Ottawa Chinatown BIA · Public information

2026 Ottawa Municipal Election
Chinatown Candidate Questionnaire

Candidate responses on issues affecting Chinatown businesses, residents and visitors, including public safety, economic and cultural development, public space and small-business regulations.

Response deadline: September 30, 2026.

The Ottawa Chinatown BIA does not endorse, oppose, rank or score candidates through this questionnaire. The responses reflect the views of the candidates, not those of the BIA.

Responses are presented as submitted, with formatting changes only. Candidates are grouped by office and listed alphabetically by surname. Read each candidate’s explanation alongside their selected response.

Candidate information package

The Chinatown Candidate Brief is reproduced below. The ten questionnaire questions and candidate responses on this page follow the submitted response export.

Read all ten questions

Read Chinatown Candidate Brief

Ottawa Chinatown BIA - Candidate Brief & Questionnaire

2026 Municipal Election

Purpose. This candidate package provides all candidates with the same background information on Ottawa Chinatown, the pressures facing the district, and the BIA's long-term priorities for its economic, cultural and public-realm development. It also includes the questionnaire through which candidates may state their positions and commitments.

PART I - CANDIDATE BRIEF

1. About Ottawa Chinatown

Ottawa's Chinatown is a historic commercial and cultural district centred on Somerset Street West. It is home to more than 100 businesses and a diverse mix of restaurants, retail, professional services, community organizations and cultural institutions.

• A recognized cultural and tourism destination

• An important part of Ottawa's small-business ecosystem

• A major contributor to the city's night-time economy and cultural identity

More information: www.ottawachinatown.ca

2. Current Challenges

Public Safety and Disorder

• Businesses report recurring issues including theft, trespassing, open drug use, vandalism and other public disorder.

• These conditions can affect staff and customer safety, business operations, property costs and public confidence in the district.

Economic Pressure

• Small businesses are facing rising operating costs, including rent, labour, insurance and security-related expenses.

• Many businesses operate on narrow margins and have limited capacity to absorb additional costs unrelated to normal business operations.

Public Realm and District Experience

• Cleanliness, lighting, streetscape conditions and the quality of public spaces directly shape how residents and visitors experience Chinatown.

• Chinatown needs public spaces that can support cultural programming, community gathering, festivals and everyday neighbourhood use.

Access and Mobility

• Customers, workers, residents and visitors rely on a mix of walking, cycling, transit, driving, loading and deliveries.

• Restaurants, places of worship and event activity can create concentrated demand at peak periods, making practical access and curb management important.

3. A Long-Term Vision for Chinatown

The BIA believes the next phase of Chinatown's development must go beyond responding to immediate problems. Ottawa needs a coordinated, long-term approach that strengthens Chinatown as a cultural district, commercial destination, tourism asset and living neighbourhood.

Chinatown Cultural Centre

A central long-term priority is the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre: a permanent, flexible space for cultural exhibitions, performances, community programming, meetings, education and heritage interpretation. The BIA believes the City should explore practical models for supporting such a facility, including the use of City-owned property or municipally supported space where appropriate.

More and Better Public Space

Chinatown needs attractive and functional public spaces that support festivals, cultural programming, public art, community gathering and everyday use. Public-realm investment should be planned as part of a broader district strategy rather than as isolated improvements.

A Recognized Cultural District

The BIA wants Chinatown to be treated as a distinct cultural and economic district within the City's long-term planning, tourism, heritage, economic-development and public-realm priorities. Chinatown's cultural identity should be protected while the district continues to evolve as a diverse and active urban neighbourhood.

Long-Term Economic Vitality

The district needs sustained support for small businesses, destination marketing, events, cultural programming, streetscape improvements and other measures that help Chinatown remain competitive and economically active.

4. The Municipal Investment Gap

The City of Ottawa has supported a number of individual Chinatown projects and initiatives over the years. The BIA recognizes and values these investments. However, much of this support has been project-based or time-limited. From the BIA's perspective, Chinatown still lacks a sustained municipal framework that brings together cultural infrastructure, public space, economic development, tourism, safety, maintenance and community programming. The next phase should move from a series of individual projects toward a coordinated, multi-year Chinatown strategy with clearly identified priorities and predictable investment.

5. What We Are Asking of the Next Council

A Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy

• Work with the BIA, businesses, residents and community partners on a long-term Chinatown economic and cultural development framework.

• Identify Chinatown-specific initiatives in City plans and annual budgets rather than relying only on one-time funding opportunities.

Cultural Infrastructure and Public Space

• Advance the concept of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and examine realistic municipal partnership options.

• Create and improve public spaces that can support cultural activity, events, public art and community use.

• Continue sustained investment in lighting, cleanliness, streetscape quality and public-realm activation.

Targeted Safety and Social Response

• Increase visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown, particularly during high-demand periods.

• Improve the response to theft, trespassing, open drug use and serious public disorder.

• Improve coordination among outreach, treatment, housing, public health, by-law, police and other relevant agencies while maintaining safe and functional commercial areas.

Support for High-Pressure BIAs and Small Businesses

• Recognize that some BIAs incur disproportionate costs related to safety, disorder, maintenance and business support.

• Develop targeted and predictable City support for these pressures.

• Reduce unnecessary regulatory and permit barriers affecting small businesses, cultural events and district activation.

Access and Mobility

• Improve practical access for customers, employees, residents, deliveries and visitors across all modes.

• Use parking, transit, loading, cycling and pedestrian measures that reflect the operational needs of a dense commercial district.

6. What the BIA Is Already Doing

• Delivering major events, including night markets and cultural programming

• Investing in maintenance, safety coordination, lighting and streetscape improvements

• Working with businesses, the City and community partners on district revitalization

• Promoting Chinatown as a destination for residents, visitors and tourists

Candidate participation. Candidates are invited to complete Part II of this package. Responses may be published publicly in accordance with the publication terms set out in the questionnaire.

Mayor

2 responses received by the September 30 deadline.

Selected-response overview

Each column shows the complete question. Scroll the table horizontally to compare responses across all eight questions. Read the full responses below for each candidate’s explanation. All selected responses use the same visual style.

Mayor: responses to Q1–Q8
Candidate 1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this? 2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support. 3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists. 4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions. 5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets? 6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models? 7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour? 8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Jacob Solomon Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mark Sutcliffe Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes

Full candidate responses

Select a name to open all ten responses. Every candidate is presented in the same format.

