Ottawa playwright Sean Devine's When There's Nothing Left to Burn was chosen to be staged from 75 entries to the University of Lethbridge's anniversary playwriting competition. (Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Theatre)

The Gladstone set to stage Ottawa playwright’s dark political drama

By Rebecca Kiriakopoulos

Imagine a world where a bomb exploded on your bus ride to work, where the government forbade you to leave your house between sundown and sunrise, where you were brought in for questioning by authorities because you wrote a song or made a post on social media about what was happening in your city.

Ottawa playwright Sean Devine’s dark political drama When There’s Nothing Left to Burn tells the story of a fictional, unnamed North American city where citizens are trying to live their day-to-day lives in the middle of a violent political conflict.

The play is currently being developed by Crow’s Theatre in Toronto and Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Theatre — an Ottawa-based production company of which Devine is artistic director — and will be presented in a developmental “staged reading” at The Gladstone on Tuesday, April 17.

The one-night, workshop-style performance is intended to help shape the future full production of the play, said Devine.

The award-winning Ottawa playwright said the first spark of inspiration for When There’s Nothing Left to Burn came from the political uprising in Ukraine in 2014.

“I noticed a growing trend in people rebelling against oppressive regimes,” said Devine. “The narrative was influenced by various rebellions happening all over the world, in Venezuela, student riots in Quebec and citizen rebellions in London.”

The play was entered in the University of Lethbridge’s “Fiction at Fifty” playwriting competition celebrating the Alberta school’s recent 50th anniversary. Out of 75 entries from across Canada, Devine’s play was commissioned by the U of L to be developed into a full production.

The play premiered at the university as a student production in November, and this month’s Ottawa performance represents another step in its development towards full, professional staging.

According to a U of L news release, When There’s Nothing Left to Burn stood out to the jury because of its “dynamic story, insightful perspective and ambitious scope.”

Devine said he was inspired by the Kiev revolution among other conflicts and modeled the play on the idea that it is possible that a similar political crisis could occur here in North America.

“I submitted a proposal to them that was based on all of those ideas, as the play started taking shape, that rise of authoritarianism was getting closer and closer to home,” he said. “The play had to stand today, and although it doesn’t take place in a specific North American city, it’s clear that it does take place in North America.”

Devine said the main message he wants the audience to take from his work is a political one about the “fragility of democracy,” and that the play finishes with a line proclaiming that while “it takes a long time to build a democracy, taking one down hardly takes anytime at all.”

The play will only show at the Gladstone for the single staged reading. Devine said the performance is taking place in front of a small audience to test how his hometown audience responds to the narrative.

“There might be a production in a year or so, but right now I just need to do one night — that’s all I basically have budget for.”

He said audiences are a significant contributor to the development of his work, and that he’s pleased to bring this play to Ottawa.

“The past week I had this play work-shopped in Toronto in front of the Toronto community. And I got back from Texas, where another one of my plays was done. And while both of those are great experiences, you don’t exactly feel like you’re contributing to your own local community.”

He explained that artists like to feel that they are contributing to the overall health and well being of their community and that “it’s certainly hard to do that as a playwright unless your plays are done for an audience that is your community.”

Devine said the political environment in the capital also makes the city a great stage for presenting this particular play.

“It’s always interesting to do political theatre in a city where you can almost hope that members of your audience could be if not policy makers themselves, but connected to policy makers,” he said.  “In that sense, not only do you have an audience that you hope will be passionate about politics, but might be in position to change things.”

The exhibit titled Face to Face is set up to be reminiscent of a family’s wall of photos to reinforce the ideas of interconnectedness, community and family roots. Photo: Evelyn Myers, Centretown News

Face to Face approaches Ottawa’s Jewish history like ‘family photo wall’

By Evelyn Myers

A new exhibit showcasing Ottawa’s Jewish history — and coming in June to the Bytown Museum — is designed to look like a collection of family photos in the living room, a nod to the interconnectivity of Ottawa’s Jewish community.

The exhibit, Face to Face, was created by the Ottawa Jewish Archives last year as part of the Canada 150 celebrations, and has been on display at the archives’ downtown locale.

It is the culmination of three major modernization projects that have been in the works for a while at the Ottawa Jewish Archives, said Saara Mortensen, the organization’s archivist.

