We likely would if we made it easier for poor families to get their kids through the swim program to the lifeguard level. #Equity
Ottawa Canada tweets; inclusive, smart city, data driven, transit, aunt, @BB4Radio podcast fan, she / her Mastodon: @Mirgray@mstdn.ca Living on unceded Algonquin Land, (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
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We likely would if we made it easier for poor families to get their kids through the swim program to the lifeguard level. #Equity
The mayor was very silent in today's discussion. Budget directions are typically where we learn their vision. I wish he did State of the City addresses for the public rather than Ottawa Business Breakfasts with the Mayor.
SUTCLIIIIIIIIFFE!
I can't believe the new airport route 107 needs the same 30 min frequency at 3 pm and 3 am.
Calling all nature lovers! 🌳We are planting 500 trees (!) and I need your help! I am hosting a tree planting event on Saturday, October 4 at 9 am at 1754 St. Joseph Blvd (the former Convent grounds). Bring your friends, family, and a shovel if you one. Spread the word! #Ottawa
We need to make people understand that if you're voting for bad transit and RTO, you're gonna face terrible traffic. It's inevitable. www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/business/tor...
I’ve emailed Treasury Board to encourage CDN depts to switch – I reminded them that they would never open an account on Truth Social, so why stay on X? … crickets … I worry that staying on X gives them a skewed view of issues.
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Multiple members and board members of ours, as well as other citizens, delegated at City Hall today with worries about our budget direction for the City of Ottawa in 2026. If you're interested in listening to the delegations they're available here : www.youtube.com/live/ERXJ0_Q...
Has it occurred to you that it is not possible to lift yourself out of poverty without tools - mailing address, phone #, references, wardrobe, laundry & shower facilities, transportation to apply for work. Real poverty and homelessness even if working at a part-time job (most retail) can live in car
Ottawa’s #riverfront is finally getting the love it deserves. Toon Dreessen shared his thoughts with @cbcnewz.bsky.social on why this is the kind of vision our city needs. A big step in putting #publicspace to good use. 👏 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Lots of places in Kanata where the sidewal ends and reappears on the other side of a major arterial route. Pedestrians are on their own to get across the road(no lights, no painted croswalk).
Compounding failure to increase property taxes at reasonable rates.
The bureaucracy to determine who gets taxed back would be too costly. But CRA knows from tax returns who is below cost of living for their particular area. Right now the added $200 a month to those on disability is not that but a complicated judgement assessment. Demeaning. Not everyone gets $200.
Perhaps what we are doing is not working?
Today, the city’s Finance + Corporate Services Committee voted for a budget direction that could increase the police levy up to 6.5% and raise transit fares up to 7.5%. Meanwhile, the city departments that work to address homelessness and poverty are being told they can only have a 2.9% increase.
The problem is the various meanings of "core". I believe you probably intend "essential", not just "downtown". We are not funding essential infrastructure anywhere (or setting aside reserve funds). Older communities, mostly in inner urban wards, have more infrastructure at the end of life.
The two province issues plus the unique financing plan both made it hard to see it as a mainstream doable thing.
Councillor Hill's inquiry on Vacant Unit Tax is well written and timely. It is a report, not an inquiry. I doubts the data is organized across the enterprise so those stats are trivial to generate. ie have any 6+ Plex units charged a VUT since program started appeared in a new dev app? #OttPoli
Yeah, I know a bunch of former Moose people.
City Finance & Corporate Services Committee adopts ostrich position, adopts (9-3 vote) 2026 City Budget Directions without making provision to address City's crumbling infrastructure. City reports indicate funding shortfall to maintain aging assets is $10 billion over 10 years. #ottnews #ottcity
Today, I voted at committee against Council’s budget directions. If these pass, we’d be telling residents that when it comes to city services they should expect less. We can do better.
It was a community group that pushed city to build the new Bayview to protect the RoW. The previous alignment did not.
The staff presentation on: "Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan – Applications for Tax Increment Equivalent Grants (TIEGs)" was just TL;TR summarized into a no slide single tweet presentation. #OttPoli
If a resident asked staff if the budget numbers were a complete and honest assessment of city finances, it would be ruled an attack on staff. We have professional staff.
Sep 3rd the Epstein/Maxwell/Trump rape survivors have a message for Trump. Chances are he will come out of hiding to announce a WW3.
@riverwardriley.bsky.social Did I miss the budget direction assumption on when Stage 2 East goes into revenue service and any ridership growth activities around the launch?
I'm just saying councillors have shorter long term visions than dedicated community groups may have.
The context was the police and its civilian workforce.
I get why the mayor generally finds it more appropriate to hold his comments until the end when he is chairing a meeting. There are ways to handle this. Our mayor needs to be in the budget directions and other key discussion. #OttPoli
"... Men and people..."
They overstepped it at Bayview. They built an OCT garage on one at St Laurent.
