At last Friday’s General Issues Committee Budget meeting, Councillor Brad Clark (Ward 9 – Upper Stoney Creek) brought forward a motion to end the taxpayer-funded meal program that provides free meals for elected members and senior staff.
Clark’s motion was seconded by Councillor Rob Cooper (Ward 8 – West/Central Mountain).
However, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath immediately proposed that the motion be deferred to Council’s next budget meeting on Feb. 13 so that they can “have an understanding of the impacts.”
Horwath said that Council needs to be “respectful about people’s health and their need to have food at certain times.”
She added that ending the free meal program could mean that longer breaks have to be provided, which could also have a cost impact on the city.
Horwath’s proposal to defer discussion by one week pending further information from staff passed 13-3, with only Councillors Clark, Cooper, and Mark Tadeson (Ward 11 – Glanbrook-Binbrook-Mount Hope) voting against.
The meal program for Council and senior staff provides food during the city’s Planning Committee, General Issues Committee, and City Council at a cost of nearly $26,000 each year.
However, Clark explained that sometimes that amount is “much higher.”
He added, “Taxpayers, regardless of the sum, should not be paying for free lunches for Councillors and the front bench. If they want lunches provided, they should be paying out of their pocket, have it deducted from their salary.”
Five Councillors, including Clark, Cooper, Maureen Wilson (Ward 1 – Chedoke-Cootes-Westdale), Alex Wilson (Ward 13 – Dundas-Central Flamborough), and Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 – Downtown Hamilton) have already opted out of the free meal program.
It should be noted that, in 2024, Horwath’s salary was over $271,000, while each Councillor received a base pay of just over $108,000.
Senior staff include Medical Officer of Health Elizabeth Richardson (over $345,000), Associate Medical Officer of Health Bartholomew Harvey (over $293,000), and City Manager Marnie Cluckie (over $280,000).
Most of the city’s General Managers are paid around $250,000 per year.
Clark says that it creates a “cognitive disconnect that folks who are Councillors and on the senior leadership team are earning six-digit salaries and they are getting a free lunch.”
Similar programs used to be in place in other municipalities, such as Toronto, but were scrapped a number of years ago.
It remains to be seen what further information city staff provide regarding the program and how Councillors and the Mayor will vote on Feb. 13.
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.