Jacob Solomon

Office sought: Mayor
Submission date recorded in the response export: September 2, 2026

1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this?
Selected response: Yes
Commercial corridors thrive when workers, residents, and visitors feel secure. As an active Ottawa real estate agent, Jacob Solomon works directly with local buyers and sellers, bringing real-world housing market experience to civic policy. Commercial retail vitality directly impacts surrounding residential property values across Centretown West and Somerset Street. A predictable safety presence protects small business operations and encourages foot traffic. Municipal measures must focus on dedicated foot and bike patrols assigned specifically to the Chinatown Business Improvement Area. Deploying special constables alongside community outreach teams provides continuous surveillance without over-straining emergency services. Integrating safety audits into city streetscape planning ensures improved lighting, clear sightlines, and maintained public infrastructure along major commercial strips. Establishing a localized community safety hub offers immediate assistance to merchants, preserving neighborhood stability and supporting long-term economic growth across the urban core.
2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support.
Selected response: Yes
Sustained street-level lawlessness damages commercial district viability and erodes confidence in the local real estate market. Property owners and small business operators in Chinatown face rising insurance costs, physical security expenses, and structural property damage. Clear municipal enforcement of existing criminal laws and property bylaws is necessary to keep public spaces accessible for every community member. The City of Ottawa must coordinate with the Ottawa Police Service and municipal law enforcement officers to maintain a zero-tolerance policy for open illicit drug use, harassment, and commercial break-ins. Enforcement strategies should focus on repeat trespass offenders and retail theft operations targeting local merchants. Establishing designated accountability zones along key commercial corridors ensures quick response times to property incidents. Combining structured law enforcement with rapid site remediation keeps streetscapes active, protecting commercial property values and maintaining street vitality.
3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists.
Selected response: Yes
Balancing public health interventions with strict municipal enforcement is essential for preserving the commercial core. As an active Ottawa real estate agent, Jacob Solomon works directly with local buyers and sellers, bringing real-world housing market experience to civic policy. Unregulated social distress on main streets disrupts local commerce, devalues surrounding real estate, and strains local emergency services. When serious public disorder persists, the City must deploy crisis response teams paired with municipal law enforcement officers. Social workers should lead intake for emergency shelter, addiction treatment, and supportive housing programs. Concurrently, municipal officers must enforce property standards, clear unauthorized encampments blocking public rights-of-way, and restrict open illicit behavior. This dual framework transitions vulnerable individuals into dedicated facilities while preserving public access, protecting retail foot traffic, and safeguarding investment across central Ottawa neighborhoods like Centretown, Westboro, and, yes, Chinatown.
4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions.
Selected response: No
Placing high-intensity social and medical services directly within dense main-street retail corridors creates functional friction for local businesses, shoppers, and area residents. Commercial streetscapes rely on continuous foot traffic, active storefront display areas, and predictable safety to remain viable. Concentration of harm-reduction sites along key business strips often produces localized disorder, lower commercial property values, and reduced private capital investment. The City of Ottawa must oversee facility siting decisions by enforcing strict spatial separation buffers from main commercial streets, primary school zones, daycare facilities, and public parks. Municipal approval frameworks should mandate binding community impact agreements before establishing specialized social infrastructure. Medical and harm-reduction services belong in decentralized, purpose-built health centers outside active business corridors, ensuring access to care while protecting the economic viability of historic commercial districts.
5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets?
Selected response: Yes
Targeted economic development strategies drive investment certainty and stabilize commercial property markets. As an active Ottawa real estate agent, Jacob Solomon works directly with local buyers and sellers, bringing real-world housing market experience to civic policy. A dedicated plan for Chinatown protects unique cultural heritage while stimulating commercial activity along Somerset Street West. The strategy should integrate flexible commercial zoning, simplified patio permitting, and dedicated infrastructure funds into Ottawa's Official Plan. Aligning annual municipal budgets with targeted main-street improvements ensures capital upgrades, streetscape enhancements, and facade restoration grants are consistently funded. Providing structured, predictable municipal investments attracts private commercial tenants, lowers vacancy rates, and elevates real estate performance across Centretown West, creating lasting value for property owners and local residents alike.
6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models?
Selected response: Yes
Cultural anchors and dedicated public assembly spaces drive foot traffic, foster community identity, and increase commercial land values. Strategic civic infrastructure projects draw visitors from across the National Capital Region, strengthening retail demand for neighboring merchants and supporting surrounding residential density. The City should utilize public-private partnership models to secure land and facility footprint without relying exclusively on municipal debt. Key mechanisms include long-term land leases of underutilized city properties, density bonuses through section 37 height frameworks, and air-rights development above public transit assets. Combining municipal land contribution with private developer capital ensures the modern facility opens efficiently. This approach delivers high-quality public space, preserves neighborhood history, and enhances overall land efficiency along the Somerset Street corridor.
7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour?
Selected response: Yes
Commercial Improvement Areas facing elevated security and operational costs carry an unfair operational burden that threatens main-street retail survival. Small business owners should not shoulder municipal responsibilities like public space maintenance, private security, or hazardous waste cleanup. The City should establish a targeted BIA Commercial Relief Fund sourced from municipal property tax growth in expanding urban zones. Support mechanisms must include direct capital grants for commercial security upgrades, municipal maintenance teams dedicated to main-street sanitation, and full reimbursement for private security patrols during peak disruption periods. Reducing non-operational costs for local merchants stabilizes retail tenancy, prevents commercial vacancy cascades, and protects street-level economic health throughout Ottawa's traditional commercial hubs.
8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Selected response: Yes
Excessive municipal bureaucracy increases overhead for small businesses and hinders cultural programming. As an active Ottawa real estate agent, Jacob Solomon works directly with local buyers and sellers, bringing real-world housing market experience to civic policy. Streamlining municipal approvals lowers operating costs and encourages commercial investment. Specific reforms must include establishing a guaranteed 45-day permit review window for commercial interior renovations, tenant retrofits, and outdoor patio approvals. The City should eliminate cash-in-lieu fees for minor change-of-use applications along traditional main streets. Waiving municipal special event permit fees for BIA-sponsored cultural festivals cuts administrative delays, increases weekend visitor counts, and creates dynamic retail environments that benefit commercial property values across central Ottawa.
9. If elected, what are the three Chinatown-related actions you would commit to prioritizing during your first two years in office?
Firstly, establish a 45-Day Priority Commercial Permit Pass: Fast-track all municipal planning approvals, building permits, and change-of-use applications for small business retrofits along Somerset Street West to spur private investment and eliminate retail vacancies. Then, deploy Dedicated Municipal Safety and Maintenance Teams, assigning permanent municipal law enforcement foot patrols and city sanitation crews specifically to the Chinatown BIA to secure commercial streetscapes and lower security costs for merchants. Finally, unlocking city land for mixed-use public infrastructure, launching a municipal land evaluation to identify public properties along the corridor suitable for public-private partnerships, securing site options for a dedicated cultural center and community space.
10. At the end of the next Council term, what three measurable or observable outcomes would you use to determine whether Chinatown has improved?
1. Commercial Vacancy Reduction: Achieving a sustained decrease in ground-floor retail vacancy rates along Somerset Street West, measured by increased long-term commercial lease agreements and private storefront upgrades. 2. Reduction in Public Safety Incidents: Recording a measurable drop in commercial property crimes, break-ins, and street-level disturbance calls reported to the Ottawa Police Service within the Chinatown BIA boundary. 3. Increased Foot Traffic and Event Attendance: Tracking higher seasonal foot-traffic counts and expanded merchant participation during major cultural events, confirming increased consumer confidence and commercial district engagement.
Mark Sutcliffe

