There are many items important to Barrhaven East residents where the City has no direct role. Despite that, I have engaged with multiple third-parties to advocate for and work towards shared goals to improve services and amenities for our community. That work will continue next term through continued conversations, connections, and collaboration.
The QCH is our community hospital and pulls far above its weight in providing health care to residents in Barrhaven and across western Ottawa–it serves the same population as the Civic, General, Montfort, and Riverside combined!
Since late-2023, I have had multiple conversations with the QCH about establishing a satellite health care facility to bring care closer to our community and divert hospital visits. Such a project would ultimately need provincial government support and funding, but conversations to determine what services are best suited for the facility (eg. urgent care, outpatient services, day surgery, etc.), put together a business case, find additional partners, and plan a path forward have so far been productive and encouraging. I am also committed to advocating to use City-owned land as our local share of the project.
Barrhaven as a whole is approaching 110,000 residents, so this is an important project to ensure that growth is healthy and sustainable. I will continue working with the QCH on this important project next term.
Separately, I will also continue the advocacy for the QCH’s much-needed emergency department expansion and to ensure the attention our hospital receives is not overshadowed by The Ottawa Hospital.
Barrhaven’s insatiable demand for sports, recreation, and related programming is a good thing, but the imbalance between demand and supply means some residents and their families have to travel longer distances for their programming or, unfortunately, forego the opportunity altogether.
Knowing the City has priorities everywhere, I began engaging with third-parties to find new, quicker, and more diverse opportunities for our community. Organisations like the RA, the group of clubs that use Ken Ross Park, and others, are eager to improve their presence and the services and amenities they provide.
Although support and funding ultimately depends on third-parties, I will work to move the needle towards success through continued advocacy and collaboration, much like with the QCH facility.
Since mid-2024, before the third in-office day was mandated by the federal government, I have been working with community stakeholders to advocate for a remote worksite in Barrhaven. That advocacy is even more important and timely now that the federal government has mandated a fourth in-office day.
Workplaces where the majority of employees don’t need to be on site for their job should have policies reflecting that, but it was ultimately a decision of the federal government. A remote worksite would bridge that gap, benefit the local economy, while positively contributing to work-life balance for Barrhaven’s 30,000 public service employees.
Over the next few years, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA, to become the St. Lawrence Regional Conservation Authority after the merger comes into effect in February) will be renewing the Chapman Mills Conservation Area, one of my favourite locations in the ward. As an RVCA board member, I advocated for the project to be funded, so I’m excited to see it happen!
Most of the work will be general lifecycling and accessibility upgrades to the pathways and boardwalks, but I’m also exploring opportunities with the RVCA to increase our interaction with the Rideau River. I plan to engage with the community early in the new term of council to learn about what you want to see from the project.
Although there is some uncertainty with the governance structure of the future regional conservation authority, the project will continue, and I will follow it and update the community about it every step of the way.
The quality of cellular service in Barrhaven East, particularly in the Longfields and Chapman Mills neighbourhoods, has been a regular concern (even more so in newer parts of Barrhaven). Though regulated federally and privately managed by telecom companies, there have been semi-regular conversations with the telecoms, plus the City has approved multiple locations in commercial parking lots for cell towers that remain unused. Advocacy for better cellular service will continue. Our lives depend on it!
The Barrhaven East Community Association dissolved early-2025, but my hope is to revive it. A councillor’s role is limited to bringing people together to have that conversation, which I started and will continue next term. An active community association creates opportunities for funding and grants for community improvements, events, and advocacy, something a councillor’s office is normally ineligible or not properly resourced for.
An emerging concern from some Barrhaven East residents is the potential impact of the Alto high speed rail project, particularly for homes along the Via Rail corridor. After several months of requests, Alto provided an update early in the summer about the process to determine the route and expected next steps, which I shared in an end-of-July councillor newsletter (to comply with elections rules, I can’t link to it).
I will continue sharing information as the project progresses, including future public input opportunities and pushing for more details in their communications.
Priorities are listed above and throughout the website, but it doesn’t mean I’ll ignore everything else. Let’s chat about what’s important to you!