All posts by Brenna Mackay

High education levels in Somerset ward

DataJournlism4_2016
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By: Brenna Mackay

Each weekday morning, Amanda Paisley wakes up, packs her lunch and runs to catch the bus to work. Living downtown and working in Bell Corners in Kanata isn’t convenient, she admits, but it’s a price to pay to live on bustling Elgin Street.

Paisley, 25, is a recent graduate from Carleton University, receiving her BA in law in 2015. She’s one of many university educated citizens who have chosen to reside in the Somerset ward. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, the Somerset ward is home to the largest population of university graduates in the city, with 13,425 residents, aged 25-64 having a university degree at the Bachelors level or higher.

Map of Residents with a University Degree, created with data from 2011 National Household Survey

This is equal to roughly 33 per cent of the population, based on City of Ottawa population and household estimates by ward. Not far behind, the Kitchissippi and Capital wards see high numbers of university educated citizens too.

Paisley says she chose to live in the Somerset ward following graduation because she appreciates the convenience of her location.

“Everything you really need is like, two blocks to get to,” she explains. Easy access to amenities such grocery stores, drug stores and the transit way were a huge selling point when trying to determine where she would live.

However, she admits that her living choice is by no means the cheaper option, especially for a recent graduate.

“You understand that you’re paying for your location more than you’re paying for your actual apartment and you just have to deal with that.”

Catherine McKenney, Councillor of the Somerset ward, says that she is proud to know that well-educated individuals are choosing to make Somerset their home.

“The city works hard to provide support and job opportunities for university graduates,” she shares. “We realize they play an important role in shaping our community.”

However, Paisley argues that the city should do more to provide resources for recent grads to get on their feet. She says she found her apartment and job through Kijiji, separate from any university or government program.

“To jump through those hoops can get really time consuming,” she explains. “My job nor my apartment had anything to do with the city. The government hasn’t really made it easier to deal with.”

Amanda Paisley, recent graduate, says that city should be doing more to support youth in finding work and housing. Picture: Brenna Mackay
Amanda Paisley, recent graduate, says that city should be doing more to support youth in finding work and housing.
Picture: Brenna Mackay

McKenney explains there is a job board that lists careers within the City of Ottawa as well as a housing website that offers resources for finding affordable lodging.
“These resources are largely directed towards those who are less advantage and need that extra support,” she admits.

Paisley suggests that having a localized site for renters and apartments that have been deemed acceptable by the city would be a great resource for apartment-hunters. Additionally, providing workplaces with incentives to hire a recent graduates would be a way to motivate companies to give young workers a chance to get their foot in the door.

“That would make it more likely to hire new grad, rather than no hiring at all, which is often the case,” she explains.

Looking forward, Paisley says she could definitely see herself living in Somerset ward as she gets more established in her career. However, she admits she would be hesitant to raise a family in such a busy and compact neighbourhood.

“There isn’t really space to spread out unless you have the money for it,” she explains.
“You’re usually confined to about two or three rooms and that could get complicated with a kids and family.”

She envisions a future with a backyard where she can sit outdoors and barbecue.

Ottawa looks to make roads safer as number of cyclists rise

DataJournalism3_2016
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By: Brenna Mackay

Each morning, Joey Zurakowski takes his bike out of his garage, throws on his helmet and heads off to school. His ten minute cycling commute from Old Ottawa South to Carleton University beats waiting upwards of 30 minutes for an unreliable, inconveniently located bus, he says.

Zurakowski is not alone in his choice. As more and more people in Ottawa ride their bikes to school, work and running errands, there has been a movement to make the city more bike-friendly and the roads safer, particularly in central areas located near the downtown core.

“It’s very convenient and there’s been a push to make biking more accessible and easier to do on big roads,” he explains. “As well, everyone is concerned about the environment so it’s an easy way to reduce your footprint.”

