#547 - You actually want more of the same?

Ottawa Keeps Making the Same Mistake. The Mistake Is How We Decide.

From the last streetcar to the LRT inquiry, the pattern is the same: the people who could catch a bad decision are the ones kept from seeing it.

1. 1891 Electric streetcars begin running in Ottawa.
2. 1948 The city buys the Ottawa Electric Railway and creates the Ottawa Transportation Commission.
3. May 1959 The last streetcar runs. The tracks are dismantled within a year.
4. 1967 The city considers rapid transit on the corridor it just cleared.
5. 2019 The Confederation Line opens, after a 16-month delay.
6. 2021 Two serious derailments. The province calls a public inquiry.
7. Nov 2022 The inquiry reports: “egregious violations of the public trust.”
8. Nov 2025 Former mayor Jim Watson receives the Order of Ottawa.
9. Jul 2026 The legal deadline for freedom of information requests moves from 30 calendar days to 45 business days.

In May 1959, 25,000 people lined the streets to watch Ottawa’s last streetcars parade downtown. Within a year the tracks were gone. The city had no concrete plan for the right-of-way it had just cleared. In 1967, it considered building rapid transit on the very corridor it had pulled up.

Sixty years later, we are still paying for that cycle.

The 1950s: expert consensus, no challenge

The experts of the day were not fools. The streetcar system had fallen into financial trouble and had an aging fleet. A consultant survey recommended buses, and planning ideas of the era, including the Gréber Plan, favoured removing rail from downtown. Cities across North America were making the same call.

That is the point. When every expert agrees and nobody inside the system has a reason to dissent, a bad idea can spread across a whole continent. The failure wasn’t stupidity. It was the absence of a mechanism to challenge the consensus.

The LRT: the same pattern, with better paperwork

The Ottawa LRT Public Inquiry gave us the most detailed public record we will ever get. Justice Hourigan found that both the city and Rideau Transit Group lost sight of the public interest amid political pressure to rush the $2.1-billion project. He called the timelines “entirely unrealistic.”

Then he turned to what the city did with the information. Council wasn’t told that the testing criteria had been lowered to let the line pass its final testing phase. Critical information about trial running went only to the mayor’s office and the chair of the transit commission. The commissioner concluded that the conduct of senior staff and the mayor “irreparably compromised” council’s oversight.

The people responsible for catching the problem were the people kept from seeing it.

That is a design flaw, and it didn’t go away when the individuals did.

And then, a medal

In November 2025, former mayor Jim Watson received the Order of Ottawa, an award created in 2012 under his own tenure. Its selection committee is made up of senior city officials and the mayor or deputy mayor. Mayor Sutcliffe said he does not endorse everything Watson did. Watson himself apologized after the inquiry and said he took “full responsibility.”

I’m not arguing that Watson didn’t earn recognition for a long career. I’m asking what a city is telling itself when the person at the centre of a “persistent failures in leadership” finding and egregious betrayal of the public trust is honoured by the same institution, with no public conversation about what the honour means.

And what about the rest of council? The inquiry did not blame council as a whole. It found council was kept in the dark. Yet council also voted against a judicial inquiry in 2021, and it was the province that called one. Responsibility is shared, and I haven’t heard a councillor say plainly what theirs was.

Asking questions shouldn’t take months

Here is what finding out looks like. I filed a freedom of information request. As of today, months later, I have no decision / not even a a partial response]. In Ontario, the legal timeline was 30 calendar days. As of July 1, 2026, it is 45 business days. By any count, I am well past it.

I don’t know why. It could be a backlog, a complex search, or something else, and I won’t pretend to know. But a records process only helps if you already know what to ask for. It cannot compel disclosure of information that was kept off the record to begin with. That is exactly what the inquiry found happened with the LRT.

The pattern

• A small circle controls the information.
• Deadlines are set by politics, not readiness.
• Nobody independent checks the technical claims.
• Consequences are rare and recognition is common.
• Reforms follow crises instead of preventing them.

How to break out

The inquiry made 103 recommendations. I’d start with these:

1. An independent overseer for major projects, reporting directly to council or the transit commission, which is what the report recommended.
2. Acceptance and testing criteria written into contracts, so they can’t be quietly lowered.
3. Publish by default. Contracts, test results, and reliability data should be public without a request.
4. Equal information for all councillors. No decision-relevant report should go to the mayor and a committee chair first.
5. Published post-project reviews that name who was responsible and what changed.
6. Automatic escalation of overdue access requests, so a missed deadline triggers action instead of silence.

Credit where it’s due: the city says the Trillium Line testing will run longer and be more transparent than the Confederation Line’s. That’s a step. But it is a promise, not a structure, and promises don’t survive the next deadline.

What I’m asking for

I’m not asking you to believe Ottawa is run by incompetent people. I’m asking you to look at a system that sorts good information away from the people who need it, and that has done it more than once. Fix the structure, and the people inside it can do better work. Leave it, and we will be writing this post again in 2060.

Vote Differently, Vote Wisely, Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe.

#546 Attrocious Civic Disengagement -Rogers Debate Videos

Rogers Debates and views - all 24

Rogers Debates and views - all 24

Ottawa 2026 ward debates: weekly YouTube views

Rogers TV debate videos for the 22 contested wards, sorted by total views. Each bar is split by the period in which the views arrived. Ward 13 (Rideau-Rockcliffe) is highlighted.

Up to Sep 12 Sep 12–18 Sep 18–24 Sep 24–Oct 3/5 Click a bar or ward label to open its video

Weekly views by ward debate. See the table below for totals and links.

Notes on the data

• Weekly figures are differences between the snapshots recorded on the blog post (Sep 12, 18, 24, then Oct 3 for Wards 1–13 and Oct 5 for Wards 14 onward). The last period is 9 days for Wards 1–13 and 11 days for the rest, so those last segments run slightly long.
• Wards 18–24 were posted after Sep 12, so they have no grey segment.
• Wards 16 (River) and 21 (Rideau-Jock) were acclaimed, so there is no debate.
• Date typos in the source were read as: Ward 5 "Sep 19" as Sep 18, Ward 14 "2036" as 2026, Ward 12 "20260013" as Sep 13, Ward 20 "20260824" as Sep 24.
• Ward 23 is recorded as 481 views on Sep 15 and 133 on Sep 18. Cumulative views cannot fall, so one figure is probably a typo; it is plotted as recorded and its second-period bar is likely overstated.
• Ward 4 links to the full debate; the 118-view highlights clip is not included.

Debate videos

Ward	Total views	Video

i An approximation of the number of eligible voters by ward and the expected turnout at 40%

#545 Blog Summaries #398 - #544

save time, go directly to #250

Synopses of Blog Posts #398 through #544 – peterkarwacki.blogspot.com – Chronological Order

Short synopses of each numbered entry from #398 (10 August 2026) to #544 (4 October 2026). Each title links to the original article.

#398 – Who Would Bike on St. Laurent?

