How each Guelph councillor voted on fossil-gas subsidies, biodiversity restoration and river health, and active transportation, 2022–2025.
Guelph’s Council was comfortable approving climate action when it was procedural, incremental, or symbolic, but became visibly split the moment a motion asked for a binding commitment, an ecological trade-off, or a fight with an external interest like a utility or the province — meaning the city’s climate ambition on paper consistently outpaces its willingness to test that ambition against real cost or conflict.
A small, consistent bloc of councillors — most often Billings and Gibson, sometimes joined by Mayor Guthrie — voted against the more assertive climate or ecological positions, while Goller, Caron, and Downer were the most reliable votes in favour of it.
Votes included in this report:
- Ending subsidies for fossil fuel/gas infrastructure.
- Biodiversity support, river restoration and climate adaptation.
- Support for bike lanes.
Notes about this report: in each vote table below, the green cell notes the side that voted for the more supportive environmental position, and the grey cell notes the side that voted for the less supportive position — see the key above each table for what that meant for that specific motion. This report covers votes where there was a difference in voting patterns; votes on environmental issues that were unanimous are found in the Appendix.
Prepared by: Guelph Climate Action Network (GCAN)
Guelph Climate Action Network (GCAN) is a non-partisan, independent, volunteer-led community organization dedicated to advancing climate action in Guelph through collaboration, education, and advocacy. GCAN works with local organizations and residents to raise awareness of the climate emergency, promote sustainable and equitable community development, and advocate for policies and initiatives that reduce carbon pollution, strengthen community resilience, and support a healthy, just, and sustainable future for all.
Perspective/values
The Guelph Climate Action Network (GCAN) believes municipalities have a critical leadership role in addressing the climate emergency through ambitious, evidence-based, and equitable policies. We support practices that:
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- strengthen community resilience
- protect natural systems, and
- ensure that climate action is developed through transparent, equitable, inclusive, and collaborative decision-making with residents and community partners
We expect councillors who support these goals to champion climate action beyond voting in favour of individual initiatives — by actively advocating for strong climate policies, prioritizing sustainability in municipal decision-making, engaging meaningfully with the community, and holding the municipality accountable for meeting its climate commitments.
Focus Issue 1: Ending the City’s subsidy of fossil fuel & gas infrastructure
Guelph’s most politically contested green-energy theme: whether to support ending subsidies for natural gas expansion, and what conditions to place on Enbridge’s gas franchise renewal. Ending the subsidy could lead to increased revenues for the city.
How councillors voted
Voting in support of ending the subsidy to Enbridge, or stronger support language.
Voting to continue the Enbridge subsidy.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 26, 2024 Council, Item 4.1 | City of Hamilton Resolution — End the Gas Pipeline Subsidy. Endorsed another city's call to end a subsidy that lowers costs for expanding natural gas pipelines, and asked the Province not to reinstate it. | Carried (8–4) | Allt, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Downer, Goller, Klassen, Richardson | Billings, Chew, Gibson, Guthrie (Mayor) | O'Rourke |
| November 5, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 7.1 | Enbridge Gas Franchise Agreement — Straightforward Approval (Cls. 2–4). Staff's original recommendation to simply approve Enbridge's gas franchise renewal without attaching any conditions. | Defeated (3–10) | Billings, Gibson, Guthrie (Mayor) | Allt, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Goller, Klassen, O'Rourke, Richardson | None |
| November 5, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 7.1 | Enbridge Gas Franchise — Amendment Adding 'In Principle' Support for Bill 219. Softened the wording of Council's support for Bill 219 (provincial legislation ending the gas subsidy) from firm to 'in principle.' | Carried (8–5) | Billings, Busuttil, Chew, Gibson, Klassen, O'Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | Allt, Caron, Caton, Downer, Goller | None |
| November 5, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 7.1 | Enbridge Gas Franchise — Second Motion as Amended (Negotiate with Conditions). Directed staff to negotiate franchise terms with Enbridge and support (in principle) provincial legislation ending the gas subsidy. | Carried (11–2) | Allt, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Goller, Klassen, O'Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | Billings, Gibson | None |
| November 26, 2024 Council, Item 8.3 | Enbridge Gas Franchise — Cl. 2: Ask Province to Let Municipalities Charge Gas Utilities Fees. Asked the Province to change regulations so Guelph can charge Enbridge fees for using city property. | Carried (11–2) | Allt, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Goller, Klassen, O'Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | Billings, Gibson | None |
