The city of Hamilton indicates support for Canada’s Bill C-18 by ceasing advertisements on Facebook and Instagram
On Oct. 11, Hamilton city council passed a motion to stop posting non-essential municipal government advertisements on social media platforms owned by Meta.
This move by the municipal government is an act in solidarity with the Canadian federal government’s recently filed Bill C-18.
This move by the municipal government is an act in solidarity with the Canadian federal government’s recently filed Bill C-18.
Bill C-18, the Online News Act received Royal Assent in June 2023. The act requires big tech companies, such as Meta, to come to agreements with Canadian news outlets in order to compensate them for featuring and sharing links to the outlets' content. As part of this bill, Meta could be required to pay as much as $234 million to news outlets in Canada.
In response to the legislation though, which Meta believes to be flawed, the company has made news content unavailable and unviewable to individuals residing in Canada.
People residing in Canada who attempt to access news content on Meta platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, are presented with a message stating that they cannot see news content in response to the legislation.
The motion to halt advertisements on Meta platforms in solidarity with Bill C-18 was put forth on Oct. 4 by councillor John-Paul Danko of Ward 8. Though support for the motion was not unanimous, with concerns being brought forth regarding the impact on the city’s ability to relay information to citizens, the motion passed two weeks after proposal.
Danko defended the motion by stating that while there may be an effect on reaching citizens, these can be managed. He also stated that Bill C-18 is important for protecting Canadian journalism and media outlets from large tech companies like Meta.
Danko defended the motion by stating that while there may be an effect on reaching citizens, these can be managed. He also stated that Bill C-18 is important for protecting Canadian journalism and media outlets from large tech companies like Meta.
The city of Hamilton is not alone in its decision to boycott Meta as a show of support for the Online News Act and the federal government. The governments of Quebec City and the Province of Quebec, as well as the federal government itself, have also made the same decision as Hamilton.
While talks between the federal government and Meta are ongoing, it remains unclear for how long Meta's news ban on their platforms will continue and when the situation will be resolved.
This is an ongoing story.
People of all ages to are welcome at the downtown BIA's annual Halloween Spooktacular, featuring a hay maze, spinning pumpkin ride and photo booth
The Hamilton Business Improvement Area's Halloween Spooktacular will be on Oct. 27 from 5-8 p.m. in Gore Park. This is a free annual event hosted by Hamilton BIA, and this will be their fifth year running the event. There will be a variety of fun activities to get everyone into the Halloween spirit. People of all ages are welcome to attend, and costumes are encouraged.
This year, they are featuring a hay maze for attendees to navigate, a spinning pumpkin ride, face painting, an interactive pirate ship, a photo booth, a prize wheel, pumpkin decorating and a DJ dance party. Aerialists and a magician will also be roaming the park throughout the event.
The BIA started this event in 2019 because they wanted to foster community and create a space for gathering in downtown Hamilton. Every year, they try to add something new and exciting. This year, they added an interactive pirate ship and a spinning pumpkin ride.
Making it a financially accessible event for the community was very important to them, as Halloween can be an expensive event for some. They wanted everyone to be able to attend and have a good time.
“Halloween is very expensive with costumes and candy … You can come down, there's no barriers to entry. You don't have to purchase anything, just come down and have a good time,” said Emily Gilruth, the operations manager at Hamilton BIA.
Halloween is very expensive with costumes and candy. . .You can come down, there's no barriers to entry. You don't have to purchase anything, just come down and have a good time
Emily Gilruth, operations manager, Hamilton BIA
This is also a great opportunity for students to take a break during midterm season, explore downtown and have a fun time.
Overall, the BIA team hopes that every attendee will have a spooktacular time at this event and leave with a good impression of the downtown core, as they want to advocate for more people to visit there.
“I hope that they kind of leave with some fond memories, some candy, which is always nice on Halloween. But I also hope people have a positive experience of the downtown core and a desire to come back,” said Gilruth.
I hope that they kind of leave with some fond memories, some candy, which is always nice on Halloween. But I also hope people have a positive experience of the downtown core and a desire to come back.
Emily Gilruth, operations manager, Hamilton BIA
In the future, the Hamilton BIA aims to continue running this event and gradually ramp it up with more fun activities each year.
In the future, the Hamilton BIA aims to continue running this event and gradually ramp it up with more fun activities each year.