The exhibit is comprised of framed photographs arranged like a family’s photo wall, a reference to how the Jewish community in Ottawa is like a big family, said Mortensen, who curated and mounted the exhibit. “I wanted the arrangement of the portraits to be pretty informal and to look like an arrangement of pictures that you’d see in somebody’s living room,” she said.

The exhibit includes a catalogue which reproduces the photographs and gives a short biography and when possible, reproduces clippings from the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.

“One of the lovely things about this exhibit is that it showcases the little treasures that are in the Jewish archives here in Ottawa,” said David Dean, professor of history at Carleton University and co-director of the Carleton Centre for Public History. Bringing the exhibit to the Bytown Museum helps remind us of Ottawa’s enduring diversity, he said. This message is especially important with the current political climate and worries about immigration, he said.

“The exhibition serves to give exposure to the collection of the Ottawa Jewish Archives and the Jewish community as a whole,” Grant Vogl, collections and exhibitions manager at the Bytown Museum, said in an email.

The exhibit highlights contributors to civic life, such as former mayor of Ottawa Lawrence (Lorry) Greenberg. It also spotlights lesser known members of Ottawa’s Jewish community, such as Freda Paltiel, who devoted 20 years to gender equality and social equity policy and programs in Canada and abroad.

“Everyone really does have a really remarkable story,” said Mortensen.

It was hard to narrow the archive’s collection down to the 24 people who are featured in this exhibit, Mortensen said. As a result, there are many who have made incredible contributions that weren’t included, she said, adding that she could put together a similar exhibit with a different theme, like arts and culture or sports, every year.

“These accomplishments didn’t just serve one group,” said Mortensen. “There are people who have made Canadian society better for everyone.”

The Jewish Federation of Ottawa had the final say in who was included in the exhibit. Five main criteria guided their selection of subjects. The contributors had to be from Ottawa or have spent a considerable amount of time here. All those featured are deceased and contributed in the fields of politics and public service.

It’s important to have exhibits like this one because we often know we have access to these things now but don’t know how they came to be implemented, Mortensen said. This exhibit helps people put a name, a face and a time period to these accomplishments to see how this country has evolved into what it is today, she said.

The exhibit is at the Ottawa Jewish Archives until May 31. It will be on display at the Bytown Museum from June 8 to Sept. 30.

 

Grant Vogl of the Bytown Museum stands next to a bicycle in the new exhibit titled Through the Eyes of Community: 150 Years of Ottawa's History. The exhibit opened on April 13 and runs until Dec. 23. Photo: Madison Ranta, Centretown News

Exhibit glimpses 150 years of Ottawa history through five sets of eyes

By Madison Ranta

A new exhibit at the Bytown Museum will encourage Ottawa residents to examine the city’s history from five different vantage points: the perspective of a farmer, a woman, a veteran, a child and an immigrant.

The exhibit, titled Through the Eyes of Community: 150 Years of Ottawa’s History, explores the role of five different demographics in shaping Ottawa’s history between 1867 and 2017. Each of the five perspectives highlighted in the exhibit covers approximately 30 years of history using artifacts and information panels.

The exhibit opened on April 13 and runs until Dec. 23.

While parts of the exhibit were shown at City Hall and city-run museums during 2017, the Bytown Museum display will be the first time that all five modules will be showcased in the same place at the same time.

Grant Vogl, collections and exhibitions manager for the Bytown Museum, said the new exhibit’s approach to telling history from diverse viewpoints is what makes it unique.

“When people think of the history of Ottawa, it’s a pretty narrow focus in terms of identity,” said Vogl. “We have a lot of stories about British immigrants, Irish immigrants, the French presence, but this exhibit reaches beyond that and talks about different groups that are a part of the city now and shows the multiculturalism of Ottawa.”

Through the Eyes of Community was developed by the City of Ottawa, with funding from the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and the Museums Assistance Program. John Maker, an exhibition development research officer for the City of Ottawa, said the exhibit was created as part of last year’s Canada 150 celebrations.

“The 150 celebrations were all about Canada as a nation, and the various different events that happened on a national scale,” said Maker. “A lot of those events centre on decisions made in Ottawa, but our exhibition wanted to flip that on its head and look at what was going on in those 150 years in the local community of Ottawa.”

Ashley Stevens, an exhibition development researcher for the City of Ottawa, said the displays took three years to develop.

