Ward 24 - Barrhaven East

Want to know how Ward 24 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 Dominik Janelle did not fill out this survey and have been removed from the table.

Ward 24 - Barrhaven East
  Questions Answers
    Kathleen Caught Wilson Lo Pat Brennan Richard Garrick Guy Boone Atiq Qureshi
1 Will you commit to fully funding and implementing the City of Ottawa’s Energy Evolution Plan?  Yes No Yes 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 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 No No Yes No 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 Yes No 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 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 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 No 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 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 No 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 Yes Yes Yes Yes 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 No No Yes No
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 No 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 Yes Yes
  # Yes 13 10 9 11 11 11
  # No 0 3 4 2 2 2

Guy Boone

Yes. Agree in principal, but need to understand more of the "Energy Evolution" program details.

Pat Brennan

Yes. Energy transition must be done in an orderly way. There needs to be commitment from all levels of government in funding initiatives.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. It's a costly approach. In theory yes but for example there is barely any wind in Ottawa compared to places like NB where they are constantly in motion.  There is differing views on type of alternative energy some say nuclear is good others say it is on a fault line at Chalk River and the Indigenous community has not approved it. Has this been given to the indigenous communities for their input ? Please as long as no windmills are a part of this. 

Richard Garrick

Yes. I would support the funding of this initiative as I believe that this is an important strategy, however we must also consider that our community has seen major changes since 2020 with the pandemic and rising cost of living. As a city we must balance our focus to meet the needs of residents as well as looking to ensure net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

Wilson Lo

No. We have to move towards renewable energy, but it has to be done responsibly without shocking people's wallets. This is not a yes-or-no question for me, I think it's item-by-item within the plan. So yes in principle with a big asterisk?

Atiq Qureshi

No. I will keep the Hybrid Approach, until I will fully agree with the cost analysis which I do not have at this time. Cost Accounting is my subject, I will not run blindly to any subject until thoroughly evaluate it.  

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. Ward 24 is far from being a "15-minute neighborhoods", but more progress can be made.

Pat Brennan

Yes. I think walkable neighborhoods are important given not only the reduction in vehicles but the high price of oil and gas. Any exceptions must have compelling reasons.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. I am in favour of this. Prefer to reduce use of cars and not expand the footprint. And create Strong Towns  as a movement that will bring wealth back to communities as per the StrongTown movement in USA. 

Richard Garrick

Yes. With the approval of the 25 year plan for the urban boundary to grow to accommodate the expected 450,000 new residents that are forecasted to make their home in Ottawa, I believe that this expansion would suffice, based on the projections. I would commit to supporting more 15 minute neighborhoods throughout the city of Ottawa, not just in the urban core. 

Wilson Lo

Yes.

I am against any further expansion of the urban boundary--we will lose valuable farmland and will have to continue funding services that go farther and farther. My platform is a consequence of the recent expansion.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes.   

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

No. Although we encourage the development of Greener Energy, we will need to rely on Natural Gas for some time.  We can not cut our Natural Gas source until other Green Energy is available.

Pat Brennan

No. We will need natural gas to heat and cool our homes because of our climate. Until we find an alternative natural gas is necessary.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. But I don't believe this is a municipal issue to decide.

Richard Garrick

Yes. When the OEB denied this pipeline it was done so due to the City of Ottawa’s Energy Evolution Plan. We need to always work to ensure that our infrastructure projects are efficient and conserve to meet the goals that the city has set.

Wilson Lo

No. More of an in-between. Failing to replace aging non-renewable infrastructure can cause more environmental harm, but agree with the need to move to renewable.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes. 

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

No. This is a challenge, and requires a balanced approach.

Pat Brennan

Yes. My preference is to provide incentives(tax credits) to owners of buildings to do retrofits to improve efficiency and minimize the burden on tenants. 

Kathleen Caught

Yes. There will soon be an energy audit available on Ottawa and this could be a way to have landlords commit as well. I believe we have to bring landlords into alignment with this thinking they must be accountable for their investments and maintained to our standards.

