency duration beyond June 2nd for weather delays or unforeseen circumstances. Parking in the lot behind the building will also be affected. Please read the full notice HERE, which explains what services will remain open with restrictions and which will close and relocate for the duration of the work.  

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Thanks to 22 community members who sent comments to the City, and two delegates who spoke to the Planning Committee on Tuesday, April 29, about this development proposal. I had significant concerns about removing 683 trees, including 52 “heritage” trees from a forested area east of Hamilton Dr, to facilitate the construction of 17 'luxury homes on oversized lots’.  I welcome thoughtful development in Ward 12. Examples would include gentle intensification in existing neighbourhoods, missing-middle housing on underutilized land, and conversion of single-story commercial areas into vibrant mixed-use developments. Each of these represents smart intensification. New development done properly would enhance the community, support businesses, and improve affordability for taxpayers. 

Further, available land is extremely limited, and it needs to be used wisely to accomplish City objectives: housing, recreation, transportation, public health, preservation of natural areas and heritage trees, financial resilience, and quality of life.  

 This application checked none of these boxes.  

 If approved, this proposal would not have provided affordable or attainable homes, which are desperately needed in this current housing crisis. This type of development is the least efficient use of land possible for housing in an urban area and a bad decision for taxpayers because it doesn't pay for itself - the taxes received from low density housing and the disproportionate amount of linear infrastructure to service it do not pay for the lifecycle costs over the long term.  

 The proposal was denied by Committee in a 6-2 vote.  

 Link to the video of the meeting is HERE, my comments start at 3:49:25 

Link to the Hamilton Spectator reporting is HERE 

Watch the news coverage at CHCH news 

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A development proposal for 559 Garner Rd E was originally scheduled to be heard at Planning Committee on April 29, 2025, but the report was only published the morning prior to the public hearing. That is unacceptable. In order to give residents a reasonable amount of time to submit comments, my colleagues supported my motion to postpone it to the May 23, 2025, Planning Committee meeting.  

The plan is to develop a seven (7) storey building containing 99 residential units. Despite the fact that 40 trees on site are slated for removal, its location on Garner Rd, a major transit corridor, makes this an appropriate spot for this kind of intensification. In order to support a firm urban boundary, this is the sort of development we need to accommodate.  

Read more about the project and learn how to submit your comments by the May 22 deadline at CraigCassar.ca/development 

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On December 17, 2024, the Planning Division received an Official Plan Amendment application to allow the development of 75 dwellings on a condominium road at 159 – 163 Sulphur Springs Rd. This is the forested area roughly across the road from Fieldcote Memorial Park and Museum.  

The proposed application constitutes an urban boundary expansion into the Greenbelt Plan Area as designated under the Greenbelt Act, 2005, and the proposed uses conflict with the land use policies of the Niagara Escarpment Plan which designates the lands Escarpment Protection and Escarpment Natural, neither of which allows for urban development.  

For the reasons above, City Planning Staff have requested that the application be withdrawn. I support Staff’s position and oppose this application. 

The proponent has turned to the OLT for a decision, and a merit hearing has been scheduled for one day on May 26th, 2025.  Everyone is encouraged to request Participant Status and submit comments to the Tribunal. More information is HERE. 

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City staff and the applicant have come to a mutual decision to postpone the May 23, 2025, Statutory Public Meeting to allow for more time to work through the Official Plan Amendment Application. There are currently a number of meetings scheduled to continue the dialogue. There are many complexities regarding the proposal that Staff continue to discuss with the applicant, including the relocation of Marr House. Read more at the development section of my website: CraigCassar.ca/development 

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My office is aware that this heritage home is not being well-maintained by the developer-owner, and we have engaged Staff to address this. Cultural Heritage Staff attended 243 Garner Road West in early April at which time property standard issues were noted. Following site visits, Staff have relayed the property standards issues to Municipal Law Enforcement (Bylaw) to develop property standards orders for the house. The expectation is that property standards orders will be rectified this summer. We will keep you informed as those orders are observed.  

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The annual Tree Giveaway is back! The City is giving away a variety of native tree or shrub species to plant in your backyard. Select your tree or shrub and register for your pick-up date and location at: hamilton.ca/treegiveaway. One tree or shrub per property. Pre-registration required. Must present a driver’s license or property tax bill. For any questions related to the Tree Giveaway, please feel free to contact Robyn Pollard, Manager – Forestry and Horticulture at [email protected]. 

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May 1^st to 7^th marks 2025’s annual celebration of young people and their contributions to their communities. As a movement driven by local communities across Canada, dozens of free events for youth will take place around Hamilton this week. Celebrate and engage with youth-led activities, interesting workshops, free lessons, and community-building initiatives throughout the week. Visit Youth Serving Agencies Network to learn more. 

