The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 26

C4 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN BREAKING NEWS AT OnAWACITIZEN.COM THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2010 MUNICIPAL ELECTION 2010 Crime at issue in 'the ward that never sleeps' Candidates focus onhomelessness, prostitution, drugs BY DAVE ROGERS y' If 1, Iff 1 La: 1V As the home of the By-Ward Market and the Rideau Centre, Rideau-Vanier includes the entertainment and shopping hub of Ottawa. But only a few blocks away, heavy trucks rumble along a congested King Edward Avenue and homeless people line up for food at the Union Mission and the Shepherds of Good Hope. For those who visit for an evening out, it's the place where everything happens. Residents complain about traffic, homelessness, prostitution, substance abuse and drug dealing. The ward has a population of about 47,000 people in Lowertown, Vanier and Sandy HilL The voter turnout during the 2006 civic election was the lowest in Ottawa at 46 per cent, compared to a city average of 54 per cent For Georges Bedard, Rideau-Vanier is the heart of the city.

Bedard, 64, who was bom in Lowertown and raised in Sandy Hill, says he is running to continue the success he has had over the years. Bedard first served as councillor for Rideau-Vanier from 1976 to 80. He left municipal politics and joined the federal public service, eventually becoming one of the government's main aboriginal land-claims negotiators in 1994. He ran for city council again in 2003 and has represented the ward ever since. "It is a dynamic ward because you have the main entertainment section in the By-Ward Market and Rideau Street which is a bustling commercial development, Bedard said.

"I call it the ward BRUNO SCHLUMBERGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN From left, candidates for Rideau-Vanier, Mathieu Fleury, Sriyan Pinnawala, Georges B6dard, Marc Imbeault and Andrew Nellis join an all-candidates meeting at the University of Ottawa on Tuesday. As a downtown ward the area faces unique challenges. 1 rVrA 12 JS 7 I RIDEAU-VANIER 111 v1b flexible services for residents. "We need to move ahead on modernizing public transit and addressing the problems with King Edward Avenue," Fleury said. "All the residents agree it is still the Berlin Wall of Ottawa.

We need to get trucks out of downtown and build a bridge in the east end." Public servant Marc Imbeault, 38, says he is running because he thinks City Hall needs change and municipal spending has been wasteful. He favours legalized brothels to get prostitutes off the street and police foot patrols to discourage narcotics trafficking. Andrew Nellis, 42, a spokesman for the Ottawa Panhandlers Union, is running because he opposes Be-dard's proposed "ridiculous anti-swearing bylaw." And lawyer Sriyan Pinnawala believes problems such as prostitution and the drugs are the result of moral failures. Pinnawala wants to establish ward councils in Lowertown, Vanier and Sandy Hill to help residents solve these and other problems. The lack of recreational facilities and programs for young people is distressing, says Obina, the mother of two boys.

She left a job with Blue-drop Performance Learning Inc. in June to focus on her campaign. "If you go around the area Women's shelter dominates election debate of Emerald Woods in the evening you see so many kids. Most of these kids stay at home and play video games because they don't have affordable recreational programs," says Obina, adding that about 22 per cent of the ward's 50,000 residents are that never sleeps." Rideau-Vanier's crime problems have increased because of the concentration of homeless shelters, social services and Ottawa Housing projects, Bedard says. He said the federal and provincial governments could solve these problems by housing homeless people outside the ward and teaching them new life skills.

Mathieu Fleury, 25, who has worked for the city's recreation department for 10 years, is running for office because he wants better and more GARTH GULLEKSON, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Other issues in the ward currently held by Diane Deans, above, are taxes, transit, public safety and recreation. taxes, transit, public safety and recreation are cited as concerns by residents of the ward, located in the south end. "Interval House has certainly been occupying a great deal of my time," admits Deans. "It's a complex issue because it's really not about Interval House, it's about the interpretation of our zoning and site plans." Deans says other crucial is v'J i I Queensway children. Candidate Wade Wallace says another big issue being overlooked is the intensification happening throughout the ward.

"There's a big development between Conroy and Bank Street on Johnston Road that is not being discussed. There's a mosque being built on Conroy Road that we haven't had any public consultation on and also a huge development of 300 homes being built in Deerfield," says Wallace, a Canada Post letter-carrier. -Wallace says he'd like to see more improvements to the Sawmill Creek pool to better serve residents in the area He says the ward lacks an advisory council that would better harness the concerns of community associations and con-do associations. Candidate Leslie Saintilma, a licensed truck driver, said his top priority if elected will be to freeze spending on non-core services and reward individuals who suggest ideas to help save the city money. READ MORE ward profiles on our election site ELECTION2010 sues include construction of a trade-show building near the Ottawa airport on what community groups consider important wetlands, more programs to allow seniors to live independently at home and more links for the cycling network within the city.

"More and more people are using their bicycles as a means of commuting. They're concerned about safety and want off-road pathways and dedicated (bike) lanes," she says. In the 2006 municipal election, Deans won handily over her two opponents, garnering 74 per cent of the votes. Candidate Lilly Obina says Interval House is largely a "done deal" and the focus should be on issues affecting taxpayers. She says the city has failed to find efficiencies in its administration or reduce the number of city employees.

"If we cut out wasteful spending we will have the money to provide necessary services including affordable recreation programs," she says. BYTONYLOFARO If there's one election issue that threatens to dominate the race in Gloucester-South-gate ward, it's the controversy over the construction of a women's shelter in a south Ottawa neighbourhood. The 10-b'ed Interval House has been the subject of a City Hall protest by residents opposed to the shelter. There is also talk residents will take the city to court over how staff interpreted the building's zoning and site-plan bylaws in an effort to stop it from proceeding. Councillor Diane Deans is taking the heat over the facility, especially for the mix-up by city staff on how many people can use the shelter, and from her opponents who say she failed to inform residents early on about the proposed 10,500 square-foot facility on a residential street Deans says she wasn't told about the city's interpretation of the bylaws allowing 30 residents rather than 10 by the city's planning staff.

But other issues such as VGL0UCEOTR- v. ffc? Ottawa yx promotion ERNEST INVITES YOU TO VIEW HIS Pf 1 I I COLLECTION I A i I I. m'lii fI I CENTRE ST-LAURENT 613 741-4220.