“One of the things that was really important was that we were representing this history of Ottawa from 1867 to 2017, so we really looked at the way that certain communities changed during that time,” said Stevens.

The farmer’s portion of the exhibit examines the rise of dairy production and the increase in urban markets as Ottawa’s population boomed between 1867 and 1900.

The women’s history section spans 1897 to 1930, covering the fight for the vote. It also highlights women’s growing independence outside the home, including the founding of the Bytown Museum itself by the Women’s Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa in 1917.

Similarly, the veteran’s section spans Ottawa history from 1930 to 1957, showcasing the creation of support systems such as Legion halls and Carleton College — the future Carleton University — which helped re-integrate servicemen into society after the Second World War.

An avid cyclist, Vogl said his favourite part of the new exhibit is a bicycle in the women’s history section.

“The section speaks to how the bicycle assisted in women’s liberation at the time, because that’s how they were able to get out and go places,” said Vogl.

He added that the power of the exhibit lies in the diversity of the stories it tells.

“I think anyone would find at least one or two pieces or stories that they can personally connect with,” said Vogl. “If you’ve come from a family of farmers, or you had relatives fight in the world wars, you’re going to see those connections. And anyone with kids, there’s a lot of talk about growing up in Ottawa as a child, so I think there’s a little bit of something for everyone.”

Amanda Carver, left, of Ottawa Women’s March, poses with city councillor Diane Deans, who spearheaded the Women's Bureau initiative. Photo: Reina Cowan, Centretown News

Council approves creation of Women’s Bureau for ‘gender lens’ on policy

By Reina Cowan

Ottawa city councillors voted on March 28 to create a new Women’s Bureau and Council Liaison on women’s issues. This would establish a new framework that looks at Ottawa issues through a gendered lens.

“I think across the entire corporation, from public transit to transportation policy to social policy to urban planning and everywhere in between, a gender lens can change the direction that we’re taking,” Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans said during the meeting.

Deans proposed the creation of the bureau with support from Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney.

The hope, said Deans, is to embed a gender equity lens into all policy development that the city does in the future. Only four out of 24 Ottawa city councillors are women.

Deans said the atmosphere in the room after the announcement was “hopeful and excited.” Supporters of the motion wore peach scarves in solidarity with the City for All Women Initiative or CAWI, a local organization that works closely with municipal policy makers to promote inclusivity and gender diversity in Ottawa, according to CAWI program officer, Fathiya Warsame.

Warsame said the motion being passed was a great first step, but that she hoped the bureau itself would highlight diversity and make sure the voices of marginalized women were heard.

“I was really really relieved at hearing there’s going to be that intersectionality component,” she said. “To say it’s going to be focusing on women’s issues is one thing, but what women’s issues are we focusing on, and how do we make sure that everybody’s voices get heard?”

Deans said the meeting was put on pause to take a photo with CAWI organizers who supported the motion. “They’ve been working in gender and equity issues in the city for 14 years and I think today’s a milestone for them and they could see the forward momentum that has been created here,” she said.

Lyra Evans, the Ontario NDP MPP candidate for Ottawa-Vanier, said as a woman in politics, she feels the bureau could be a stepping stone in breaking down barriers for women to enter the world of public policy.

“I’ve had a very difficult time finding campaign staff who have not been snatched up by successful men’s campaigns in nearby areas,” said Evans. For her, as a first-time candidate, fleshing out a full team has proven difficult.

“I assume that other women who are just beginning to run and haven’t had a lot of engagement in political spaces before would have very similar difficulties,” she added.

Evans said she hopes the bureau might encourage other women to come forward and get the support that they need in creating a campaign and choosing to run. “I hope that this bureau will make the barriers of entry for women into politics less, because as a woman in politics, it’s hard,” she said.

The meeting did not address what the formal structure of the bureau will look like.

Ideas for the implementation of the bureau will be discussed as part of the governance report for the 2018-2022 term of city council.

The broken sign atop the bridge could be an indicator of things to come. Photo: Samuel Berube, Centretown News

As deadline looms, attention turns to condition of Prince of Wales Bridge

By Samuel Berube

The clock is ticking for the City of Ottawa to decide on the future of the Prince of Wales bridge. Despite efforts to delay the project, the April 28 deadline imposed by the Canadian Transport Authority is still in effect.