The following Saturday, May 10, is Hamilton’s Youth Town Hall, so we’re calling out to Ward 12 Youth: your elected officials want to hear about the issues that matter to you! The Hamilton Youth Town Hall is a full-day, civic engagement event designed by youth, for youth. Open to young people aged 14-29, this experience invites youth to explore what it means to be active citizens and influential voices in their communities. Lunch will be provided!  

Join Model City Hall and the City of Hamilton's Youth Strategy Team for a day of: 

Youth-led conversations around current youth priorities in Hamilton: 

• Knowledge and skill-building opportunities focused on leadership, advocacy, and civic awareness 

• Dynamic opportunities to ask questions of and interact with your elected officials 

This is your chance to share ideas, ask bold questions, and develop key skills that will help you lead change, right here in Hamilton. 

Register HERE. 

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The 2025 Rain Barrel Sale is on now! Barrels can be purchased and delivered to your home for only $70 each (includes taxes and delivery). Rain barrels are a simple yet effective way to conserve water and can make a big difference in your water usage. By collecting rainwater from your roof, you can use it to water your garden, wash your car, or even clean outdoor surfaces. Not only does this reduce your water bill, but it also helps protect the environment by reducing stormwater runoff. Why not give it a try? The sale ends May 31. Learn more and make a purchase HERE 

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PARK MAINTENANCE  

For information on service levels and operations schedules for any of the following: spring cleanup, possible service level reductions, turf management, naturalized areas, and biodiversity, please see Parks Summer Program - Service Levels and Operations Schedule 

ROADSIDE GRASS CUTTING  

For information on service levels and timing for rural, urban, and parkway roadsides, please see the 2025 Rural Roadside, Urban Boulevard and Expressway Grass Cutting programs 

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Do you have a large, mature tree on your property? You can restore habitat around such trees using the Oasis Forest Project, which makes good-quality design and restoration available to people at a range of scales. As part of the Monument Trees project, this custom resource is built for rural and urban landowners who want to create a native garden or restore habitat around heritage trees, but either aren't sure where to start, or for seasoned gardeners would like to learn more about native plant restoration. 

This program has partnered with the Hamilton Conservation Authority so that 75% of the costs up to $5,000 are covered. 

You can also get support with permitting, grant application prep, stormwater design, download the custom native plant list, and gain access to an after-care maintenance plan. The program is tailored for residents in Hamilton, but it's designed for anyone living in the Carolinian Life Zone, including much of the Eastern United States. Learn more at the project website: Oasis Forest Garden 

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Hamilton Region has many beautiful old properties that have found new lives through adaptive reuse. By far the most sustainable of building methods, the adaptive reuse movement recognizes that the greenest building is the one that is already there. This year, buildings included in Doors Open Hamilton illustrate how we can use, restore, and repurpose old buildings. The craftsmanship of the past is made vibrant through the technologies of the present. Doors Open Hamilton runs from Saturday, May 3 to Sunday, May 4, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Details HERE 

Ward 12 virtual Town Hall - Rain Ready, Climate, Pollinator, May 5, 6:30pm 

St John’s Church – Trash and Treasure Book and Bake sale May 2, from 6 –7:30pm and May 3, from 9am - 11am, 272 Wilson St. E. 

National Youth Week – May 1-7  

Ancaster BIA – walking tour of old Ancaster, Sat. May 3, 11am 

Ancaster Film Festival - four international films screened per month 

Jane’s Walks Hamilton - annual neighbourhood walking tours – May 3 and 4  

Doors Open Hamilton – 37 in-person sites, May 3 and 4 

Sinfonia Ancaster - “Let’s Dance”, Friday, May 9, 7pm 

Wentworth Medieval Faire – Ancaster Fair Grounds May 23-25 

Calling all students and teachers of grades 7-12! The Government of Canada, through the Canada in a Changing Climate: National Assessment Process, invites students to express their perspectives on climate change through visual art. This is a unique opportunity to spark meaningful classroom discussions on topics like:  

• How students experience climate change in their daily lives  

• What the future might hold with more extreme weather events  

• What gives them hope and inspires action  
    

Youth perspectives are important, and their artistic expression will help Canadians across the country relate to the messages about climate change. It will also help elevate youth voices and inspire a new generation of climate leaders. 

Submission Deadline is May 20, 2025. For more details about the competition and submission procedures, visit: Your Voice, Your Art, Our Climate Contest - Natural Resources Canada  

 To learn more about the Canada in a Changing Climate reports visit: https://changingclimate.ca/ 

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Thanks, as always, to everyone who reaches out to engage with our office. I hope you enjoyed reading this month’s newsletter. Please share it with Ward 12 neighbours and friends. If you have questions feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] and subscribe to the Ward 12 newsletter at CraigCassar.ca. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.