Q.
Why are you running?
A.
The
reason I have chosen to run for the Office of the Mayor is that, in my opinion,
there were not any viable candidates to vote for.
So,
my only alternative was to not vote, like the majority of
Ottawans did during the last election, or vote for someone I do not want be
a mayor; therefore, I decided to put my name on the list.
I
have enough skills, experience, unique ideas, and optimism to successfully run
the city of Ottawa.
Q. Why I should be a Mayor?
A. Because I think I am the best among all the candidates who can run the City efficiently, effectively, and prudently. I have an open mind, with no preconceived hidden agenda. As Mayor, I think I can transform the City into a relatively crime-free, peaceful, fully employed, a City with every child staying in school until grade 12 and people who will be eager to seek education and training to get a better future.
PRIORITIES
From all the issues we face, I would rank Taxes, Transportation and
Education at the top. Please see my
responses.
|
Piotr Related Links:
|
Questions and Answers are listed alphabetically: -
Affordable Housing and Homelessness -
French -
Safety -
Sport -
Taxes New questions are added every day |
Affordable Housing and Homelessness: Q.
If
elected, what will you do to ensure there is more affordable housing? A.
The shortage of affordable housing is a serious problem in Ottawa. To
improve the situation, I would have the city sell some of its existing
properties to interested tenants, and use the money to build more new
affordable houses. The city
has a lot of land that should be used to create affordable housing. I
am in favor of creating more co-ops with a mix of fully-paying tenants and
and payment-assisted tenants. By
varying the mix of tenants the city will avoid creating low-income
“ghettos” which are currently a problem.
Low-income residents will be able to maintain a sense of dignity
and will be motivated to improve their status. Questions
from Mayoral Debate on Solving Homelessness When
you are Mayor Ending
homelessness and creating new, appropriate and affordable housing needs to
be a priority in our community. Q.
How will you ensure that it is? A.
Creating
appropriate and affordable housing needs is only one of the means to end
homelessness. It is a social problem which has to be addressed by
improving family value, education, more job created, and restore citizen's
pride to be independent of government's assistance.
First I would sell some of the existing affordable houses which belong to
the city for tenants who have lived there for a minimum of 5
years and give them a 20% discount. For
the money the city receives I will build new apartment
units on city properties and offer them as affordable housing. Making
money from selling and investing back in the same program creates more and
new affordable dwellings. The
City will save on renovation of these old houses, enabling new
apartments. Offering
the older existing units to buy will motivate existing tenants to get
better jobs, care more about their property, and provide the
opportunity for a better future. We
will sell only to those who are eligible, this way people
waiting for such houses will not loose, but instead will attain their
goal sooner. The
City of Ottawa considers applications to convert properties from rental to
condo when the vacancy rate has been at or above 3 per cent for the
preceding two-year reporting period and as long as the existing units are
at or above average market rent levels. We
have such a situation now for the last 2 years. Of
course the empty properties mostly are new and expensive, but the 3
percent is reached. Q.
How will you increase the political will of federal and provincial
governments to ensure funding for homelessness services and appropriate
and affordable housing? A.
As the Mayor, I will open continuous dialogue with the other two
levels of governments to looks into ways to improve the quality of life of
those who are disadvantages. This include: more funding for
education, job creation, housing, and discourage young people from
skipping school and/or taking up the alcohol or drug habit. If the
governments do not have to spend money to rehabitate/treat drug/alcohol
users, there will be more funds to help those who need an accommodation temporarily
until they are on their feet. As for those who need long-term
assistance, some permanent housing should be built to accommodate them. We
are living in the Capital city, where federal government employees and MPs
are living with their families and it is in their interest to keep our
streets homeless free. It
shouldn’t be difficult to convince our federal officials, since they do
not want people sleeping on the streets. We
have the NCC that can participate in the process of persuasion, because it
is their responsibility to care about Capitol image in the world. No
one wants tourists visiting Canada to see so many homeless people in
Capitol. The
present Premier of Ontario is one of us and I am confident, he will
support us. His
entire family is living here and he will come back here in a few years. If
you elect me, in a few years the City will have its own money
made from other smart investments, which I propose in my platform on my
web page www.anweiler.ca. Moreover,
there will be less need for funding since the number of
homeless will dramatically drop. Ottawa
has a severe shortage of appropriate and affordable rental housing. To
address this crisis, how will you: Q.
Develop new social housing? A.
To do this I would support building more co-ops where 25 percent of the units
would house those on assistance and the rest at regular market rents. I
would offer unused city land for those developments and the City could
guarantee lenders, thus permitting low cost interest loans for these
projects. But
we have to remember that
the more housing we build, the more we need, because more homeless people
will move into the area, knowing that Ottawa is the haven for government
housing. Let us help them, especially our younger generation, to
have self-esteem and make a live for themselves, instead of getting into a
habit of relying on government assistance. Q.
