Rural Summit Update
As readers likely know, Ottawa is hosting its first Rural Summit in over 15 years in 2024. The Rural Summit is a unique opportunity for rural residents to have their voices heard and to shape how the City provides programs, services, and investments in our communities.
We are due for this kind of summit. Rural residents pay considerably for services that we simply do not receive. Our infrastructure is in dire need of repairs and upgrades, yet the City seems unwilling or unable to invest. Urban priorities often take precedence over rural ones around the Council table. A “one size fits all” mentality dominates the City, despite the fact that our rural communities are unique in their needs and interests.
The Rural Summit is a chance to flip the script; we have before us a vital, singular opportunity to get a better deal for rural Ottawa. We cannot let the summit pass us by.
But for this summit to succeed, participation from the community is essential. If you haven’t done so already, please go to www.engage.ottawa.ca/rural-summit-2024 and fill out the survey. Already, the City has heard from hundreds of rural residents – to get your ideas on the agenda, please make sure to fill out the survey too.
If you are unable to fill out the survey, my office can also take your feedback directly to City staff. Please email me and my office any time at ward21@ottawa.ca to share with us what issues matter most to you and what you hope the Rural Summit can achieve for our communities.
Moreover, there is a ward workshop coming up on April 29th at the Alfred Taylor Centre (2300 Community Way, North Gower). This workshop is designed to provide residents with the opportunities to discuss issues and ideas with the City staff responsible for delivering a wide range of programs and services in our communities.
From 1:00pm-4:00pm, the City will be holding “drop-in” sessions for residents. Anyone who has the time is encouraged to come by, engage directly with staff and my office, and get your ideas included as part of the rural summit process. These drop-in sessions are useful because they will allow for discussion and the free flow of ideas; residents who are interested in longer engagements with staff or my office are encouraged to make it out for these drop-in sessions.
Starting at 6:30pm on the same day, also at Alfred Taylor, the City will be hosting a “community workshop.” Staff will provide a short presentation explaining how the workshop will work, after which point residents will be able to engage with staff and my office directly. The difference between the community workshop and the drop-in session is that, for the community workshop, we expect more residents to be present at one time, meaning that there are likely to be more conversations to listen to and participate in, but perhaps fewer opportunities for one-on-one discussions with staff.
Whether you get involved through the online survey, email my office, participate in the drop-in session, attend the community workshop, or engage in similar workshops hosted by other Councillors, the Rural Summit will benefit greatly from your involvement. It is imperative that City staff hear from rural Ottawa so that when my colleagues and I advance the policy priorities of our communities, we are doing so with a civil service that understands what issues matter to rural Ottawa.
These discussions are vital. The outcomes of the Rural Summit will be directly informed by the engagement from residents; to get more for rural Ottawa, we need to make our voices heard. After all, no one knows our communities better than the people who choose to call them home.
The Rural Summit is our best chance to reshape how the municipal government works to better serve our communities’ interests. I hope we can count your voice in the chorus of those advocating for better solutions for our communities.