| November 26, 2024 Council, Item 8.3 | Enbridge Gas Franchise — Cl. 3: Direct Staff to Negotiate Franchise Agreement. Directed staff to negotiate the actual franchise renewal terms with Enbridge. | Carried (10–3) | Allt, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Downer, Goller, Klassen, O'Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | Billings, Chew, Gibson | None |
| November 26, 2024 Council, Item 8.3 | Enbridge Gas Franchise — Cl. 4: Support Bill 219 ('No Free Ride for Fossil Fuels Act'). Council's formal declaration of support for provincial legislation ending the fossil-gas subsidy. | Carried (11–2) | Allt, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Goller, Klassen, O'Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | Billings, Gibson | None |
| Result: across all six votes, Council pushed Enbridge's franchise renewal toward conditions and provincial pressure to end the subsidy. Billings and Gibson were the most consistent votes to preserve it. | |||||
Focus Issue 2: Biodiversity support, river restoration and climate adaptation
Wildlife protection, and a real fight over whether to remove an aging dam to restore fish passage and reduce flood risk on the Speed River.
How councillors voted
Voting that indicated greater environmental concern.
Voting that indicated less environmental concern.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2023 Council, Item 7.2 | Wildlife Crossing — Maltby Road — Council Approval. Final Council approval of $375,000 to build a wildlife crossing and fencing so animals can safely cross Maltby Road. | Carried (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Goller, Klassen, O'Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | None | Gibson |
| October 28, 2025 Council, Item 11.1 | Macdonell and Allan's Structures EA — Amendment to Fund Allan's Dam Removal Study. Proposal to fund technical studies exploring removal of Allan's Dam entirely (removal can restore fish passage and natural river flow). | Defeated (2–11) | Caron, Goller | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Hauser, Klassen, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | None |
| October 28, 2025 Council, Item 11.1 | Macdonell and Allan's Structures EA — Amendment for Dam-Removal Info Report During Design. A softer version asking only for more information on dam removal during the design phase, rather than committing to studies now. | Defeated (3–10) | Chew, Goller, Klassen | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Downer, Gibson, Hauser, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | None |
| October 28, 2025 Council, Item 11.1 | Macdonell and Allan's Structures EA — Main Motion (Approve EA, Retain Structures). Final approval of the environmental assessment — keeping and rehabilitating both structures rather than removing the dam. | Carried (12–1) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Hauser, Klassen, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | Goller | None |
| Result: Council approved the wildlife crossing unanimously, but declined even to study removing Allan's Dam — Goller and Caron were the only votes in favour, and Council voted 12–1 to retain the existing structures instead. | |||||
Focus Issue 3: Clean & active transportation — support for bike lanes
This vote related to the Ford government’s latest incursion into municipal government jurisdiction by restricting bike lanes. The motion was to send a letter of opposition to the provincial government.
How councillors voted
Voting that indicated support for a letter opposing provincial government intervention.
Voting that indicated a lack of support for a letter.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 24, 2024 Council, Item Mayor's Announcements | Letter to the Province re: Bike Lane Legislation. Sent a letter opposing provincial legislation that would restrict municipalities from building bike lanes, citing climate goals among the reasons. | Carried (8–2) | Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Goller, Klassen, O'Rourke | Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | Allt, Billings, Gibson |
| Result: Council voted 8–2 to oppose the Province's bike-lane restrictions. | |||||
Overview of related motions and councillors’ voting history
Over the past four years, Guelph Council’s climate and environment-related motions have clustered into a fairly consistent set of categories:
- clean-energy retrofit financing (PACE, later Guelph Greener Homes)
- waste diversion and single-use plastics reduction
- urban forest and tree protection
- water/wastewater and stormwater infrastructure
- biodiversity and habitat protection
- and — more recently — fossil fuel and gas infrastructure policy
The overwhelming majority of these motions passed with near-unanimous or unanimous support. Genuine division only emerged starting in 2024 and intensified in 2025, concentrated almost entirely around motions that carried real financial, political, or regulatory weight, including the:
- Enbridge gas franchise renewal,
- Hamilton gas-subsidy resolution,
- strength of the Private Tree Protection By-law, and
- proposal to study removing Allan’s Dam.
