Enjoy our chat with former Mayor, Larry DiIanni. Larry- thank-you for engaging with Hamiltonians in The Hamiltonian.1. Hamilton’s vision statement remains, “The Best place to raise a child and age successfully.” Reflecting on the progress of the last decade, do you believe Hamilton is living up to its vision? In your assessment, where do you think the city has made notable strides, and where does it still fall short of meeting this aspiration?Vision Statements are aspirational. They are also often grandiose in their expectations. I am always skeptical when anyone or thing or entity claims to be ‘best’ at anything. So I looked at that statement as a goal to be achieved rather than a destination. It is always ongoing and any organization should seek improvement from year to year.
In terms of raising children I would look at schools, employment for parents, medical services, recreational facilities, safe communities. Overall, Hamilton does well in all those categories in spite of some challenges.
As far as aging successfully, one might also look at these yardsticks: medical care, retirement facilities, activities for seniors, fair taxes, dignified retirement resources. Again, in the main, we are blessed as a community in spite of some challenges for some seniors.2.Given the imposition of tariffs on Canada, particularly in sectors like steel manufacturing, how do you think Hamilton’s industries and businesses, including its steel sector, might be impacted? From a leadership perspective, what strategies can Hamilton adopt to help local industries, businesses, and consumers navigate these challenges and mitigate the negative effects of such tariffs?Tariffs are a curse imposed by a crazed leader from the supposed leading economy in the world: USA. They will take a toll on our city because of its large footprint in steelmaking and related industries. A Mayor’s authority is limited but I think Hamilton is doing the right thing. The Mayor is apparently meeting with affected groups; she is liaising with the Province and the Federal authorities and is linking up with other mayors in Canada and the USA. I would hope that as the situation becomes clearer, if it ever does, our city would react appropriately and humanely.3. Homelessness remains a pressing issue in Hamilton, with increasing attention on encampments and the recent discussion around MiniCabins as a potential solution. What, in your opinion, should Hamilton’s long-term strategy be for addressing homelessness? Do you feel that the current leadership at City Hall has a clear, effective plan in place, or do you believe the approach is more reactive and tactical/experimental at this stage?I think that despite best efforts the city’s actions have not been in the best interests of the city in this regard. The encampment protocol was too permissive from the start which didn’t help the encampment residents and it certainly caused consternation and safety issues for the residents of the city and the businesses near these locations.
The reported stories of fires, drug use, crimes, violence, in these areas, let alone the refuse accumulated made for some frustrating times. I do understand that there were some do-gooders, misguided even if well-intentioned, that challenged the city legally at every turn. But it shouldn’t have taken a judge to finally decide that the city was acting with compassion and care in trying to deal with the situation. The city should have acted sooner in my estimation.
Having said all this, it should be noted that the social safety net is important for people whose luck runs out or whose personal situations need assistance. There but for the grace of God go any of us. However, helping the marginalized should not hold a whole community hostage. And parts of our city were being disadvantaged. I don’t begrudge the tax dollars spent on the mini residences, but the city cannot do it alone and Hamilton has tried. The city spent more money than the other orders of Government. That isn’t fair to our residents. And what made it worse, the problems didn’t improve. That has to be the definition of