UPDATES MADE TO URBAN DESIGN PLAN

On Feb. 9, 2026 during the public city council meeting, officials approved major updates to urban policy. These include mandatory inclusionary zoning for new developments within Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs) along the ION light rail line.  

Beginning July 1, 2027, developers will be required to set aside a portion of their units for affordable housing, a mandate that impacts project profitability and may prompt a rush of application filings before the deadline to bypass the new requirement.   

Once the mandate begins, two per cent of units in qualifying developments within MTSAs will be required to be affordable. That requirement will gradually increase to five per cent by 2031—the current provincial maximum permitted under Ontario regulations. The decision marks the end of nearly a decade of deliberation over how to require affordable housing in high-growth areas.  

“Communicating certainty is actually a beneficial condition in all of this,” Julie Wright, ward 7 councillor for the City of Waterloo, said during the Feb. 9, 2026 public council meeting.   

Wright was referring to the city’s decision to set a firm implementation date for inclusionary zoning rather than tying it to fluctuating market triggers.  

By providing a fixed timeline, the city aims to provide a predictable environment for land budgeting and project planning, preventing the wait-and-see approach that often stalls affordable housing construction.  

With roughly a year and a half until implementation, Adam Lauder, the city’s manager of community planning, said staff do not anticipate a significant surge, noting that approximately 25,000 residential units are already in the planning pipeline.   

“I don’t expect that there’s going to be a large rush of developments…in order to get in front, or become exempt,” Lauder said. “I do think that the industry will use the next year and a half, as they acquire land, to factor inclusionary zoning into their pro forma.”  

The certainty of the 2027 start date was met with bittersweet reflections from some leaders.   

“The preferred time…for the development community on this is never…and for me the preferred time for this was 10 years ago when we first started talking about it,” Royce Bodaly, ward 2 councillor for the City of Waterloo, said during the Feb. 9, 2026 Waterloo public council meeting.   

While implementation had originally been targeted for March 2025, a consultant report warned that current economic conditions could slow the housing market. In response, the council adjusted the timeline and coordinated with the cities of Kitchener and Cambridge to ensure transit-oriented development sites remain viable for builders.  

Typically, inclusionary zoning units are set to market averages to provide moderate affordability, rather than being tied to rent-geared-to-income (RGI) programs, which cap rent at 30 per cent of gross income.   

“While you’re walking the hallways, you’re not really going to know which door is affordable,” Lauder said. “Inclusionary zoning is not intended to deliver deeply affordable units, but rather moderately affordable units.”  

To help the industry manage added costs, the city is offering density exemptions so that affordable units do not count toward maximum density limits. The move aligns with Waterloo’s strategy of growing inward and upward; data shows roughly 80 per cent of recent residential growth has occurred through infill development.   

“Inward growth is generally better for the tax base and the taxpayer,” Lauder said.  

Council also approved $260,000 for a dedicated by-law dispatch arrangement. Beginning July 1, 2026, after-hours noise and nuisance calls will be routed through Waterloo Regional Police Service dispatch. Referring to a $440,000 transfer from social service funding back into the police budget, Jen Vasic, Ward 5 Councillor for the City of Waterloo expressed her frustration.   

“The police budget is huge, and now we’re giving the police more money from an upstream organization… I can’t figure out some better way forward,” Vasic said during the Feb. 9, 2026  Waterloo public council meeting.  

The meeting concluded with a presentation on the Urban Design Manual refresh.   

“Beauty should be a part of life for everyone and not only the affluent… aesthetics is a social good,” Vasic said during the Feb. 9, 2026 Wasterloo public council meeting.   

Diane Freeman, ward 4 councillor for the City of Waterloo added that the creation of happiness actually does bring value when giving consideration to urban design. Ultimately, the policy updates are intended to ensure the city remains accessible.   

“Inclusionary zoning helps to ensure that there’s a place in the city of Waterloo for everyone,” Lauder said.  