In each of these cases, a small, consistent bloc of councillors — most often Billings and Gibson, sometimes joined by Mayor Guthrie — voted against the more assertive climate or ecological position, while Goller, Caron, and Downer were the most reliable votes in favour of it.
The big-picture read is that Guelph’s Council is comfortable approving climate action when it is procedural, incremental, or symbolic, but becomes visibly split the moment a motion asks for a binding commitment, an ecological trade-off, or a fight with an external interest like a utility or the province — meaning the city’s climate ambition on paper consistently outpaces its willingness to test that ambition against real cost or conflict.
A caveat: dissent isn’t automatically “anti-environment” — some no-votes were on procedural amendments rather than the core policy, so it’s worth reading the underlying motions in the theme report alongside these numbers.
Key patterns at a glance
- 2023 votes were largely unanimous on environmental items; real disagreement emerged starting in 2024, mainly around fossil-gas policy and tree protection.
- Councillor Billings and Councillor Gibson are the most consistent “no” votes on the more assertive climate/environment positions — the PACE program (2022), the Hamilton gas-subsidy resolution and Enbridge franchise terms (2024), and the strengthened tree protection by-law (2025).
- Councillor Goller and Councillor Caron were the lone two votes in favour of studying Allan’s Dam removal (2025) — the year’s clearest environmental-restoration proposal, which failed decisively 2–11.
- Mayor Guthrie voted against the Hamilton gas resolution (2024), the bike lane letter (2024), and the stronger tree-protection thresholds (2025), while supporting the amended Enbridge franchise terms.
- The most explicitly “climate”-branded motion of the four years — 2025’s Community Call to Climate Action — passed unanimously with no debate, in contrast to the more contentious tree and dam fights that same year.
Future state: what we want the council to do
We are asking Council to close that gap in 2027: adopt a binding emissions-reduction target with mandatory annual public reporting, so that climate action moves from a category of individual motions Council approves to a standard the corporation is held to.
We’re also asking Council to stop treating ecological restoration and stronger environmental protection as the exception rather than the default. The 2025 vote to even study removing Allan’s Dam — a genuine opportunity to restore fish passage and river health — was defeated 2–11, with only Councillors Goller and Caron in favour. The push for stronger private tree protection thresholds was narrowly weakened before passing 7–4. These are the moments that test whether “climate leadership” is more than a line in a staff report, and so far, caution has won out over ambition when there’s a visible cost or a vocal opponent.
We want to see the same council that forced Enbridge back to the table on its 2024 gas franchise renewal — extracting real concessions instead of a rubber-stamp — apply that same posture consistently: attach enforceable climate and ecological conditions to every major development, infrastructure, and franchise agreement that comes before it, not just the ones that generate public pressure.
Finally, we’re asking individual councillors to be climate champions, not just climate voters. Voting yes on a retrofit program is not the same as advocating for one, and a unanimous vote on a framework motion is not the same as holding staff and future councils accountable for delivering on it. We want councillors — especially those who have shown themselves willing to hold the line, like Goller, Caron, and Downer — to publicly champion these positions between votes: in committee debate, in community engagement, and in pushing colleagues who have been the most consistent dissenters on climate-forward motions to explain that record to residents directly. Climate action built through transparent, inclusive, evidence-based decision-making is the standard GCAN expects, and Guelph’s own voting record over the past four years shows Council is capable of it — it simply needs to choose it more often.
Appendix: other climate, biodiversity and environmental votes that usually passed unanimously
1. Clean Energy Retrofit Financing (PACE → Guelph Greener Homes)
A city-run loan program that lets homeowners pay for energy-efficiency home upgrades (insulation, windows, heat pumps, etc.) through their property tax bill instead of upfront. Started in 2022 as “PACE” and continued in later years as the “Guelph Greener Homes Program.”