Excellent. I'm still dealing with COVID era support for 2 weeks and a wrong assessment.
It varies. The "Kanata doesn't have rail" comments were annoying. The failure to understand Upass is astonishing. Any changes requiring a student referendum will kill the program. It is not delivering the promised benefits.
Some of it is likely to be able to say "I asked staff...". Some might be to get a video clip. It's worse as we get closer to elections (and farther from councillor orientation). At least today I have not heard any repeat questions.
A detailed item line-by-line review of your #OttCity budget is table stakes. It is not impressive that you are doing it every year. Families are doing item-by-item review each week with their grocery shopping. #OttPoli
❤️🔥
Holy wow, that was a white cis man high income privilege speech on why user fees are the right thing to do.
60+ % of #Ottawa councillor questions are things The West Wing led me to believe would included in briefing docs. I wish we had dynamic open data briefing doc but I would settle for level setting councillor knowledge.
Lol. But I will admit at first glance I thought it was random Dad. But a dad wouldn't be in uniform at school drop-off.
Please @tkavanaghbayward.bsky.social @catherinekitts.bsky.social @arieltroster.com @glengower.ca @shawnmenard.bsky.social @rawlson.bsky.social #OttPoli
#Ottawa council Please move a motion that 2027 budget direction discussion is scheduled for June 2026. 1. September is late. The budget process is slipping later in the year. It used to be pre-summer work. 2. Get it out of the late month before the election. #OttPoli
City of #Ottawa delegations and council discussions must be 50% transit and policing. We need to look at our other challenges too #OttPoli
Of course, the first school day of the year for most students is a terrible morning to expect public delegations. #OttPoli
I wish the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion lens had a community group delegating on every #Ottawa staff presentation. Other than youth transit fees; equity and inclusion have not come up in the budget direction delegations. (Nor has climate, poverty, or homelessness.) #OttPoli
@neilsara.bsky.social We need your presentation on the impact of low property taxes over a decade+. ie the 3% increase is on a smaller amount than it could have been. (I think it was your presentation.)
This is Le Phare Elementary in Beacon Hill. The local councillor is doing this meet and greet with a police officer. #OttPolice
Are we going to have a shuttle rather than a safe crosswalk? #speculation
The city of #Ottawa wants to claim a hiring freeze is a responsible way forward for city hall services, we need to talk about why police say they absolutely must keep hiring as a city grows. We are past "doing more with less". We are pretending doing "less with less" is okay. #OttPoli
@sjamieit.bsky.social Have you charted differences in increases of the various parts of our property tax bills over the last 20 years? ie police vs waste vs water vs property tax etc #OttPoli
👋 may I have mid-late aged white men’s attention for a moment, if the 2pm announcement is about Trump’s health & mortality you’re going to immediately think of your own & then feel sympathy and I want you to write it on your hand that you will live long and he is evil and not to make us smack you ☺️
Found on IG: I really like this reframing ❤️
Can any #Ottawa walking bus parent talk about winter weather realities, please?
the death of the old world: great idea but this new world struggling to be born seems uh... worse?
Back in the 1960's the top tax rate was about 92%. If we implemented a tax system that increased the amount of tax owed over $1 billion to 92%, then 92 cents of every dollar over 1 billion will go to government functions, like Medicare, infrastructure, stuff Gov'ts do. We'd be debt free.
Intriguing that this #OttPoli city finances update by staff is presented 50-50 in English and French.
A reminder.
Oh good, we still have one more year council can pull from city reserves before it hits its minimum legislated amount. Let's hope nature supports our low low tax levels. #OttPoli /sarcasm
This is truly incredible: Meidas Canada just surpassed 100,000 YouTube subscribers on DAY 1! Congratulations to Charlie Angus and the Maple Meidas for making this launch such a tremendous success. This is just the beginning as we fight fascism worldwide! 👉 YouTube.com/@meidascanada
Far far from the maddening crowd (of voters).
I would not want to be on this outreach team dealing with students who were stuck on a train or waiting for a train on day 1 .
As long as the line RoW isn't compromised by some council / province in the meantime.
Agreed. But OCT is a minor blip of our risk. We have lots of older one-elevator buildings. What percentage of folks 6 floors or higher could carry their groceries up?
The orange escapee has figured out both outside doors now. He was very smug when he wandered back. Now it is hissing and growling between the two cats. Orange cat is going to be insufferable tomorrow.
The cat has figured out the sliding screen door and perhaps its lock. I've never looked forward to winter weather more.
#ThingsThatGetMoreProtetionThanCyclists
Well yes. Because sometimes we can work from home, but we don't want to come into an office (maybe because we're coughing or worried about being contagious). New rule is that if we're too sick to commute into an office, we should take sick days. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
PROTECT THESE TREE STUMPS AT ALL COSTS! 🫡
Is Barrymore’s open again you ask? Nah, it’s just a pot shop that’s opened up in the space that was The Aloha Room (the Centretown pot shop churn continues). Another downtown Ottawa landmark that’s been neglected so hard there’s probably no chance of ever restoring it to its former glory.
