As a coalition builder, it will be my great honour to work openly and collaboratively with council and the citizens of Ottawa to achieve our shared vision for the city and unlock its limitless potential.
By 2026, after 4 years of a Kadri administration, Ottawa will be a more green, innovative and prosperous city. Ottawa will see a growth in innovation and employment particularly in the areas of high tech jobs, sustainable infrastructure, locally sourced agriculture, and SMART service delivery. We will have a working and reliable public transit system (LRT, bus). The downtown will be vibrant again.
It will be even more of an inclusive and accessible city with quality health and human services, food security, and greater access to affordable housing with an additional 65,000 housing units built by the end of our first term. We will see a more inclusive Ottawa that features more effective and responsive policing that meets the needs of diverse communities and demonstrates an unflinching commitment to equity, anti-racism, and Indigenous reconciliation.
All in all, by 2026, together we will have built on the outpouring of civic pride and resilience to make this city a truly world-class capital.
In the first one hundred days of our administration, we will embark on some initiatives which will put us on the right track for the long term as a city that embraces good governance, accountability, and transparency.
We will:
Climate Change is the altering of long-term patterns of weather identified by changes in temperature, precipitation, wind and other indicators. Climate change results from the release of substantial amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, and chlorofluorocarbon into the atmosphere.
This Climate Action Plan will be developed through community consultation and a panel of experts on how to address the impacts of climate change and how to be resilient in the coming decades.
The plan focuses on adapting and preparing the community for the risks of climate change, such as more variable and extreme weather, social and infrastructure stress and insurance costs. It l also addresses reducing the community’s contribution to climate change, such as the emission of greenhouse gases. This plan is the next step in moving forward to mitigate climate risks and enhance our community’s climate resilience.
I intend to bring together community groups, leaders and our youth to create a task force and develop a collective vision of what Ottawa should look like in the near, medium and long term.
Ottawa is a vibrant community that is built on existing strengths and attracts businesses that work in partnership with government and community partners to create a diverse, sustainable economy. Economic growth incorporates businesses in new and existing sectors that are leaders in creating a competitive advantage through environmental and social responsibility. Ottawa’s economic growth relies on businesses in the community and the creation of new sectors, where leaders can create a competitive advantage through environmental and social responsibility.
Vision 2030 is about identifying key theme areas, many that connect into a comprehensive Action Plan to help develop resilience to deal with climate change and reduce our carbon footprint. Areas for action include: Agriculture, the City’s Local Sustainable Economy, Consuming Less Energy, Changing our Mode of Transportation, Natural Areas and Corridors, Improving the Quality of Water Resources, Improving Air Quality, Personal Health and Well-
being, and Community Capacity to deal with impending challenges.
The Vision 2030 new visioning and themes starts now. Beginning with a community Climate Action Plan that is a resource for actions that address climate change in Ottawa as a priority.
Housing and homelessness are national issues. There is no silver bullet to deal with these challenges; the problem is two-dimensional spanning availability and affordability. The City has the responsibility to help augment and leverage the federal and provincial plans. A Mayor Kadri council would be committed to contribute in a meaningful and responsible ways to eliminate homelessness and establish affordable housing for all residents of Ottawa. Homelessness, affordability and availability are a plight but housing is a right.
Central to an inclusive, safe and livable city are universal access to affordable housing, quality health and human services, effective policing, meeting the needs of diverse communities and an unflinching commitment to equity, and anti-racism. As Mayor, I will work tirelessly with council to ensure:
Over the past year, Ottawans have come to understand how public safety is an integral part of the city we call home. We all want to live in a community where everyone feels safe, welcome, included, successful, and able to achieve their hopes and aspirations.
Effective community policing involves sound law enforcement practices. It also requires public trust and engagement, meaningful open dialogue, and a commitment to equity and responsiveness to needs of diverse communities. Deeply integrated with public health, community development and access to social and human services, effective policing is one component of building an Ottawa "where everyone is safe, has a sense of belonging, opportunities to participate and where individuals and families are able to meet their needs for education, health care, food, housing, income and social and cultural expression." – "Ottawa’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan 2021-2031" *
We are witnessing the transition of Ottawa from a small to a large city. With this historical evolution come new challenges and opportunities. In an era where resources are scarce, the Government of Ottawa has to be transparent and accountable to the citizens. I believe in an open, citizen-centred approach to good governance – efficient service delivery, accessibility, and equity for underserved communities. As a coalition builder I will work with council and stakeholders to achieve our shared vision for Ottawa and unlock its limitless potential.
As Mayor, I will:
While 15 Minute Neighbourhoods are central to our vision for Ottawa, modern cities still depend on reliable and efficient public transit to keep communities connected and economically vibrant. As mayor, I am committed to revitalizing public transportation in Ottawa and restoring faith in our public transit system.