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 28, 2023 Council, Item 9.1 | Guelph Greener Homes Program Update. Final Council approval of the Greener Homes retrofit financing program. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
| April 16, 2024 Council, Item 5 (Consent) | Greener Homes By-law Update — Council Consent Report. Council-level approval of the Greener Homes by-law update, bundled with other routine water/wastewater items. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Richardson |
2. Corporate Climate Action & Building Energy Policy
Guelph’s most direct “climate action” policy motion, plus a formal ask to the Province for stricter building energy rules.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2025 Council, Item 7.3 | Community Call to Climate Action — First Motion (Approve Staff Actions). Final Council approval of the climate action staff plan. | CARRIED (11–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Goller, Klassen, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Gibson, O’Rourke |
| May 27, 2025 Council, Item 7.3 | Community Call to Climate Action — Second Motion (Provincial Building Code Ask). Formally asked the Province to require energy-efficient heat pumps and adopt a stricter building energy code, aiming for net-zero-ready buildings by 2030. | CARRIED (11–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Goller, Klassen, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Gibson, O’Rourke |
3. Clean Energy Infrastructure
Support for renewable/grid-scale clean energy infrastructure projects.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 13, 2022 Council, Item 5.1 | Alectra Convergent Development — Battery Energy Storage Project. Supported a proposed grid-scale battery storage project that helps store and balance renewable energy on the electricity grid. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Downer, Gibson |
4. Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Infrastructure / Source Protection
Long-range infrastructure planning for drinking water, sewage treatment, and stormwater (flood) management — climate-adaptation-relevant even though largely technical/regulatory in nature.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 4, 2023 Committee of the Whole, Item 7.1 / 7.2 / 8.1 | Water/Wastewater Servicing Master Plan, Stormwater Management Master Plan & Water Services Annual Report. Approved updated flood-resilience and water/sewer capacity plans, plus the annual water services compliance report. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
| April 25, 2023 Council, Item 6 (Consent) | Water/Wastewater & Stormwater Master Plans — Council Consent Approval. Council-level approval of the water/wastewater/stormwater master plans. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson | — | Guthrie (Mayor) |
| February 6, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 14.1 | Financial Plan for Water and Wastewater Services. Approved the required six-year financial plan for water/wastewater services (Ontario regulatory requirement). | CARRIED (12–0) | Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Allt |
| October 1, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 4.1 | Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Billing Transition. Approved a new utility billing system covering water, wastewater, and stormwater charges. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Klassen |
| March 4, 2025 Committee of the Whole, Item 11.1 | 2024 Water Services Annual Report / Water Efficiency Strategy Progress Report. Received an update on water services performance and water conservation progress. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Hauser, Klassen |
| April 23, 2025 Council, Item 5.1 | Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund Grant Agreement. Accepted federal/provincial grant funding to expand water and wastewater capacity to support new housing. | CARRIED (11–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Klassen, O’Rourke |
| October 7, 2025 Committee of the Whole, Item 11.4 | Utility Billing Project Status & Customer Accounts By-law (Stormwater). Approved updates to stormwater billing administration. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Hauser, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Klassen |
| November 4, 2025 Committee of the Whole, Item 10.1 | City of Guelph Source Protection Plan — Proposed Amendments and Endorsement. Endorsed updated provincial water-quantity policies to protect Guelph’s drinking water sources. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Hauser, Klassen, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
5. Light Pollution
New rules limiting light pollution from outdoor lighting fixtures — an environmental quality-of-life issue.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 3, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 7.3 | Light Pollution By-law Review — Main Motion as Amended. Approved new rules limiting light pollution (lighting trespass) from outdoor lighting fixtures. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
6. Waste Diversion & Single-Use Plastics
