Ward 15 - Kitchissippi - Ecology Ottawa

Want to know how Ward 15 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 Dan Stringer did not fill out this survey and have been removed from the table.

Ward 15 - Kitchissippi
	Questions	Answers
		Jeff Leiper	Oonagh Fitzgerald	Dan Stringer
1	Will you commit to fully funding and implementing the City of Ottawa’s Energy Evolution Plan?	Yes	Yes	N/A
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	N/A
3	Will you commit to phasing out natural gas infrastructure and prioritize conservation and efficiency over new, renewed or expanded gas infrastructure?	Yes	Yes	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	Yes	N/A
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	Yes	N/A
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	N/A
13	Will you commit to developing strategies that bring Ottawans at all diversity intersections together on environmental issues?	Yes	Yes	N/A
	# Yes	13	13	0
	# No	0	0	0

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

Jeff Leiper

Yes. The City’s Energy Evolution Strategy, which I supported, identifies Priority Projects to be completed by 2025. The City is responsible for ensuring that its own infrastructure and operations meet these goals. But the City alone will not be able to approach the scale of investment required. So, it will be the role of the Mayor and Council to make sure the City’s part is fully funded in future budgets, But it is also our role to seek ways to help and encourage residents to transition their homes and vehicles towards zero emissions, which will take substantial investment from residents and businesses.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. My record speaks for itself. I opposed the expansion of the urban boundary and have consistently supported measures that promote walking, cycling, intensification, and transportation to move towards more and better 15-minute neighbourhoods.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. It has become clear that natural gas is contributing to climate change in a significant way. As we move to electricity generation that is increasingly clean, sustainable, and decreasing emissions, we will need future development to use clean electricity rather than gas.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. This certainly needs to be done both to ensure a sustainable future and for equity. This will need to be done in partnership with other levels of government, which will need to include funding or incentives for retrofits and changes to legislation including the building code provisions governing multiunit buildings.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

It is clear that climate change has already increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including in Ottawa where we have recently seen several severe wind storms that have caused major damage to buildings and infrastructure, and it is likely that climate change has contributed to severe flooding events. Severe heat events are also becoming more frequent. As we move forward, the City will need to incorporate planning for these types of events. I will work to ensure the City's climate resiliency plan is completed and implemented as quickly as possible. Council has directed City staff to move that forward, but I am concerned that the timelines should be more aggressive.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. The process of designing, building, and running the LRT has been plagued with major problems. There has been a failure of leadership and a failure to take responsibility. With major changes coming to City leadership with this election, we should be pushing to ensure that nothing like that is allowed to happen again. Major projects must be done transparently, not in secret. I am looking forward to the results of the ongoing inquiry, which hopefully will allow us to identify clearly what went wrong and avoid repeating these mistakes. I have been a strong voice for accountability over the LRT and will continue to do so. More generally, convenient, affordable, electrified transit will be one of the City's most important contributions to reducing greenhouse gases; I am looking forward to continuing the work of championing a more affordable system, and post-pandemic re-thinking who our transit system serves and how is one of the most exciting prospects of the new term.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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)?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. I have a very strong record in this area and am proud of what we have been able to accomplish in our ward, even with the limited resources available. I will continue to work to ensure that the budgets in this term of Council reflect this as a priority.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. Absolutely. In addition to a 40% city-wide target, there needs to be increased protections of trees and reserved landscaped open space as we intensify our city. I am encouraged by the recent addition of active input from the City forester in Committee of Adjustment applications, which should help protect mature trees. The target may be difficult to achieve in very dense downtown neighbourhoods, but that aspiration should guide our zoning and other Council decisions.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. We need to keep evolving our property standards so that native plants and naturalized lawns and yards are encouraged. It is somewhat of a balancing act to ensure that ”naturalized” isn’t used, for example, by negligent landlords to excuse poor maintenance. But I am sure we can navigate this, and Council recently directed staff to recommend changes to the by-law in this direction. City-owned lands should be prioritized for native plantings and naturalized areas. As a bonus, this leads to saving funds as it decreases the need for constant mowing.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. I have been in favour of this since my first term on Council. The green bin program is mature now and runs smoothly. There is no reason we should not expect every household to use this and not be directing organics into the landfill.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes. I support increased composting but need more information about the need to replace the landfill site or invest in an incinerator

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. I support this idea but want to qualify it as support for charging only for excess garbage. It would penalize low-income households disproportionately if all garbage carried a user fee —user fees are regressive. I would support having a base level of free pickup that reflects what truly cannot be recycled or diverted into the green bins, and charge for exceeding this.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. This should be built into every aspect of City governance, not only environmental policies.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

Did not participate.

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

Jeff Leiper

Yes. Again, this should be true of all aspects of the City, not only in those related to the environment. My record is one of urging the City to commit to real consultation, not just pro forma, with equity-seeking groups.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

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?

Jeff Leiper

Yes. As a member of the Environment Committee in my first term of Council, I was successful in urging Council to adopt more rigorous targets, and those have since become even more so thanks to the work of colleagues. It is critical to be mindful that of the many paths we can pursue to reducing the existential risk of the climate crisis, two that are clearly and directly within the purview of municipalities and that will make the greatest difference are land-use planning and transportation. Where people live, work and play, and how they move between point A and point B will be the focus of two key pieces of work by the next Council: the comprehensive zoning by-law review and the Transportation Master Plan. It is my intention and commitment, if re-elected, to approach both these key undertakings with a climate lens first and foremost.

Oonagh Fitzgerald

Yes.

Dan Stringer

Did not participate.

Ward 15 - Kitchissippi

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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