THREATS TARGET LOCAL QUEER EVENTS

Several 2SLGBTQIA+ events in the community were cancelled after Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) warned about possible threats planned to target local queer events.  

KW Gays and Theys, organizers of a Beers with Queers event, made the decision to cancel their event at Together We’re Bitter (TWB) Co-Operative Brewing on Oct. 21.   

Amanda Farquhar, manager and worker-owner at TWB Co-operative Brewing, said the brewery was first approached by WRPS on Monday, Oct. 20.   

Farquhar said the police told TWB they were aware of a disruption planned at a local queer event, though they were unsure which one.   

“It sounded like the intent was to potentially cause violence. The police planned to have patrols in the neighbourhood so that if something did happen, they could show up immediately,” Farquhar said.   

“We received an anonymous tip that was immediately forwarded to our Major Events Unit and Criminal Intelligence Unit. Members of the Hate Crime and Extremism Investigative Team (HCEIT) were also involved in supporting the investigation,” Cherri Greeno, director of corporate affairs at WRPS, said in a statement.   

“The tip did not include information about a specific event or individual. However, our investigators were able to identify three separate events that were being held and contacted the organizations to relay the information and to conduct safety planning,” the statement continued.  

Similarly, Suzie Taka, executive director at Spectrum, said she received the same information from WRPS on the same day.   

“I was able to find out that this was a generalized threat against any program or event for the queer and trans community happening on Tuesday night,” Taka said.  

Taka made the decision to move all programming online in order to maintain the safety of all staff and participants.   

Later in the week, Spectrum continued to hold programming in person with extra supports in place.  

“Violence and threats like this, while this one is very public, they are not uncommon and they are most profoundly felt and experienced by Black and Indigenous and racialized members of the queer and trans community,” Taka said.  

“Our core programming is peer support groups and they’re critical. They truly, literally save people’s lives,” Taka said.  

Similarly, TWB hosted a different queer event called Lavender Fizz later in the week. While Farquhar said the brewery had a safety plan in motion with extra worker-owners on site for support, the event ran smoothly without any concerns.   

“Continuing to run inclusive events is important because such a proliferation of hate right now, and if we bow down to that hate and hide these types of events or stop holding them, then, essentially, the group that doesn’t want them to happen has won,” Farquhar said.   

“Having positive, joyful, uplifting events in the community that create connection and and build community are just really important.”   

Moving forward, Taka said she is working with WRPS to debrief the situation, how it was handled and how to better inform the community moving forward.   

“I think a lot of things went wrong with how the community was notified and who the burden of safety fell on,” Taka said.   

The following week, Spectrum hosted a a Pop-Up Pride Dance Party in Waterloo Town Square where hundreds came out to participate.   

The event was held in response to the previous week’s threats and to bring the community together amidst fear.   

“Queer and trans people [have] always existed. We’ve always existed, and we always will, and it’s always been society that’s been the issue,” Taka said.   

“For us, it’s demystifying that and it’s education and it’s being a space for people to actually feel connected and to know that they are not alone.”  

This article was cross-published with The Cord.  

#2slgbtqia #alexandraGiovanatto #amandaFarquhar #beersWithQueers #cooperativeBrewing #queerCommunity #safinaJennah #spectrum #suzieTaka #threats #twb #waterlooRegion #waterlooRegionalPoliceService #wrps

ONTARIO GOVERNMENT INTRODUCES BILL 33, CONCERNS RAISED

On May 29, the Ontario government introduced Bill 33 to legislation. 

The Bill offers more power to the premier’s office over school boards while tightening oversight of children’s aid societies, colleges and universities.  

The Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, Bill 33, would amend four major laws—including the Education Act and the Child, Youth and Family Services Act.  

First, Bill 33 introduces new administrative and fiscal oversight measures for children’s aid societies, such as providing information about the Ombudsman to children and youth, reviewing by-laws and making them available to the public, obtaining ministerial approval for financial decisions that impact approved budgets, and expanding the definition of “institution” to include maternity homes.  

