Craig's Current - May 2025

Welcome to my newsletter with the highlights from May 2025. It’s starting to feel like summer just in time for Ancaster Heritage Days, which includes the ever-popular Parade and other fun activities to enjoy in downtown Ancaster, this Saturday, June 7. The Ward 12 team will be in the parade, which has roughly double the entrants as last year, so grab a lawn chair and pick a spot along Wilson Street to enjoy the show! After the parade, I’ll be over at St. Andrew’s Church to call the soapbox derby. Find out all the details for Saturday at the Heritage Days at the website. I hope you can join us.

This week was also the debut of the 2025 Ancaster Farmers Market, open every Wednesday from 3pm to 7pm, June to October. Here are the highlights from my visit on opening day. One final announcement before we dive into the content: on Tuesday, June 24, at the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre, Ward 12 is hosting a Town Hall on Development. If you’re interested in what’s being built in our Ward and want to learn more about the process, please join us!  

Here’s a rundown of the topics covered in this issue: 

COUNCIL NEWS 

• The Music Hall: A Building Block for Restoring Hamilton's Downtown 

• Hamilton's Water Supply Remains Safe  

• Funding for 1,200 New Homes Announced 

• Provincial Bills 5 and 17 

AROUND WARD 12 

• Ward 12 Development Town Hall (June 2025)

• Ward 12 Community Grants

• Community Safety Town Hall recap (March 2025) 

• Rain Ready Rebate, Climate and Pollinator Town Hall recap (May 2025) 

• Ward 12 Construction Projects 

• Road Repairs and Repaving  

• 559 Southcote Rd 7-Storey Condos 

• Ancaster Film Festival 

• Ancaster Farmers Market 

IN OTHER NEWS 

• Engage Hamilton 

• Hamilton Immigrant Survey

• Trillium Awards 

• Senior of the Year Awards 

• Additional Dwelling Units 

HAPPENING AROUND HAMILTON 

• Event Listing 

CLIMATE CORNER 

• Butterflyway Hamilton Native Plant Sale 

• Monarch Awards 

• Biodiversity Action Plan Open House 

• Depaving 

For residents all across the City, the downtown is a topic that generates strong opinions. We know that it has faced many challenges over the last few years.  Both the public and business owners in the City have expressed concerns relating to the lack of vibrancy, concerns with cleanliness, homelessness, and safety. As governors of the City, it's our responsibility to aid its restoration, as a successful downtown is key to ensuring a successful future for the City as a whole. In short, we need more people living, working, and spending their leisure time downtown. Council recently took a step toward the latter of those goals. 

In May, City Council approved $900K in funding from an Economic Development reserve to support the creation of The Music Hall, a 1,000-seat venue in the former sanctuary of the New Vision United Church at the corner of Main St W and MacNab St. S. 

Over a decade ago, Hamilton City Council committed to a Music Strategy (and more recently a refreshed Tourism Strategy) in recognition of the important economic and cultural role that music has and continues to play.  We have large downtown venues for music (Hamilton Arena, First Ontario Concert Hall) and many small venues, but multiple reports identified the need for a mid-sized offering in the City to retain and attract talent and generate economic spillover activity in our downtown. At a planned capacity of ~1,000 people, The Music Hall fits this bill perfectly, and is centrally located, accessible to and surrounded by complementary services like retail stores, restaurants, and hotels. It abuts the future downtown entertainment precinct, across from the Transit Terminal and within walking distance of the Hamilton GO Station and the future LRT line, which are critical to allow patrons to efficiently get to the venue without the requirement for a vehicle. It can also play a role in the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce's plan to revive Hamilton's nighttime economy.  

A venue like The Music Hall also makes Hamilton more appealing for events like Canada's Juno Awards (recently awarded to Hamilton for 2026!), which has an economic impact of approximately $12 million for the host community. To continue to bid on these large-scale, high-impact host opportunities, the City needs to ensure venues are available in all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds.   

The City of Hamilton's contribution is key to unlocking millions of dollars from other investors and complements the $700K that other granting agencies have already invested in the project.  The City's contribution is sourced from an existing economic development reserve and not the property tax levy.  The reserve was created years ago for the purpose of supporting the City's economic development plans. No new funding or staffing resources are required to implement the recommendation. 

