“You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to put them there.” That is a quote from the great Jane Jacobs from her seminal work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. I have been reflecting on that statement a lot lately, as we work to revitalize Ottawa’s downtown core in the face of post-COVID workforce changes.
Last week we hosted a virtual meeting with neighbours to discuss policy initiatives our office has worked on since our community safety meeting last summer and introduced neighbours to service providers from Belong Ottawa, Centre 507 and the Centretown Community Health Centre. These are the slides from our presentation during the meeting.
In the waning days of the convoy occupation in Centretown, a sign that got popular at counter-demonstrations included the cheeky slogan: “Make Ottawa Boring Again.” Soon after, a local resident had the expression printed on t-shirts, with proceeds going to Minwashin Lodge, Cornerstone Housing for Women and the Canadian Hate Network.
Happy International Women’s Day! The theme this year is Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress. It is a good opportunity for us to look back on everything we have gained and where the struggle for equality continues.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
The issue of how to promote development that benefits the entire community is a thorny one. On one hand, we are in the midst of a housing crisis, and we don’t have nearly as many homes as we need for a city that is growing.
Well, winter is undeniably here. The cold snap has been great for winter sports, including skating on the Rideau Canal (while it lasted!), but my thoughts always turn to people experiencing homelessness in this weather. City staff have been working around the clock to ensure that no one must sleep outdoors in the frigid cold. I have been supporting this work as a member of the Emergency Shelter Crisis Taskforce.
Happy New Year! I hope you were able to get some downtime and the ability to connect with friends and loved ones over the last couple of weeks. I am back from a family trip and gearing up for a busy few weeks at City Hall and in the community. While things have been relatively quiet since I last wrote to you, I wanted to update you on a few key issues.
I was surprised and frustrated to learn that by-law had begun issuing tickets for the use of megaphones during the Palestine solidarity rallies that have been happening weekly downtown. I have attended many other authorized and unauthorized rallies, virtually all of which used megaphones.
What a year it’s been. It has been an absolute honour to represent Somerset Ward at City Hall and to engage with residents on issues big and small. I couldn’t have done this without an amazing team and I want to tell you more about them and the work they have done for the community.
Our city did something big yesterday – something that Ottawa has never done before. We increased the affordable housing capital budget to $30 million, double what is in the long-range financial plan. And we did this because residents like you took action. I could not be more grateful.
As I write this to you, my head is very much in the books – the city budget, that is. My staff and I are busy analyzing hundreds of spreadsheets, to make sure that we are making the investments that will move our city forward and serve the residents of Somerset Ward well.