Ward 8 - College

Laine Johnson

Yes. I will support the City of Ottawa’s Energy Evolution Plan within City Hall. I will be an advocate for this initiative and emphasize the long-term benefits of this plan. The City of Ottawa must embrace long-term planning and vision in energy evolution, for the benefit of both the local environment and residents. When discussing targets for greenhouse gas reduction, I will push the city to take a “zero means zero” approach. With residents and their families experiencing the effects of the climate crisis – I believe it is crucial to stop “paying off one credit card with another” and instead take a systems based approach to addressing greenhouse gasses that puts the bulk of the onus on the municipality rather than on residence.

Wendy Davidson

No. More information and discussions are required to gain a better understanding of the current situation as we emerge from the Pandemic. The Energy Evolution Strategy provides information that not only is projected until 2050, but includes commitments and descriptions of activities that happened prior to 2022, or are currently in progress. I would like to review the current state of activities in flight and associated data, such as the receiving an update and assessment on the proposed purchase of OC Transpo’s fleet for electric buses, the Landfill Gas Perimeter Collection System installed at the Trail Waste Facility, the current use of charging stations, etc. It will be important to note if the initiatives described in the Energy Evolution Strategy are delivering the results envisioned. Were they on time? On budget?

I would also need an understanding if any department specific presentations have begun as proposed in 2021, and if so, what was the nature of the presentation and the outcome/feedback from each department? 

The Energy Evolution Strategy provides a tremendous volume of information. As the new Council becomes active, these discussions and more are required to ensure all questions/concerns are addressed, and an agreed upon way forward has been set out. If elected, I look forward to engaging further to help shape the future of our great city.

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. I will support but we need to make sure that Mother Nature had limited impact in our decision. And also cost effective for everyone and anyone.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. I wholeheartedly support this initiative. One of my aims for College Ward is to make it more accessible to choose active transportation and public transportation. I have committed to never again expanding the urban boundary. I will fight to secure the fundi so ng for the BRT and to secure the provincial and federal investments to make this happen. I will fight for a new Baseline Secondary Plan early in the new term of Council so that affected communities will have their say in the intensification for Baseline Road. I will fight to ensure that small businesses are able to be successful around the Baseline BRT. I will work to ensure that future intensification includes affordable and practical small business spaces which will promote walkability and local economies. I will advocate for Robertson Road to undergo a Main Street Secondary Plan in anticipation of increased development along Robertson Road. The Secondary Plan will be focused on ensuring we welcome smart development, safe mobility, and stimulate local business and tourism.  I will launch a community animation strategy for College Ward’s public space, in partnership with College Ward communities and BIAs. This strategy will bring food truck rallies, pop-up markets, performing arts with the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, among other needs identified by the community.

Wendy Davidson

No. 

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. Certain area can be renovated or reasoning to aloud home to do changes to their actual home. Single house to duplex etc.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. I will help the City of Ottawa embrace “proven and green technologies.” As the demand for natural gas decreases, the City will have the opportunity to embrace and support new technological advancements in green technology, and I stand behind this initiative.

Wendy Davidson

No.

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. 

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. I will take advantage of municipal, provincial and federal programs available to improve energy efficiencies within Ottawa households. Many highrises in Ottawa are in disrepair and extremely energy-inefficient, contributing to energy wastage and climate change. Action and funding should be directed at ensuring existing private building stock is upgraded. Cross-referencing with the existing data from the Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) could be used to identify the poorest performing buildings to prioritize action and funding.

Wendy Davidson

No. 

Vilteau Delvas

Yes.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates that responding to the costs of extreme weather will rise from the current $5-6 billion per year to more than $40 billion by 2050. Responding to these climate-induced natural disasters is already stretching municipal resources and capacity. These events have uprooted thousands of trees, and damaged or destroyed critical infrastructure including the electrical grid, highways, buildings, water and wastewater systems, and homes.

