Sarnia's Mayor is looking back on the highlights and challenges in 2024, as we usher in the new year.
Mike Bradley said he's proud of the number of housing starts and approvals Sarnia council endorsed.
"There's probably been about 1,200 to 1,500 new units of apartments and houses of all different ranges that have been approved in the last six months and that's on top of 2,300 approvals that we have given over the years for developers to move forward," said Bradley.
He really hopes to see them all advance.
"Because it would help us," Bradley said. "Our rental rates here are way too high compared to the rest of southwestern Ontario. So, the more units we have out there, the more we can hopefully help deflate that market so that we have reasonable rents for people as we enter 2025-2026."
Bradley said the city might even be recognized again for its work.
"We're leading the way in southwestern Ontario on housing unit starts," he said. "We've been working on this for years. Putting the infrastructure in place as we look to develop to the east. We're doing a lot of infilling -- as you can note on the former Sarnia General Hospital site, where there are now 118 new units coming on stream. We just had a recent development on Pamela Court, and if we can do that in the next year or two we could even do more to bring more housing choices for the public and Sarnia."
In March 2024, the city received $400,000 from the province's Building Faster Fund for exceeding its 2023 housing target with a total of 254 new units.
Bradley said housing and affordability are key issues that need to continue to be addressed in 2025.
"Inflation has dramatically decreased, interest rates have been decreasing and continue to decrease," he said. "So, going into next year, there's some hopeful signs there. But, we also need to -- as Canadians and as Sarnians -- to get our optimism back," Bradley said. "To remember what made us Canadians is that sense that we're all in this together and we're going to get out of these major challenges together."
Bradley said solutions to the homelessness issue will continue to be sought in the new year.
"Every Canadian community, small and large, is dealing with this issue and we've had our issues," Bradley said. "Whether it's Rainbow Park and some of the auxiliary issues from that. But, the reality is there's less than 30 people in Rainbow Park now because of the strategy adopted by city council earlier this year" he said.
The province introduced a bill in early December that will give municipalities, if passed, additional tools to clear homeless encampments and discourage drug use in public.
More funding would also be allocated to the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit to free up space in emergency shelters.
Bradley is also pushing for border security improvements, including the reestablishment of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP] detachment in Sarnia.
He announced the call prior to the federal government revealing its $1.3 billion Canada Border Plan, which promises a number of measures to strengthen surveillance and disrupt the flow of fentanyl.
"The fentanyl issue is a huge issue still in this community and across this country and that's why I welcome these new border efforts to bring more control to the importation of that drug, or the export," Bradley said. "It is a black plague on every Canadian community. The damage that fentanyl and other drugs are doing to our cities."
Bradley anticipates some good news stories in 2025.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the new 24-beds coming on stream to deal with the drug issues. Which has been a long fight for this community, going back 20 years and various governments," he said. "I'm looking forward to seeing some of the renewal of the community as we're getting a lot of interest in development and moving forward, in the valley and from outside the valley. That's what we need. That combination of investment."
Overall, Bradley is hopeful about the future.
"It is challenging right now. There's no question. I think the biggest thing we need to do is have an attitude adjustment and look at the strengths we have as a community and a country. Let's build on those strengths instead of tearing everything down. There's an old Texas expression which I've always loved, 'Any donkey can kick down a barn, it takes a carpenter to build one.' That's the viewpoint I'm taking into 2025. We're going to continue to reshape the city and move it forward."