Critiques the St. Laurent transit-priority EA against all-ages-and-abilities cycling standards and rejects shared bus-bike lanes and slip lanes in favour of a continuous protected track.

#399 – Why No Coverage?

Argues media focus on the mayoral race distorts local democracy, even though ward councillors vote equally on budgets and infrastructure.

#400 – Moodie is a washout – just add it to the LRT list

Canada Day rain eroded ballast at Moodie; calls for a real hydraulic redesign and a 2027 third-party audit of LRT weather resilience.

#401 – The Night zzzzMayor

ROI analysis of the roughly $200K/year Nightlife Commissioner office against a $1.5B nighttime economy, used as a case for data-backed performance metrics.

#402 – Yes, Somebody is Looking

Campaign blog analytics (3,889 page views); a detailed paper trail forces opponents onto the record.

#403 – The Auditor General – make them a strong one

Critiques By-law 2021-5 limits on the Auditor General and wants value-for-money scope and published limits on audits such as Lansdowne.

#404 – A Garbage Can Case Study

A multi-year delay placing park garbage bins illustrates staff versus council authority; favours systematic audits over informal requests.

#405 – What a councillor does

Explains the limits of ward advocacy versus council’s corporate authority, and how motions and audits can reform staff bottlenecks.

#406 – Manor Park Finally Pops a Question

Candidate background (health finance, BI analytics, federal consulting) and ward priorities: transit routes 6, 7 and 12, stormwater, heritage.

#407 – K1K Insolvency Warning Signs

Tracks 427 consumer insolvency filings in K1K over 30 months and projects rises through 2027 as federal jobs are cut.

#408 – Pattern Recognition – Do you recognize it?

Council’s reactive pattern on the Convoy, LRT and flooding; proposes independent audits, climate standards and non-police response models.

#409 – Little Johnny’s Report Card

Grades the 2022–26 council term: fiscal B+, housing B, public safety C, accountability B, transit and infrastructure D+, overall C+.

#410 – Onward: Flood Control

Mid-century storm infrastructure cannot handle 100 mm+ rain; prioritizes surcharged trunk upgrades, O-Train power hardening and creek dredging.

#411 – Street People – ANCHOR to the rescue!

Compares housing and social models; backs indoor day and recovery space plus public-space enforcement, citing ANCHOR’s 92% non-police resolution rate.

#412 – ANCHOR vrs. Ottawa Police Service: we are not in balance

Notes the 1:130 funding gap ($414.9M vs $3.2M) and would shift 2–3% of the police budget to 24/7 civilian mental-health response.

#413 – No more blind faith

Parallels federal scandals with local opacity on LRT procurement; replace unearned trust with continuous verification.

#414 – Pendulum swings – we are at the limit

Compassionate policy needs both supportive housing beds and enforceable public-space rules, plus community and household self-reliance.

#415 – Enforce those bylaws!

On By-law 2019-241 (smoking and vaping): resource existing officers, resolve NCC jurisdiction gaps and publish ticket metrics instead of adding rules.

#416 – Whistle blowers – do we support them enough?

Reviews weak protection for municipal whistleblowers on major projects; wants provincial backing and structured disclosure channels.

#417 – Inside the Black Box

Cites Auditor General findings on OPS overruns, outdated staffing models and body-camera reporting gaps; would tie budgets to external annual audits.

#418 – OPS – Trust but verify!

Respect for police paired with verification: body-camera data, Auditor General oversight and transparent race-based data.

#419 – King Newsletter KINGO

Treats ward newsletters as self-promotion and proposes an audit view that tracks unresolved files such as the St-Laurent tunnel.

#420 – A splakin’ and a spawlin’

City, Alstom and Texelis dispute loose axle-bearing cartridges and spalling; no shared root cause five years into operations.

#421 – Just the basics at the pond please

McKay Pond lacks AEDs, ring buoys and reach poles; asks for low-cost life-safety equipment at unmonitored swimming sites.

#422 – Hold the Line on LRT testing!

Warns against lowering pass marks as in 2019 and wants the 21-day fault-free trial-running threshold kept for Blair to Trim.

#423 – We Need Parking and we need Housing

Critiques Orléans Town Centre density without resident parking or funded LRT stations; wants binding transportation demand management.

#424 – Out and about by bike

Field audit of good and hazardous cycling infrastructure, including the St. Laurent and Coventry intersection.

#425 – Inform yourselves! Then Vote Differently and Wisely

Urges voters in low-turnout wards to read records and platforms rather than default to incumbent name recognition.

#426 – 2001: A Placement Oddity

BMDA executive turnover and reduced merchant representation; asks for open searches and merchant voting rights ahead of ByWard’s 200th.

#427 – For the “How” – I’m your man

Applies the ADKAR change model to oversight: quarterly liability reviews, sunset clauses and targeted committee work.

#428 – Dividend? Infrastructure not LRT

Ring-fence Hydro Ottawa’s $20M+ annual dividend in a reserve for the $1.23B renewal gap rather than LRT or P3 debt service.

#429 – Layin’ Pipe

Parkwood Hills basement flooding from 2-year-storm combined sewers; asks for catchment studies and 100-year-standard upgrades.

#430 – How’s that working for you?

Tests the 2022 Anti-Racism Strategy against local hate-crime metrics and calls for an independent, outcome-based review.

#431 – LRT – How we got here from there

Traces council LRT votes from 2006 to 2021 and how early unanimity and procedure squeezed out oversight.

#432 – Bill 60 – Bike lanes on St. Laurent should be safe

Provincial Bill 60 constraints on bike lane design; demands disclosure of which segments need redesign or approval.

#433 – Meaningful Feedback

Grassroots campaign reflections; values substantive policy conversations over yard-sign counts.

#434 – Rideau-Rockcliffe top ten list

Ten 2026–30 ward challenges: St-Laurent tunnel repairs, $29.3M shelter costs, infrastructure debt, property crime, climate risk, federal job cuts, gentrification.

#435 – Recommendations to The OPS Board

Board needs accurate data and independent investigative capacity; recalls the closed investigations office and the Auditor General’s finding of vague reporting.

#436 – If you are 18 you should vote

Turnout appeal to first-time voters: sub-40% turnout concentrates power among the already organized.

#437 – Built Heritage Blow Hard

Says heritage “character” is used as a veto in advantaged pockets while the rest of the ward absorbs change; wants published criteria.

#438 – LRT and OC Transpo: no easy fixes, and “scrap it” is not an option

Summary table of the transit crisis; rejects both complacency and abandonment and wants a published reliability program.

#439 – Tomorrow Nominations Close

Nomination close is when the field becomes real; urges demanding comparable platforms and a debate.

#440 – And the library board?

King sits on the board that approved the new central library; asks why trustees escape accountability for scope and cost growth.

#441 – Future LRT Oriented rule mismatch – how AI could have helped

LRT was governed by rules for a future network; proposes present-tense operating rules and AI-assisted audit of maintenance and incident logs.

#442 – Gimmicks and Backslapping Endorsements

Argues voters should weigh voting records and delivery plans over endorsements and photo ops.