Increase appropriate and affordable private rental development? A.
To do this I would build not as a poor residential housing, but as a mix
of all economic levels. This
way, we will not create ghettos where people without future plans will
exist, and convince each other to similar life style, exactly like we have
in big shelters. If
you are among your peers you usually copy their behaviour. There
is a shortage of contraction labour. We
can offer affordable unit to someone unemployed, under condition that
he/she has to be employed by the contractor who will build such a
development, and work there for a minimum of 1000 hours. This
way we will motivate people to work and give them a chance to obtain an affordable
unit faster. Q.
Protect existing affordable rental stock? A.
Instead of old we will build new housing, so the stock will be preserved
and even increased. City
will save on renovation. Q.
Increase the percentage of appropriate and affordable low-income units in
new developments? A.
I would increase this number offering extra units for skilled low income
professionals, who would contribute their time, let say 5 hours a week for
the next 2 years to do maintenance in their new development where they
live. In
some cases it will not work but “you will never quit smoking if you do
not try”. The
City of Ottawa Council recently endorsed Priority on People: Ottawa’s
2006-2008 Community Action Plan on Homelessness to create “A City
Without Homelessness”. Q.
Which immediate steps will you take to fulfill the plan? A.
I propose smaller sized shelters as is listed in my platform at
At the
same time this will create employment and will contribute to
resocialization (social rehabilitation).
There
are limited housing opportunities for our homeless individuals,
especially those with poor credit histories and complex mental health,
substance abuse and severe disabilities.
I
propose to open the Chronically Homeless Housing program, an
internationally recognized housing model, to provide these individuals
with a housing opportunity designed to prepare the “hardest to house”
for permanent housing.
Many
individuals who are not mentally ill or developmentally delayed, do
not have the life skills to maintain permanent housing.
Residents
would pay a weekly program fee based on their income with a maximum
of $X and can be asked to leave for inappropriate behaviour.
This
allows us to enforce strict guidelines, such as a savings requirement,
weekly case management attendance and sobriety, and the ability to release
someone from the program who will not comply with rules rather than
engaging in the often lengthy and expensive eviction process.
In
last 4 years 65% of the chronically homeless individuals who went through
this program called the Smith House, modelled in the US,
were placed in permanent housing.
The
Smith House model prevents recidivism by preparing people with complex
issues for permanent housing.
Many
people need support to find and retain their housing to prevent
homelessness.
Q. How would you improve and protect support
services?
A.
Paying rent direct to landlords will convince more landlords to take
people on assistance and at the same time will reduce the workload for the
Rental Tribunal for non-payment of rent.
This
way the city will also save money since many receiving assistance,
unfortunately once a year loose their money and the city has to
provide emergency payment to the landlord to prevent eviction.
Many
people cannot afford to rent housing within their means as most cannot
afford to pay first and last months rent which prevents them from
attaining a suitable place to begin with.
Some
of the working poor not having a vision for a better life end up
falling into the cracks and eventually become homeless.
Many
spend their rent for other purposes knowing that there are back-up
policies in place.
As
a mayor I would make it mandatory that any and all persons getting welfare
have their rents sent directly to their landlords, which will cut down
evictions by 100% for non-payment.
Moreover,
the support service can be in the form of rental registration office, or
social services agency, or federal employment agency; a network system
(maybe on the Internet) to enter and search for availability of rental
units across the city. Asking
landlords to register (for free) when they have vacancy.
Ottawa
is becoming more diverse, linguistically, culturally and demographically.
Q.
How will you meet the homelessness service and housing needs of our more
diverse community?
A.
I assume we are talking about new immigrants that bring their own language
and culture here.
Canada
has always welcomed immigrants, and language or culture has never been a
problem.
As
we all know it is not healthy to create areas where only one ethnic or
religious group lives.
This
makes it difficult for them to assimilate.
Also
we cannot favour one group over another.
We
can implement a percentage to allocate tenants with different backgrounds,
but this way it would not be fair for those who already are waiting for
affordable housing.
The
city has limited resources and newcomers have to wait in line as everyone
else or make an effort to help themselves.
We
are a bilingual country and we manage it well.
I
do not see any reason why we shouldn’t be able to manage more languages.
Moreover,
every immigrant has the opportunity to learn ESL or FSL, so he/she will be
able to communicate.
Among
newcomers who ask for assistance, I would select those who know English or
French and ask them to work voluntarily to help homeless services as
translators and this way they will speed up their own assimilation
process.
When
Mayor Giuliani took office, one out of every seven New Yorkers was on
welfare. Mayor Giuliani returned the work ethic to the center of City life
by implementing the largest and most successful welfare-to-work initiative
in the country. He moved over
640,000 individuals from dependency on the government to the dignity of
self-sufficiency.
Closing
Debate
I
did not talked much about problems or goals, as my opponents did.
