Many convenience store operators in Ontario are interested in converting their businesses into pot shops, says a spokesperson for the Ontario association representing 8,000 of them.

Cannabis could be an opportunity for some of the small businesses, said Steve Tennant, chief operating officer with Gateway Newstands and the Ontario Convenience Stores Association. He was among more than a dozen delegations Thursday at a legislative committee studying provincial cannabis legislation.

The Conservative government has ditched plans for marijuana to be sold at outlets run by a subsidiary of the LCBO in favour of privately run stores.

The stores will be licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. They are expected to open in April 2019.

Tennant urged legislators not to restrict licences to large locations. Many convenience stores are only 400 to 500 square feet.

It’s a tough business, with about 200 to 300 convenience stores failing every year, said Tennant.

The stores are accustomed to selling age-restricted products, and have an excellent record of not selling to minors, he said. Most lottery tickets and cigarettes are sold in convenience stores.

At the other end of the spectrum, officials for two large corporations that hope to open stores in Ontario urged politicians not to shut them out, either.

The legislation restricts cannabis growers “or their affiliates” from owning more than one store. The intent was to prevent any companies from dominating the retail trade.

But a lot hinges on the interpretation of the word “affiliate,” which will be decided in regulations.

Officials with one of the country’s largest growers, Aurora Cannabis, and Alcanna, the largest private-sector liquor retailer in Canada, said they wanted to be able to go ahead with their partnership. They have licences to operate stores in Alberta and planned to apply to open multiple stores in Ontario. Aurora owns a 25-per-cent share of Alcanna.

The best way to beat the black market cannabis trade is to allow a range of stores, said Alcanna senior vice-president Dave Crapper. That should include stores run by small businesses as well as large, “well-capitalized” corporations, he said.

Both Crapper and a spokesperson for Aurora suggested the province should follow the model in Alberta, which allows private stores but limits any one company to owning no more than 15 per cent of the total.

Crapper said one of the best ways to ensure competition is to not limit the number of licences. In Alberta, for instance, there are 2,400 stores that sell alcohol, he said. “No one can possibly corner the Alberta liquor market.”

Ontario says it won’t limit the number of marijuana store licences. It plans to establish a buffer zone to prevent stores near schools, and to allow municipalities and the public 15 days to comment on any licence application.

Municipalities can also “opt out” of allowing cannabis stores within their borders.

Ontario municipalities that opt out should be allowed the choice of hosting a government-run store instead, the head of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union suggested.

Warren “Smokey” Thomas said municipalities that opt out might welcome a store run by the LCBO because that agency has a long history of safely selling alcohol. HIs union represents employees at the LCBO.

The government’s plans will create “a wild west of pot stores,” he warned.

The legislative committee hears more public delegations Friday before beginning clause-by-clause consideration of the bill Monday. The government would be able to pass the legislation by Oct. 16, the day before recreational marijuana becomes legal, because it has indicated it will limit debate.

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The province should not allow vaping products to continue to be advertised and displayed alongside the candy at convenience stores, public health advocates say.

Several organizations asked a legislative committee studying Bill 36, Ontario’s cannabis act, to ban the display and promotion of vape products at stores.

Bill 36 already does that, but allows the government to make exceptions in regulations. That loophole should be closed so that vaping products are treated the same way as tobacco, said Rob Cunningham, a senior analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society. Tobacco products are sold from behind the counter and store promotions are not allowed.

Cunningham brought along photographs taken at convenience stores of vaping displays, advertisements and flyers.

The promotions are helping lure an increasing number of young people into vaping, said Cunningham and other public-health experts who testified Thursday and Friday.

A display on the counter of an Ottawa convenience store shows a vape pen above a video explaining how to use it.

The displays and promotions “normalize” vaping because the devices are treated as regular products, sold alongside chocolate bars, magazines and drinks, Cunningham said. Kids need to be protected, he said. Some of the e-liquids, which comes in a wide variety of flavours, contain nicotine, which is addictive.

Many young people consider vaping safer than smoking and aren’t aware of the possible health risks, several presenters said.

Teen vaping has increased dramatically, said Sarah Butson of the Ontario Lung Association. It’s now more common than smoking cigarettes.

In Ontario, 10.7 per cent of students in grades 7 to 12 said they used electronic cigarettes (vape pens) in 2017, according to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, which does a bi-annual survey of drug use. That compares to seven per cent of students who reported smoking a cigarette, 19 per cent who used cannabis and 42.5 per cent who used alcohol.

Vaping may be less harmful than smoking cigarettes, several presenters acknowledged.

However, people who don’t smoke should not be encouraged to vape, Butson said.

There is evidence that teens who use e-cigarettes are at higher risk of smoking cigarettes, she said. “We are talking about more than hooking a generation on a new product, which is vaping, but potentially a new generation of people who smoke.”

This newspaper checked out some convenience stores Friday and found that five out of six sold vape pens. Several stores had displays on the counters near the checkouts, while two stores had the displays behind the counters.

One store carried JUUL, the small, sleek vape pens that have become popular among high schoolers in the United States, behind the counter in a box that concealed the product. JUUL advertises the pen as a “satisfying alternative to cigarettes” for adults.

Some of the candy-flavoured vape liquids are attractive to youth, said Liz Scanlon of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

It can be difficult to know the substance people are vaping because there isn’t a lot of odour emitted, she said.

Some types of vape pens can be used to consume cannabis, but those devices are typically sold at headshops and specialty vape stores. Loaded cannabis vape pens are illegal and can only be obtained in the black market.

Two delegations at the committee hearings said e-cigarette advertising and displays should be allowed in stores to educate adult tobacco smokers.

When smokers visit a corner store to pick up cigarettes, they should know that an alternative is available, said Jaye Blancher of the Tobacco Harm Reduction Association of Canada. She said the organization included 1,100 nicotine consumers.

Blancher said she started smoking cigarettes at age 12 and tried unsuccessfully for years to quit. Since 2016, she has been vaping instead.

The provincial act “positively reflects that vaping is less risky by categorizing tobacco and vaping separately,” she said. “Id rather see a youth vaping than smoking.”

However, flashy ads aren’t necessary, Blancher said.

jmiller@postmedia.com

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Blayne Farquharson was feeling nostalgic as he helped a steady stream of customers at the Cannabliss marijuana shop on Saturday.

“It’s been a lot of fun here,” he said. “But just a few more days left. This is our last Saturday.”

The Preston Street dispensary will close Oct. 16, the day before recreational marijuana is legalized across the country.

Some of the people who work at Cannabliss plan to apply for a licence to run a legal marijuana store, he said.

The Ontario Conservative government says it will issue an unlimited number of licences to private operators to run marijuana stores that will start opening across the province in April 2019.

But anyone involved with an illegal dispensary on Oct. 17 won’t be eligible for a licence.

It’s a strong incentive for an estimated 20 marijuana dispensaries operating in Ottawa to close their doors before legalization.

Another incentive would be the stiff penalties for both dispensary owners and landlords who rent to them under the provincial cannabis law that takes effect on Oct. 17.

The law also gives police the power to close any shop where marijuana is sold illegally.

Canna Life at 352 Preston Street had a closed note in the window Saturday October 13, 2018. 

In the past, it’s been difficult to close the dispensaries. Police have conducted sporadic raids and charged clerks inside with drug trafficking, but some establishments simply reopen and new ones emerge.

It remains to be seen how many of the city’s dispensaries will take the risk of remaining in business. Two dispensaries that catered to medical patients have already closed.

Cannalife, another busy Preston Street shop, closed recently. A sign on the door directs customers to dispensaries on Rideau and Bank Streets.

