City of Waterloo council summary April 20, 2026

** The council summary below provides a snapshot of the major items presented at Monday’s council meeting. The council meeting webcast is available on the City of Waterloo YouTube page. Please refer to the minutes for an official record of the meeting.

City of Waterloo recognized as a proud employer of Canadian Armed Forces reservists 

The City of Waterloo was recognized by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for participation in the With Glowing Hearts program. With Glowing Hearts recognizes organizations that support the CAF with military leave policies, providing Reserve Force employees the flexibility to continue serving their community and Canada.

Reservists are part-time members of the CAF located across Canada. They balance civilian careers or education with military service. In times of need, reservists can serve with the military full-time for a defined period. Readiness to deploy is maintained through a series of courses and training activities.

The City of Waterloo recognizes and appreciates the additional skills that reservists bring to the organization, and is proud to be among the first municipalities in Ontario and across Canada on the With Glowing Hearts registrant directory.

City of Waterloo continues climate action through transformational changes in City operations

The City of Waterloo continues to make transformational changes related to City operations and services while working with the community towards climate change mitigation and adaptation goals. City staff presented the Sustainability and Climate Change Status Update report, to note the City's progress on the implementation of the three climate change action plans guiding this work. More than 75% of the actions in the Corporate Climate Action Plan (CorCAP) and the Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan (CCCAP) are in progress or complete, while 74% of the actions in TransformWR (the Community Climate Action Plan) are in progress or complete.

Notable highlights for 2025 include:

·       Continued reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at City-owned buildings through ongoing electrification and other improvements at our recreation and community centres

·       Increased electrification of the City's light duty and off-road vehicle fleet

·       Partnering with Waterloo Region Community Energy, a collaborative effort with local municipal partners and local utilities on a Thermal Energy Utility Business Case Study, and consultation on High Performance Development Standards

·       Encouraging and supporting low emission and active modes of transportation

·       Offering the Sustainability and Climate Resilience Grant to encourage building improvements for improved energy efficiency and/or initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions as part of the Uptown Community Improvement Plan

·       Progress towards planting 10,000 trees, with over 3,700 trees planted in 2025 and another 6,300 to be planted this year

·       Continued diversion of dog waste from City parks for conversion to energy

Council requests Province seek to implement a deposit-return program for non-alcoholic beverages

Councillor Wright brought forward a motion to ask the province to implement a deposit-return program for non-alcoholic beverages, noting that Ontario, one of the only provinces without such a program, has the lowest beverage container recovery rate in Canada. An average of 80% of all alcoholic beverage containers are returned to Beer Stores each year, with the deposit return providing an incentive to recycle. Council unanimously supported the motion.  

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