Ariel Troster is the City Councillor for Somerset Ward, located in the heart of Ottawa. Ariel is focused on helping to build a city where everyone can thrive.
“I’m working to build an Ottawa that is fun, diverse, and compassionate. Where everyone can afford a place to live, where social services are adequately funded, and where we can all move easily and safely through our city, whether by walking, biking, rolling or driving.”
Dear neighbour,
I am writing this to you as I sit on a train on Sunday afternoon, on the way home from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ conference in Toronto. As you may know, my last job before running for office was on the communications team at FCM, so I had attended this conference for several years as a staffer. But it was truly an amazing experience to be there this year, as a newly elected councillor.
I did my best to soak up knowledge and connect with councillors and mayors from across Canada. What amazed me was that no matter where people came from, they told me about struggling with the same challenges we face in Ottawa. This includes the housing affordability crisis, homelessness, addiction, and climate resiliency. I learned about Toronto’s pilot Community Crisis Service – an non-police alternative that many of us are working to bring to Ottawa.
Dear neighbour,
I hope you are as thrilled about the sunshine as I am. It has been so great to cycle to work at City Hall every day and see the number of people on bikes increase exponentially.
Festival season is well underway – last Friday I was at Lebreton Flats to help officially launch the Ottawa Children’s Festival. And earlier in the week, I was at the NAC for the official kickoff to Italian Week, which will take place on Preston Street in June. Right now is peak flower season and expect the area near Dow’s Lake and along the canal pathways to be packed with Tulip Fest visitors. It is such a pleasure to see the city come alive in this way.
Hi neighbour,
I hope you are enjoying the sunshine today. Thank you to all of you who have already sent letters to Premier Ford and to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark, to demand that Ottawa get the funding we need to fight (and eventually solve) chronic homelessness. This is a rare situation where the Mayor, city council and the community sector are aligned. We all agree that #OttawaNeedsMore.