July 16 city council briefs: City nets $120,000 for homelessness program

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The City of Stratford will soon unveil a program to address long-term housing pressures and homelessness, rather than short-term emergency responses.

The announcement was made at the city council meeting on July 16, when John Ritz, the city’s homelessness and housing stability supervisor, presented his report on the program. As he explained briefly, it will be a pilot program that will support individuals and families through housing allowances and other initiatives.

The Canadian Alliance to End Homeless (CAEH), through the Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF), will provide $120,000 for the city to design, implement and evaluate the project, which will target individuals experiencing homelessness who require a moderate or low level of support to achieve housing stability.

The city’s social services department estimates that it will reduce the names on the local By-Name List (BNL) by 18 per cent. The BNL is a real-time list of all people experiencing homelessness locally, according to the city’s website.

According to the department’s most recent update, there are 149 households experiencing homelessness in the area (Stratford, Perth County and St. Marys). Out of that figure, 115 are single adults, 19 are youth aged between 16 and 24 and 15 are families.

More information on the program will be available in the August 15 edition of the Times.

Expect a charge next time you charge; new fees for EV stations roll out as early as September

Council unanimously approved new user fees for the electric vehicle (EV) charging stations it operates.

Currently, the city does not charge for the use of charging stations, save the standard parking rate users must pay while in a spot. The new fees staff proposed are $2.50 an hour for the level two charging stations and $16.50 an hour for the much faster level three charging stations, with no additional fees for parking.

The city operates about 14 charging stations across its properties. Most are level two spaces and only one is a level three station. More level three stations are slated to be installed and operational at the Stratford Rotary Complex by November 2026.

The fees will be collected through an app from the supplier, Chargepoint, which charges the city a 10 per cent processing fee.

As part of the push to recoup operational costs, council also exempted EVs charging at a station from the overnight parking restriction.

Staff intend to amend the governing bylaw to implement the fees in September.

If the fees take effect that month, revenues are estimated to be $15,500 in this operating year alone. Gross revenue for 2026 is “conservatively” estimated to be $24,519.

Mayor, MP honour Diane Sims as Order of Canada recipient

Stratford resident, author and activist Diane Sims was recently in Ottawa to be invested into the prestigious Order of Canada – but her celebration didn’t end there.

Mayor Martin Ritsma, Stratford city council at large and MP John Nater honoured her in council chambers on July 16 as well.

“This person that I know … has made Stratford a better place,” Ritsma said. “However, she’s not going to stop there.”

Sims, who is living with end-stage multiple sclerosis (MS), has been a tireless advocate for barrier-free accessibility and medical assistance in dying (MAiD), for which she has been approved for. She is known among the public, and indeed by council, for being relentless in her pursuit of a freely accessible Stratford, Ontario and Canada.

On behalf of the city, Ritsma presented Sims a certificate before every councillor around the horseshoe stood up and shook her hand.

Nater used his time to illustrate just how rarified the air that Sims breathes is. Since its inception in 1967, fewer than 9,000 Canadians have been invested into the Order of Canada.

“More Canadians have been struck by lightning since 1967,” Nater joked. “… And since our Blue Jays are doing so well right now, more people have made it to big leagues in the MLB than have been invested in the Order of Canada – so you are more special than a major league baseball player here in Stratford. So Diane, I want to say thank you for what you've done for our country. Congratulations, and I know you have so much more to offer.”

Ever the activist, Sims did not accept her accolades that evening silently. Given the floor by Ritsma, she shared a little about the journey she took to end up in Stratford, and reminded council that the bridge to Tom Patterson Island is not accessible. As she said during a previous delegation this year, it isn’t enough that the city will make efforts to make it accessible when the bridge is due for replacement in many years, it needs replacing now.

“People in wheelchairs can’t get to Tom Patterson Island,” Sims explained, after receiving accolades from Ritsma and Nater on July 16. “It is just a shame. And people with walkers, canes can't get up that steep slope. And it's simply appalling. So that is my latest project, and you will continue to hear more about it as it as my work progresses. So thank you very much for listening to me. And it's always, always such an honour to be here and to be in front of all of you who serve our city so well.”

For more on Sims’ journey, read the story on her induction ceremony in the July 25 edition of the Times, which can be found at https://tinyurl.com/yc3wsc9s.