This summer, Street Seats is bringing shared public spaces and free community programming to Centretown and Chinatown. From June to October enjoy more room to gather, live music, pop-up art, movement sessions and workshops. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4fp2rJN

I am at local production of Fun Home and so far they have played Constant Craving by kd lang and Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls as people take their seats. So yes, they know their audience.

The latest issue of the Somerset Ward newsletter is out, with updates on Diane Holmes Park, free tree giveaways, Street Seats, and more! Read it and sign up here: www.arieltroster.com/swm_72

This

The city and NCC have finished clearing the garbage left from abandoned encampments near Bayview and Pimisi LRT, including, “Approximately 9 tandem loads of material, over 25 propane and fuel tanks and close to 1800 to 2000 needles and other drug paraphernalia.” Yet another sign of crisis.

Thanks to the Registered Nurses Association of Ottawa for inviting me to your Breakfast With Politicians. We discussed the need to involve nurses in primary care strategies, the challenge of providing aging in place services in community housing and the need for safe staffing ratios in hospitals.

It was so great to be able to pay tribute to Diane Holmes at City Council yesterday—a fighter for Centretown in her 30 years representing our ward. At 87 years old, she is still not slowing down, and I can’t wait to inaugurate Diane Holmes Park this summer.

Business Improvement Associations do so much to support local merchants, beautify our main streets and organize street festivals and major events. It was great to drop into the OCOBIA breakfast yesterday and see friends from the Downtown, Centretown and Chinatown BIAs.

Solidarity with everyone trying to get their dogs to go outside to pee during torrential rain

It was great to honour Diane Holmes today at Council and meet her daughter. As the former President of the Centretown Community Association, she was a great mentor to me personally. Thanks to @arieltroster.com for this. @jleiper.bsky.social

I was honoured to bring a motion today to officially name a new park that is being built at Albert/Lyon as Diane Holmes Park. Diane served as the councillor for Somerset Ward for 30 years and was a relentless fighter for livable urban neighbourhoods, safe streets and affordable housing.

26 is keeping an eye on today's Council meeting... 26 suit de près la réunion du Conseil aujourd'hui...

"You can't keep saying 'no' to growth and then complain there's nowhere to live. At some point, units have to go somewhere." www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

It’s beginning to look a lot like … another Christmas movie being filmed on Bank Street.

It’s sunny outside, I got nine hours of sleep last night, there are new MUNA and Kacey Musgraves albums to listen to, and I just squatted 175 lbs at the gym for the first time. A+ Saturday so far.

It was great to be at the Ottawa Community Land Trust’s AGM tonight. The land trust uses community bonds to buy rental housing and keep it permanently affordable. We lose 31 affordable homes for every one we build. Housing acquisition is crucial to keeping our city affordable and equitable.

With news of housing construction in Ottawa at a standstill, it was nice to be at the groundbreaking for the Taggart building at 299 City Centre this morning. This development will offer 240 homes, including 75 affordable units, in partnership with @och-lco.bsky.social and Veterans House Canada.

When people are not properly cared for, the whole community suffers. We have all seen the dramatic uptick in public drug use and discarded needles and pipes, since the supervised consumption site at Somerset West CHC was forced to close by the Ford government. ottawacitizen.com/news/discard...

This account of being hit by a car in Ottawa by @nolore.bsky.social underscores what urban councillors are fighting to change: downtown streets designed for maximum speed, pedestrians treated as an afterthought. Nora, I am so sorry this happened to you. noraloreto.substack.com/p/god-and-th...

It was an honour to present a declaration in honour of Safety and Health Week today at the Steps for Life walk in support of families impacted by workplace injuries and fatalities. Everyone deserves to go home safe after a day of work.

The new issue of the Somerset Ward newsletter is out, with updates on the big issues we’ve been tackling at City Hall, the Minto Park Sale, free tree giveaways, and more! Read it and sign up at: www.arieltroster.com/swm_71

Another tragic case of road violence. If you drive a car, SLOW DOWN. Everyone just wants to get home to their loved ones at the end of the day. I really hope that the pedestrian who was struck recovers. Walking on the sidewalk shouldn’t be a life threatening experience. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Great to meet up at Ten Toes today with Anne-Marie Hopkins, the executive director of Cornerstone Housing. So grateful for everything that Cornerstone does, including running four supportive housing communities and an emergency shelter for women and gender-diverse people in Ottawa.

