Ward 5 - West Carleton-March

Want to know how Ward 5 City Council candidates compare in terms of taking climate action? Then read on!

1. The YES/NO grid below shows whether candidates agree to commit to a specific environmental action.

2. The devil is in the details. Not all "yes" or "no" answers are equal. We HIGHLY recommend reading the long answers found beneath the grid, to get a real understanding of how committed Candidates are to a range of environmental issues.

*** Candidate Clark Kelly, Greg Patacairk, Colin Driscoll and Sasha Duguay did not fill out this survey and have been removed from the table.

Ward 5 - West Carleton-March
	Questions
		Nagmani Sharma	Stephanie Maghnam	Ian Madill
1	Will you commit to fully funding and implementing the City of Ottawa’s Energy Evolution Plan?	Yes	Yes	No
2	Will you commit to no more extensions of the urban boundary, and support building more 15-minute neighborhoods throughout the City of Ottawa, not just in the urban core?	Yes	Yes	Yes
3	Will you commit to phasing out natural gas infrastructure and prioritize conservation and efficiency over new, renewed or expanded gas infrastructure?	Yes	Yes	Yes
4	Will you commit to investing in energy efficient housing for lower income communities, and ensuring that the costs of retrofits are not passed down to tenants?	Yes	Yes	Yes
5	Will you commit to prioritizing climate adaptation planning for the city, including measures to protect people, infrastructure and city services, and to ensure that the city's most vulnerable populations are supported during extreme climate events?	Yes	Yes	Yes
6	Will you commit to building a public transit system that is rapid, reliable, affordable and accessible for all users, with proper transit routes within rural, suburban and lower income communities?	Yes	Yes	Yes
7	Will you commit to an active transit network with interconnected and protected bike lanes and multi-use paths City-wide (not just in the downtown core)?	Yes	Yes	Yes
8	Will you support our target for a 40% tree canopy cover per neighborhood and protection of mature trees through the new Tree Protection By-Law?	Yes	Yes	Yes
9	Will you ensure that the City of Ottawa prioritizes the conservation of existing greenspace, as well as biodiversity on both city and privately owned lands by actioning the following: amending the property standards by-law, as well as increasing targets for and allocating more funds towards naturalization?	Yes	Yes	Yes
10	In addition to improving recycling, will you support ambitiously collecting organic green bin waste for composting in multi-residential buildings as well as curbside, to ensure that Ottawa can avoid replacing the Trail Road landfill site with either a new landfill or an incinerator for residual waste for the foreseeable future?	Yes	No	Yes
11	Will you support the introduction of a user pay system for curbside residual waste collection, where residents pay for the bags or containers that they put out for collection, according to the actual level of service that they use?	Yes	No	Yes
12	If elected, would you intentionally include, and work in partnership with, the Algonquin Anishinaabe people and other Indigenous people in the creation and implementation of environmental policies?	Yes	Yes	Yes
13	Will you commit to developing strategies that bring Ottawans at all diversity intersections together on environmental issues?	Yes	Yes	Yes
	# Yes	13	11	12
	# No	0	2	1

Q1 - Will you commit to fully funding and implementing the City of Ottawa’s Energy Evolution Plan?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes. Certainly broader community and council consultations need to take place regarding all elements of the Energy Evolution plan so that Ottawa can achieve its targets of achieving net-zero emissions.

Ian Madill

No. I will commit to working with all levels of government to ensure the city, the province and the country support green initiatives to the fullest. As technologies advance i will be fully supportive of implementing them into the city of Ottawa's master plan. What i cannot commit to at this time is using 600 million dollars of tax payers money without seeing and understanding fully the commitment of other levels of government and a comprehensive report on what the expenditures and the financial returns will be.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q2 - Will you commit to no more extensions of the urban boundary, and support building more 15-minute neighborhoods throughout the City of Ottawa, not just in the urban core?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes. West Carleton - March has growth coming to the edge of our rural area. We have to maintain our rural lifestyle - our rural identity.
We want to conserve our green space and agricultural land - that's where our food is coming from. At the same time, we need growth. We need to build homes so people can live in.

