Dear Neighbours,
Just a brief update to let you know that the City of Ottawa has organized a public meeting for TOMORROW, July 12, 1-5 at Ben Franklin Place.
Staff from several departments will be in attendance to make a presentation and answer questions.
Details are below. There will other sessions in other areas in the near future, in case you can't make this first one.
Thinking of you, always.
Laine
In addition to the community information hubs already in place for residents who were impacted by the extreme weather event on Wednesday, July 1, the City will be hosting several community briefing and information sessions.
The first community briefing and information session will be held on Sunday, July 12 in the main entrance of Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Drive, from 1 to 5 pm. All residents impacted by the storm are welcome to drop by during those hours.
City staff and its partners will be present at information booths to support the community by answering any questions on various topics and providing support related to the extreme weather event and response, including:
Note: additional sessions will be announced soon. New details will continue to be updated on ottawa.ca and through our social media channels.
Getting to Ben Franklin Place
Ben Franklin Place is situated beside the Centrepointe Library and Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe. It is a short walk from Baseline Station. Visit the OC Transpo Travel Planner for more information. There is also plenty of free public parking on-site.
If you are unable to take conventional transit (buses and O-Train), Para Transpo is available between 6 am and midnight.
For those unable to attend an information session, community information hubs are open in multiple locations and contain pamphlets with useful information. Details on the community information hubs and other extreme weather-related information and resources can be found online on the extreme weather event webpage.
The General Manager of Infrastructure and Water Services has issued a detailed memo today about the floods. She details some of the causes, the impacts ward by ward, and how the City has responded.
She also talks about the investigation and analysis that are being done over the next months, and a commitment to action. It's worth reading!
Call, write, and stay up to date
As City Councillor, my team and I can help you with issues that fall within the municipal areas of responsibility: local traffic calming; infrastructure like sidewalks, roads, and bike lanes; municipal tax statements; some social services; parks and recreation; and more. Please note that I cannot help you with parking tickets or other provincial infractions - to attempt to do so is illegal.
Here's how to stay up to date on College Ward news and events, and to contact me:
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: college-ward.ca
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Mon équipe et moi, en tant que conseillère municipale, pouvons vous aider avec les questions qui relèvent des domaines de responsabilité municipale : la modération de la circulation locale, les infrastructures comme les trottoirs, les routes et les bandes cyclables, les relevés d’imposition municipale, certains services sociaux, les parcs et services récréatifs et plus encore. Veuillez noter que je ne peux vous aider en ce qui concerne les contraventions de stationnement ou les infractions provinciales – le faire serait illégal.
Pour connaître les nouvelles et événements du quartier Collège et communiquer avec moi :
Courriel : [email protected]
Site Web : quartier-college.ca
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Dear Neighbours,
I have spoken with many, many of you over the past 3 weeks. I have heard how devastated you are from flooding. How many treasured family heirlooms have been lost, how much money you’ll spend cleaning up and rebuilding, and how frustrated you are with insurance companies, contractors, and the City.
I have shared quite a lot of information about the City’s flood response in my recent newsletter updates and I won’t repeat it all here. You can find all those updates on my website.
It will take many months to recover from this event, and many more to fully understand the role that the City’s infrastructure may have played in flooding. We do know that we received an unprecedented level of rain in the west end – far more than other parts of the city – and that the accumulation of rain in a very short period of time led to creeks overflowing, sewers and storm sewers backing up, and water flooding across properties and into homes.
We’ll get to the bottom of this, and we’ll figure out solutions for the future.
Warm regards,
Laine
Chères voisines, chers voisins,
J’ai parlé avec beaucoup, beaucoup d’entre vous dans les trois dernières semaines. J’ai appris à quel point vous étiez dévastés par les inondations; combien d’objets de famille précieux ont été perdus, combien d’argent vous devrez dépenser pour nettoyer et reconstruire, et à quel point vous êtes frustrés par les compagnies d’assurance, les entrepreneurs et la Ville.
J’en ai déjà dit beaucoup sur ce que la Ville fait face aux inondations dans mes derniers bulletins d’information, et je ne vais pas tout répéter ici. Vous trouverez toute cette information sur mon site Web.
Il faudra des mois pour se remettre de cette tempête, et bien d’autres encore pour comprendre pleinement le rôle que les infrastructures municipales ont pu jouer dans ces inondations. Nous savons que l’ouest de la ville a enregistré des précipitations d’une ampleur sans précédent – bien supérieures à celles observées dans les autres quartiers – et que cette accumulation de pluie en très peu de temps a provoqué le débordement des ruisseaux, le refoulement des égouts et des égouts pluviaux et l’inondation de propriétés et d’habitations.
Nous allons aller au fond de cette affaire et trouver des solutions pour l’avenir.
Cordiales salutations,
Laine
Dear Neighbours,
With each passing week, we understand more and more the extent of the July 1 flood damage and how many homes and families have been impacted.
While the City is currently saying they've received over 7,000 reports, we know that many people have still not registered their flooding with 311. Consider that 311 call your access code. It opens up services, but also helps us build a case for support from the provincial and federal governments.
So please talk to your neighbours and encourage them to contact 311 if they haven't already done so.
Personally, I'm very concerned with the responses we're seeing from the Province of Ontario so far. Their Disaster Relief Assistance of Ontario program is covering far too small an area and they're being slow to expand it.
And they're saying they only cover "overland flooding" and not "sewage flooding", though in this case the sewage backups were caused by the overland flooding. It makes no sense.
I'm not letting this go. I have daily conversations with the Province, the Mayor's office, and our excellent local MPPs Chandra Pasma and Tyler Watts (both of whom have been incredibly helpful!).
Feel free to contact the Premier's office and let him know that we need better support.
Warm regards,
Laine
Dear Neighbours,
How are you holding up? I know what a long, long ordeal this has been - hauling out your personal belongings for disposal, attempting to dry out and prevent mold, negotiating with insurance and contractors. It's a lot of stress and I hope you're looking after yourselves, too.
Help is available. I've told you that the City is bringing the Canadian Red Cross in to assist residents with navigating the various programs that can help with funding. Below, you'll find more details about the Red Cross and how to access their services.
I've also included information about asbestos, garbage pickup, and other updates.
As always, please share these notes with neighbours, friends, and family who might be able to use the info.
Thinking of you, College Ward!
Warm regards,
Laine