Elections

Nrinder Nann, Candidate for Ward 3 in Hamilton Municipal Election 2018

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Candidate Details (top)

NameNann, Nrinder
ElectionHamilton Municipal Election 2018
AreaWard 03
PartyN/A
Votes0
Email engage@nrinder.ca
Website https://www.nrinder.ca/
Home905-963-1296
Business
Fax
BioI’m running to be Councillor of Ward 3 because I believe in courageous politics. I believe in the power of engagement and when neighbours come together we can win needed change.

#OurWard3 is a dynamic place.

In our ward, we have an incredible sense of community and residents who are already involved in making our neighbourhoods better.

And, we are still facing huge challenges in affordable housing, safe streets, and robust transit.

On top of this, we face ongoing environmental challenges in air and water quality.

Over the course of this campaign, we aim to connect personally with as many residents as possible. To listen to your experiences. To empower our neighbours to rise up and be part of the process. To invite neighbours to work with us to achieve our hopes and dreams for a vibrant Ward 3 full of opportunities for us all.

I’m determined to build on the progress in OUR Ward 3. Engage with the campaign and connect with me on Twitter and Facebook. I look forward to working with you to build YOUR Ward.

Until we get a chance to meet, here is a bit more information about me:
Relevant past experience:

* I am the former Manager of Community Development for the City of Toronto

* I managed a team of 17 community developers and a budget in the multi-millions

* I have hands-on, direct and comprehensive experience working in municipal government

* I have direct experience working with residents, businesses and developers to create Community Hubs, which bring much needed health and social services to under resourced communities

* I managed Matthew Green’s municipal campaign

* I have run a small business both from my home and through my work with the Kitchen Collective

* I know how to navigate bureaucracy and get complex projects done

* I also worked as the Director of Education for largest union local in North America with (at the time) 320,000 health care service members

* I trained top leadership, designed and delivered curriculum to members

* As an educator, I have learned how to listen and how to work through very difficult conversations to bring about consensus

* I’m a mom AND a small business owner, so in short, I have no time to waste and I know how to get stuff done. I know how to organize an office, manage employees and ensure that details don’t get lost

Involvement in Ward 3

Over the past 7 years, I have been focused on living in this city, building relationships and contributing to building resident leaders while also tending to people’s well-being.

* Supported efforts in my own neighbourhood to shut down a derelict slumlord building

* Have participated in several park / escarpment clean ups

* I’m a supporter of HARRRP and have attended several annual fundraisers

* Led many Pay-What-You-Can yoga and meditation sessions at Breathing Space Yoga on Main St. East

* Supported efforts of my neighbours to get street humps installed

* Attended several early Sherman Hub planning meetings Supported LRT, which will benefit our Ward with infrastructure improvements and connectivity

* Have run a small business both from my home and through my work with the Kitchen Collective

* Have led many cooking classes (sliding scale) through the Kitchen Collective

* Have been involved in advocating for better access to fresh produce and nutritious food across the city as a hands-on Board Member of the Mustard Seed Co-op, and educator and volunteer at the Hamilton Community Food Centre

* Have led workshops on leadership and how to run campaigns with many Ward 3 residents in attendance

* Often out enjoying our green spaces with my daughter and picking up garbage as we go

* Regularly support small local Ward 3 businesses by choosing to shop / eat there

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Responses to Questions (top)

QuestionBrief ResponseFull Response
Hamilton has a legacy of multi-lane, one-way arterial streets dating back to the 1950s. Do you support accelerating the conversion of these streets to two-way? Why or why not? Yes Yes. There are more than 80 one-way streets in the city. Conversions to two-way streets will calm traffic, reduce side-street cut-throughs, and help us move towards complete streets, where streets are accessible to all users and safe for pedestrians.

Plus, the conversion to two-way streets has been part of a long-delayed update to the 2007 transportation master plan.

It's time we implement the plan we created more than a decade ago.
Bonus question: If LRT goes ahead, what will you do to ensure Hamilton receives the maximum benefit? Yes * I will advocate for Community Benefit Agreements that will provide employment and training opportunities to Hamiltonians. (I support Community Benefits Agreements at the city-wide level, not just for LRT).

* I'll ensure that businesses and residents along the B-line are well-informed of the timelines and kept abreast of changes.

* I'll ensure the HSR communicates clearly to riders what changes there may be in routes due to construction.

* I'll work with the community and businesses to help encourage local shopping during disruptions due to construction phases.

* I'll strongly advocate that any new transit jobs related to LRT meet the wages and benefits that our existing transit workers get, at a minimum.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act mandates that cities must be completely accessible by 2025. What changes would you make to ensure Hamilton complies with this mandate? Yes Millions of people live with disabilities in Ontario. The City of Hamilton has a legal obligation, regulated by the Ontario Human Rights Code, as well as a moral obligation, to provide accessibility or accommodations for its citizens.

In 2006 the City created barrier free design guidelines for requirements above and beyond the Ontario Building Code, in line with AODA regulations. The report showed that there is a 157-million-dollar funding gap around the facilities management required to upgrade City facilities to current accessibility legislation standards. These costs were calculated by auditing 16 services, and costing out the needed upgrades across 500 services.

By not budgeting for accessibility-related infrastructure changes, the City of Hamilton is continuing to perpetuate the idea that people with disabilities do not matter in our city. People with disabilities are not being treated as equal citizens because rectifiable urban-design failures and negligence. This waiting game puts the City at legal risk, according to the city's legal department, for an onslaught of human rights complaints, and continues to further marginalize a growing portion of our population which includes seniors and people with visible and invisible disabilities.

