Skip to content

Name: Veronica Warner

What position are you running for? Councilor Ward 9

What do you see as the principal opportunities and obstacles facing London’s economy over the next Council term? What should the City do to support business growth, job creation, entrepreneurship and investment, and how should it work with employers, Western University, Fanshawe College and others to attract and retain the talent London needs?

Businesses need opportunities. Our colleges and universities need our support. If we have talent we want to keep that talent here in London. We need to have incentives and programs so that we can retain the best people here in our city. We have to stay attractive not only so people will stay here so people will move here. As of now we have a downtown that is despicable and needs help.

When I was a kid growing up in this city there was no loitering downtown. If you were caught loitering the police would come along. Give you a tap and say “keep moving kids”. Times have changed. Open drug use people sleeping on our streets. Defecating inside doorways of respectable businesses. It’s time for change. This has gone on for far too long and now we are getting a reputation that none of us asked for.

London now has a new Downtown Plan. Which elements would you prioritize and what results should Londoners expect to see during the next Council term? Please address the downtown business environment, public spaces, housing and office conversions, cultural and civic destinations, safety, transportation and implementation accountability.

I think the only way to correct the situation is to enforce loitering. We need foot patrol and 24-hour surveillance of our downtown. I have talked to people for years about the downtown. People don’t feel safe downtown. Parking is expensive and some people don’t know how to download the “honk” app. I personally, along with other people don’t feel that the riverfront is the key to bringing people downtown. Parking and safety are key.

London faces an urgent health and homelessness crisis. Residents, employees and businesses also have concerns about violence, property crime, public disorder and confidence in public spaces. These conditions require related but distinct responses. What actions would you support in each area, and what responsibilities should fall to the City, police, the health system, other orders of government and community partners?

I have heard a lot of talk about sanctuary city and how our city has adopted the safe for all city policy which really is a sanctuary city. Our Healthcare is in dire shape. I had a client who spent 5 days in the hallway after hernia surgery. She was 70 years old. I have heard the stories about the hospitals and the wait times. Everyday I hear these stories behind the chair.

People are fearful that when something happens to them they won’t get the help. Some people have already experienced this. If we can’t look after the people that live here legally, how can we afford to look after people who don’t have Canadian citizenship?.

What changes would you support to increase housing supply and affordability and create neighbourhoods with access to employment, services, transportation and public amenities?

I think a lot of people have been researching tiny house living. Condos have no regulation on how much the fees can go up. People would rather stay in their houses until they die then downsize to a condo. There must be an initiative for allowing tiny home living on the outskirts of town. The old River road golf course close down burn to the ground. This land would be perfect for tiny home living and I can almost guarantee you that every tiny home would sell.

Communities are important as we age people need to stay connected. I’m fearful that these condos that are being built will sit empty. So many high-rises going up. The rents are astronomical how much vacancy are in these buildings? People are starting to realize the lights aren’t on.

London’s cultural facilities, venues and public spaces are essential to the life of the city, and several face age, capacity or funding pressures. What cultural infrastructure should be prioritised during the next Council term, and how should the City decide where to invest?

The Western Fair sits there. Basically abandoned, except for the casino. Let’s build something so we can have some world-class venues. Obviously we’ve ran out a room at the Budweiser center or we would be getting bigger and better lineups of world class artists.

London’s economic success depends on reliable local, regional, national and international connections. How would you improve local transit and service to major employment areas and shift workers, intercity bus and air links, and passenger rail? What should businesses and employees be able to expect in terms of frequency, reliability and access?

The bus. So many buses running around town empty. People are catching on to the phrase ” nobody’s on the bus”. I’ve heard it said the buses are dirty. Why are people allowed to eat on the buses?. Our bus system needs an overhaul. The bus stops in the mud across from me. It’s been a mud pit for years. People like to go to Springbank Park. No benches at the bus stops. No garbage pickup at the bus stops. So many things about the bus that I won’t go on about. We need to clean up our act with the buses.

What changes would you make to municipal approvals, regulation, procurement and customer service to make it easier to invest, build and operate a business in London?

Personally, I didn’t have a problem 30 years ago starting a business. I’m not sure what the problem is today other than rents being too high and landlords not doing repairs and keeping to their end of the bargain. So in that regard I would say we need more regulations with landlords of businesses.

London City Council approved the 2025–2035 ReconciliAction Plan in May 2025, committing the City to 155 actions over ten years. What should the next Council do to translate these commitments into a clear, properly resourced implementation plan developed with Indigenous partners? How would you advance reconciliation through economic development, procurement, planning, cultural investment and municipal services?

We say we sit on native land. So yes there should be incentives for our native brothers and sisters to own property and operate businesses in our city.

London’s growth depends on roads, transit, water and wastewater systems, emergency services and community facilities. How would you determine which investments proceed first, pay for growth fairly and maintain competitive property taxes?

Property taxes. We have seen an increase of 33% in the last 4 years of this Council. Not only did our taxes go up but then they gave themselves a 35% raise bringing their pay to about $94,000. To be honest, I’ve asked people questions on what they think the city needs to change and most people are fed up and they want to move.

I do believe that our wastewater treatment facilities are one of the most important things we need to put money into that and sewers. Far too many times. Greenway is flooded and wastewater runs into the Thames. We have tried to keep up with our population growth and every time we expand our wastewater facilities, the population grows even more than we expected. People really would like to know the exact population.

London City Council approved the Climate Emergency Action Plan in 2022. The Plan calls for a 55 per cent reduction in community-wide greenhouse-gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030. Which elements of the Plan would you prioritise, accelerate or change during the next Council term? How would you ensure that climate action strengthens resilience, affordability and economic competitiveness for residents and businesses?

Fluoride we still put fluoride in our water. This is something of old school people don’t want to drink. Fluoride. If we took fluoride out of our water, we would be more competitive and attractive to people who would like to move here. It’s true. People actually look at the city to see if they still have fluoride in the water before they move there. I understand we are in a climate emergency. I just don’t see it. Skin cancer and melanoma is on the rise. So why do we open our public pools in the hottest times of the day?

This was one sweltering hot July and we have all these fabulous swimming pools that we have renovated and even installed pool heaters. In fact, there is only one public pool that does not have a pool heater in this city. People would like to see extended hours at public pools. We must supply our vulnerable young people from low income families with sunscreen. Most of the answers you will find in Baz Luhrmann song called the “sunscreen song”.

How should Council respond when strong-mayor powers are exercised, and how would you use your role as a councillor to provide effective scrutiny and accountability?

We must have immense respect for our mayor or everything that can go wrong. Will go wrong.

Scroll To Top