Finally, there are benefits from heritage and public access perspectives. The very regrettable forced demolition of pre-Confederation buildings in Gore Park created an understandable outcry from Hamiltonians.  This investment will enable the preservation of a downtown heritage building that pre-dates Confederation, while supporting its adaptive reuse.  And as part of the City's contribution to the project, public access via the City will be assured. 

You can read more on this topic in the Staff report from the May 21, 2025, General Issues Committee meeting. 

Hamilton's water is safe, despite the misleading messages you may have heard.  Following several months of negotiations with the Hamilton Ontario Water Employees Association (HOWEA), the union went on strike as of May 14, 2025, and contingency plans were activated. The City’s offer was consistent with agreements negotiated with other City employee groups. The City remains committed to the collective bargaining process and to working with HOWEA to reach a renewed collective agreement that is fair for workers and fair for taxpayers.  

However, since the strike began, multiple incorrect statements have been made and reported in the media. I would like to ensure you have accurate information, so I will point you to the May 28th media releases from Mayor Horwath and City of Hamilton: 

Two key points: 

1) Core water services continue uninterrupted, and the City continues to deliver safe, clean drinking water to the community. Comprehensive contingency plans have been in place since the start of the labour disruption to maintain critical facilities operations and ensure the safe and continued delivery of water, wastewater, and stormwater services. 

2) As the labour disruption continues, the City's door remains open to continued negotiations. We are committed to reaching a fair agreement that supports HOWEA members while being fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of Hamilton. 

Stay up-to-date on the City's webpage.  

I am often asked what the City is doing to create more housing in Hamilton to deal with the housing crisis. We know that there are not enough homes, and what is available is unaffordable for many who need them, including gainfully employed people with full-time jobs.  

Last week, the City announced funding that will contribute to 1,200 new homes in Hamilton over the next three years! The investment is across 21 projects and will create 692 affordable and 511 supportive homes.  

This announcement is a direct result of the new Housing Secretariat created by this term of Council. While the private market has virtually stopped any new projects during a housing crisis, the City continues to invest in its vision for housing security and community well-being.  

Read the full news release and learn more about the City’s Whole of Hamilton approach to housing HERE. 

The Ontario Government has passed two new Bills that everyone should be aware of. Both passed with very limited public consultation in very short timeframes. 

Bill 5 – Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 

Through Bill 5, the Provincial Government has continued its exclusive focus on economic development at the expense of any other factors that contribute to our quality of life. Continuing the direction pursued in previous legislation, this Bill continues to erode the scope of municipal decision-making. As reported by The Narwhal, “this Bill blunts the regulations that ensure construction and extraction don’t cause undue harm to land, water, wildlife, and human health. It also empowers cabinet to create special economic zones where the laws that do remain can be circumvented to facilitate development.” 

Bill 5: 

1) Creates Special Economic Zones (SEZ), which could be anywhere in the province, and where hand-picked developers and mining companies can override municipal and provincial laws, including worker safety. 

2) Repeals Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007, marking the end of most meaningful provincial protections for endangered, threatened, and species of special concern in Ontario. 

3) Curtails Indigenous involvement by consulting with Indigenous Nations AFTER passing the Bill, and by ending archeological assessment requirements that would identify Indigenous or other cultural values. 

Economic security during a time of heavy tariffs and sovereignty threats from our historically greatest ally is, of course, of incredible importance, and it is the role of upper levels of government to lead in this regard. However, allowing actors friendly to the government to by-pass municipal and provincial legislation at the expense of environmental and Indigenous rights is short-sighted and dangerous. If you share these concerns, I urge you to write or call your MPP and request that the Ontario Government repeal the deeply unpopular Bill 5, which was hastily pushed through the legislature this week.  

Bill 17 - Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 

This Bill was hurriedly passed even before the 4-week public consultation period ended, sending a strong signal that public input is not important. While there are positive elements to this Bill, such as measures to speed up major transit projects like Hamilton’s LRT, the actual impact on building homes more quickly in Hamilton is questionable, according to feedback I’ve heard from local industry leaders. The biggest hurdle that has completely stalled the private housing market is the costs to build, including the development charges that Ontario cities collect to pay for the infrastructure needed to support a growing population.