#443 – Lord, Give me a sign!

Core campaign tenets: transparency, a single term, evidence first, outcomes over outputs.

#444 – Four FOUR!!! Hooks, Slices and Duffs

Golf analogy contrasting outcome-blind representation with data-driven, structured governance.

#445 – Rideau Rockcliffe Must Show Leadership for the East End Crossing

Backs a sixth interprovincial crossing to take trucks off King Edward and Rideau; regional leadership versus local NIMBY opposition.

#446 – In broad daylight – still no question

St. Laurent station concrete risks, and no ward-level questions at RTO transit briefings on feeder routes 7 and 12.

#447 – Hemlock and St. Laurent – circle it

Proposes a roundabout instead of another signal cycle and asks for a published options drawing.

#448 – Ward 13 Connection – money to the ByWard Market and tourism

Wants a flow-of-funds table showing what downtown tourism spending costs and returns for Ward 13.

#449 – Trade War Will Create Fiscal Pressure – ward 13 is not immune

Tariff shocks will reach construction bids, tax capacity and transit budgets; urges restraint on discretionary capital and honest asset-backlog reporting.

#450 – Keeping it simple for voters

Restates the platform as a short list: oversight, open data, practical bus stops, separated bike routes, the east-end crossing and one term.

#451 – Keeping it simple

Door-step version of #450: a project manager versus a communicator, framed as binary choices.

#452 – Bike Ottawa Questions

Supports physically separated routes over painted lanes and asks Bike Ottawa for delivery and winter-maintenance scorecards.

#453 – Hybrid Warfare is Still Warfare

Tariffs and supply-chain coercion have municipal costs; plan for fiscal restraint, resilience and honest communication.

#454 – Another look at 12 wards

Models cutting 24 wards to 12 (about $4–6M a year saved) and argues councillor incentives and oversight must change too.

#455 – It’s time for a Real Alignment

Compares Sutcliffe, Leiper, Lawson and Saravanamuttoo against his published positions in a bingo-style table.

#456 – Aristotle’s back in town

Residents versus citizens: low turnout leaves the ward governed by a minority; three civic acts beyond voting.

#457 – Bus Shelters for King but not really for you

A citywide 61-stop accessibility project relayed as a local win; five of seven ward sites get only landing pads.

#458 – Blog Summaries – keeping it simple for you

Digest of posts #397–#457 with linked titles and short synopses.

#459 – Pipe the Poop

A known sewage outfall discharges by the New Edinburgh Boathouse; proposes extending the pipe past the swim area while West Rockcliffe and Manor Park separation and the Hemlock station upgrade wait on federal approval.

#460 – More and better water testing at the boathouse please

Weekly E. coli cultures are too slow after combined-sewer overflows (218,820 m³ after the 1 July storm); wants sensors to trigger rapid enzymatic or qPCR tests and a public swim-advice feed.

#461 – Moodie LRT – Only a Redesign will do

The 1 July washout moved more than 300 metres of Moodie ballast; argues only a raised formation and flow redirected off Corkstown Yard will do, not like-for-like replacement.

#462 – Li’l Abner’s Joe Btfsplk Searching for a Pattern

Uses Joe Btfsplk for Nepean’s repeating weather hits (2018 tornado, 2023 floods, Canada Day rain, Moodie washout) and backs a mesoscale review plus a raised, slab-track rebuild.

#463 – Incumbents Win 100% of the time until they don’t

Sets the incumbency math: King took 80% (8,491 votes) in 2022 after a 2019 by-election win on under 6% of eligible voters; about 40% turnout makes an upset the exception.

#464 – Trump Street – Nobody wants to live on “A-hole Way”

Calls the Trump Avenue rename debate a distraction from transit, housing and roads; notes the 2021 resident tie and the cost of overriding the name for 62 households.

#465 – Oh Goody – Another Televised Debate

Critiques the 11 September 9 a.m. Rogers slot; the 2022 Ward 13 tape drew about 800 views, so accountability has to move to clips and unscripted questions.

#466 – East End Crossing

Campaign video on the East End Crossing, with a pointer to the campaign page and the open federal consultation.

#467 – One more time – Yes to Sidewalks

Sidewalks should go in with the sewer dig; King’s motions to strip Braemar, Finter and Kilbarry sidewalks lost 5–7 in committee and again at council.

#468 – A comparison for voters

Contrasts King’s exception-seeking (Manor Park sidewalks: about $180,000 bundled versus over $500,000 later) with a project-management, one-term pitch.

#469 – If they need a sign – they are not my kind of voter

In a two-candidate race, signs measure budget and name recognition, not record; asks for 45 minutes on one Auditor General report, committee file or the 2020 tunnel finding.

#470 – Critical Mass Ride Down St. Laurent

Calls a 19 September ride from 815 St-Laurent to the LRT station to show demand on the tunnel and the deferred transit-oriented site; no permit required.

#471 – Debate? I’ll save you the trip

Skips the debate trip: one term, evidence over performance, and a record of committees the councillor does not sit on and warnings left open for years.

#472 – The last time I checked we do live in a democracy

Low turnout and acclamations hand seats to incumbents; cites Clark’s 2014 loss and urges voters to read records and show up even in “settled” races.

#473 – Capital Pride

A father of a trans daughter asks Ward 13 for basic respect and safety for trans kids and adults at Capital Pride (“Together, We Shine”).

#474 – Busy parent/renter’s lived experience?

Ties rising rents and lost commute hours to overruns and deferred work passed through to tenants; a one-term audit aimed at buses that run and non-essential cuts.

#475 – Power to the people

Hydro Ottawa’s queue is 34 large loads adding 25,800 MWh/day (86% of system load), mostly data centres; notes the rate path and silence from the ward office on cost allocation.

#476 – Lake Ontario: AI is King

Uses an AI song about Lake Ontario to argue AI can cut newsletter and briefing drafts from two hours to twenty minutes, leaving time for doors and committees.

#477 – Back to Bathgate

Opposes removing the Bathgate basketball court for trees until a condition assessment and upgrade-versus-removal costs are published.

#478 – Blair Road – the undiscovered projects

Two federal labs at Blair and Montreal Road (TerraCanada about $1B, transport-safety hub about $500M) have no public water, sewer, hydro or traffic sign-off; neither is a Containment Level 4 lab.

#479 – The last two standing

Frames the race as generalist deference versus technical interrogation of the 1,075 MW queue; the field shrank from 17 candidates in 2019 to 2 in 2026.

#480 – After seven years

Seven-year scorecard: anti-racism without public trend reports, absence from transit committees while the St-Laurent tunnel sits on a $9.5M estimate, OPS board resignation, and a failed sidewalk exemption.

#481 – The Juice is worth the Squeeze

Council answered 1,075 MW of large-load projects with a 2027 framework; wants the queue published and IESO ride-through rules applied before hookup, citing the electric-bus charger failure.

#482 – Voters are using my blog and campaign page

Thirty-day analytics: transit and identity posts hold readers; the campaign page is at 4,755 views. Plans to keep transit coverage and investigative anchors.

