Ward 10 - Gloucester-Southgate

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

No. We need to ensure that essential services are on the rise and that taxes are not increasing alongside them. That requires we be fiscally responsible with our decision-making, but that we also apply a green lens to implementing public policy. The Energy Evolution is well on its path and can benefit from more support from council that balances the budgetary needs of today's economic environment with a focus on ensuring our city's projects already underway are receiving sufficient support.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. The plan is sensible, wise, and mostly forward thinking. In fact, I think it could go further. Due to tight budgeting at the city level, it may not be possible for the next few years to properly fund the initiative. With inflation at 8%, it is pragmatic to say that it will take work to get to full funding when other programs will have significant shortfalls year-on-year.

However, the climate emergency is ultimately a priority and I will look at a pathway to ramp up to 100% funding over my term and perhaps even add in a few more policies. As you note, over time this saves us money, so it's finances well spent. As we come out of the pandemic funk, we can make it a priority.

Ron Keays

Yes. It is essential that we invest now into the new energy economy across all aspects of our city. 

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

No. Ottawa needs more 15 minute neighbourhoods. In this ward, with the redevelopment plans for the South Keys Mixed Use Area (MUA), you see smart city planning that is fostering diverse housing, greater connectivity, pedestrian and cycling crossings. We need to create vibrant and smarter communities, but ultimately, we need to look at development neighbourhood by neighbourhood and not apply a one-size-fits-all solution. I respect that there are lots of residents who prefer a life in the suburbs – but that shouldn't result in residents have to choose between having accessible greenspaces, shopping, and transit, and living in a suburban setting.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. I commit to building more 15 minute neighbourhoods, and my plan for housing in Ottawa is to create densified, modern, energy conscious, and disability-friendly housing mixed with greenspace and businesses. You can learn more about that at my website taylorh.ca under My Priorities. 

I am hesitant about the urban boundary, however. I marked yes, because we shouldn't need to expand it signficiantly. However, I do not believe in building on prime farmland - where increasingly new communities are being created. I also believe in preserving greenspace within and around neighbourhoods, like the current greenbelt. 

Preserving that land will ultimately mean maintaining farms and forests within an expanding city, further pushing neighbourhoods outwards. You can't have both in the long run.

Building smartly densified neighbourhoods from the get-go, with full amenities, parallel bike and walking infrastructure, and businesses and community spaces mixed together, while saving our existing prime farmland and forests will ultimately make the difference.

Ron Keays

Yes. Any new development and redevelopment needs to fit the criteria of the 15 minute neighbourhoods, and it will be up to us as council to ensure any new approvals conform to those principles

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes. 

Hussein Mahmoud

No. I understand the importance of supporting a green transition but would need more information, resources, and consultation with community members in order to fully commit to this. I would potentially be supportive of this and am certainly supportive of greening our economy and communities, but would need more specific details to ensure we are balancing our fiscal realities, community voices and needs, and effective coordination with other levels of government, like the Province of Ontario.

Taylor Houstoun

Overall, yes. We can continue to do our part within the plan to make Ottawa greener and more emission friendly. Sometimes there are pragmatic concerns that end up changing the course of plans - you can't leave people without energy or rely on them to conserve without planning for the future. Meanwhile, sometimes newer infrastructure can replace decaying infrastructure that has a chance of leaking and polluting the environment.

But yes, I can commit to the plan broadly and will work to see it implemented practically throughout the city so that we reduce our footprint.

Ron Keays

Yes. While legacy energy sources will continue to be essential as we transition to cleaner alternatives, any new investment and infrastructure must be moving us towards our zero emission target

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. We need to leverage supports from other levels of government to ensure that we are giving tenants affordable energy bills. Affordability is key to my platform - a lot of families and middle and low income communities are worried with the current economic situation. We need to work collaboratively with landlords, councillors, and communities to ensure we are leveraging government grants, working with homeowners, as well as tenants to ensure that all parties are supported in infrastructure transitions.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes, but being a multi-part question, this is ultimately difficult to answer. The cost will Always be passed down to either tenants or the taxpayer. We known this from macro-economic models that have been proven repeatedly. A tax on anyone is always a tax on the consumer eventually - it simply is and there is no functional way to change it in the long run.

