I am glad that council passed two motions today, calling for more accountability from OC Transpo and exploring the possibility of future compensation. But none of that is going to make buses and trains come on time, and people are beyond frustrated.

Trans beloveds: maybe take a break from the internet today. Absolute ghouls are exploiting a horrendous tragedy to spread hate and transphobia. Love and grief to everyone in Tumbler Ridge today. Love and solidarity with the trans community.

Still sick as a dog, so I am doing today’s council meeting from the couch with this dog. Hybrid works allows me to serve my constituents without getting my colleagues sick. Mandatory RTO is unnecessarily punitive, which is why I voted against it for city staff (and sadly didn’t win).

Online registration for swimming activities opens tonight at 9 pm! Registration for recreation, arts, culture and virtual activities starts this Thursday, February 12 at 9 pm. Create an account and browse programs at register.ottawa.ca

Schools are open today in Ottawa, but buses are cancelled for all school boards. (More snow, just what we need, I know …)

I can’t stand AI slop images and I will never use them to communicate city issues to my constituents. The energy consumption, the undermining of actual paid artists and the weird sameness of it all creeps me out. No thanks.

Had a great afternoon at one of my favourite places yesterday, at the @ottawaartgallery.bsky.social Firestone Day. I learned so much about the artistic influence of Firestone collection artists on the Kanata community of Beaverbrook. Great to be there with Kanata North councillor Cathy Curry.

man I’m sorry to be all corny here but when I see a “the city is beautiful! There’s more to it than homeless people!” I gotta say you know who’s also beautiful? People who have no place to live & are trying to get by in a system that has turned its back on them & if you don’t see that that’s on you

I am so over this. Reminder to call 311 if you or someone you know needs a warm place to go. Full list of warming centres and cold weather resources from @ottawapublichealth.ca: www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-he...

On Wednesday evening, hundreds of people packed into Knox Presbyterian Church for a conversation on homelessness, organized by the Centretown Community Association, the Centretown Community Health Centre, and dozens of community partners.

We saw about 9 cm of snow yesterday, and crews are out clearing roads, sidewalks, and the winter cycling network. If you’re out, please watch for blue flashing lights and give our vehicles space to work. Info: https://bit.ly/4p8VQo4

This is so wonderful. I have been involved in refugee sponsorship for over a decade, creating networks of chosen family for newcomers to Ottawa. And as a queer person, chosen family is an anchor of our community. Cheers to these “chosen grandmas.” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

I am about to get very judgemental about sports that I would absolutely never be able to do myself

The latest issue of the Somerset Ward newsletter is out, with updates on the heritage watch list, a new Preston pedestrian bridge, transit compensation, the zoning bylaw, and more! Read it and sign up here: www.arieltroster.com/swm_65

Congratulations to The Good Companions Seniors Centre on 70 years! We are so grateful for all of the incredible services and activities you offer to seniors in Ottawa. Also, great to bump into the legendary Diane Holmes, who is now a proud member of TGC.

It’s the tiny podium for me

A baby in a stroller was injured by a car driver, in the exact location where the Ford government forced the city to remove a speed camera. I am so tired of how the provincial government is actively making our city less safe. ottawacitizen.com/news/baby-st...

At Planning Committee yesterday, we voted unanimously to replace a road that was originally going to connect Preston to Lebreton Flats with a pedestrian and cycling bridge. This is a win for active transportation and for traffic management in Little Italy. www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

Really looking forward to participating in this community conversation on homelessness tonight. Hope you can join us!

Great to drop by the YMCA on Argyle today for their open house. From child care, to affordable housing, to services for newcomers and youth, the Y has always been there for our community.

It was an honour to provide opening remarks with Councillor @rawlson.bsky.social today, for Somerset West Community Health Centre’s Black History Month event titled, The Future is Now: Building Thriving Black Communities in Ottawa.

Wonderful to finally get to chat with Ala’a Shadid, the new executive director of Multifaith Housing Initiative. It is amazing to see MHI’s Odenak project coming to life at Lebreton Flats. Two tall towers built by Dream will house 600 apartments, 30% of which will be affordable housing.

I hope you will join me in welcoming Ann Van Welter to the Ward 14 team as our new case worker. Ann’s most recent position was as the Assistant Manager of Programming at Shepherds of Good Hope. You can reach Ann through the main inbox at [email protected].

Finally watched the Lilith Fair documentary and remembered how the Sarah MacLachlan/Sheryl Crow pixie cut era in the late 90s is what inspired me to chop off my hair and never look back. I still have FOMO over the fact that I was working at sleepover camps and never made it to Lilith Fair.