My prediction is that elevator repair parts are going to be a very disruptive and expensive part of US tariffs. Canada might want to adopt European elevator standards so that new buildings are cheaper. The NA market does not have enough manufacturers so the supply chain is fragile. #CdnPoli
Happy Labour Day! Here’s your annual reminder that while big corporations chase profits at any cost and politicians make empty promises, unions deliver real wins for workers 😎
To begin, there is talent here ready to help, but we’re squeezed out, marginalized and silenced by procurement systems that limit competition and hamper change, creativity and ideas. Opening the door to ideas driven competitions would be faster and 2/ www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Better engage the public and private sector in leading change to create better #PlacesForPeople while moving more quickly. Second quibble is that reference to expecting the feds to do this heavy lifting. Consider a #BetterByWard; almost all of the land is municipal 3/ bit.ly/3ScHh3G
A tourist experience, or create a culture of welcome (try finding a bathroom DT…) no efforts on making better parks or improving vibrancy. Council has shut down plans by NCC to pedestrianize Wellington and introduce a tram to boost transit; council is dominated by those with lack of vision 8/
But procurement rules, lack of vision and will make it impossible to engage and speaking out gets folks like me blacklisted and shut out further. I’m begging @mayormarksutcliffe.bsky.social and council to listen, engage and lead. bit.ly/3MIvjLb
Let’s all toast the incredible Judge Sparkle Sooknannon and her clerks for being up since 2:30 in the goddamned morning to ensure this absolute dumpster fire of an administration didn’t deport 600 unaccompanied Guatemalan children. On a Sunday. On a holiday weekend. My god. #AltCitizen for real 👏👏👏👏
Require local bus routes to service schools all day. The two on my local street have service in one direction only during peak hours for commuters. End of school day, parents must walk from major cross street.
Forget blanket senior discount and do low income discount instead. Then kids free and adult with kid under 10 ride free.
These are historic buildings but the City is selling them to trim its budget. Really? We should be relying on the City to preserve its historic properties not dumping them to meet a budget target. #ottcity
This is the third harness! What one worked for you? How do you judge between being too tight and too loose?
I tried to get traction on an idea to turn the Huntmar bridge into a one-way road, so that we could create room for cyclists and pedestrians to cross safely. But no-go: it would have been "too long a detour" for drivers. So it remains closed to pedestrians.
I think an orange cat with no brain cells would be much easier to outsmart.
I need indoor cat advice. So far today my escape cat has a. Rushed the door when my hands were full with recycling; b. Half escaped harness and got stuck under a fence surrounded by bushes; c. Escaped by tripping me when I came from garbage bin; d. Discovered he can climb up inside the cedar hedge;
Got hazardous waste? Check the Waste Explorer to find retailers who will take back your items today! Can’t find one? Visit our Household Hazardous Waste event on Sunday, September 7 at Tunney’s Pasture. More details: ottawa.ca/HHW.
Wow!
“The City appreciates the patience of residents regarding the ongoing construction on the western sidewalk of Bank Street beneath Highway 417” Putting cones over a hole and leaving it like that for 8 months is not "ongoing construction".
A truly surprising number of business processes still offer or, worse, require faxes in 2025.
The Ford government is touting nearly $1B for new schools opening this fall, but the repair backlog for existing ones has swelled to $16B. “This isn’t record spending, it’s record neglect." #cdnpoli
This is fucking appalling.
Transfers were okay on a good network with decent frequency. 30 min is now typical time between trips. Transfers don't work well with that kind of infrequent service. Ottawa also hasn't spend money on stops where many people wait.
Depends of your definition of core healthcare. Physio is not covered for most. Mental health is rarely covered for the employed.
Oh my God, the "just one more lane" people are thinking of going vertical.
It’s not hard to imagine how things like this are possible. So why can’t #OttCity achieve this? How can Gander, a small town of 12k ppl, create such a great space (rotary club seems to have been involved), and ottawa spends millions on parks w/no wcs 2/ www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/plan-and-boo...
Agreed, signed, the Palladium.
A fascinating look at public infrastructure in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Focused on the plight of workers at the city’s Sewerage & Water Board who were tasked with operating the pumps and flood prevention measures. www.cnn.com/interactive/...
This is not a perfect day for a picnic at Petrie Island. It's a bit breezy. Come join is on picnic area 3.
I am hiring a Policy and Planning Assistant — $65-72k a year. Excellent benefits, hybrid work environment. Main role is to monitor all of the planning files in our ward and brief me, as well as policy files for committees and council. We are a fun team! www.arieltroster.com/work_with_us...