Councillors return to City Hall after last week’s Easter “off” week.
Today’s biggest item at City Hall will be dealing with a very unpopular petition to designate libraries as “safe drug consumption sites.” A petitioner will delegate, two people opposed will speak, and then Council’s public health committee can decide to thank everyone for attending and do nothing, or debate the idea.
It’s federal election day. When the votes are counted, we’ll learn if the 2026 municipal election season is underway.
This and more in today’s Daybook.
All meetings are at Hamilton City Hall unless otherwise noted.
City Hall
Public Health Sub-Committee, 9:30 a.m.
There are five agenda items of note, including a petition to make Hamilton Public Library branches “safe drug consumption sites,” the City’s extreme heat strategy, alcohol usage statistics and response, a motion to embed “health equity methods and analysis” across public health reports, and ‘mobilizing public health knowledge to maximize positive health impacts.”
TPR meeting preview story here.
Public Works Committee, 1:30 p.m.
It is a light agenda today. The annual update on community use at the civic stadium, a few private property matters, extending the water metre contract, decreasing the frequency of the DARTS report, and ward councillor motions to improve parks and intersections.
Ontario Land Tribunal
1400 South Service Road (Stoney Creek), 10 a.m.
Day five of the nine-day hearing regarding a proposed mixed-use (primarily residential) proposal for designated employment lands at 1400 South Service Road in Stoney Creek.
The hearing is by videoconference.
The City begins presenting its evidence today. City Planner Charlie Toman, Team Lead for Policy Planning and Municipal Comprehensive Review, will present the City’s expert witness testimony in the morning. He will be cross-examined following the lunch break.
Following this, Registered Professional Planner Antony Lorius will begin his expert testimony as the lead author of Hamilton’s Lands Needs Assessment report. (Lorius will be on the stand all day on Tuesday as well.)
More details here: Notes on the 1400 South Service Road OLT Appeal Hearing
Federal Election Day
Polls are open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Get out and vote (if you haven’t already – 105,559 ballots were cast at advance polls within Hamilton’s five ridings). Find out where to vote at elections.ca.
The City Hall storylines to watch for tonight will be the fate of Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko and former Ward 5 Councillor Chad Collins.
If Danko wins in Hamilton West – Ancaster – Dundas, then City Council will need to decide whether they appoint a replacement or call a by-election. (I wrote about the timelines for a by-election a few weeks ago.)
Collins is seeking re-election as the Liberal MP for Hamilton East – Stoney Creek. If he’s unsuccessful, he’s considering running for mayor in 2026.
Either scenario will mark the beginning of the 2026 municipal election season.
In The Community
National Day of Mourning in Canada, 5:30 p.m.
The Workers’ Mourning Day ceremony begins inside Council Chambers at Hamilton City Hall, followed by a procession to the workers’ monument at the corner of Bay Street and Main Street.
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Published: April 28, 2025
Last updated: April 28, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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