Farquharson said workers at Cannabliss are hopeful they’ll have jobs at a legal shop next spring. It’s unclear who will apply for a licence — the owners of Cannabliss want to remain anonymous — or whether they will try to keep the same location.

”We would love to have the place here,” said Farquharson. “It’s a great location and everyone in the community loves us.”

The province plans to hold consultations on what regulations, including hours of operation and staff training, should govern the privately run shops.

Canna Life at 352 Preston Street had a closed note in the window Saturday October 13, 2018.

Two customers outside Cannabliss said they will miss shopping there but look forward to the online store run by an agency of the provincial government to open Oct. 17.

“I’ll try it out for sure,” said Nicholas Stewart, 20. “In my opinion, competition is always good. It will drive the prices down.”

However, he likes cannabis concentrate products, such as vape pens, which will not be available in legal stores initially.

Only dried flower and cannabis oil will be for sale, although the federal government has promised to regulate concentrates and edible products within a year of legalization.

“I might still go the illegal route,” said Stewart, who says black-market online stores offer good quality and a wide variety of products.

Theodore Kincaid, 20, said that if the government online store and the private legal shops offer enough products at a good price, the black market will be driven out quickly. “It would make no sense to purchase it any other way.”

Both men said they had trouble believing that in a few days recreational pot will be legal.

“I’ve been acting like it’s legal for a long time now,” said Kincaid. “But what makes me feel better is the overall social acceptance. Once it’s legal, people will have less of a sense of authority over you — ‘Oh, that’s illegal.’ ”

“I’ll be able to walk around smoking a joint,” he marvelled. “It’s amazing, and I’ll take advantage of it.”

He said he prefers marijuana to alcohol.

Stewart predicted the stigma against marijuana use will vanish quickly. He points to a bench on the sidewalk, saying he can’t quite believe that in a few days someone could sit there and openly consume pot.

“If you see a guy (sitting there) ripping on a bong, it will be strange.”

The provincial government plans to allow pot smoking wherever tobacco use is allowed, including sidewalks.

However, municipalities could chose to slap on more restriction on public consumption.

An Ottawa bylaw already prevents smoking of any kind in city parks, at beaches and on municipal property.

jmiller@postmedia.com

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Officials at Canadian cannabis company The Cronos Group say they are confident the name they have chosen for one of their pot brands will not appeal to children.

It’s called Spinach.

The brand is for “fun-loving mature adults who are sick of hearing about kale,” says the cheeky explanation from the company that operates growing facilities in Ontario and B.C.

Spinach is one of the more fanciful names among the brands that will be on sale when Canada legalizes recreational pot on Wednesday.

A catchy name is key for companies building brands from scratch in a new industry that is heavily regulated. Companies are banned from most advertising because the federal government wants to squelch the promotion of pot.

Related

• How to buy pot in Ontario: A consumer's guide to purchasing and using legal cannabis

When customers stroll into pot stores or shop online they will be confronted with dozens of products sold in plainish packages dominated by health warnings. Cannabis companies can choose a single colour for their packages and add a small brand logo.

Will shoppers remember the name Spinach, and come back for another serving?

The veggie theme continues with this image from the Spinach brand website to illustrate the strain Dancehall.

Or how about “Saturday,” a word that conjures anything from a night on the town to shopping at Canadian Tire? The company behind that brand, Starseed Holdings, says Saturday is about “making time for yourself” and bringing “those brief moments of freedom to any day of the week.” One of the strains is called Saturday Afternoon, not to be confused with another strain offered by producer Aphria, called “Sunday Special.”

Canadian cannabis company GTEC Holdings Ltd. has this picture on its website to advertise a brand with high THC for “experienced consumers.”

Some brand names suggest gentle fun — Goodfields, Good Supply. Others are edgier. Invictus MD Strategies Corp. offers “Sinister,” while GTEC Holdings Ltd. plans to unleash “BLK MKT” (“an homage to the legacy of cannabis prohibition”). Both promise high THC, the chemical that makes users high.

Feeling patriotic? Canaca from High Park Holdings is for “Canadian cannabis enthusiasts.” The company’s Dubon, a “vibrantly Québécois” brand, will be sold in that province, and the “wild and free” Yukon Rove is reserved for tokers in that territory.

Brands influence virtually everything we buy, and cannabis will be no different, says Brad Rogers, president of Ontario grower CannTrust Holdings Inc.

“This is definitely a brand game. It’s not anything other than that.”

He makes an apt comparison with other products. “I’m not sure who grows Starbucks beans, or Heinz’s tomatoes, or Anheuser-Busch’s hops, but they make great products and they brand them well, and distribute them well, and make good margins for their shareholders. And that’s what I’d like to do with this business.”

Cove, a recreational cannabis brand from the Cronos Group, offers a strain called Rise.

The names created for strains of marijuana range from street slang — Pink Kush, Tangerine Dream, Rockstar Kush — to monikers that make smoking pot sound like a trip to the spa: Renew, Restore, Rest, Refresh, Relax, Unplug.

The AltaVie brand (“making mindfulness more attainable”) has a strain that offers a clever twist on the chill-vibe theme. It’s called “Airplane Mode.”

Chill: AltaVie evokes life at the cottage in illustrations for two of its cannabis strains.

“Dancehall,” a Spinach strain described on the website as “clearheaded, active and energizing,” might speak to the nightclub crowd.

For names that channel the romance of the great outdoors, AltaVie has Campfire and Northstar. Two different companies have strains called Sensi-Star.  

Some companies promise to make it easier to choose the right pot by naming strains after moods or activities.

What could signal freedom more than dipping your toes in water sprinkled with fresh flowers? This is an image on the website for the Solei brand.

Solei, a brand that promises to “help you find your light,” offers strains “suited to any occasion,” according to the website. The names? Gather, Sense, Balance, Free, Unplug and Renew. “Skip the yoga class and still find your zen,” says the website description for Balance. Free, a sentiment anyone can get behind, is “your spa escape — without the hefty bill.”

Good times: The illustration for Solei’s Gather strain.

CannTrust’s Xscape brand gets more specific, with strains called Walk the Dog, TGIF and Flix ‘n Chill. “You can imagine what you’ll be doing and what (the cannabis) will be doing for you,” said Rogers.

The names will also help educate customers who don’t know the difference between strains, said Rogers.

“When you ask someone, ‘Hey, did you smoke a joint last night?’ ‘Yeah, I smoked a joint last night.’ ‘Well, what was it?’ ‘Well, I have no idea. It was weed’.”

CannTrust’s Liiv brand includes strain names that will sound familiar to “experienced users,” says Rogers, such as Buddha Haze and Bali Kush. The other names? Easy Cheesy, Yin & Yang, Clarity Coast and Kinky Kush.

Aphria’s brand for “experienced users” who want “high potency” products is called RIFF.

Smoke it again, Sam: A premium brand called The Edison Cannabis Company has strains named after classic movies, including Casablanca.

At OrganiGram Holdings Inc. in New Brunswick, the premium brand is called The Edison Cannabis Company, after Thomas Edison, the inventor who helped create the motion picture camera. Following that theme, the strains are named after classic movies: Lola Montès, Rio Bravo, Casablanca, City Lights, La Strada.

At first, the names will be paired with the corresponding traditional cannabis names, said Organigram’s chief operating officer Ray Gracewood. City Lights is Critical Kush, for example. The old names will eventually be dropped as customers become more familiar with the new ones, he said.

The Edison brand will also be included in a variety pack by the AHLOT company that allows users to sample strains from five different companies.

As variety kit offers samples of five strains: Sensi Star, Solar Power, Rio Bravo, Saturday Afternoon and No. 405 (Blueberry Kush).