Instead I gave solutions to our problems; few solutions to start
with.
Today’s
debate was about homelessness. I
also like to present in a few words my platform and its most important
points.
I
ask all of you to go to my web site, which is www.anweiler.ca,
another words my last name dot ca.
On
my site you will find many unique solutions I have proposed since the last
4 months for the city, to solve problems such as the transportation,
garbage, safety, taxes and more about homelessness.
Some
of these solutions can put Ottawa at the top of the most attractive cities
in the World.
If
we would implement them, we will not stay in traffic any more, the smell
of the garbage will not wake us up, streets will be safe, and there will
be not a shortfall in the city’s budget.
My
solutions are human friendly and ecological friendly.
Exactly
like in a fairy tale, but this time it can be reality.
Please
go vote Nov 13.
Vote
smart, because the next election will be in 4 years.
We
don’t know who will really be the best, but sometimes choosing a winner,
makes him a winner.
Bureaucracy:
We all hear complaints that 95% of
time, when one contacts the City for information, the person gets passing
around and no one seems to know who is responsible. I would
streamline the City organization and introduce one-stop shopping for
businesses. I will ensure that staff is trained to respond to
business enquiry. To attract businesses, I'll consider to have staff
to assist their start-up, or give them a start-up grant (city tax
break). Everyone knows that when you want
a permit, or get some information from the City of Ottawa, 95% of the
time, you are passed around from staff –to-staff, as if within the City
bureaucracy, the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Sometimes, after being passed around, you found that the
first person you talked to is actually the one responsible. The City is, as the residents and business experienced,
disorganized and disconnected. The
bureaucracy is growing but the efficiency is far from an acceptable
standard. The whole structure
must be streamline to cut out duplication, inefficiency, and incompetence. My solution: Who ever from the city staff takes
the first request/inquiry, will be in charge to deliver it to the person
responsible for this particular issue. A strict formal mechanism to file
and process requests from the public, including complains against the
City, shall be establish within the City administration with a clear
indication where the decisions of the City staff can be independently
appealed. The time to solve any request must
be reasonable. Any city
expert will have only one day to review each residential request from the
private citizen.
To see my responses please come back after the debate.
QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES
IN THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION IN OTTAWA FROM THE FAMILIES MATTER CO-OPERATIVE
INC.
Note: the Families Matter
Co-operative is an Ottawa based organisation for
and about persons with developmental disabilities.
Q. 1.
Some jurisdictions have policies concerning purchases of goods and services
from businesses employing people with developmental (and other)
disabilities. For example, where such goods and services are equivalent in
quality to other goods and services, purchases may be made as long as the
costs do not exceed costs of alternative suppliers by 10%.
Would
you support such a policy for the City of Ottawa and its purchases? Would
you support giving incentives for businesses that serve the City for those
businesses to implement such policies too?
A.
Q.
2. People with developmental disabilities have very high unemployment
levels. The City of Ottawa currently provides some contracts to businesses
and agencies that employ people with developmental disabilities. For
example, the Y’s Owl Maclure Co-operative has a contract with the City to
employ work crews composed of people with developmental disabilities at the
Trail Road Landfill operation. These work crews are supervised by Y’s Owl
non-developmentally disabled staff. More employment opportunities could be
offered to people with developmental disabilities if the contracts from the
City took into account the need to cover the costs of administration and
supervision of the work crews as well as the payments made to such crews.
Will you support the City
of Ottawa encouraging the employment of more people with developmental
disabilities by developing policies that invite contract tenders that take
into account these necessary administration costs?
A.
Q.
3. Currently charities that provide housing for people with developmental
disabilities are exempt from City property taxes. Individuals who provide
housing for their relatives with developmental disabilities are not exempt
from such taxation. Would you support
a lobbying effort by the City of Ottawa to extend property tax relief to
family members who provide housing to people with developmental
disabilities?
A.
Q.
4. Many people with developmental disabilities live at home with their aging
parents. Many of these adults are on long wait-lists for a home of their
own. These adults often need supports in such homes ranging from the support
of a weekly visit to the need for a few hours of support each day to
twenty-four hour care. Solutions to these needs have been restricted to
provincial capital and operating grants given to agencies that support such
individuals. Currently other options are being explored to alleviate these
wait-list stresses. These include:
- developing partnerships
with new Co-op Housing developments to include people with developmental
disabilities as part of the eligible residents,
- having parents and
care-givers develop innovative solutions where they contribute, to the
capital, rental and support costs,
- developing partnerships
with City housing developments to include people with developmental
disabilities as part of their eligible residents,
- encouraging private
businesses to develop housing options specifically for people with
developmental disabilities.
Which
strategies would you would support to reduce these stresses and wait-lists
for housing for people with developmental disabilities?
A.
Q.
