Our Ottawa made its agenda public Wednesday on the steps of city hall, months after the group announced it would begin participating in the municipal political scene.
Spokesman, Bob Brocklebank , former Glebe Community Association president, said that Ottawa’s municipal government is at a cross roads.
“Since amalgamation we’ve been seized with this idea that we’re all in separate communities, we’ve got to come together and think about city-wide issues,” Brocklebank said.
The group unveiled their website and held a press conference at city hall Wednesday afternoon.
Brocklebank said the group has 200 members and is expanding and that they want to engage community associations from across the city to get involved in election issues.
Our Ottawa says it encourages more resident participation in governance which would promote transparency.
Brocklebank suggested delegating authority from city bureaucrats to rural or ward councils that could provide direction for their councilor.
However, Our Ottawa faced criticism several months ago when efforts to learn about its membership, objectives and platforms were rebuffed.
The reason for this, according to Brocklebank, was that Our Ottawa had trouble capturing its members’ wide range of opinion.
Our Ottawa will not endorse candidates in the election but will endorse issues that candidates stand for.