Tag Archives: City of Ottawa

Families with children fear city-run early years services could fall flat

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The most vulnerable families and children in Ottawa feel left out of free government services. Meanwhile, the city’s plans to meet the needs of children under six and caregivers are still up in the air, even after a big budget boost.

City councillors voted in favour of a seven-fold budget increase for early years children and family services just weeks before the city began taking over previously provincially provided programs. But the municipal government could find themselves scrambling to fill a void, based on analysis of the 2018 city budget approved in December.

Helen Muleme is a registered practical nurse with two kids, a four-month-old and a four-year-old. So far, Muleme has been thrilled with weekly playgroups and workshops on feeding, car-seat safety, and lactation.

However, the mother of two fears for the future of early years services under the city’s control given her experience of the complicated child care registry and long wait times. “It makes me think that they won’t run the programs properly,” Muleme said. “It makes me nervous for moms who may not get as good of service.”

Photo provided by Helen Muleme. Helen Muleme and her four-year-old son Ashe are concerned that the city will fail to properly deliver child and family services previously run by the province.
Helen Muleme, pictured with her four-year-old son Ashe, is concerned that the city will fail to properly deliver child and family services previously run by the province. Photo provided by Helen Muleme.

The City of Ottawa did not clarify exactly how the transfer will play out, but there are no plans for new centres. All city officials and experts in relevant committees and departments who were reached declined interviews. City spokespeople issued statements attributed to the manager of children’s services by email.

The province did not respond to questions by publication. But ministry cited some Ottawa parents who may rely on playgroups, pregnancy tips and parenting resources are being squeezed out due to the dismal reach of services.

Some caregivers who used child and family service centres raised accessibility troubles. Public input collected by the city last year indicated programs were held too far away and at inconvenient times. Respondents reported lack of playgroup availability and being turned away upon arrival due to capacity.

Ottawa is home to seven Ontario early years centres, plus satellite sites, who get municipal money in addition funds from the province.

The city injected $8.45-million more into the 2018 budget for early year centres before taking the reins from the province, according to a budget analysis. The municipal government agreed to bump up the budget for ministry-approved programs by 700 per cent from 2017 to 2018, which includes a one-time $9.6-million booster from the province.

City of Ottawa 2018 budget numbers for legislated early years and family programs. Graphic by Dana Hatherly.

The city began taking over responsibilities for early years child and family programs after the Ontario government announced in the fall to surrender service delivery. That brought an end to provincial funding which previously went directly to 13 not-for-profits who continue to run existing centres across Ottawa.

City spokespeople said that the province will continue to fund the city’s coffers. Jason Sabourin, manager of city-run children’s services, said the city will not need to foot any added costs. Future funding levels from the province are not expected to go down.

The difference is that now money will go through the municipality before it reaches the centres. Even with the city in control, all legislated programs must meet specific ministry-approved criteria in order to be dubbed under this new brand. All participating programs must operate at least five days a week, year-round.

The two governments are under a one-year deadline, which was extended to the end of 2019, to complete the transition.

“It makes me nervous for moms who may not get as good of service” – Helen Muleme, Ottawa parent

The city estimates that there are about 70,000 children under six living in Ottawa, based on the Canada census. Historically, many parents have not participated in child and family programs offered across the province. The province and city each recognize that services in Ottawa must adapt as community needs change and demands on families go up.

Moving forward with a provincial election underway this spring, parents and children hope the city snags steady funding and a solid plan to serve them.

Tickets for illegally parking in accessible spaces up again in 2015

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The number of tickets issued in Ottawa for illegally parking in a space reserved for the physically disabled hit a six-year high in 2015.

According to City of Ottawa parking data obtained through an access to information request, a total of 2,506 tickets were issued last year for the infraction, up 13 per cent from 2,208 tickets in 2014.

Troy Leeson leads the City of Ottawa’s parking enforcement program. He said the increase is the result of improved enforcement, thanks in large part to the city’s deputization program. The program trains property owners to enforce parking by-laws on their property, without having to resort to city officials.