At the same time let's find that balance, and that's called good planning - instead of sprawl.
Because if we have good planning that means we have schools, that means we have fire halls, that means we have bus service, that means we have commercial services.

So that means we are being served well and we are building up a community - not just spreading houses.

Ian Madill

Yes. I think moving forward in planning this is a concept that needs to be tested and implemented if the city is to reduce its emissions.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q3 - Will you commit to phasing out natural gas infrastructure and prioritize conservation and efficiency over new, renewed or expanded gas infrastructure?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes. In Rural areas in West Carleton - March, many homes still are in need of affordable energy solutions. Natural gas is not available in many rural areas, leaving residents with the burden of high energy costs. I do not believe most rural areas are prepared for this transition as rural residents still lack basic services like high-speed internet and affordable energy solutions.

Certainly moving forward, prioritizing conservation and efficiency over renewed or expanded gas infrastructure is ideal where residents and businesses have more options rather than the limits currently in rural areas, where basic services are limited. I believe more community consultation is needed to advance the Energy Evolution Plan.

Ian Madill

Yes. I believe any move in the direction of reducing our emission footprint is in consideration. My opposition will be to the cost and availability of other energy sources to the tax payers. Along with the labor force to make these switches. The idea of removing Natural Gas use from our daily lives is noble, the reality of the other factors to perform it is what i see as the real issue. I do not believe there are many individuals that if the switch could be done easily would walk away from the ability to help the environment, the hesitation will ultimately lie with the cost to do so for many residents.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q4 - Will you commit to investing in energy efficient housing for lower income communities, and ensuring that the costs of retrofits are not passed down to tenants?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes. Better planning needs to be examined by council to ensure new development applications that come forward, include investing in energy-efficient housing for lower-income communities so that costs of retrofits are not passed down to tenants.

Ian Madill

Yes. Once again, I will commit to working with all levels of government to lead initiatives to make rental units more energy efficient. This is a difficult situation again; the owners of these units will need to recoup the costs of upgrading, therefore I would be open to any discussions moving forward on where the monies for these upgrades can be provided from?

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q5 - Will you commit to prioritizing climate adaptation planning for the city, including measures to protect people, infrastructure and city services, and to ensure that the city's most vulnerable populations are supported during extreme climate events?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes. From floods, tornados, and derecho storms, inclement weather events are increasing - leaving more and more residents each year disenfranchised. Coordinating better disaster response with all levels of government is absolutely essential as we fight the effects of Climate Change. Supporting our vulnerable population during extreme climate events is an absolute priority.

Some Mitigation strategies for Ottawa residents including our rural area are the following:

Growing Ottawa’s urban forest and making it healthier, more diverse and resilient through the Urban Forest Management Plan.

Supporting homeowners with grants for backwater valves through the Residential Protective Plumbing Program.

Supporting farmers to adopt new technologies that protect soils and enable them to manage variable rainfall events through the Rural Clean Water Program.

Promoting sustainability and building resiliency in the agriculture and agri-food industry through innovation and knowledge transfer at the Ottawa Smart Farm, which focuses on leveraging technology to help producers optimize their efforts and overcome challenges such as changes in growing seasons and extreme weather events.

Mitigation always starts with the individual in the household doing their part to protect their health and environment.

Ian Madill

Yes. As your question eludes to, negative weather events are happening with more frequency. I will commit to a climate adaptation plan moving forward which would include building key infrastructures and services with key weather events that affect our city and region.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q6 - Will you commit to building a public transit system that is rapid, reliable, affordable and accessible for all users, with proper transit routes within rural, suburban and lower income communities?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes. In order to have world-class public transportation - it has to be safe for all people to use, it has to be a reliable source of transportation and it has to be efficient. To have this world-class transit for our city - we need to establish clear “Best Practices” for each critical component - And to ensure the oversight is funded to implement the ongoing maintenance that's needed to keep these trains operating within their respected life span.

