That was a lot of snow. Seventy centimetres over four days, in fact. Our city got absolutely walloped with back-to-back “extreme weather events” – an extremely unusual situation.
Our office has heard from many of you, with concerns about a lack of plowing on some sidewalks, snowbanks that are taller than you are, and bus stops that are still inaccessible due to – you guessed it – snow.
The reality is that this volume of snow (along with extreme wind) was just too much at once for our crews to clear in the timeframe that you would usually expect from our city. So, thank you for being patient. I know that some streets have not received snow removal yet this season and your snowbanks are starting to look like fortresses. I have been assured that these streets will be top of the list for snowbank removal.
Our office will keep residents posted via social media, in addition to answering your email inquiries. And if you see a plow driver out there, give them a high five or a thumbs up. They are working around the clock to get our city moving again.
In other news, I was pleased to see overwhelming support last week for Councillor Jeff Leiper’s motion to accelerate the loosening of zoning rules for shelters in both urban and suburban communities. I have heard from many of you about what some see as an over-concentration of social services in the downtown core, and a real frustration that suburban neighbourhoods are not doing their fair share.
It makes abundant sense to have affordable housing and shelters in walkable, central neighbourhoods. But homelessness and addiction are problems in every corner of our city, and it is enormously unfair that people must leave their communities in Barrhaven, Riverside South or Nepean if they want to access shelter and support.
Our latest homelessness point-in-time count shows that nearly 3,000 people are living in shelter or on the street. We need an “all hands-on deck” approach to solving this crisis, and it cannot be done in urban wards alone. This including preparing for an escalating migration crisis, as more and more people flee the United States and the draconian policies of its new administration.
The motion that we passed at council last week removes one step from the process of setting up a new shelter or transitional housing project. We know that what we need is a massive scale-up of permanent, affordable and supportive housing to end chronic homelessness for good. But in the meantime, we have a moral duty to make sure that no one else freezes to death on the streets of Ottawa.
This change in regulations will ensure that Planning and Housing Committee doesn’t become a “referendum on who gets to live in a neighbourhood,” as described by Kaite Burkholder Harris from the Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness. Because our city is for everyone. I am proud of city council for recognizing this last week and making it easier to help people come in from the cold, no matter where they live.
Warmly,
Ariel
Ariel with Tara Sypniewski from the Ottawa Trans Library and artist Ehren English, at the opening of the Winter Pride art show at the Arts Court
Supervised consumption site closure
The Somerset West Community Health Centre will close its supervised consumption site at the end of this month, after being forced to by the Ford government. It didn’t have to be this way.
According to Somerset West, “We anticipate our closure will place even greater burdens on hospital emergency departments, paramedics, police, and our neighbourhoods, further straining an already overwhelmed system and increasing risks for those who rely on harm reduction services.”
The number one concern I hear about in Centretown is the overwhelming presence of homelessness and public drug use. Shutting down the one regulated, safe, indoor place for people to use drugs will only make these problems worse. People need to be alive in order to seek support or treatment.
The team at Somerset West Community Health Centre will work hard to navigate this transition, and the city will also be stepping up our own outreach services. But the move away from supervised consumption was a rash, populist decision that was pushed through by a government that ignores data. Please remember this when you go to the polls next week.
Coldest Night of the Year
The Somerset Ward team is doing the Coldest Night of the Year walk in Centretown on Saturday to raise money for the Youth Services Bureau! You can donate to our team here and learn more about Coldest Night of the Year here.
Free tax clinics
Tax season starts on February 24! If you need assistance filing your taxes, you can find free tax clinics online here.
Donations needed for the Ottawa Courthouse
The cellblock at the Ottawa courthouse is looking for donations to support people leaving the criminal justice system.
If you’d like to make a donation, please bring the items in a bag labeled “Attn: Sheri Ottawa Police Cellblock” to the courthouse at 161 Elgin St.
Public Information about Accessibility Features in Parks
City parks are important community assets that provide residents with opportunities for leisure, sport and play. Over the last several years, the City has included many enhancements to its parks to make play in our playgrounds more inclusive, and to provide park features that are more accessible for everyone to enjoy.
We are seeking your input to learn what accessibility features you would like to know about when visiting City of Ottawa parks. We also want to know how you would like to access this information.
Provide your feedback online here.
Dealing with a mental health or substance use crisis? Call 211 for compassionate crisis support.
The Alternate Neighbourhood Crisis Response (ANCHOR) program is a mobile crisis service, intended to approach mental health and substance use crises from a trauma-informed and culturally relevant care perspective.
The dedicated Crisis Response Team (CRT) will support individuals experiencing a variety of complex health needs, where emergency responder interventions may not be appropriate or beneficial.
The ANCHOR team will respond to non-emergency situations in the area between the Ottawa River (north), Rideau Canal (east), Trans-Canada Highway 417 (south) and Preston Street (west).
Snow clearing is political. This has become even more clear to me since we got absolutely walloped with back-to-back “extreme weather events” in February, leaving city staff to clean up more than 70 centimetres of snow.
We want to first thank you and your team for the extraordinary work the City has been doing on behalf of residents after the recent very heavy back-to-back snowfalls.
Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for Ottawa, and effective immediately, the City is declaring a significant weather event that will remain in effect until further notice. Below is information and resources related to snow clearing and cold weather resources.