Housing Town Hall: Meeting Waterloo Region’s Housing Targets

On June 20th, join our panellists for Housing Town Hall: Meeting Waterloo Region’s Housing Targets as they unpack the policy imperatives at play as Waterloo Region stands at a critical juncture in transforming its housing supply. They will bring their range of perspectives to the discussion of the challenges and shine a spotlight on promising local solutions.

• Dr. Adil Shamji, MPP for Don Valley East – MPP Shamji is the Ontario Liberal Housing Critic and in that capacity has proposed ambitious legislation (Bill 175, Building Universal and Inclusive Land Development in Ontario Act, 2024) to build toward housing affordability.
• Sean Campbell, Executive Director of Union Co-operative – Sean works as the Executive Director of Union Co-operative, which purchases properties in Waterloo Region to keep rents permanently affordable through community ownership.
• Jeff Henry, Urban Planner at Arcadis – Jeff has over 18 years experience in building and shaping communities, including 12 years as a City of Waterloo councillor. In his current role, he helps public and private landowners navigate approval processes to build housing intensification projects.
• Cherise Burda, Member of National Task Force for Housing & Climate and National Affordability Action Panel – Her work in policy research, communications, and engagement has influenced policy change in Ontario and BC on housing, transportation, forestry, and energy. An author of more than 40 publications and dozens of articles, her past leadership roles most recently included Executive Director of the City Building Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University.
• Kevin Eby, Registered Professional Planner, Former Director of Community Planning at Region of Waterloo – During his time at the Region from 1999 to 2015, he was involved in overseeing the implementation of its Growth Management Strategy and the province’s Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe within the Region. A member of the Greenbelt Council from 2018 to 2020, he currently provides growth management consulting services.

The town hall will be moderated by Craig Ruttan, who is currently Chief of Staff to a Toronto city councillor. Originally from Waterloo Region, he was previously Policy Director for Housing and Energy at the Toronto Region Board of Trade, where he wrote reports on legalizing multiplexes and building housing for middle-income workers.