Six questions at the door and on the street

We are fortunate to have a good slate of candidates running for ward councillor.

The presidents of the ward’s community associations posed six questions to declared candidates. Here they are.

1.   What is the driving force that brought you to run?  

I have a keen interest in civics. Usually I am content to let others run but on this occasion due to motive and opportunity I stepped forward. We want to continue the good example of Tobi Nussbaum and I felt I was the best person to do that while calling city officials to account for their decisions.

 2.    Describe an example of your past experience when you have driven an initiative to completion in a dysfunctional or challenging environment?

I was the leader of an initiative to save the Kipawa River from diversion in which a judicial review was launched against the federal government. Today the river still runs, in fact it is shown on the back of Canada’s 150th anniversary 10 dollar bill.

3.    What is your vision for the City and what needs to happen in Ward 13 to make it so?

The city needs to become more resilient in the face of mounting debt. We faced the bursting dot com bubble and nassive government cut backs. Much more of this is to come so we will all face the challenge of living on scarcer resources.

 4.    What are the obstacles to implement you vision for Ward 13 and how would you deal with them?

There are eleven candidates. First you must canvas and then you must get elected. There is a political imperative where only 38% of eligible voters actually vote. That is not a lot of peanut butter for so many loaves.

 5.    What are the three tools in your toolbox that will make you effective at City Hall and how have you demonstrated their use in the past.

I communicate well but frankly. I am multi skilled and not easily intimidated by experts, and I am analytical and reasoned in my approach.

 6.    Who are the key influencers In the ward that will effect your ability to achieve your vision for the ward? (The answer to this question will not be shared beyond the Committee)”

I will turn to Tobi for advice.

My wish is that people will vote based on these criteria:

The issues of importance to themselves and their neighbourhoods

The ability of the candidate to represent those needs and elicit support

To these you might add the questions from A City for All

Ecology Ottawa Platform Questions and answers

If elected, will you make climate action a Term of Council Priority, increase funding and staffing commitments commensurate with this prioritization, and mandate a climate lens for the City’s assessment for all infrastructure investments?
Peter Heyck: YES.

Tobi Nussbaum*: YES. Agreed Karwacki 


The City of Ottawa reports on community-wide climate emissions once every four years through the Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan. This infrequent reporting makes tracking progress toward our climate goals very difficult, and is far behind the standard set by leading cities such as Edmonton and Montreal. If elected, will you commit to increasing the frequency of the City’s community-wide emissions reporting to at least once per year?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YESAgreed Karwacki 

Climate change is accelerating, and cities around the world are rushing to adapt to the impacts of severe weather, flooding and invasive species. The City of Ottawa has committed to developing a Climate Adaptation Plan but hasn’t yet delivered. If elected, will you commit to ensuring the release and initial implementation of a Climate Adaptation Plan within the next term of council?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES Agreed Karwacki


Development of Ottawa’s next Official Plan will begin in January 2019 and conclude during the next term of council. The Official Plan sets the ground rules that can make it easier or virtually impossible for cities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions—from transportation patterns and sprawl, to housing densities and unit sizes, to options for local renewable energy production, to the services, amenities, and greenspaces residents can access within walking distance. Official Plans developed with climate change in mind deliver powerful benefits that make neighbourhoods healthier, safer, and more liveable. If elected, will you support and work for a revised Official Plan that makes low-carbon development a top priority, in a way that delivers healthier, safer, more liveable neighbourhoods for your constituents?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES Agreed Karwacki

 Active CityEvidence from numerous studies of “induced demand” shows that widening highways and building new roads does nothing to alleviate traffic congestion. Instead, new roads and new lanes are quickly filled up with cars. Congestion is only relieved through investment in alternative forms of travel – by bike, by foot and by public transit. If elected, will you commit to prioritizing pedestrian, cycling, and affordable public transit infrastructure over automobile infrastructure in meeting the future growth in travel demand in your ward?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES. Agreed Karwacki

The high cost of widening roads on our arterial roads – both capital and operating – combined with the fact that induced demand is a well-documented phenomenon means we should be investing in better transit for Ottawa’s residents to provide more efficient mobility choices. Upon completion, the City of Ottawa’s light rail transit (LRT) network will bring 70% of the population to within five kilometres of a light rail station. It will be easier than ever for Ottawans to travel to and from their target destinations using sustainable transportation options, but only if the City prioritizes shared mobility services and pedestrian, cycling and transit connectivity near transit hubs. Currently, the City of Ottawa only plans for connectivity within 600 metres of transit hubs. If elected, will you commit to widening this connectivity planning radius to five kilometres?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES.Agreed Karwacki

 I have spoken out over the last four years on the importance of improving the state of our public transit system as well as our active transportation networks. There are many good reasons to ensure a larger number of neighbourhoods have such access to the LRT. 

 The City of Ottawa adopted a complete streets policy in 2013 and an implementation plan in 2015. Now, all new roads must be built to be accessible to all ages, users and abilities – including pedestrians, cyclists and transit users – rather than just car drivers. However, evidence shows that the policy alone is not sufficient to create complete streets.

