Mayor Sutcliffe announces 10 new initiatives to improve the quality of life for rural Ottawa residents

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe announced 10 new initiatives to improve the quality of life for rural communities at the Rural Summit 2024 Saturday.

The first Rural Summit since 2008 was hosted by Ottawa's rural councillors at Sir Robert Borden High School and was attended by residents and the capital's mayor.

"This is the beginning of a new chapter for rural Ottawa," said Sutcliffe. "We are committed to ensuring that City Hall listens, learns, and respects the needs of our rural residents."

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The following commitments were announced during the summit:

1. Water Rate Review and Ditching Improvements: working to double the budget for ditching, and drainage infrastructure by 2025, focusing on maintenance and safety.

2. Strengthening the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee's mandate to give the committee more decision-making powers on rural matters.

3. Enhancing the Rural Affairs Office and strengthening governance: Increasing resources in the Rural Affairs Office, strengthening the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee and designating a Rural Lead in every department to ensure rural perspectives are heard and understood.

4. Improving Rural Paramedic Response: Hiring 23 new paramedics in 2025 and 2026, improving response times through a new dispatch system, and addressing offload delays with provincial partners.

5. Dedicated Rural Programs for Intersection Signals

6. Rural Lens for Infrastructure and rural projects: Consulting with rural councillors on road renewal projects and signalized intersections to meet the diverse needs of all users.

7. Streamlining Planning for Rural Applications: Simplifying the planning process for minor rezoning applications starting in 2025.

8. Developing a Balanced Rural Growth Strategy: Collaborating with rural councillors to create a growth strategy that acknowledges the character of villages while allowing for thoughtful development.

9. Advocating for Rural Priorities with the Province: Engaging the provincial government on critical rural issues, including access to grants.

10. Commitment to a Next Rural Summit: Planning to host another Rural Summit in the next term of council around 2027 or 2028.

Sutcliffe noted that 80 per cent of the city is rural, such as Carp, Navan, Metcalfe, Richmond, Cumberland, and others. During the summit, councillors David Brown, George Darouze, Clarke Kelly, Catherine Kitts, Matt Luloff, and the mayor also shed light on the unique character and history the capital's rural areas have.

"One of Ottawa's greatest strengths and assets is our diversity," said Sutcliffe. "Farming and agriculture are a huge part of our culture and our economy. Our rural villages are some of the most picturesque and vibrant parts of our city. We must continue to ensure that the needs of rural communities are not overlooked. Today’s Rural Summit ensures we are providing rural solutions for rural residents."

More than 250 people attended the four-hour summit on Saturday. Residents hope the city will address issues important to them in rural areas of the city.

“We’re the second cousins if you will. We don’t have a large population, but we have a large rural area by landmass, but as a result, we’re not really being focused on,” said West Carleton resident Ian Grant.

“We need to have a bigger voice in what’s happening, whether it be the new solid waste, the new garbage rules, some of the roads, some of the safety issues and the urban sprawl issues are all important to me,” said Dale Synett-Caron of North Gower

Councillors say action on the 10 initiatives will take time, but this is a start.

“We often get caught in developing policies and implementing them in a way that serves the wards with the greatest population, which I think is natural," Clarke Kelly, councillor for West Carleton-March, said. "But we also need to find ways to do it different in rural wards to serve rural people better."

Councillor David Brown says the Rural Summit is the "culmination of a year's worth of work."

"I think the biggest change we're going to see is more on the government side, how we provide programs and services to the rural area,” said Brown.

More information about the Rural Summit, its initiatives and the full list of commitments is available online.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Katelyn Wilson