Developers have presented plans of their own to refit the old bridge, notably Joseph Potvin’s Moose Consortium, though the city is pushing back against them. The city says it envisions the bridge purely as a rail connection over the river. However, it has not presented a concrete timeline for a potential rebuilding project.

Whether the city chooses to keep the bridge or sell the project to a developer remains to be seen. It does appear, though, that maintaining the bridge true to its over century-old history is a key priority for heritage advocates and engineers alike.

The Prince of Wales bridge currently sits abandoned, exposed to the weather and trespassers. Forgetting for a moment that the future of the bridge is a mystery, questions have been raised as to what it would take to refurbish the iron giant, and how could a developer refurbish it to modern standards while maintaining the heritage of a 138-year-old structure.

David Jeanes, president and chair of the board for Heritage Ottawa, said the bridge is not on any kind of heritage registry in the city, thereby leaving it vulnerable to potential remodeling or even demolition.

“The Federal Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act does not apply to bridges or other types of railway buildings,” Jeanes said. “There is a provincial registry of Heritage Bridges, but it only applies to bridges owned by the Province.”

Grant Vogl, collections and exhibitions manager at the Bytown Museum, stressed the importance of protecting the heritage of old structures. “When any historical structure is lost due to age, fire or modernization, its physical place in history is lost and we are left with only photographs or the occasional commemorative plaque,” he said.

“We lose the original intent of the architect and how the [structure] interacted with the neighbourhood and surrounding structures,” Vogl said.

Greg Remisz, VP/Finance & Business Development at Remisz Contracting Engineers Ltd., works with Moose Consortium. His organization presented a plan to refurbish and refit the bridge according to Moose’s ideas.

“The objective of our project is to add a pedestrian and cycling pathway to Prince of Wales Bridge and Lemieux Island without interfering with the utility of the existing railway line, involving minimal intervention and respecting the heritage value of the structure and location,” Remisz said.

Remisz presented three options: an all-steel construction, an all-wood construction or composite wood reinforced with fibreglass. He said the all-wood construction, which would appear closest to the original shape of the bridge, would be designed by “heritage or landscape designers.”

“Since this is not a detailed design yet,” Remisz said, “we only considered the practicality of using various materials – or their combination – in order to reduce overall weight and to have a nice looking finished product.”

Jeanes said if the bridge were to be torn down, the city would lose “the only feasible rail link between Ottawa and Gatineau.” He said the steel structures would need immediate repainting to cover up the graffiti that trespassers have tagged it with, but they are still solid and there is no sign of structural damage. “The bridge is worth conserving,” he said.

An earlier stage of construction on the LRT's Confederation Line tunnel, underground at the downtown Lyon Station. Photo: OC Transpo/City of Ottawa

LRT by Remembrance Day? Don’t count on it, committee told

By Rachel Emmanuel

Ottawa’s much anticipated Light Rail Transit Confederation Line is supposed to go into service in November, but officials can’t guarantee it will be ready for Remembrance Day.

Each year, thousands travel to the National War Memorial in the heart of downtown to pay their respects on Nov. 11. Much of Elgin Street is closed off and the downtown core is packed with people.

Pat Scrimgeour, director of the transit customer systems and planning with the City of Ottawa, said in an email: “It is too early to speculate on a specific date for the launch of the service.”

Since the original LRT completion date of May 2018 was thrown off track, the Rideau Transit Group is facing increased pressure to complete the $2.1-billion contract as new costs – such as continuing to run OC Transpo buses – continue to be incurred.

The city’s finance and economic development committee was recently assured that the Confederation Line would reach “revenue service availability” — or RSA — by Nov. 2 in a recent update given by John Manconi, the general manager of the city’s transportation services department.

But reaching RSA doesn’t mean the line will immediately be ready for use.

West Carleton-March Coun. Eli El-Chantiry stressed the meaning of the RSA date at the meeting.

“I wouldn’t want people to necessarily leave this meeting with the understanding that they’re going to step on the train on Nov. 2,” he said.

Manconi explained the RSA date is the point at which RTG will hand the “keys” to the LRT line to city.

“If RTG meets the substantial completion in the fall, and then achieves revenue service availability, our plan is to launch the train in November,” Manconi said.

