Council Summary December 1, 2025

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

Tracking City progress on Reconciliation, Equity, Accessibility, Diversity and Inclusion

Last December, Council approved the City of Waterloo’s first Get Reconciliation, Equity, Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion (READI) Plan. This evening, staff presented the Get READI: Benchmarking and Implementation Plan (begins page 120 of the packet PDF), an overview on progress to meet the goals set out in the Get READI Plan, and ensure accountability and transparency to the Waterloo community.

The Get READI Benchmarking and Implementation Plan captures specific activities, projects, and initiatives happening throughout the City of Waterloo to support the priority areas of the Get READI Plan:

1. Improve Indigenous relations and foster Reconciliation.
2. Enhance the built environment.
3. Cultivate a culture of belonging.
4. Increase diversity of staff and leadership.
5. Focus on equitable distribution of resources.
6. Build trust through systems of accountability.

The Benchmarking and Implementation Plan is intended to be a living document that will be updated annually to establish a feedback loop with the broader Waterloo community. Using the Plan as a backdrop to foster ongoing dialogue, the City’s READI team can communicate City actions to residents and community partners, and identify areas for improvement or redirection. That ongoing feedback will be shared with staff to help address gaps and concerns in programming, services, and practices of the City. The plan also serves as an acknowledgement of staff’s intentions to create a more welcoming and inclusive City for all.

Annual updates of the Benchmarking and Implementation Plan will support future efforts to develop a measurement framework, which will establish criteria to measure its impact of the City’s Get READI Plan.

Waterloo supports local businesses with updated Uptown Community Improvement Plan

City of Waterloo Council approved an updated Uptown Community Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP program represents an important tool to support local businesses, and to improve accessibility and sustainability of the building stock in uptown Waterloo. Notable additions to the plan include:

• Re-activation of an updated version of the Fee and Study Grant to support applicants with the costs of planning studies and/or applications.
• Introduction of an Accessibility Enhancement Grant. This program is intended to support accessibility improvements in both interior and exterior of buildings
• Introduction of a Sustainability and Climate Resilience Grant to encourage building improvements that improve energy efficiency and/or initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
• Introduction of a Commercial Interior and Vacancy Improvement Grant to support new businesses to make interior investments needed to start up their business.

Several existing programs continue to be part of the CIP, including the Commercial and Heritage Property Facade Improvement Grant, which encourages businesses and commercial property tenants to enhance the appearance of buildings and streetscapes.  

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Media contact:

Cari Van Niekerk
Director, Corporate Communications
cari.vanniekerk@waterloo.ca