Certainly, a review of the city's transit fare should be evaluated in supporting residents that have experienced a burden in the rising cost of living. The transit fare box generates 210 million dollars a year in revenue. The ridership has to be reviewed to have efficient bus service.

West Carleton - March is considered on the City's Transportation Master Plan as Area TRANSIT B which means we don't pay a transit levy.

We pay for Para Transpo- and we pay a small portion for the Park and Ride - but all together it's less than a 100 dollars a year - for the Rural area. The Tac Committee does great work consulting and providing input into various transportation issues in our city.

I'd would have a committee through them that is dedicated to looking at rural transit option for West Carleton - March Ward 5.

Ian Madill

Yes, I can commit to this. The LRT has had its share of well documented issues. Going forward the city will need to focus on convenience and reliability and addressing the changing dynamics of the work force. I believe OC failed to recognize the shifting patterns of major work hubs and continued to rely on a decreasing work force of downtown federal employees, and with Covid that # has dropped even more significantly. If the city wants to increase ridership there needs to be some planning changes to routes and a new vision of what the need is of residents.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q7 - Will you commit to an active transit network with interconnected and protected bike lanes and multi-use paths City-wide (not just in the downtown core)?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes. Our rural roads are in desperate need of maintenance and repair. We need to make sure that we prioritize the needed investment in our roads. Infrastructure/maintenance and safety of our existing roads and pathways with links for cyclists is important. Making sure that our roads are safe and our kids keep safe is absolutely paramount.

Ian Madill

Yes. I will commit to this. I think it is important in any city and rural areas we make the roads as safe and accessible to all. All users of roads have an obligation to follow the laws as required. My commitment would be; as the roads require maintenance we ensure we include a master plan to modify, enlarge to ensure all users are given a safe and usable lane where required.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q8 - Will you support our target for a 40% tree canopy cover per neighborhood and protection of mature trees through the new Tree Protection By-Law?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes. I'm a champion for green space preservation by having helped establish the Dunrobin Parkette. During my time serving on the Executive of the Kanata-March Horticultural Society, I contributed to the successful installation of Gale's Garden at the Ruddy Shenkman Hospice in Kanata. I have supported many community garden initiatives including the Molly Wilson Community Gardens, Trailing Edge Community Gardens and the Herzberg Community gardens in providing access to fresh, healthy and nutritious food for our community members.

During my time serving with the KMHS, I understood the importance of promoting and protecting pollinator health in our communities - more specifically in our own backyards. I helped promote pollinator health and provided garden lectures at the local Chapters.

After the May derecho storms, we saw the devastation to Ottawas tree canopy. I am certainly committed to supporting a target of 40% tree canopy coverage per neighbourhood and the protection of our trees.

Ian Madill

Yes. I took part in the city's tree give away program when it was available and would support this. Mature tree protection by-law i see as an issue, as one of your previous questions with weather events like tornadoes and high winds, if a property owner is worried about potential damage with a mature tree, what would their recourse be? I think there are merits to the bylaw but i also see a few detractions.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q9 - Will you prioritize the conservation of existing greenspace, as well as biodiversity on both city and privately owned lands by amending the property standards by-law, as well as increasing targets for and allocating more funds towards naturalization?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes.

Ian Madill

Yes. The city should prioritize conservation of greenspace, we are lucky we have the greenbelt within the city of Ottawa. Private land owners have zoning laws to abide by.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q10 - In addition to improving recycling, will you support ambitiously collecting green bin waste in multi-residential buildings and curbside, ensuring Ottawa avoids replacing our landfill site with either a new landfill or an incinerator anytime soon?

Stephanie Maghnam

No.

