By André Fecteau
After being in limbo for several years, a project to provide Ottawa’s GLBTQ community with its own drop-in centre may be back on track and become more than just a website.
The centre will “move from paper to concrete” by the end of 2006 or 2007, says Nathan Taylor, interim chair of the project’s steering committee.
“This is based on indications from the mayor’s office,” Taylor says, adding this will also depend on “considerable help” from the community, the private sector, and other organizations.
It’s been 10 years since Ottawa has had such a facility. It closed in 1995 as a result of financial problems.
Since then, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to resurrect a centre for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people and queers.
The latest attempt came in 2002, when the city provided $18,000 for a feasibility study. It suggested a community centre could open at the end of 2006.
Taylor’s optimism results from a meeting with Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli in August.
“(Chiarelli) is very supportive,” says Taylor. “There’s a considerable amount of energy coming from City Hall.”
The steering committee is still in the preliminary stages of developing the project. For now, it is formulating procedural policies and a mission statement.
Taylor was unable to give any estimates as to how much such a centre might cost, but says they’re looking at a location in the area bordered by O’Connor Street and Gladstone, Bronson and Laurier avenues.
Pink Triangle Services, the project’s host organization, received $5,000 for the centre from the city two months ago, “but the city has made no (further) financial commitment,” says Taylor.
“We need to get more help,” he says. “We need to work as a team with community members.”
According to Taylor, the project has struggled over the last few years because of a lack of resources and volunteers, as well as a “crisis” this summer at Pink Triangle Services.
Pink Triangle Services was plunged into disarray when four of its 12 board members resigned and accusations of financial mismanagement and illegal appointments of board members became public.
For these reasons, Taylor says the committee is seeking to “divorce” from Pink Triangle Services and become independent.
Still, the steering committee recognizes Pink Triangle Services is a “key partner” in the creation of such a centre, says Taylor.
The new community centre would consist of a main centre in the downtown area and several smaller satellite centres throughout the city.
They would provide the GLBTQ community with health, housing, library, police, and employment services. They would also be a focal point for cultural activities.
A 2001 survey indicated that 45 per cent of the city’s GLBTQ community live downtown and surrounding areas, 51 per cent live in the suburbs, and five per cent live in rural areas.
Alex Munter was one of the major proponents for the community centre when he was city councillor.
“I think that both the GLBT community and the City of Ottawa have reached a critical mass that makes this project more viable than it has ever been before,” he says. “I think there’s a good momentum, a good energy.”
But Munter, who is not involved in the current project, says he has doubts about the opening of the centre in 2006. “This project is so big that the best way to do it is step by step,” he says.