ward2hamilton.bsky.social
This is the official account of the office of Ward 2 City Councillor @cameronkroetsch.bsky.social; you can reach us at Ward2@hamilton.ca
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There's a great photo and stories archive put together by the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre at www.communitystories.ca/v1/pm_v2.php.... Check it out for many more details about the church and congregation's history.
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The congregation is still going strong today. Thanks to everyone at Stewart Memorial Church for inviting us into their church, sharing their stories and history, and continuing this important legacy in Hamilton's Black community.
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In 1905 the neo-Gothic facade we see today replaced the original clapboard structure. The church struggled but saw the depressions years through thanks in part to Reverend John C. Holland. In 1937, it was renamed in honour of Reverend Claude A. Stewart.
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What we know today as Stewart Memorial Church was first built in 1848 and was a clapboard structure (long, thin boards used to cover the walls and roof). The congregation of St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church moved to John Street after a fire in 1879.
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Two distinct geographic communities emerged, one near Concession and Upper Wentworth Streets and the other around St. Paul’s African Methodist Episcopal Church on Cathcart Street in Ward 2, which was originally a log structure.
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Hamilton's Black community was growing in the 1820s and 30s, many looking for a better life in Canada, some fleeing the ongoing impacts of slavery in the United States and Canada, others coming here for work or to join family and community members living near Hamilton.
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To read this statement as a PDF visit drive.google.com/file/d/13mwz....
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Since concerns with respect to police presence and action were raised at the meeting, I think it’s best for the Chief to address the concerns raised by attendees. I’m happy to be at the table when that discussion happens. Even better if it happens in public.
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As I made clear to attendees, according to the Community Safety and Policing Act, neither Council nor individual Councillors can direct police operations, including the allocation of resources. Only the Chief can make those decisions.
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It’s been suggested for sure. It was part of the discussion about the pros and cons of BIAs.
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It’s possible but businesses would have to organize it.
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To see the slide deck from last night's meeting, you can visit my website under Public Meetings or get it directly at ward2hamilton.ca/wp-content/u....
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I'll be staying in touch with everyone in attendance and have offered to schedule more meetings to action the items raised and will be following up with St. Matthew's House to see what I can do to help make things better for everyone. More soon.
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As a former small business owner, I get it. I pledged to continue to do what I can in my role to help. Cities don't have all the levers and we can't change wider societal impacts, but I'll keep advocating for improvements downtown as I have been during this term.
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Downtown is changing. It's becoming denser and the population is different than it was when the City amalgamated. Some of the legacy businesses in the area are struggling to adapt while some newer folks are trying to find their place.
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As for starting a BIA on James Street North, the jury is still out on that but I encouraged people to do some homework and consider their options. It's a divided issue, but I've seen BIAs help in other areas like this. There are many issues impacting businesses.
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I'll continue to be honest about my role as a City Councillor and demystify the relationship between the police and the City. It's important that all residents know who to speak to when they have concerns and how to reach them - the Chief's email is FBergen@hamiltonpolice.ca.
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I continue to hear from residents that police tell them I'm responsible for issues related to crime and public safety, including at last night's meeting. This mixed messaging makes it seem like I have more authority than I do and understandably frustrates those who want answers.
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Unfortunately, decades of "law and order" politicians promising they could directly resolve issues related to crime and public safety have created a lot of confusion in communities. It's made it incredibly difficult to hold the Chief accountable for the decisions he makes.
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When it came to matters of public safety, a couple of people told me that the police "answer" to me, so it was a good opportunity to remind everyone that the police are the fifth level of government and their operations are completely at the discretion of the Chief of Police.
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The Ward 2 Team has interacted with staff and owners at all of the businesses, and there's no clear consensus on these issues. I'm grateful that St. Matthew's House has agreed to address the issues raised and work on a plan to improve things.
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It was a lively discussion. Some of the business owners called for the Café to be moved or services improved, while others asked for more services to help those struggling. Of the approximate 100 businesses we invited, representatives from about 25 were in attendance.
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I also appreciate her introducing me to the Strong Cities Network (I’d never heard of it). I’ve reached out to the Network to learn more and to find out if Hamilton would be a good fit to join their network of cities combatting hate. More soon.
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She spoke to the networks of far right hate perpetuating harm. As she said, community organizations often better counter hate than institutions. That says a lot. I’m grateful to HCCI, HARRC, ACCA, HIPC, No Hate in the Hammer, and others for the work they do.
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The Hamilton Public Library has put together a detailed overview of Gore Park's history. For more details, visit lha.hpl.ca/articles/his.... I'm also grateful to the late Brian Henley for photos from the 80s included in this thread.
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By 1984, the concrete buildings were taken down, some of the brick paving stones pulled up, and trees replanted, with promises from candidates across the city in the upcoming 1985 election not to make the same mistakes again.
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Council wanted to save $84k so asked City staff to take over the plan from the firm. City staff weren't resourced, the Planning Department was left out of the final stages, and Council wasn't consulted before Gore Park was stripped of trees in favour of brick pavers and concrete.
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Fast forwarding to the early 1980s, the trees in the park were razed as part of Council's Downtown Action Plan. An architectural firm was hired and called for "the creation of a distinctive urban park, complete with ... grass, shrubs and shade trees”. But Council intervened.
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Wright stated, "[t]he tree in question was hollow and dangerous to those frequenting the park. While the Board takes the stand that all such historic relics should be carefully preserved, it was regretfully obliged to safeguard citizens by removing it.”
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In 1921, the first of the tree skirmishes occurred during the felling of the "Prince of Wales tree", planted there during the historic visit of the late King Edward. At the time, Chairman of the Board of Parks, Alfred Wright, said the tree needed to be taken down.
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Replanting of the park began in 1860 with 16 to 18 trees, which the City said was due to "evil disposed persons" who they said "destroyed" the trees "in consequence of having access to the grounds at all times". The plans for a park began in earnest in 1873.
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Until about 1860, in advance of a royal visit, Gore Park was a heavily treed area. Up to then it was a garbage dump and lumber yard until the fountain was unveiled on May 24, 1860. By this time, the trees were gone from the area and it was developing into a "public square".
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UPDATE - There is no typo on this document with respect to Monday hours. In order to accommodate additional evening hours, without adding additional staff, hours on Mondays were reduced.
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To see the whole report as a PDF, including its appendices, visit drive.google.com/drive/folder....
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To be clear about the context for this data, it was collected, as the name implies, at a point in time. That's important, especially so data can be compared over many years, but it's also important to refer to other data collected by the City and organizations doing this work.
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Some of the things the City did to help were to build more affordable housing, support the repair of existing units (like at CityHousing Hamilton), and make more shelter spaces available (272 last year). The elimination of the Encampment Protocol didn't do any of this work.
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There was a new question added to this year's survey that asked people why they came to Hamilton, and 21% said it was for the City's services (broadly speaking). As City staff said, that's the case for most cities of our size (larger cities have more services).
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As City staff have said, many times, there is no evidence to support the continued claim that people are coming to Hamilton in higher numbers than in other cities. And despite claims the Encampment Protocol is the cause of more people coming to Hamilton, the data says otherwise.