Riverain Park redevelopment is an important project for Vanier. Early this Spring, the VCA’s Sustainable Development and Transportation Committee conducted a pre-consultation. We have shared these ideas with the City Councillor. We look forward to collaborating with the Overbrook Community Association and other community groups.

Le redéveloppment du parc Riverain est un projet important pour Vanier. Plus tôt ce printemps, le comité de Développement durable et du transport de l’ACV a effectué une pré-consultation. Nous avons partagé les idées qui en sont ressorties avec le Conseiller municipal. Nous avons hâte de travailler avec l’Association communautaire d’Overbrook et les autres groupes communautaires.

SDT report / Rapport DDT

L’ACV a effectué une présentation devant le comité des services communautaires et de protection suite à la publication du rapport effectué par KPGM qui évaluait le département des règlements municipaux. Nous avons demandé :

• Plus de ressources soient alloués aux Quartiers 12 et 14 puisque ces deux quartiers ont le plus haut taux de demandes de services
• Les services adoptent une approche plus proactive et que les ressources internes soient davantage alignées avec cette réalité
• Les services arrêtent de se focaliser sur une approche punitive et adopte celle de la Ville de Hamilton qui se focalise sur les changements de comportement
• L’augmentation du nombre d’employés. Nous avons calculé que la Ville d’Ottawa a reçu 74,000 plaintes en 2018, ce qui représente 65% des plaintes reçus par la ville de Toronto, mais la ville d’Ottawa a 1/3 des employés.

Nous accueillons la motion du comité qui propose l’augmentation du nombre d’employés (22 employés à temps plein), toutefois nous espérons que le département changera son approche.

VCA presented before the Community and Protective Service Committee following the report published by KPMG about by-law services. We requested :

• More resources be allocated to Ward 12 and 14 who receive by far the highest request for services
• Services adopt a more proactive approach and reallocate staff to other departments when demands are low
• Services move away from a punitive approach to adopt a more constructive approach (City of Hamilton’s approach) that focuses on behaviour change.
• More staff. We calculated that the City of Ottawa received 74,000 complaints in 2018, which represents 65% of the complaints received by the City of Toronto, but we have 1/3 of the staff to respond to complaints.

We welcome the Committee’s motion to increase the hire 22FTE, however we hope that the department will adopt a more proactive approach.

VCA is moving more strategically to develop a strategic approach to protect Vanier’s trees. This project will be lead by Céline Heinbecker. We have advocated for more trees in Vanier as part of the BBRN project and the Montreal Rd. Revitalization project. We have supported the work of the Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability Network and Tree Action Now Alliance, and particularly on the City’s review of the tree by-law, and more recently we have sent a letter to the NCC on behalf of Kingsview Park Residents asking NCC not to remove trees from the park.

L’ACV travaille plus stratégiquement pour développer une approche stratégie les arbres à Vanier. Ce projet sera géré par Céline Heinbecker. Nous avons demandé que plus d’arbres soient plantés à Vanier au sein des projets BBRN et la revitalisation du Ch. de Montréal. Nous avons soutenu le travail de Community Associations for Environmental Sustainable Network et Tree Action Now Alliance, tout particulièrement le travail qui a été fait lors de la révision du règlement municipal en lien avec les arbres. Plus récemment, nous avons envoyé une lettre à la CCN au nom des habitants du Parc Kingsview pour les empêcher d’enlever les arbres dans le parc.

Plus de 220 personnes ont participé à la dernière présentation du projet. L’équipe de la Ville fut très impressionnée par l’engagement des résidents de Vanier. Tout est désormais dans les détails.

More than 220 people participated in the last presentation of the project. The City team was very impressed by the commitment of Vanier residents. The devil is in the details

If you want to learn more about the OC Transpo Service Adjustements in Vanier, please consult this power point

Si vous voulez en savoir plus sur les modifications au services à Vanier, veuillez consulter cette présentation power point.

VCA Clean Up: Vanier 
April 27th from 10 to 12 am
Meeting: 270 Marier

Kingsview Park Clean up, April 27th from 10 to 12 pm

Selkirk area, April 27th from 10 to 12 pm

Optimist Park, Marquette and Joliette avenues Clean-Up
April 27th from 1 to 3 pm.
Meeting: Optimist Park.

