COMMITMENT

Dedication to Ward 1

I am dedicated to being a loud and clear voice for Ward 1. My commitment is simple: to listen, to act, and to ensure your neighborhood remains a safe, vibrant, and prosperous place for every resident and family. Your concerns are my priorities, and together, we will build a stronger community.

Ward 1 Concerns & Responses

Resident Concern: I have some concerns regarding the constant, excessive speeding by both motorcycles and cars/trucks on Queen Street,

"How do you plan to address the rising concerns about neighborhood safety and visibility in Ward 1?"

Dan's Response

This is a city-wide problem relating directly to enforcement of the High-way Traffic Act which falls under provincial legislation. Believe me, I get it. I often find myself thinking the same thing on my own street when a vehicle speeds by, slow down, there are children playing in this neighbourhood.

I am advocating for a stronger police presence, consistent enforcement, with no soft penalty, BUT a penalty that discourages this behavior in the future. Accountability is important. Without assigning blame or malice, ensure our police services are carrying out the enforcement and administrative responsibilities that come with keeping our roads safe.

Resident Concern: The occasional illegal occupation of tents on city property in the Eastend park that is situated between the Eastend sewage treatment plant and Parkshore Drive.

"Our roads and sidewalks are aging. What is your strategy for updating Ward 1's utility networks?"

Dan's Response

This is a much larger city-wide issue, in fact it is a societal issue one that is dear to me in direct relationship to homelessness, mental health and addictions. We are faced with a crisis that seems to be spiraling out of control. Unfortunately, this topic requires a much larger forum.

HOWEVER I will share this, the people that are living in tents or squatting in abandoned buildings all-round the city should not be stereo typed we have families that cannot afford the housing options available and have nowhere else to go, this is tragic, I am researching affordable housing options.

The population of our homeless with addiction and/or mental health issues should be treated as a health issue! I would advocate mandatory holding, not arrest, holding under the mental health laws with the evaluation from a qualified professional (doctor / psychiatrist / councillor) to be held for mental health / addiction purposes and offer proper treatment. The Problem is we need a larger facility with qualified professionals to accomplish this goal. Once again, it falls upon our policing service to initially evaluate unless we can offer some other protected safe service for the evaluations.

So, as you can see this issue has many moving parts, this is one of the staple issues in my platform. Sorry, there is so much more to consider regarding this topic and no easy answer.

Resident Concern: I am concerned with the prevalence of dog owners occupying housing on the south side of Copernicus who leave their dogs outside in the back yard unattended. The dogs then get lonely and bored, and bark excessively. As a long-time dog owner/past breeder/trainer/fan, this constitutes irresponsible ownership and a form of neglect.

"How will you ensure housing remains affordable and accessible for established families in Ward 1?"

Dan's Response

Unfortunately, this is a humanitarian issue as opposed to a violation of a city bylaw I believe, I suppose with proof it could be brought to our humaine society, meaning that with enough collective neighbourhood concerns they would do an investigation to warrant a neglected concern. Truth is some people have pets that really are not meant to be pet owners. I will be visiting the Human Society in the coming weeks and will discuss this concern.