Theatre Aquarius celebrated its fiftieth anniversary as an important theatrical and cultural space in the Hamilton community
On Sept. 27, Theatre Aquarius officially began its fiftieth season, kicking it off with a performance of Norm Foster’s Jonas and Barry in the Home.
Theatre Aquarius was founded in 1973 under the leadership of Peter Mandia, the founding artistic director of the theatre. Until 1991, Theatre Aquarius primarily performed at the Studio Theatre at Hamilton Place, and it did not have a theatre centre of its own. However, in 1991, various donors facilitated the building of the Dofasco Centre for the Arts, Theatre Aquarius’s own theatre centre.
I was lucky enough to catch a performance of Jonas and Barry in the Home during its two-and-a-half week run at Theatre Aquarius, and I could understand why it was chosen to start off such a milestone season for the theatre. A three-actor performance detailing a friendship between two men in a senior’s home, I found Jonas and Barry in the Home to be full of heart, joy and nostalgia.
While Jonas and Barry in the Home is no longer showing at Theatre Aquarius, there will be many more shows to watch throughout the 2023-2024 season. Jake Epstein’s Boy Falls from the Sky is slated to appear next at the theatre, opening on Oct. 25. Detailing Epstein’s journey in theatre, Boy Falls from the Sky is a ninety-minute solo performance by Epstein himself.
“Boy Falls from the Sky is a story for anyone who’s ever tried to go after their dreams,” says the description on Theatre Aquarius' website.
The remainder of Theatre Aquarius’s season will showcase Pollyanna: The Musical, Uncle Vanya, Shirley Valentine and Beautiful Scars.
Along with putting on theatrical productions for the community to enjoy, Theatre Aquarius has made a number of other meaningful artistic contributions over the last fifty years. For example, in 1976, Theatre Aquarius launched their theatre school. Theatre school programs, such as acting classes and musical theatre classes, are still offered by Theatre Aquarius today.
“The program has run continuously, providing thousands of young people throughout the region with a chance to participate in the theatre arts at a high level, launching many to professional careers in the arts and providing many more with new confidence that helped them reach their dreams, and helping to instill a lifelong love of theatre,” reads the Theatre Aquarius website.
Along with longstanding community contributions such as this one, Theatre Aquarius has also made newer contributions to the community, such as their recently launched National Centre for New Musicals. This program is designed to support Canadian writers who are working on new musicals, and it is currently accepting applications until Dec. 15.
McMaster’s international student population faces struggles navigating the housing market, including housing scams, communication barriers and exploitative landlords.
For McMaster University students, navigating the Hamilton housing market can be a challenging experience. With a housing crisis on the rise and rent prices rapidly increasing, many McMaster students struggle to find affordable and accessible places to live.
International students in particular face unique struggles with finding housing. Fourth-year international computer science student Nisheet Kumar Sobti explained how communication barriers between international students and landlords complicate the already difficult process of finding student housing.
“First, you need to understand how difficult it is to find a house for an international student. Especially if you're coming from a different country and you speak a different language. A lot of students when they come to Canada don't even know how to speak English,” said Sobti.
First, you need to understand how difficult it is to find a house for an international student. Especially if you're coming from a different country and you speak a different language. A lot of students when they come to Canada don't even know how to speak English.
Nisheet Kumar Sobti, fourth-year computer science student
In the 2022-2023 school year, approximately 6,500 of McMaster students were international, making up 17.5 per cent of the student body. Sobti explained that the struggles specific to this student population are real and ongoing, which became most apparent to him during his experience finding housing.
“Finding a house the first time was so difficult. There were a lot of scams going on. A lot of landlords, they didn't want to give a house to international students because we couldn’t meet in-person,” said Sobti.
Housing scams can include advertisements for houses that don’t exist or already-rented properties, suspicious requests for money or false lists of amenities. Many incoming international students are unable to attend in-person house showings prior to signing a lease, making them subject to misleading advertisements or housing scams.
Second-year software engineering student Aysu Özdal echoed Sobti’s sentiments. Özdal explained that despite feeling apprehensive to sign her lease, she was desperate to find somewhere to live for the upcoming school year.
“Until the day I moved into that house, I was so scared that it could be a scam. I paid first and last months’ rent and I was so scared that it would be a scam, because there's no getting the money back,” said Özdal.