He said that before the RSA date can be met, the system is set to achieve “substantial completion” at the end of summer, meaning the system has passed all testing and safety certification tests.

His presentation included pictures of the partially completed structures, as well as a first glimpse of the vehicles that will be used.

“You’re getting a state-of-the-art (Bus Rapid Transit) to LRT conversion, the first in the world,” he said. “On opening day, it’ll be the busiest LRT in North America, carrying 11,000 passengers per hour per direction.”

The photos of the half-built structures caused one councillor to question the RTG’s ability to make the Nov. 2 deadline.

Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans asked: “I’m wondering, Mr. Manconi, what your confidence level is now on RTG’s ability to hand over the system to the city on Nov. 2?”

Manconi responded by saying he isn’t concerned with the “civil” aspects of the project, but is focused on ensuring a working system.

“Councillor, you know my style,” he said. “I’m very cautious.”

However, he also acknowledged there’s much at stake for RTG.

“There is a lot of money riding on RTG to make sure they achieve that date,” he said. “They need to achieve those dates for their well-being.”

Ottawa has enacted several measures as part of its Older-Age Plan. (Clockwise from the top right) A total of 81 grit boxes have been placed around the city to prevent slipping in the winter; Walk lights in areas with high numbers of seniors have been extended; Dozens of accessible benches have been installed around the city; OC Transpo offers discounted senior rates, free rides on Wednesdays. Photo: Connor Oke, Centretown News/Public Domain

City earns ‘Age-Friendly’ award for seniors’ services, amenities

By Connor Oke

Ottawa seniors like Frank Rousseau benefit from a variety of services offered by the city: discounted bus fares and free Wednesday rides, housing assistance and more.

In recognition of the city’s work with its seniors, the provincial government presented Ottawa with an Age-Friendly Community Recognition Award on March 26. The Ontario Minister of Senior Affairs Dipika Damerla presided over the special ceremony in Toronto, during which several municipalities were honoured.

Ottawa received its award for the development of its Older-Adult Plan, created in 2012 and updated in 2015. The plan sets out several areas of action to make the city more accessible for seniors like Rousseau, including in transportation, housing and health services. But the city isn’t resting on its laurels – it will soon be starting consultations for the third edition of the plan.

“I can tell that they’re trying to improve things, which I appreciate,” said Rousseau, a retired accountant who uses discounted OC Transpo services. “I live downtown, so it isn’t difficult to get around, but I could understand it being more of a challenge for folks living further away.”

Some of the Older Adult Plan’s measures are significant, such as offering discounts and free rides with OC Transpo, or investments in affordable housing. Other measures are more modest, such as installing new age-accessible park benches, or cutting curbs to lower tripping hazards.

“One thing we heard from older adults is really not knowing enough about the kinds of services that are available, so we developed an older adult services guide for older adults who may not be online and know how to search,” said Clara Freire, who managed the city’s development of the Older-Adult Plan. “It’s really worked in connecting people. Ottawa has quite a committed city council and staff group, and a very transparent process that really works well here.”

The city worked closely with Ottawa’s Council on Aging to develop and implement the plan.

“We appreciate the leadership and commitment of the city to the Older Adult Plan,” said Bonnie Schroeder, the council’s program director for the Age-Friendly Ottawa initiative. “We wrote a letter of recommendation on behalf of the city for the application. We’re just so proud to be a part of a city that’s committed to seniors.”

But Schroeder said there’s always room for improvement, as the city can do more to help seniors stay independent.

“Health has always been a big concern, but we also need to ensure there’s access to affordable housing where seniors can be independent. We also need to make sure seniors are able to get around and have access to information for retirement planning and accessing services,” she said.

Eric Manherz, runs a senior’s web service — ottawaseniors.com – and said that Ottawa is a good city for the elderly.

“There’s so many services and a good community, and lots of retirement homes if people want them,” Manherz said. “One thing that we need to do more of is giving access to information that lets people find stuff on their own. I think that helps them stay in the house. That’s what my site is trying to do.”

According to census data from 2016, just over 15 per cent of Ottawa residents are over the age of 65, which is slightly below the Canadian average of 17 per cent.

This number is expected to grow in the next few years. By 2021. around 16.3 per cent of the city will be over the age of 65, as baby boomers continue to retire.