Rather than making meaningful investments that contribute to a solution, this Bill continues to download costs to municipal taxpayers via reductions in the development charges (DCs) that cities can collect from new development. Every exemption Hamilton makes needs to be financed by you, the taxpayer, through property taxes, increased debt, the use of reserves, or, as a last resort, the reduction in services. Hamilton is already working on ways to use DC exemptions to incentivize desirable development (e.g., infill development of homes with 2 or more bedrooms). Bill 17, however, applies indiscriminate, broad-brush exemptions. Also very concerning is the portion of the Bill that could render municipally initiated Green Building Standards impossible to achieve on the eve of their implementation in Hamilton. City Staff plan to share more via a report to Council in July.  

STAND.earth has created a way to communicate your concerns.  

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend our upcoming Planning and Development Town Hall on Tuesday, June 24, at 6:30 pm at the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre. Staff from the City Planning Division will be in attendance to present and answer your questions about the following topics: 

• 392-412 Wilson St E and Lorne Avenue condo and possible relocation of Marr Philipo House 

• 442-446 Wilson Street East condo 

• 159 – 163 Sulphur Springs Road (Urban boundary expansion into the Greenbelt and Niagara Escarpment) 

• Building forms and density are now permitted in rural Ward 12 and Ancaster, and what can we expect in the future due to the residential zones project implementation 

• ADUs (accessory dwelling units) for rural and urban Hamilton  

• New permissions for Fourplexes, Multi-storey units, Mixed-use development 

• What is a secondary plan, and how does it relate to the Official Plan and zoning? 

• How is natural heritage taken into consideration in development plans? 

• What protections are in place for trees in Ward 12 for different scopes of projects, from building permits to plans of subdivision/condominium? 

Please share with friends and neighbours. No RSVP necessary.  

In May, I announced the Ward 12 Community Grants program! This initiative has been developed by my office to support groups, projects, or events in Ward 12 that add to the vibrancy, energy, and enthusiasm in the community by investing in its people, public spaces, or natural environment. Grants come from the Ward 12 Non-Property Tax Revenues Reserve.  

If the grant criteria are met, up to $5,000 is available to an organization that is a registered not-for-profit, registered charity, or has other demonstrable non-profit status. There is a total of $50,000 available for grants in 2025. The application deadline is June 15, 2025. Learn more and apply HERE. 

Thanks to everyone who attended the in-person Community Safety Town Hall on March 19, 2025, at the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre. Hamilton Police Services operate separately from City Council but are important and responsive partners for emergency response and community safety. I’m very grateful that several members of HPS were able to provide updates and take questions from residents. If you missed it, you can view the HPS slide presentation HERE. Unfortunately, due to some technical challenges with the recording, we are unable to share the video from the event. We are working with staff to correct the issues we had and appreciate your understanding as we learn new ways to keep everyone informed. 

It was great to see so many attendees at the May 5, 2025, Rain Ready, Climate and Pollinator Town Hall. A resource sheet was emailed to the over sixty residents who RSVP’d. If you’d like to receive it too, please write to Sherri at [email protected]. Watch the webinar recording HERE. Topics covered included: 

• 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. 

My office often hears the statement, “We pay a lot of property taxes. What benefits do I get?” A portion of the tax levy pays for the many capital maintenance and renewal projects happening around the Ward. As part of our ongoing efforts to keep constituents informed, we have created a map of the past and current construction projects since I came into office. 

As I wrote about in my 2025 Budget newsletter, this term of Council has significantly increased annual investments for keeping our assets, including roads and bridges, in a state of good repair. There is much work to be done, but there are several rural road repairs and repaving projects over the coming weeks and months that are those dollars in action.  

RURAL REPAIRS 

The following roads will be under repair from May 20th, 2025, to June 20th, 2025.  

• Binkley Road (Governors to Mineral Springs) 

• Smith Road (Book Road East to end of the street) 

• Weir Road (Governors to Powerline Road West) 

The work includes minor road repairs followed by a single surface treatment application (Tar and Chip). During the work, residents may experience noise, dust, and restricted traffic movement.  

Construction-related questions can be directed to Cornell Construction 519-753-3125 or the City of Hamilton 905-546-2489. 

RURAL REPAVING 

The following roads will be undergoing repaving from June 9th to August 28th, 2025: 

• Harrisburg Road (Highway 99 to City limits) 

• Jerseyville Road (1160 to 996) 

• Airport Road (Highway 6 bridge to Glancaster Road) 

• Trinity Road (1299 Trinity Road to Butter Road) 

• Concession 7 West (Sager Road to Old Highway 8) 

• Sunnyridge Road (Highway 403 to Jerseyville Road) 

• Alberton Road (Highway 403 to Jerseyville Road) 

• Book Road (Trinity Road to 1131 Book Road) 

Residents may experience noise, dust, and potential delays due to traffic control. As part of the scope of the program, rural roads will be paved, driveway entrance approaches tied into roadways, new pavement markings installed, and granular shoulders topped up to meet new asphalt elevation. 

