Priorities

People in College Ward want a Councillor who keeps them informed about what’s happening at City Hall and how it may impact their neighbourhoods. People in College Ward want their Councillor to work collaboratively with partners while treating Council colleagues, City Staff, and people within in their office with dignity and respect.

• Proactive Communication In addition to a monthly bilingual e-newsletter, I will hold regular pop-up office hours and an annual community town hall. I will leverage technology such as social media to share information about emerging issues such as road detours, power outages and emergency response in real time.
• Code of Conduct I will work to ensure the new City Council Code of Conduct includes transparency provisions for municipal campaign donations; a clear understanding of appropriate civil behaviour; and, that final reports on Code of Conduct violations are centralized and publicly available.
• Program Review and Objectives-Based Budgeting The City must ensure that the revenues we collect and assign get the results we expect. I will advocate for a line-by-line Program Review to evaluate municipal program performance against desired outcomes to identify opportunities for better alignment and savings. I will examine our method of procuring goods and services to ensure that we are getting quality contractors in a timely manner.
• Community Associations, BIAs and Groups I will fight to reduce the financial and administrative burden on Community Associations, BIAs, and other community groups so that they can organize more freely in their neighbourhoods. These groups are an essential part of our working democracy as they inform and hold local government accountable. I will work with Community Associations to bring their leadership together under a Ward 8 Advisory Council to facilitate information sharing and collaboration on shared issues.
• Public Consultation As Councillor, I will improve the quality of our public consultations about proposed infrastructure investments and development projects by meeting you where you’re at: public parks; recreation centres; building party rooms; local businesses; and, dance studios.
• Transparency I will support the use of digital platforms to ensure the free, easy, timely, and direct online access to public records. I will organize webinars to educate residents on how to navigate these platforms and direct feedback related to platform design and accessibility to the city. 

As a resident of College Ward, I see firsthand the dangerous intersections, lack of sidewalks, unconnected cycling and walking paths, and road maintenance needs. People of College Ward want safe, people-centered neighbourhoods that preserve the accessibility to schools, businesses and recreation spaces. 

• Traffic Calming I will spend our ward traffic-calming budget on effective measures in cut-through traffic hot-spots (e.g., Cobden, David, Navaho, Ridgefield) and near schools and seniors residences. I will work with the City to modernize the traffic calming study process to get faster results, and better-align the office of Temporary Traffic Calming with the Permanent Traffic Calming office.  I will work with my Council colleagues to put more capital dollars into permanent traffic calming and use requirements on new development applications.
• Schools I will support a “School Street” pilot project implementing a car-free zone at drop-off and pickup times in front of schools identified by local communities. I would work with St. Gregory’s, Agincourt, Sir Robert Borden, Franco-Ouest and other schools to plot the desire lines their students have been using and plan for safer infrastructure for children walking and biking.
• Snow Clearing I will work with city staff to ensure that sidewalks in College Ward receive proper priority in the snow clearing hierarchy.
• Active Transportation I will ensure that active transportation investments are made with all road resurfacing projects. I will fight to increase connectivity on bike routes, such as through the Algonquin LRT station and out to Bells Corners. I will fight for investment in better sidewalk continuity in areas such as Robertson Road. I will advocate for an assessment of North-South roads leading to 417 on-ramps to mitigate safety issues for active transportation users and explore the addition of pedestrian bridges over the highway.
• Hot-Spot Reporting I will make it easier for College Ward residents to report locations of road safety concerns, leveraging the reported data to expedite remedial actions by the city.
• Public Transit I will work collaboratively with OC Transpo to enhance frequency and reliability of bus service (especially the #88) on Baseline and Merivale Roads. I will fight for seamless and safe connections from our neighbourhoods to LRT stations. I will advocate for ParaTranspo investment to increase service reliability and decrease wait times. I will support efforts to enhance affordability of the EquiPass. 

Ottawa’s Official  Plan requires all neighbourhoods in Ottawa to do their part to support intensification. This gives College Ward an opportunity to harness investments for community priorities, such as infrastructure, amenities and greenspaces, and to curb urban sprawl.