5. People with developmental disabilities often live isolated lives on the
fringes of society. To reduce this isolation, people with developmental
disabilities need ready access to affordable transportation and ready and
affordable access to recreational and social activities. Para Transpo is
limited in its ability to reduce the isolation. The City’s recreation
programs are also limited in providing recreational and social activities
that integrate people with developmental disabilities into the social fabric
of the City.
What
can be done to make Para Transpo more accessible and affordable to people
with developmental disabilities?
What
can be done to enable people with developmental disabilities to become less
Isolated
and become more integrated into more recreational and social activities?
A.
This survey is being sent to you on behalf of People with
disABILITIES; A Community Coalition. This Coalition is comprised of over 40 agencies and
individuals who have an interest in improving the quality of life for
persons living with disabilities in the City of Ottawa.
Our goal is to build the City of Ottawa’s capacity to maximize the
potential for full participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
The following questions are being asked of you in an attempt to provide
persons with disabilities, their family members and service providers with
information on where City Council candidate stand on various disability
issues.
Our intention is to share the results of this survey, with our member
agencies and their clients. Please
ensure your completed survey is returned to me by October 20, 2006.
We ask that you take this opportunity to share, with voters, your views
on disability issues.
Q.
1 In a survey of over 1000 people with disabilities in Ottawa, 3
out of 5 are encountering barriers to participation[1].
What will you do to resolve these participation barriers in Ottawa?
A:
Q.
2 In a survey of over 1000 residents with disabilities in
Ottawa, over 50% live on less than $15,000 per year1.
What would you do, as a municipality, to lessen the impact of poverty
on these individuals?
A:
Q.
3 Are you familiar with the City of Ottawa’s Accessibility Plan?
How will you ensure it’s recommendations are implemented?
A:
Q.
4 How will you ensure that disability issues stay on the forefront of
the City of Ottawa’s agenda?
A:
Q.
A.
Libraries were
and are very important for our society; every one realizes this.
I
am a strong supporter for Public Library, and I am not going to change my
mind. Maybe I would suggest
expansion of services and centralization, but it is for later discussion.
Even
though, today’s Internet Era, TV, and all kind of entertainment put
libraries little in the shadow, libraries still represent a heart of our
heritage.
Majority
of our city population poses a library membership.
Going to the library once a day or once a year, the general public
shows its interest and the same necessity for such service.
Today
library looks little different than 20 year ago.
This is one more proof, that with some adjustment Public Library
would always fits to and exists in our culture.
This
day library is not only an Eye to the World but it also plays a social club
character.
Canada
always will be newcomers’ country, where public libraries are
irreplaceable for new
immigrants.
I
hope these few sentences show you my feelings related to Public Libraries.
Q. Do you favour P3's and other initiatives to privatize city work?
A.
I am in favour of P3s. In many cases P3 initiatives have proven successful in
increasing the quality and efficiency of services provided to citizens.
The city will still need employees to monitor the quality of the
services provided by private companies.
If private companies fail to fulfill the terms of the licensing
agreements, they lose their licenses.
For
example, provincial licensing bureaus have been successfully operated by
private companies for several years.
The quality and speed of the services provided is very high, and
the province has employees monitoring the private companies to ensure the
quality of the services.
Many
services can be provided more efficiently by private companies than by the
city. I feel the mayor and
council have a responsibility to the taxpayers of Ottawa to provide
high-quality services as efficiently as possible.
Q.
A.
In
my opinion the French language services in Ottawa are well organized.
Almost every city employee is versed in French/English; so, there is
not a communication problem. We have in Ottawa many different
services available in French and all are at a sufficient level. I do
not see any necessity to increase French services in Ottawa.
Any
one being able to leave his/her home and willing to get more French culture
or socialize in the French community can do it very easily going to the
Aylmer, Hull or Gatineau.
The
balance level we have reached in Ottawa took a long time. We do not
have any bigger issues related to the bilingualism and we do not want to create
them.
I
know many people complain about not equality in getting a public job, but
this is another issue to discuss. Majority of Ottawans do not speak
French; therefore, in this case, trying to be objective, I can say that we
have here some discrepancy and not all are served equally.
It is a price of compromise.
Q.
Dear
Mr Anweiler, I am a journalism student at La Cité
collégiale.
I am currently preparing to write an article regarding the bilingualism
issue in the city and the municipal election.
I need to know whether you consider yourself bilingual or not.
A.
My
best wishes in your efforts as you choose to further your education.
Yes, I consider myself bilingual and under the law I am. If you are
referring specifically to French/English as being bilingual, no, but what is
bilingualism? To know two languages that one is proficient in. In that
sense I am multilingual because I can communicate in four languages.
Thank you for your interest and good luck with your studies.
Q. What can be done to reduce the amount of landfill and make Ottawa a more environmentally responsible city when it comes to garbage?
A.