Residents who have questions or who need to request accommodations are asked to contact [email protected]  

Are there gaps, cracks, or holes in a sidewalk in Ward 12? Let's get them fixed! To report a sidewalk that needs repairs, you can send an email [email protected] with information on the exact location, such as the nearest address. But first, check the list above to see if the location is already on this summer's to-do list. Let's make Ward 12 the safest and most accessible place for everyone to get around! 

Have you noticed a faded or missing crosswalk line, stop line, or centre line? Please report it! Let the City know the street location, colouring of the marking, and whether it is close to a school. 

This application was heard at Planning Committee on May 23, 2025. I was away that week at a Healthy Urban Policy workshop in Helsinki, Finland, and could not vote, but I do support building more homes in Ward 12, and a seven-storey building is entirely appropriate at this location, a major intersection on a dedicated transit route. In my absence, I asked my colleague, and Planning Committee Chair, Councillor Tammy Hwang, to read a statement where I expressed support for building middle-density homes in a mix of housing types, sizes, and price points, but I also recognized that every tree on the property is slated for removal. Among them is a very large willow with a trunk diameter of almost 2 meters.  

You can read my written statement HERE, or listen to Chair Hwang read my statement at Planning Committee HERE. 

On a related note, later in 2025, Staff will be conducting public consultation on tree preservation to inform a new urban private tree protection bylaw. 

The Ancaster Film Fest (AFF) presents an opportunity for residents to see exceptional international, award-winning films not normally available in mainstream cinemas, and it provides independent distributors with an opportunity to expand the theatrical run of such films. AFF is a not-for-profit organization with a mandate to screen the best in independent films while supporting community needs. Profits from the screenings are donated to numerous charities and service organizations in Ancaster and Hamilton. Four films are screened twice per month at the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre. More info and screening times and dates at their website: Ancaster Film Fest. You can also follow them on Facebook.  

The Ancaster Farmers Market returned on June 4th for the 2025 season and will be open every Wednesday until October from 3-7pm at the Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre. For more information about vendors, check out the Ancaster Farmers Market website. 

ENGAGE HAMILTON - Be sure to add your voice to new projects now open for public input on Engage Hamilton, including Vision Zero, Active Transportation, Downtown Revitalization Strategy, and Public Art. 

HAMILTON IMMIGRANT SURVEY - This important initiative invites immigrants, refugees, claimants, international students, and temporary foreign workers living in Hamilton to share their experiences. Please share with others and take a moment to fill out the survey HERE. 

TRILLIUM AWARDS - The 2025 Trillium awards nomination period ends Sunday, June 8! Nominate your own, or a friend’s or neighbour’s garden. Gardens that support biodiversity are also eligible this year! Make sure to mention biodiversity when you email the nomination form which is HERE. 

SENIOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS - 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of Hamilton’s Senior of the Year Awards. Each year, the City honour seniors (Hamiltonians 65 years of age or older) who have made outstanding contributions to enrich our community's social, cultural, or civic life.  

Any Hamiltonian 65 years of age or older who has not previously been recognized with an award is eligible for nomination. Residents must have resided within the City of Hamilton for at least five years prior to their nomination and must be current residents. The nomination deadline is June 30, 2025. For more information on the Senior of the Year Awards or to nominate an outstanding senior, please see the City’s awards website. 

ADDITIONAL DWELLING UNITS - ADUs, sometimes referred to as SDUs (secondary dwelling units), laneway suites, or granny flats, are a type of residential unit that is separate, self-contained, and located on the property of a primary dwelling. The unit may be created within, added to, or detached from the primary dwelling. ADUs have been permitted in Hamilton, including Ancaster, since May 2021. 

The benefit of ADUs is that they provide smaller and generally less expensive housing and can be rented out or used to help house family members, like ageing parents. Generally, ADUs are permitted in Ward 12, depending on zoning. It’s important to note, though, that there are a number of regulations applicable to ADUs, including those that are detached from the main dwelling.  

