Kanata North candidates step up
In the lead-up to Ottawa’s municipal election, the Citizen 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
WARD 4: KANATA NORTH
Population (2016): 36,996
Households (2016): 14,490
Votes eligible/cast in 2014: 21,578/10,317 (45.6 per cent)
Area: 24.2 sq km
Boundaries: Kanata North covers the developed portion of Kanata north of Hwy. 417. Terry Fox Road encloses the ward to the west and the north, with Herzberg Road forming the eastern boundary.
Political veteran Marianne Wilkinson has represented that ward for the past three terms, winning the 2014 election with 46.21 per cent of the vote. In March, Wilkinson announced that she was leaving municipal politics. She has her support behind Jenna Sudds, one of five candidates vying to replace her. The four other contenders include Matt Muirhead, who came in second against Wilkinson in the 2014 election with 33.72 per cent of the vote, David Gourlay, Lorne Neufeldt and Philip Bloedow.
PHILIP BLOEDOW
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
The dependency on the food bank and the unemployed.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
Adding good-paying long-term jobs.
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?
No. But I live 30 minutes west of Kanata so that my Dad can live in his own house, as he is 87 years old and he cannot live alone. If I was not living with him, he would be one of the many healthy seniors occupying a bed in an Ottawa hospital.
DAVID GOURLAY
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
After listening to my neighbours at the doors this summer, the top two priorities are; 1) to improve the quality of life of our community by making sure our taxes are reinvested locally by controlling city spending and growing our economy. 2) I have heard concerns about safer roads for children and seniors and better quality streets by making our community more walkable and livable through enhanced green space and parks and recreation facilities. I have also made easing congestion for local traffic a priority by making Kanata the next stop for LRT expansion and a lot sooner than the projected time frame, which is in the mid 2030s.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
(The candidate did not answer.)
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running?
Yes, I was raised in Kanata North and live in the ward now.
MATT MUIRHEAD
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why? Development and LRT/Transit. A) I’d like to see development done with balance and care, and with the intent to maintain as much of the natural environment as possible.
Areas like Arcadia are still waiting for road connections and parks, Briarbrook and Morgan’s Grant want better maintenance of cityowned lands and pathways, and everyone is worried about the pace of development and how we’re not even addressing existing needs in the community.
Some of the issues are that recent subdivisions have been given narrower streets, narrower garages, shorter driveways, and hectares of trees have been completely razed to the ground to prepare for many more homes.
How we will deal with growth is a huge concern — how will our road infrastructure keep pace (like Terry Fox Drive and Goulbourn Forced Road)? What agreements have already been made that may impinge upon the existing community? Can we afford more suburban development when infrastructure and recreation facilities are at capacity? How can we maintain connectivity between our woodlands, if entire swaths of land are “moonscaped”? How will zoning be respected and upheld? How can we improve transit routes, efficiency and reliability? These are some of the questions I will tackle if elected.
B) LRT/Transit
Many people in my community are frustrated with the current routing of our buses. My commitment is to ride on every route in my ward, document every issue I come across, speak to the customers who ride these routes, and then write a final report for presentation to OC Transpo management. I will bring the OC Transpo managers to see and hear from people personally, and then I will be looking for actionable items.
Lastly, when I ran in 2014, I was the only candidate to decry the absence of Kanata from the LRT plan until between 2031 and 2048 — even among incumbent councillors! I’m glad the other candidates in the race for Ward 4 have added their voices to this important decision. We are now all in agreement — but it was only me who was fighting for it in the ballot box last election.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
The deforestation of our lands north of Beaver Pond. It is heartbreaking to see such a vast area of forest disappear without a single tree stand or rock outcrop remain. Zoning needs to be done better with a longer-term view of how our community is affected. I might also add that the mosquito-fighting program costs should have been borne by the city and developers — not local residents.
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running?
Yes, I do. I’ve been a fierce advocate for Kanata North having served many years in volunteer leadership as president of the Briarbrook-Morgan’s Grant Community Association and later as president of the Kanata Lakes Community Association.
LORNE NEUFELDT
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
Public transit. We need more reliable and more frequent busses. We also need to streamline and restructure many routes to increase efficiency and usability.
Development. With the increasing amount of new communities and buildings being built we need to make sure developers keep their promises and fight for communities like Arcadia. We also need to protect our green space, including ponds and trails.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
Transit.
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?
Yes, in Morgan’s Grant.
JENNA SUDDS
1.
What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?
After speaking with thousands of residents, by far the biggest challenge facing our community is how we move around Kanata North. We need a commitment to be included in LRT. We need reliable and efficient bus service, and investments in our roads, walkways and cycling paths.
Secondly, as we continue to grow as a community, we need to ensure that we are building neighbourhoods that are safe, connected, that are people-centric, and that protect the green space and forests that we have all come to love and expect here in Kanata North. Our growth must be managed and our green space protected to ensure the continued healthy growth of our community.
2.
What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?
As mentioned previously, I believe that LRT must be extended to Kanata within reasonable timelines to serve our growing community and growing technology park. The decision not to include Kanata in LRT stage one or two, and no commitment yet for stage three is a major failing. This is by far the biggest issue facing Kanata North.
3.
Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?
I have worked in Kanata North for many years. My kids have gone to school in Kanata North for the last nine years. I do all my volunteer work and all of my shopping in Kanata North. For the last five years I was the founding President of the Kanata North Business Association, building that organization from the ground up.
The fact that at the end of the day I drive three streets outside the boundary does not waiver my sense of community or my desire to serve my community of Kanata North. I live where I live because my husband had the opportunity to build us a home there.