As we’re all aware, the LRT that was supposed to replace Ottawa’s rapid bus system has been plagued by delays, inefficiencies, and administrative and technical failures. The LRT has many phases to come and under my administration we will ensure that construction proceeds with the highest level of safety, efficiency and accountability.
While preserving privacy of the riders, we will move to an automated pass system that will give us more accurate information about system use and ridership. This will help us optimize service as we target investments in new routes, scheduling, and types of vehicles. We can realize economies of scale with increased ridership and eliminate the deficit of $85 million at OC Transpo and have a path to positive growth.
Many routes have been canceled because there are not enough operators. Often we train our drivers only to have them leave for the private sector because of the poor working conditions they experience, limited benefits and harsh schedules. An enhanced public transit system requires more drivers and good working conditions.
We need to train, retain and certify mechanics and strengthen our in-house capabilities to respond to bus maintenance. The current third party agreement that ships buses almost two hours out of town to be fixed —-at a facility with a limited number of fully certified mechanics— is inefficient and a waste of tax-payers' money.
There are more than 100 licensed taxi drivers who can offer a Para-Transpo service but are currently not doing so. We need to activate licenses and stop outsourcing this service as there already is a system in place for Para-Transpo buses. This will eliminate waste and improve service for the people who need it the most.
As part of our longer term vision, we will have a fleet of electric autonomous cars to transfer people to the nearest bus or train station. Many people walk up to 1 km to get to a bus station and local buses don’t run often. This makes the use of the bus an impractical and unappealing option, particularly during winter. Our approach will provide better service to residents who can have cars on-demand to access buses. This type of service is more environmentally friendly, will reduce waste and will increase ridership and increase revenues.
According to a recent poll, transit is the top-rated issue among Ottawa residents during this election campaign. It is also a key topic of interest for rural residents. Some 80% of Ottawa’s geographical area is rural and transportation solutions in rural Ottawa can look quite different from those in the urban and suburban areas.
An effective rural transportation system is essential to a vibrant and integrated regional life, rural economic development and contributions to the city as a whole.
The diversity of rural Ottawa is blooming. Improved transportation options would increase opportunities for social connection to other diverse neighbourhoods and communities within urban and suburban Ottawa.
As well, youth will have more and better options for transportation to and from school, social activities, employment, to health care services and other opportunities to be connected to their communities.
Many older adults will no longer have to rely on family members, not-for-profit driving schedules and caregivers for transportation. Our Community Partners will continue to provide assistance in these areas and together, we will be able to support the wish of many seniors to ‘age in place.’
Rural economic development requires workers and customers/clients to move in and out of the rural area. Improved public transportation –especially express rush-hour bus service– will be an important contributor to rural economic development.
A Kadri administration will apply a regional lens to the transportation issue. Getting the urban & suburban components of our public transportation system operating reliably and efficiently – both bus and LRT- is a priority for all of Ottawa.
*Thanks to Ken Holmes of Rural Transportation Solutions
Artistic life is vital to Ottawa’s identity. As the capital of Canada, Ottawa already has the talent and some of the infrastructure needed to support a vibrant cultural life. But we can do better. My administration will be committed to making Ottawa a more vibrant city for residents and a world-class artistic attraction for Canadian and international visitors.
Ottawa is home to residents from everywhere in the world who bring with them rich cultural experiences. Such diversity contributes to the vitality of Ottawa’s arts scene and encourages residents and visitors alike to celebrate our common humanity and creative expression.
From the RBC Bluesfest to the Electric Pow Wow, from the Capital Ukrainian Festival to the Capital Bachata Festival, from Ottawa Jazz Festival to the Festival du Jour Des Morts, from Korean dance company Goblin Party to the Digi60 Filmmakers' Festival and The Great Indian Festival – it’s clear that Ottawa has the talent and energy to provide and draw world-class entertainment.
"Smart Farms" can be implemented by dairy, grain, and maple syrup producers, and cash croppers where the value-add is to integrate the different aspects of the business into a private network. There is also an evolution of technology in agriculture that will include vertical farms, which, with the right zoning, could allow year round access to vegetables and fruits from a "local" entrepreneur right in suburban neighbourhoods. This will reduce the GHG (greenhouse gas) footprints caused by the transportation of fruits and vegetables from afar.
In rural areas of Ottawa there are already sensors that allow the road crews to decide when to sand or salt based on temperature and precipitation. These smart systems also record decisions made on remediation which helps avoid insurance claims.
The fact that 80% of the city has a rural profile means that the city needs to be thinking about how to assist the population in the rural areas, including the 1,100 farms inside the city boundaries. Significant research and extensive work have been done on the Economics of Linkages between industry in the Ottawa Valley and the manufacturer in the city. Here is an example:
https://carletonplace.ca/photos/custom/CP-FINAL-DowntownCorridorStudy-Jan2012.pdf
Technology companies and Internet Service Providers in the rural areas are enablers for the linkages between the rural areas and manufacturers in the city. Storm is a perfect example of a company that did remarkable work in this area.