With more frequent and intense weather events becoming regular occurrences in Ottawa, the city should be looking for opportunities to work with other levels of government to ensure adequate support for climate change-induced weather events and other natural disasters. The city could also consider a tree maintenance program that helps people maintain their trees to improve how they withstand extreme weather.

I will work with the City, community associations, and business to develop a generator strategy for extended power outages. I would also work to ensure every neighbourhood has a resource hub that they can access. We need residents to know where to go during these emergencies as telecommunication devices are often also offline. 

Floodplain mapping is a City-wide issue that I will champion as City Councillor. Largely a provincial responsibility, many of our floodplain maps are significantly out of date. We need accurate maps to make informed development decisions but also decisions on emergency preparedness. Development on old farm/woodland is changing the ability for sites to absorb rainfall, resulting in flooding in previously unlikely areas.

Wendy Davidson

Yes.

Vilteau Delvas

Yes.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. Our public transportation system should be a source of pride for the City of Ottawa. I have heard all too often from College Ward residents that they avoid public transit because it is unreliable and too infrequent. A top priority of mine as Councillor for College Ward is to ensure our current and future transit systems, such as the Baseline BRT and extension of the LRT, are funded and designed properly to meet the needs of people in College Ward within a reliable and effective system. We need to provide reliable, affordable and accessible transit service in order to reduce private vehicle use, to help us meet our climate goals, reduce the stress on our infrastructure, reduce traffic, and provide an equitable and accessible way for people to travel.. This includes thinking through frequency of service and the number of transfers people are asked to take as they get from one place to the other. We must do better at prioritizing cancellations so the fewest  number of riders are impacted, while also considering  the severity of  cancellations; e.g.  last busses and infrequent routes should only be canceled in urgent circumstances.

We must invest in active transportation infrastructure so that we can encourage people to use different transportation options when possible so they can move around the city most easily.  Paratranspo is a key piece of our public transit system,and we must invest in it. I promise to regularly discuss the effectiveness of the system with riders and bring their issues to the Council table. Residents must have a reliable, easy-to-use system to get where they need to go, be it for shopping, leisure, work or school, or appointments.

Wendy Davidson

Yes.

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. Specially our veteran and seniors should have their services free of charge or haft price.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. We are lucky to have an abundance of green space in our College Ward neighbourhoods, but connectivity is an issue. We require appropriate bike connectivity as well as protected bike paths and safe sidewalks for overpasses. We need to acknowledge that we are in a transition between the creation of these neighbourhoods as designed for cars, and invest appropriately to protect people choosing to use active transportation. By encouraging people to make these choices when they can, through infrastructure and design that keeps them safe, we lengthen the life of our roads by having fewer cars travel them. With the proposed Baseline Rapid Transit Corridor, we would receive rapid bus service, but also importantly, protected bike lanes and sidewalks that will help our neighbours move east-west reliably and accessibly. The connectivity it would offer to our neighbourhoods will improve the value proposition for local business and it is the right direction for the environment and provides us an alternative to the train, which continues to see problems and delays.

Wendy Davidson

Yes.

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. Not only the bike lane but the wheel chairs etc. In a democratic and growing society every  body should be able to find a form of  transportation suitable for them and not be afraid of the road safety condition.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. NCC maintains a significant amount of the green space in Ottawa, which benefits residents in those areas. The city must prioritize non-NCC adjacent neighbourhoods to ensure equitable access to quality greenspace. The residents of College Ward, and City View in particular, have undertaken serious advocacy in this area to resolve some of the inequity in the cash-in-lieu park program so we should see greater investment in our neighbourhoods. As Councillor I will work as an advocate to increase our tree canopy and partner with the NCC for properties that abutt their lands. 

I also believe that we need to strengthen our existing Tree By-law so that we don’t take down as many trees with infill development, and that we require a stronger tree replacement strategy. Our tree canopy is one of the most effective, both in impact and financial, ways to reduce urban heat waves. To mitigate the “urban heat island effect” and improve the health, both mental and physical, I will work to increase the tree canopy in College Ward, and fortify tree protection and replacement programs.

Wendy Davidson

Yes.

