WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND IN COLLEGE AND CAPITAL WARDS
In the lead-up to Ottawa’s municipal election, this newspaper surveyed every candidate, providing them with a list of questions. It’s an exercise that’s meant to help residents get to know the candidates better and to get a firm sense of where they stand on important issues facing our city. We’ll run a selection of their answers, featuring different wards each day. Today we feature College (Ward 8) and Capital (Ward 17). Candidates appear in alphabetical order. For the full survey responses, check out our website, at Ottawacitizen.com. WARD 8: COLLEGE
Population (2016): 52,430 Households (2016): 22,147
Votes eligible/cast in 2014: 36,226/13,948 (38.5 per cent)
Area: 46.2 sq km
Boundaries: Hwy. 417 in the north; Clyde Avenue and Merivale Road in the east; the train tracks west to Hwy. 416, the south and west to Scissons Road, then north and west to Eagleson Road, and north to Hwy. 417.
This has been Rick Chiarelli country since 2000, when he defeated incumbent Al Loney. In 2014, Chiarelli took more than 70 per cent of the vote to return to council for his fifth consecutive term. This year he faces two challengers: lawyer Emilie Coyle, who is currently director of the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program; and communications strategist and former mayoral adviser Ryan Kennery.
RICK CHIARELLI
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
Different parts of the ward have different main issues and there are several in each part of the ward, so it is hard to choose. I will mention a couple of them. In the centre/ eastern part of the ward, people are concerned with illegal rooming houses. We want to preserve the character of our neighbourhoods because we do not want City View, Ryan Farm, Bel-Air, Centrepointe or Crestview to become another Sandy Hill, where landlords converted single-family homes into mini-apartments.
We need this new legislation because, while the rules we have now are great, court and tribunal decisions mean that it is extremely difficult for bylaw officers to enforce them or to charge violators.
The second of two parts of the needed legislation, which will hit committee in the coming months, will enable officers to enforce the law and protect the character of our neighbourhoods.
In the western part of our ward, the need for economic recovery of the Bells Corners business base is key to a vibrant Bells Corners. The residents gave us a mission and things are really coming together now in a well-timed, synergistic way. Bells Corners is already much better than it was six years ago and, as these changes are built-out, it will be even better. Then we can all join a visioning exercise on the future.
2.
If you are the incumbent, what ward-specific decision made by council in the last term are you most proud?
The success of our Bells Corners strategy. But second would be the amenity package that included the creation of the new state-of-theart pool and pool buildings at Bob Mitchell Park, which along with the nearby significant park upgrade and redevelopment at Doug Frobel Park and historic gazebo reconstruction in Bel Air Park added significantly to the quality of life in our ward. 3.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
The approval of the stormwater management pond at Woodroffe and Baseline was not needed and will cost us far more than we would need to spend to handle the drainage issues from LRT stage two and the already-mostly-constructed new Baseline below-ground transit station. The process was badly flawed, and looked ridiculous — but it can still be fixed if the provincial government takes a close look at what it is being asked to spend. 4.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running?
I, my wife Lida, and our three daughters all grew up and went to school in our ward and, yes, I live in the ward.
EMILIE COYLE
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
The vision that College ward residents have of our neighbourhoods is one of vibrant, welcoming, and safe communities. Speeding and the amount of traffic are top concerns for ward residents.
Safe roads is a priority for everyone — from students to bike riders, from dog walkers to people pushing strollers, from kids playing to seniors getting their mail. All College ward residents should expect to feel safe on our roads.
Unsafe intersections have resulted in accidents with pedestrians, and speed is a serious issue on some main arteries, like Clyde Avenue, and on many residential streets.
Insufficient community space is also an issue in my ward, based on what I have heard from residents. Many people simply feel there are not enough community places or programming available throughout the ward.
Whether you are a family with young children or a teenager or an elderly person, the lack of community spaces is hurting your quality of life.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
While not affecting only College ward, I think it is a mistake to not put more money into the life cycle renewal of our city parks. These are critical spaces for people to meet and create community and there are several places in College ward that would benefit from some attention.
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?
I am a third-generation resident of College ward. I care about all members of this ward community and I’m committed to making College ward residents, our issues and our priorities a priority at city hall.
