KEITH'S GOALS FOR HRM

This is your home. You know what you want and need better than any politician, city planner or HRM staffer. The job of councillor is to represent the wishes of the residents not those of other levels of government, special interest groups or big money investors. To accomplish this, I will be readily available to discuss all matters  with residents.  I am committed to meeting regularly with representatives of existing community organizations and establishing voluntary district specific Advisory Groups representing: Regions within the District, Youth, Seniors, Persons with Disabilities and Historically marginalized groups. I want to ensure the residents of District 3 have a strong voice in developing the policy and practices that affect us all.  

I fully support participatory budgeting which allows residents to vote on where a substantial portion of the District's not-for profit and community funds are spent.

The most common issues raised by residents are related to our roads. HRM has a duty its citizens to ensure that the roads - our most basic infrastructure - are  in good shape and are safe for our residents. I support heavy investment in equipment and personnel to lessen waiting times for street and sidewalk repair, redesign and traffic calming initiatives. I also support working with the Provincial Government to pass legislation to bring Speed Radar Enforcement to the province. 

The housing crisis didn't happen overnight and will not be resolved quickly. It will take cooperation between all three levels of government and many other bodies to significantly reduce those affected by homelessness and to make home-ownership and affordable rent possibilities. Many of our housing legislation lies in the hands of the provincial government, however, housing is everyone's concern. I fully support the prioritization of non-market homes, cooperative initiatives, affordable quotas in new developments and further incentives for first time home buyers. I support barriers to commercial interests based outside of HRM from mass development and acquisition of structures  suitable for non-market housing, shelters and/or important community services. I support working with the Province to change building codes to encourage quick and efficient development and to remove barriers to initiatives like Missing Middle (i.e. townhouses, duplexes, etc) development.

A city of this size must have an affordable, reliable, efficient and ecologically conscious Transit System. As one resident said, "we are living 21st century lives on 19th century roads." With the Mill Cover Ferry Terminal project underway, our transit service is primed for large scale change as outlined in the Regional Plan. We must prioritize the elements of the Rapid Transit Strategy, Integrated Mobility Plan and Regional Plan that will address the practical, ecological and financial shortcomings of the status quo. 

- I support early acquisition of micro-mobility (mini-busses) to serve remote and underserviced areas.

- I support electric and ecologically friendly options transit acquisition and re-development.

- I support frequent re-assessments of existing bussing and ferry routes. Input from drivers and frequent users are essential to these initiatives.

- I support further accessibility initiatives to ensure our transit system is usable for all our residents and deep consultation with staff and users of the strengths and weaknesses of our Access A Bus System.

Ecological consciousness is no longer an option, it is a necessity. As developers plan to 'pave paradise and put up a parking lot,' government policy must serve as a system of checks and balances to ensure absolute minimal damage is done to our environment. We live in a beautiful part of the world and we must keep it that way.. I support:

- Ecologically conscious development, such as encouraging repurposing and remediating to previously used sites rather than spoiling untouched land.

- Cutting down on fiscal and environmental waste by deploying micro-transit options (mini-busses) for less commonly used routes and/or slow hours.  - Electric transit options.

-. The goals and aims of the Halifact, The Green Network Plan, Integrated Mobility Plan, Just Food Action Plan and the Ecological Components of the Regional Plan and other related approved municipal strategies.

- I support enacting bylaws, where applicable, that are in compliance with the shelved Coastal Protection Act.

- Frequent collaboration with local and national ecological research and advocacy groups to ensure all decisions made are ecologically conscious and based on the most current research and evidence.

Our safety and security is paramount. Every unsolved crime, unprevented violation or act of injustice is a failure for us all. I support working with all three (HRP, RCMP, MP) police departments in District 3 to ensure that our citizens are protected, their rights are respected and offences are addressed.  I support:

- Communication and resource sharing among the departments and transparent communication with council and the population

- Efforts to re-allocate appropriate services to other agencies - bylaw enforcement, mental health services, EHS, etc- where applicable.

- Full scale security assessment of  municipal parks and applicable installation of street lights, security cameras, accessible points of egress, etc.

- Investing in general mental health and addiction services for the public and programs designed for specific at-risk groups living and/or working in HRM.

- Advocating for open and transparent communication between council, The Board of Police Commissioners, The Office of Public Safety, other related departments and the community.

- Working with all three levels of government to ensure we implement and use modern technology to decrease budgetary and personnel demands (Speed Radar, Intersection Cameras.)