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.
This week, we received some shocking news from the provincial government, news that impacts every single one of us in downtown Ottawa. We were told that the increase we would be receiving in funding to address homelessness and build much-needed affordable housing is a mere 0.4% ($845,000) of the additional funds being distributed in Ontario. Toronto, a city roughly three times the size of Ottawa, has received an increase that is 60 times that of ours.
What does this mean in real terms in downtown Ottawa? It means that our already-overflowing homeless shelters will have to turn people away.
Hello and happy spring (for real),
It seems incredible that only a week ago, Ottawa was hit by a fierce ice storm and as I write this, the temperature is scheduled to hit 30 degrees. I would like to say that this is not a normal April, but it seems that climate change is leading to more extreme weather and dramatic temperature swings. And although we were largely lucky to not lose power for very long in Somerset Ward, we lost a lot of mature trees, both last week and in May 2022’s derecho storm.
This is particularly devastating in downtown Ottawa, where we have the lowest percentage of tree coverage in the National Capital Region – only 20%. The amount of tree coverage needed to mitigate climate change is estimated to be near 30-40%. We have a lot of work to do to recover from extreme weather and make our city more climate resilient.
Hello neighbour,
Well, spring has technically sprung, even though the weather doesn’t really feel like it. The emails about snow clearing are starting to give way to messages about potholes and speeding. My staff is receiving all your messages and are committed to helping, both at an individual and systemic level.
At last week’s Transportation Committee meeting, we discussed two issues that are synonymous with summer: e-scooters and patios. The committee heard a staff report detailing the accessibility and security features that were added to the e-scooters last season, dramatically decreasing the number of complaints.
In collaboration with Councillor King and Councillor Plante, we're reaching out and inviting neighbours to fill out our transit usage survey!
I am writing this letter as I spend some time with my family on the long weekend, taking a moment to breathe after an intense couple of weeks at City Hall. Our deliberations on the 2023 budget continue, with city committees hearing from community delegates and passing each section of the budget that will rise to Council on March 1st.
Last week, I dissented on the section of the Planning and Housing budget related to affordable housing, because I believe that $15 million for new construction is not nearly enough. It's been three years since Ottawa declared a housing and homelessness emergency. Since then, the number of people sleeping outside has doubled. Over 12,000 people remain on the waiting list for subsidized housing.
Between 2019 and 2020, 8,619 people experienced homelessness in Ottawa, 46% of them for the first time. The yearly capital spend on affordable housing has not changed since 2019. In real terms, in the face of record inflation, this is a cut.
La version française suit
The Ottawa city budget season is now in full swing, and I wanted to reach out to ensure that you have all the information you need to engage in the process.
The draft budget was presented to City Council on February 1st, and I posted a video with my initial reaction. As I mention in the video, my top concern is to ensure that there are no cuts to frontline services in our downtown core, particularly for seniors, people experiencing homelessness, and those who are struggling with addiction or mental health challenges.
As I flagged during the vote last year on budget direction, I am very concerned that a tax increase of only 2.5% will not provide the resources that the city needs to maintain essential infrastructure and run important social programs that our neighbours rely on.
Instead of the snow we have come to expect, residents are facing some of the coldest temperatures we have seen in a while, hovering close to -40 with the wind chill. Due to this extreme weather, residents are encouraged to:
Hello,
As we are about to enter a deep freeze in Ottawa, I can’t help but think of where we all were at this time last year. Many of us felt trapped in our homes, surrounded by relentless honking and fearful of the harassment that our neighbours were dealing with on the streets of Centretown.
I know many residents are feeling anxious and have legitimate concerns about the planned demonstrations commemorating the 1-year anniversary of the convoy that occupied our city last winter. I want to reassure you that I take those concerns very seriously, and I spoke with Kim Ayotte, General Manager of Emergency & Protective Services at the city, and my colleague Councillor Stéphanie Plante (Rideau-Vanier) this morning to make sure our offices have all the necessary information to support our communities.
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.
Hello and Happy New Year.
I am writing this message to you in the midst of a winter storm, a day with weather similar to when I sat down to write this opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen. In any cold weather, my first thought goes to our neighbours experiencing homelessness and to the hard-working people who provide frontline services and emergency shelter.
The pandemic has been tough for so many of us, and the shift to remote work has been especially difficult for downtown businesses. The revitalization of downtown Ottawa (particularly the north part of Centretown) presents both challenges and opportunities. But as I write in the Citizen, we cannot expect the core to bounce back without increased investment in affordable housing and community services.
In December, I shared comments at the council table about my deep concern that a tax increase of only 2-2.5% would leave frontline services in the downtown core without the resources they need to help the growing number of people who are struggling with addiction, poverty and mental health. In a meeting with Mayor Sutcliffe last week, I reiterated that I can only support the 2023 city budget if we see no cuts to social services and a deeper investment in affordable housing and frontline support for our neighbours.
City Council will receive the draft budget on February 1st, and we will vote on it at a meeting on March 1st. My office is in the process of organizing a public education and consultation session about the city budget, in collaboration with Councillors Shawn Menard and Jeff Leiper. Details to follow, but save the date for a virtual session on Wednesday, February 15 at 7pm.
You can follow me on Twitter, but please make sure to also follow our Somerset Ward account, which is managed by staff. I am also active on Facebook and Instagram. I post regular video updates after council and committee meetings and am committed to sharing the thinking that goes into the decisions I make on behalf of our ward.
Stay warm and enjoy the snow,
Ariel