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. 1 tree cut 5 to be planted.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. Ottawa’s significant greenspace is one of the features that sets the city apart. Residents love the walking trails, urban woodlands, cycling paths, creeks and more. I am committed to ensuring that Ottawa stays “green”, and that the City is proactively involved in maintaining and strengthening our outdoor spaces, both public and private.

We see issues in College Ward that need attention before they happen, such as the impacts of the LRT construction on the Pinecrest Creek, and I am committed to being there to make sure we make the right decisions, every step of the way.

I will support and push for more investments in protecting our local natural environment like the combined sewer project that significantly reduces wastewater overflow. I will also work with partners such as Ottawa Riverkeeper and Ecology Ottawa to better monitor air quality and waterway testing. I support both the amendment of property standards by-law, and will support increasing targets and funding towards naturalization.

Wendy Davidson

No. 

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. I am for green space but if we want to maintain what we have, we need to aloud home owners from certain areas to transform their home into multiple family unit. Specially in the old and broken down town. That will generate more revenue for home owners and more people will find a place to call home.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes, we cannot keep filling our landfills and creating new ones, and I want to look at all options to divert waste as best we can.  We must incentivize diversion to organic and recycling. This means supporting local businesses and residents to divert waste. We pay property taxes towards waste management, and I'd like to expand community gardening and food sharing opportunities to keep food from being wasted and give people better agency over their food choices. I will work with the City and businesses to better divert business waste, and encourage recycling and green bin use. Additionally, I am interested in strengthening the ability of condo and apartment dwellers to access recycling and green bins in their complexes.

Wendy Davidson

No. 

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. 

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. Without a doubt, it is in the best interest of the City of Ottawa to maximize the life of our existing landfill. To do this, we need to incentivize diversion to organic and recycling bins. As we already pay a portion of our property taxes towards waste management, I would be interested in exploring a cost-sharing model whereby you get a certain number of bags under the existing plan and a user-pay system for any number of bags above that limit. I am interested in better understanding the implementation of such a system across multi-unit residences and condo complexes, which often use common dumpsters.

Wendy Davidson

Yes. 

Vilteau Delvas

No. People are paying so much in taxes, they need a break from spending left and right.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. Absolutely, Ottawa as a City must work in good faith with the Algonquin Anishinaabe people on environmental issues. The City must be transparent on who they have consulted with, and not make unilateral decisions without the involvement and leadership of Indigenous leaders. The decision to develop the Tewin lands highlighted the complexity and sensitivity of land development, for example. As Councillor, I see my role as being a listener and an advocate. We must also be mindful that Ottawa has a large urban Aboriginal population, who are not necessarily Algonqiun, and we need to find new and meaningful ways to amplify their voices, listen to them when they feel policies need to be changed, and to provide better access to culturally-appropriate social services where needed.

Wendy Davidson

Yes.

Vilteau Delvas

Yes.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.

Laine Johnson

Yes. Access to green space is an area we know affects residents across a range of backgrounds, and the pandemic brought that to the fore in recent years. In College Ward people live in houses with private yards, in apartments with a small balcony, condos with limited private outdoor space, and shared student housing. We saw people flocking to public outdoor spaces and we need to ensure that every resident of Ottawa can access green spaces for their health and well-being. People with mobility issues or who are using a stroller, for example, need well maintained paths. Largely, we see lower-income neighbourhoods are the hottest areas in the city, because of the lack of green space and tree cover, and therefore the people in them—often BIPOC—are more susceptible to heat-related illness and death related to climate change.

I will work toward establishing more cooling stations in the College Ward so that residents have an accessible place to escape extreme heat, work toward better neighbourhood-specific monitoring of air quality, never again expanding the urban boundary, and implementing a stronger tree replacement policy for the City.

Wendy Davidson

Yes.

Vilteau Delvas

Yes. The beauty of Ottawa is its diversity, my job is to give a voice to everyone without prejudice.

Granda Kopytko

Did not participate.

Pat McGarry

Did not participate.