Office sought: Mayor
Submission date recorded in the response export: September 30, 2026

1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this?
Selected response: Yes
Yes. Chinatown should have a visible and consistent safety presence so residents, businesses and visitors feel safe and know that issues will be addressed quickly. I have committed to expanding district and community policing so officers remain present in the communities they serve. I would support targeted police resources and regular patrols in Chinatown, working with the BIA and community partners to identify local priorities. I would also support practical investments such as improved lighting, cleaning and monitored CCTV in higher-crime locations. My goal is to make sure people can see that their concerns are being heard and that public safety issues are being addressed consistently.
2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support.
Selected response: Yes
Yes. I believe laws and bylaws need to be enforced consistently when theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity are affecting businesses and residents. I have proposed a Retail Theft Team and a service guarantee so that socially disruptive activity affecting businesses is addressed quickly and professionally. I would also support a visible police presence, timely responses to calls for service, and coordination between police, bylaw and other City services. My approach is to focus enforcement on illegal activity while also addressing the underlying challenges of addiction, homelessness and mental health through appropriate supports.
3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists.
Selected response: Yes
Yes. We need both compassion and accountability. People experiencing homelessness, addiction or mental health challenges deserve access to treatment, housing and other supports, while businesses, residents and visitors have a right to safe and orderly public spaces. I have proposed activating an Emergency Coordination Centre to bring City departments and different levels of government together to coordinate the response to the toxic drug, mental health and homelessness crises. I would also expand alternative response teams and coordinate police, paramedics, community organizations and social-service providers in communities experiencing persistent challenges. When serious disorder or illegal activity continues, laws and bylaws must be enforced.
4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions.
Selected response: No
I support compassionate, accessible services for people struggling with addiction, but I do not support locating supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown. I have proposed activating an Emergency Coordination Centre to bring City departments and different levels of government together to address the toxic drug, mental health, and homelessness crises. I would also expand alternative response teams and strengthen coordination among police, paramedics, community organizations, and social-service providers. Location matters. The City must balance the need for addiction services with the safety, vitality, and economic health of our neighbourhoods. Decisions should be made in consultation with residents, businesses, service providers, and community partners, with the City taking responsibility for coordinating the response.
5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets?
Selected response: Yes
Yes. Chinatown is an important cultural, commercial and tourism district, and I believe its future should be supported through a coordinated, long-term approach. I would work with the Chinatown BIA, businesses, residents and community organizations to identify priorities and incorporate Chinatown-specific initiatives into the City’s broader plans and budgets. That work should connect economic development, public safety, public space, culture, tourism, streetscape improvements and small-business support. A long-term strategy would also give the City and community partners a clearer way to measure progress and make sure priorities are reflected in future budgets.
6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models?
Selected response: Yes
Yes. I support exploring a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional public space that can support cultural programming, festivals, events and community gathering. I would work with the BIA and community partners to identify a viable location and sustainable operating model. Depending on the feasibility and business case, potential City tools could include City-owned or municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models. I believe investments in culture and public space can also contribute to a stronger and more active commercial district.
7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour?
Selected response: Yes
Yes, where there is a demonstrated need. BIAs dealing with unusually high costs related to safety, disorder, cleaning and maintenance should have access to appropriate City support. I would favour targeted, accountable support that could include enhanced City services, funding for specific initiatives or other measures based on demonstrated needs and outcomes. This could complement the broader investments I have proposed in community policing, cleaning, lighting, alternative response and business-focused safety measures. The goal should be to make sure areas experiencing particularly high pressures have the tools and support they need without creating an open-ended funding commitment.
8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Selected response: Yes
Yes. I believe the City should regularly review its permits, fees and processes to make sure they are not creating unnecessary barriers for small businesses, community organizations and local events. I would support simplifying and streamlining permit processes where possible, reducing unnecessary administrative requirements, and reviewing City-controlled fees that create disproportionate costs. I would also work directly with BIAs and event organizers to identify processes that could be made faster, clearer or less costly. Supporting local businesses and cultural events is an important part of keeping commercial districts active and vibrant.
9. If elected, what are the three Chinatown-related actions you would commit to prioritizing during your first two years in office?
1. Strengthen safety and address persistent disorder Expand community policing and coordination between police, bylaw, alternative response teams and social-service providers, with a focus on theft, trespassing, open drug use and other issues affecting businesses and residents. 2. Develop a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy Work with the BIA, businesses, residents and community partners to establish Chinatown-specific priorities for economic development, culture, tourism, public safety and public-realm improvements. 3. Advance cultural infrastructure and public space Work with the BIA and community partners to explore a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional public spaces that can support cultural programming, festivals, events and community gathering.
10. At the end of the next Council term, what three measurable or observable outcomes would you use to determine whether Chinatown has improved?
1. Improved public safety and reduced disorder: Businesses and residents report greater confidence in their safety, with more consistent responses to theft, trespassing, open drug use and other public-order issues. Progress should also be reflected in relevant public safety KPIs. 2. A stronger and more active Chinatown business and cultural district: More businesses, cultural programming, festivals and community events, supported by a long-term strategy and improved public spaces. 3. A cleaner, safer and more welcoming public realm: Observable improvements to lighting, cleanliness, streetscapes and public spaces, with faster responses to issues affecting businesses and residents.

Somerset Ward Councillor

5 responses received by the September 30 deadline.

Selected-response overview

Each column shows the complete question. Scroll the table horizontally to compare responses across all eight questions. Read the full responses below for each candidate’s explanation. All selected responses use the same visual style.

Somerset Ward Councillor: responses to Q1–Q8
Candidate 1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this? 2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support. 3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists. 4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions. 5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets? 6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models? 7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour? 8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Dillon Anderson Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Robert Dekker Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nicholas Golle Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Michael Tay Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ariel Troster Yes Yes Yes I can't decide. Yes I can't decide. I can't decide. I can't decide.

Full candidate responses

Select a name to open all ten responses. Every candidate is presented in the same format.

