My response to the Jordan Peterson Show at the Canadian Tire Centre

I am writing this letter in my capacity as the Ottawa City Council Liaison for Women, Gender Equity and 2SLGBTQ+ Affairs to express my disappointment in your decision to host Jordan Peterson at the Canadian Tire Centre on January 31, 2023.

Addressed to:

The Canadian Tire Centre

The Ottawa Senators Group

Creative Artists Agency

I am writing this letter in my capacity as the Ottawa City Council Liaison for Women, Gender Equity and 2SLGBTQ+ Affairs to express my disappointment in your decision to host Jordan Peterson at the Canadian Tire Centre on January 31, 2023.

More than 30 non-profits, charities, businesses and organizations in Ottawa have released a statement condemning this event, due to the well-documented instances where Peterson has made statements that are insulting to and mocking of transgender and gender non-conforming people in Canada and around the world. As recently as last year, he referred to former Somerset Ward councillor McKenney as, “a thing.” His hateful rhetoric has no place in our city.

In addition to his documented harm against the trans community, Peterson was a vocal supporter of the so-called “Freedom Convoy,” an event that caused extreme harm to people in the ward I represent and the city at large. For three weeks, downtown residents were subject to the sound torture of constant honking, the open display of symbols of hatred and white supremacy on the streets, and to hundreds of documented instances of homophobic, transphobic, racist and antisemitic harassment.

During the first week of the convoy alone, businesses in the downtown Ottawa, including the city's busiest and largest shopping mall, the Rideau Centre, lost nearly $20 million, according to the Retail Council of Canada. Based on a class-action lawsuit against organizers, lawyer Paul Champ estimated that lost wages and revenue in the downtown core totaled at least $306 million.

On December 7, Ottawa City Council passed a motion condemning anti-trans hate. I am deeply disappointed in the management of the Canadian Tire Centre and the Ottawa Senators organization for booking this event – it directly contradicts the National Hockey League’s stated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

I hope you will re-consider hosting this event and connect with 2SLGBTQ+ community organizations in Ottawa to forge a path forward that ensures that the Canadian Tire Centre is never used as a platform for hate and discrimination.

Ottawa has seen a rise in hate against 2SLGBTQ+ people in recent years, Jordan Peterson’s event undermines the work that the city and community organizations are doing to create stronger and more equitable communities.

 

Sincerely,

Ariel Troster

Councillor, Somerset Ward

Council Liaison for Women, Gender Equity and 2SLGBTQ+ Affairs

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To the OCDSB Board of Trustees:

 

As you can imagine, I have heard from many parents and members of Centretown school communities on the impact that the proposed new elementary boundaries would have on their families. This is not a matter of municipal jurisdiction, and I respect that both OCDSB staff and trustees must make difficult and often unpopular decisions.

I am also aware that this is all happening in a climate of austerity, where decades of underfunding have left our school communities in increasingly precarious positions, limiting the ability to substantially respond to many of the challenges we see in our schools.

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The key theme I’ve heard about from families is about the walk to school. One of the things that brought me to Centretown years ago was the idea that my child would be able to get to school on foot or on a bicycle. In my time as a councillor, I’ve worked with families at Devonshire who loved that their kids could walk an easy 400m to school, but wanted to make sure all students were safe as possible crossing Preston and Somerset. We were able to secure a crossing guard for this intersection, but it took a long time.

The reality is that the Ottawa Safety Council simply will not have the resources to meet the need for crossing guards at the many major intersections that children in my neighbourhood are being directed to cross. I’m especially concerned about the traffic safety concerns that children who are being redistricted to Mutchmor from Devonshire will see, having to cross Preston, Carling, and Bronson.

I’m hearing from parents that the new route is something they would not feel comfortable sending their school-age children to walk or bike since it crosses three major streets. While Carling and Bronson will eventually be re-constructed by the city, we’re still years away from these projects being designed, funded, and built. Moving them up the list would still leave us years away from the kind of structural safety improvements that would make the kind of changes that would make parents feel safer sending their kids to school on foot.

Our Official Plan and our Transportation Master Plan support the expansion of active modes of transportation, including walking and biking. I have heard from many parents who love that Devonshire provides them with the opportunity to foster their child’s independence by sending them to bike or walk to school, either on their own or as part of a bike bus.

I’m very concerned that the impacts of this review in Ward 14 would put more kids on school buses or in cars, not fewer. This would seem to run counter to the boundary review’s stated goals—to mitigate socioeconomic disparity across schools, to keep kids in their communities and to bring high quality French and English education to every neighbourhood.

Regardless of the choices that trustees take, I want to be sure that the concerns in my community are fairly accounted for in the review and we that can reach a consensus. It seems that MPP Catherine McKenney’s request that the boundary for Devonshire be moved from the LRT to Preston Street may help mitigate many of the transportation safety-related concerns that we have both been hearing about.

I would be pleased to discuss any of the feedback I’ve received and wish you luck as you continue to tackle this incredibly challenging issue.

Sincerely,

Ariel Troster

Councillor, Somerset Ward

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