#483 – No Crosswalks after 7 years

Aviation and Cartier parkways still lack pedestrian beacons at La Cité and Birch after seven years; wants a formal NCC request tied to the Kettle Island landing.

#484 – Housing – Boardwalk or Baltic Avenue?

The housing plan delivered 466 of 5,700–8,500 targeted units in three years; wants quarterly dashboards, a published funding gap, and capacity checks before intensification.

#485 – Two candidates – two different approaches

Shared ends, different means: supports the East End Crossing to pull trucks off King Edward; King opposes it. Route-level reliability versus process.

#486 – Parking Tickets 1 – Lawson 0

Tests Lawson’s free on-street parking plan against a $2.36M net surplus and 476,000 tickets; a capped first-offence forgiveness survives the same fiscal test, a free ticket pass does not.

#487 – The Bridge: The King and I

States his support for the East End Crossing against King’s opposition and sets out the paper trail from 2019 to now.

#488 – Ottawa Police Services – My Greatest Hits

Pulls together the Det. Grus matter, the board chair’s “not robust” remark and King’s 2022 resignation statement, set against later OPS failures.

#489 – Make that 5, 6, 7, 8 – Gone, gone, gone

Suggests funding a 5,6,7,8’s show instead of signs, then traces the US path from creditor to about 100% debt-to-GDP and what that does to Ottawa jobs and ward house prices.

#490 – Equity? Don’t talk to me about equity

Riverain Park gained a court, splash pad and pump track; Bathgate’s 2026–27 job removes its court, paid partly from the ward’s own parkland levy.

#491 – Arts in Ottawa

Peer-grant scoring funds viable work; it will not find a Banksy. Separate the safety-net stream from a risk stream and measure cultural outcomes, not grants disbursed.

#492 – Child and Family Health

Backs 2027 as Ottawa’s Year for Children and Youth, with a child lens on audits, school sidewalks, the Aviation crossing and McKay Pond gear rather than another ceremonial consultation.

#493 – CBC questions – $1.50 a piece

No CBC follow-up after first contact. Restates a 3% tax cap, traffic circles, the crossing, AI disclosure and park equity, and tells residents not to wait on coverage.

Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe (unnumbered)

Campaign page for the 26 October race: one term, crossing leverage, audits over announcements, and the Bathgate trade-off. Notes 4,700+ page views.

#494 – CBC Questions and my Answers

Written CBC answers: hospital-finance and PMP background, an audit-and-disclosure standard, a roughly 3% tax cap, routes 6, 7 and 12 targets, OPS accountability, and one term.

#495 – Pick a topic – any topic

Positions ledger across 14 topics drawn from 493 posts: East End Crossing, tunnel, parking surplus, OPS and park equity, under a one-term commitment.

#496 – Buy local

Local multiplier on Beechwood, Vanier and Overbrook; lists independent businesses and floats a ward token rebate piloted with the Vanier BIA.

#497 – How to search for City Information

City search returns 2018 PDFs for “green bin”; proposes a federated, address-aware layer over My ServiceOttawa, geoOttawa and DevApps.

#498 – AI in the City

AI as decision support, on the Project Cybersyn analogy, plus the 123,000 bulk-closed 311 tickets; wants an AI inventory, human appeal and GPS-linked tickets.

#499 – Updated Campaign Webpage

Points to the updated campaign page and the campaign video.

#500 – Karwacki’s top ten

Ranks ten posts by how well they make the case: bridge paper trail, OPS hits, tunnel warnings, the 311 bulk closure, AI rules, Bathgate, and the shrunk field.

#501 – Library Cost Blowout… will not show up in the Newsletter

Ädisōke from $175M toward $352M, opening date gone, old Main branch lease extended through 2027 at $1.8M; none of it in the ward newsletter.

#502 – Fahrenheit 311 – Ottawa’s Funky Trouble System

311 is Open/Closed only, so “resolved” and “administratively closed” look the same; wants real closure codes, a ward time-to-resolution dashboard and ticket-to-project links.

#503 – OCH Community Housing: An Unfulfilled Promise

OCH’s citywide 15,500 homes versus Ward 13: Mikinak’s 271 units stalled and Overbrook end-of-life assets unplanned; 62 units at Presland and 22 at Codd’s are the recent local count.

#504 – King asks for a “the dog ate my homework” extension

Council voted 23–2, on King’s motion, to ask IAAC to push the Eastern Bridge comment deadline past election day; calls it symbolic and notes the 2021 study’s 15% diversion figure.

#505 – You Otta Know

Same motion, city still officially neutral: extend the comment window and pause a decision until the next council, on a corridor of about 9 km through Hemlock, Montreal, Ogilvie and the 174/417.

#506 – Holy Debate Batman!

First contested Ward 13 debate in four years; asks residents to show up or read the coverage on the bridge, Bathgate, transit and accountability.

#507 – Prescreening – what it does

Explains IAAC prescreening: jurisdiction test, tailored study guidelines, an early off-ramp, and one coordinated assessment, against a 180-day clock and $221M already spent pre-construction.

#508 – Ward XIII Debate 2026

Reaction to the 11 Sept Rogers debate: says King avoided the East End Crossing in a 15-minute format, leaned on notes, and called a 12-ward council bad for democracy.

#509 – You are getting sleepy… very sleepy

A US 30-year yield at 5.34% lifts the cost of new Ottawa debt ($3.687B net long-term); 50 basis points on a $300M issue is $1.5M a year, against a $10.8B ten-year gap.

#510 – Median Strip Bike Lanes for St. Laurent

A protected bike lane in the St-Laurent median, on the 1894 Ocean Parkway model, inside the transit-priority EA; Critical Mass ride set for 19 September.

#511 – Rogers Debates and views – all 24

Treats Rogers debates as low-view forums; compiles 24 ward platforms and view counts against 722,227 eligible electors and roughly 40% turnout.

#512 – Leadership that listens or leadership that’s told?

Calls the 23–2 deadline motion “leadership that’s told”: it still leans on an unupdated 2021 15% study while $221M in federal pre-construction money is already committed.

#513 – Righteous Anger

Campaign framed as controlled anger at 16–9 outvotes, an unbeaten incumbent and 40% turnout — grievances heard at the door, not invented.

#514 – Built Heritage Schmeritage

575 Island Park: designation recommended while engineers disagree on rot versus cosmetic damage; wants funding pathways and vacant-property enforcement paired with the label.

#515 – King shows his true colors

Answers debate lines (“doesn’t know the city,” anti-democratic, no homework) with the Mikinak file, the Blair servicing gap, the 12-ward model and sourced LRT and OPS pieces.

#516 – Park and Rides – expect the “unexpected”

Rail park-and-rides run 59–93% full; bus lots (Eagleson 38%, Fallowfield 30%, Nepean Woods 5%) sit empty. Expect the unexpected, including the St-Laurent tunnel.