RYAN KENNERY
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why? Road safety in residential areas is what has come up most often when I’ve gone door-to-door. Sometimes this can be related to speeding traffic or lack of sidewalks. We need to advance a conversation about how we can help ensure our built environment meets the needs of residents, especially as young families move into some of our neighbourhoods and seniors stay in their homes for longer.
Secondly, residents are frustrated with the lack of action on the issue of illegal home conversions and bunk houses, especially in the neighbourhoods closest to Algonquin College. This is an issue that is getting worse, not better, every year. City council was only able to offer a small measure during this term, enacting rules for new builds that do little to help built-up communities like Ryan Farm and City View. I would like to take part in a discussion regarding landlord licensing, including the challenges brought on by tools such as Airbnb.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
I am hopeful that there are brighter days ahead for businesses in Bells Corners. The Community Improvement Plan for Bells Corners is a decent step forward, but seems to miss a key component — the community.
Creating conditions for business success is more than just handing out tax breaks to international fast food chains.
If the transit service is sub-par, sidewalks come up short, and cycling infrastructure is lacking, it will make it challenging to attract employers who care about the livability of the neighbourhoods where they want to set up shop.
We also need to ensure we’re taking care of our most vulnerable residents as well so that everyone can feel the benefits of the revitalization of Bells Corners.
The DND relocation could be big for Bells Corners, but we need to have a more ambitious vision for how to help the community thrive.
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running?
Yes.
WARD 17: CAPITAL
Population (2016): 37,440 Households (2016): 17,290
Votes eligible/cast in 2014: 24,975/9,696 (38.8 per cent)
Area: 9.9 sq km
Boundaries: Hwy. 417 in the north; LeBreton Street South and the Rideau Canal, Bronson Avenue and Airport Parkway in the west; Walkley Road in the south; and Bank Street, the Rideau River, Smyth Road and Riverside Drive in the east.
David Chernushenko first won this ward in 2010, after Clive Doucet’s retirement opened up the race. Seven candidates vied for the seat then, with Chernushenko capturing 41.3 per cent of the vote. In 2014, with the race down to three candidates, he was re-elected with just over 77 per cent of the vote. This year he faces a tough race against public school board trustee Shawn Menard; business director Christine McAllister; policy analyst and House of Commons’ Speaker’s staffer Anthony Carricato; and lawyer/negotiator Jide Afolabi.
JIDE AFOLABI
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
I believe more can be done to ensure our roads are safe for everyone. No pedestrian or cyclist wants to be struck by a vehicle, and no driver wants to be in a vehicle-pedestrian or vehicle-cyclist accident. There are three choke points in Capital ward — places where the sharing of our roads is a major challenge, and where the possibility of harm to life or limb is quite real. They are the Bank, Billings and Bronson bridges. The rectification of this concern is my top infrastructure priority. I would like to see pedestrian and bicycle overpasses beside those bridges, or the redesign of those bridges to better accommodate pedestrian and bicycle traffic along with the current vehicular traffic.
In addition, I as well as my team have heard from a great many residents at their doors. While the needs and desires of ward residents are varied, and while some are city-wide rather than ward-specific, a common theme concerns the environment, including the loss of our green spaces to development.
This is why a key plank of my platform concerns the passage of a green roofs bylaw by council, ensuring that green spaces lost to large developments at the ground level can be replaced in part by greenery on the flat roofs of those developments.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
It is obvious that the process and outcome regarding the new sports field at Immaculata High School has drained the goodwill between residents with homes close to the school and the OCSB.
In addition, recent reports from various quarters have highlighted concerns about the carcinogenic properties of artificial turf. The flawed approval process utilized by the city is one, I believe, that cannot be repeated. It is important that consultations touching both on the enjoyment of homes and the usability of school facilities be thorough and meaningful. 3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running?
Yes, I live in my ward.
ANTHONY CARRICATO
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
Residents and developers alike are asking for more clarity and certainty when it comes to the city’s oversight of projects, including for building heights, design features, infills and rooming houses, etc. We need to introduce criteria for smart development and early consultation, so that everyone knows what is acceptable within the neighbourhood. Community design plans should also be established and respected to drive coherent revitalization efforts. At the moment, the city has been sending mixed signals, allowing exceptions to be made and pitting everyone involved against each other in front of variance committees. This process is time-consuming and costly to the community and developers.