“One of the biggest challenges with a person who parks (illegally) in disabled parking is time. They know it’s a big ticket, and they’re going to try to be in and out of their location as quickly as they can,” said Leeson. “But as more places take control of their own property, they have somebody on site and they’re able to address their parking issues much quicker.”

Source: City of Ottawa.
Most of the top 10 hotspots in 2015 were shopping centres with large parking lots, routinely patrolled by deputized officers. The most ticketed location was the Walmart Supercentre at the Ottawa Train Yards, where 133 tickets were issued. Close behind was the College Square Loblaws, with 130 tickets.

More tickets? More money in city coffers

Only people with certain health conditions can apply for an accessible parking permit. Accessible parking spaces are wider than conventional spaces, allowing easier access to and from the vehicle. They are also normally located as close as possible to building entrances.

An accessible parking permit sits on the dashboard of a car parked at the Walmart Train Yards Supercentre in Ottawa.

An accessible parking permit sits on the dashboard of a car parked at the Walmart Supercentre at the Ottawa Train Yards on Oct. 22, 2016. In 2015, 133 people received tickets there for illegally parking in a space reserved for the physically disabled — more than anywhere else in Ottawa that year. CARLETON UNIVERSITY/Marc-André Cossette

Anyone parked illegally in those spaces runs the risk of a $450 fine: the highest of all parking-related fines regulated by the city. If paid voluntarily within 15 days, the fine can be reduced to $350.



(Click the note above to read the entire City of Ottawa parking by-law.)

 
Either way, more tickets means more money in city coffers. Last year alone, parking officers issued $816,938 in fines for this infraction, but Leeson insists the focus is on compliance.

“Don’t get me wrong: the dollars are certainly a by-product of the program and the city will happily accept those dollars, but at the end of the day,” he said, “it’s about making people aware of the by-law and ensuring they leave the spaces available for those who need them.”

Enforcement only part of the solution

James Hicks lives in Ottawa, walks with a cane, and knows first-hand the frustration of finding someone parked illegally in an accessible parking space.

“It drives me crazy,” he said. “I’ll knock on their window and say, ‘You know, you do realize that if you’re here, someone else can’t park here who needs to, right? Think about it.’ ”

Hicks is the national co-ordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, an organization working to ensure equal access for people with a disability across Canada. He welcomes the city’s efforts to crack down on illegal parking, but says ticketing alone won’t solve the issue.

“Most of the people that I know who get tickets tend to be repeat offenders,” he said, adding that more must be done to raise awareness about the importance of accessible parking.

“I do think that a campaign around what those spots are, indicating what the implications are for people if you park (illegally) in those spots — that that maybe will help give more awareness,” he said.

In the meantime, Troy Leeson has a simple message for anyone thinking about parking illegally: “Leave the spots to those who need them.”

Osgoode sees highest increase in noise complaints

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Osgoode residents may have had a noisier past two years than other Ottawans.

Ward 20 saw a 54 per cent increase in noise complaints between 2013 and 2015, according to an analysis of City of Ottawa 311 data.

Fred Fenn, who lives in Osgoode, said he’s noticed. This summer he called 311 to complain about a neighbour playing loud music outside past midnight.

“My daughter was saying she could hear the music like it was being played in her bedroom clear as day,” he said.

Fenn said he thinks Osgoode is noisier than other parts of the city.

“We’ve been out here in Osgoode since 1994. Before that I grew up in Orleans. My wife grew up in Kanata, so they were pretty quiet areas. It was never as noisy as out here.”

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Fred Fenn said motorized toys are common in Osgoode, making it noisier than other wards

Photo provided by Fred Fenn

Kanata North and Rideau-Goulbourn noise complaints increased by around 40 per cent during the same time period. Most other wards saw a decrease in the number of complaints received.

The Community and Protective Services Committee oversees bylaw enforcement.

Rick Chiarelli, a councillor for the City of Ottawa’s college ward and a member of the committee said residents should talk to their neighbours before contacting bylaw.

“The happiest outcomes, come from neighbours talking to each other. And Osgoode used to always do that,” he said.

Noise complaints are one of the top three most common service requests, according to the City of Ottawa website.

