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Nazi symbols ban

On March 26, 2025, I will table a motion at Council which calls on the federal government to ban Nazi symbols.  

College Ward is home to Ottawa’s largest Jewish community and we have seen a sharp rise in antisemitism here. Groups and individuals now brashly displaying this terrible symbol of hate on their vehicles, clothing, and signs.  

18 countries have banned this symbol and I believe it is time for Canadians to do so as well. 

I have been working with B'nai Brith Canada, who currently have a campaign to encourage the federal government to ban Nazi symbols such as the Nazi hooked cross (Hakenkreuz). It is sometimes called a swastika, which is a Sanskrit word we're not using out of respect to the Hindu community, where this has been an ancient holy symbol for hundreds of years. 

My motion, which Mayor Sutcliffe has kindly seconded, calls on Council to write to the federal government in support of B'nai Brith Canada's campaign. It also calls on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (where I'm a member of the National Board of Directors) to consider a similar motion. 

I expect the motion to be debated and voted on at the following Council meeting on April 16, 2025.

 

Motion to ban Nazi symbols

Press release

Countries where Nazi symbols are banned

Non-governmental organizations that support the ban

Canadian jurisdictions that have endorsed the B’nai Brith Canada campaign to ban Nazi symbols

Province of Saskatchewan

Region of Durham

City of Pickering

Town of Whitby

X and Public Engagement: who should control the City’s relationship with our residents?

Today, the Finance and Corporate Services Committee voted down Councillor Dudas’ motion to move away from social media platform X  as a City communications tool (you can read the motion here). I am grateful to Councillor Dudas for her leadership on this.

The prevailing argument against the motion was that since the City had over 250, 000 followers on X (how many active accounts, how many live people, how many residents of the City, not known or questioned) it would be unwise to pivot to a different platform and risk losing contact.

Another argument that was given suggested that, with the evolution of X as an unsafe place for civic discourse, any new platform could evolve in kind, meaning the City might be always in a state of trying to find the new best place to share its updates.

Priorities! Priorities! Priorities! The tradeoffs that we're facing today

I’ve been reflecting about the next chapter of my serving College Ward as your Councillor.  

My aim was, for the first year or two, to prioritize the relationship with residents. I wanted people to know that they could find me, they could count on me to listen, and they could have confidence that I was always serving them with honesty and integrity.  

Although that journey is never complete, residents’ familiarity with me at this year’s Skating Party and your response to our Annual Progress Report have done a great deal to confirm that we in the College Ward office have been on the right track. It’s meaningful to me, after 3 years, to recognize familiar faces and to remember details about residents’ families, their stories, and to share memories.  

Moving into the latter half of my term, I am considering some of the big-ticket policy items, both in terms of finances but also residential impact. Without question, I will continue to communicate regularly, have annual events, and be present in the ward. My interests lay more on some tradeoffs that I think we are facing as a city, ones that I think aren’t being positioned in a clear enough way for residents to weigh in. I’ll offer up a few.

Ontario election - your questions, answered by the candidates

At the beginning of the Ontario Provincial election, I asked residents for municipal-related questions they'd like candidates to answer. My team gathered the questions and sent them to each of the campaigns for the Green Party, Liberal Party, NDP, and PC Party candidates in the ridings of Nepean and Ottawa West-Nepean.

Only two candidates responded. You can read their responses below.

Please remember to vote on February 27, 2025!

Response from Chandra Pasma, Ontario NDP candidate, Ottawa West-Nepean

Response from Brett Szmul, Ontario Liberal candidate, Ottawa West-Nepean

 

Year Two in Review: A Progress Report for College Ward Residents

As part of my commitment to transparency and accountability to College Ward residents, I am pleased to provide a summary of the progressive we've made in our Ward over the past year, as well as a look ahead at the things I hope to accomplish.

Many thanks to residents, Community Associations, small businesses, City staff and my own team for getting all of this done.