#517 – PPP buses

A private 40-seat subscription coach, Orléans to Moodie, at $250–$400 a month, filling the crosstown gap a 90–120 minute OC Transpo transfer does not.

#518 – The 39% Solution

A 39.7% like ratio on an OPS Board piece matches Ward 13’s 37% turnout in 2018 and 2019; asks whether 26 October breaks the pattern.

#519 – AI Governance in Ottawa

3,200 staff and 114,000 Copilot prompts in 30 days, plus hiring, homelessness and permit pilots; wants the PMI AI standard, a public inventory and a hard human-in-the-loop.

#520 – The Wateridge Hemlock Fiasco

Wateridge was sold as two access points; Hemlock east of the Aviation Parkway is still closed over ponds, wells and approvals. Publish an opening date and name an owner.

#521 – Wrong Headed King… no redemption here for would-be mayor

Absolute opposition to Kettle Island gives up the ask: grade-separated 417 links, noise walls, transit lanes and Montfort access. The bridge is federal.

#522 – Can you vote? Should you vote?

Citizenship is the legal test; being informed is the practical one. One-term platform of open data and infrastructure oversight against a status-quo incumbent.

#523 – The $400 million dollar brag

The $400M “delivered” is citywide pipe, bridge and housing money on staff schedules (St. Patrick $18.5M, Arundel/Braemar $14M, tunnel $6.8M), not a ward invention. The waitlist is still about 16,000.

#524 – A Hemlock Injunction should awaken the beast

Hemlock slipped from a 2019 target through bundled ponds and serial approvals; wants concurrent reviews and a 120-day clock, and a court date only if a duty was refused.

#525 – This time a real choice

Calls opposition to the Aviation–Kettle corridor passive; wants negotiation for transit lanes, a depressed grade and Montfort access. Ward turnout was 39.7% in 2022.

#526 – Climbing the 8000 vote mountain

The 8,000-vote hill is an information problem: bearings took five years to get a public cause, and 123,000 tickets were bulk-closed. Writing the record is the campaign.

#527 – Traffic Circle at St. Laurent and Hemlock

A mini-roundabout at Hemlock and St-Laurent was feasible inside the $260M corridor plan and was not studied; asks for peak turning counts and a 28–32 m sketch.

#528 – He shot down the Park and the Park won

Legendre won in 1991 opposing the baseball stadium, which opened anyway and still draws crowds; offers the same pattern for the East End Crossing.

#529 – Diesel in Rideau-Rockcliffe

Diesel prices hit Overbrook and Carson Grove (median under $40,000) harder than Rockcliffe (over $200,000) through food, fares and heat; points to Equipass, LEAP and OCH retrofits.

#530 – No Critical Mass

The 19 September Critical Mass ride drew the author alone; a Staples conversation with a young voter who did not know there was an election.

#531 – Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe

Campaign restatement: plain-language records, a negotiated crossing, a Hemlock decision date, St-Laurent design, OPS and 311 audits, and an AI inventory.

#532 – Peter Karwacki for Rideau-Rockcliffe

Same pitch with the delivery gaps named: Hemlock unbuilt since 2019, 123,000 bulk-closed tickets, and a tunnel finding still open from 2020.

#533 – The Enshitification of Municipal Politics

Low turnout, tax caps and deferred maintenance as municipal enshittification; wants depreciation on the books and delivery over performance.

#534 – The Coronation of a “King”?

Filing second blocked an acclamation under the Municipal Elections Act; 17 names in 2019, 4 in 2022, 2 in 2026, and a 15-minute debate.

#535 – Bridge Analysis – Leadership is Required

Reads 241 IAAC comments on the Eastern Bridge: truck diversion versus Kettle Island and the parkway. $221M is already committed; the asks are noise walls, grade separation and Montfort access.

#536 – Ward Issues Map

A map of fifteen ward issues, community associations and estimated local weight, each linked back to a post.

#537 – Bump up your civic engagement!

About 30,000 YouTube views across 22 ward debates versus 722,227 eligible electors; minimum due diligence is your ward debate plus one primary source.

#538 – Human Trafficking… Why Ottawa?

Council’s trafficking task force is coordination only. Cites 416 CMA incidents from 2014–24 and argues the money buys housing and workers (about $19,000 a person a year) better than another advisory body.

#539 – The fallacy of Leadership that Listens

“Leadership that listens” amplifies older homeowners in the room; 241 bridge comments versus an NCC survey of 5,113. Offers seven bridge conditions and a published vote report.

#540 – The US 30 Year

US 30-year near 5.60%, Canada near 4.30%. Most city debt is locked; extra cost on planned 2026 issues is about $2M a year — small per household, cumulative if rates stay high.

#541 – Newsletter Inadequacy

Ädisōke from $175M to $352.4M, and Bathgate’s $120,000 renewal that removes the court, did not make the June newsletters. Asks where the replacement court is.

#542 – Handy Voter Reference Info

Voter reference for 26 Oct: dates, ID, special and advance voting places, mail-in and proxy options, plus a refreshed top-ten list of posts.

#543 – Remembrance Day is 2 weeks after election day

Links the 26 Oct vote to Remembrance Day, argues low turnout protects incumbents, and uses the Kurt Meyer case to show accountability eroded in stages.

#544 – Responses to GottaGo

Answers GottaGo’s nine public-washroom questions: Park & Ride facilities, a parks inventory, a city-wide budget instead of $4,500 per councillor, business partnerships, signage, hours and seniors.

This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently, vote wisely. Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

#544 Responses to GottaGo

See my blog peterkarwacki.blogspot.com

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Subject: Re: GottaGo! candidate questions, Peter Karwacki, Ward 13 (Rideau-Rockcliffe)

Hi Meghan and Bessa,

Thank you for the questions, and apologies for the delay. Public washrooms are the most basic civic service there is, and Ottawa has no strategy for them. Here are my answers.

1. Park & Ride facilities.
Zero toilets at facilities we built to attract riders is a design failure. I would add washrooms to the Park & Ride lots as part of the transit capital plan, starting with the busiest lots and the O-Train stations. Self-cleaning units are the obvious option. Council approved two in 2025, and as I understand it staff then spent the money on planning to build one. I would ask what happened to the other and put the answer on the record.

2. Parks and the gap.
Start with an inventory. 177 facilities across 1,300 parks is a count of outputs, and no one can tell you which parks are actually underserved. I would publish a map as open data and set priorities by use: splash pads and playgrounds with children, sports fields with organized leagues, and the busiest pathways and riverfront. Splash pads and playgrounds first, because a child can't wait for a drive home.

3. Community organizations.
Community groups and sports clubs can partner with the city, but they shouldn't be the funding model. A basic service should not depend on whether a neighbourhood happens to have a well-funded association. Wealthier areas get washrooms and others don't, which is the same equity problem I raise on parks generally. I would welcome their help with design, stewardship and cleaning, but the base funding has to come from the city.