Tweed, the huge grower in Smiths Falls, is counting on the name recognition of strains sold to its medical marijuana users. Those familiar names will migrate to the recreational side of the market. They include: Argyle, Bakerstreet, Highlands, Penelope, Herringbone, Balmoral, Boaty McBoatface, Houndstooth, Donegal and Tweed CBD.

Dreaming up names is the fun part of the business, said Jay Wilgar, CEO of Newstrike Brands Ltd., the parent company of Up Cannabis, in an interview.

Up has a financial and creative relationship with the Tragically Hip. In July, the company announced five strain names that were a nod to Hip song titles, but since then one name was dropped and two others shortened, making the association less clear. A strain called “Morning Moon,” for example, which is the title of a song, has been changed to simply Moon. “Perfect for couch surfing,” says the company description.

The titles are “inspired by Tragically Hip experiences,” said Wilgar in a statement to shareholders.

The other strains are Grace (“may make you want to try hibernation over socialization”); Gems (“at first you may try to take your pants off over your head, but you’ll quickly get your groove on”), 50 (“gives you a cerebral boost”) and Meridian (“the perfect start to an evening shared with friends”).

What names will be allowed? Stay tuned

Companies don’t have complete creative freedom when choosing names. The cannabis law that goes into effect Oct. 17 has strict rules against promoting pot. It bans endorsements, sponsorships or testimonials by celebrities or anyone else. Promotions that appeal to youth or depict “persons, celebrities, characters or animals” are out.

Associating marijuana with attractive lifestyles is also prohibited. One wag on Twitter suggested a brand called “Induce,” with the strain names Glamour, Recreation, Risk, Excitement and Daring. The joke? Those are the words used in the law to describe what cannabis should not be associated with.

How Health Canada will interpret the rules remains to be seen. Several companies have brand names associated with celebrities, for example.

The Trailer Park Boys inspired a cannabis brand called Trailer Park Bud.

OrganiGram has a brand called “Trailer Park Buds.” The company has a licensing deal with the company behind The Trailer Park Boys, the satirical show about the adventures of three moronic stoners.

Gracewood said OrganiGram decided there was enough distance between the “Trailer Park Boys” — which is the name of the show, not the individual characters — and “Trailer Park Buds” to comply with the promotion restrictions.

Canadian grower Tilray, through its subsidiary High Park Holdings, has a licensing deal to sell Marley Natural, a line from the late Bob Marley’s family. That brand will launch later in 2018, says the company.

Snoop Dogg rocks a Tweed T-shirt.

Tweed has a licensing deal with rapper Snoop Dogg and has sold his Leafs by Snoop line to medical marijuana patients. Leafs by Snoop will be sold to recreational consumers after legalization, said company spokesman Jordan Sinclair. It’s not clear when, though. The name was not among the list of brands on the tweed.com website on Monday.

It’s up to Health Canada to determine whether Leafs by Snoop or any other name “depicts” a character, constitutes a celebrity endorsement or promotes an attractive lifestyle. In a statement, the department said naming a cannabis strain after an individual is currently allowed, but will not be permitted under the new law that takes effect Wednesday.

jmiller@postmedia.com

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Name that pot

Some of the brand names created by major Canadian cannabis companies:

Tweed

Hexo

AltaVie

San Rafael ’71

Solei

RIFF

Goodfields

Good Supply

Broken Coast

The Edison Cannabis Company

ANKR Organics

Trailer Park Bud

Trailblazer

7Acres

Liiv

Synr.g

Xscape

Spinach

Cove

Irisa

Grail

Canaca

Dubon

Yukon Rove

Marley Natural

Dukes

Zooey

Sterling & Hunt

Sinister

Up

Saturday

Symbl

What’s in the package?

Companies have put a lot of creative energy into creating package designs that reflect their brands while meeting strict Health Canada guidelines meant to prevent the promotion of pot. The most prominent thing on the packages is a bright yellow health warning. A standard THC symbol in a red stop sign is also required. Companies can choose the background colour and add a small logo. Here’s what some companies have come up with:

Aphria’s Solei brand.

The RIFF brand from Aphria.

Organigram’s Edison line.

Canntrust’s Walk the Dog.

Organigram’s pouch has a locked zipper.

jmiller@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JacquieAMiller

In the lead-up to Ottawa’s municipal election, this newspaper surveyed every candidate, providing them with a list of questions. It’s an exercise that’s meant to help residents get to know the candidates better and to get a firm sense of where they stand on important issues facing our city.

Our survey was broken into three parts: City issues, ward-specific questions, and an ‘about you’ section. Candidates appear in alphabetical order and surveys were completed and returned to this newspaper by Sept. 7.

Read, below, about Bay (Ward 7) and what the ward’s candidates have to say.

Ward 7: Bay 

Population (2016): 45,476

Households (2016): 21,099

Votes eligible/cast in 2014: 29,394/12,576 (42.78 per cent)

Area: 64.2 sq. km.

Boundaries: Ward 7 is bounded by the Ottawa River to the north, and is bounded by Mailtland and Sherbourne in the east, March Road in the west and Hwy. 417 to the south. 

In the first 10 years after amalgamation, Bay ward was represented by Alex Cullen, who was beaten by challenger Mark Taylor in 2010 and again in 2014. However, Taylor had promised to stay on for only two terms, and there are five candidates in this election: Erica Dath, who has a background in finance and public service; Don Dransfield, a business management consultant who ran for city council in 2006 and as a provincial candidate in 2011 and is married to Liberal MP Anita Vanderbeld; Theresa Kavanagh, who has been a trustee with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board for the past eight years and is married to Alex Cullen; Marc Lugert, the former chair of the Queensway Terrace Community Association and current vice-president of the Ottawa Girls Hockey Association as well as Trevor Robinson, who also ran in the 2014 municipal election. 

Erica Dath

Erica Dath – Candidate for Ward 7 – Bay

CITY ISSUES

1. Taxes. Are they too high? Just about as high as they should be? Not high enough for the city we wish we had?

The tax rate is only one portion of the much broader budget conversation. There is a need to take a close look at how the money is being spent, what are the costs of the priorities and whether the revenue streams will support this agenda, in determining an appropriate tax rate. Ottawa is a growing city and it will need revenue sufficient to support that growth and maintain core and needed services. With that said, the tax rate should not exceed the rate of inflation and needs to remain affordable to residents.

2. Given the option, should the city allow private pot stores? If so, in what way should the city restrict where stores can operate?

I am in support of retail stores with specific licensing and zoning requirements. For example, a retail cannabis store should not be permitted to operate within a certain distance of schools, public libraries, hospitals, parks and the like.

3. There are more than 10,000 people on the waitlist for affordable housing. The city has a 10-year homelessness plan with a lofty goal of ending chronic homelessness. Is this plan enough? Should the city be doing more? If so, what actions should the city take?

I don’t think the plan in isolation is enough to address this issue. I would like to see real targets and measures set, in order to have a sizeable and measurable impact on this issue. We could also investigate the provision of land for supportive and affordable housing providers.

4. What should the city do to slow down traffic in neighbourhoods?

Traffic calming is a high priority and great concern for the residents of Bay ward. Aggressive driving is largely borne out of frustration on the roads. Traffic management and calming are different things and improving management and design of traffic on the arterial roads in the ward could contribute to calming in residential areas, combined with awareness measures (flashing speed signs, flexible stakes and speed humps). Additionally, enforcement of posted speed limits and the introduction of photo radar in school zones will have a positive impact on slowing down traffic.

5. Where should the city extend LRT first after Stage 2? Kanata or Barrhaven?

Both Kanata and Barrhaven have valid arguments as to why their respective communities should be the first to get LRT after stage two. I would need to review data regarding transit usage, expected growth and cost before making a decision on this question. Ultimately, the city should always strive to ensure reliable access to public transit for all residents.

