Latest news with #AndreaHorwath
CBC
12 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Hamilton council ratifies collective agreement for water workers
After a months-long strike, Hamilton water workers officially have struck a deal with the city now that council has ratified a new collective agreement. The 55 workers, who oversee the water purifying process and discharge of waste water, went on strike May 14 after negotiations with the city fell through. The workers are part of the Hamilton Ontario Water Employees Association. "The ratified agreement with the Hamilton Ontario Water Employees Association recognizes the hard work and commitment of everyone at the table," said Mayor Andrea Horwath in a city news release Wednesday. "I want to thank residents for their patience and understanding throughout the labour disruption. I am proud that we were able to come together and reach a fair agreement for our employees while providing value to Hamiltonians." The collective agreement, unanimously approved at a council meeting Wednesday, will cover four years, from Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2028. It is "aligned with the city's financial mandate," said the city. Specifics of the agreement have not been made public, but the workers had sought to address decades-old concerns. The first was the length of time it took to reach their top pay rate through on-the-job training, and the second was a pay gap that left some members earning about $4 less per hour than another group of workers with fewer certifications.
CBC
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
No cars on King William Street for next 2 months to make way for 'energy and creativity'
Soon, King William Street's "iconic restaurant row" in downtown Hamilton will be open to pedestrians only. The City of Hamilton initiative will see it closed to vehicles between James and Hughson Streets beginning on Wednesday until the end of Supercrawl on Sept. 14. "With the energy and creativity of our residents leading the way, this is a proud moment for our city," said Mayor Andrea Horwath in a news release last week. "I can't wait to see King William Street come alive as a dynamic public space where neighbours connect, local culture shines, and our small businesses thrive." The street will become the "heart" of the Hamilton Fringe Festival, which runs from July 16 to 27, 2025, the city said. It will also be a feature of Supercrawl, the arts and music festival, taking place Sept. 12 to 14. Throughout the summer, seating, pop-up vendors and activities will be set up on the street to create a "welcoming atmosphere" alongside restaurant patios, the news release said. Pop-up performances will also take place, including by local musicians and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and the 73 'Til Infinity dance series.
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
CityHousing writes ‘new story' for ex-motel site in Hamilton's east end
A pair of affordable housing buildings have risen from the rubble of the former City Motor Hotel in east Hamilton and are ready to welcome residents. The six-storey CityHousing buildings at the Queenston Road traffic circle bring 82 new units into the mix as Hamilton struggles through an affordability crisis. 'It's a new story for this site; it's a story about the future that we're all building together,' Mayor Andrea Horwath told a crowd gathered for a ribbon-cutting event Monday. The city tore down the City Motor Hotel in 2013. In 2013, the city expropriated the site and demolished the troubled City Motor Hotel before the municipal housing provider picked it up in 2018. Now, the buildings — 55 Queenston Rd. and 1620 Main St. E. — offer deeply affordable rent-geared-to-income apartments and moderately affordable units in energy-efficient designs along Hamilton's future LRT line. The $27.5-million Queenston building will also have a YWCA Hamilton-operated child-care centre with 26 licensed spaces on its ground floor. The $25-million Main East block is one of the first multi-residential mass-timber 'passive house' buildings in North America, CityHousing says. 55 Queenston Rd. 40 units: 25 one-bedroom, 15 three-bedroom, 20 per cent barrier free Half are rent-geared-to-income and the others are half of market rent $27.5-million project: CityHousing ($17.4 million), federal affordable housing fund ($3 million), loan through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ($1.7 million), still-to-be-announced ($5.4 million) 1620 Main St. E. 42 units: 38 one-bedroom, four two-bedroom, 20 per cent barrier free All are rent-geared-to-income (RGI) $25-million project: CityHousing ($7.9 million), federal rapid housing funding ($10.89 million), City of Hamilton ($6.3 million) Their completion is a 'significant milestone,' CEO Adam Sweedland said, noting their apartments are among 264 new units CityHousing has built in the past two-and-a-half years. But one major project, Jamesville, a vacant 91-unit townhouse complex on James Street North that's to be redeveloped into a denser, mixed-income community, is stuck in its planning stages. Here is an example of a layout for one of the smaller bedrooms in the three-bedroom units at 55 Queenston Rd. CN Rail's appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) in 2022 has delayed the more-than-decade-long plan over potential 'conflicts' with its bayfront shunting yard. To help break the OLT impasse, the provincial government is considering a minister's zoning order (MZO) at the request of CityHousing with council's support. An MZO is a provincial tool that allows the government to unilaterally regulate land use for development and override other municipal or tribunal decisions. A three-bedroom unit at 55 Queenston Rd. On Friday, the province posted the proposal for a one-month public commenting period on its environmental registry, inviting feedback ahead of an MZO decision. 