Residential properties across Ward 12 are covered by either: 

-Zoning By-law 05-200 - recently rezoned as part of the Residential Zones Project. In this case, ADUs are permitted on properties where a single-detached dwelling, duplex dwelling, semi-detached dwelling, street townhouse dwelling, or triplex dwelling is permitted, as well as on properties zoned Agriculture (A1), Rural (A2), and Settlement Residential (S1). 

-Former Ancaster Zoning By-law 87-57 - Existing Residential “ER” Zones and other low-density residential properties. In this case, ADUs are referred to as SDUs and are permitted on properties zoned “ER”, “R1”, “R2”, “R3”, “R4”, “R5”, “RM1”, and “RM2” Zones. 

You can look up the zoning of a property on the City’s Interactive Zoning map by typing in an address in the “Find a location” box. This will indicate which Zoning By-law is applicable and allow you to access the Zoning By-law document online for the full suite of up-to-date ADU regulations. Learn more at the City’s ADU webpage.  You are also welcome and encouraged to direct any zoning questions to the ADU Zoning Team ([email protected] or 905-546-2424 ext. 2719) 

Re-enactment of the Battle of Stoney Creek – June 7 and 8^th. Discover Canadian heritage and re-live firsthand the thrill and pageantry of the battle that was a turning point of the War of 1812. 

Concession Street Festival – June 7, 2025, 11am - 6pm.

Rockton Lions Fish Fry – June 7, 2025, 4:30-8pm, Beverly Community Centre. 

Open Streets Hamilton – Sunday, June 22 and Sunday, September 28. Two amazing Sundays along the iconic King Street route, from John Street to Gage Avenue, where you can walk, cycle, roll, and play along King Street East.  Be part of the movement that transforms our streets into vibrant, car-free community spaces! Open Streets Hamilton invites local businesses and community groups to bring the streets to life with engaging activities, pop-up experiences, and interactive fun. 

Art Crawl - Second Friday evening of every month, May until August. Next event: Friday, June 13. James Street North will be closed to vehicle traffic and transformed into a pedestrian zone with arts, music, shopping, artisans, entertainment, food, and fun all spilling onto the street. Anyone can set up a stall on a first-come come-first first-served basis with no paperwork needed. If you have art you’d like to sell, get there around 2 or 3pm to set yourself up! See what’s on offer on their Facebook page.  

Farm Crawl – Saturday, June 21. Featuring 11 farms including five in Ward 12 - Jerry’s Berries, Lotsa Hostas, Manorun Organic Farm, Rock Maple Lodge, and Summit Station Dairy and Creamery. Tickets are available on their website.

Canada Day – Tuesday, July 1. The City of Hamilton is throwing a FREE Canada Day extravaganza for the whole family at Bayfront Park! Prepare for a day packed with delightful children's recreation and arts activities as well as a fireworks display in the evening.  

Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre has various events during the month of June.

Fieldcote Memorial Park and Museum is pleased to present a new exhibit, Timeless Treasures: The Tom and Doris Farmer Art Collection. This exhibit showcases the remarkable art collection once owned by Tom and Doris Farmer, the original residents of Fieldcote. Entrance to all City museums is free with a library card.  

I’ll once again be taking part in Butterflyway Hamilton’s plant sale, and we’ll have dozens of native species available for very reasonable prices! Please come by and pick up some native pollinator plants and help boost biodiversity in Hamilton.

The Monarch Awards were launched in 2016 by the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club and Royal Botanical Gardens and recognize local gardeners transforming their residential spaces into thriving habitats for pollinators, birds, and native plants.  

The application period is June 1 – June 30, 2025, and is open to residential gardeners in the City of Hamilton who personally care for their properties using ecological practices. The award's focus is front gardens that raise awareness of biodiversity, increase the amount and quality of habitat for native flora and fauna, promote sustainable landscapes, and emphasize ecological gardening practices. 

For more information or to submit a nomination, please see the Halton Region Master Gardeners. 

In case you missed the excellent update webinar “Biodiversity in Hamilton Open House” hosted by Hamilton Naturalists’ Club, grab the popcorn and settle in! The link to the recording is on the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club YouTube channel at this link. 

In the Netherlands, citizens regularly tear up sealed surfaces and plant flowers in an effort to combat overheating, biodiversity loss, and flooding. The government not only accepts this practice, which is known as tegelwippen — it actually provides support. Read the story at Reasons to be Cheerful. In Hamilton, Green Venture does this work and is always looking for more sites to depave! Learn more at Depave Paradise. 

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.