6. What should the city do to get more people using their green bins, beyond allowing plastic bags?

Increasing the diversion rate is important for effective waste management. This is not only a social consciousness issue but an issue of economics and sustainability as well. Increasing and encouraging the use of green boxes could be done through a multi-pronged strategy that could include comprehensive awareness and education programs, restriction of the number of bags per household as done in other Ontario municipalities, as well as the requirement to use clear bags which would help determine whether recyclable material is being thrown out with non-recyclable waste. We should also leverage the talents of our innovators out there and see whether creative, non–conventional strategies could be piloted and examined for effectiveness.

7. Should council support opening more supervised injection sites in Ottawa?

Research indicates that supervised injection sites prevent overdoses and reduce the spread of infectious diseases. These sites in combination with awareness programs, public health outreach and substance abuse programs would benefit the safety and health of the city and its residents. A thorough review and evaluation of this program would need to be done before determining whether more sites are warranted.

8. Should homeowners not connected to the city water and sewer network be forced to pay an additional fee for stormwater services, as council enacted this term?

Since amalgamation took place, stormwater management, like all services, has become a collective responsibility. While there is no ideal solution, introducing a new rate structure (which included a fee for those not connected to city water and sewer network) was what made sense to council at the time. Furthermore, my understanding is that all monies collected from rural residents who pay this fee, will be spent in those same rural areas.

9. Are you happy with the snow clearing operations for roads, sidewalks and paths? If not, what should be done to improve the winter maintenance program?

Snow clearing in my neighbourhood has been effective but would benefit from improvements. Year after year the snow clearing operation for roads, sidewalks and paths comes under fire for being underfunded and in some parts of the city relatively non-existent. This is unacceptable. Sidewalks and paths should be seeing the same level of attention and service as arterial roads. In older and unfinished neighbourhoods, effective and timely snow removal from roads, sidewalks and paths is essential to the safety of users of all modes of transportation.

10. Did council make the right decision to allow the Salvation Army to build a new shelter and social services complex in Vanier, replacing its facility in the ByWard Market?

The decision to move the Salvation Army was a difficult one indeed, impacting many residents. I understand there are substantial consideration factors that were weighed in coming to this decision and I trust this decision wasn’t made frivolously. I don’t know how many/if/what other sites were considered in this decision so whether it was “right” or “wrong” I cannot say.

11. Do you believe community design plans should be set in stone?

Community design plans are secondary plans that are embedded in design plans, the very plans city council rely and/or refer to in decision-making. The community design plans should never be flagrantly disregarded as was done with the Lebreton Flats project. The voices, viewpoints and needs of the community should never be rejected or dismissed in this manner. Many dedicated residents work long and hard on community design plans to ensure that the needs of the community will be met, in a responsible, affordable and sustainable manner. All plans must allow for change, unforeseen issues will be encountered no matter how well planned the project; therefore, setting a plan in stone is not something I think we could do. With that said, blatant and flagrant disregard for the ideas, viewpoints and opinions of the community on any matter, is wrong.

12. Should a women’s bureau be created for city hall? Why or why not?

I am in support of a woman’s bureau. Less than 20 per cent of current city councillors are women, and there is a need to review city plans and policies through the lens of women as city experiences can be vastly different depending on gender. The motion to establish the women’s bureau was passed unanimously and rightly so. It is my hope this election increases the number of women’s voices around the city council table for the term to come.

13. What’s been the greatest success of the current council over the past four years?

The advancement of the LRT, albeit fraught with delays and controversial expenditure issues is the greatest success of the current council. As we move into phase two, I think a greater degree of transparency, communications, risk assessment and mitigation strategies need to be employed to ensure we don’t encounter the same costly and delay-inducing stumbling blocks.

14. What’s been its greatest failure?

The greatest failure of the current council was the lack of engagement and communication with city residents on the key issues that most profoundly impact their lives. LRT, budgetary processes and tax rate setting, large scale developments and declines in core services are not being broadly discussed and communicated. In extreme cases the feedback and input from residents has been flat out disregarded if sought at all. It is truly a failure when we choose not to hear from or communicate with the citizens that we have been elected to represent.

YOUR WARD

1. What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?

Traffic calming and responsible development are two important priorities for Bay ward.

I have spoken to and heard from many residents of Bay ward. Far and away, traffic calming/management and irresponsible development and infill are on the top of the list of concerns. There have been instances of excessive speeding and reckless driving cited in Carlingwood, Woodpark, Glabar Park, Crystal Beach, Queensway Terrace North and many other areas. We need to ensure safe and healthy communities for all. Improving road safety can be done through responsible and effective planning and design of roads and the traffic system, as well, through temporary traffic calming and enforcement measures.

Bay ward will face tremendous change in the next four years and I feel responsible development and transparent council decision-making, in this regard, is a must. There is a need for open communications, meaningful engagement and transparency on development projects. Residents should have opportunities to participate in meaningful consultations on the types of residential and commercial developments that will directly impact their day to day lives.

2. What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?

I wish council had been more transparent and communicative on development projects impacting Bay ward and the city. For example, the Smart Living project at 975 Woodroffe Ave. The residents were led to believe this was an infill of eight townhouses and later discovered a student residence was being erected, aimed at accommodating 100 individuals. The city should have been aware of the builders intent and intervened when it was discovered that the plans did not match the construction.

Residents want to be aware and consulted on events that will impact their day to day lives. Council should be doing a better job to communicate, consult, maintain transparency and restore public trust.

3. Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?

Yes, I live in the Woodpark neighbourhood of Bay ward.

ABOUT YOU

1. If the election were held tomorrow, which mayoral candidate would get your vote?

I will be attending several mayoral candidate debates and have not yet made a decision.

2. Are you, or have you been, a member of any political party?

I am not now nor have I ever been a member of any political party.

3. Have you ever donated to a political campaign? If so, to whom?

I have not ever donated to a political campaign save for my own.

4. How often do you use OC Transpo services?

On average, I use OC Transpo services a couple times a month.

5. Do you own a bicycle? If so, how often do you use it and for what purpose?

I recently sold my road bike in preparation for an upgrade. I typically use my bike for fitness, training and recreation.

Don Dransfield

Don Dransfield, Bay ward candidate.

CITY ISSUES

1. Taxes. Are they too high? Just about as high as they should be? Not high enough for the city we wish we had?

I am fiscally responsible and socially progressive. I believe that by ensuring money is spent wisely we will have more money for priorities like housing, child care, poverty reduction, recreational infrastructure and transit. I believe the current two per cent range for tax increases is reasonable. I would oppose any increase that is higher than the current inflation rate.

2. Given the option, should the city allow private pot stores? If so, in what way should the city restrict where stores can operate?

The city should be able to approve all locations, ensure that they are not near schools or playgrounds or other areas frequented by children, and that the shops keep all product safely behind lock and key as would a pharmacy and that the street presence be subtle and minimal. Smoking and loitering laws should be strictly enforced.

3. There are more than 10,000 people on the waitlist for affordable housing. The city has a 10-year homelessness plan with a lofty goal of ending chronic homelessness. Is this plan enough? Should the city be doing more? If so, what actions should the city take?

I believe in the Housing First model, and I think housing should be integrated into new development projects so that it is not isolated into communities where residents face stigma and social problems are multiplied. I like the Nepean Housing model where it is a mix of market rent and subsidized housing, and I would also like to see the city do more work with non-profits like multi-faith housing. I also support more accessible and low barrier housing options, as well as transitional housing. I also believe the city is in need of more affordable rental accommodation, particularly for those living with disabilities – under ODSP it is almost impossible to meet the minimum income requirements for even a one bedroom apartment. I also support more affordable seniors housing close to health centres and other services, such as the new housing being built above the Carlington community health centre. I believe there should be more programs to help people to avoid homelessness and stay in their homes once they are housed, to avoid the traumatic impact of losing a home and starting over again, especially when children are involved. I do not support housing families in motel rooms for extended periods.