The city of Ottawa has a tremendous opportunity to enhance its
image as a world-class city in dealing with its garbage problems.
The
idea of expanding existing landfills is a short-sighted solution that only
serves to pass the problem on to future decision-makers.
Instead,
the city should also invest in new technologies.
For example, incinerators using special filtering processes have
been successful in solving the garbage problems faced by other countries
without adverse effects on air quality.
Investments of this kind would improve the quality of life for
residents living near landfill sites and would drastically reduce the
city’s impact on the environment, which would benefit everyone.
It is this kind of forward thinking the city needs to deal with its
garbage problems, not the same old answers proposed by others.
I
am also in favor of increasing the city’s investment in recycling
programs and doing everything possible to divert waste away from landfill
sites.
Q.
What
is your position on waste reduction (recycle, reuse etc.)?
A.
Waste reduction, reuse and recycling are important components of a
sustainable environment. The
City of Ottawa should do everything it can to encourage residents to
reduce the amount of waste produced, and to reuse and recycle waste
products as much as possible.
Ottawa’s
population is growing at a significant rate.
Increased waste caused by this growth will continue to be an issue.
We need to do everything we can to promote the reduction, reuse and
recycling of waste products. By
doing so, we will minimize our impact on the environment and improve the
quality of life for all Ottawans.
Q.
What is your position on IC&I and C&D waste?
A.
Waste reduction, reuse and recycling are also important components of
sustainable growth.
The
City of Ottawa should be doing more to promote the reuse and recycling of
IC&I and C&D waste. Much
of this waste can be reused or recycled.
Easy
to recycle
·
concrete (often recycled and reused at the site)
·
steel and other metals
·
pallets
·
packaging and paper products
·
fluorescent tubes
Reusable
materials
·
wood beams, joists, studs, baseboards
·
cabinets and cupboards
·
railings
·
brick
·
doors and casings
·
interior windows
·
bathroom fixtures
·
light fixtures
·
ceiling grid and tile
·
furnishings
·
replant trees, shrubs
Q.
What is your position on waste to energy programs?
A.
I believe waste to energy programs should play an important role in the
future of waste management in Ottawa.
Waste
to energy has proven to be an effective method of waste management and
volume reduction while at the same time providing the added benefit of
generating clean energy. Burning
trash effectively destroys waste stream bacteria, pathogens and other
harmful elements. The
waste-to-energy process also reduces the incoming volume by about 90%.
The remaining ash can be used as a road bed material or be safely
landfilled.
A
waste to energy program would create jobs and local economic benefits, and
create a reliable source of electric power for our city.
I
believe the city should take immediate steps to invest in waste to energy
technology. It’s time the
city took a forward-thinking approach to waste management.
Q.
What is your position on landfill expansion?
A.
I
am strongly opposed to the proposed landfill expansions.
The City of Ottawa should be looking at alternative solutions to
waste problems rather than relying on outdated methods of handling its
trash.
Q.
Do you have any other comments on Waste management in Ottawa?
A.
Yes, I do. Waste management
is a very important topic that impacts the lives of every resident of our
city. I will have more to say
about this issue during the debates that I am invited to and my second
blog related to this subject, where I will list all solutions in more
detailed form.
Q.
Given
that in the last term of the municipal government, the e-waste problem in
this city was shelved, frustrated and buried, what do you as either mayor
or councillor plan to do with the ever increasing amounts of electronic
waste been dumped into the landfill sites? And what do you plan
to do to ensure the material is recycled properly in accordance with the
Basel Agreement?
A.
Rapid
accumulation of the e-waste is a world-wide problem. It can hardly be
solved on a city level. Efforts must be undertaken on the federal,
provincial and municipal levels. We can all contribute to mitigating this
issue. Used electronic devices, including personal computers, should
be recycled. Companies that can make business out of the computer
re-cycling should be supported in their efforts. If it is economically
viable, the primary valuable materials should be retrieved, re-processed and
re-used. Thus, the overall amount of the waste burdening our environment
will be reduced. We should encourage the computer users to participate in
the e-waste re-cycling program.
Q. What position I have on crime?
A.
As Mayor, I will definitely do everything to deter and to combat criminal
activities. Crimes are enemies to the society; they disrupt lives,
ruin peace, and turn innocent people into victims. I will strengthen
the police force, work with the federal and provincial government to
enforce the laws and impose stronger sentences, especially on those who
commit crimes against the elderly and children.
I would like every police officer to drive his/her cruiser 4 days and 5th
day walk the streets. Better for streets (goes everywhere where
cruiser cannot get) and better for the officer (some exercises).
Also I will assign one officer for a small region (divide each Ward in 4
pieces for example).
These way officers will know what happens in his region, who is the
trouble maker, and people will know officer in charge.
People would report anything suspicious or crime to him.
Such an officer can serve in this region for many years.