Dillon Anderson

Office sought: Councillor, Somerset Ward
Submission date recorded in the response export: September 2, 2026

1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this?
Selected response: Yes
Balanced, Multi-Pronged Approach to Safety: True neighborhood safety requires more than just a single tactic—it demands a combination of physical upkeep, community-based support, and accountable municipal services. Chinatown, like much of the downtown core, deals with complex pressures around visible social distress, mental health challenges, and property upkeep.Targeted Municipal Measures & Investments:Improved Public Infrastructure and Lighting: Enhancing basic municipal upkeep—such as better street lighting, prompt graffiti and litter removal, and well-maintained sidewalks—goes a long way in deterring vandalism and making public spaces feel secure and active around the clock.Supporting Local Businesses and BIAs: Working closely with the Chinatown Business Improvement Area (BIA) and local community organizations to ensure their concerns are directly heard at City Hall. Small businesses are the heartbeat of the neighborhood, and they need reliable municipal backing to keep their storefronts thriving.Addressing Root Causes with Compassion and Practicality: As highlighted in my campaign platform, we must tackle complex social challenges like homelessness and addiction with a balance of compassion and practical solutions. This means partnering with community health resources and senior levels of government to ensure individuals have pathways to stability, keeping our public spaces safe and accessible for everyone. Accountable Services: Ensuring that core city services and emergency supports operate efficiently, transparently, and responsively so that residents and merchants know their concerns are taken seriously.
2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support.
Selected response: Yes
Support for Consistent Enforcement of Laws: Yes, I support holding individuals accountable to public laws and property standards. Open drug use, repeated trespassing, and theft create an intimidating environment, place an unfair burden on local small businesses, and compromise public safety. Our commercial districts must remain welcoming and secure for everyone.Coordination Between Bylaw and Police Services: Managing these challenges effectively requires proper coordination between municipal bylaws, community policing, and social support services. While police and enforcement agencies must address criminal acts like theft and trespassing, we also need to ensure that municipal enforcement mechanisms respond promptly to public space violations and property maintenance issues.A Balanced, Holistic Approach: As outlined in my campaign, addressing these issues cannot rely on enforcement alone. While rigorous enforcement is necessary to tackle illegal activity, we must simultaneously partner with community health and provincial social services to address the root causes of addiction and visible social distress. Balancing accountability with practical, compassionate solutions is essential to ensuring Chinatown remains a vibrant, safe, and thriving neighborhood. Thank you again for sharing your perspective on this important issue.
3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists.
Selected response: Yes
es, I strongly support a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing, and social services with consistent enforcement of laws and bylaws.Here is how I view this balanced framework in practice:Integrating Social Support and Housing: As outlined in my campaign, we cannot solve complex challenges like homelessness, addiction, and mental health distress with enforcement alone. We must work closely with community organizations, health partners, and senior levels of government to provide low-barrier housing, mental health supports, addiction treatment, and active outreach to help individuals toward stability. Upholding Public Order and Bylaws: At the same time, vibrant commercial districts must remain safe, clean, and accessible for everyone. Business owners, residents, and visitors have a right to public spaces that are free from illegal activity, property neglect, and intimidation. This requires consistent, fair enforcement of municipal bylaws and criminal laws.A Coordinated, Practical Path Forward: Enforcement and support systems should work hand in hand rather than operating in isolation. When police and bylaw officers respond to public order issues, they should be paired with or backed by crisis support networks where appropriate, ensuring that public safety is maintained while addressing the root causes of distress.
4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions.
Selected response: No
Harm-reduction services and supervised consumption models are designed to save lives, prevent fatal overdoses, and connect vulnerable individuals with medical care and social support. At the same time, when these facilities are placed in high-density commercial main streets without proper integration, infrastructure backing, or community management, they can place an unsustainable strain on local businesses, residents, and public order. The City's Role in Location and Impact Decisions: Proactive Municipal Planning and Consultation: The City should not take a hands-off approach. If facilities or transition models (such as provincial HART hubs or integrated community health services) are being considered, the City must demand rigorous, transparent public consultation with local Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), residents, and property owners before siting decisions are finalized. Ensuring Comprehensive Support and Accountability: A facility cannot operate in a vacuum. If health services are situated in commercial areas, the City must ensure there are concurrent, guaranteed resources for enhanced neighborhood sanitation, public safety, and active outreach. Public spaces must remain clean, safe, and accessible for shoppers, families, and business patrons alike. Alignment with Treatment and Pathways to Stability: Moving forward, any municipal advocacy or support regarding these facilities must emphasize a complete continuum of care—pairing harm-reduction and health interventions directly with treatment, mental health support, and housing pathways so that individuals are actively supported toward long-term recovery and stability.
5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets?
Selected response: Yes
Recognizing and Preserving Cultural Identity: Chinatown is much more than a commercial strip; it is a historic cultural village and destination that brings immense diversity and energy to Ottawa. A dedicated strategy would help preserve this unique heritage while supporting growth. Collaborating Directly with the BIA: Any long-term strategy must be built in partnership with the Chinatown Business Improvement Area (BIA), local merchants, and community leaders. They understand the daily realities on the ground and are best positioned to guide what economic, marketing, and streetscape supports are most needed. Integrating with City Planning and Budgets: For a strategy to be meaningful rather than just a document on a shelf, its goals—such as public realm improvements, cleanliness, destination marketing, and small-business support—should be reflected in broader municipal planning frameworks and considered through annual budget cycles.
6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models?
Selected response: Yes
Yes, I support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space. Here is how the City can actively partner to bring a project like this to life: Leveraging Municipal Assets and Property: The City should examine opportunities to utilize surplus municipal properties or explore joint-use agreements where city-owned land or facilities can be made available for community and cultural infrastructure. Targeted Capital and Partnership Funding: Building a sustainable cultural center requires senior-government grant alignment and municipal partnership. The City can act as an active partner by helping secure capital funding, streamlining municipal approvals, and coordinating with provincial and federal cultural grants. Collaborative Governance and Support Models: The initiative must be driven by community leadership, local associations, and the Business Improvement Area (BIA). The City’s role should be to provide technical, logistical, and financial partnership frameworks that ensure the space is accessible, sustainable, and reflective of the community's needs. Thank you again for highlighting this important vision for Chinatown's future.
7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour?
Selected response: Yes
Yes, I support additional City funding and dedicated support for BIAs facing unusually high costs related to safety, disorder, and maintenance. Here is what I favor in terms of funding and support mechanisms: Targeted Municipal Grant Programs: Creating or expanding dedicated municipal funding streams specifically earmarked to help core BIAs offset the extraordinary expenses of private-public cleanups, rapid graffiti removal, and specialized property maintenance. Cost-Sharing for Enhanced Public Realm Maintenance: Partnering directly with BIAs to co-fund supplemental streetscape cleaning, needle/hazard sweeps, and public space activation programs so that small businesses aren't left carrying an unfair financial burden alone. Direct Resource Integration: Aligning city services (such as targeted By-law deployments, community safety response teams, and public works) to work hand-in-hand with BIA staff, ensuring high-impact commercial areas receive the proactive municipal backing they require. Thank you again for highlighting this critical issue for our commercial districts.
8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Selected response: Yes
Yes, I strongly support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit, and fee barriers that affect small businesses and community events. Here is how we can implement this effectively: Streamlining the Permitting Process: Organizing community festivals, street markets, patio expansions, or cultural celebrations should not be bogged down by red tape and overly complex bureaucratic hurdles. We need a one-stop-shop approach at City Hall that makes event and business permitting predictable, fast, and transparent. Reviewing and Reducing Fees: High municipal permit fees, sign bylaws, and licensing costs place an unfair financial squeeze on independent entrepreneurs and non-profit cultural groups. Lowering or freezing these costs for small businesses and cultural events helps encourage local investment and street-level activity. Fostering a Culture of Collaboration: City departments—from public works to special events and bylaw—should work with organizers and business owners to find solutions rather than defaulting to rigid restrictions. When local businesses and cultural groups succeed, our whole neighborhood thrives.
9. If elected, what are the three Chinatown-related actions you would commit to prioritizing during your first two years in office?
Establish a Dedicated BIA Safety and Maintenance Support Framework I would champion targeted municipal grant programs and co-funding mechanisms to help core Business Improvement Areas—like Chinatown—offset the extraordinary, outsized costs of private-public cleanups, rapid graffiti removal, needle sweeps, and enhanced public space maintenance. Small businesses should not be left carrying this financial burden alone. Implement a Balanced, Coordinated Safety and Outreach Plan I would push for rigorous, consistent enforcement against illegal activity like theft, repeated trespassing, and open drug use in commercial districts, coordinated closely between bylaw and police services. Crucially, this enforcement must be paired hand-in-hand with active crisis outreach, mental health resources, and addiction treatment support to address root causes while keeping public spaces clean and secure for everyone. Adopt a Long-Term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy I would work collaboratively with the Chinatown BIA and local community leaders to formally adopt a long-term economic and cultural development strategy. By integrating Chinatown-specific initiatives—such as supporting cultural spaces, streamlining event permits, and reducing regulatory red tape—directly into broader municipal planning and annual budget cycles, we can ensure the neighborhood thrives as a vibrant, protected cultural anchor in our ward.
10. At the end of the next Council term, what three measurable or observable outcomes would you use to determine whether Chinatown has improved?
Commercial Occupancy and Storefront Retention Rates The Metric: Tracking the stability and growth of active street-level commercial spaces, measured through a reduction in long-term commercial vacancy rates and an increase in active storefront businesses. Why it matters: A thriving commercial main street is the clearest indicator of business confidence. When small business owners feel secure, supported, and free from excessive regulatory or financial burdens, storefront turnover drops and the commercial district grows more vibrant. Measurable Reductions in Property-Level Incidents and Service Calls The Metric: Tracking year-over-year municipal data and BIA-reported metrics regarding property vandalism, repeated trespassing calls, property damage, and the frequency of public space maintenance sweeps (such as discarded hazard and litter pickups). Why it matters: Success means that our balanced approach—combining consistent enforcement of bylaws with robust social outreach and targeted maintenance grants—is working to reduce public disorder, making the streetscape demonstrably cleaner and safer for patrons, residents, and merchants. Active Implementation of Long-Term Cultural Infrastructure and BIA Strategic Milestones The Metric: Tangible, completed milestones from a dedicated Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy—specifically the formal integration of Chinatown initiatives into municipal budgets, streamlined event permitting, and concrete progress toward establishing dedicated cultural spaces or community hubs. Why it matters: Real improvement goes beyond day-to-day maintenance; it requires building a sustainable future. Delivering on structured, long-term plans ensures that Chinatown’s unique heritage and economic identity are permanently protected and supported as a cornerstone of Somerset Ward.
Robert Dekker