That doesn't mean we can't make attempts or establish programs to fulfill this goal. With regard to energy efficient housing, my housing plan actually expects to see significant amounts of non-profit and rent subsidized housing built. Ultimately, I want everyone to own their own home, and that requires flexibility on the city's part. Increasing building standards within Ottawa to ensure these are efficient will save us all money and health in the long run. Everyone benefits when our bills are cheaper.

I also think the city can partner with building owners and even residents (especially in condos) to subsidize retrofits under controlled rent clauses so that residents aren't gentrified out of their homes. The city can even contribution-match in cases of collective ownership. We have many solutions to mitigate the issue of passing costs along while also achieving the goal.

Ron Keays

Yes. Any new affordable housing must be build with efficiency in mind, and the city must work with property owners to ensure outdated and inefficient build have a path towards higher efficiency

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. We all remember the storm in May 2022 - people were out of power for days, and whole communities were impacted. We need to be preparing our communities with stronger infrastructure for long-term sustainability as natural disasters risk increasing in number. This includes increasing our resilience and mitigation efforts for when natural catastrophes do happen - up to date resources both in preparation of and in response to natural disasters are essential in the coming years. This requires investment, education, and community preparedness.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. Of course. Public safety is incredibly important. I recently received the survey from Fire Services in Ottawa and said similarly to them. One of the city's core functions is protecting residents in a collective way and as severe weather event continue, we must be prepared.

This includes, but is not limited to, considering building standards that account for more severe earthquakes, tornados, and flooding in floodplains.

The only problem, as you noted, is that for residents these changes are naturally slow because they require costly retrofits that may make living even more unaffordable. Realistically, the city does not have the money to subsidize such retrofits for every individual citizen. However, we can work cooperatively with the provincial and federal governments to put subsidy and incentive programs in place.

Furthermore, for larger buildings the city may have more direct funding options for upgrades. And most importantly, we can make policy that mandates these protections in future buildings, while also brokering discounted choice options from manufacturers to help provide modern materials at what is effectively a subsidized cost through bulk and preferred purchase.

Ron Keays

Yes. Our city needs robust emergency planning for the extreme weather events. Local crisis centers for those impacted by power outages and damage from storms is needed, as well as cooling centers for individuals suffering from heat events.

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. Ridership confidence is at an all time low. We need to restore confidence by delivering a system that is safe, reliable, and convenient. In ward 10, routes are being changed, and frequencies along certain bus routes are being lowered. We need to create a reliable transit system to entice more usage in order to lower emissions and keep cars off the road. Transit needs to be a reliable option for this to become a reality. That’s the only way the system gets better – and that requires we bring experts to the table to brainstorm and implement a strong plan to transform our communities and connect our city with transit.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. One of the biggest challenges in my ward is the unreliable transit. It comes at inappropriate times, or scarcely, and I have heard of the persistent delays city-wide. Getting a handle on transit is one of my top priorities and I have some innovative ideas on how to do that. This includes smaller-vehicle fleets which will save energy and money, and on-call style transit service like the way the city of Saskatoon is dabbling with. We can make a reliable, affordable, system if we put our heads together.

https://www.taylorh.ca/blog/fresh-transit-perspective

Ron Keays

Yes. I actually really like the plan that in currently being implemented.  The LRT technical malfunctions have had a cascading effect which has impacted transit top to bottom.  At it's base the plan already in place will significantly improve our transit system both in terms of speed and reliability.  It is essential for us to address and overcome the technical issues so the full potential of the transit plan can be experienced.

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

No. We need to ensure we’re promoting a healthy lifestyle, using bikes, walking, and investing in more than just our downtown core for our communities. We have seniors who may not feel safe walking on streets that aren’t well maintained or safe for pedestrians. We have parents who hesitate to send their kids outside on bikes. We need to take this issue neighbourhood by neighbourhood to ensure we’re creating reimagined space in our communities that allow reliable transit options alongside safe roads. It’s also important to be fiscally responsible with our investments in this respect at a delicate economic time to ensure the long-term wellbeing of residents who will be affected.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. I live in Greenboro, where a true 33% of our neighbourhood was dedicated to greenspace with an interconnected pathway system running in behind, and parallel, to the roadway system. I believe every neighbourhood in Ottawa should be built like this moving forward and will fight for that.

