Mike McCluskey For District 5 | HRM Election 2024

Communication

Residents are feeling that they are not being heard when decisions affecting their neighbourhood and HRM are made. Their council representative and consultants will say, “We listened to the residents.” They listened, but did they hear? As your councillor, it will be my responsibility to learn of any changes as soon as they are being planned and to inform you so that you can express your concerns and have them heard. Not after the fact. My communication style is:
R – Receive the information (Listen to and understand, not rebut)
A – Acknowledge (Stay quiet and encourage more detail)
S – Summarize (So what you are concerned about is X)
A – Action (I have heard your concerns and now I will action them)

I commit to you:

That I will be as near as my phone.
That all phone calls, letters and emails will be answered by me in a very timely manner.
Public hearing/public information meeting will be for you to express your concerns, instead of being held after all decisions have been made.
I will follow up on all of your calls which require attention, and get a list of any calls made by you to 311 to ensure that action, if required, is taken.

Budget

These are tough times, residents and businesses are struggling. We must stop increasing taxes. When HRM has a large increase in assessment, it must be reflected in the tax rate. I commit to working with my colleagues to ensure:

That the budget reflects the needs of the taxpayers and not a wish list of council.
That we have meaningful conversation with residents and the Chamber of Commerce before any final numbers are set. We must look for savings.
I will put forward to my colleagues on council that an external audit be performed on every department, not because I don’t think we have a good staff and that anything nefarious is going on, but I believe that an outside auditor will find inefficiencies.

Implement the recommendations put forward by the HRM Auditor General.

Transportation

HRM is experiencing unpredicted growth, with the population expected to double in the next 30 years, and a great number of people will depend on transit to make their way throughout the region. The Dartmouth Ferry, as featured in many ad campaigns and tourist photos, is an integral part of our transportation system and up until recently has been extraordinarily reliable. If people cannot count on the ferry to be available, they will not use it, leading to more cars on the road. HRM should sponsor current and future employees of transit to gain the necessary qualifications to serve as crew on the ferry. Should the ferry sailing times be extended with a view to 24-hour service? I will support the implementation of the bus rapid transit system, and the new Bedford ferry subject to its economic viability. None of our transit plans will matter if we don’t have the skilled services of our transit operators. I would put forward a case to council to review the transit operations with special focus on the working conditions and scheduling of the drivers. Happy drivers, happy riders.

Active Transportation

Our plan must be to consider all modes of travel. Our streets/roads must be safe for everybody. While it is great to build for the future, we must consider our priorities at this time and our budget. The residents in District 5 that I represent will be consulted about any planned change to their street, whether it be bike lanes, speed bumps, loss of parking or increased parking, as well as curb cut outs. They pay the bills, they should be involved in the decision making.

Homelessness

Our homeless crisis has been made worse because HRM does not have an “Action Plan.” Homeless people are not being treated properly and residents are not being consulted when changes are being made to their neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods are changing in negative ways. Residents are experiencing the loss of parks and, in some cases, playgrounds. I will encourage Halifax Regional Council to develop a better working relationship with the Provincial Government, sit down together and devise a plan. I will lead the charge. There is no place for partisan politics in municipal government.

Affordable Housing

Stop the blame game. Work with other levels of government. Residents are finding themselves homeless with no place to go. We can do better. It has to happen now. I will push my colleagues for the following:

Make any available HRM owned land available for the purpose of building affordable homes.
Rents should be no more than 30% of household income.
Excuse development and permitting fees.
No more changing the Planning Act like what happened in Ocean Breeze, putting 400 families out of their apartments with no available apartments to move to.
Meet with Federal Government for the purpose of requesting that they build homes like CMHC did during the Second World War – 25 homes a day.
Work with owners of large houses to encourage them to renovate them as rooming houses.

The Issues