4. The $4,500 per Councillor.
That is about three porta-potties a summer, and it is not a strategy. I would support a large increase, at least ten times the current amount, so roughly $45,000 per ward. Better still, I would move the money out of ward discretion into a city-wide washroom budget with measured results: cost per site, days open, cleanliness checks, all reported publicly. The $108,000 total is smaller than many single consultant contracts at City Hall.

5. Funding businesses that open their washrooms.
Yes, I would explore it. Pilot it in a few business districts, such as the Beechwood, Montreal Road and Rideau Street corridors, with a small payment per participating business, a window decal and a listing on the city's map. The pilot should be measured. If it doesn't produce usable washrooms at reasonable cost, drop it. The caveat is that businesses can refuse people, so this supplements public washrooms and does not replace them.

6. Exterior signage.
Yes. This is the cheapest fix on your list. If the toilets already exist and people can't tell, that is wasted infrastructure. A few hundred dollars a sign across the city's buildings should come to well under $100,000. I would also put the locations on the city's map and open data, with hours.

7. After-hours availability.
Buildings that close at 5 p.m. don't serve a park used until 9. I would match washroom hours to the park's actual use: exterior-access washrooms where the building design allows, extended seasonal hours at busy sites, and seasonal units where it doesn't. Each site's hours should be published. I would also want 311 reports on washroom problems tracked and reported as resolved, not just closed. I've written about how much a "closed" ticket can hide.

8. Other efforts.
A single city-wide public washroom strategy with an owner, a budget line and annual reporting. Basic standards for light, heat, hot water and cleaning, enforced and inspected. An accessibility requirement for every new site. Comparison with cities that get this right, including Japan, where clean washrooms are common even in remote places.

9. Seniors.
For many seniors, a missing washroom means they stay home. If we want older residents walking, riding transit and using parks, washrooms have to be on the route: at major stops, stations and parks along walking loops. This ties into my platform position on free transit for seniors and students funded by tolls on the East End Crossing. Free transit gets seniors out the door, and washrooms along the way keep them from turning back. Accessible design, with benches and good lighting, should be part of every new site.

I'm happy for you to share these answers with your followers, community groups and news outlets.

Peter Karwacki
Candidate for Councillor, Ward 13 

#543 Remembrance Day is 2 weeks after election day

Two Weeks

On October 26, Ottawa votes. Sixteen days later, on November 11, we'll stand at cenotaphs across Rideau-Rockcliffe and honour the people who went overseas for us.

Those two dates are closer together than we usually notice.

Canadians in the Second World War were told, on posters, in newsreels, and at bond drives, that this was a war for freedom and for the right of a people to govern themselves. Whatever each young soldier privately felt, and their reasons were as varied as they were, that was the promise the country made. Many of them were barely out of their teens. On D-Day alone, hundreds of Canadians were killed on Juno Beach.

Now consider what we do with that right. Only about 40% of eligible Ottawa voters turn out for municipal elections. Incumbents in this city win every time. And on council, urban issues are routinely decided 16-9 by suburban votes. Those aren't separate problems. Low turnout protects the status quo, and the status quo keeps turnout low.

That's why I've said the way we're structured deserves scrutiny. Asking whether a system delivers is not an attack on democracy. It's how democracy works. A council that decides things most residents never hear about, elected by fewer than half of them, is a fair thing to question, and I'd rather question it in public than pretend it's fine.

I won't tell you what the people on those beaches would think of our turnout. I can't know that, and nobody can speak for them. But I can tell you what the promise was, and I can ask whether we're keeping it.

Voting is a right, and not voting is a right too. I'm not here to scold anyone. I'm asking you to use it, because the decisions made at City Hall in the next four years will be about your street, your park, your bus, and your taxes, whether or not you take part.

Here's what I'd ask:

• Check where and when you can vote at ottawa.ca, including advance polls.
• Talk to a neighbour who doesn't usually vote and ask what would get them there.
• Look at the candidates' actual records and positions, not just the signs.
  Review the local debate video as an act of civic responsibility. video link
• Vote on October 26.

Then on November 11, when we stand in silence, we can do it having used the thing we're remembering.

Peter Karwacki, candidate, Ward 13 (Rideau-Rockcliffe)

Justice Delayed, Then Dissolved: The Case of Kurt Meyer - the kind of people we were fighting and the need for better politicians

On the night of June 7, 1944, and the days that followed, Canadian soldiers who had surrendered near Caen were taken to the Abbaye d'Ardenne, the headquarters of the 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment. About twenty were shot there, many with a bullet to the back of the head. Across the weeks after D-Day, roughly 156 Canadian prisoners are believed to have been murdered by men of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend.

The regiment's commander was Kurt "Panzermeyer" Meyer. Within days he was promoted to lead the division.

A trial that worked

It is worth saying plainly that the trial was not a sham. In December 1945, a Canadian military court at Aurich, Germany, heard testimony, including from Meyer's own men, and convicted him of inciting his troops to deny quarter and of responsibility for the killing of prisoners. He was sentenced to death.

Meyer always denied giving an order to shoot prisoners. The court did not need to find a signed order. A commander who sets the tone for his troops, sits at the headquarters where prisoners are executed, and punishes no one has accepted the killings, whatever he did or didn't say. That principle of command responsibility was already established, and the Yamashita case of 1945 pushed it further. A leader must own what is done in his name.

Where it came apart

The verdict held. The consequences did not.

Major-General Chris Vokes, who confirmed the sentence, commuted it to life imprisonment. By his own account he respected Meyer as an aggressive front-line fighter and felt that other German commanders had escaped punishment. Whatever the sincerity of that feeling, it left 156 dead Canadians with no such consideration.

Then the Cold War took over. West Germany was being rearmed and drawn into NATO, and Britain, the United States and West Germany all pressed for the release of convicted Germans. Meyer was moved to a German prison and, in September 1954, released after about nine years in custody. The Liberal government of Louis St-Laurent, with Brooke Claxton and then Ralph Campney at National Defence, went along. It was a political decision, made quietly, with little public debate and with the families of the murdered men largely uninformed.

Mollification over time

This is the pattern that matters. No single decision erased the crime. It was worn down in stages:

• The sentence softened: death became life, out of professional respect.
• The calendar softened it further: life became nine years, as alliance politics outweighed the case.
• The story softened afterward: Meyer sold beer for a brewery, joined the Waffen-SS veterans' lobby HIAG, and helped push the line that these were ordinary soldiers like any others.

Each step was defensible to the people taking it. Each was one more small retreat from the fact that prisoners had been murdered. The cumulative result was that a man convicted of what happened at the abbey died in 1961 as a free man in a comfortable job.

Why it still matters

Military justice only means something if consequences survive the news cycle, the alliance and the next strategic priority. When the powerful can quietly reverse the outcome once attention fades, the lesson for the next commander is that accountability is temporary.

The families of the men killed at the abbey were not consulted. They deserved to be.

Further reading: Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy.

#542 Handy Voter Reference Info

 #542 Make a plan: voting days, places, and ways to vote

Voting Day is Monday, October 26. Polls are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

You are also voting for mayor and a school board trustee. The councillor race in Ward 13 (Rideau-Rockcliffe) is a two-name ballot: incumbent Rawlson King and Peter Karwacki.

