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.
We have all noticed the changes in Centretown. More boarded up storefronts, less vitality, more people sleeping rough or using drugs in public. It is within this context that Somerset Ward Councillor Ariel Troster, took the initiative to assemble a community safety panel. Panel members included Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden, Dawn Lyons (Somerset West Community Health Centre), Bobby Jamison (Centretown resident with lived experience with drug use), Michael Wallack (President of the Centretown BIA), and Constable Paul Stam (community police liaison officer). The meeting was attended by residents and businesses from downtown Ottawa.
Below is a report outlining the takeaways and results from this meeting.
Hello neighbour,
It was an intense couple of days at the joint Planning and Finance Committee meeting to discuss Lansdowne 2.0 last week.
The word “renoviction” is not just a buzz phrase, it’s an unfortunate reality for so many people in our city. The story is often the same – a long-term tenant who is paying a moderate rent is told that they must vacate their apartment so the landlord can do necessary renovations.