Waste management has not been handled well in Ottawa during the last term. Not only are we wasting money through bad deals, we also have one of the worst records in the province for waste diversion. We must do better to divert waste from the landfill by promoting environmentally conscious choices, such as ensuring the availability of compost in all buildings, installing more recycling bins on our streets and in our city parks with separate containers for pet waste.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
The city let the federal funding to help build a new community centre in Heron Park that had been committed in 2017 lapse, and the residents who had developed and proposed options were let down. This is one of many examples where our current councillor has lacked the energy and leadership to shepherd practical and affordable improvements to our community.
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running?
Yes, and I love it! I love the strong sense of community, beautiful green spaces, walkability, diversity, and all the secret gems it contains, including river views, cosy cafés, and the new Overflow brewery in Heron Park!
DAVID CHERNUSHENKO
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
Skyrocketing housing costs are forcing seniors out, keeping young families out and eroding the diversity of many communities. The skewed planning process, which leads to constant pressure for additional benefits/height for developers, as well as loss of trees, green space and light from residential infill.
2.
If you are the incumbent, what ward-specific decision made by council in the last term are you most proud?
Making Main Street into a Complete Street, and renewing the neighbourhood around it. The Flora Footbridge also, if I am allowed two.
3.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
The massive eight-storey building in the Glebe (890-900 Bank St.) should never have been approved. It is so far beyond the gateway to the area and offers stark walls, to low-rise residential streets.
4.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running?
Yes, for 25 years.
CHRISTINE MCALLISTER
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why? The topic I hear most about while canvassing is the need for community perspectives to be included and incorporated into planning decisions. There is a strong feeling and/or perception that the perspectives of developers are favoured in the development process and communities are powerless to influence outcomes.
I also hear much about the need for new infrastructure in the ward. This includes new community assets such as a community centre for Heron Park, expanded community space in Old Ottawa East, revitalizing community assets in Brewer Park (including the skating rink and oval, swimming pool) and replacing the boarded skating rink in the Glebe. It also includes a safe cycling corridor for Bank Street, including the Bank Street bridges over the Rideau River and Rideau Canal.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
Decisions which have supported developers without taking into consideration input raised by the impacted community. There have been a number of over-sized developments including buildings that appear to be more like “rooming houses” without appropriate zoning as well as redevelopments with greater height than what is permitted on a traditional main street and other variances (e.g., Mr. Muffler/Beer Store property redevelopment, Southminster Church). It takes a lot of time and effort on the part of volunteers to try to influence these developments, and I believe that residents of Capital ward deserve to have a voice on council who will ensure that residents’ views are incorporated much earlier in the process. 3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?
I grew up in Ottawa and have been a proud resident of Capital ward for the past 15 years.
SHAWN MENARD
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
Residents of Capital ward are understandably concerned about developer interests driving decision-making at city hall. This has to stop. Intensification of the urban core is a necessary reality and if done thoughtfully, with the public interest at the forefront, will enhance rather than detract from the vibrancy of our neighbourhoods. We must be mindful that as we intensify, we need our social infrastructure to keep pace. Adequate green space and other community and recreational resources need to be kept in mind as we add new residents. For example, a community centre for Old Ottawa East and Heron Park is a top priority.
In the thousands of conversations I’ve had with ward residents, connectivity of cycling and walking frequently arises as an area of concern. Too often paths are left unplowed, a local bike route ends or dumps out onto a busy street with no segregated infrastructure, or walking is obstructed by dangerous ice. It is important to encourage the most cost efficient modes of transport in Ottawa in context with what they mean for city building: Cycling and walking can transform this city if we have the courage to follow through on our convictions and ensure they are safe and supported — something I don’t believe this council aspires to.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
Council’s failure to intervene in the Immaculata Field debacle early on is a disgrace. It allowed for a corporate takeover of a public field and a literal fencing off of the community. Given that no one at the city took this seriously enough and that the hard work had to be done by the community to prove what the Catholic board was doing was wrong, it shows a complete acquiescence to for-profit interests ahead of the public.
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?
Yes.