“In the next 20 years, the population growth of older adults is expected to double in Ottawa,” Mayor Jim Watson said in a news release from the city. “We will continue to invest in projects like our Older Adult Plan to ensure the city has the infrastructure and programs to support this growing population.”

The annual Ottawa Capital Pride Parade 2017. Photo supplied by Alexandra Dean from Ottawa Capital Pride.

Capital Pride seeks infusion of young energy, ideas

By Crystal Oag

Ottawa Capital Pride is introducing a new youth advisory committee to help bring the voices of young people to the table.

“Young LGBTQ2+ people still continue to face barriers in our community and at school, for example, when coming out to friends and family,” said Davy Sabourin, the community relations officer for Ottawa Capital Pride. “For us, we really want to ensure that we can create a space for them to be able to be who they are, to be heard and to be comfortable speaking out about the challenges they are facing.”

The committee will be made up of engaged youth between the ages of 15 and 25. According to the Ottawa Capital Pride website, the chosen committee members will provide, “insight, advice and guidance,” for board policies and decisions specifically impacting LGBTQ2+ youth.

“Queer and Trans youth are disproportionately victims of violence and oppression, so it is incredibly important to get their opinions and ideas on projects,” said Jeremy Dias, the executive director and founder of the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity.

Sabourin said Ottawa Capital Pride has always had successful youth programming, but the new committee will allow young people to be more involved than ever.

“For me, it was so hard to not be able to speak out, not to be able to be involved, not be able to have the opportunities to be engaged,” said Sabourin. “So, I wanted to make sure that the youth and young people in our community have that platform and can be engaged meaningfully with Capital Pride.”

Ottawa Capital Pride’s website said its mission is to create an environment for education and advocacy to allow for a “vibrant Rainbow Community within the Nation’s Capital region.” Located in the heart of Centretown, the organization is also responsible for planning the annual Ottawa Capital Pride Festival.

The committee, said Sabourin, will have input on the Festival in August, as well as planning other events and conferences throughout the year.

“It makes sense for Pride to have a youth advisory committee,” said Dias. He said that some LGBTQ2+ youth may need that space to be themselves and have their opinions heard.

As a youth, Dias took action against inequality within his community. He said that during this time he faced obstacles, like some people refusing to work with him because of his age.

“Being taken seriously is a challenge for sure, but I think it goes much deeper than that. There’s a level of ageism and cultural disrespect that is allowed to continue to be a barrier for youth,” said Dias.

 

 

Dias said he would like to see more focus go towards LGBTQ2+ youth initiatives in Ottawa.

Sabourin said that because of the large number of applications, Ottawa Capital Pride may appoint up to 10 members to the youth advisory committee.

“We want to hear from them, but we also want to give them a platform to develop their own ideas, and speak out and go into the community,” Sabourin said. “I have this big vision of it just becoming like a movement in Ottawa of engaged LGBTQ2+ youth.”

 

 

Impact Hub program lead James Chan, Sue Garvey, executive director of Cornerstone Housing for Women, Marc Gallant from the Ottawa Mission and Kaite Burkholder Harris from Canadian Observatory on Homelessness met to talk about the status of homelessness in Ottawa on March 29. The city spends $18 million to combat homelessness each year. Photo: Ellen Spannagel, Centretown News.

City urged to try bolder experiments to end homelessness

By Ellen Spannagel

Ottawa needs to take more chances if it wants to fully address the issue of homelessness, a group of social workers and policy experts said at a recent panel on the subject.

“I think Ottawa can be a bit risk-averse and we need some public champions who can try new things,” Kaite Burkeholder Harris, a member of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, said during the March 28 event at Impact Hub.

The event was timed to coincide with the release of a report on the halfway mark of Ottawa’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. Speakers included representatives of Cornerstone Housing, the Ottawa Mission, and the Canadian Observatory for Homelessness.

Panelists said there has been an impressive drop in chronic homelessness, but they still have serious concerns about the number of families staying in shelters and subsidized motels. They attributed the increase to the number of asylum seekers and other newcomers to the city.

Burkeholder Harris said so-called inclusionary zoning – essentially requiring developers to earmark a certain number of affordable units in all new housing projects – could do a lot to help eradicate homelessness in Ottawa.

She encouraged the city to make this a major economic incentive for developers.

“You’re going to get greenlighted faster at City Hall to build your building because you have affordable units in it,” Burkeholder Harris said.