What an incredible launch of Black History Month today, at a beautiful ceremony organized by Black History Ottawa. Amazing to see so many community members and unveil the @octranspo.com bus mural, featuring Stefan Keyes and Angelique Francis.

I wish sweet Liam nothing but love, comfort, safety and justice for the rest of his life.

It’s good to see other regions adopting this method of measuring snowfall (how many corgis deep?)

Had lots of fun this afternoon at the Dalhousie Community Association’s trivia event at Natural History on Somerset, helping to launch Tonya Davidson’s book Ottawaology. Can’t wait to dig in and learn more fun historical facts about the city we all love.

An oft-repeated statistic says men apply for a job when they have 60% of the qualifications while women wait till they have 100%. Pretty sure that stat was debunked, but … Several men seem to think that being Mayor is a suitable starter job for someone with no municipal experience. It’s not.

NO NO NO variety.com/2026/tv/news...

There is so much momentum in Ottawa, aimed at ending homelessness. It was great to stay the day at a breakfast organized by @ottawaalliance.bsky.social and the United Way, featuring experts from Niagara Region + Calgary, who have transformed their shelter systems and housed thousands of people.

In today’s @ottawacitizen.com, I discuss the need for better tools to prevent demolition by neglect of heritage properties. A vacant commercial unit tax could compel property owners to either take care of their buildings or sell to someone who will. ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa-...

🚨 Yesterday, Ottawa City Council approved its new zoning bylaw, abolishing parking mandates across all urban and suburban regions of the city! Hear what councillor @arieltroster.com had to say about the importance of removing parking mandates.

Congratulations to Angela and the team at @cafesottawa.bsky.social for a packed lunch and learn on Ottawa’s Electric Future at Bayview Yards today. Great to see so many people leaning about new technology to combat climate change a power our city more sustainably.

Yesterday on the way home from a long city council meeting, I saw that my bus wasn’t going to come for 40(!) min, so I walked. Not everyone has that option. I believe that you deserve compensation for being left out in the cold. And we need every option on the table to get OC Transpo moving again.

I am proud of the bold moves we passed as part of Ottawa’s new zoning bylaw today, including abolishing parking minimums, allowing shelters anywhere, and permitting density in all of our neighbourhoods.

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

Co-signed. You deserve compensation for the unacceptable level of transit service happening right now.

If you would like your faith in humanity restored, spend it with a group of 8 yr old girls. It was a pleasure to give a tour of City Hall to the 3rd Embers troupe last night. The kids had amazing questions and observations about the role of city government (and also asked to see photos of my dog).

Today’s #SweatLocal session featured the women of Ottawa City Council and a fundraiser for Christie Lake Kids. Thanks to CrossFit NCR for putting us through our paces and to Beyond Networking for organizing this event.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to reflect on the atrocities of the Holocaust and the ongoing need to confront antisemitism. January 27 honours the millions of victims and survivors, and reminds us of the importance of remembering, learning, and standing firmly against hatred.

Unconscionable

Love this line: “Time after time, ICE has tried to abduct someone, only to be scared off by Minnesotans in pajamas and crocs.”

Thanks to Allan Reesor-McDowell, the executive director of the John Howard Society, for dropping by my office to discuss the challenges facing supportive housing providers in Ottawa. JHS does incredible work helping people integrate into society after exiting incarceration.

Applied Museum Studies at Algonquin is unique, and it’s a vital pathway to place skilled workers at the institutions that protect our cultural heritage and inspire and educate the next generation. They’re killing it. Save Canadian museums. Save museum studies. Sign the petition:

Picked up this @nikostratis.com gem from the Perfect Books sale this weekend. Loving the musical nostalgia intertwined with memoir.

With more snow coming in Ottawa (ugh), there will be a winter street parking ban, tomorrow from 10am-7pm. You are exempt on your street, if you have a residential parking permit.

We now have a bus cancellation tracker available at bettertransitottawa.ca/tracker/canc... This dashboard lets you view the cancellations on each route for each day and see the gaps in service that get created by each cancellation. You can also see the percentage of cancelled trips per route.

Love and solidarity to all of the brave people standing against fascism and risking their lives to do so. The resistance in Minneapolis is breathtaking. Keep going.

The latest issue of the Somerset Ward newsletter is out, with updates on the bus reliability crisis, urban snow clearing, Ottawa’s 200th birthday, and more! Read more and sign up at: www.arieltroster.com/swm_64