Reid McAlpine

Councillor Unionville Ward 3

…for a better Markham!

December 2024

Dear Neighbour,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in Ward 3 and Markham the very best of the holiday season. The world faces so many critical issues at the moment it is nice to be able to step back, however briefly, and focus on family and hope. The image here is from my 2024 Christmas card. It was painted in Unionville in 1944 by the respected Canadian landscape painter Manly Edward MacDonald (1889-1971). The view in the painting is not much changed today. It looks west toward St Philips church — as it was at the time, now the Nazarene church — on Main Street, just north of Carlton Road.
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November was a busy month at council, culminating in the final passage of the Mayor’s city budget for 2025. Our property taxes will rise by 3.88% in 2025: 2.65% for day-to-day operations, 0.8% for infrastructure investment and 0.43% as partial payback to the Corporate Rate Stabilization Reserve. That latter account was used to pay for 0% tax increases during the pandemic. You can find more information here and here.  I think the budget can be characterized as a “stay the course” budget with no significant new initiatives or service improvements.
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On November 5, General Committee (GC) considered a new Council Staff Relations policy, here. I have strong reservations about parts of the policy that might impede my ability to serve you in my “customer service” role, in so far as it would limit my interactions with city staff. I managed to get it deferred and have been consulting with some people in the community whose opinions I trust. If you have any comments, please let me know. It will be dealt with again next Tuesday December 3 at the GC meeting.
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Council passed a revision to the Council Code of Conduct, here. The revisions now limit the ability of members of council to raise money outside of election periods. Unfortunately, in my opinion the annual fundraising caps are still too high and they exclude members’ private foundations. However, the revisions are an important step in the right direction and should, to some degree, prevent future abuses of councillors’ positions, particularly with respect to funds raised from developers having business with the city.
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Council approved a letter to the provincial government regarding Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, here. As is typical, the goverment took a “Ready, Fire, Aim” approach to this legislation. Much remains unclear and we need the more detailed regulations required to implement the new law. In particular it is not clear if the safety-oriented reconfigurations of Apple Creek Drive, part of Carlton Road and part of Main Street Markham can proceed. The letter does not scold the province for stepping needlessly into local jurisdiction, though perhaps it should.
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Finally, the Development Services Committee received an update, here, on Markham’s plans to spend $58.8M from the federal CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund. 88% of the money, $52M, is allocated for partnerships with non-profit and other developers to build affordable housing. There are seven projects on the table at the moment, at varying stages of negotiation.  If successful, these initiatives could result in as many as 890 affordable and below market rental units.

And again, all the best of the season to you and your family.

Reid