Officer would walk from house to house, introduce him self and collect
data.
Q.
What do you know about the sport of ultimate in Ottawa?
A.
The OCUA is a non-profit corporation promoting disc sports in the
Ottawa-Carleton region. Mainly volunteers run it. It is large, famous and
runs tournaments all year round. From what I know the summer league is the
largest ultimate league in the world. I find it a great idea. I support
all kinds of sport activities, including disk sports. Winter league will
be soon running from November till March.
Q.
Do you feel that the sports fields controlled by the City of Ottawa are
being well managed?
A.
Sport fields in Ottawa are being managed. There is room for improvement
there.
Q. What would you do as Mayor to improve
sporting facilities in Ottawa?
A. I would attempt to lower those rental
fees, which are excessive. Recovery
of costs associated with maintenance of the sport fields and ice rinks is
necessary to keep them in good shape.
Q. What is your stand on rental fees for City
sports fields and the use of these fields by for-profit groups?
A. All city facilities should be put to good
use for our community including of course non-profit organizations. Empty
buildings have to be maintained, heated in the winter and air-conditioned
in the summer, used or not.
Q.
What is your position on the principles of healthy community and promoting
an active lifestyle for our citizens?
A.
A healthy and active lifestyle is not legislated by governments; it is
promoted in educational sense. The principles of healthy community and
promoting an active lifestyle for our citizens should be actively
supported and applied. This is a common sense.
Q.
I
understand you are a candidate for Mayor. Please let me know what your
plans/thoughts are regarding a designated bicycle lane from Stittsville to
Downtown. Or even a designated lane that runs East/West.
A.
I
grew up in a culture where cyclists have the same rights as other
road users. Because bicycles do not pollute, do not make noise,
take less space and most importantly improve health. I will not only take
special care all bikers, but also propose safety education for drivers and
young cyclists. To show you that it is important for me can be a
fact that 2 years ago I donated to all the Catholic and Public High
Schools, educational, multilingual software I have developed for young
bikers and drivers. Safety, Education, Health, and Transportation are the most important
issues for me.
Increasing city taxes works against all of us; this is a circle and a
chain reaction.
Unfortunately we experience in Ottawa a negative circle: taxes
increased, business closed, lost employment and salaries, standard of life
and city services decreased, eviction, bankruptcy, drugs and crime on our
streets, City needs more money, and again taxes go up... Each time taxes are increased, more homeless and criminals
welcome our streets.
As your Mayor I will create a positive circle in Ottawa.
I will create more jobs inviting to Ottawa entrepreneurs venture
capitalists and talents.
I will keep our graduates in Ottawa giving them employment
opportunities.
As a mayor I will give a green light to all businesses in the form of
fast service at City Hall and tax breaks if employers will create more jobs.
I will streamline the City organization and introduce one-stop
shopping for businesses. I will
ensure that staff is trained to respond to business enquiries.
I will freeze municipal taxes including the next year planned 15% taxes
increase. We should follow the NY model and reduce almost to zero all fees
for new businesses. This is a
modern way to create city income.
We cannot only rely on taxes; we as a city have to generate profit.
We should concentrate on the technology sector and tourism.
We need tourists, we need jobs; these two factors will boom our city
economy.
Q. What position I have on taxes?
A. Taxes are the revenue for the governments to maintain their services to the public.
I think taxes must be fair and not skewed to a segment of the society.
I found the current Ontario property tax assessment is unfair, base on half-baked information, and punish those who are on fixed income and who do not flip their house for capital gains.
Q.
Is the budgetary process working, and if not, how would you improve it?
A.
The current budgetary process works fine; the decisions made by the
participants need to be improved.
I
believe that the city should aim for a 0% tax increase each year, unlike
the case in recent years. The residents and businesses of Ottawa are already taxed to
the limit. I believe the city
should be run like a business as much as possible.
As mayor I would strive to ensure that activities and services
invested in by the city create a return on the investment which could in
turn be used to support other necessities.
I
also believe that an independent auditor should be retained on the
public’s behalf to ensure the proper financial management of the city.
Q. What
needs to be done to improve the municipal assessment system?
A.
The municipal assessment system needs to be more flexible.
I
support giving property tax discounts for those who had invested a certain
amount of money (say $10,000) in renovations in a given year.
This would encourage home-owners to upgrade their homes and make
them more energy efficient. The
city would recover the lost tax revenue in many forms – higher property
values, taxes on material sold, and employment creation.
Q. Would it be possible to get an official link to find out who has registered for the Campaign Contribution - Rebate Program. It must be public information. Many Thanks
A.
Here
is my blog related to the Rebate Program: http://propertytaxeswasting.blogspot.com/2006/07/i-believe-that-property-taxes-in.html
Thank you for your
inquiry. To get answers to your
questions related the election please contact the Elections Office, Monday
to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
City of Ottawa Elections Office
768 Belfast Road
Ottawa, ON
K1G 6M8
Telephone: 613-580-2660 (TTY: 613-580-2401)
Fax: 613-580-2661
E-mail: elections@ottawa.ca
Q. What position I have on LRT?
A.
