Our office released a report on the planning and development process in the City of Ottawa that calls for democratic reform to representation at City Hall. The primary recommendation is to split the Planning Committee in two, creating more representative decision-making. Read more here.
A bombshell report from the city appointed Integrity Commissioner (IC) found that Ottawa’s Planning Committee Chair, Councillor Jan Harder, had an apparent conflict of interest with a developer family, and had chosen not to address it. The report put the revolving door between private and public sector at City Hall on full display. As part of council deliberations on the IC report, I introduced a motion, with the support of Councillor McKenney, that will see city staff review regulations to address the revolving door at City Hall and make recommendations on a cooling off period for developers and their lobbyists. The motion was successful, and it can be read in full here.