Office sought: Councillor, Somerset Ward
Submission date recorded in the response export: September 23, 2026

1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this?
Selected response: Yes
As Councillor I would support hiring additional police to increase the presence of the OPS in Somerset Ward and in Chinatown. I believe Chinatown would benefit from a community police centre on Somerset Street W. I will seek a seat on the Police Services Board to ensure the voice of Chinatown is heard and that I can speak to the actions that are needed to make Chinatown safer.
2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support.
Selected response: Yes
The additional presence of police in Chinatown sends a signal the city is serious about reducing crime in the area and protecting residents, businesses and shoppers. Chinatown is a significant economic participant in the City of Ottawa. Enforcement against theft, drug use and illegal activities will boost the economic vitality of the community, bring calm and a sense that the city is serious about wanting businesses to grow and thrive in Chinatown.
3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists.
Selected response: Yes
I will advocate for the expansion of the HART Hub in Ottawa to support treatments that help those suffering from addictions and mental health issues. An expanded ANCHOR program will bring support from non-police resources to those suffering. But we cannot not continue to allow open drug use and the use of safe supply pharmacies in Chinatown as they contribute to the crime and illegal activities that are currently taking place.
4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions.
Selected response: No
I only support an expanded HART Hub model in Ottawa. Having spoken to business owners in Chinatown, there is growing frustration with areas where open drug use takes place. As in other areas of the ward where is a problem, relocation of some of these services in Chinatown requires the consultative approach with the Somerset West Community Health Centre, the BIA and the Community to create/find space for wrap around services to be delivered to clients.
5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets?
Selected response: Yes
I support the City and my councillor’s office assisting in the development and adoption of strategies and actions that will enhance Chinatown.
6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models?
Selected response: Yes
This action will boost economic activity and in turn increases tourism and community activity in the area bringing jobs to Chinatown. Collaboration with the current Chinese Business Community, the Chinese Alliance Church and residents are needed for this to become a reality and grow the Chinese Culture in our city.
7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour?
Selected response: Yes
I would support increased funding to the Ottawa Police Services that will have a direct impact on the safety of Chinatown. Seeking a seat on the Ottawa Police Services Board is a priority to ensure the reduction of the crime rate in Chinatown is actioned.
8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Selected response: Yes
There is a need to review the regulations, permits and fees charged by the city so businesses and community groups sponsoring events are not burdened with costs and red tape normally associated with the regulations.
9. If elected, what are the three Chinatown-related actions you would commit to prioritizing during your first two years in office?
1. Reduced crime and increased police presence in Chinatown 2. Increased economic activity in Chinatown as we bring business back to the area and increase tourism 3. Increased collaboration in activities that will bring renewed economic activity to Chinatown with partnerships with the BIA, businesses and the community
10. At the end of the next Council term, what three measurable or observable outcomes would you use to determine whether Chinatown has improved?
1. Verified reduced crime rates, the closure of safe supply pharmacies (pill mills) 2. The opening of a Chinatown Community Police Centre 3. New businesses opening in Chinatown, current businesses thriving and a reduced rate of businesses closings in Chinatown with verifiable economic numbers to support the success of actions taken.
Nicholas Golle