It also makes changes to the residing Education Act, where there will be more ministerial oversight and new cooperation requirements for Ontario school boards, with requirements such as: submitting to increased ministerial authority, where the education minister has more supremacy to investigate school boards, issue binding directives to the public and establish guidelines on board expenses.   

Other requirements include obtaining ministerial approval for the name of a new school or changing the name of an existing school, collaborating with police services on school programming, and implementing internal audits conducted by the ministry to enhance financial accountability.  

Scott Miller, director of education for the Waterloo Region District School Board, said the board will continue to work with local police and the community if the legislation passes.  

“The Waterloo Region District School Board [WRDSB] prioritizes safe, inclusive and welcoming learning environments for all students,” Miller said. “As a school board, we work closely with the Waterloo Regional Police Service [WRPS] to support the safety and well-being of WRDSB school communities. Bill 33 is still under review but if the bill is passed, we will continue to engage thoughtfully with our community partners, staff, students, parents and families to ensure decisions reflect the needs and values of WRDSB school communities.”  

Beyond K-12 schools, the bill also targets Ontario’s colleges and universities.  

The Bill amends the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities Act, focusing on admissions practices, research security and fee regulations. They plan to implement publicly accessible, merit-based admission standards, with details to be defined through regulation, develop and implement research security plans to safeguard and mitigate the risk of harm to or interference with research activities, and comply with government regulations regarding ancillary student fees, which may restrict fee structures and affect funding for student services.  

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities also received a new name: the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. This change, along with the new requirements for colleges and universities to develop and implement research security plans, reflects heightened governmental focus on research security.  

“At this point, the university, along with our Ontario post-secondary education peers, is closely monitoring the legislative discussion of the proposed Bill 33 and its potential impacts on universities,” Aonghus Kealy, Communications and Media Relations Officer at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) said.   

Bruce Gillespie, President of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA), emphasized that there are more risks involved in this bill than benefits.  

“It centralizes control over admissions, enables ministerial directives for research security, and broadens authority over student fees,” Gillespie said. “Universities already publish admission standards and safeguard research; layering new directives and fee controls adds red tape and cost without fixing chronic underfunding.”  

He added that the bill will burden staff and students at post-secondary institutions such as WLU.  

“It increases compliance workload and puts student-funded services at risk, while the real issue-operating funding—goes unaddressed,” Gillespie said.  

He also explains that if provincial rules destabilize student-funded services (from peer supports to transit and campus media), the unmet need doesn’t disappear; it shows up in classrooms and office hours. Faculty across ranks, and especially contract faculty, will end up doing more informal advising, crisis triage and support with fewer resources.  

Gillespie said he opposed the bill, arguing it undermines the autonomy of admissions and fees, risks weakening equity initiatives, and expands oversight that bypasses normal scrutiny, without improving teaching, research, or student supports. He hopes that Bill 33 will either remove or substantially amend the bill to protect equity-based admissions in statute, avoid fee controls that destabilize student services, and provide transparent, consultative research-security guidance.  

“On governance, the province should explicitly preserve Senate authority over academic matters and commit to meaningful consultation with students, not just anonymous surveys,” Gillespie said.  

As Bill 33 moves through legislative debate, its impact on Ontario’s education and child welfare systems remains a central concern for educators, administrators and policymakers alike. 

#AbdullahZafar #bill33 #BruceGillespie #childWelfare #DougFord #educationAct #fordGovernment #ontarioEducation #SangjunHan #senate #WaterlooRegionDistrictSchoolBoard #WaterlooRegionalPoliceService #wilfridLaurierUniversityFacultyAssociation #WRDSB #WRPS

ANOTHER LOOK AT FIREWORKS: IS THE CHAOS WORTH IT?

https://communityedition.ca/another-look-at-fireworks-is-the-chaos-worth-it/

#BronteBehling #canadaDay #fireworkSafety #fireworks #JulieWright #MonicaSidel #WaterlooRegionalPoliceService #WRPS