Sue Garvey, director of Cornerstone Housing for Women, said funding should be directed towards providing affordable housing in other parts of the city, not just the downtown core.

For Garvey, creating diverse communities instead of centralizing homelessness efforts within the inner city should be a priority.

“I think that as a city we’re really hoping that we can move into a place where we won’t have to rely on Centretown to hold all of the affordable housing in the city,” Garvey said.

According to the report there are more than 10,000 people on the waiting list for affordable housing in Ottawa.


Garvey emphasized the Housing First Initiative, through which the city has housed 519 people and has seen 85 per cent of those people still housed after six months in the program according to the committee report.

She said in the past months Cornerstone Housing for Women has made affordable housing its number one goal instead of focusing on emergency shelters, which she describes as only a band-aid solution.

The group currently operates several homes in Centertown to provide emergency shelter for homeless women and those who can’t afford current market rents.

Cornerstone Housing for Women has been working since 2014 to convert the Sisters of Jeanne D’Arc Institute “mother house” on Princeton Avenue in Westboro into 42 bachelor rental suites for women.

Garvey said the project should be completed within the next two months.

For James Chan, the program lead at Impact Hub, an important solution is shattering the stereotypes often associated with homelessness.

This is why his team at Impact Hub is organizing a homeless simulation, to allow more than 100 people to role-play what it’s like to live in the shelter system.

“We’ll give participants the profiles of real life people and the participants will follow the system, basically putting themselves in the shoes of people living in poverty,” Chan said.

Chan says the simulation is set for Saturday, May 12 and will be a large-scale event taking place in Centretown.

Critic pushes for stronger policies on greening buildings

By Jackie Bastianon

Recent updates to Ottawa’s Green Building Policy have been criticized for ignoring smaller buildings in the move to continue to bring larger buildings up to more energy efficient standards.

The updates on the Green Building Policy were outlined in a presentation by the director of infrastructure services, Alan Gonthier, at a meeting of the environmental stewardship advisory council held on March 29.

The current Green Building Policy, which was approved by council back in 2005, only requires all new buildings with a footprint greater than 500 square metres to be built to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.

LEED is a rating system used in the U.S. and Canada as a way to measure the environmental sustainability of a building. The system is based on a point system: buildings are rated higher for incorporating more green design in categories such as optimizing energy performance, using environmentally friendly materials and resources and using innovative design processes.

Increasing the efficiency of buildings in Ottawa is one of many projects being discussed in the city’s move to reach its goal to reduce greenhouse gases (or GHGs), by 2050, to 80 per cent below 2012 levels. These pledges were created following the federal government’s ratification of the Paris climate accord in 2016.

ESAC member Bill Eggertson gave some constructive criticism following the Green Building Policy presentation. His first complaint was with regards to the fact that LEED certification is only been applied to buildings over a certain size in Ottawa.

“You are missing one hell of a lot of municipal buildings. I encourage you to go below 500 square meters, consider all buildings.”

Eggertson also said the amount of energy being saved by LEED is difficult to track compared to other energy saving systems.

“How much energy are we saving, how much greenhouse emissions are we reducing?”

“LEED is good from an aesthetics value, niceness point of view, but it sucks when it comes to actual tracking in emissions,” he added.

Following the feedback, Gonthier was given a chance to address the issues.

He pointed out that while smaller buildings in Ottawa aren’t going for LEED certification, the industry has evolved towards more environmentally-friendly methods.

“Everything we do we’re trying to seek environmental sustainability,” he said. “Whether or not we’re seeking a form of certification or not, doesn’t change the approach that we bring to our building practices,” he said.

He also mentioned that the city is looking into other kinds of certification systems, such as Energy Star, that may be able to track the amount of energy buildings are saving more effectively than LEED.

Heather Dunlop, a volunteer from Ecology Ottawa, attended the meeting to increase her knowledge about the city.
“I was pleased to hear that they were moving ahead with the LEED certification, and I agreed with Bill Eggertson that I believe that more should be done for the small buildings,” said Dunlop. “I think they could do a lot more but I think it’s a start.”

Eggertson’s final thoughts on the presentation were echoed by others in the room.

“Again, you’re singing the right song, I just wish you’d hit the whole chorus,” he said. “You’re just hitting the high notes here.”