I do not know the details of the LRT contract; therefore I cannot give you
a definitive straight answer.
Also, I do not know for example how much we will have to pay in penalties
if this LRT contract is cancelled or amended.
However, for the price of $1 billion I know we can have 200 kilometres of
Personal Rapid Transit in Ottawa within 4 years.
Q.
Is
the current light rail proposal what is best for the city?
A.
The city of Ottawa had an opportunity to be a world-leader in public
transit. Instead, it settled
for a second-rate solution.
I
don’t believe the current light rail (LRT) proposal is best for the
city. However, the
democratically elected council has made a decision regarding LRT and the
deal will be signed.
If
the LRT contract can be modified without significant penalties, I would
take steps to do so.
There
are better solutions to the transit problem that I would implement.
Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) systems are already being used in over
100 places around the world, including Asia, Singapore, and the United
States. PRT systems are
quicker to build, cost far less to build and operate, have higher
passenger volumes than LRT, and are more energy efficient than LRT.
One word "accountability" has become politically
significant but I think, poorly understood.
Q. How
do you define "accountability " as applied to elected officials?
A. ccountability. I believe that there should be some measure or safeguard in place whereas elected officials should be held accountable for their campaign promises and penalties levied if they do a turn-about after being elected. Once in office there should also be measures that the taxpayers may invoke if decisions are made contrary to the majority of our citizens.
Q. How do you define "accountability " as applied to City staff?
A. Accountability. All city staff must be held responsible and accountable for their duties performed in the public interest. There should be no delays in the performance of their duties. The cities life blood operates on getting things done correctly the first time, not by procastination or in the passing of the buck.
Q. How do you define "accountability" as applied to municipal Boards and Commissions?
A. Accountability. Boards and Commissions must also be held accountable for not being able to forecast expenditures and remain within their allotted budgets.
Q. What part of the City do you live in? What attributes do you bring to the role of Mayor? I am asking because I don't know and you are raising good issues.
A. I am resident of Ottawa-West, close to Carling and Kirkwood intersection
(River Ward 16). Please see the next answer.
Q. What experience would you bring to the job?
A. Strong leadership and determination, based on all levels international work experience from junior to senior positions. Working with people to resolve existing problems, I always have provided solutions to things that seemed impossible. I accomplished whatever I promised, always with a passion and in the best quality.
Q. What are your priorities for the City of Ottawa for the next four years?
A. Safe, clean, vibrant city with a constant abundance of tourists year-round. Without a rising taxes, previous garbage and transportation difficulties, our citizens will enjoy an increased standard of life. I will invest more in education, look for new technologies, support new ideas, and minimize the homeless. My solutions are waiting to be applied.
Q. If you are elected Mayor of Ottawa, what are you going to do about eradication of graffiti vandalism in our community?
A. It is important that everyone do their part in keeping both public and private properties free of littering and illegal graffiti in order to help the City.
If graffiti is made against the property’s owner will, this should be penalized exactly like vandalism. To eliminate illegal graffiti I would educate property owners, students, and the general public about the negative effects of illegal graffiti.
I would introduce a new Graffiti Bylaw, to guide City staff in preventing and enforcing the law.
I would enforce this new law creating small and flexible Clean City unit, which will collect data from society about littering or graffiti, and will enforce the law.
The Clean City unit will not require an additional funding because from the penalties (tickets issued) will survive it self. It can be another Public Private Project (P3).
In the practice for example: owner of the property records on video people who do the illegal graffiti and pass it to the special Clean City unit. Officers follow up, try to locate this ‘artist’ and penalize him/her or parents. This unit will also go to the scenes where the graffiti occurs repeatedly, contact the owner, and do the investigation by its self. There are many methods to track, locate and penalize the ‘illegal artists’.
As an alternative to the fee, for parents and these who cannot afford a ticket payment, the city would make them erase their work plus order picking up trash on our streets so they learn about properties values and rights of others.
Thanks to this e-mail I am now aware of this
candidate! And, I have to say - he makes more sense than a lot of
the others. Especially with the lack of lawn signs - Thank
you!!!!!!!!!! I went to the website to check out the other campaign
platforms, and I will be voting for Mr. Anweiler in November.
Thanks!
Alexandra
David
and Michelle (Ward 10) asked me:
1. Light
Rail Transit:
Do you believe
that LRT through the down town core is the best solution for Ottawa's
transportation problems? Why or why not?
This is very
bad solution. Please see my web
site for other solutions I have proposed since May.
2. What
would be your vision for a public transit solution in Ottawa?
Personal
Rapid Transit, 21 Century Technology (see my web site anweiler.ca).