4. What should the city do to slow down traffic in neighbourhoods?

I would support traffic calming measures in residential neighbourhoods. I also support enhancements to public transit, cycling and pedestrian pathways that will reduce the number of people using cars and therefore reduce congestion.

5. Where should the city extend LRT first after Stage 2? Kanata or Barrhaven?

Kanata.

6. What should the city do to get more people using their green bins, beyond allowing plastic bags?

I am a strong proponent of recycling and proper waste management, not just by residents but also by businesses. I support public awareness and public education campaigns to encourage more residents and businesses to recycle. I support innovations that would make more products recyclable in the waste stream. I also believe that we should not increase the amount of available landfill space, so that there will be incentives to recycle more than the required minimum 12 per cent of total landfill-destined waste.

7. Should council support opening more supervised injection sites in Ottawa?

Yes.

8. Should homeowners not connected to the city water and sewer network be forced to pay an additional fee for stormwater services, as council enacted this term?

No.

9. Are you happy with the snow clearing operations for roads, sidewalks and paths? If not, what should be done to improve the winter maintenance program?

No, we can and should do better. Many residential streets are left too narrow for more than one car to pass. Some have no sidewalks, making it unsafe for children to walk to school or for elderly and mobility challenged people to be able to navigate. I also believe that the city should ensure that the amount of snow left at the ends of residential driveways when plowing the street should not exceed the height of an average snow blower. When considering the cost of snow removal, it is important to also consider the cost to society and to businesses. If residents have to spend hours digging out the end of their driveways, it leads to lost productivity for businesses, and possibly higher health care costs as extreme exertion can lead to heart attack, stroke and injury. I would explore contingency funds that would allow money saved during years with light snowfall to be used when there is higher than average snow. I also believe that the City should investigate the possibility of purchasing attachments to snowplows that would allow them to lower a diverter blade when passing by driveways as is done in Alaska.

10. Did council make the right decision to allow the Salvation Army to build a new shelter and social services complex in Vanier, replacing its facility in the ByWard Market?

Yes.

11. Do you believe community design plans should be set in stone?

I believe that unless there is a significant change that warrants revisiting a plan, they should be adhered to.

12. Should a women’s bureau be created for city hall? Why or why not?

I support a women’s bureau that would perform a coordinating and challenge function for other departments, including collecting data and providing expertise regarding Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+). I believe that it is not enough to have a single bureau, but that an intersectional gender lens must be cross-cutting through all city policies, programs and departments and that all city staff be trained in GBA+ within the first six months of their employment with the city.

13. What’s been the greatest success of the current council over the past four years?

The greatest accomplishment was securing the funding for LRT stage two from the federal and provincial governments, especially ensuring that it continues on to Moodie drive and does not end at Bayshore mall.

14. What’s been its greatest failure?

The biggest failure was not being able to prevent the province from approving the construction of an unnecessary new mega-dump in the city’s east end, 15 minutes from downtown along the 417, right beside the location of the new Amazon fulfilment centre.

YOUR WARD

1. What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?

I will set my priorities based on listening to the residents. However, there are some immediate issues that need to be addressed. These include: 1) Opportunities for children and youth, including safe recreation, early learning and childcare and opportunities for young people to develop skills and networks to find jobs; and 2) Development of community hubs like Lincoln Fields, Carlingwood and Ron Kolbus Centre in an integrated way that involves the community.

2. What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?

I would like to have seen a policy preventing the re-sale of development properties without community consultation. Specifically, the Woodroffe/417 development accessed through Benjamin avenue at Fairlawn avenue which should never have gone ahead the way it is.

3. Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?

Yes, I live in Belltown in Bay ward.

ABOUT YOU

1. If the election were held tomorrow, which mayoral candidate would get your vote?

Jim Watson.

2. Are you, or have you been, a member of any political party?

Yes (Liberal Party).

3. Have you ever donated to a political campaign? If so, to whom?

Yes, I have donated to many candidates over the years. Most recently to my wife, Anita Vandenbeld’s 2015 election campaign. I have also donated to the provincial and federal Liberal parties.

4. How often do you use OC Transpo services?

I use OC Transpo occasionally for recreational activities downtown.

5. Do you own a bicycle? If so, how often do you use it and for what purpose?

Yes, I love my bicycle and use it often for recreation and exercise.

Theresa Kavanagh

Theresa Kavanagh, Bay ward candidate.

CITY ISSUES

1. Taxes. Are they too high? Just about as high as they should be? Not high enough for the city we wish we had?

Taxes are levied to pay for services, and the rate depends on the services people want the city to provide and are willing to pay for. The current council policy of a two per cent tax cap has led to gaps in service such as inadequate winter snowplowing, and unmet needs like warranted signalized intersections not being installed. I believe in engaging residents in the budget discussion on what services the city should provide and how to pay for them, rather than setting an artificial tax target.

All tax dollars have to be accountable. Currently it is clear that not enough funds are being put aside for valuable community services and infrastructure such as traffic calming and other safety measures. I want to work with council to make safe communities a priority, including crossing guards and traffic lights. We should not treat measures that save lives as something to be put off.

2. Given the option, should the city allow private pot stores? If so, in what way should the city restrict where stores can operate?

The city should control the locations of cannabis retail stores through zoning restrictions on where the stores cannot be located. The city then will need its bylaw officers to enforce the zoning. In particular, I support prohibiting cannabis retail stores from being located near elementary and secondary schools as well as parks, sports and recreation facilities where children congregate.

3. There are more than 10,000 people on the waitlist for affordable housing. The city has a 10-year homelessness plan with a lofty goal of ending chronic homelessness. Is this plan enough? Should the city be doing more? If so, what actions should the city take?

The Home for Everyone 10-year plan is an ambitious integrated plan to address housing affordability and homelessness. The pace of construction of new units however has not caught up to the demands of a growing city. All levels of government as well as private developers have a role they could, and should, play.

One possible solution to address the shortage of affordable housing is to use the inclusionary zoning powers to obtain long term, deeply affordable housing from all new developments. As well, rental replacement bylaws for redevelopment projects would prevent the loss of affordable market rental units – in such a scenario, residents of Heron Gate would be able to remain in their community as an example.

Enforcement mechanisms at the municipal level should also be improved with respect to negligent landlords that allow their properties to deteriorate into disrepair. Toronto’s Landlord Licensing – with a registry of landlords and regular city inspections of properties – should be considered.

4. What should the city do to slow down traffic in neighbourhoods?

Speeding traffic on residential streets is the most common issue I hear when I go door-to-door and which I am very familiar with as a school board trustee. I support neighbourhood initiatives to implement traffic-calming measures on residential streets.

This will involve increasing the city’s budget for traffic-calming and other safety measures. Currently the demand by neighbourhoods well outpaces the existing capacity of the city’s program to implement safety or other traffic measures.

5. Where should the city extend LRT first after Stage 2? Kanata or Barrhaven?

I support extending LRT to both communities. The order should depend on which community would provide the highest transit ridership.

6. What should the city do to get more people using their green bins, beyond allowing plastic bags?

There is no evidence that allowing plastics will encourage more people to compost. The city’s new rules will produce a new stream of unnecessary plastic waste and we should work toward a reduction of single use plastic bags.

We will need to improve our promotion and education efforts to encourage recycling, green bin usage and waste prevention. As well, we should look at other municipalities with higher diversion rates so we can improve on our current 44 per cent waste recycling rate.