Office sought: Councillor, Somerset Ward
Submission date recorded in the response export: September 11, 2026

1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this?
Selected response: Yes
Yes. I support a visible, consistent presence, but not a one-size-fits-all response. That means regular police presence focused on theft, violence, trespassing and repeat problem locations; ANCHOR and outreach workers for non-violent mental-health and substance-use crises; reliable bylaw and Public Works response; faster sharps and biohazard removal; and structural investments. This is not a one time thing, we need to constantly re-evaluate based on the outcome and adjust until we get it right.
2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support.
Selected response: Yes
Businesses and residents are entitled to a predictable response when they are victimized. I support consistent enforcement against theft, violence, threats, property damage, trespassing and other conduct that endangers people or property. For open drug use, I support a graduated approach: intervene, stop the illegal activity, redirect the person to outreach or treatment where appropriate, and escalate enforcement when harmful conduct persists or creates an immediate safety risk. Police should focus on crime and repeat offenders; ANCHOR, paramedics and outreach should respond to non-violent crises.
3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists.
Selected response: Yes
Enforcement and outreach address different dimensions of the same problem; treating them as mutually exclusive guarantees failure. The City should use an escalating response: immediate police action for violence, threats or serious crime; ANCHOR, paramedics or outreach for non-violent crises; housing and treatment navigation for people willing or able to engage; and coordinated case management for repeated incidents involving the same individuals or locations. When serious public disorder persists, such as violence, fires, obstruction, property damage or dangerous public consumption, the City must intervene and enforce the law. A government that claims a monopoly on coercive force in exchange for public order cannot simply abandon residents and businesses when that order breaks down. Compassion without public safety is not sustainable, and enforcement without services means acting only after the underlying problem has reached its worst outcome. We need to constantly look at what is happening on the ground and in the community and adapt accordingly.
4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions.
Selected response: Yes
Yes, conditionally. I do not believe Ottawa can demand that necessary health and addiction services be distributed fairly across the city while declaring individual neighbourhoods off-limits. But communities hosting these facilities must have a meaningful role in siting and operating decisions. Their impacts cannot simply be externalized onto nearby residents and businesses. Any City support should require a funded community-impact plan covering safety, cleanup, outreach, complaints, enforcement coordination and public reporting, with clear standards and a plan for what happens when those standards are missed. If serious problems persist, the City should be able to withdraw its support where it has that power and ask the province or federal government to suspend or revoke approval. If we expect communities to accept these services, government has an obligation to fund the safeguards necessary for them to coexist successfully. The true cost of these services needs to be exposed by investing in the actual support to meet their external effects in the community. Taking such approach makes mitigates consequences of the existing services, removes part of the barrier when trying to introduce them to other communities, and allows us to build the understanding and gather the data to demonstrate that a high density of these services if inferior to a distributed model.
5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets?
Selected response: Yes
I would support a Chinatown action plan within a broader framework that could also apply to other culturally important business districts. A broader framework helps build support across Council and properly institutionalizes this type of initiative. Just to clarify if my wording is not clear: yes, but it should be something that can allow other similar districts to do the same, with the goal of making this more attractive policy wise and giving the policy if enacted more security.
6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models?
Selected response: Yes
Yes. I like the idea. The best option is the one that gets it moving forward :), so I would like to work towards building up these options, seeing the levers which need to be pulled for each and go from there.
7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour?
Selected response: Yes
I would support temporary funding for practical programs designed by BIAs when normal City services are clearly not meeting local conditions. Ottawa is already using similar approaches in the ByWard Market, and other cities fund local safe-walk, cleanup and community-steward programs. Funding should be available fairly to any district facing comparable pressures, with clear costs, expected results and regular review. It should not become a permanent excuse for the City to outsource its basic responsibilities. If a local program works and the need continues, the City should either take it on or establish a proper long-term partnership.
8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Selected response: Yes
I take the concern seriously, but I do not want to make up a list without first asking the businesses and event organizers dealing with these processes. I would like to further this conversation and gain a better understanding.
9. If elected, what are the three Chinatown-related actions you would commit to prioritizing during your first two years in office?
Establish clear Chinatown service standards and hold the responsible agencies accountable for meeting them. Where a gap cannot be closed quickly, bring temporary BIA or community support to Council until the regular service can meet the need. Get a Chinatown-specific economic and cultural plan into the City’s work plans and budgets. Bring the cultural-centre and public-space ideas to a real decision by consulting the community and putting realistic site, operating and funding options before Council.
10. At the end of the next Council term, what three measurable or observable outcomes would you use to determine whether Chinatown has improved?
Fewer repeat thefts, violent incidents and serious-disorder hotspots; faster cleanup and response; and more businesses, workers and residents saying they feel safe, myself included, I live in Chinatown. Fewer empty storefronts, more people coming to Chinatown, and the independent businesses that give it its character being able to stay and do well. Visible cultural and public-realm progress: better lighting, cleanliness and streetscape conditions; more year-round programming. Ideally on the above commitments, measurable progress or items in a state that can be carried forward by the next councilor, even if I've failed, we should know why and how we need to reframe the commitments to move them forward. Ok I know you asked for three, but finally, a certain non-describable essence and feeling that Chinatown has improved (this isn't measurable, is questionably observable, but we should be able to know even if we struggle to articulate it).
Michael Tay

Office sought: Councillor, Somerset Ward
Submission date recorded in the response export: September 4, 2026