Nettoyage ACV: Vanier 
27 avril de 10h00 à midi 
Rencontre à 270 Marier

Parc Kingsview, 27 avril de 10h00 à midi

Selkirk, 27 avril de 10h00 à midi

Parc Optimiste, avenues Marquette et Joliette 
27 avril de 13h00 à 15h00 
Rencontre au Parc Optimiste

ONS Data is now used extensively by the City.

 As you can imagine, assumptions are made on basis of the ONS maps and indeed in our experience have extended to utilize them as a base for City programs for example in the BBRN (Building Better Revitalized Neighbourhoods) program which when presented came out to cover  a rather amorphous area called Vanier South/Overbrook.  The planning staff had used the data sets to justify the program but realized quickly that in talking to the Vanier community it made little sense.
As you know, in the ONS maps, Vanier South covers only about half of Vanier south of Montreal Road.  Overbrook covers the west sector of Vanier south of Montreal Road and New Edinburgh covers the west sector of Vanier north of Montreal.  The latest maps which you indicated on Twitter would be consulted with community associations seem to encorporate large parts of another ward and two separate neighbourhoods, Forbes and Overbrook.  
The ONS is a valuable resource but it needs to fit with policy needs including by the communities it attempts to describe.  In your neighbourhood descriptions you appear to create problems for your own work and public and municipal confusion.  For example, in the ONS description of Overbrook-McArthur which covers a large area of Vanier south of Montreal Road and west of Olmstead there is no mention of Vanier and the only history is about some visit by the royal family, nothing about Cummings Bridge, Janeville etc which are the area’s origins.  Concerning community associations, there is no mention of the Vanier Community Association.  The Lindenlea-New Edinburgh neighbourhood map includes a large part of Vanier north of Montreal Road west of the Vanier Parkway.  The description makes no mention of Vanier.  Nor is the Vanier Community Association listed.  It helps to explain why city planners regularly neglect to notify the VCA concerning planning applications and are confused by the community’s boundaries. Yet Vanier is only a square mile with boundaries which have been fixed for over 100 years. 
It is really quite simple as far as Vanier is concerned.  Post amalgamation, the former City of Vanier with its clear boundaries became the Quartier Vanier (Vanier neighbourhood).  Its population is not entirely clear because of lack of accurate data concerning its large aboriginal population among other considerations.  But it is officially around 17,000.  I understand from your presentation you are defining neighbourhoods at around 7000-8000, so I recognize that you may want to split the neighbourhood with an appropriate explanation/disclaimer.  
We are asking that the map or maps of our neighourhood respect its boundaries which also correlate to the ward of which the community is one of 3 neighbourhoods of relative high density.  As mentioned, the neighbourhood boundaries have been fixed for over 100 years. If there is need for a split related to data purposes, we can discuss where that split might occur.  It could simply be Montreal Road or if necessary depending on population numbers use of a split along the lines of Montreal Road and the Vanier Parkway.  
Finally, the list of organizations for Vanier is rather short and does not include key social agencies which are key neighbourhood assets we retained after amalgamation including the Vanier Community Service Centre, Wabano etc.  We can provide you a more complete list.
As for the data sets covering Vanier we would like to start with a combined Village in 100 infographic to present at our public board meeting.  Data needs which continue to emerge in our policy and programming discussions internally and with the city, especially related to the Montreal Road Revitalization project, BBRN, public transit,housing, public safety and social policy considerations include walkability, accessibility, community diversity, transit use, crime, official languages, availability of social and health services, aboriginal services and supports, access to green space, numbers of pay day loans etc. 

VCA passed a motion supporting Landlord licensing on March 9th. VCA will be participating in the Public Hearing and asking the City of Ottawa to adopt Landlord Licensing

L’ACV a adopté une motion soutenant le permis pour les propriétaires le 9 mars. L’ACV participera dans les consultations publiques et demandera à la ville d’Ottawa d’adopter un permis pour les propriétaires.

VCA develops 20 priorities that should be included in the 2019-2022 City of Ottawa Term of Council. We believe Ottawa should become a smart world-class green capital city, resilient in the face of climate change, and a leader in the transition to a low carbon economy. Whereas 100+ cities have already developed climate adaptation and/or mitigation plans, Ottawa does not any. Yet, U.S researchers are warning us that we have a 10 year window to reverse the current C02 trend. So far, Vancouver and Halifax have declared Climate Emergency, more Canadian cities are to follow. What about Ottawa ?