7. Should council support opening more supervised injection sites in Ottawa?

The evidence from public health specialists like Dr. Jeff Turnbull of Ottawa’s Inner City Health indicate supervised safe injection sites are effective harm reduction strategies. However, they must operate within an integrated program of mental health supports, addiction treatment options, other harm reduction strategies, and housing strategies to be even more effective at combatting drug addiction. Council should examine additional supervised injection sites based on evidence provided by public health specialists.

8. Should homeowners not connected to the city water and sewer network be forced to pay an additional fee for stormwater services, as council enacted this term?

I think a modest contribution to the maintenance of the city’s sanitary and storm water system is warranted as we all benefit from a clean environment. Our climate is changing, we can expect more severe weather in the future, and so all areas of the city need good stormwater infrastructure.

9. Are you happy with the snow clearing operations for roads, sidewalks and paths? If not, what should be done to improve the winter maintenance program?

No I am not. If we want to encourage people to use public transit then we have to ensure that our paths and sidewalks are walkable during winter. I would support increasing this budget.

10. Did council make the right decision to allow the Salvation Army to build a new shelter and social services complex in Vanier, replacing its facility in the ByWard Market?

I do not support city council’s decision regarding the location of the Salvation Army shelter in Vanier. I believe the scale of this project is too large for this community.

11. Do you believe community design plans should be set in stone?

I think city council should respect community design plans as part of the development approval process. I believe secondary plans should be set in stone, which regrettably was not the case in the 65-storey tower proposal at 900 Albert St., where council unilaterally amended the secondary plan that the community developed and council had approved for that site.

12. Should a women’s bureau be created for city hall? Why or why not?

Yes I support the creation of a women’s bureau. Women make up just over 50 per cent of the population of the city, and it is important that not only our workforce reflect this demographic fact, but also the city’s programs and policies reflect this reality as well.

13. What’s been the greatest success of the current council over the past four years?

City council’s single greatest achievement was getting Light Rail Transit phase one constructed. It is Ottawa’s largest and most transformative infrastructure project. It will not only improve our rapid transit system but will also open up opportunities for re-development to support public transit.

14. What’s been its greatest failure?

City council’s biggest failure lies with its treatment of planning issues, such as the 65-storey complex at 900 Albert St. Too often community values and community plans, which council is supposed to defend, were abandoned in the face of developer demands. As a result, public confidence in council’s treatment of planning applications has been badly eroded.

YOUR WARD

1. What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?

LRT stage two will have a tremendous impact on Bay ward, affecting the communities of Woodpark, Whitehaven, Queensway Terrace North, Bayshore and Crystal Beach-Lakeview. Residents want to see that the impact of LRT stage two on our greenspace corridors is minimized, particularly in the Pinecrest Creek corridor. They want to see good pedestrian and cyclist access to the LRT stations for transit users. As well, as redevelopment opportunities occur along the LRT route (for example at Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre), a portion of the new housing must be affordable to working families and seniors.

Bay ward has the highest concentration of seniors in Ottawa. They are concerned about the availability of supports that will help them continue to live independently — even transit changes can impact their quality of life. Just one example: the recently implemented No. 11 bus route change will be problematic for the mobility of area seniors.

Bay ward has aging recreational infrastructure that needs to be addressed — wading pools, fieldhouses and park facilities such as the Ron Kolbus-Lakeside Centre in Britannia Park are just some areas where we need to develop a priority list and begin updating and modernizing these facilities.

2. What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?

The Azure condo tower application for the corner of Woodroffe and Richmond Road comes to mind. Here the community developed a community design plan that recognized that the LRT was coming, and set height limits for redevelopment at 6 to 8 storeys. The original Azure developer succeeded in convincing council to change this to 14 storeys, despite community opposition. The property then changed hands, and the new developer went back to council for a 19-storey tower, which council granted. This is wholly out-of-scale for this community.

4. Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?

Yes I have lived in Bay Ward for over twenty years.

ABOUT YOU

1. If the election were held tomorrow, which mayoral candidate would get your vote?

The mayor is the leader on council and good leaders work to build bridges, listen to concerns of others, and value all councillors as the elected representatives of their constituents. I’ll vote for the candidate best able to bring council members together.

2. Are you, or have you been, a member of any political party?

Yes.

3. Have you ever donated to a political campaign? If so, to whom?

I have contributed to campaigns of many different candidates over the years at various levels of government.

4. How often do you use OC Transpo services?

I mainly commute to work by bicycle. On average I ride the bus about once a month.

5. Do you own a bicycle? If so, how often do you use it and for what purpose?

Yes, I use my bike almost every day to commute to work, except in extreme weather, and cycle in my community.

Marc Lugert

Marc Lugert, candidate for Ward 7 – Bay

CITY ISSUES

1. Taxes. Are they too high? Just about as high as they should be?

Not high enough for the city we wish we had? Before considering any tax increases, the city needs to look at reducing financial waste and thereby freeing money to provide its services

2. Given the option, should the city allow private pot stores? If so, in what way should the city restrict where stores can operate?

It needs to be up to the individual neighbourhoods to decide if they want a private- or government-operated pot store in their vicinity. The city can regulate opening hours, limit smoking of pot near the shop;
vicinity of schools or other social establishments, etc

3. There are more than 10,000 people on the waitlist for affordable housing. The city has a 10-year homelessness plan with a lofty goal of ending chronic homelessness. Is this plan enough? Should the city be doing more? If so what actions should the city take?

The city’s goal to eliminate chronic homelessness is an ambitious goal, but attainable. It is important to note that the city alone cannot attain it, but that in cooperation with private organizations, the goal is not only attainable, but can also be exceeded. Adding the additional cost of ending homelessness to already high taxes and levies in the city will not help the cause, but increase the problem, with neighbours not being able to afford their property or rent anymore.

4. What should the city do to slow down traffic in neighbourhoods?

With more residents moving into neighbourhoods, the traffic woes will increase. Congested main arteries during rush hour is forcing motorists to use shortcuts through the neighbourhoods, thereby endangering our
residents and increasing the traffic problem. Signs alone ( lower speed limit etc) will not slow down traffic in our neighbourhoods. A redesign of main arteries and intersections will allow traffic to flow at a steady pace, but reduce traffic speed. Adding obstacles to “cut-through routes” in neighbourhoods not only reduces speed, but will also reduce traffic.

5. Where should the city extend LRT first after Stage 2? Kanata or Barrhaven?

From a Bay ward perspective, LRT stage two will increase traffic in the west end of our ward. Motorists will park their car either close to Moddie or Bayshore stations and take the LRT downtown. Traffic and parking issues will affect the neighbourhoods. To mitigate the issue Bay ward prefers to extend the LRT to Kanata first, as commuters from the west of the city can take the LRT directly without having to drive first to Moddie or Bayshore.

6. What should the city do to get more people using their green bins, beyond allowing plastic bags?

Collecting organic waste and returning it via compost back into the environment reduces between 30-40 per cent of household garbage. Aside from educating the public and outlining the advantages of the green bin, the city also needs to reflect on the contract it signed with Orgaworld and the amounts of organic waste the city is bound to provide.

Neighbours need to have the right to compost their own organic materials in areas, where it is feasible, and thereby free to opt out of the green bin program. This is especially true for rural areas of the city.

7. Should council support opening more supervised injection sites in Ottawa?

The issue of drug consumption is not going away and will most likely increase. Safe injection sites are one step to offer a safer environment for people in need.

Neighbourhoods however have to have a say where additional sites will be set up!

8. Should homeowners not connected to the city water and sewer network be forced to pay an additional fee for stormwater services, as council enacted this term?