As City Councilor, I would push for the creation of a six-year accessibility strategy, in line with the provincial mandate to create a fully accessible Ontario by 2025 and with attention paid to the next round of capital budget approvals, to ensure that no one in our city is left behind.

I'll also strongly advocate for LRT and completion of the BLAST network. LRT will allow people with mobility devices to ride the B-line any time of the day and reduce reliance on DARTS. Plus, expanding our bus network (with accessible buses) will further allow residents to be more independent.
Do you support improved public transit in Hamilton? If so, what changes do you propose? If not, why not? Yes Yes, I support improving public transportation in Hamilton.

* I will strongly advocate for the completion of the LRT plan. Enough is enough. We've come too far and taken too long

* I will advocate that we immediately catch up to our funding commitments for the 10-year Transit Strategy

* I will advocate that we phase out Area Rating and tier new money towards properly funding our transit system

* I will fight for wage and benefit parity for transit workers, no matter who they are employed by

* I will work with council, HSR and ATU to end the epidemic of canceled buses

* I will work with residents and staff to ensure that our cycling network is consistent, thorough, safe, separated where possible, well signed and well designed
Since the 1950s, most new residential and commercial development in Hamilton has been single-use suburban sprawl. Do you believe Hamilton needs to concentrate new development within the already-built area? Why or why not? Yes Yes, Hamilton needs to focus on in-fill. Why? Because it's what makes sense on so many levels.

We need to densify along major streets and transit corridors because:

* It will create new housing developments, giving more people a range of more affordable options for home ownership.

* It will help spurn commercial development, and jobs.

* New residential and business units mean a bigger tax base for the city

* It is much more cost efficient to densify the already built area than it is to build new roads, sidewalks and sewers and then have to also maintain them.
Global warming is an existential challenge facing humanity. Do you think Hamilton should play a role in addressing climate change? If so, what should the city be doing? If not, why not? Yes Yes, Hamilton and all cities have a role to play in addressing climate change, such as:

* Building better transit to make it easier for people to leave the car at home

* Working with industry to reduce particulate matter and other pollutants

* Studying other cities' green roof programs and implementing one here

* Creating more Electric Vehicle parking spaces to make it more attractive to consumers to purchase an EV or PHEV.

* Look at modernizing Hamilton's fleet vehicles with hybrids or EVs where costs allow

* Expand on incentives for new developments to be more energy efficient
Should Hamilton be trying to attract more young people to live, work and start businesses here, including the 60,000 students studying at Mohawk College, McMaster University and Redeemer University? If so, what should we be doing? If not, why not? Yes Yes! We absolutely should be doing as much as possible to keep our young people - born or visiting - here in Hamilton.

Keeping and attracting more young people to Hamilton will take a number of initiatives on a number of fronts, but includes:

* Improving our transit system - young people by and large don't own cars or homes and need to be able to criss cross the city efficiently.

* Improving our pathy system of bike lanes so they allow for safe cycling across the city.

* Improving our availability of affordable housing options, which can include looking at loans or grants for homeowners to create 2nd units.

* I've already proposed that we look at creating an industrial campus in our north end that can bring together entrepreneurs, artists, light manufacturing and community organizations together under one roof.

* Improving our availability of affordable office / studio / incubator spaces - The Forge and Kitchen Collective are two great examples and we need more.
Do you support phasing out area rating for transit? Why or why not? Yes Yes, I support phasing out Area Rating.

It divides our city and locks us in a pre-amalgamation mindset. Not everyone lives and work in the same neighbourhood. Transit should therefore serve people's ability to move around the city seamlessly and be charged on an equal rate. This means creating a harmonized transit levy for the entire city.
Do you support the "Vision Zero" goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Hamilton? If so, what specific actions would you take to implement this policy? If not, why not? Yes I wholeheartedly support Vision Zero. Every accident is one too many. We know traffic fatalities and injuries are a result of poor street designs.

* I will advocate for a city-wide review of road design with an eye to finding systematic and consistent solutions to traffic calming

* I will explore all traffic calming options including two-way conversion, speed humps and speed limit reductions

* I will advocate for upgrading our road design with a mind to complete streets, cycling, walking and crossing safely
Council has voted dozens of times since 2008 to advance Hamilton's light rail transit (LRT) project, including voting to submit the plan with a full funding request to the Province in 2013, and voting to accept full funding and implementation from the Province in 2015. Do you support completing the LRT plan? Why or why not? Yes Yes, I whole-heartedly support completing the LRT plan. Why?

* Because it increases accessibility, eliminates over-crowding

* Because it brings 21st century transit to our 21st century city

* Because it will bring thousands of jobs for years

* Because it will spurn development, which will bring denser residential and more taxes

* Because it will attract new business and new jobs

* Because it will pay for $205 million dollars of infrastructure improvements to the entire 14KM b-line corridor.
Hamilton has been experiencing a slow-motion crisis in housing affordability. Do you support an expanded role for the City to provide more affordable housing? If so, what should Hamilton do? If not, why not? Yes Yes, I support an expanded role for the city in affordable housing.

What I'll do:

* I will encourage tenants to organise and advocate for positive change, and help them pressure landlords to comply

* I will crackdown on absent, negligent landlords and slumlords

* I will explore small loans and grants programs for homeowners that create new affordable units

* I will evaluate all new development proposals with an eye to adding more affordable rental units

* I will work with residents to establish a continuum of housing, including cooperative housing.