• Baseline Rapid Transit Corridor (BRT) I will fight to secure the funding for the BRT and to secure the provincial and federal investments to make this happen. I will fight for a new Baseline Secondary Plan early in the new term of Council so that affected communities will have their say in the intensification for Baseline Road.
• Tree Canopy Protection I will work to enhance compliance with the Tree Protection bylaw for development including infill projects.  I will work with the community to identify underused areas where they City could do more tree planting. I will investigate whether a potential rebate or subsidy program to assist those with private tree maintenance that cannot afford it.
• Infrastructure and Water I will support the new Infrastructure Master Plan to ensure new infill developments need to undertake infrastructure study, particularly addressing impacts to drainage, recognizing that areas of the ward such as City View still use a ditch and culvert system that requires maintenance and upgrades to maintain service for homes. I will push for more investments in protecting our local natural environment like the Combined Sewage Storage Tunnel, recognizing that development on old farm/woodland is changing the ability for sites to absorb rainfall, resulting in flooding in previously unlikely areas. I will explore the use of sports fields, as upgrades and renovations are planned, as a way for the City of Ottawa to capture rainwater.
• Small Business Row I will fight to ensure that small businesses are able to be successful around the Baseline BRT. I will work to ensure that future intensification includes affordable and practical small business spaces which will promote walkability and local economies. I will work to connect Algonquin College and local high schools with local businesses to facilitate youth employment and co-op opportunities. 
• Stop sprawl I will fight to never again expand the urban boundary as countering urban sprawl is one of the biggest tools in a city’s toolbox to address the climate crisis while saving money.

The City of Ottawa has declared a Housing and Homelessness Crisis and Emergency, and many people are still excluded from the housing market. The City of Ottawa must do more.

• Mixed model housing: I will work for diverse housing options for our communities. I will fight for useful and affordable development of two-and three bedroom homes with livable square footage for families and seniors looking to downsize. 
• Housing and Seniors  I will advocate for programs to help seniors stay in their homes longer through accessibility upgrades, energy upgrades, and aging-in-place supports such as the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community model with Supportive Services.
• Student Housing I will work with Algonquin College to create a multi-sectoral committee called Town and Gown, a model used across Ontario to bring post-secondary institutions and affected municipalities together to problem-solve and mitigate pressures on the surrounding neighbourhoods. 
• Affordable Housing Programs I will support efforts to increase the housing budget and will fight to modernize the City of Ottawa’s affordable housing funding programs so that they include renovation costs and building performance upgrade costs.
• Small landlords I commit to looking at ways to provide tax credits for affordable housing landlords and those that offer below-market rent. 
• Land as a lever I will advocate for the City to use the Ottawa Community Land Trust as a tool for the City to put up lands for affordable housing development. These lands could be used as assets with which to borrow and leverage financial investment by the non-profit sector, leaving the City free without the build or maintain aspects of delivering on affordable housing.
• Inclusionary Zoning I will support inclusionary zoning as a means to ensure we provide affordable housing in all neighbourhoods welcoming growth. I will advocate for funding non-profit development to complement the targets set forth to private developers.

College Ward has so much to offer the people who live here, and those who visit from across the city and beyond. Energizing our local neighbourhoods will make them a microtourist destination and drive hyperlocal economies.

• Community Animation Strategy I will launch a community animation stategy for College Ward’s public space, in partnership with College Ward communities and BIAs. This strategy will bring food truck rallies, pop-up markets, performing arts with the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, among other needs identified by the community.
• Bells Corners Main Street I will advocate for Robertson Road to undergo a Main Street Secondary Plan in anticipation of increased development along Robertson Road. The Secondary Plan will be focused on ensuring we welcome smart development, safe mobility, and stimulate local business and tourism. 
• Parks and Recreation Strategy I will work proactively with the NCC and all levels of government to ensure a variety of greenspace is available for the enjoyment of all residents, and that all levels of government collaborate to replant trees lost in recent major storm events. I will fight for upgrades to the Pinecrest recreation centre as the neighbourhoods welcome more young families. I will work to install more accessible play equipment in city parks so that children with disabilities can enjoy these spaces too.
• Right Relations, Anti-Oppression and Community Wellness I will collaborate with the city’s Indigenous Relations Office and Algonquin College to identify opportunities to advance the city’s commitment to right relations in College Ward. I will advocate to increase support to organizations offering programming that combat anti-Black racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia. I will also work with school trustees to advocate for appropriate school curriculum that reflects anti-hate programming. I will fight for city investments to address the recommendations identified in the City of Ottawa’s Anti-Racist Strategy. I will support the recommendation put forward by the National Council of Canadian Muslims to create proportional and constitutional bylaws that address street harassment. I will advocate to increase funding to local groups that support the 2SLGBTQI+ community. I will support efforts to pilot new models of crisis response to incidents involving mental health or addiction. 
• Equity in Recreation Programs I will fight for investments in recreational programs for persons with disabilities of all ages and respite programs for their families and caregivers.