 

Read the Progress Report

LRT Stage 2 West webinar

Councillor Laine Johnson hosted a webinar on January 23, 2025 where staff presented updates on the Ottawa LRT Stage 2 West project and answered questions from residents.

Watch the video

Review the presentation

Visit the LRT Stage 2 website

Stay informed by subscribing to [email protected]

Why the Baseline BRT should be Ottawa's next big transit expansion (and the LRT 3 shouldn't be)

By Laine Johnson

With the O-Train service now running south to the airport, the east and west expansions a year or two from service, and Line 1 rail service serving downtown, City Council will soon be turning its attention to – and making funding decisions about – the next stage of public transit expansion.

No one is happy with the state of transit in Ottawa right now. Years of underfunding have reduced the frequency, reach, and reliability of our bus service. The City, on its own, has no way of rebuilding OC Transpo (and the public’s faith in it) without either senior government financing or untenable property tax increases.

It’s a shameful situation of which no member of Council is proud, but for which we haven’t found a reasonable solution.

There is a way.

Baseline BRT webinar recording

Over 300 residents attended the City of Ottawa's January 16, 2025 webinar updating us on the Baseline BRT project.

Watch the video

Questions and Answers from the webinar

Related Links

Staff presentation on the Baseline BRT

Transportation Master Plan

Cobden Road speed hump survey results

The Cobden Road Accelerated Neighbourhood Traffic Calming study was initiated in response to speeding concerns raised by the ward Councillor. Upon review, a conceptual plan was prepared which proposed the installation of 3 speed humps on Cobden Road between Baseline Road and Iris Street. An online public consultation was undertaken in the fall of 2024 to share the proposed conceptual plan and seek feedback from residents. The survey was available from October 11th to November 7th, 2024. A total of 143 respondents completed the survey. This report contains the results of the online survey.

Cobden Road Survey Results

St Claire Park

Since elected, I have heard from City View residents and the local community association about limited access to City parks close to home. 

Given the neighbourhood, a new park or green space can only be created if we reclaim land. The dead ends along the back of Merivale's commercial strip have long been considered a natural place to convert into useable green space.

The eastern segment of St. Claire Ave between 14 St. Claire Ave and Starwood Rd has been screened in by city staff as a potential location for conversation to a greenspace that can be used for passive recreation. Please note, that there are no residential properties fronting onto this segment. 

While we are in the earliest phases of investigating this possibility, should we proceed, formal approval from key City stakeholders (emergency response, public works, utilities, etc) and an Environmental Assessment would also be required. Costs are yet to be determined. But my office is prepared to do what it can to understand if this idea can become a reality! 

This past summer, I offered a survey so I could hear your thoughts about the matter. As promised, here's a link to the As We Heard It results of that survey.

Survey: Potential Park Project on St. Claire Ave

Fill out the survey

Since elected, I have heard from City View residents and the local community association about limited access to City parks close to home. 

Given the neighbourhood, a new park or green space can only be created if we reclaim land. The dead ends along the back of Merivale's commercial strip have long been considered a natural place to convert into useable green space.

The eastern segment of St. Claire Ave between 14 St. Claire Ave and Starwood Rd has been screened in by city staff as a potential location for conversation to a greenspace that can be used for passive recreation. Please note, that there are no residential properties fronting onto this segment. 

While we are in the earliest phases of investigating this possibility, should we proceed, formal approval from key City stakeholders (emergency response, public works, utilities, etc) and an Environmental Assessment would also be required. Costs are yet to be determined. But my office is prepared to do what it can to understand if this idea can become a reality! 

Please complete this survey to share your thoughts. Responses will be collected until August 30, 2024. My team will create a summary of the findings which will be shared in a report in September. 

Fill out the survey

 

CBC: Controversial developer donation policy punted to working group

"We've chosen a nuclear option, one that can tie our hands and prevent us from working on behalf of our communities," argued Coun. Laine Johnson. "It shifts us from actors to audience. We've reached this point in a hurry."

FULL STORY