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Burbach running for second term on city council

This is the fifth of a series of stories leading up to the October municipal election. Jo-Dee Burbach, an environmentally-minded councillor, enjoyed her first term and wants to keep the momentum going at city council.
NDP Jo-Dee Burbach
Jo-Dee Burbach will run for city council again in October.

There was a lot to learn early on and a pandemic to navigate through, but overall Jo-Dee Burbach enjoyed her first-term as a Stratford city councillor and will seek re-election in October.

“It was definitely a learning experience,” she told StratfordToday. “It was challenging.”

Burbach said there was a lot of information to take in after being elected in 2018 but she likes to learn and enjoyed the challenge of being a first-time city councillor.

About a year and a half into the term, the pandemic forced council to meet online – which kept city business going, but cut back on the ability to connect on a human level, she said.

“Having those conversations before and after meetings is important. When you move to (virtual) meetings…you lose those small chats. I really missed that.”

Council continues to meet virtually.

Burbach said there was plenty of discussion around the Grand Trunk Community Hub, on the former Cooper site, which is the largest undeveloped site in downtown Stratford.

The former locomotive repair shops date back to the 1870’s. Currently, the land includes the University of Waterloo Stratford School of Interaction and Design and the YMCA of Stratford-Perth.

City council has made significant progress in moving the hub project forward in recent years. Burbach said there was promised provincial funding that didn’t materialize – and matching federal dollars – and that has held back the project.

The community hub project is one of the main reasons Burbach is seeking another term on council.

“It wasn’t to be (this term), but that is not to say that things can’t get moving in the next term,” she said.

An environmentally-minded councillor, who took a leave of absence to run as the NDP candidate in the recent provincial election, Burbach was proud that the city declared a climate emergency and is working towards creating a plan to address greenhouse gas emissions. Council also committed to hiring a dedicated staff member to oversee the creation of a climate action plan.

So there is some good momentum in that area, she said.

“We are just at the beginning of it. That work is urgent and needs to be done.”

“We have a new tree bylaw, we are moving towards the electrification of our buses. We have the new PC Connect Bus program. I am interested in ensuring those move forward.”

PC Connect provides affordable and accessible bus service on weekdays and Saturdays, and provides connections to other services such as GO Transit.

Installing two pedestrian crosswalks was a big win, Burbach said, after some of her past advocacy work to get the projects going. The crosswalks, located on Huron Street and Forman Avenue, are heavily used by students and have improved safety in the areas, she said.

“Hopefully that is the beginning of many more.”

Council is completing a master transportation plan, and Burbach would like to remain involved in that process and ensure more transportation in the city is ‘climate friendly’.

Burbach is chair of the energy and environment committee and they are working towards more attainable and affordable housing that also ties in with climate-friendly development.

“We are looking at ways that we can have new development and retrofitting, that will not only provide more housing but it is climate ready and climate friendly.”

“It is a big project and we need to be lobbying the provincial and federal governments.”

Burbach said the pandemic impacted council. Strategic planning exercises were completed early on, which allowed councillors to get to know each other.

“You have people from different perspectives, different walks of life and you need to somehow create a team out of that. I think we were on our way towards that. When the pandemic hit, I think it really threw a wrench in that process.”

“We had some good discussions and did not agree on everything, but that is the way it should be, we are representing different people and different perspectives.”

Burbach, who works full-time outside of council, found the workload of a councillor, "busy, but what I expected.” The councillor noted that she completed a Master’s degree in communication studies in the past, also while working, so she was accustomed to juggling workloads.

Being able to connect with the community was the best part of serving on city council, she said.

Burbach hopes she can carry on what council started this term into the next one.  

 “I am looking forward to continuing that work if still on council.”