Ward XIII turnout has sat around 37 percent in recent cycles. A minority of eligible electors is deciding the record the rest of the ward lives with. That is fixable only if people who are eligible actually vote Who can vote
You can vote if you are a Canadian citizen, at least 18 on Voting Day, and either a resident of Ottawa or an owner or tenant of property in Ottawa (or the spouse of such an owner or tenant), and not otherwise prohibited by law.

What to bring

One piece of identification that shows your name and your qualifying Ottawa address. Photo ID is not required. A voter notification letter is not accepted as identification. Acceptable pieces include a driver’s licence, Ontario photo card, utility bill, lease, bank statement, or (for students) a transcript or report card from a post-secondary school that shows your name and address.

If your name is missing or the address is wrong, you can still be added or corrected at the voting place on any voting day. If you have no acceptable ID, you can make a statutory declaration.

Official details and the full ID list: ottawa.ca/vote

Special Advance Voting — now through Sunday

Thursday, October 1 to Sunday, October 4, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“Anywhere voting”: any eligible Ottawa elector can vote at any of these 10 places, regardless of ward:

• François Dupuis Recreation Centre, 2263 Portobello Blvd.
• St-Laurent Complex, 525 Côté St. (closest of the ten for much of Rideau-Rockcliffe)
• City Hall, 110 Laurier Ave. W.
• Diane Deans Greenboro Community Centre, 363 Lorry Greenberg Dr.
• Minto Recreation Complex – Barrhaven, 3500 Cambrian Rd.
• Nepean Sportsplex, 1701 Woodroffe Ave.
• Richcraft Recreation Complex – Kanata, 4101 Innovation Dr.
• CARDELREC Recreation Complex Goulbourn, 1500 Shea Rd.
• Greely Community Centre, 1448 Meadow Dr.
• Churchill Senior Centre, 345 Richmond Rd.

Bringing children is fine. The City is running a “Voters in Training” activity at these locations so kids can cast a practice ballot and get a sticker.

Advance Voting Day

Friday, October 16, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., at your assigned voting place in your ward only.

Voting Day

Monday, October 26, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., at your assigned voting place. Some long-term care and retirement-home locations may have shorter hours.

Find your assigned place on your voter notification letter or with the “Where do I vote?” tool at ottawa.ca/vote. The letter itself is not required to vote.

Other ways to vote

• Special mail-in ballot: the application window closed September 15. Completed kits must be received by the Elections Office or a Client Service Centre by 8 p.m. on October 16 to be counted.
• Proxy: if you cannot go in person, you can appoint another eligible Ottawa elector to vote for you. Both of you complete two copies of Appointment for Voting Proxy (Form 3). The proxy takes them to the Elections Office or a Client Service Centre to be certified. Certification is available until 4:30 p.m. on October 26. A proxy can still cast their own ballot. Forms and hours: ottawa.ca/vote or 613-580-2660 / elections@ottawa.ca.

A note to younger voters

If you turned 18 by October 26 and you live in Ottawa (including in residence, a shared house, or with family), you are eligible. Municipal elections are where the gap between eligible voters and actual voters is widest, and Ward 13 has been on the low side of an already low city average. In a two-candidate race, the people who show up decide the councillor who casts Ward 13’s single vote on the budget, transit, housing files, and oversight for the next four years.

A student card alone is not enough if it does not show your Ottawa address. A lease, residence confirmation, bank statement, or transcript that shows both name and address works. If you are not on the list, say so at the desk; revision happens at the voting place.

Bring one friend who is also eligible. The mechanics take a few minutes once you are there.

This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently if the record warrants it, vote wisely.

Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

peterkarwacki.blogspot.com
Campaign page: https://peterkarwacki.blogspot.com/p/peter-karwacki-for-rideau-rockcliffe.html

Paid for and authorized by the campaign to elect Peter Karwacki, Ward 13.

---

Sources for the dates, hours, and the ten special-advance locations are the City of Ottawa elections pages and the September notices confirming the list (ottawa.ca/vote and the CTV / City summaries of the same schedule). Confirm any last-minute change on the City site before you go.

Top Ten Posts on this Blog

The September 7 list still holds. Advance voting opened this morning, so the useful question is narrower: which posts still answer “why this name and not the other” in the time it takes to decide before October 26.

Nothing below replaces the original. Two items move up because the record since September 7 made them sharper. Two newer posts earn a place. The rest stay.

1. The Bridge: The King and I (#487), now with the debate on the record (#508, #519)
Still the clearest split. I support the East End Crossing. King opposes it. On September 11, in the Rogers Ward 13 debate, he did not take the question. #519 walks through the “15 percent truck diversion” claim and what it leaves out for Montreal Road and Rideau Street. The 2019-to-present paper trail is unchanged. The new fact is that the difference was available, on camera, and not taken.

2. Ottawa Police Services – My Greatest Hits (#488)
Unchanged. Det. Grus, the Board chair’s “not robust” line, and the 2022 resignation statement set against later failures. Still the strongest institutional-accountability file.

3. This is not a popularity contest (#250)
Still the shortest statement of the pitch: read the budget line, not the newsletter. Worth reading before the corn-roast season ends and Voting Day arrives.

4. The St-Laurent tunnel / Two Warnings, One Playbook (#353)
Unchanged. A 2020 engineering finding marked urgent, still open, read against Elliot Lake. Document work, not opinion.

5. The 123,000-ticket 311 bulk-closure finding (#345)
Unchanged. Original data work. Closed is not the same as resolved. A voter can pull the same source.

6. Ward Issues Map (#536) — new to the list
Fifteen issues, community associations, estimated local weight, each linked back to a post. Replaces nothing in the argument. It is the fastest way for a Ward 13 resident to see whether the file that matters on their street is on the record at all. Parks, traffic circles, gang activity, ward structure: the map is the index.

7. AI governance (#361)
Still the clearest “build, not only audit” post: a disclosure inventory, a human appeal, an Auditor General review. The September 15 note that the City is already using Copilot to screen applications, without a published rule set, is the reason it stays.

8. One River, Two Parks, No Equity (Bathgate vs. Riverain), now with the October 1 newsletter note
The basketball court came out of Bathgate. No replacement. A neighbouring ward got the modernization. Today’s post puts the same pattern next to Ādisōke: a library project from $175 million to $352.4 million, and a ward newsletter that does not carry the cost. Local, visual, checkable.

9. The Field Didn’t Shrink. The Barrier Did. (#479)
Seventeen names in the 2019 open seat. Two names in 2026. The structure is the point. A thin ballot is not a reason to sit out. It is a reason the two records have to be read.

10. Positions Ledger (#495)
Still the entry point: topics, sourced posts, searchable. If a reporter or an undecided voter wants the whole picture in one place, start here. The whistleblower post (#416) remains the through-line under the tunnel, OPS, and 311 files — someone inside likely knew first — and belongs beside the ledger rather than instead of it.

