Orléans should host Amazon

Re: Ottawa mayor expresses interest in Amazon campus Sept. 7.

With the city of Ottawa announcing that it is in the running to win Amazon’s second headquarters contest, many focus groups will be part of the discussion: from universities to high-tech to hydro and government, and one wishes them well. Ottawa would truly be a wonderful fit with Amazon, which values smaller, trendier, affordable, smarter cities. In other words, Richard Florida’s “creative class” in action could morph Ottawa into the big time, reviving dreams of high-tech nirvana from the glory years of Nortel and then exploding the growth.

May I point out, though, that another voice should be heard: The eastern half of Ottawa should have a voice at the table.

Ottawa has always been west-centric, and this might be the perfect time to do something different. Take the highly educated residents of Orléans and Ottawa East; combine them with lower property values, empty development land, and a lack of jobs in the community; add the special incentives that city council has created to help new business development in this area; and go big or go home.

With one fell swoop, the problem of equality of opportunity in Ottawa’s eastern community would disappear, and maybe people here would start forgetting about all the jobs moving to empty hightech buildings in Nepean over the past 10 years. It is Orléans’ turn to shine, and benefits to all of Ottawa could flow from the east for a change. Catherine Smith, Orléans