I’m excited about this council. I know some of the people coming in, have had good conversations with others, and I’m curious what happens when they start working together.
With Carrie McEachran becoming mayor, some things we’ve gotten used to could finally change. This group doesn’t need to spend four years inside the previous council’s understanding of what is possible.
Here are three things I’m hoping for.
1. Stop letting NIMBYs determine housing policy
We give people who already have homes an awful lot of influence over whether other people can have them.
Housing gets proposed, neighbours organize, and the conversation becomes about satisfying their objections. The people who need the apartments are still waiting, usually somewhere outside the conversation.
Hear the concerns. Work through the practical ones. But keep going. A neighbourhood meeting can improve a project without becoming a vote on whether the people moving in are welcome.
There is a point where more consultation means asking the same people whether they have stopped opposing something yet. Another year goes by, and someone who could have been housed still isn’t. We’ve written about how differently this can work in St. Thomas.
People who need supportive housing belong here. So do renters and people whose lives are more complicated than their neighbours would prefer. I’m hoping this council makes that clear early, so everyone can spend less time fighting over whether people deserve a place and more time getting housing built.
2. Put the police back in their place
The police operating budget was roughly $27 million in 2022. The following year’s $30.4-million proposal was an 11.5 per cent increase. Now we’re at about $38.7 million for 2026, with approximately $40.9 million approved by the board for 2027.
Roughly $14 million more every year than in 2022, before major building costs. That comes from the same people who keep hearing there isn’t money for other things.
The police are one public service in a city with a lot of needs. Their requests deserve scrutiny, and we should be able to understand what we’re getting for the increases. Our reporting on spending records that remain partly blacked out shows how difficult even that can be. Housing, recreation and community services cannot keep trying to squeeze into whatever space is left.
Council has a role in setting the overall police budget. There are legal obligations and limits, but accepting every request isn’t one of them.
Carrie joined the police board this spring. Bradley stepped away in 2023, and his objections from outside it didn’t fix the problems.
Carrie has a chance to lead where he failed. I hope she stays involved in that oversight as mayor, asks the uncomfortable questions and keeps asking until something changes.
3. Bring some ideas that aren’t already in the agenda
I’ve sat at that table. Reports arrive, staff present recommendations, and you spend the meeting responding to what is in front of you. Then you do it again at the next meeting.
It’s easy to get through a lot of council business without getting very far into the things you wanted to do when you ran.
The city’s 2026 operating budget is $196.4 million, with $65.5 million identified for infrastructure renewal and improvements. There are commitments and restrictions, but there is also room for this council to bring some ambition of its own and ask staff to help work out how to get there.
BACE could get built sooner. We could finally get moving on the waterfront, with more reasons to spend time there while the bigger projects take shape. More murals and more paid work for local artists could make walking around Sarnia a little more interesting. These are things people could actually enjoy during this council’s term.
I’m tired of the conversation getting stuck at what something costs or whether it involves debt. Of course we need to work out how to pay for things. But we can do that with some enthusiasm for what we might get to have.
This group has ideas and relationships that weren’t at the table before. I’m excited to see what they do with them, especially the things that haven’t made it into a staff report yet.
Originally published in The Sarnia Journal.
