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Waterloo Regional Labour Council Questionnaire Response
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Below are Rob Deutschmann’s responses to a questionnaire from the Waterloo Regional Labour Council.
| Name | Rob Deutschmann |
| rob@deutschmannlaw.com | |
| Which area of our region are you a candidate? | Kitchener |
| For which position are you running? | Regional Councillor |
| I am using the following for my election campaign: | Twitter Account Website |
| Please provide a link to your Twitter Account | @robdeutschmann |
| Please provide a link to your website | www.robforcouncil.ca |
| Please provide us with any additional public social media accounts that should be considered as part of our endorsement process. | None. |
| What are you prepared to do to help our region, local businesses, and workers recover from the COVID-19 pandemic? | Regional Council is the public health board. As a regional councillor, I would continue to follow the guidance of our medical officer, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang. She, and her Covid team, did an excellent job in guiding our community through the pandemic, and ongoing. We are not out of the pandemic yet, and we see that our economy and local businesses and workers are facing severe pressures during these unprecedented times. The regional government will have to consider its regulations and fees and see if there is any opportunity to help relieve some pressures on business at the regional municipal level. However, we have to also be mindful of our commitment to climate change action as well. It will be a delicate balance overall but we have to ensure that the health and safety of our community remains the number one priority of regional government. |
| What will you do to ensure that local governments celebrate diversity and promote inclusion for groups that have been traditionally underrepresented or excluded from participating fully in our community? Please consider those identifying as First Nation, Métis, and Inuit persons, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, persons living with physical or mental disabilities, Women, Youth, and Newcomers and refugees. | The Region of Waterloo, along with all municipalities in the region, have taken positive steps towards improving relationships and opportunities for diverse groups in our community who have been systemically excluded from equal participation in our community.
I support the work of the Anti Racism Advisory Working Group (ARAWG). We need to ensure they have the resources available to fulfill the goals and work of their organization. The hiring of a director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is a positive step taken by the Region. It is important to ensure that the director will have sufficient resources to fulfill the goals of that role. I support landbank efforts that have been made to date and I believe that more needs to be done to find space for the indigenous community to gather freely and safely. I also support more efforts to consider the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and see how we can implement those recommendations that apply at the municipal level. |
| What will you do to ensure positive labour relations, including collective bargaining rights for municipal/regional employees and outside firms working under contract? | Inflation and rising prices will have a significant impact on everyone, with respect to everyday purchases. Workers will have their buying power eroded by inflation. Gas prices, supply chain problems, food crises, rising interest rate and more will all have a negative impact and erode the purchasing power of workers. Where the Region is entering into labour negotiations, the Region will have to be mindful of the impact high inflation and rising interest rates will have on our workers standard of living. We will need to see some creativity in the bargaining process to try and find a solution that provides employees with some relief from the decreasing purchasing power caused by inflation. There is a bargaining process that has been used in prior negotiations and has proven to be successful. I am not looking to change the status quo, but I am open to listening to alternative approaches, if they make sense, are reasonable and provide benefits for both sides. |
| How will you show your support for ensuring a living wage for employees of the municipality/region/school board, including those of contracted firms? | I will show my support for ensuring a living wage for employees but asking questions about the current circumstances and then reaching out to staff and the finance department to question what are the options available to move towards a living wage standard. My approach to municipal government, during my previous term in office, at the local and regional level, has always been to challenge the status quo and ask how we can do things differently and for the better. |
| What do you believe are the most important traditional infrastructure projects (eg. public transit, roads, bridges, clean water, wastewater facilities, etc.) and social infrastructure projects (eg. child care centres, affordable housing, parks, libraries, rehabilitation and detox centres, emergency shelters, etc.) that council must address over the next term and into the future? What actions will you take to ensure these projects are supported? How do you envision these projects will address Climate Change? | Infrastructure needs should be detailed in a Capital Forecast to ensure that the highest priority projects are considered first. A strong transit is a necessary element for a growing community, especially as we have made a great commitment to intensification with the urban boundary, and especially along the ION line. All of the items you outline above are important. The Region can work on multiple projects, in multiple areas, at the same time. The key is ensuring that there is a solid Capital Forecast in place that provides life spans for various infrastructure and then ensuring that the financing plan is in place to complete the necessary work as scheduled. I am pleased that the Ontario government has signed an agreement with the Federal government on $10 a day childcare and I want to see the Region do what it can to make that happen as quickly as we can, considering the timeline of supports, and financial support, from the provincial and federal government. The daycare plan will provide some relief to personal budgets that are under pressure, and also provide more spouses the opportunity to get back into the workforce without worrying about exorbitant daycare costs. Through advocacy, questioning the status quo, and working with council and staff, we can make a lot of positive change occur in the community. We have to be mindful of the Region’s Climate Change commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the region by 80 percent by 2050. With any actions undertaken by the Region, relevant staff reports should include information detailing how the action recommended or not recommended will impact the Region’s efforts on climate change. |
| Please provide any additional information about your candidacy based on the considerations above. | I was a prior Mayor of North Dumfries and a regional councilor from 2010 to 2014. I have extensive knowledge and understanding of the workings of municipal government. Prior to becoming mayor, I had a long history of community involvement in children’s sports. I have been involved in a variety of community groups, but my most significant community accomplishment was the building of a new arena and the community centre, and also chairing the fundraising committee that raised over $2million towards the community centre. I am a personal injury lawyer and I advocate for those that are injured and disabled due to an accident. I also help people that have had their disability benefits wrongfully denied by an insurer. For many years, early in my legal career, I was a roster lawyer under the CAW plan, providing low cost legal services to union members. You will find more about the many accomplishments during my term as Mayor and Regional Councillor in my bio section in my website at www.robforcouncil.ca |