Homeowners not on city water or sewer system should not be asked to pay for stormwater services within the urban core of the city.

9. Are you happy with the snow clearing operations for roads, sidewalks and paths? If not, what should be done to improve the winter maintenance program?

The fact is, we are a city with lots of snow in winter. The city’s budget for removal is generally too low. Many residents scramble to leave their driveway in winter for necessary appointments as snow clearing has not been done in time on their particular street or neighbourhood. This is especially true for neighbours who are dependent on their car.

By budgeting realistically for snow removal, the city will have the funds ready, when winter hits.

10. Did council make the right decision to allow the Salvation Army to build a new shelter and social services complex in Vanier, replacing its facility in the ByWard Market?

Social services have to be where the clients are. The clients that use such services are not only in the ByWard Market area or Vanier, but need for these services is all over the city. As such, services need to be offered in smaller units also in other parts of the city. Moving a centralized institutions from downtown to Vanier does not solve the problem, but moves it and increases it in another neighbourhood.

11. Do you believe community design plans should be set in stone?

Absolutely! The neighbourhoods have the right to say what neighbourhood they want to live in and how they envision their neighbourhood in the years to come. What good is the exercise to create CDPs when at any given time city planners can overthrow it to appeal to higher development plans, that do not take the wishes of the neighbourhood into account. After a set time a CDP should be looked at and potentially adjusted to accommodate new ideas and visions.

12. Should a women’s bureau be created for city hall? Why or why not?

The candidate did not answer.

13. What’s been the greatest success of the current council over the past four years?

The candidate did not answer.

14. What’s been its greatest failure?

The candidate did not answer.

YOUR WARD

1. What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?

Bay ward has many issues that have not been addressed in the past years. The LRT which will run through our ward; major construction projects (e.g. Lincoln Fields redevelopment); increased traffic woes; all impacting the quality of life of our neighbours.

2. What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?

The way council is consulting with the neighbours on major issues. Council decided not to inform instead of consult on LRT. Council did not take into consideration the wishes and ideas of neighbours.

3. Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?

I’m a long time resident of the ward; a former community association chair and neighbourhood volunteer.

ABOUT YOU

1. If the election were held tomorrow, which mayoral candidate would get your vote?

The candidate did not answer.

2. Are you, or have you been, a member of any political party?

The candidate did not answer.

3. Have you ever donated to a political campaign? If so, to whom?

The candidate did not answer.

4. How often do you use OC Transpo services?

Several times a week.

5. Do you own a bicycle? If so, how often do you use it and for what purpose?

Yes. Riding it to work.

Trevor Robinson

Trevor Robinson, Bay ward candidate.

CITY ISSUES

1. Taxes. Are they too high? Just about as high as they should be? Not high enough for the city we wish we had?

In a perfect world where money and resources were no object, many tax payers would likely to be more accepting of a higher tax rate, if it brought them better services and a city we could “wish we had.”

That being said, elected officials must be respectful of the trust instilled in them by those they represent. Accordingly, it is prudent to ensure that tax payers get as much “value” from their tax dollars as possible.

Ideally, tax increases should be no higher than the level of inflation, give or take. A balance is needed between maintaining service levels and holding the line on taxes.

2. Given the option, should the city allow private pot stores? If so, in what way should the city restrict where stores can operate?

As the city will see the majority of the costs related to enforcement, I believe it only makes sense that they should have “a seat at the table” regarding regulations and acceptable locations. Logically, locations to avoid would be near the vulnerable, for example, near schools.

3. There are more than 10,000 people on the waitlist for affordable housing. The city has a 10-year homelessness plan with a lofty goal of ending chronic homelessness. Is this plan enough? Should the city be doing more? If so, what actions should the city take?

In a perfect world where money and resources were no object, there would be little to no waitlist.

As is the case in any aspect of city and social services, there is always room for improvement, however, there are always a number of areas competing for the same limited funding that is available.

4. What should the city do to slow down traffic in neighbourhoods?

The obvious three pronged approach to reducing speeding is in relation to education, enforcement and traffic calming measures.

With respect to education, for years, the idea of opening a replacement to the former Ottawa Safety Village (which was actually located right here in Bay ward) has often been talked about. While this would not solely be specific to educating against speeding, in overall road safety education, it would be an important component.

5. Where should the city extend LRT first after Stage 2? Kanata or Barrhaven?

Extending to Kanata would likely result in a greater reduction of through traffic in Bay ward. However, such a decision should be less politically based and instead based upon where the greater projected ridership would be.

6. What should the city do to get more people using their green bins, beyond allowing plastic bags?

Encouraging the use of green bins is all well and good, however, households that are avid users of composters are still unlikely to fully switch over to a green bin.

Many households do not want to use the bins due to odours, animals accessing the bins, etc., etc., etc.

One option the city could look at to increase the volume of green bin waste would be to target and make it easier for larger locations to implement “green bin programs.” Larger locations being apartment & condo buildings, restaurants, hotels, event venues and other businesses, for example.

7. Should council support opening more supervised injection sites in Ottawa?

Through Ottawa Public Health, council should certainly make prudent and proactive healthcare measures available and easily accessible to residents.

8. Should homeowners not connected to the city water and sewer network be forced to pay an additional fee for stormwater services, as council enacted this term?

Typically speaking, no resident is ever in favour of a “new tax.” At the same token, few are in favour of services being cut and their property getting flooded as a direct result. I believe that the city as a whole needs to properly and proactively maintain infrastructure, accordingly, the funding to do so needs to come from somewhere.

That being said, the city rolling out a blanket “new tax” and then word coming out about large increases down the road, may not have been the best approach. Although a bit more challenging logistically, perhaps the “new tax” would have been better received by residents if it was phased in in stages, potentially starting with new construction and/or changes in ownership.

9. Are you happy with the snow clearing operations for roads, sidewalks and paths? If not, what should be done to improve the winter maintenance program?

While we have a hard working team, we also have been seeing budget shortfalls for a number of years and many residents feeling like the service is declining. Those with mobility challenges especially are greatly impacted by a lack of clearing operations and/or operations that are delayed.

A prudent budgetary measure would be to take a look at deficits in previous years and build that difference into the following budgets, perhaps even with a contingency. That contingency portion, along with any other surplus, would be best served being placed into a reserve fund.

Not simply limited to snow clearing operations, but a quote that is well suited is: “Hope for the best, plan for the worst.”

10. Did council make the right decision to allow the Salvation Army to build a new shelter and social services complex in Vanier, replacing its facility in the ByWard Market?

While there is a need for a better complex to provide greater services, the location of which is certainly a matter of perspective.

Hindsight is 20/20. The true test of any decision by any political body is best judged not by those it currently serves, but by the generations that follow.

11. Do you believe community design plans should be set in stone?

I believe that community design plans (CDP) are a very important resource and as such, should be respected. Individual councillors are elected to serve in the best interests of the residents of their ward.

That being said, a CDP is a tool and the “right tool for the job” does change with the project at hand.

In very general terms, a CDP should be a prime factor for a locally impacting development, such as an infill property for example. However, things can be a bit different when looking at very large scale “city changing” projects, such as LeBreton Flats for example – which will effectively create it’s own community. As the impact will be felt well beyond that individual community, it will be felt across the city and as such, a broader approach should be explored, with an open and respectful mind.

12. Should a women’s bureau be created for city hall? Why or why not?

I would certainly support exploring it in more depth and look forward, in the new term of council, to see the research that city staff have completed since the spring.

13. What’s been the greatest success of the current council over the past four years?

Council’s greatest accomplishment would certainly vary based on perspective, with LRT & the CSST being at the top of many lists.