1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this?
Selected response: Yes
I support a more visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown, particularly at times and locations where businesses and residents are experiencing recurring problems. That should include stronger coordination between Ottawa Police, by-law, outreach services, the BIA and other community partners, rather than relying on businesses to manage these pressures themselves. I would also support examining targeted resources for areas experiencing particularly high levels of theft, vandalism, trespassing and disorder. Safety also includes the physical environment. Better lighting, clean and maintained public spaces, active streets and faster responses to recurring problem locations can make a meaningful difference. Chinatown's businesses, workers, residents and visitors should be able to feel safe in their neighbourhood, and small businesses should not be expected to carry the cost of addressing wider city-wide challenges on their own.
2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support.
Selected response: Yes
I support consistent and proportionate enforcement of laws relating to theft, vandalism, trespassing, threatening behaviour, open drug use and other illegal activity. My approach is rooted in compassion with accountability. People experiencing homelessness, mental-health challenges or addiction deserve support, dignity and access to services, but compassion cannot mean asking residents, workers and small businesses to simply absorb unsafe or illegal behaviour. I would support responsive policing and by-law enforcement alongside outreach, treatment, housing and other services. Different situations require different responses, but repeated criminal activity and serious disorder need an effective response. I would also work with businesses, residents, Ottawa Police, the BIA, outreach organizations and City services to identify recurring problem locations and improve coordination so Chinatown remains safe, welcoming and functional.
3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists.
Selected response: Yes
I strongly support this combined approach. My career has been spent working in social services, including homelessness, mental health, settlement and housing. I know that outreach, treatment, supportive services and housing are essential. But I also believe compassion and accountability have to exist together. When serious disorder persists, the City should bring the appropriate services to the table: outreach, housing, treatment, public health, by-law, police and community organizations. There should be clear responsibility for responding rather than businesses and residents being passed from one agency to another. Where someone needs help, we should make every effort to connect them with it. Where there is theft, violence, harassment, vandalism, trespassing or other serious illegal behaviour, there also needs to be an appropriate enforcement response. People experiencing homelessness deserve dignity and support. Residents, workers and businesses also deserve safe and functional neighbourhoods.
4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions.
Selected response: Yes
I support evidence-based harm reduction as part of a broader system that connects people to treatment, health care, housing and recovery supports. Somerset West Community Health Centre already plays an important role in providing these types of services in our ward. At the same time, Somerset Ward has a significant concentration of social and health services, and that concentration can create real pressures for nearby residents and businesses. I believe the City and other levels of government need to build a more distributed system of treatment, harm reduction, housing and support services across Ottawa rather than expecting a small number of downtown neighbourhoods to carry a disproportionate share. Location matters. Any service should consider surrounding businesses, residents and public spaces, include meaningful community consultation and neighbourhood-impact planning, and have clear accountability for conditions around the site.
5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets?
Selected response: Yes
Chinatown should be recognized and planned for as a distinct cultural, commercial and residential district. I support developing a multi-year Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy in partnership with the BIA, businesses, residents, cultural organizations and community partners. It should identify priorities for economic development, public space, safety, cultural programming, tourism, streetscape improvements and infrastructure. Too often, neighbourhood improvement depends on individual grants or short-term projects. A long-term strategy would allow priorities to be identified in advance and considered through the City's regular planning and annual budget processes. What happens in Chinatown is not only a Chinatown issue. A healthy and vibrant downtown benefits the entire city. I would work to ensure Chinatown has a consistent voice in City decision-making and that its long-term development receives the attention it deserves.
6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models?
Selected response: Yes
I strongly support advancing the Chinatown Cultural Centre concept and creating more public space for cultural and community use. A Cultural Centre could provide space for exhibitions, performances, education, community programming, heritage interpretation, seniors, youth and cultural events while also helping strengthen Chinatown as a destination. I would support examining several partnership models, including appropriate City-owned property, municipally supported space, partnerships with community organizations and other levels of government, and potential capital contributions where financially feasible. I would not commit to a particular building, funding amount or ownership model before the costs and options are properly evaluated. My commitment would be to move the concept forward and work with the community to determine a realistic path. Cultural spaces are part of what allows people to build a piece of home in Ottawa while sharing that culture with the wider city.
7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour?
Selected response: Yes
I support developing targeted support for BIAs facing extraordinary costs related to security, vandalism, public disorder, discarded drug supplies, cleaning and maintenance. We are living through serious housing, mental-health and substance-use crises. While their impacts may be especially visible in Chinatown and other parts of the downtown core, these are not simply downtown problems. They are city-wide and broader societal challenges, and the businesses located where those pressures are most concentrated should not be expected to carry the financial burden alone. I would support reviewing the actual extraordinary costs being experienced by high-pressure BIAs and examining a combination of enhanced City services, targeted programs and predictable financial support based on clear criteria. The goal should be a fair system that recognizes where city-wide challenges are creating disproportionate local costs without committing in advance to one particular subsidy model.
8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Selected response: Yes
I support reviewing City-controlled processes that unnecessarily make it harder or more expensive to operate a small business or organize community and cultural events. I would prioritize simpler and more coordinated permitting for festivals, night markets, patios, street activations and temporary events; clearer application requirements and timelines; and a review of municipal fees that can disproportionately affect small community organizations and businesses. I would also like the City to provide a clearer point of contact for organizers dealing with multiple departments so they are not repeatedly navigating separate approval processes. Regulations serving legitimate purposes such as accessibility, public safety and health should remain. The goal should be removing unnecessary duplication, delays and administrative barriers. Chinatown's events and businesses contribute significantly to Ottawa's cultural life and tourism economy. The City should make it easier, not unnecessarily harder, for responsible organizations to activate these spaces.
9. If elected, what are the three Chinatown-related actions you would commit to prioritizing during your first two years in office?
1. Develop a Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy. Bring the BIA, businesses, residents, cultural organizations and City departments together to establish a coordinated multi-year plan for economic development, culture, safety, public space and investment. 2. Improve safety, cleanliness and the public realm. Work toward a coordinated response involving police, by-law, outreach, housing, public health and City services, while prioritizing lighting, cleanliness, streetscape improvements and activation of underused public spaces. 3. Advance Chinatown's cultural infrastructure and economic vitality. Move the Chinatown Cultural Centre concept toward a practical feasibility and partnership model, while supporting cultural events, small businesses, public spaces and measures that strengthen Chinatown as a destination. These are priorities I can commit to advancing while working through Council, City staff and community partnerships.
10. At the end of the next Council term, what three measurable or observable outcomes would you use to determine whether Chinatown has improved?
1. A safer and more welcoming Chinatown. Fewer recurring complaints involving theft, vandalism and serious disorder; improved perceptions of safety among businesses and residents; cleaner streets and public spaces; and more effective responses when problems occur. 2. A stronger and more active commercial district. More occupied storefronts, stronger business retention and openings, increased cultural programming and events, and more residents and visitors choosing to spend time in Chinatown. 3. Visible progress on Chinatown's long-term cultural and public-realm development. A funded and active multi-year Chinatown strategy, tangible improvements to lighting, streetscapes and public spaces, and the Chinatown Cultural Centre reaching a meaningful implementation stage with an identified model, partners, location options or funding pathway. Success should ultimately be visible in how people experience Chinatown: safer, busier, cleaner, culturally vibrant and economically stronger.
Ariel Troster

Office sought: Councillor, Somerset Ward
Submission date recorded in the response export: September 18, 2026