'It is the option of last resort if we're actually going to get this thing to move forward,' Horwath told The Spectator . CN, in an emailed response, said it has 'systematically tried to find a compromise solution' and noted it was 'disappointed' in the MZO request. In addition to its big-ticket capital projects, CityHousing, which has 7,142 units and more than 13,000 residents, has focused on addressing a repair backlog and reducing its vacancy rate to two per cent. More than 6,000 households await subsidized apartments in Hamilton and shelters are at capacity, with roughly 1,600 people experiencing homelessness. Mayor Andrea Horwath presents Adam Sweedland, CEO of CityHousing Hamilton, with a print of the old Hamilton City Motor Hotel during a ribbon-cutting event Monday to mark the completion of two buildings on the site. The landscape has housing providers looking to the new federal Liberal government to deliver on its election pledge to double Canada's rate of residential construction to 500,000 homes per year. During Monday's event, new Liberal MP Aslam Rana praised 264 built units and said 'hopefully, we will double this number' next year. Horwath thanked the Hamilton Centre MP for being there 'and for making some commitments that we'll be holding you to.' Metrolinx, which is building the LRT , plans to use land it owns next to the former City Motor Hotel property to stage construction. A two-bedroom unit at 1620 Main St. E. awaits tenants. Whatever space the provincial transportation agency doesn't need should be made available for more affordable housing, Karl Andrus, executive director of the Hamilton Community Benefits Network. 'I would like to see the province donating that land so we could build more and higher buildings like this to deal with the housing crisis that's around us.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Hamilton mayor urges Ontario to push through Jamesville housing development despite CN's appeal
Mayor Andrea Horwath is appealing to the Ontario government for help in getting nearly 500 homes built in Hamilton despite CN Rail blocking the project for years. The city evicted residents from 91 of its affordable townhouses — a community known as Jamesville — nearly 10 years ago, with the expectation of quickly redeveloping the property on James Street North. But CN Rail, which operates a yard and tracks that are close by, previously said it's concerned about the impacts of odour, vibration and noise on future residents. The private railway company appealed the city's Jamesville plans to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) in 2022, but the proceedings have dragged on. The partially demolished site has sat vacant ever since, and is fenced off and deteriorating. A hearing was supposed to take place last February, but that was cancelled, said the city in a news release the month before. At that time, both sides had requested a case management conference or settlement hearing for May or June. Province accepting comments But as of last week, no agreement had materialized, and Horwath announced she's asked the province to issue a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) to break the "logjam." An MZO would override any municipal land conflicts and allow the housing work to go ahead. "Right now, we have a real chance to get it across the finish line," Horwath said in a video posted to Facebook. "But we need your help." The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is accepting feedback until Aug. 12 about the Jamesville redevelopment before it makes its decision. The mayor urged residents to share their thoughts on redeveloping the site. "You know what it would mean to see families, seniors and young couples thriving here again — not a boarded-up shell of what once was," the mayor said. "So let's get it done Hamilton." The project would include 315 private market units and 160 affordable units in both stacked townhouses and apartment or condo towers. The stacked townhouses would be built first, notes the MZO posting. The site would be developed by FRAM + Klokker, Melrose Investments Inc., Marz Homes and DeSantis Homes, with CityHousing Hamilton and Indwell providing the affordable units — some with wraparound supports. CN Rail did not respond to a request for comment before publication. The story will be updated with any response. In April 2024, a spokesperson told CBC Hamilton that while it is a part of the Hamilton community and wants to enable these kinds of projects, it has a duty to protect future residents living near its infrastructure.
Hamilton Spectator
5 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario considers order to end Jamesville showdown
Ontario's housing minister will consider an order to allow the disputed redevelopment of the long-empty Jamesville social housing complex to finally go ahead. CityHousing Hamilton started emptying the affordable townhome project more than a decade ago with plans to create a mixed-income, denser community that would include newly rebuilt social housing. But after years of slow progress, the project ground to a halt in 2022 in the face of an appeal by rail company CN, which had concerns about potential 'conflict' with its Stuart Street shunting yard. Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath earlier this year made what she called a request 'of last resort' to the province to issue a minister's zoning order (MZO) to end the slow-moving provincial tribunal appeal and green-light the development. A MZO is a sometimes-contentious provincial tool that allows the government to unilaterally regulate land use for development and override other municipal or tribunal decisions. On Friday, the province posted the proposal for a one-month public commenting period on the environmental registry website, indicating minister Rob Flack is 'considering' the request but wants to seek 'feedback' ahead of a decision. Comments will be accepted until Aug. 12 at Horwath issued a statement Friday welcoming the latest step forward for a project she called a 'critical housing solution' in Hamilton, which is struggling with widespread homeless encampments and a lack of affordable rental units. The empty, dilapidated townhouses have spurred growing anger in a community with a wait-list of thousands of residents seeking affordable housing. 'Ten long years after families were dislocated from Jamesville I am looking forward to it once again being a place that hundreds of Hamiltonians can call home,' Horwath said in the statement. The Spectator was unable to immediately reach CN on the weekend. But when Hamilton announced its request last month, the rail company said it has 'tried to find a compromise' to the dispute via long-running negotiations during its appeal. 'CN supports the development, but does not want it done at the expense of future residents' well-being,' spokesperson Ashley Michnowski wrote in an earlier email. It has asked for 'mitigation measures that have been recognized by experts as necessary to ensure residents living in proximity to industrial activities are protected against the impacts of those activities.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