I also believe that as we resurface roads, we should expand them to make them safe for cyclists, while still maintaining shoulder space for cars. And wherever possible, I want cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles to have separate infrastructure (like in Greenboro) to keep each other safe.

I also fully imagine all of these systems being interconnected and feeding into one another as necessary. Separate does not mean they never interact, but rather that safety is prioritized, but ultimately the idea is that everyone can go anywhere and have an experience that, broadly speaking, supports their chosen transportation method in a safe way. We won't get there without bold plans to not just resurface roads, but to expand their function when we do. It will cost more upfront, but create safer, more walkable, neighbourhoods that everyone is comfortable moving through with their chosen method.

Ron Keays

Yes. Having a multipronged approach to transportation is a big part of my vision for the city.  Safety and accessibility means that drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users all feel safe and serviced by the local infrastructure.  

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. The federal government has committed to planting 2 billion trees across Canada in the next 10 years. I think is important that we ensure we are making the most out of supports from other levels of government, and collaborate with other governments to support cost-sharing and smart fiscal planning to achieve our goals for a greener city. In order to promote a healthy lifestyle and greener communities, we need to provide well planned urban greenery - but we also need to work collaboratively with other levels of government to ensure we are making the most out of pre-existing programs.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. Again, this question is nuanced. Broadly speaking 'Yes', but as we saw with the recent storm, mature trees under an extreme weather event can cause tens of thousands in damages per-household and millions city-wide in merely 30 minutes. 

Pragmatically what we need is a consistent tree renewal strategy that allows for the removal of older, dangerous, or disruptive trees (as some will grow into property, significantly damaging housing which necessitate repairs), and replacing them with newer, less mono-cultured varieties.

I would also set 40% as an ideal target but would leave it up to individual neighbourhoods to decide what they want and where they want them, with space allocated for non-treed space. For example, in my area some our fields were co-opted for Canada's 150 tree supply. But this now means that kids can't run around and play in them. There is a place for everything...

Beyond this, I entirely agree that we should work toward not only reasonable tree canopy, but much greater diversity. The city has long chosen to plan the same species of tree, often only a select group of maples, neglecting others. We should have a large diversity of trees to fill out our neighbourhood canopy, and we also need to rethink our use of fruit trees. The city currently has no qualms planting crab apple, and its fruit is plentiful. But it largely goes to waste because humans don't eat crab apples frequently. We need to consider planting proper fruit trees and put residents in charge of them under forward-thinking community garden strategies.

Ron Keays

Yes. On both a pragmatic and aesthetic basis adequate tree canopy cover absolutely needs to be enforced by incoming council.

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. Bioconservation is an important issue for our city - while supporting it requires investments, it's important to remember this issue is also about more than funding: it’s about ensuring there’s awareness and education on what species are endangered spread throughout the community so that all residents are acting together to preserve our biodiversity; it’s about working with schools and neighbourhood associations to encourage our community to work together and ensure there is literacy on this issue that is met with tangible actions as a community in day to day life.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. Of course. As mentioned in an earlier reply, this is a great concern of mine. I don't want to lose precious species and growing-land. I think the city can also do much better to encourage the growth of these native plants within the city itself, particularly as part of the tree planting strategy.

Amending the property standards bylaw as well as increasing funding targets are entirely on the table and I support these proposals.

Ron Keays

Yes. Environmental impact reports are my first priority before any new development takes place.  I will oppose any projects that negatively impact our local biodiversity.

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. Essential services need to be on the rise in Ottawa, while taxes need to be kept low. I think with smart fiscal planning, we can expand the availability of these services to all residents, including those in multi-residential buildings. I think we also need to go a step further to ensure we are educating residents on how to recycle and compost effectively - it will take a whole of community approach for us to make the most of these essential services.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. Unfortunately this is another nuanced question. Part of the problem with recycling is that there are significant numbers of people who fail to recycle anything properly. This includes placing the wrong items in the wrong receptacles. This is why, despite having recyling options, many fast food chains don't actually recycle anything. By the end of the evening, even when garbage is not overflowing, the contents of different groups are so mixed together that it is infeasible to salvage. And this is done by consumers, not the corporation.