---

#442 Make a plan: voting days, places, and ways to vote

Voting Day is Monday, October 26. Polls are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

You are also voting for mayor and a school board trustee. The councillor race in Ward 13 (Rideau-Rockcliffe) is a two-name ballot: incumbent Rawlson King and Peter Karwacki.

Ward 13 turnout has sat around 37 percent in recent cycles. A minority of eligible electors is deciding the record the rest of the ward lives with. That is fixable only if people who are eligible actually vote.

Who can vote

You can vote if you are a Canadian citizen, at least 18 on Voting Day, and either a resident of Ottawa or an owner or tenant of property in Ottawa (or the spouse of such an owner or tenant), and not otherwise prohibited by law.

What to bring

One piece of identification that shows your name and your qualifying Ottawa address. Photo ID is not required. A voter notification letter is not accepted as identification. Acceptable pieces include a driver’s licence, Ontario photo card, utility bill, lease, bank statement, or (for students) a transcript or report card from a post-secondary school that shows your name and address.

If your name is missing or the address is wrong, you can still be added or corrected at the voting place on any voting day. If you have no acceptable ID, you can make a statutory declaration.

Official details and the full ID list: ottawa.ca/vote

Special Advance Voting — now through Sunday

Thursday, October 1 to Sunday, October 4, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“Anywhere voting”: any eligible Ottawa elector can vote at any of these 10 places, regardless of ward:

• François Dupuis Recreation Centre, 2263 Portobello Blvd.
• St-Laurent Complex, 525 Côté St. (closest of the ten for much of Rideau-Rockcliffe)
• City Hall, 110 Laurier Ave. W.
• Diane Deans Greenboro Community Centre, 363 Lorry Greenberg Dr.
• Minto Recreation Complex – Barrhaven, 3500 Cambrian Rd.
• Nepean Sportsplex, 1701 Woodroffe Ave.
• Richcraft Recreation Complex – Kanata, 4101 Innovation Dr.
• CARDELREC Recreation Complex Goulbourn, 1500 Shea Rd.
• Greely Community Centre, 1448 Meadow Dr.
• Churchill Senior Centre, 345 Richmond Rd.

Bringing children is fine. The City is running a “Voters in Training” activity at these locations so kids can cast a practice ballot and get a sticker.

Advance Voting Day

Friday, October 16, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., at your assigned voting place in your ward only.

Voting Day

Monday, October 26, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., at your assigned voting place. Some long-term care and retirement-home locations may have shorter hours.

Find your assigned place on your voter notification letter or with the “Where do I vote?” tool at ottawa.ca/vote. The letter itself is not required to vote.

Other ways to vote

• Special mail-in ballot: the application window closed September 15. Completed kits must be received by the Elections Office or a Client Service Centre by 8 p.m. on October 16 to be counted.
• Proxy: if you cannot go in person, you can appoint another eligible Ottawa elector to vote for you. Both of you complete two copies of Appointment for Voting Proxy (Form 3). The proxy takes them to the Elections Office or a Client Service Centre to be certified. Certification is available until 4:30 p.m. on October 26. A proxy can still cast their own ballot. Forms and hours: ottawa.ca/vote or 613-580-2660 / elections@ottawa.ca.

A note to younger voters

If you turned 18 by October 26 and you live in Ottawa (including in residence, a shared house, or with family), you are eligible. Municipal elections are where the gap between eligible voters and actual voters is widest, and Ward 13 has been on the low side of an already low city average. In a two-candidate race, the people who show up decide the councillor who casts Ward 13’s single vote on the budget, transit, housing files, and oversight for the next four years.

A student card alone is not enough if it does not show your Ottawa address. A lease, residence confirmation, bank statement, or transcript that shows both name and address works. If you are not on the list, say so at the desk; revision happens at the voting place.

Bring one friend who is also eligible. The mechanics take a few minutes once you are there.

This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently if the record warrants it, vote wisely.

Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

peterkarwacki.blogspot.com

---

Sources for the dates, hours, and the ten special-advance locations are the City of Ottawa elections pages and the September notices confirming the list (ottawa.ca/vote and the CTV / City summaries of the same schedule). Confirm any last-minute change on the City site.

Top Ten Posts on this Blog

The September 7 list still holds. Advance voting opened this morning, so the useful question is narrower: which posts still answer “why this name and not the other” in the time it takes to decide before October 26.

Nothing below replaces the original. Two items move up because the record since September 7 made them sharper. Two newer posts earn a place. The rest stay.

1. The Bridge: The King and I (#487), now with the debate on the record (#508, #519)
Still the clearest split. I support the East End Crossing. King opposes it. On September 11, in the Rogers Ward 13 debate, he did not take the question. #519 walks through the “15 percent truck diversion” claim and what it leaves out for Montreal Road and Rideau Street. The 2019-to-present paper trail is unchanged. The new fact is that the difference was available, on camera, and not taken.

2. Ottawa Police Services – My Greatest Hits (#488)
Unchanged. Det. Grus, the Board chair’s “not robust” line, and the 2022 resignation statement set against later failures. Still the strongest institutional-accountability file.

3. This is not a popularity contest (#250)
Still the shortest statement of the pitch: read the budget line, not the newsletter. Worth reading before the corn-roast season ends and Voting Day arrives.

4. The St-Laurent tunnel / Two Warnings, One Playbook (#353)
Unchanged. A 2020 engineering finding marked urgent, still open, read against Elliot Lake. Document work, not opinion.

5. The 123,000-ticket 311 bulk-closure finding (#345)
Unchanged. Original data work. Closed is not the same as resolved. A voter can pull the same source.

6. Ward Issues Map (#536) — new to the list
Fifteen issues, community associations, estimated local weight, each linked back to a post. Replaces nothing in the argument. It is the fastest way for a Ward 13 resident to see whether the file that matters on their street is on the record at all. Parks, traffic circles, gang activity, ward structure: the map is the index.

7. AI governance (#361)
Still the clearest “build, not only audit” post: a disclosure inventory, a human appeal, an Auditor General review. The September 15 note that the City is already using Copilot to screen applications, without a published rule set, is the reason it stays.

8. One River, Two Parks, No Equity (Bathgate vs. Riverain), now with the October 1 newsletter note
The basketball court came out of Bathgate. No replacement. A neighbouring ward got the modernization. Today’s post puts the same pattern next to Ādisōke: a library project from $175 million to $352.4 million, and a ward newsletter that does not carry the cost. Local, visual, checkable.

9. The Field Didn’t Shrink. The Barrier Did. (#479)
Seventeen names in the 2019 open seat. Two names in 2026. The structure is the point. A thin ballot is not a reason to sit out. It is a reason the two records have to be read.

10. Positions Ledger (#495)
Still the entry point: topics, sourced posts, searchable. If a reporter or an undecided voter wants the whole picture in one place, start here. The whistleblower post (#416) remains the through-line under the tunnel, OPS, and 311 files — someone inside likely knew first — and belongs beside the ledger rather than instead of it.