The City of Ottawa is holding a Public Open House on Feb 22, 2017, 5:30 p.m. at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 125 MacKay St. to discuss the CSST project.
Stantec’s “Technical Memorandum: Review Alternative Trucking Routes for Site 5 / Stanley Park” will be presented at this meeting. Read it here.
Click here for more details.
Throughout January 2017, the New Edinburgh Task Force has been actively communicating with City of Ottawa officials concerning the CSST project.
Find the latest dialogue between Task Force co-chair Joe Chouinard and City officials here.
Click here for complete details on the CSST project and the Task Force’s efforts.
SHARE THE LOAD – SAY YES TO LEBRETON!
New Edinburgh’s Stanley Park will be destroyed for three years if the main CSST extraction site is not moved!! A CONSTANT FLOW OF ENORMOUS trucks will weave through our residential streets. And the CITY hid this from us!! This 6km tunnel should be dug from the other end – LEBRETON FLATS (which is already a construction site – not a mature residential neighbourhood like ours!!!
Join us in sending a strong message to the Mayor and the City!!
WHEN: Wednesday, January 25, 2017 @ 11:30 am
WHERE: Ottawa City Hall (Lisgar Street entrance)
Wear construction gear (headphones, hard hats, vests, etc.), if you have it. Make signs if you can, but most importantly BE THERE!
Download the poster
Meetings are open to all New Edinburgh residents. Anyone wishing to make a presentation to the board should please contact Tim Plumptre in advance to arrange scheduling. The agenda for January’s meeting is available here.
The monthly NECA board meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15, will start 30 minutes LATER than usual, at 8:30 p.m., at 255 MacKay St.
The agenda for the meeting is available here.
All residents of New Edinburgh are welcome to attend!
By Christina Leadlay
Ottawa-Vanier is in an unprecedented situation, with both its federal and provincial seats now vacant since the summer.
Liberal MPP Madeleine Meilleur’s surprise resignation this past June triggered a provincial by-election approximately 18 months sooner than expected. Then, on August 16, Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger died following a heartbreakingly swift battle with ALS, leaving our riding without a representative at the federal level as well.
According to an Elections Canada press release from August 24, the earliest a federal by-election could take place in Ottawa-Vanier is October 10, which is highly unlikely since, as of September 25, no date had been set.
“The election must be held on a Monday,” reads the release. “Since the date of the election must be at least 36 days after the issue of the writ, the earliest that the by-election in Ottawa–Vanier can be held is on October 10, 2016.” The government has until February 19, 2017 to announce when the vote will take place.
In the interim, Ottawa- Orleans Liberal MP Andrew Leslie issued a letter to Ottawa-Vanier constituents, offering his support. “Until such time as a new M.P. is elected in a forthcoming by-election (at a date to be determined), as Chief Government Whip, I will ensure that the Ottawa-Vanier riding office continues to serve its constituents,” reads Leslie’s letter, which can be found in this newspaper on page 3.
As of press time, none of the federal party associations have officially chosen their candidates for the forthcoming by-election. But that hasn’t stopped speculation as to who might put their name forth for consideration.
Emilie Taman, who ran for the NDP in last fall’s federal election, is reported to be seriously contemplating another bid for Ottawa-Vanier. A lawyer by training, Taman told the CBC on September 1 that another run would be “taking care of unfinished business.”
“In the context of the very large number of promises this government has made, it’s particularly important that the government is held to do what it said it would do, and that’s important to the people of Ottawa-Vanier,” Taman says.
Catherine Fortin LeFaivre, who ran unsuccessfully for Ottawa City Council in 2014, is reported to be considering a run for the Liberal nomination. She could potentially be up against her former rival: current City Councillor Mathieu Fleury has closed the door to running provin- cially for the Liberals, but not to the possibility of a federal bid. Fleury has reportedly said he’d like to focus on his family life in Ottawa in the near future.
Other names being floated for the Liberal nomination run include Lowertown community activist Nicolas Moyer; strategic communications consultant Mona Fortier; former MP and ex-Liberal staffer Francis LeBlanc; as well as Mauril’s widow, Catherine Bélanger, according to the September 26 issue of the Hill Times.
The federal Conservative riding association has yet to hold its nomination for by-election candidates, as of late September.
At the provincial level, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has until December 2016 to call a by-election for Ottawa-Vanier.
Some local hopefuls have spent their summer organizing for the upcoming by-election. As of press time, we can tell you about some of the prospective candidates.
The only confirmed candidate is the New Democratic Party’s Claude Bisson, who was officially chosen in August. Neither the Ontario Liberals and the opposition Progressive Conservatives have yet to call for nominations to select their respective candidates.
Currently a Dean of Law at the University of Ottawa, Nathalie Des Rosiers has put her name forward for the Ontario Liberals. Lucille Collard, a School Trustee and Federal Court of Appeal Staff Lawyer, is also reported to be considering a run for the Liberal nomination.
On Sept. 24, former Ontario Ombudsman André Marin announced his intention to run for the PC nomination in Ottawa-Vanier. According to the Ottawa Citizen, Marin lives in south Nepean, but he says his years teaching at the University of Ottawa (located in Ottawa-Vanier) give him a strong connection. This announcement changed the plans of UOttawa education professor Cameron Montgomery, who on Sept. 13 had declared his intention to seek the PC nomination, but has now decided to switch to challenging Liberal cabinet minister Marie-France Lalonde in Orléans in the next provincial general election instead, the Ottawa Citizen reports on Sept. 25.