Until the day I moved into that house, I was so scared that it could be a scam. I paid first and last months’ rent and I was so scared that it would be a scam, because there's no getting the money back.
Aysu Özdal, second-year software engineering student
Özdal explained that although her lease agreement ended up being legitimate, this is not the case for every student put in her position. Beyond language barriers and physical distance, international students aren’t always well informed on their rights as a tenant and navigating potentially exploitative landlords.
McMaster arts and science graduate and current CFMU community outreach coordinator Sharang Sharma spoke on this barrier, explaining that international students a prime target for exploitative landlords.
“Half the time [international students] don't know what the laws are, what our rights are … So those kinds of predatory practices are particularly effective,” said Sharma.
Half the time [international students] don't know what the laws are, what our rights are … So those kinds of predatory practices are particularly effective.
Sharang Sharma, arts and science graduate and CFMU community outreach coordinator
McMaster does have programs in place, such as International Student Services office, that aim to address these barriers and assist international students in their transition to Canada. However, many international students still face these struggles and are victims to scams and unlawful housing conditions.
Fourth-year international health science student Vitoria Murakami Olyntho shared her thoughts on this shared circumstance and suggested some potential avenues for McMaster to get involved.
“I wish McMaster could take more of an involved role in helping students find housing. Maybe having groups of McMaster accredited landlords or regions where there's kind of a partnership between the school and the housing market…It would be easier to navigate, it would be less confusing and [feel] more trusting,” said Murakami Olyntho.
Not only does this student population face specific barriers when navigating finding places to live close to campus, such as facing housing scams and communication difficulties, but they also are often scapegoated market.
This year, federal government officials stated that the growing number of international students entering Canada has put a strain on housing availability and as a result has driven up rent prices.
Rates of issued international student study permits in Canada have increased by 75 per cent over the last five years. and this increasing blame has resulted in the federal government considering an international student cap.
Conversations around an international student cap are ongoing, all the while incoming international students continue to struggle to find secure and affordable places to live. For more information on resources for international students, visit the International Student Services office.
The festival brings together Canadian storytellers and young readers to share in their common love for books
On Sept. 16 and 17, Telling Tales held its annual children’s book festival while simultaneously celebrating its 15th anniversary. Located at the Royal Botanical Gardens, it was a free event and accessible to anyone who wished to attend.
The festival was originally created as a way to showcase children’s books and their authors, as well as to bring together the community. Canadian storytellers and authors would be able to attend and connect with fans and audiences, a family-friendly event that highlights literacy for younger people.
Linda Cvetanovic, manager of communications and marketing at Telling Tales, is in charge of promoting the festival, working with media and media outlets, creating graphics and maintaining the festival’s online presence so that people are aware of the event and its details.
Cvetanovic explained that the goal of the festival is to inspire a love of reading and literacy in children, as they can become more engaged with stories when they’re able to interact with the people who have written some their favourite books. Telling Tales has something for everyone, including musicians and community partners guaranteed to entertain people of all ages.
The festival is unique in Hamilton because of its target audience and its purpose. Along with being one of the only family-focused festivals in the city, showcasing Canadian authors and artists is another aspect that makes it different from other activities Hamilton has to offer.
The process for organizing Telling Tales begins right after it ends, jumping right into the next year’s project. The employees begin to build a reading list and reach out to publishers to see if any authors want to promote their books or if there are any new releases coming up. The selection committee then reviews the options and chooses the finalized reading list for the year. Next, decisions about who will be presenting and what the festival will look like are made. Up until the end of the actual festival, the process continues to ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Over the last fifteen years, the community response to Telling Tales has been positive. Families have enjoyed the festival and its variety of activities, such as the annual Book Swap and Shop. This activity gives parents the opportunity to trade their gently used books for new ones, so that families can save money while giving children new reading material.
Cvetanovic hopes that people who came to the event walked away having learned something new about their community and about reading.
“We hope that we've inspired a love of reading and that children are excited about reading…Quite often we look beyond our own borders for literature…So hopefully they walk away and are impressed with the quality of artists that we have locally and across Canada,” stated Cvetanovic.