Ian Madill

Yes. Going forward we need to start planning what the next option will be overall. There are some jurisdictions that use incineration and also harness the energy to provide hydro back to the grid. These facilities use state of the art technology and in some European nations are part of the skyline. Moving forward i don't see another landfill as the solution. We need to all do our part now but also be planning for what the next phase will look like.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q11 - Will you support the introduction of a user pay system for curbside residual waste collection, where residents pay for the bags or containers that they put out for collection, according to the actual level of service that they use?

Stephanie Maghnam

No. I believe broader community consultation needs to take place before supporting an added expenditure for taxpayers who are already experiencing financial constraints.

Ian Madill

I wouldn't be against this idea. I think the merits and the cost associated with implementing might outweigh the desired results. I would need to review case studies to ensure the project would not add to the tax payers’ bill.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q12 - If elected, would you intentionally include, and work in partnership with, the Algonquin Anishinaabe people and other Indigenous people in the creation and implementation of environmental policies?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes.

Ian Madill

Yes. This just makes sense!

Nagmani Sharma

Yes

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q13 - Will you commit to developing strategies that bring Ottawans at all diversity intersections together on environmental issues?

Stephanie Maghnam

Yes.

Ian Madill

Yes. I am a realist, and being as such, no matter who you are we all need to be aware of climate change. Some individuals might be able to do more and some less for a varying amount of reasons. Being able to come together to discuss these challenges is something we need to do moving forward.

Nagmani Sharma

Yes.

Clarke Kelly

Did not participate

Greg Patacairk

Did not participate

Colin Driscoll

Did not participate

Sasha Duguay

Did not participate

Q14 - Is there anything else you would like to share regarding your ideas, goals or commitments to improving the City's performance on climate change and environmental issues?

Ward 5 - West Carleton-March

Q1 - Will you commit to fully funding and implementing the City of Ottawa’s Energy Evolution Plan?

Q2 - Will you commit to no more extensions of the urban boundary, and support building more 15-minute neighborhoods throughout the City of Ottawa, not just in the urban core?

Q3 - Will you commit to phasing out natural gas infrastructure and prioritize conservation and efficiency over new, renewed or expanded gas infrastructure?

Q4 - Will you commit to investing in energy efficient housing for lower income communities, and ensuring that the costs of retrofits are not passed down to tenants?

Q5 - Will you commit to prioritizing climate adaptation planning for the city, including measures to protect people, infrastructure and city services, and to ensure that the city's most vulnerable populations are supported during extreme climate events?

Q6 - Will you commit to building a public transit system that is rapid, reliable, affordable and accessible for all users, with proper transit routes within rural, suburban and lower income communities?

Q7 - Will you commit to an active transit network with interconnected and protected bike lanes and multi-use paths City-wide (not just in the downtown core)?

Q8 - Will you support our target for a 40% tree canopy cover per neighborhood and protection of mature trees through the new Tree Protection By-Law?

Q9 - Will you prioritize the conservation of existing greenspace, as well as biodiversity on both city and privately owned lands by amending the property standards by-law, as well as increasing targets for and allocating more funds towards naturalization?

Q10 - In addition to improving recycling, will you support ambitiously collecting green bin waste in multi-residential buildings and curbside, ensuring Ottawa avoids replacing our landfill site with either a new landfill or an incinerator anytime soon?

Q11 - Will you support the introduction of a user pay system for curbside residual waste collection, where residents pay for the bags or containers that they put out for collection, according to the actual level of service that they use?

Q12 - If elected, would you intentionally include, and work in partnership with, the Algonquin Anishinaabe people and other Indigenous people in the creation and implementation of environmental policies?

Q13 - Will you commit to developing strategies that bring Ottawans at all diversity intersections together on environmental issues?

Q14 - Is there anything else you would like to share regarding your ideas, goals or commitments to improving the City's performance on climate change and environmental issues?

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