1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this?
Selected response: Yes
Thanks to advocacy from the BIA and my office, Chinatown is now part of the CORE hotsspot policing program, bringing regular foot patrols to the neighbourhood. I also pushed the city to launch the ANCHOR program and a new, soon-to-be-launched 24/7 outreach service.
2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support.
Selected response: Yes
Yes, but with the caveat that this needs to be paired with investments in social services, outreach and supportive housing. We will not fix the addiction and homelessness crisis soley through police action.
3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists.
Selected response: Yes
Yes, see answer above.
4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions.
Selected response: I can't decide.
I believe that health care services must be located wherever the need is, and Chinatown is the neighbourhood with the second-highest rate of overdoses in the city. That said: the city does not manage health care, and the province has shut down all supervised consumption sites in Ottawa. Along with our community associations, I am advocating for addiction services and supportive housing to be dispersed throughout the city and not overconcentrated in a few downtown neighbourhoods.
5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets?
Selected response: Yes
Yes, but at this point it is unclear what this would look like. It would require a significant amount of community engagement and work with city staff. The work could certainly beginin the first term of council.
6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models?
Selected response: I can't decide.
This is an idea that Yukang has pitched to me, but it would require siginificant community fundraising. The city is already set to invest tens of millions of dollars in the redevelopment of 1010 Somerset. Right now there is no city acquisition fund for the purpose of creating cultural hubs. I like the idea in theory, but it would require a significant lift from the local Chinese community.
7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour?
Selected response: I can't decide.
Under my leadership, the city invested an additional $500,000 this year for public realm initiatives, plus significant police resources with the new CORE hotspot policing program and initiatives like the Paint It Up program. The BIA levy is designed for area-specific initiatives and the Chinatown BIA levy has hitorically been much lower than the levy in other BIAs in the ward. I am not sure that additional support to deal with social disorder should flow through the BIA, when this support is generally provided by city services. I am open to discussion about this, though.
8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
Selected response: I can't decide.
I am open to discussing this, but I am not sure what specific fees or permits you are referring to. This is something that could be tackled with OCOBIA.
9. If elected, what are the three Chinatown-related actions you would commit to prioritizing during your first two years in office?
1. Making the Street Seats program permanent and fighting for the city to continue to pay for programming 2. Continuing the scale-up of security and outreach initiatives 3. Supporting public realm improvements, priority street cleaning and faster snow removal
10. At the end of the next Council term, what three measurable or observable outcomes would you use to determine whether Chinatown has improved?
1. More businesses opening and doing well 2. A noticeable feeling of safety and security 3. More murals and cultural programming

Original questionnaire — ten questions

The ten questions below are reproduced from the questionnaire response export. The response period closed on September 30, 2026.

1. Do you support increasing visible and consistent safety presence in Chinatown? If yes, what specific municipal measures or investments would you support to achieve this?
2. Do you support stronger and more consistent enforcement against theft, trespassing, open drug use and other illegal activity in Chinatown? Please identify the enforcement approach you would support.
3. Do you support an approach that combines outreach, treatment, housing and other social services with enforcement of laws and bylaws in active commercial districts? Please explain how you believe the City should respond when serious public disorder persists.
4. Do you support supervised consumption or similar harm-reduction facilities being located in or immediately adjacent to active commercial districts such as Chinatown? Please explain your position and what role you believe the City should play in location and community-impact decisions.
5. Do you support the City adopting a long-term Chinatown Economic and Cultural Development Strategy, with Chinatown-specific initiatives identified in City plans and annual budgets?
6. Do you support advancing the creation of a Chinatown Cultural Centre and additional dedicated public space in Chinatown? If yes, which City partnership mechanisms would you support, such as City-owned property, municipally supported space, capital funding or other partnership models?
7. Do you support additional City funding or other dedicated support for BIAs that face unusually high costs related to safety, disorder and maintenance? If yes, what funding or support mechanism would you favour?
8. Do you support reducing City-controlled regulatory, permit or fee barriers affecting small businesses and community events in districts such as Chinatown? Please identify the specific changes you would pursue.
9. If elected, what are the three Chinatown-related actions you would commit to prioritizing during your first two years in office?
10. At the end of the next Council term, what three measurable or observable outcomes would you use to determine whether Chinatown has improved?

Publication notes

  • The response deadline was September 30, 2026. This page contains the seven submissions recorded in the supplied response export, all dated on or before that deadline.
  • The overview reproduces the selected responses exactly, including “I can't decide.” It does not summarize the accompanying explanations.
  • Candidate wording, spelling and punctuation are retained. Typography and layout have been standardized for readability.
  • No scores, rankings, endorsements or candidate photographs are used.
  • This page lists respondents. It is not a complete list of certified candidates. A verified invitation list is required before identifying candidates from whom no response was received.
  • A lack of response should not be interpreted as support for or opposition to any issue.

PREFERRED REALTOR

Raymond Chin

RC Real Estate

Languges:

english | 普通话 | 粤语 | French

613-866-3656

rc@raymondchin.ca

https://raymondchin.ca/

1749 Woodward Drive, Ottawa, ON, K2C 0P9

The realtors listed on this page have experience with transactions in Chinatown or serve clients in the area. They are included as a resource for prospective businesses and property seekers. Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the Ottawa Chinatown BIA.

PREFERRED REALTOR

Jun Yu 于军

Coldwell Banker

Languges:

english | 普通话 | 粤语 | French

613-850-8888

yuju196610@gmail.com

https://coldwellbanker.ca/directory/agents/jun-yu

Ottawa — contact for office location.

The realtors listed on this page have experience with transactions in Chinatown or serve clients in the area. They are included as a resource for prospective businesses and property seekers. Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the Ottawa Chinatown BIA.

PREFERRED REALTOR

Ruby Xue
薛如冰

KW ICON Real Estate

Languges:

english | 普通话 | 粤语 | French

613-789-4266

ruby@rubyxue.com

https://rubyxue.com/

205 Catherine St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1C3

The realtors listed on this page have experience with transactions in Chinatown or serve clients in the area. They are included as a resource for prospective businesses and property seekers. Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the Ottawa Chinatown BIA.

PREFERRED REALTOR

David Wen

Upside Realty

Languges:

english | mandarin | Ukrainian | Russian | French | Persian/Farsi | Arabic | Hindi | Malayalam | Punjabi

613-447-9983

david@uprealty.ca

https://uprealty.ca/

2148 Carling Ave., Units 5-6 Ottawa, ON., K2A 1H1

The realtors listed on this page have experience with transactions in Chinatown or serve clients in the area. They are included as a resource for prospective businesses and property seekers. Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the Ottawa Chinatown BIA.

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