We hope that we've inspired a love of reading and that children are excited about reading…Quite often we look beyond our own borders for literature…So hopefully they walk away and are impressed with the quality of artists that we have locally and across Canada
Linda Cvetanovic, manager of communications and marketing, Telling Tales
While the festival is geared towards families, there are chances for university students and people of all ages to get involved as well. Cvetanovic encouraged students to volunteer at the festival, especially for those looking to pursue a career in event management or teaching.
This year’s festival also offered a book talk geared towards a more general audience, in which audience members could interact with a panel of authors and ask questions about publishing, the writing process and other aspects of the literary field.
Telling Tales can be a fun event to go to with friends or family members, helping to support Canadian authors and children’s books. It can also be a nostalgic trip back in time, to meet authors of your favourite children’s books or see the new generation of readers that get to experience reading and literacy like you once did.
While this year’s festival has passed, Telling Tales also hosts a variety of outreach events throughout the year, and they’ll be back for their sixteenth annual festival next September.
The steel city could become one of the hottest in Ontario, but improving our heat response and investing in innovative approaches could change that
With record-high temperatures this year and a stifling four-day extended heat wave during the first week of class, heat in Hamilton is a cause for concern.
While being exhausted and drenched in sweat may seem like the only apparent effects of the abnormally hot weather, repeated prolonged exposure to high heat can cause severe damage to the body.
And the consequences of Hamilton’s searing heat waves are only further magnified for residents downtown. Thanks to a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect, cities that lack natural landscapes and greenery and are instead replete with pavement, buildings and other surfaces, have the ability to absorb and trap heat. As urban areas become much hotter than surrounding rural areas, energy costs and pollution levels rise and heat-related illnesses take a toll on health and emergency services.
For the city of Hamilton, heat waves are expected to become more frequent and severe in the coming years. In fact, experts predict Hamilton could become one of the hottest cities in Ontario — but it is not too late to change that.
MacChangers program lead, Selena Esteves, explained that this is a critical time for the city and its climate.
“We are currently in a period that matters a lot for what comes next in Hamilton’s climate and how the city experiences [heat],” said Esteves.
Currently, Hamilton’s infrastructure and built environment is not designed to support the diverse needs of community members, especially given the consequences of the UHI effect. Urban areas are not only prone to becoming much warmer on hot days, but also suffer from poorer air and water quality, posing even greater health risks for Hamilton residents. Esteves has been researching these issues with the MacChangers program.
“The way that our city is built becomes very dangerous for people who might experience things like heat exhaustion. There’s a large elderly population in Hamilton, a large homeless population and there are very many people who are at risk of extreme heat illness,” explained Esteves.
So far, Hamilton’s response to the heat waves has involved the implementation of cooling centres across the city. However, these spaces aren't always accessible to everyone who needs them. Transportation, stigma and restrictions on what individuals can bring to these centres pose obstacles for various groups including community members who are unhoused, elderly or have a disability.
With more than one in 10 Hamilton residents living below the poverty line, it’s abundantly clear that there needs to be an equitable approach to the city’s heat response.
Amid worsening heat waves, it is crucial for Hamilton to adopt an adequate temperature bylaw to ensure all tenants are provided with access to air conditioning in their homes.
While a minimum temperature bylaw is in effect throughout Ontario and requires landlords to maintain a temperature of 20 degrees or higher in households, there is no bylaw to prevent dwellings from overheating. Without such a bylaw, Hamilton residents lacking access to cooling units or who are unable to afford energy costs associated with cooling will continue to be threatened by heat waves.
As we continue to provide resources to prevent heat-related illnesses, we also need to look to long-term solutions that reduce the UHI effect. Investing in more land cover and green infrastructure in downtown Hamilton with innovative approaches such as green and cool roofs could help protect the city’s future.
Hamilton’s distressing future may have been forecasted by experts, but it is up to us to rewrite that future and evolve as resilient, sustainable, and inclusive communities.
Local slow fashion business aims to promote sustainable fashion through their simple, timeless pieces
Menta Clothing Co. is an up-and-coming local Hamilton business that was founded two years ago by Luke Guevara. They participated in their first Supercrawl fashion show on Sept. 8.
Guevara grew up in Hamilton and has attended Supercrawl many times in the past, though this was his first year as a vendor.
“I've been going to Supercrawl pretty much my whole life, on and off. [It]’s really exciting to be able to set up a booth and have my own little business, my own little space,” said Guevara.
