Ottawa Citizen

Vanier is no place for Sally Ann

Our neighbourh­ood is already doing its share, Paul Heinbecker says.

- Paul Heinbecker, Canada’s former ambassador to the United Nations, lives in Vanier.

The idea of transferri­ng the Salvation Army’s George Street shelter and social service centre to Vanier is a very bad one for Vanier.

At almost any time of day or night, a visit to lower George Street in the Salvation Army centre’s neighbourh­ood in the ByWard Market reveals a scene out of a gothic movie, with sidewalks full of panhandler­s, hustlers, prostitute­s, windshield washers, and the mentally troubled. Drugs are consumed on the sidewalks and drug deals are done in the shadows and alleyways, when not done in plain sight. Used hypodermic needles abound. Police statistics show that violent crime in this ward is on the rise.

Instead of working to alleviate the market area’s problems, the city’s leadership seems happy to see them transferre­d to Vanier. Out of sight, out of mind. And, to boot, a new, juicy developmen­t site is opened in the market with profit opportunit­ies for developers and tax funds for the city’s coffers. Win-win: Only Vanier loses.

According to the mayor, the Salvation Army wants to be a good neighbour, but its location on George Street is not conducive to that. In what respect is Vanier likely to be more conducive? The mayor challenged opponents to suggest alternativ­es. It isn’t the citizen’s responsibi­lity to propose sites, but here is one anyway: George Street. According to Marc Provost, executive director of the Salvation Army’s Booth Centre, the site must be near the existing Salvation Army clients and be accessible by foot, transit and car. George Street is a better site than Montreal Road in each respect.

Further, the condo buildings in the immediate vicinity were built long after the Salvation Army opened its centre on George Street. The people who live there now moved in in full knowledge of the problems in that neighbourh­ood. In Vanier, the new centre would have to be imposed on existing residents who are striving to improve their community.

As indicated in the Montreal Road Transporta­tion Planning and Functional Design Study, the vision for Montreal Road is that it “will become a welcoming, liveable main street where residents and businesses thrive.” Montreal Road is to be transforme­d into a “destinatio­n” for Vanier residents and others but this plan will be futile in the face of cash stores, marijuana shops, increasing­ly visible street prostituti­on, and now the magnet of a Salvation Army centre. Vanier residents have been supportive of the larger community: a methadone clinic, women’s shelters, an Ontario Addiction Treatment Centre, motels/hotels converted into emergency housing, et cetera. But enough is enough. Vanier is already doing its share and then some.

If the Salvation Army’s move to Vanier is such a good idea, why all the secrecy? According to the Ottawa Citizen, Salvation Army spokesman Glenn van Gulik said the organizati­on has been “consulting with the city, the councillor and many others through the process,” which has gone on for a year, before it was announced in what appears to have been a careful orchestrat­ion. Mayor Jim Watson is quoted in the Citizen as saying that “there’s plenty of time to collect feedback. The public consultati­on process will kick in at the planning stage when the applicatio­n goes forward by the Salvation Army.” But when it comes to decision time, how many councillor­s will oppose moving such an eyesore to Vanier? One? Two?

Our community was better off when it was independen­t of the City of Ottawa.

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