Europe has been supporting some research into smart villages, and smart rural development: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0743016715300024
We can learn from that and augment it as Ottawa has 80% of its geography as rural and has big potential through its 1100+ farms.
There have been several conferences on "Smart Cities" including some held here in Ottawa. These conferences examine the use of sensors to assist traffic flow, provide intelligence and communications to drivers, the media (traffic reports), public safety officials and traffic management for the city. Smart Meters, smart municipal lightings, data driven policing, improving public transportation journey maps, all contribute to cities becoming more livable.
This brief document gives a bit of an idea of how "Smart" will evolve. Economic linkages will be add-ons to progress in the rural areas pertaining to some of the aspects of the supply chain for manufacturers in the area. Regional supply chains will be optimized for the betterment of food security, farmers support, environmental stewardship and consumer value for money.
We will champion making “Ottawa Smart” and embrace innovations in Blockchain Technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, 5G Telecommunications, and Cybersecurity.
The City of Ottawa is 80% rural and only 10% of the population actually lives in the rural areas. Ottawa consists of over 2,800 KM2 of which 2,000 is wetlands or agricultural lands.
For an Internet service provider, this means that 90% of the subscribers are in the city. Many rural communities would actually be considered bedroom communities with the population commuting to the city for work. As an example, 70% of the population in Kemptville (before the pandemic) commuted daily to Ottawa for work. Internet infrastructure delivering high-speeds enables delivery of services for education, healthcare, connections to cloud applications, video conferencing for business (Zoom, Google, FaceTime, etc.) The high-speed Internet connections lower the cost of delivery of these services and enable consultation with citizens of the rural area in-situ, avoiding the time and cost of commuting to an urban location for the services desired. Even the ability to have rural residents purchase goods and services online is good for the environment.
The infrastructure for the municipality itself has community resource centers (CRCs) that need high speeds to allow municipal infrastructure like VOIP phones at municipal buildings, cameras with remote monitoring, sensors for temperature and precipitation, etc. for delivering community services such as healthcare (eg. vaccination clinics), recreation (arenas, baseball, and soccer facilities), seniors’ activities, etc. Businesses that wish to locate in the rural areas need similar infrastructure for similar reasons and will make their location decision based on the availability of the six utilities, of which the Internet is the number one deciding factor – just ask any economic development officer or real estate agency. Ironically the Internet is a utility most likely not planned by the municipality in contrast to utilities like sewer, water, electricity and even natural gas.
The existence of telephone or hydro poles is very important to lowering the cost of deploying fibre infrastructure as burying the fibre is a considerable cost and the poles are already included in the municipal plans as these two items were the beginning of infrastructure in rural areas, and so included as subdivisions were designed.
Rural Broadband policies/programs need to be updated. As an example the 2017 report has this reference to broadband “City of Ottawa Internet coverage – As a result of the Rural Summits of 2005 and 2008, the City has devoted financial and technical resources to facilitate access to broadband Internet access for all rural communities. This has allowed people to stay in the rural areas, start new or strengthen existing businesses, and work from home.” The referenced document is here (2006-2008 activity)
https://app06.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2006/09-27/csedc/ACS2006-PGM-ECO-0018.htm
Ontario has passed legislation to assist in building rural broadband infrastructure, both improved access to poles (hydro or Bell) and the ability to bury fibre optic cable in the ROW (Right of way) is being mandated. See https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-2/bill-93
These types of plans are outdated and a complete new assessment of the state of the rural communities is needed, specially in the wake of COVID and the new realities and working/studying from home initiatives.
ROMA (the Rural Ontario Municipal Association) has relevant information on differing aspects of rural municipalities. According to the ROMA, ‘rural interests’ means looking at the unique conditions that define the rural context - such as access to socio-economic elements like income, education, and occupation - as being the most important drivers of an area’s rurality. ROMA also covers how to work with broadband suppliers quite well.
"The rural reality in Ottawa is quite unique. It is one of the biggest rural areas of any municipality in Canada and yet is difficult to compare to other rural settings that are not located close to a major city with all the services a city provides. The four CRCs that serve the majority of the rural territory are: Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre, Orléans-Cumberland CRC, Nepean, Rideau and Osgoode CRC, and Western Ottawa CRC
The 4 CRCs providing services to the rural Ottawa population have a total of 7 FTE Community Developers to support their community. Because of the needs and services required to support our urban and suburban communities, only 1.1 FTEs are specifically dedicated to the rural community.” (Coalition Ottawa)
It is absolutely imperative that we have a new study of the needs of rural Ottawa and implement a plan that revives the rural communities, gives them better access to broadband and high-speed Internet, helps farmers transform their farms into Smart Farms (see our Smart Farms Plan), and helps build regional supply chains that will enhance food security and support for farmers to succeed and punch above their potential.