Richard Garrick

Yes. I believe we need to work with our community to ensure that our older homes and residences are able to be as energy efficient as possible. This is an opportunity to work with all levels of government to secure funding and incentivize current building owners and their tenants to retrofit and modernize their aging buildings. Working with our federal and provincial partners, we should look to offer things like rebate programs for energy efficient upgrades. These programs exist but can be expanded on and more information needs to be shared with our residents to ensure they know how to access the current programs.

Wilson Lo

No. Solar panels and small wind turbines on rooftops are a great start. Retrofits should happen when major renovations are scheduled.

Atiq Qureshi

No.

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. 

Pat Brennan

Yes. We have to do what we can for people through the use of city facilities during extreme climate events.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. 

Richard Garrick

Yes. It is important that all residents, including our most vulnerable, are safe during emergency situations. This includes ensuring that generators are located in community centres and other areas to support the needs of residents during these events. 

Wilson Lo

Yes. Resiliency projects benefit everyone.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes.  

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. 

Pat Brennan

Yes. It is my #1 priority city issue. We have to move forward on LRT and make OC Transpo better. So much funding on transportation to not have it perform better is not acceptable.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. Once we get people back on the buses and trains as weay need to pivot and realign when and where buses go. Empty buses is too costly. As well reducing our need for 2 and three plus car families. Creating many alternatives to get us off our addiction to cars/

Richard Garrick

Yes. There is a loss of faith in our transit system from Paratranspo to buses to the LRT. Our system should be accessible, affordable and balanced with rider satisfaction at its core value.

Wilson Lo

Yes. Large part of my platform takes action on making transit more attractive, rather than simply promoting it. The best marketing for transit is its users, not hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on marketing.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes. I will for sure looking for collaboration between crown corporation i.e., Via Rail & City to bring commuter trains on existing Via Rail track, which goes through 7 wards 1/3 Ottawa population lives in those wards. It is topmost priority of my platform. 

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. 

Pat Brennan

Yes. Restoring confidence in transit is critical. There will be more users when this occurs which will reduce vehicle traffic. Right now many people have gone back to driving their vehicles because of their frustration(unreliable) with LRT and OC Transpo. This trend needs to be reversed. The utilization of bike paths in the winter months can be challenging for cyclists.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. In order to create 15 minute neighborhood this is important. We have created stroads not streets and roads which have reduced the wealth within communities and created problems like stunt driving. 

Richard Garrick

No. The way this question was worded, I had to say no. When the question says “city-wide” this is something that would be great to see but would not always be feasible. Interconnected protected bike lanes may not always be possible in rural and suburban areas. Ottawa is a large city and our residents from the very ends from Vernon to Cumberland to Dunrobin would not have the infrastructure for protected bike lanes. That being said we need to ensure our cyclists are as safe as possible when they choose to ride, city wide.  Where possible and where the need exists, we should always look for ways to achieve this goal.

Wilson Lo

Yes, but it has to be done in a reasonable timeframe. There are labour, material, equipment, and disruptions to people's lives to consider. Preferably, these should be done as road renewals happen where possible.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes. I pitched elevated bike lanes last time when I ran for Ward3. I will keep that for all new communities or roads coming up in future

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. 

Pat Brennan

Yes. I am in agreement we need trees. I will review the new Tree Protection by-law to have a better understanding of recommended targets.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. I think it should be a higher number. More trees on sidewalks is a priority

Richard Garrick

Yes. Where and when possible, we should always be looking to plant trees and increase our green space.  Trees need to be planted in safe and secure locations in all neighbourhoods and we should always strive to find ways to reduce pollution and increase our health and well-being.  

Wilson Lo

Yes. Trees also do wonders for calming traffic and making our communities look nicer. Felt this while canvassing in July and August.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes.

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. 

Pat Brennan

No. I am in favour of biodiversity and the conservation of existing greenspace  which is owned publicly. I need to know the costs to the city to enable me to make an informed decision.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. Absolutely. In 85 years the soil is expected to be devoid of microbiome a needed for our nutrition. The more we can naturalize the better 

Richard Garrick

Yes. I believe that we need to protect our existing green spaces. We need to also make sure that the property standards bylaws reflect the needs of our community.  When properties aren’t cared for properly this could lead to issues with neighbouring homes and the community overall. Rodents, wildlife and insects can cause health and safety concerns so we need to ensure that our properties are maintained properly.

