The motion was seconded by Councillor Alex Wilson. Pictured: Councillor Cameron Kroetsch. Photo Credit: City of Hamilton.
At a Hamilton Council budget meeting on Feb. 7, Councillor Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 – Downtown Hamilton) brought forward a motion to defund the 2025 police budget that was approved by the Hamilton Police Service (HPS) Board.
The motion was seconded by Councillor Alex Wilson (Ward 13 – Dundas-Central Flamborough) and he ended up being the only other member of Council to support Councillor Kroetsch’s motion as it failed in a 2-14 vote.
In his motion Kroetsch argued that HPS should not receive their requested net levy increase of just over $12.2 million (5.7 per cent). He instead posited that HPS should receive the same funding as in 2024.
Councillor Kroetsch added that residents in his ward tell him “on a regular basis” that when they call police asking for services “those services they ask for are often ignored.”
He added that HPS is only able to respond to 72 per cent of calls across the city, but that in Ward 2 that percentage is only 69 per cent.
It’s unclear how cutting the police budget would help address that issue, although Kroetsch suggested that HPS should find more efficiencies.
He also noted that staffing costs make up a large part of the HPS budget. However, it should be noted that the nature of police work makes it a staff-heavy service and also that wages are determined by collective agreement to which the city is bound.
Wilson then spoke, claiming that the motion is “not a defund the police motion” since it still involves giving the police well over $200 million in funding.
He appeared to indicate that his understanding of defunding the police would be if HPS received no money at all from the city.
After the two Councillors introduced the motion, a number of others spoke out passionately against it.
Councillor Matt Francis (Ward 5 – Hamilton East-Stoney Creek), said, “We should not be defunding our first responders, our fire service, our police service, our paramedics. These are necessities and we should be saving millions of dollars on expedited bike lanes, expensive hiring practices, and other wants in the city like poets. The police are a need, they’re not a want.”
He added, “I assume that many residents in Ward 2 specifically would object to less police resources given that they call for service to the HPS more than any other ward and double than most wards.”
Councillor John-Paul Danko (Ward 8 – West/Central Mountain) also objected, saying that the decrease “would remove officers from the community.”
One of the most passionate speakers was Councillor Mike Spadaford (West 14 – West Mountain) who commented that the budget decrease “would mean dismantling units like the Core Patrol, Crisis Response Unit, Encampment Engagement Team, Hate Crime, Missing Persons Unit, Seniors’ Support, Traffic Services and Victims’ Services.”
“That’s where we want to find our savings?” he asked.
“The majority of the residents in this city want to live in a city that is safe – for themselves, their parents, their children. To be able to go to parks and feel like they can utilize a space for their kids and families to enjoy themselves,” Spadafora concluded.
During 2024 budget deliberations last year there was a similar vote on police funding. HPS’ request for a $16 million (8.4 per cent) increase in funds from property taxes passed in a 10-6 vote last year.
Councillors Kroetsch and A. Wilson voted against that police budget as did Councillors Maureen Wilson (Ward 1 – Chedoke-Cootes-Westdale), Nrinder Nann (Ward 3 – East Hamilton Centre), Tammy Hwang (Ward 4 – Hamilton East), and Craig Cassar (Ward 12 – Ancaster-West Flamborough).
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