I've been going to Supercrawl pretty much my whole life, on and off. [It]’s really exciting to be able to set up a booth and have my own little business, my own little space.
Luke Guevara, founder, Menta Clothing Co.
When he was casting for models for their fashion show, Guevara looked for models with an energy that glowed and had vibes that matched his.
“I was really looking at energy and the vibe that they had, that kind of radiates off them and it kind of glows. It's something I really find important and for the people I surround myself with,” explained Guevara.
Guevara takes pride in being very rooted as a Hamiltonian, especially since Hamilton has many up-and-coming small businesses.
“There [are] a lot of great entrepreneurs in Hamilton. Hamilton's been known for being a hardworking place,” said Guevara.
While Menta Clothing Co. has gone through some ups and downs over the past two years, they have been featured in several events, including Art Crawl, and have received great reception from the community.
“They all love the idea of what Menta is: staying local [and] using premium quality fabric. . .[The] majority of people that buy a shirt come back for a second one because they love it so much and that's because it's different,” said Guevara.
They all love the idea of what Menta is: staying local [and] using premium quality fabric. . .[The] majority of people that buy a shirt come back for a second one because they love it so much and that's because it's different.
Luke Guevara, founder, Menta Clothing Co.
However, despite being connected to the local community, Guevara sources his fabric from Austria. The fabric that he uses, TENCELTM Modal, comes from the Beechwood tree, whose fibers are extracted via an environmentally friendly pulp-to-fiber process. As a result, this material is biodegradable under industrial, soil and marine conditions.
Guevara is passionate about leaving a low carbon footprint and keeping Menta Clothing Co. as ethical, sustainable and green as possible, which is why most of his third-party suppliers are local, either in Hamilton or the GTA.
“I think what makes me unique is I'm very rooted and being Canadian and being a Hamiltonian. Everything I do is pretty tight knit. Meaning that all my third parties I work with, they're all Canadian and they're all local,” explained Guevara.
Guevara hopes that customers will be encouraged to support local businesses or Canadian businesses after they see Menta Clothing Co.’s fashion show and visit their booth. During the rest of the year, their items can be purchased from their website.
McMaster experts comment on anticipated spike in COVID-19 cases and discuss how students can stay safe
Many Canadian COVID-19 experts have recently raised concerns surrounding a potential spike in COVID-19 cases on university campuses.
While case counts have been relatively low for many months, over the last few weeks, the country has already started see an increase in COVID-19 cases. This uptick includes 10 Canadian regions displaying an increase in cases and Hamilton COVID-19 data reporting an increase in test positivity over the last month.
Additionally, two new COVID-19 variants, EG.5 and BA.2.86, have recently emerged and are also suspected to have contributed to the uptick in cases.
Dr. Manali Mukherjee, an affiliate scientist with the research institute at St. Joeseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, assistant professor with the McMaster University Department of Medicine and long-COVID researcher, shared her thoughts on the predicted resurgence.
“COVID has never really left us; it's just the incidence has gone down. With more mingling, more people coming in, we are expecting a spike. We are already hearing a number of cases of friends, family, near and dear ones in community, who are testing positive for COVID. So, it is not a surprise,” she said.
"COVID has never really left us; it's just the incidence has gone down. With more mingling, more people coming in, we are expecting a spike. We are already hearing a number of cases of friends, family, near and dear ones in community, who are testing positive for COVID. So, it is not a surprise."
Dr. Manali Mukherjee, affiliate scientist, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton research institute
Dr. Matthew Miller, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research and Canada Research chair in viral pandemics, explained that the back-to-school season commonly marks a spike in other respiratory pathogens, including influenza.
Miller explained that these pathogens also pose a threat alongside COVID-19 upon our return to campus. Staying up to date with booster vaccines and seasonal flu vaccines will help relieve a burden off our healthcare system.
“If we look back to last year, one of the biggest stresses that our healthcare system faced was the co-circulation of [respiratory syncytial virus] and influenza. What that really stressed was our pediatric hospitals. Obviously, that's very worrisome because we want to make sure those hospitals have lots of capacity to deal with children who are sick for other reasons.” said Miller.