Thank you Chair, my name is Chris Greenshields, I am speaking on behalf of the Vanier Community Association, the VCA.  I am a board member and Chair of the VCA’s Sustainable Development and Transportation Committee.

First, I wish to commend City staff for their report and recommendations.  The report is comprehensive and we support the recommendations, while recognizing the limitations placed on the role of municipalities by the Ontario Cannabis Licence Act.  We support the recommendation to opt in recognizing the benefits of a legal regime for the sale of cannabis in Ottawa.  The VCA has submitted a report as further background as City Council considers  the issues related to the development and implementation of a Cannabis regime.  This report and our recommendations, in addition to City staff recommendations, reflect our particular concerns about the proliferation of cannabis retail stores, the importance of separation distances between stores and to avoid concentration, or clustering of stores, in sensitive and vulnerable communities like Vanier.   We also favour provision for public consultations.

Our community has already spoken up about pay-day loans and the City’s need to avoid clustering of such businesses in vulnerable communities.  We were encouraged by the Province’s enabling legislation in this regard; we are waiting for City action on it, but we welcome that in the City staff’s cannabis report, separation is increasingly being recognized in planning decisions.  We hope that finally, recognition is consistently being given by the City to the harm of the concentration of single-type businesses in a vulnerable community in respect of its social and economic development, its public health and safety.   We see a parallel between the concentration of pay-day loan establishments and cannabis retail stores.

We also welcome the provision in the recommended principles to provide for separation distances from specific sites, in addition to the legislated separation distance from schools. The Staff report recommendation that AGCO consider any additional local issues not captured by other principles is particularly relevant for Vanier.  While the City failed to take into account in its planning process community concerns about the impact of a proposed mega-shelter on existing social services in the immediate neighbourhood, the VCA welcomes the recommended principle that “AGCO take into consideration location concerns that may be expressed through comments made by health and/or treatment providers including operators of shelters, group homes, addiction, counselling or other independently managed health services.”   We welcome the principle requiring a separation distance to “any identified publicly-owned and/or operated community facility analogous to a school, such as recreational facilities, community centres, libraries and public parks.”  There is also the question of day-care facilities.

The absence of public consultation in the Staff report is a concern.  We recognize the short time line given for review and comments on applications to open cannabis retail stores.  The Cannabis Licence Act provides for consultations with residents, and we want the City’s expertise and responsibility for community health and safety to be brought to bear in this process.   We also recommend that the City

consider approval of decisions to recognize the role of community associations, social agencies and other community groups, to engage such groups as part of the City’s cannabis regime and to facilitate the role of such groups, as needed, also to represent residents directly as outlined in the Cannabis Licence Act, drawing on the principles outlined in the Staff report.  We also welcome the provision for ward Councillors to veto City comments with respect to their wards, a responsibility for which, they also need support from City staff to engage their residents, again, especially given the short lead times for review and comments on applications for cannabis retail stores.

As the Staff report states, Staff believe that that the regulatory regime regarding legal recreational cannabis is simply the first step, and that it is highly probable that regulations will shift over time to respond to any unintended consequences of each regime.   Staff suggests that the City process proposed will add to the City’s data about the impact of legalization and the siting of retail stores over time and provide opportunities for evidence-based requests for additional regulatory changes or more regulatory authority.

We think that community groups should be part of this exercise and be able to contribute to the process.  This is consistent with the City’s intention to create “a response matrix for the City response agencies for service calls and requests for information, recognizing each agency’s area of particular responsibility”.   In terms of a review of the cannabis regime, periodic consultations with such groups, such as the Federation of Civic Associations (FCA) would seem appropriate.

In summary, our recommendations, additional to the Staff’s report, are outlined in the VCA report and cover the following:

• Language in a City Council decision recognizing the role of community groups in the City’s cannabis regime confirming the City’s readiness to work with FCA, community associations and other community groups such as community services centres on a city-wide basis in this regard.
• An electronic notification system to alert community associations and identification of a contact point would be an important step to increase transparency in a timely manner.
• A periodic consultative process with community associations and other groups as implementation proceeds and lessons are drawn.

Merci. Thank you.