Local MP Dan Muys. Photo credit: Facebook/Dan Muys
Following the Hamilton municipal election on Monday, October 24, 2022, The Hamilton Independent spoke to Flamborough-Glanbrook Conservative Member of Parliament Dan Muys one-on-one about his thoughts regarding the results.
Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
THE HAMILTON INDEPENDENT (THI): What is your analysis of the Hamilton municipal election results as a whole?
MUYS: I am an optimist, so I would say that there were some good outcomes. There were some candidates that were elected that I don’t know so well, and I don’t know if they are the right choices, but that doesn’t matter: people voted. I am optimistic about Andrea Horwath being elected as mayor. I did have a conversation with her, and she did have some businesspeople supporting her. In my conversation with her, she was about putting partisanship aside and focusing on being collaborative and productive and leading Council.
THI: What do you think is the number one issue that this new Council must focus on?
MUYS: The number one issue in Canada is affordability and cost of living. Inflation is at 40-year highs and interest rates increased again this week. The Hamilton City Budget Office was projecting a 6.9 or 6.8 per cent tax increase next year and then subsequent tax increases over the next three years. I don’t think that’s something that people can afford. This is a Council that has to mind the public purse and be responsible, especially in these times when people can simply not afford any more.
THI: Do you think there has been an ideological shift in Council at all between the 2018 election and the results on Monday?
MUYS: I think when you look at the incumbents, and even the new faces, the business-friendly carry the majority on Council. Some of the new Councillors I haven’t had a chance to speak with are maybe further on the left than has been the case with some Councils in the past. Maybe there’s a greater ideological gap? But I think that this is a productive Council that can work forward.
THI: Are there any issues or policies in particular, such as defunding the police, that you’re afraid this Council is going to pass?
MUYS: I can’t speculate. I mean maybe there will be a push from individual Councillors, as there has been in the past, to defund the police. But I don’t think that, overall, the majority of Council want to see that when we know that there are increased incidents of violent crime. If you look in the Spectator in the past week there’s been home invasions, there are break-ins, and there was a gun incident on the Mountain. This is on the upswing. I don’t think you’re going to see a Council cut back on policing at a time when it’s going to be more needed. Also, we’re in a growing community. Waterdown, Binbrook, Elfrida, and Stoney Creek Mountain are all growing communities and they’re going to need more services, and they’re already asking for that.
THI: You endorsed three councillor candidates (Nick Lauwers in Ward 11, Karl Hanley in Ward 12, and Zobia Jawed in Ward 15) and one mayoral candidate (Bob Bratina). All four candidates lost. What is your analysis of that?
MUYS: I supported people that I have worked with in the past. In politics, you support people who are aligned with your views. I endorsed Bob Bratina for mayor for some of the reasons that I articulated: affordability issues and crime issues. But I think that, after the brief initial exchange I had with Andrea Horwath, she is cognizant of those issues and I think that’s fine. In politics you support people, and it doesn’t always work. I think that all of the people I endorsed are great people, I think they all have great futures, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see any or all of them on Council in the future.
THI: Another topic that came during the election was whether or not the city should expand the Red Hill Parkway and the Lincoln Alexander Parkway to three lanes each way. Do you think that’s a priority for the new Council?
MUYS: The city is growing and that’s why we’re seeing increased traffic on those roadways in particular. Should we do it? In my view, yes, but obviously that’s something that will have to be discussed by Council.
THI: The province is giving strong mayor powers to the Mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, with rumours that it could be expanded to other cities, such as Hamilton. Do you think Hamilton will see strong mayor powers?
MUYS: I don’t speak for the province so I can’t say [Muys is a federal MP, not a provincial representative]. I think, during the campaign, the mayoral candidates were asked about it and said that they thought it was not something that we feel we need. I think if you look at the people that are on Council, I think that there can be a good consensus so, in that sense, I don’t know if it’s necessary.
THI: We now have five incoming Councillors (Cameron Kroetsch in Ward 2, Nrinder Nann in Ward 3, Tammy Hwang in Ward 4, Craig Cassar in Ward 12, and Alex Wilson in Ward 13) who are refusing to speak to the Spectator indefinitely due to the Spectator’s coverage of a story in which someone was arrested in connection with a kidnapping and murder on Glancaster Road. The headline mentioned that the male who was arrested was involved with the defund the police movement. These incoming Councillors are saying that, in reporting those details, the Spectator contributed to anti-Black racism. They say that they will not speak to the Spectator until the newspaper meets their demands. What do you make of that story?
MUYS: I would defer to the Spectator on what it is they did or didn’t report and whether it was fair, but I think that, overall, elected officials have an obligation to be open, to be transparent, and to communicate. The Spectator is the daily newspaper of our city and I think it’s unfortunate that now we have elected Councillors who have decided that they are not going to speak with one of the major news organizations of the city. That doesn’t help the cause of openness and transparency.
Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Kevin Geenen reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on social media. He is a regular contributor with The Hamilton Independent and has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. He is known for Hamilton Neighbourhood Watch crime updates and no-nonsense news graphics. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. He also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal from Governor General David Johnston and formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. He is currently employed as an Office Administrator at RE/MAX Niagara Escarpment. His journalistic work is independent of his other positions.
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.