Once dates for both the federal and provincial by-elections are announced, New Edinburgh News will bring readers full coverage of the candidates and voting details in future issues.
By Tim Plumptre NECA President
The top issue on the agenda of the NECA Board of Directors today is the future of New Edinburgh House (NE House) at 255 MacKay St, the heart of NECTAR’s operations, and the possibility of integrating its activities and services with the Fieldhouse located in Stanley Park. NE House is the former manse of MacKay United Church and NECTAR is an incorporated, registered charitable organization that has its own Board of Directors.
NECTAR—the New Edinburgh Community and Arts Centre (nectarcentre.ca)—runs a wide range of recreational, artistic, social and cultural programs out of NE House and the adjoining Memorial Hall, owned by the MacKay United Church. Additionally, NE House is home to the Mainworks Artists Studios, a cooperative that has provided studio space to visual artists whose work has graced the halls of NE House and, in the early years, of the Corridor Gallery at 200 Crichton St.
The Fieldhouse in Stanley Park is home to another community organization, the Crichton Community Council (www.newedinburgh. ca/crichton-community- council). The 3Cs, as it is commonly known, is responsible for activities and events held at the Fieldhouse and surrounding grounds. In the winter, they build and maintain the two community skating rinks, maintain the Fieldhouse as a warming hut and provide hot chocolate. Throughout they year, they hold community events such as the Winter Carnival, Hockey Day in New Edinburgh, the May plant sale, the Ottawa Marathon cheering station, New Edinburgh Garage Sale in September and the Halloween Howl. Outside of the skating season, the community makes use of the Fieldhouse for all types of events, including summer camps, sports and fitness events, birthday parties and more.
NECA —the New Edinburgh Community Alliance— has a general mandate to support the evolution of the community. It takes an interest in liaison with City Hall in heritage and development issues, traffic matters, community safety, environmental matters and other issues that may come up during the year. Since NECA is formally known as an alliance, we think of it as providing a kind of umbrella to help coordinate activities in the community.
These three organizations exist for historical reasons, and we all work collaboratively when the need arises. Two developments have brought us together in recent months.
First, NECTAR’s ability to effectively serve the community and run (or even expand) programming that meets the needs of its wide range of users is severely constrained by its current facility at New Edinburgh House. While it was critical (and timely!) for the re-launch of the organization after its difficult battle for 200 Crichton St., this fine old heritage building is expensive to operate and maintain. It has been a constant challenge to keep both the programming and the building afloat, one that will only be more difficult in the future as building accessibility and lifecycle costs continue to loom large.
Apart from successfully lobbying the City for an exemption from property taxes for NE House (in line with other community centres in Ottawa), NECTAR has not been able to obtain ongoing capital and operational support. The Fieldhouse, on the other hand, is a City-owned facility and is therefore entitled to receive City support. Unfortunately, the City’s policy, not unreasonably, is to support only one facility per community, so it has consistently declined to provide assistance to NECTAR.
Second, our city councillor, Tobi Nussbaum, came to us to suggest that our community might qualify for a capital grant, subject to certain conditions. This grant could be used to enhance and enlarge the Fieldhouse facility. NECTAR activities could then be transferred there. With the enlarged Fieldhouse facility continuing to receive ongoing City support, a large portion of NECTAR’s operational costs and future risks would be eliminated. Additionally, a purpose-built community facility would allow for a much more effective platform to deliver community programming and to host community events, a significant benefit to NECTAR, the 3Cs, and the community at large.
In light of this, our three community associations formed a Steering Committee to explore this idea and dis- cuss what a transition to an enhanced facility might involve. Each association is represented on this committee, and on a smaller Executive Committee which has met several times over the summer, including a helpful consultation with City officials facilitated and chaired by Tobi.
The Executive Committee comprises Sean Flynn from NECTAR, Debra Conner from the 3Cs, Jennifer Irwin from NECA, Paula Thompson who has served on both NECA and NECTAR boards, and myself, Tim Plumptre, as Chair.
One of the early questions we confronted is what a new facility or concept might be called. How to refer to this opportunity? Paula did some great research and pro- vided us with her reflections and suggestions, (found on page 3). Subject to views from the community, the Steering Committee endorsed the following designation for the project: “The New Edinburgh Community Junction”.
For a small community like New Edinburgh, this opportunity raises several very practical questions, such as:
To consider some of these and related questions, and to provide residents with an opportunity to have their say, NECA in association with NECTAR and the 3Cs will be hosting its third Community Forum, concurrently with our Annual General Meeting, on October 29 at 7:30pm at St. Bartholomew’s Church on MacKay St.
To learn more about the “Junction” initiative, to contribute your thoughts, and to be updated generally on other NECA activities, we hope you will attend.
Many of the early residents of New Edinburgh were mill workers who lived in modest homes or rooming houses. They were employed in the heavily industrialized corridors along the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers, where the Rideau Falls supplied power.
For more on the history of New Edinburgh, pick up a copy of the New Edinburgh Heritage Walking Trail brochure (available free at Rideau Hall’s Gift Shop).
(Photo Courtesy of Archives Ontario)
© 2021 New Edinburgh Community Alliance