We had the BEST time at Joseph Cull’s Young at Heart Class at @ymcaottawa.bsky.social, which he’s been teaching for 23 yrs. This class is also a neighbourhood lifeline for dozens of seniors in Centretown. Thanks @stephanieplante.bsky.social and @tkavanaghbayward.bsky.social for joining. #SweatLocal

What if you could meet world-renowned authors in Ottawa? From April 30 to May 3, join us at the Ottawa International Writers Festival for readings, book signings, and much more! For all the details: https://writersfestival.org

Thank you to the Centretown Churches Social Action Committee for inviting me and @catmckenney.bsky.social to your AGM last night, featuring an excellent talk on how to end homelessness by Kaite Burkholder Harris from the @ottawaalliance.bsky.social.

I visited Harmony House with @catmckenney.bsky.social today, a second stage women’s shelter for women and children who have survived intimate partner violence. We talked about how so many families stay in shelters for much longer than they want to, because of a lack of affordable housing.

Joseph Cull has been teaching the Young at Heart fitness class at the YMCA on Argyle for 23 years. Honestly, this class was no joke (and so much fun). Thanks to Joseph and the Y for hosting us. More pics and video to follow as part of our #SweatLocal project.

This family is our shelter system because their daughter has autism and the school system won’t provide her with a full time EA. So the kid can’t go to school and they both can’t work, so they cannot afford housing. For shame. ottawacitizen.com/news/raising...

It was an honour to join members of the Vietnamese community today, to commemorate Journey to Freedom Day, which is coming up on April 30th. The legacy of Project 4000 lives on, inspiring us to remain a welcoming and inclusive city.

My @thestar.com column this week salutes some real heroes on the streets: crossing guards. Drivers in Ontario are emboldened & dangerous. The guards are precariously employed, disrespected, threatened & a pedestrian’s thin line of defence. It’s absurd we need them yet they’re essential.

Started my day early at the Volunteer Ottawa breakfast, where we honoured the incredible Joe Thottungal (Chef Joe!) for his unwavering support for our community. I am grateful to everyone who volunteers their time to make our city more equitable and welcoming. It takes a village.

Our communities deserve a system of care for our neighbours with addictions that is safe, accountable and focused on true patient care, not profit. Please read my full statement with MPP @catmckenney.bsky.social.

My colleague @lainejohnson.bsky.social was on 🔥 at committee today.

I hate the people running this province but I care deeply about the people in it. Grateful for the brilliant minds behind this activism. (Somerset and Preston bus stop in Ottawa)

In the 16 weeks since the Ford government made our city turn off speed cameras, compliance went from 87% to roughly 40%. Just last week, someone drove so fast in a school zone, that they flipped their car. This policy is actively putting kids in danger.

I changed my mind. And I changed my vote. The debate over the Safe Access to Vulnerable Infrastructure Bylaw was nuanced and gut wrenching. But there were too many unknowns and potential harms for me to support it. The bylaw passed 20-4, but I voted no. Thank you to everyone who wrote to me.

The face of a dog who claims she absolutely did not pull the table cloth down with her teeth and proceed to eat 3/4 of a chicken, bones included.

You can donate to the @ottawatranslibrary.bsky.social today, to help them reach their $20,000 goal!

I have been receiving a lot of questions about my vote on Friday on the Safe Access to Vulnerable Infrastructure Bylaw. Here are some of my comments from that meeting, to help you understand my perspective and what led me to vote in favour.

A cat train in Japan. It was opened in honor of the cat Tama, who worked as a station attendant in the city of Kinokawa. The entire train is dedicated to cats, and it even has a library. Original post

We're less than a day away from our #queer #transgender #nonbinary telethon! Help keep North America's only physical #trans library open and support Ottawa's amazing local artists! Sunday April 19 11am to 3pm EST on our YouTube page: youtube.com/@ottawa-tran...

The Centretown Community Association’s Earth Day festival is happening all day in Dundonald Park! Drop by and say hi and check out all of the community booths and performances.

The latest issue of the Somerset Ward newsletter is out, with updates on a public toilet strategy, free trees, community clean-ups, and more! Read it and sign up here: www.arieltroster.com/swm_69

It was a tremendous honour to speak at the official opening of Matthew House’s new Furniture Bank warehouse. Last year, Matthew House furnished more than 1,500 homes with donated furniture and housewares.

What is that blinding bright orb in the sky?!? I am so confused.

The Ford government is making streets more dangerous for kids

I had a great time at the Jazz Night Out fundraiser at the Dominion Chalmers Centre last night, featuring the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama. Check out the Ottawa Jazz Festival lineup for this summer, I cannot wait till we get to gather again at Confederation Park in June. ottawajazzfestival.com

If you have dealt with persistent planter fasciitis and found effective treatment, please tell me your secrets. So far, nothing is working and I am exhausted from stupid heel pain.

Here’s a first look at the proposed Centretown public bathroom, and a breakdown of the downtown public toilet strategy that I had passed unanimously by Finance Committee yesterday. Happy to see momentum building to finally solve a massive problem that our city is currently leaving unaddressed.