Joey Zurakowski says he uses his bike as a primary mode of transportation to get to work and school. Source: Brenna Mackay
Joey Zurakowski says he uses his bike as a primary mode of transportation to get to work and school.
Source: Brenna Mackay

According to the 2011 Household Survey, the Capital Ward is home largest population of individuals who cite cycling as their main mode of transportation. The Capital Ward consists of neighbourhoods such as the Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Old Ottawa East, Riverside and Heron Park. The largest pockets live in Rideau Gardens, with 345 devoted cyclists, and the Glebe, with 340. In total, there are 10,800 or a little over one percent of the population of Ottawa who ride their bike to and from work. Additionally, Ottawa also has a very well established recreational bike network.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3222445-National-Household-Survey-NHS-Profile-2011/annotations/328739.html


Distribution of Cycling as Primary Mode of Transportation

Created with data obtained from the 2011 National Household Survey

Zurakowski says while he generally feels safe riding his bicycle in most areas in the city, he tends to avoids major roads such as Bronson and specifically Bank.

“The fact that cars can park on the side of the road so if you’re riding your bike, you have to be in between the moving car and the parked car, I’m not too keen on that,” explains Zurakowski. “As well as Lansdowne Bridge, people just sail over that.”

David Chernushenko, the Councillor of the Capital ward, is an avid cyclist and has been an advocate for making the roads safer for bikes and cars. He explains that the draft 2017 budget has the city investing the most amount of money ever into making the city more accessible for cyclists.

A recent addition to the city’s transportation system, the bi-directional bike way on O’Connor, has made headlines after three cyclists were struck by cars within the first 20 days of opening. This has raised concerns surrounding the safety of the infrastructure design.

Chernushenko is defending the design and the decision to implement this type of bike lane.

“There’s nothing wrong with the lane’s design,” he adds. “It’s different and people have to familiarize themselves with it, both cyclist and driver.”

David Chernushenko, the Councillor of the Capital Ward says there is no flaw in design of the O'Connor bikeway. Source: City of Ottawa
David Chernushenko, the Councillor of the Capital Ward says there is no flaw in design of the O’Connor bikeway.
Source: City of Ottawa

He says O’Connor Street was the only way the city could fit in a north-south route through downtown, and many other cities across the world have two way bike lanes that have been successful.

“Above all, it’s about speed and being alert,” says Chernushenko.

He says he hopes that these incidences will not discourage the community from riding their bikes, as accidents are rare and the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.

“People don’t stop driving because they hear about a car accident,” he concludes. “To me, it’s liberty and it’s freedom. It’s the most pleasant way to get around and enjoy a city.”

Zurakowski agrees that the bike way is a positive addition, but says it will take time for drivers to adapt.
“It’s forward thinking and encourages people to ride bikes,” says Zurakowski. “But like any bike lane, you have to make cars very aware that it’s there, especially because we have had incidents.”

Looking forward, Zurakowski says he doesn’t see himself stopping riding his bike anytime soon.

“I definitely see myself continuing to ride my bike in the future, even if I’m living in another city. I don’t like sitting in traffic and it shaves off so much time,” he says.

Animal complaints among most common 311 calls in Ottawa

DataJournalism2_2016
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By: Brenna Mackay

311 calls from the City of Ottawa Open data site shows that animal-related complaints are among the most common call category received in 2015. The Rideau-Vanier ward tops the list with the most number of calls, with 852 animal related complaints.

A further breakdown of the call types, provided by Roger Chapman, Chief of Bylaw and Regulatory Services, shows the dog barking is the most frequent type of complaint.

Dog related issues are among the most common animal related 311 calls in the city.
Dog related issues are among the most common animal related 311 calls in the city. Source: National Capital Commission

Erin Rivers, a Vanier resident, says she is frustrated with the number of animal disturbances in her community, and has had to call 311 on her neighbours several times in the last year for excessive dog barking.

“I love dogs, but my opinion quickly changes after being woken up in the middle of the night by non-stop barking,” she explains.

