u/ScarWild3294 — reddlx

Image 1 — Find out where Kingston's municipal election candidates stand on climate action and environmental issues

Image 2 — Find out where Kingston's municipal election candidates stand on climate action and environmental issues

Image 3 — Find out where Kingston's municipal election candidates stand on climate action and environmental issues

Image 4 — Find out where Kingston's municipal election candidates stand on climate action and environmental issues

Find out where Kingston's municipal election candidates stand on climate action and environmental issues

Hey Kingston, I'm a volunteer with the Kingston Climate Justice Coalition and I wanted to share this Candidate Comparison Tool we just launched to help people who care about climate action and environmental issues make their voting decisions.

These slides give an overview, but check out our website to explore candidates' actual answers. I hope you find it helpful!

How does it work?

We asked candidates across all 12 districts and the mayoral race to state their positions on 15 policy commitments. Using our side-by-side comparison tables, you can see where candidates in your district (and the mayoral race) stand on key issues.

You will also see which candidates chose not to respond. We believe putting commitments in writing is an important way for candidates to be accountable and transparent, and we were pleased that the majority answered our survey.

We contacted non-responding candidates multiple times via their official campaign channels. Our website remains open for updates, should they decide to fill out the questionnaire before election day.

Why did we do this?

With the municipal election campaign in full swing, climate policy is too often getting sidelined in media coverage, all-candidates meetings, and campaign materials.

Kingstonians care deeply about protecting our environment, building a resilient city, and taking action on the climate crisis.

We also know that City Council has a big role to play when it comes to climate action. They make decisions about buildings, transportation, city development, public health, and protecting forests and wetlands.

We created the candidate questionnaire to help cut through generic campaign promises and give everyone a clear look at where each candidate stands on key issues like urban boundary expansion, protecting tenants from extreme heat, and transit investments.

Hopefully you find this tool helpful. Please share with friends and neighbours so that they can make an informed choice on voting day!

u/ScarWild3294 — 11 days ago

▲ 38 r/KingstonOntario

Radio ad about the Municipal Services Corporation decision going to City Council this Tuesday. Contact your councillor if you’re concerned!

u/ScarWild3294 — 4 months ago

▲ 91 r/KingstonOntario

The second of two radio ads running this weekend to raise awareness about urban sprawl and the draft Official Plan. This one is focused on the bottom line for Kingston taxpayers.

Here's the source for the numbers in the post title.

3 ways you can help:

📑 Submit comments on the draft Official Plan by this Sunday, May 3. Our volunteers have created an updated Official Plan Toolkit to make it easy to get informed and take action. It includes key concerns, background information, and simple instructions on how to submit comments.

🏛️ Contact your City Councillor – Call or email to share your concerns and urge action. If you can’t reach them by phone, please leave a voicemail—every message counts. Email mayor&council@cityofkingston.ca or email your councillor directly.

✍️ 3. Sign and share the petition.

u/ScarWild3294 — 6 months ago

▲ 59 r/KingstonOntario

Here are 3 ways you can help:

✍️ 3. Sign and share the petition.

u/ScarWild3294 — 6 months ago

▲ 40 r/KingstonOntario

Proposed expansion areas (in red)

TL;DR: City Council is voting on June 30th to expand Kingston’s boundaries (urban sprawl). We’re asking them to wait until the new Council term so we can know the full financial and environmental implications before this decision is made. You can sign the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/data-before-decisions

Hey Kingston, I’m part of a local group that has been closely watching the development of the City's new Official Plan. We’re sounding the alarm because it feels like the process is being rushed.

On June 30th, City Council plans to vote on a massive Urban Boundary Expansion. This is a 25-year decision that will lock us into more urban sprawl, but no cost estimates have been shared with the public yet. City Staff say that "high-level" costs will be presented before the June 30 meeting, but not the full financial implementation plan—which will show the real cost of water, sewers, and roads for these new areas. Council would essentially be signing a blank cheque.

Kingston is already falling behind on maintaining our current infrastructure by about $104 million every year. That is an estimated $1 billion funding gap over the next decade. Despite this, the City is now considering establishing a Municipal Services Corporation to enable taking on even more debt to service urban expansion.

You will see some expansion areas like Creekford Road marked as “deferred” on maps in the draft Official Plan, but once the City identifies these spaces for growth, land speculation will take off and property values will skyrocket. This effectively locks in urban sprawl in those areas. For example, if the proposed hospital move doesn't happen or loses funding, we’re still stuck with a plan that prioritizes sprawl in that specific area rather than leaving it as-is.

Hamilton, Waterloo, and Ottawa have already rejected urban boundary expansions because they realized sprawl is too expensive. Not to mention the environmental and climate costs of encroaching on wetlands and woodlands, and creating more car dependency.

A decision that impacts the next 25 years of Kingston's development shouldn’t be made by a Council in their final months before an election. We are asking the Mayor and Council to defer the vote until the next Council term so we can actually look at the full financial and environmental data.

If you think Kingstonians should have all the data before Council makes such a big choice, please consider signing the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/data-before-decisions

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u/ScarWild3294 — 6 months ago