My Platform

The following five platform points will be enhanced in the coming weeks to offer a more comprehensive vision of where our community should be going in the future.

The Five Platform areas are underpinned by the three pillars of relationships, education and communication.  As a community we will build our relationships with our citizens and neighbours; we will educate so that everyone has the information necessary to make the best decisions possible; and we must communicate everything that we are doing and why it is being done.  The people have a right to know, and have an expectation that their local government will be a vehicle for positive growth and change.

Let’s come together and create the exceptional living experience of a 21^st century city.

A 21^st Century City will be:

Economically Diverse

Brantford must reinvent its economy to reflect the changes in our society.  We need to diversify our economy and focus on higher paying jobs that people can use to buy a house and raise a family.

Brantford will:

• Look to new economic sectors like green technology and the pharmaceutical industry;
• Tie our post-secondary initiatives to the new economy and seek new relationships and benefits for the future;
• Eliminate existing barriers and forge new relationships with the County of Brant and Six Nations, so that we all benefit from economic growth and prosperity.

Culturally Dynamic

Brantford has a rich history and heritage, and we can build on what we have already been blessed with, while creating a dynamic culture that is unique to our community.

Brantford will:

• Focus on the downtown as a centre of education, culture, and the arts;
• Support arts for people of all ages;
• Support a sporting life;
• Strive to be the safest community;
• Embrace our history and heritage to make our present and future richer and more rewarding.

Environmentally Responsible

Changes to the environment and more dramatic weather instances will affect every community around the world.  As we move to a greener economy, we must be prepared to be environmental leaders.

Brantford will:

• Anticipate changes and how they will affect our community;
• Embrace change and grow in the new green economy;
• Draw together the entire community to be involved green decision-making;
• Focus our attention on a healthy watershed;
• Develop land in a responsible and sustainable manner.

Open and Inclusive

The strength of a community can be defined by how open and how inclusive its political processes are. We must open up City Hall to everyone and create the systems that allow the greatest level of involvement possible.

• Create a culture that sees information not as the power to control, but as an invitation to get involved;
• Seek open discussion with our political partners in the County of Brant and Six Nations;
• Work on our issues as neighbours and not as combatants;
• Use new networking tools to educate, communicate and build relationships.

Progressive Government

We must always work to make local government a tool for positive growth and change.   People want to trust their local government, and it is this relationship that we must constantly encourage to develop in a constructive manner.

Brantford will:

• Create a Citizens Bill of Rights, so that every citizen now and in the future understands what they can and should expect from their elected representatives;
• Include a Taxpayers Statement of Rights, to help focus the future of our community;
• Review Council processes to ensure the most efficient and effective system possible;
• Enhance the relationships between Council and its boards and committees;
• Engage the public, business and political entities to have a say in how our government should function.