Wilson Lo

Yes. Would love to explore bioswales and wildflower avenues for Barrhaven where fences back against collector roads.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes.

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. 

Pat Brennan

Yes. I like incineration.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. It is my hope to create all season greenhouse for public housing high schools and retirement homes so that they can feed themselves and provide vegetables to local grocery stores and foodbanks. There are models available on the world that take up less than a city block and could be done within the community without it being a big deal.

Richard Garrick

Yes. I am a big supporter of the green bin program. I believe that with the expanded list of items that can now be placed in the green bins it has made this program even more convenient for residents to use.  We need to ensure that our residents have the information on this updated program to better encourage its use.  Like the energy retrofits of buildings, we should be working with our building owners to ensure that they too partake in organic recycling in their buildings.

Wilson Lo

Yes. We also need programmes to recycle textiles and styrofoam, plus a strategy to take back disposable vapes, as most contain a lithium-ion battery that's rechargeable.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes. 

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. More consultation is needed before introduction of a User Pay model.

Pat Brennan

No. Residents pay property taxes so I don't support an additional user pay system.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. As well consider user pay for commercial use of our infrastructure 

Richard Garrick

No. I don't believe I would support this.  Our residents are already feeling the impacts of higher costs of of living and adding this cost would be too much for some.  At a time when it is getting harder to buy groceries we can't expect our residents to start paying for their garbage removal as well. Instead we need to work with our residents to inform them of the situation at our landfill and the impact of their waste.  More education needs to be done to explain what can be recycled as there may be items that are being thrown out when they could be recycled. I would also like to work in our communities to come up with ways to recycle and donate many of these larger items that go into the landfill. Why not work with community partners like thrift stores, non-profits and other companies to allow our residents to donate items easier. 

Wilson Lo

No. I think it's a bad idea. Residents who don't want to pay might move their bags to an abiding neighbour's or resort to illegal dumping or use our park bins. Rather than charge, we can improve the recycling and compost programmes to nudge people in a better direction.

Atiq Qureshi

No.  

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes.

Pat Brennan

No. The Algonquin Anishinaabe people are welcome to provide input.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. Absolutely. My grandchildren are Indigenous and stewardship of the land is their natural awareness. Their leadership should be what guides us.

Richard Garrick

Yes. 

Wilson Lo

Yes. I am in favour of this.

Atiq Qureshi

Yes.   

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Yes. 

Pat Brennan

Yes. We owe it to future generations to become as eco-friendly as possible.

Kathleen Caught

Yes. Community counts. We need more with a feminine nature at the table of City Hall to bring collaboration and a caring approach that comes naturally 

Richard Garrick

Yes. I am in favour of this.

Wilson Lo

Yes. I think both of these are straightforward yes/no questions and don't require an explanation. :)

Atiq Qureshi

Yes. 

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

Guy Boone

Sustainability has everything to do with being a resistant City & having Smart Infrastructure.

Pat Brennan

I support ideas, goals and commitments on climate change/environmental issues as long  as the actions are effective.

Kathleen Caught

To assist with people pairing down from 3 cars to 1 car or less setting up communauto or similar services within our community is an objective as is reinstating neighborhood watch to bring community together on many issues. All season greenhouses for public housing, retirement homes and schools to produce fresh vegetables and to encourage entrepreneurial activity to sell to grocery store and or give to foodbanks. Let's take it up as a way to work on solutions. Look at StrongTowns movement to gain insights to working as a community that is not about accomodation of traffic but one that sustains human life. Bring neighborhood watch program into affect to bring community back together for safety for collaborating and for building Trust across cultures and ages and for better neighborhood representation at city level. Our young people are at present to busy to volunteer but at this level they could. Use teletranspo model to book a seat on transit to avoid empty buses or cancelled buses. Good things happen when we work together.

Richard Garrick

n/a

Wilson Lo

n/a

Atiq Qureshi

I will definitely look into the previous council decision about dumping atomic waste by chalk river. Graduated with Physics, know very well what will come to us in future. 

Dominik Janelle

Did not participate. 

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