“I think that’s bad for community development but it’s also expensive because it costs us hundreds of dollars to deal with each noise complaint,” Chiarelli said.

Fenn said he didn’t want to approach his neighbors because they were drinking.

“They were all drinking so I didn’t bother going over there and saying anything to them because usually that doesn’t end well,” he said.

Noise bylaw prohibits loud music after 11 p.m.



Bylaw officers only respond to calls until 2 a.m. during the week and 4 a.m. on weekends.

Chiarelli said the City should look at providing 24/7 bylaw services on weekends.

“There are parties that go until four or five in the morning and if you close up at four, basically complaints after three are not dealt with,” he said.

Fenn said partiers are not the only problem. ATVs, dirt bikes and other loud vehicles are more common in Osgoode than in others areas of Ottawa, he said.

“It’s traditional out in the country people have more motorized toys than in the city, because there’s no place really to run them,” he said.

“This year there seems to be a lot more, I’m not sure if people are getting more money and buying more dirt bikes or what it is this year but it seems to be a little bit noisier this year.”

 

Hate graffiti accounts for highest percentage of hate crimes in Ottawa

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In January 2016, Rev. Anthony Bailey and the Parkdale United Church community were preparing to celebrate the church’s 85th anniversary. A few days after advertising the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. service, the community was shaken by an attack of hate-motivated graffiti.

“On the side of our church…scrawled in big red letters was ‘n–gers’, there was also another recognizable tag sign, on huge letters they had sprayed ‘Tupac’,” Bailey said.

“There was outrage and shock initially because this is an obvious attempt to intimidate our congregation and what we stand for.”

Graffiti is one of the most common forms of hate crimes in the city. In 2015, hate graffiti accounted for just over 60 percent of reported hate crimes in the city. According to Constable Stephane Quesnel with the Ottawa Police Service, “hate crimes in general could be threats or assaults, but are almost always graffiti.”

Hate graffiti can seriously affect a community or individual. “Whatever the intention was it doesn’t really matter, it’s the impact of using language like that, against people who have been victimized over the years, with such racial epithets.” Bailey has reached out with support for local Imams and Rabbis in Ottawa who have been victims of hate graffiti.

311 data from the City of Ottawa in 2015 shows that 1 in 5 calls regarding graffiti were reports of hate graffiti, that doubled from the previous year. However, that number may not be reflective of the actual number of hate graffiti incidents. Sometimes victims avoid reporting them out of fear.

“Not as reported as much by marginalized groups because they fear the backlash from publicity,” said Bailey.

“Every incident of racist graffiti is not reported in the media because of a fear of a copycat.”

Results from the 2009 General Social Survey on Victimization support this. Two-thirds of people who said they had been victims of hate-motivated incidents did not report them to police.

Quesnel offers other reasons why victims of hate graffiti might not be reporting it to police, “…because some people may not think that it is a hate crime and also because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves, if it was on a private residence for example,” he said. “Reasons for reporting are so that police are aware of it because it affects the whole community, and also, by doing so, we can hopefully catch the person doing it.”

Even if the hate graffiti incidents are reported they are often difficult to investigate. The OPS is currently investigating several reported incidents of swastikas appearing on OC Transpo buses. It can often be difficult to pinpoint when the hate graffiti first occurred and even harder to find the suspect(s). In the Parkdale United Church incident, the case remains open.

Hate graffiti is considered a serious offence under the Criminal Code of Canada and carries an increased penalty for assault or mischief motivated by bias, prejudice or hatred toward a particular group.



Although it’s rare to hear of someone being convicted of hate graffiti, a Calgary man was sentenced to eight months in jail and issued a $5,000 fine after he spray painted hateful graffiti targeted towards Syrian refugees on a light rail transit station.

According to Quesnel the number of hate graffiti incidents often fluctuates. “It can go in spikes based on world events. For example, if there was a religious group that was a victim of an attack, the whole community becomes victimized, so there could be a local surge of hate graffiti towards them.”

Although the year isn’t over, 2016 is one of the lowest reported years for hate graffiti incidents in the City with only 26 reported incidents.