Dear neighbours,
Hamilton is known as the ambitious city. An ambitious city should be one in which every person has a safe place to call home.
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve received hundreds of responses to our community survey asking Hamilton Centre residents what their biggest concerns are and where they want our policy focus. Consistently, addressing the housing crisis was #1 on the list.
Most people in Hamilton Centre rent their home, and what we heard when we went canvassing door-to-door in the North End is that many people are spending >50% of their monthly income on rent – some as much as 80%! With the cost of living increasing and many facing rent increases each year, this simply isn’t sustainable.
Recently, I met with elected leaders from Hamilton Centre representing all three levels of government – Councillor Kroetsch, Councillor Wilson, and MP Rana. We met to discuss what we can each bring to the table in addressing housing affordability in Hamilton and we are committed to continuing that work in the coming months.
We know we need real rent control and to clamp down on above-guideline rent increases that are forcing people out of their homes. This will continue to be a major priority for us as we try to advance legislation at Queen’s Park.
We also heard in our survey results that across the board, Hamiltonians see the need for more supportive housing units as a key strategy to address our homelessness crisis. It was the top-rated policy proposal on our survey. We need to move people into safe, permanent, and dignified housing that will meet their needs and reduce unsheltered homelessness in our communities. It also makes financial sense – for every $1 invested in supportive housing, we could save $1.5-2 in healthcare, social services, and justice costs.
These are just a few of the solutions we are working on to try to address Hamilton’s housing crisis, but there is so much more work to be done. Together, we must be ambitious in confronting the housing and homelessness crises.
Robin Lennox
MPP, Hamilton Centre