"If we look back to last year, one of the biggest stresses that our healthcare system faced was the co-circulation of [respiratory syncytial virus] and influenza. What that really stressed was our pediatric hospitals. Obviously, that's very worrisome because we want to make sure those hospitals have lots of capacity to deal with children who are sick for other reasons."
Dr. Matthew Miller, Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research
The availability of fall COVID-19 booster vaccines has not been confirmed yet, but Miller said it is likely they will be made available alongside and can be co-administered with seasonal flu vaccines.
Regarding the severity of the spike, both Mukherjee and Miller said that it is hard to predict the magnitude of the case spike.
“I think it's hard to predict the magnitude and overall impact of this spike because there are so many factors that determine those things. What I would say is that maximizing air circulation while indoors can be really helpful for reducing the likelihood of transmission. As the weather stays nice, trying to keep windows open and try to socialize outdoors as much as possible,” he said.
"I think it's hard to predict the magnitude and overall impact of this spike because there are so many factors that determine those things. What I would say is that maximizing air circulation while indoors can be really helpful for reducing the likelihood of transmission. As the weather stays nice, trying to keep windows open and try to socialize outdoors as much as possible."
Dr. Matthew Miller, director, Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research
Miller also noted wearing high quality masks in indoor environments can further help prevent the spread of the virus.
Almost three years have passed since the start of the pandemic and this time has allowed the medical community to develop many tools to effectively handle the virus when it resurges, such as new therapeutic modalities.
Mukherjee explained that no matter the severity of the case spike, she is confident in the tools and insight the healthcare community has developed for us to properly handle a virus resurgence.
“We are almost dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic. We have vaccines, we know how to deal with this, we know how to social distance, we know the ifs and buts of what to do. I think we are way better prepared than we were when it first hit us or the rounds that kept on coming after that,” she said.
"We are almost dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic. We have vaccines, we know how to deal with this, we know how to social distance, we know the ifs and buts of what to do. I think we are way better prepared than we were when it first hit us or the rounds that kept on coming after that."
Dr. Manali Mukherjee, affiliate scientist, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton research institute
More information on COVID-19 in Hamilton and prevention is available from the city of Hamilton website.
HARRC executive director discusses new resource for reporting hate crimes, a joint intiative with HCCI
Hate crimes have unfortunately been a longstanding in issue in Hamilton. To offer another form of support for the community the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre and Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion have worked together to develop hate crime reporting tool WeSupportHamilton.
HARRC supports Hamilton community members who have experienced racism and works to educate community on race-based issues while HCCI works to create an inclusive community through community engagement and workshops.
The WeSupportHamilton website was launched on May 8 and offers community members a platform to report hate crimes and access additional support resources. Some of these resources include legal aid, counselling and health services.
“WeSupportHamilton is a website that is designed to allow individuals in our community to report their experiences in the way that they would like it in the way that they would like. So it allows them to be able to say "how I want to be supported, I want my story to move forward",” said Lyndon George, executive director of HARRC.
WeSupportHamilton is a website that is designed to allow individuals in our community to report their experiences in the way that they would like it in the way that they would like. So it allows them to be able to say "how I want to be supported, I want my story to move forward."
Lyndon George, executive director, Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre
The website's concept was supported by years of research and community-based conversation. Ameil Joseph, an associate professor of social work at McMaster University, and Kojo Damptey, a sessional Instructor at McMaster, were especially important throughout the entire process.
In 2019, Joseph and Damptey supervised Shubham Maini and Nawshaba Ahmed who wrote a report that explored the basis for online hate reporting. From there, with help from the aforementioned McMaster members, George shared that focus groups were utilized to help shape what was important to support the Hamilton community.
“We had some students conduct research focus groups on what the support could potentially look like, what people would like to see come out of that and looking into why this is needed within the community and really pulling in important information,” said Koubra Haggar, programs manager at HCCI.
As WeSupportHamilton is used for reporting hate incidents that people in Hamilton endure, they are planning to try to synthesize the information to serve as data, which could be used to develop educational material to understand better hate crimes that occur in the city.
Haggar also shared that by putting the community of Hamilton at the forefront of this project, they hope that it will allow those who may have distrust in sharing their experiences with police to have another avenue by which they are able to feel that their experience is recognized and respected.
“The majority of people...at least that I've interacted with, don't report incidences of hate to the police at all. . . just not thinking that it's worth it, or not feeling safe doing that or not knowing or thinking that it would be productive in the long term,” said Haggar.