Councillor leadership is vital to ensure streets are as “complete” as possible and follow through on priority pedestrian and cycling projects identified in the Transportation Master Plan. If elected, will you commit to ensuring that complete streets and priority pedestrian and cycling projects are built in your ward?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES. Agreed Karwacki 

 Between 2010 and 2014, 148 people died on Ottawa’s streets. These deaths were entirely avoidable – they were a by-product of the way we have designed our streets. Toronto and Edmonton have embraced a “Vision Zero” approach to road design, that considers all traffic deaths and serious injuries preventable. A Vision Zero policy involves design changes (i.e. reducing speeds and separating road users), funding for these changes and public reporting on progress. If elected, will you commit to adopting a Vision Zero policy for Ottawa?

 Peter Heyck: YES.Agreed Karwacki 

 Tobi Nussbaum*:

 Living CityIn 2017, the City of Ottawa adopted a strong Urban Forest Management Plan designed to safeguard and strengthen Ottawa’s tree canopy. The plan contains a 20-year action plan that requires sustained attention and investment. If elected, will you commit to fully implementing and fully funding the Urban Forest Management Plan?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES. Agreed Karwacki

 Flooding and severe weather events are happening in Ottawa more frequently than in the past. It’s more important than ever that the City adapt to climate change by systematically scaling up development of green infrastructure – living and built systems designed to slow down, soak up, and filter rainwater, such as trees, rain gardens and permeable pavements. The City has the policy tools to do this, but remains at the pilot phase and has not moved to wide-scale implementation. If elected, will you work to ensure that all street resurfacing and new road construction integrate green infrastructure wherever possible?

 Peter Heyck: YES. Agreed Karwacki 

 Tobi Nussbaum*:

 Urban greenspace is a precious commodity. Yet sprawling development patterns, infill developments, and road widenings regularly threaten our trees, greenspace and biodiversity. If elected, will you commit to prioritizing greenspace preservation as part of the planning process?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES.Agreed Karwacki 

 Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is proposing a permanent radioactive waste facility alongside the Ottawa River, upstream from Ottawa. Mayors of over 100 Quebec municipalities have banded together to oppose this proposal, citing a serious risk to drinking water from the Ottawa River. If elected, will you join them in opposing this dangerous nuclear waste dump?

 Peter Heyck: YES. Agreed Karwacki 

 Tobi Nussbaum*: No response. I don’t know enough about the issue at this point to commit either to opposing it or supporting it. I will say that being concerned about climate change as I am, there is – unfortunately – no realistic path to a carbon free energy future in the time we need to drastically slash greenhouse gas emissions without nuclear power. Whether this facility is the right way to store radioactive waste or not, I will need to research.

 Waste ManagementIn March 2018, City Council changed its contract with Orgaworld to allow dog waste and other organics to be placed in green bins using non-compostable plastic bag liners. There’s no evidence that allowing plastics will encourage more people to compost. But the new rules will produce a new stream of unnecessary plastic waste that will complicate the disposal process and deliver lower-quality compost. If elected, will you support rescinding the decision to allow non-compostable plastic bag liners and dog waste in the green bin program?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES Agreed Karwacki 
 As one of only 3 Councillors who voted against the decision to allow plastic bags in the organics stream, I would be keen to revisit the issue.  My only caveat to this answer is I would need to understand the financial implications of changing the contract with Orgaworld.

 Ottawa’s 44% waste recycling rate is the lowest of all major cities in Ontario, well below leading municipalities like York Region at 65%, Halton Region at 56%, and Toronto at 51%. That’s partly because Ottawa only spends 50¢ per household per year to promote the program and educate residents. If elected, will you support tripling the level of funding for promotion and education for waste prevention, recycling, and green bin programs to at least $1.50 per household per year, a level closer to the average for large municipalities in Ontario? 

Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES. Agreed Karwacki

 Ottawa’s 2011 waste management plan is out of date and irrelevant. The City has made no effort to update the plan, though the poor performance of its recycling and green bin programs falls far short of the 65% waste diversion rate in York Region, the leading municipality in the province. If elected, will you support the development of a new waste management strategy and waste diversion action plan that follow best practices and set a 65% waste diversion target for Ottawa?

 Peter Heyck: YES.

 Tobi Nussbaum*: YES.Agreed Karwacki

 If elected, what steps will you take to make Ottawa a leader on environmental issues during the next term of council?

Agreed Karwacki Is 
 Peter Heyck: In addition to the above commitments, I will also support a citywide commercial plastic bag ban and plastic straw ban.Agreed Karwacki 

 Tobi Nussbaum*: There are three important things we need to do to take our place as a truly green capital city and to demonstrate environmental leadership.

First, we need to ensure that our growing suburban neighbourhoods are built sustainably. Too often, we fail to offer the residents of our newly built neighbourhoods transportation choice and force them into a situation of car dependence. We need to build the type of mixed-use development that allows residents to walk to shops and services.

Agreed Karwacki

Second, we need to encourage building energy efficiency, by both Agreed Karwacki 

Agreed Karwacki

 Last, we need to improve transit services and our active transportation networks to give residents attractive, low-carbon and safe options to move around our city

Agreed Karwacki


Finally


The United Nations has warned us we have 11 years left to avoid global climate catastrophe and are declaring a climate emergency asking that budgets and policies be modified accordingly.