The City of Ottawa by-law outlines that people are not permitted to own an animal that disturbs other residents and anyone who fails to comply will be subjected to a fine. View by-law here:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3152391-City-of-Ottawa-Bylaw.html

Rivers adds that despite her complaints, she has seen no changes in noise level and the dog continues to howl into the night, disturbing her rest.

“More needs to be done to enforce by-laws,” says Rivers. “Yes, we have these rules, but they hold little weight when they are not enforced and nothing changes.”

Prostitution rates in Ottawa higher than Toronto and Montreal

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Most people would not consider our nation’s capital to have higher prostitution rates than our more populous neighbours, Toronto and Montreal. The numbers tell a different story.

According to the 2015 Statistics Canada Incident-based crime statistics, total prostitution rates in Ottawa were not only higher than the average federal and provincial rates, but also higher than nearby metropolitan cities, such as Toronto and Montreal.

This data shows that last year, the prostitution rate per 100,000 people in the City of Ottawa was 2.61, while the Canadian rate was 0.48, and the Ontario rate was 0.41. Montreal’s rate sunk to 0.32 and Toronto saw its lowest rate in more than 15 years at 0.07.

 

Christine Bruckert, a Criminology professor at the University of Ottawa says these numbers don’t explain everything we need to know about the issue.

“High stats don’t tell us that there is a particularly large sex industry in Ottawa, it tells us that the police are particularly vigilant,” she explains. Bruckert has been engaged in research on the sex work industry for over 20 years.

“In Ottawa, since about 2007, police have taken a very aggressive approach to sex work,” she adds. Bruckert explains that police have mobilized a community against the street-based sex industry, spoken publically about it and have made the issue one of their pillars.

In 2014, Bill C-36 was introduced, making it illegal to purchase sexual services, but legal to sell them.

Sgt. Jeff LeBlanc of the Ottawa Police says the biggest challenge is finding a balance between the rights of the sex trade workers and responding to complaints from the neighbourhood.

“The new law acknowledges that they have a right to sell their own services, the issue is that we have yet to find a community that welcomes that in their own streets,” he adds.

Areas in Ottawa such as Carlingwood, Hintonburg and Gladstone are more likely to see sex workers, Bruckert explained. But Vanier is one of the biggest street-level prostitution locations, not only in Ottawa, but amongst other major cities as well. LeBlanc says it’s possible that this contributes to more complaints being received and therefore, more investigations being opened.

In larger cities such as Toronto, the sex trade has moved more towards online advertisements that can go unnoticed. In Ottawa, the street-based industry still remains an issue, LeBlanc adds.

“People often forget when they’re talking about them, as if sex workers aren’t part of the community. It’s their community,” shares Bruckert.

The 2014-2015 Crime Trend Report from the City of Ottawa shows that 90 per cent of reported prostitution related incidents were cleared from charges. Because the recent law change says sex workers are immune from arrest if they are selling their own services, these charges only relate to clients or “johns” using these services.

 

“We have a john school, so that is probably why a high percentage are not being charged in the end,” says LeBlanc.

He explains that this “school” is a diversion program specifically targeting users of sexual services. In order to qualify for these schools, individuals must meet a set of criteria at the scene of the crime and agree to the conditions to avoid charges. This criteria says they must not have a criminal record and not have dealt with the police in the past for similar offences.

Bruckert argues that it’s problematic to treat sex work as being inherently different than any other job, as it adds to the isolation and stigma around the industry and those engaged in it.

“People engage in sex work for the same reasons they engage in other labour activities, such as waitressing. For the money,” she adds.

Christine Bruckert, a University of Ottawa professor says we need to remember that prostitutes are part of our communities.
Christine Bruckert, a University of Ottawa professor says we need to remember that prostitutes are part of our communities.

Sydney Schnieder is the programming coordinator at Carleton University’s Womyn’s Centre. She describes herself as an advocate for the sex workers rights movement and says the best way to support workers is simply by acknowledging and listening to them.

“Each sex worker has a story to tell and they have opinions. Until we start to incorporate their opinions and experiences into our laws, into discussions about sex work, our opinions won’t be valid.”