Niagara Falls, Ontario

4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 NI AGARA FALLS ONTAR IO Nature – whatever the case – we’re used to dealing with challenges and jumping back up on our feet because we have to.” BVM: How has the city supported small businesses through the pandemic? Diodati: “We’ve gone out of our way to be really supportive. As soon as COVID hit, we rolled out a program where we would help them expand, or open up patios – including onto road allowances and public spaces like sidewalks. There was a 24-hour turnaround with no licensing fees, no permit fees… we did it immediately, so they could transition to outside. Which was a lot safer than inside, and for half the year it benefitted a lot of businesses. Even for those that had no patios in the past, we found ways to adapt and help them be successful. “We have a huge “Support Local Business” campaign going on again now, where we’re encouraging people to do takeout, and buy gift cards and gift certificates from businesses that are closed, or not allowing patrons inside. That’s happening in our downtown and throughout the community. The residents have really come together to support all local businesses.” BVM: How is your housing availability? Diodati: “That’s a big challenge across the country. We’re welcoming 400,000+ new immigrants to Canada and not building that many houses. So the demand is driving up the price, creating issues with affordability and homelessness like we’ve never seen before. So we’re definitely addressing it. The city, and our upper tier of government, are building affordable housing and transitional housing. But it’s hard to move fast enough. With that in mind, we’re creating programs through our planning department to incentivize developers to build more affordable aspects into their developments. Now we’re seeing more multi-residential uses, more condos, more apartments, more mixed-use