Ward 19 - Orléans South-Navan

Catherine Kitts

No. We did approve a very robust action plan this term of council and we’ve started putting some of those recommendations into place like retrofitting City facilities to be more energy efficient. We’ve welcomed our first fleet of electric busses which is a step in the right direction. In my opinion, one of the key priorities for tackling climate change will be designing a public transit system that services all the communities in Ottawa. Now, both the rural and suburban areas of Orléans South-Navan are very underserved by efficient transit. 

I agree that the City’s Energy Evolution Plan has been poorly funded and as such has not been implemented in the way that it should. However, with an increase in the cost of living, rising inflation and a looming recession, I have made a commitment to keeping taxes low and life affordable for the residents of our city. While we absolutely must ramp up reallocating funds to the plan, it is difficult to commit to fully funding it without knowing what other services would need to be cut in order to spend $600M annually. This will be an important conversation as we approach budget season.  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. To me, it is an easy question. Major financial investments have in the past shown to be extremely worth it in the long run. The city's Energy Evolution Plan not only makes life more affordable in the long-term, but also benefits our environment at a crucial point in time where climate action is beyond necessary. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. We need to build communities where you don’t need to take your car for every errand. You can walk, cycle, jump on a bike or an efficient transit route to get where you need to go and that would allow us to intensify within our current urban boundary. Unfortunately the majority of Orléans South-Navan has not been developed in this way, and moving forward on the Cumberland Transitway is essential to the healthy growth of my community.  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. I was disappointed in the outcome of the vote that passed to extend the urban boundary. I am very much in favour of further exploring and developing the 15 minute neighbourhood. It is an eco-friendly and more socially equitable way of designing our cities.  

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. I think that this is a challenging question for my ward given that I represent both suburban and rural residents. In the rural areas, there is already a lack of infrastructure entirely and many are concerned about the impacts that wind energy will have on their farms. However, I do agree that in order to achieve Ottawa’s targets we will need to make concerted efforts and collaborate across all levels of government. This is why I did support the calls and the letter submitted this winter to the Ministry of Energy to set a standard for five per cent renewable natural gas by 2024 and explore a 10 per cent standard by 2028. Furthermore, in that January 2022 letter in order for the city to meet its phasing out goals, the City advocated for the exploration of adding of new renewable energy resources and re-powering existing renewable energy projects. Using the example of Quebec’s approach to renewable natural gas, the city of Ottawa is looking to generate renewable natural gas from its wastewater and solid waste facilities that could be of benefit to meeting a renewable natural gas standard in Ontario.  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. Absolutely- I would love to work with Ecology Ottawa to support shift in our city to renewable energy. I do not believe natural gas infrastructure is sustainable nor in our future. We need to be looking at what we want Ottawa to look like in 5 years from now. We create the city we want to see and clean, renewable efficient energy is in that city. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. I voted in favour of the City developing High-Performance Development Standards that will support sustainable and resilient design in new developments. It seeks to apply minimum performance measures to new development through the review and approval of site plan and plan of subdivision applications. It includes metrics that will protect our environment, public health and safety, and respond to climate change. 

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. Absolutely! As a city we need affordable housing, but we also need it to be safe, reliable, and smart. As people are already struggling to get by, it should not be on the tenants to ensure their homes are energy efficient; that should be a given. I am very much in favour of making sure all current city operated buildings and all apartment buildings are retrofitted to be more environmentally friendly. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. Absolutely. I think we saw the devastating impacts of climate change with the May 21 storm that leveled my rural communities, and while other levels of government have let us down in response, I felt extremely supported by the City during this catastrophic event. However, every time we experience a disaster of this nature, we learn a lot about how we can better respond in the future. It will be critical to review past responses and plan ahead to improve.  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. Of course! As we saw with the May storm, we need to ensure that buildings and people in them are safe. But prevention is most important, the reason we see unpredictable weather is because of climate change. As the capital of a G7 country, we should be leader in implementing climate change solutions. It is a must to ensure the safety of our neighbours in extreme weather conditions as well as prevent them by helping the environment as much as possible. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. Absolutely. One of my largest priorities is moving forward with enhanced public transit in Orléans South-Navan. East end residents want reliable transit options, but the stalemate with the NCC over the Brian Coburn extension / Cumberland Transitway have forced my community to grow in an unhealthy, car-dependent way. If we want to continue to develop in this area, the time is now to address this issue so that we can build sustainable, 15-minute communities in Orléans South.  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. Transit is at the forefront of my platform for these reasons. No one in Ottawa should be stressed due to our transit system. It should be affordable, accessible, and reliable. The fact that it's not is a major issue. There was a lot of corruption and misteps regarding the LRT contracts and we need to have a government that will be transparent with tax payers and make decisions in the best interest of Ottawans. We need to hold our current city council accountable for how bad our transit has gotten and ensure that people who value transit and transparency are in government. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. Traffic safety and traffic concerns continue to be one of the top complaints brought forward to my office since elected. Again, moving forward on the Brian Coburn extension would create safe cycling infrastructure in my ward and remove cars from the environmentally sensitive and dangerous Renaud Road where cyclists have tragically been killed. The transportation infrastructure deficit in my ward must be addressed. Additionally, I was able to secure $10 million in road resurfacing for our ward in this most recent budget cycle and that included adding or renewing paved shoulders on some of our biggest arterials. The trouble with the east end is that we have great pathways but many missing links for active transportation to truly make sense. This is why investing in key infrastructure and ensuring that our roads are in good condition is an investment for multiple road users.  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. We need to make this city as accessible as possible. With the cost of living rising, bus fares being too high, and cars becoming more and more expensive, it is becoming extremely hard to live in Ottawa. We need to invest in creating more sidewalks and bike paths on all roads. We need to ensure people feel safe in these areas as well and have options to get around our city. We must extend this to every part of Ottawa, from the centre of the city to the rural areas. Creating more safe biking and walking infrastructure is not only in the best interest of people, but also in the best interest of our environment and climate.