Given that the website was released a few months ago, George explained the main goal now is to share the resource. They hope that the Hamilton community, including McMaster students, will slowly become more aware of the resource so that they can use it if they see fit.
Moving forward, they hope to further expand the scope of the website. George explained that ultimately this is a resource for community by community; the website will always be adjusted to best fit the needs expressed by the community, including students.
“WeSupport can be one of multiple steps. . .a student can take [when] looking for that type of support. We would always be happy to kind of help out when needed and they don't need to feel like their [information] is going to be going anywhere…Just knowing that they do have support in Hamilton, and then we can connect them to resources that are in the community,” said Haggar.
WeSupport can be one of multiple steps. . .a student can take [when] looking for that type of support. We would always be happy to kind of help out when needed and they don't need to feel like their [information] is going to be going anywhere…Just knowing that they do have support in Hamilton, and then we can connect them to resources that are in the community.
Koubra Haggar, programs manager, Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion
Haggar and George encouraged McMaster University students to utilize the resource if they find that it can be of help to them.
Overall, both HAARC and HCCI hope this resource empowers members of the Hamilton community to share their experiences and seek the support they need.
The victims of scams, cutthroat competition and more scams – students need better support navigating the housing crisis
With the brutal race to find listings, equally intense bidding wars and scams everywhere, McMaster University students continue to face unrelenting obstacles in attaining off-campus housing this year. And they need support – support that the university is failing to provide.
Fuelled by the impacts of the pandemic, the shortage of on- and off-campus housing and the rapidly growing number of McMaster students, affordable housing has evolved into a luxury that few are fortunate to find. While the Hamilton housing crisis may seem like a simple supply and demand issue at first glance, the unstable rental market poses unique challenges for different groups of Students.
International and out-of-province students, for one, are faced with difficulties when trying to arrange their accommodation from a different country or province. Being unable to view listings and meet with landlords in person only makes them more vulnerable to scams and difficult landlords. On top of that, McMaster’s own off-campus housing website does not screen listings and fails to protect students from scams.
International and out-of-province students, for one, are faced with difficulties when trying to arrange their accommodation from a different country or province. Being unable to view listings and meet with landlords in person only makes them more vulnerable to scams and difficult landlords.
Male students are also overlooked in the housing crisis. Though advertising for female-only housing tends to be abundant in Facebook groups and other listing websites, male and co-ed student housing is scarce. Even on McMaster’s off-campus housing website, which features co-ed residences, a majority of the listings are over a thousand dollars per room, rendering the homes unaffordable for many students.
And let’s not forget the incoming first-year students who are waitlisted for residence at McMaster due to the limited availability of rooms and competitive eligibility criteria based on academic achievement. Not only are these students inexperienced, but they also lack the advantage of starting their search earlier in the school year since residence applications take place in June. Without sufficient time and resources provided by McMaster, incoming students are forced to fight for the last few available rentals.
And let’s not forget the incoming first-year students who are waitlisted for residence at McMaster due to the limited availability of rooms and competitive eligibility criteria based on academic achievement.
As many McMaster students have yet to secure affordable, safe and convenient housing, they face a year of uncertainty.
Some students may need to make a commute worth hours or exceed their budgets to afford a sub-par room near campus, while others with limited financial flexibility and fortune are on the verge of homelessness. The sheer infeasibility and severity of current circumstances could even push some students to consider dropping out this year.
To make matters worse, the period of economic inflation continues to put a strain on students. It also doesn’t help that McMaster’s bursary applications close during the winter term. The uncertainty of being accepted for funding and ill-timed disbursement doesn’t allow students to plan their finances for the academic year.
Though McMaster is working to create more residences, there is a need for unique short-term solutions to address the current state of the crisis.
McMaster must recognize that the Hamilton housing crisis is about much more than housing.
From the search for housing to life in their new homes, the crisis has taken a significant physical and mental toll on students, putting their success and well-being at stake. The stress of managing finances, employment, commuting, school and poor housing conditions, such as overcrowding, is draining students across the country.
Students should not have to think twice about purchasing a meal or saving up for next month’s rent. They should not have to compromise their own well-being or academic success because of unaffordable housing. McMaster and other post-secondary institutions need to do better.