3. Crime and
Safety
What do you
believe is the best solution to address the concerns regarding street level
safety? These concerns include, but are not limited to:
The increase
in gun crime in Ottawa
I'll lobby the
federal/provincial government for stricter penalty on criminals.
Youth Crime
Held parents
responsible; children have to stay in school until grade 11/12;
Promote the
traditional value system (family, social, moral, etc.) and censor media in
promoting.
Sex and
violent
Predators must
be severely punished, police should be vigilant in solving crime against
children and minors, violent act in the society must be deterred at all costs.
Gang violence
Police should
be on the watch for gangs which involve in criminal behaviours and encourage
citizen to make reports through medium such as Crime Stoppers.
Predators of
our children
Automatic jail
sentence for any crime committed and publish their names and addresses. If
possible, ban them from playground and parks where children gather.
Transit Safety
Safety must be
at the top of the City’s list of priority.
Drug
Enforcement
Police and
Health department must be on the alert for drug trafficking and illegal use.
Property Crime
This is very
intrusive to the victims and I will make sure that the police be diligent on
deterring this and solving the crime once committed.
4.
Business Investment and Employment
How would you
plan to attract business and investment to Ottawa?
Improve
service (one stop shopping) at the City. Currently, businesses found the
City bureaucracy and confusion are frustrating and many new businesses had been
discouraged and go to other cities. I would also consider tax incentive to
new businesses or businesses who provide multiple employment and attract
tourists.
5. Use
of tax dollars
Do you believe
that special events (ie. Tulip Festival, Blues Fest, Gay Pride Parade, etc.)
should be self supporting without the use of tax dollars to prop them up?
Yes
(eventually max. for the first 3 years some free city service)
6. Do
you believe the pedestrian foot bridge over the Rideau Canal near Ottawa U and
contributing funding to Chamber Music Hall are good uses of tax dollars?
I would need
to find out more about them. I know that there had been a lot of criticism
in the media on these projects.
Bridge was $5
million but in Orleans we spent $220 million giving “Someone” for 30 years
exclusiveness to operate hotel and Arts Center for FREE, and on top of this we
as a city will have to pay $3.2 every year for 30 years for its operational
costs.
7. Do
you support programs like the free needle clinic?
Yes, only if it is properly administered because it will
reduce spread of disease which may put burden on the already burdened health
system.
8. There are
those who state that tax dollars should only be spent on core services. At
the municipal level, what do you view as core services?
Police, Fire
Department, roads and underground infrastructure, hydro, water, waste
management, municipal operations, health, housing, museum, public buildings and
park, and others which are in the public domains.
9.
Property taxes
Rural areas in
the city do not have the same services as urban or suburban areas. With
this in mind, do you believe that they should be taxed by the same formula or
mill rate just because they are in the City of Ottawa?
This is within
the jurisdiction of the Province of Ontario. I will consult with the
provincial government and City legal advisers and look for options to apply tax
fairly.
10.
Expenses
How do you
intend to reduce the excessive operational expenses of the City of Ottawa?
I'll streamline the operation and eliminate any inefficiency
and excess.
11.
There are many cases of abuses of city property from carelessness to outright
theft. There are cases like a parking lot attendant that is caught
stealing and given a severance package that amounts to 12 months wages when he
is let go (true case) to the case of staff that report directly to family
members working for the city of Ottawa which is contrary to union rule and city
policy. The abuses of city IT infrastructure which range from conducting
personal business during working hours to surfing and exchanging inappropriate
material is rampant with city staff.
How do you
intend to force all levels of management to crack down on abuses by staff?
I will enforce strict internal audit of the operation and the
auditors will report directly the City Council. Any crime disclosed will
be reported to the police and be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Any dishonesty uncovered will be disciplined and the managers will be held
responsible for any audit observations.
12. The
hierarchy at the City of Ottawa is very top heavy. Recommended industry
manager/staff ration is 1/12. Would you support re-organizing
staffing in order to streamline operational costs.
Yes
13.
Waste management
What are your
views on land fill expansion vs. plasma gasification or another alternative?
Please see my
web site and blog for details and other solutions:
http://garbageissue.blogspot.com/2006/09/ottawas-garbage-issue.html
14. Mr.
O'Brien has repeatedly stated that he would run the city like a business.
Can you
elaborate on how you would accomplish this?
I will manage the revenue and expenditure like a business, or
better still, like I run my own bank account. However, the City is a
government, and social programs and other community programs should be
considered, base on the merit of the program. Other programs of public
interest, such as health and transit, I will consult and seek feedback from the
public. I have too many solutions
for this to list them here. Please
visit my web site www.anweiler.ca
I am receiving hundreds emails every day from Ottawans;
mostly one up to three questions.
You have asked
me 14 questions; therefore, I will publish them so, other people can see my
response.
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