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. I was in support of this By-Law and its implementation. I have been very clear since being elected in 2020 that I would work in the best interest of residents, and a great example is Nantes Woods in my community. It was an urban forest in Avalon, slated for development, I was told it’s a done deal and when I got elected I looked for a creative solution. I worked closely with the community association, with City staff and the developer to achieve a land swap so that Regional Group could build in a location that made more sense given the infrastructure requirements for the intensification being proposed. This allowed for us to save a precious urban forest and ensure continued greenspace for the community.  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. Part of my climate action plan is to ensure more trees are planted every year and are properly taken care of. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. I am in support of increasing targets, and supported Councillor Dudas’ motion to explore feasibility of naturalizing right-of-way front yards. I would be cautious about allocating funds, however; I think we can achieve this through partnering with organizations like Just Food to increase the number of community gardens in our City, and community organizations who are committed to naturalization projects, like lending my support to the Greater Avalon Community Associations biodiversity initiatives.  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. Another part of my climate action plan is to create more greenspace as well as maintain and protect the ones we have. As a council, it is necessary to go over the city budget and increase how much we're spending to protect our species and environment. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. I think that we need to look to other municipalities and how they have incentivized compliance with recycling and the green-bin programs. City staff have shared how Ottawa’s vision is to be a zero-waste city, but the reality is we are having challenges tackling green bin use in multi-residential buildings, how we manage garbage and recycling in parks and the role technology can play in future waste management (incineration!). I think that we need to make it easy for people to actively engage with this issue, and while I am interested in seeing what the Solid Waste Master Plan will suggest later this year, I think that we can make small steps, like having green bin waste available in city parks. Think about how much dog waste from parks could then be diverted rather than going into the solid waste bins?  

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. Absolutely, I believe in educating the public on how to recycle and compost properly. I also look forward to working with Waste Management groups to find environmentally friendly options for waste disposal. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

No. While I am in favour of this system in theory, I have concerns about whether this will lead to an increase in illegal dumping in rural areas and City parks. Before this is implemented, we would need a robust strategy to address this issue. I am also concerned about how this will impact those that are the most economically vulnerable or our business communities. Before committing to this, I would be interested in seeing the data on this type of initiative to see the impacts both from an environmental and compliance perspective, but also does it disadvantage those that are not able to pay for the additional bags (but that that are more affluent can pay), and what are the impacts on illegal dumping. I would favour incentive-based initiatives, but agree that we must act swiftly to divert more waste.  

Yvette Ashiri

No.  

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. Absolutely. I was proud to vote in favour of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation Consultative Culture Circle and believe this role can be expanded to guide and respond to implementation of environmental policies.   

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. Absolutely- there is so much we can learn from Indigenous cultures in regards to the environment and more partnership with Algonquin Anishinaabe and other Indigenous peoples excites me and is something I look forward to working towards as city councillor. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

Yes. Absolutely. I was elected on the promise of being a collaborative leader and responsive to my community concerns, and I am proud that I kept that promise. I feel that there should have been greater respect to all members of different community groups and their differing opinions throughout this past term of council. 

Yvette Ashiri

Yes. This is actually the number one reason I decided to run for city councillor. I have been fortunate in my career to work with so many different people of so many different backgrounds. Ward-19's is growing more and more everyday and we need to foster that growth and ensure everyone feels heard, seen and included. This is why I held the first ever Orléans Multicultural Festival this summer right here in Orléans South Navan. At the end of the day, we all have the same goal: to make Ottawa better and greener for everyone. I would be honoured to bring many more diverse voices to the table to discuss Ottawa's climate change strategy. 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.

Catherine Kitts

n/a

Yvette Ashiri

n/a 

Shamsa Sheikh Ahmed

Did not participate.