Rules reducing single-use plastics (bags, straws, cups) and diverting waste from landfill through recycling, organics, and reuse programs.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 4, 2022 Committee of the Whole, Item 5.2 | Solid Waste Management Master Plan — Amendment: $1 Fee on Disposable Cups. Proposal to charge a mandatory $1 fee on disposable cups as part of the city’s waste reduction plan. | DEFEATED (5–8) | Bell, Downer, Goller, Gordon, MacKinnon | Allt, Billings, Caron, Gibson, Hofland, O’Rourke, Salisbury, Guthrie (Mayor) | — |
| February 7, 2023 Committee of the Whole, Item 9.1 | Region of Waterloo Organics Processing Contract. Renewed the contract that processes Guelph’s green-bin organic (food/yard) waste. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
| June 4, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 5.2 | Single-Use Items Strategy Phase 2 — Main Motion as Amended. Approved Phase 2 of plastics reduction rules, adding requirements for reusable containers. | CARRIED (11–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Downer, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Chew, Gibson |
| June 25, 2024 Council, Item 8.2 | Single-Use Items Strategy Phase 2 — By-law Approved as Amended. Final Council approval of the Phase 2 single-use items by-law (cup sleeves, reusable cup rules). | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Richardson |
| November 5, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 7.2 | Blue Box Transition Status Update. Received a progress update on the recycling program’s shift to producer-funded responsibility. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
| March 4, 2025 Committee of the Whole, Item 12.1 | Single-Use Items Strategy Phase 2 — Reusable Container Exemptions. Added exemptions to the reusable-container rules for buffets, self-serve stations, and businesses with their own reuse programs. | CARRIED (11–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Downer, Goller, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Gibson, Hauser, Klassen |
7. Watershed Governance / Conservation Authority
Guelph’s response to provincial changes affecting the Grand River Conservation Authority, which manages flood control and watershed protection across the region.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 16, 2025 Council, Item 8.4 | Grand River Conservation Authority — Bill 68 / Plan to Protect Ontario Act — Main Motion. Pushed back on a provincial plan to consolidate conservation authorities, asking the Province to fund a replacement agency rather than downloading the cost to municipalities. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Hauser, Klassen, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
8. Green Space & Parks Planning
City-wide parks planning, including exploring green financing tools for parkland.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 4, 2022 Committee of the Whole, Item 14.1 | Park Plan — Main Motion. Approved the city’s Park Plan, including a directive to explore ‘green municipal bonds’ (environmentally-earmarked debt financing) to help fund future parks. | CARRIED (11–0) | Allt, Bell, Billings, Caron, Downer, Goller, Gordon, Hofland, MacKinnon, O’Rourke, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Gibson, Salisbury |
| April 25, 2022 Council, Item 6.1 | Park Plan — Council Approval. Final Council approval of the Park Plan. | CARRIED (11–0) | Allt, Bell, Billings, Caron, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Gordon, Hofland, MacKinnon, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | O’Rourke, Salisbury |
| October 3, 2023 Committee of the Whole, Item 9.4 | Parks and Recreation Master Plan — Main Motion. Approved the city’s long-range plan for parks, recreation facilities, and green space. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
| October 24, 2023 Council, Item 6.2 | Parks and Recreation Master Plan — Council Approval. Final Council approval of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
9. Borderline items (flagged, not core climate votes)
Items with a minor environmental component embedded in broader, non-environmental motions (e.g., omnibus budget surplus allocations). Included for completeness but not treated as standalone climate policy decisions.
| Meeting | Motion | Result | For | Against | Absent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2023 Committee of the Whole, Item 4.1.1 | 2022 Operating Budget Surplus Allocation (incl. $976K to 100% Renewable Energy Reserve Fund). General budget surplus motion; one of ~19 line items sent $976,000 to the city’s renewable-energy reserve fund and $1.2M to the Environment and Utility Reserve. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Richardson |
| February 28, 2023 Council, Item 9.4 | Housing Pledge — Brownfield Remediation Request Amendment. Asked the Province to fund cleanup of contaminated (‘brownfield’) sites to free up land for housing — an environmental angle inside a housing policy motion. | CARRIED (13–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Richardson, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | — |
| May 15, 2024 Committee of the Whole, Item 4.1.2 | 2023 Operating Budget Surplus Allocation (incl. $417K to Environment and Utility Reserve). General budget surplus motion; one line item sent $417,211 to the Environment and Utility Reserve, plus water/wastewater/stormwater reserve transfers. | CARRIED (12–0) | Allt, Billings, Busuttil, Caron, Caton, Chew, Downer, Gibson, Goller, Klassen, O’Rourke, Guthrie (Mayor) | — | Richardson |