Blog

During the 2010 election, I committed to an integrity package – a set of proposals that would bring a new level of transparency and openness to City Hall.

Addressing the issue of our aging infrastructure won’t happen overnight.  We recognize that solid progress has been made over the last couple of years, but much remains to be done in terms of addressing the infrastructure deficit in the east end and across our city. The challenges we face with maintaining infrastructure are not isolated to one part of the city. In fact, this is a growing issue for municipalities across Canada. 

In our first two years, City Council delivered on our commitment to keeping tax increases below 2.5 per cent, and in the upcoming 2013 budget we will do the same. This allows us to continue to invest in our communities, our infrastructure, our transit system and our families in a fiscally responsible manner.

Up until last week, Ottawa was subjected to a prolonged period of minimal rain. These drought conditions have been somewhat alleviated in the last few days, however, the effects of this harsh summer dryness will continue to be felt for months to come. This is especially true in the rural parts of Ottawa where some of our farming families are directly impacted with hay and cash crop yields plummeting because of the drought. Naturally, this has a domino effect for any farms that produce livestock as commodity prices rise.