It won’t help this summer, but the City of Hamilton is set to put in place long-term plans to better protect vulnerable tenants against extreme heat.
After hearing from about a half-dozen delegates on Monday, councillors in a public health committee meeting unanimously supported the development of a maximum heat bylaw requiring landlords to maintain minimum standards during heat waves.
City staff are expected to report back before the end of the year on priorities and timelines for the development of new laws, including an “adequate temperature bylaw,” that could go into effect for 2024.
Healthy and safe communities workers will also study the feasibility of a program to support low-income tenants with the cost of running air conditioning units, retrofits of private rental homes and tracking heat-related deaths.
ACORN Hamilton, the local entity that supports low- and moderate-income residents, “applauded” the support from 10 councillors, characterizing the moves as “a needed first step for the city to take.”
“Hamilton tenants desperately need a max heat bylaw to be implemented. This is a health issue,” said Liz Scott, chair of ACORN’s Stoney Creek chapter.
Stoney Creek Coun. Brad Clark acknowledged the chances of a week or more of temperatures higher than 40 C are growing due to climate change and in light of extreme weather events elsewhere.
“I don’t think we have enough preparations in play currently that we would be able to mitigate the impacts or abate the impacts of such extreme events,” Clark said to councillors.
Jacqueline Wilson of the Canadian Environmental Law Association called attention to the plight of the most vulnerable amid worsening climate change conditions, suggesting their health risks are magnified when not supported by adequate cooling systems.
“We need to recognize that this is one of the ways that’s disproportionately impacting local communities and we need to address it,” said Wilson.
“There are some jurisdictions in Canada that do have maximum heat bylaws, but those only apply to (housing) units that already have active cooling installed.”
The City of Hamilton recognizes its “heat season” as a period between Victoria Day weekend and Labour Day.
For the time being, the city will continue to issue heat warnings through the medical officer of health when temperatures hit 30-plus.
Alerts operate with three stages: heat warnings, extended heat warnings and a stand-down stage.
Under a potential new plan, cooling services would be offered beyond Labour Day, depending on weather patterns and an annual review.
The current alerts activate “cool places” and offer free swims as part of the response.
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