Yes, as the city we need to do better to put green tools in people's hands. Especially in densified buildings. And this will include building standards so that densified buildings are constructed with parallel waste management systems. Community awareness and outreach programs, including advertising, will also help people understand the difference.

Sadly, however, no matter how much we support this, it is nearly an axiom that people en-masse and under pressure to recycle when they don't care will spoil the batch. And recyclage and compost both have very specific tolerances for foreign material before the whole things is wasted and must go to landfill.

In the very long run, increasing our ability to sort material at its terminal destination would best solve this problem.

Ron Keays

Yes. Improved recycling and community engagement would certainly delay the need for new landfill. Looking forward though I support a waste to energy solution for waste management.

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

No.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. While I agree that we need to encourage and expand the efficiency of our waste services for a greener waste disposal system, I recognize that a lot of families cannot take on an additional daily cost in the midst of an affordability crisis across the country. We need to ensure we are planning responsible to keep everyday costs low for families, to keep taxes low, and to reduce, not increase, their cost of living. I support finding other ways to encourage waste reduction, recycling and composting, and diverting from landfill that won't put the cost of it onto the backs of our residents

Taylor Houstoun

No. In many cases this, in fact, does Not help. In fact, this type of regime already encourages illegal dumping by corporations in ecologically sensitive areas. Moreover it will do the same to citizens. Or it will continue the problem I mentioned previously, where people throw out garbage into their recycled or composted materials, ruining any chance of properly recyling those materials.

And the only way to prevent this would be to put our waste disposal workers in charge of opening up and searching through waste as they're picking it up. Not only would this mean they effectively need to be empowered like city bylaw officers, but they would face increased health risks, and the city would need to spend significant sums of money on hiring them because a household will go from taking 20 seconds to service, to 10 minutes. 

It is an impractical idea to do this with a significant number of unforeseen consequences. Even if it were implemented, like other services like this, there would be no money for it to ever be enforced. 

More practically speaking, only a data driven plan that assessed disposal trends in a give neighbourhood and awarded tax susbsidies based on aggregate ratios of garbage, to recyclage, to compost would be feasible. This could be accompanied by a city-wide media effort discussing the tax reward for modified behaviour, encouraging homeowners to participate voluntarily and giving no way to cheat the system.

Ron Keays

Yes. I would support a plan that allows a minimal amount to residential waste, along the lines of 1 bag per household, to encourage more of our waste to be diverted to recycling and composting programs.

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes. Some maps show Ottawa as Mohawk Territory.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. I believe we need to do better at consulting with all our communities, including the Algonquin Anishinaabe people and other Indigenous communities on a regular basis. Especially regarding community development, infrastructure, and other policy areas that all require a green lens and are rooted in environmental issues

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. Entirely I would. They are the traditional stewards of this land and have had historical injustices perpetrated against them. They deserve a seat at the table for their voices to be heard and their ideas to be put into action.

Ron Keays

Yes. I will endeavor to keep lines of communication open and active, and listen to any and all concerns raised.

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.

John Redins

Yes.

Hussein Mahmoud

Yes. As the son of Lebanese-Canadian immigrants, part of what inspired me to run was to ensure that we have all the voices of our community represented at city council. I think we need to ensure everyone’s voice is heard, that we’re consulting with community more than just at election time, and that we are listening to the needs of residents from a diverse range of groups before we move forward with decisions that will impact the whole community.

Taylor Houstoun

Yes. Of course! And you would be surprised how similar we are. My ward overlaps both Pierre Poilievre's Riding and David McGuinty's, and yet the voters are unanimous in wanting to protect our greenery across political, economic, and racial divides. I have had no trouble doing this so far and expect that to continue. Ultimately, we all want the same things. It's just a matter of how we get there!

Everyone deserves a seat at the table, and with smart decision making that balances stakeholder interests, we can almost always find a path forward in my experience.

Ron Keays

Yes. Every element of our society should feel included in the decision making process, and I will work with all community groups to ensure they feel represented.

Aria Alavi

Did not participate.

Jessica Bradley

Did not participate.