Dialogue for Democracy Meeting, June 9, 2009

• The date for the next D4D meeting has been brought forward to Tuesday, June 9, 2009.
  
  Time: 7:00 pm
  
  Location: St. Thomas the Apostle Anglican Church, 2345 Alta Vista Drive.
  
  The topic for this meeting is “The State of Democracy in Canada.”
  
  There are many issues in the news today that challenge the democratic process at all three level of government in Canada. Here are some examples:
  
  over 1 million federal voters across Canada cast their votes without receiving any representation in parliament from their party of choice;
• a prime minister prorogues parliament for the sole purpose of avoiding a vote of no confidence; a political party launches personalized attack ads that seek to differentiate between citizens (immigrants, residents and non-residents);
• a public judicial inquiry is under way into the business dealings between an ex-prime minister and an international business man and lobbyist;
• a criminal trial of the mayor of Ottawa for pretending to have influence over the government of Canada or a minister of the government in order to gain a benefit; and for soliciting, recommending or negotiating an appointment in order to gain a benefit, both contrary to the Criminal Code;
• provisions of the provincial and municipal elections acts that allow election campaign donations from corporations and unions in areas where there is real potential for conflicts of interest.
  
  Councillor Clive Doucet, a local politician and activist with a particular interest in governance issues will introduce the topic. This is a large subject that will likely take more than a two hour session to cover effectively, so we are considering holding follow-up D4D sessions. Speakers from other levels of government will be invited to attend.
  
  This should prove to be an interesting and exciting meeting. You are invited to come along and have your say. This will be the final D4D meeting of the season. Meetings will resume again in the fall.
  
  For further information please visit out web site http://www.ottawasouthgreenparty.ca/ or phone Colin at 613-739-2784.

Hold the Line

Hold the Line was the theme for the Coalition for a Sustainable Ottawa’s noon-hour rally at the Human Rights Monument on Elgin Street today (Tues. May 12). Will Murray, an Ottawa lawyer organized the event in cooperation with Ecology Ottawa. The issue is Ottawa city council’s current agenda to amend the official land-use plan by increasing the urban boundary by nearly 850 hectares, much of which will eventually be occupied by single family dwellings.


The original plan amendment proposal and the modifications that are currently being debated were originally put forward by city staff. The opposition that now has emerged urges council to opt for zero land for suburban expansion with a focus on new development within the existing urban areas of the city. It is argued, rightly, that suburban expansion is unsustainable both environmentally and financially.

A number of like minded councillors attended the rally today as well as supporters from political parties, Sierra Club of Canada, the Raging Grannies and representatives from different communities across the city.


With respect to city staff, that do the background research and craft the Official Plan and amendments, it should be noted that they act based entirely on directions from city council. They actually do a pretty thorough job but a majority of council decided that an urban boundary expansion that would accommodate projected demand for single family dwellings was the way to go.

The Coalition for a Sustainable Ottawa is advocating a mix of housing development. Murray notes that distant suburbs have an environmental cost and are costly to maintain with services such as water, sewers public transit.

Hospital Link-Cumberland Transit Study Open House

There was good attendance at this open house held at the Jim Durrell Centre on April 29, 2009. The purpose of the open house is to present preliminary plans for the environmental assessment of the proposed Hospital Link – Browning Avenue section of the bus transit corridor that is now under way.
The presentation is in the form of display boards that include a summary of plans including specific ground rules for the project.

Representatives from the City of Ottawa and from the consulting firm that is undertaking the study (Morrison Hershfield Limited) were available to answer questions. Attendees were invited to submit written comments on forms provided and many people seemed to be taking advantage of this opportunity.

The display boards contain a lot of information, much of which is difficult to interpret and in many cases representatives were unable to clarify details satisfactorily. However, we were told that all the information on display at the open house would be uploaded to the City of Ottawa website, http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/public_consults/hospital_cumberland/index_en.html, giving people an opportunity to review it in more detail prior to submitting comments. This will also provide an opportunity for people who were unable to attend the open house to review the plans.

Unfortunately, there has been a significant delay in making this information available, and as time is of the essence for this study it is possible that the deadline for submitting comments might pass without members of the public having the opportunity to submit informed comments. Today I was informed that the information should be available by Friday May 8. I’m continuing to hold my breath!