However, the true test of the successes or failures of any politician or political body are not judged by the people they currently serve, but more accurately by the generations that follow. Take the Civic Hospital and our streetcar & LRT systems as examples:

• The Civic Hospital was often referred to as “Fisher’s Folly,” however, now few give the location a second thought. There were countless arguments made for locating the proposed “new Civic” relatively close to the existing one.
• Streetcars were shuttered in the 1950’s in Ottawa in favour of bus transit. With LRT, we now see a transition from bus back towards rail, with some of the new rail being laid within meters of where the old streetcars’ rails ran.

14. What’s been its greatest failure?

While I am not necessarily sure it should be labelled as a failure, one area where I think many would say there is room for improvement, is with respect to staffing and funding for our first responders.

Ottawa is unique, it is one of Canada’s largest cities by population & area and as such, presents unique logistically challenges. Some of Ottawa’s individual wards are larger in area than some Canadian cities.

The current “City of Ottawa,” as a formal entity (since amalgamation) is itself fairly young; younger than most voters voting in this fall’s election. As such, best practices are constantly evolving and there is always room for improvement.

There are always discussions regarding paramedic response times and resources being “pulled in” from nearby jurisdictions. There are also discussions with regards to response times by the fire service, station locations and having enough resources available. And last but not least, policing (OPS) is certainly a hot topic, not simply due to the recent increase felt in gun violence.

It is not a new concept that OPS is understaffed , we need to at least maintain staffing levels in order to account for attrition.

Prior to amalgamation, the former City of Ottawa saw approx. 184 officers/100,000 residents (former Cities of Ottawa, Nepean & Gloucester averaged at 159/100,000 – Nepean was the lowest at approx. 118/100,000). Compare that to the approx. 144/100,000 in 2012 & 145/100,000 in 2016 . While parts of Bay ward have seen an increase in police presence, some have seen a decrease.

YOUR WARD

1. What are the two most important issues in your ward? Why?

Bay ward is one of Ottawa’s largest urban wards and as such, important issues will vary based on which part of the ward you’re exploring. There are general issues that impact the ward (as is the case in many areas of the city), such as crime, transit, taxes, waste diversion, etc.. However, any successful councillor should not only look at the big issues, but also look at the issues in specific neighbourhoods for example. To limit to only two would be a disservice.

Flooding prevention is important in areas along the Ottawa River, such as Britannia & Crystal Bay/Grandview Road.

Traffic calming is important in many areas, but most recently it has been a hotter topic in the area around Woodroffe Avenue Public School.

Future development potential is a concern in areas around Carlingwood & Lincoln Fields Shopping Centres, for example.

Transit reductions is a concern in the Bayshore area, notably with the recent changes to Route 11.

Transit expansion is a topic of discussion, especially in areas that will be directly impacted by future LRT construction, such as McKellar Park, Queensway Terrace North, Woodpark, Whitehaven-Queensway Terrace North, etc., etc., etc.

Parking and vehicular access in and around Britannia Village/Britannia Beach is another important issue, especially with there only being one road access to the village, especially in the event of an emergency.

2. What ward-specific decision do you wish council had dealt with better?

Everyone is bound to have a different perspective, as well as a different opinion and we all know hindsight is 20/20.

Not specifically council, but infrastructure maintenance & upgrades is sometimes lacking and that is not a ward specific issue. Often we see preventative maintenance being pushed back for budget savings and then preventative measures turn into reactive measures, or partial ones. A recent Bay ward example is the construction of a partial `complete street` along eastbound Richmond Road, roughly between Carling Avenue and the bridge over the Sir John A. MacDonald Parkway. Though it was beneficial that the eastbound bike lane was grade separated, the roadway itself was not repaired around the same time and therefore those same safety issues (roadways that are riddled with pot holes (for example)) are still present, especially in the Westbound direction.

A few other topics of discussion include flood prevention/mitigation, rejuvenation of the Britannia Beach/Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre area and the fact that Britannia Village only has one road access (which has often been blocked during emergencies, creating a hazard in the event of an emergency beyond that access point, at the water filtration plant or yacht club, for example.)

Beyond that, LRT stage two is certainly a topic of discussion, not just in Bay ward. In a perfect world where money & resources were no object, the obvious change would be to complete all transit expansion as quickly as possible, not just east/west/south, but beyond the existing end points for stage two.

Wishful thinking aside, four major aspects that would have been “nice to have” in stage two would be:

• Complete the Western portion of stage two first
• Remove the Pinecrest Flyway & instead align along existing transitway + 417 West (perhaps even underground to avoid potential expropriations)
• Explore the feasibility of some form of a Park & Ride facility at Lincoln Fields
• Push further West, at least to the Eagleson Park & Ride (as this would more likely reduce traffic travelling through Bay ward)

3. Do you live in the ward in which you’re running? If not, what’s your interest in the area?

Yes, other than the first six weeks spent in hospital, I have happily lived in Bay ward my entire life.

ABOUT YOU

1. If the election were held tomorrow, which mayoral candidate would get your vote?

To be totally honest, I have not yet decided. That being said, issues/personalities/experiences aside, Jim Watson is a well known fellow Bay ward resident.

2. Are you, or have you been, a member of any political party?

No, I do not hold an affiliation with any political party. That being said, with my experience in the special events industry, I have been involved in events related to various political parties.

A question that I have been asked a number of times is whether or not I have a close friend or family member potentially running in the 2019 Federal Election and in turn if I would be spending time helping them with their campaign. I do not have any close friends nor family who have identified that they are running, nor were there any that ran in the 2015 Federal Election, or who sought a party nomination to run in that election.

3. Have you ever donated to a political campaign? If so, to whom?

I contributed to my own campaign during the last municipal election and I am honoured to be the only returning council candidate here in Bay ward.

4. How often do you use OC Transpo services?

It has been a number of years since I have taken OC Transpo. The primary reason for this being that for a number of years I have worked outside their service hours (at one or both points of a shift) and/or service area.

5. Do you own a bicycle? If so, how often do you use it and for what purpose?

I have owned various bicycles since I was a child, however, my current bicycle is in need of repairs and has not been used in a number of years.

At least two-thirds of Ottawa’s pot shops are in the process of shutting down this week in advance of the Wednesday’s historic launch of legal recreational marijuana sales in Canada.

According to a count by this newspaper, 18 of 24 pot shops across the city are either closed or have pledged to close by Tuesday evening, hours before a legislated deadline imposed by the provincial government.

The lone decided holdout was the Ottawa Compassion Clinic at 487 Rideau St., which pledged to stay open past Wednesday. “We’re taking a wait-and-see approach,” said a staffer.

Capital Buds on Churchill Avenue will close on Oct. 16, say staff. It only opened two months ago. 

Ironically, it took legalization to bring about what a pattern of police raids could not.

In announcing a start with online sales only, the new Progressive Conservative government in Ontario made it clear that illegal retailers who stayed open beyond Oct. 17 would not only be liable to raids and hefty fines but would be disqualified from becoming licensed providers when the bricks-and-mortar retail sector opens in April 2019.

Several shops were humming with customers Monday, where news of the demise was treated with a mixture of sadness and humour.

“It is with heavy hearts we tell you after 3 years in Ottawa and just days before “legalization” our landlord has decided to evict Weeds from this location,” read a sign posted at the Weeds location at 77 Montreal Rd.

In the true spirit of retailing — where bad news is merely an opportunity — a shop called 613 Medicinals at 274 Montreal Road was having a “liquidation sale,” with $2 off “premium” strains of marijuana.

Cannabis.

At Lifeline Medicinals at 505 Rideau St., a sale was on, with product moving for $10 a gram. “Pot is just like tomatoes,” said one of four clerks. “You can’t keep it on the shelf too long.”

At Cannada’s Culture on Baseline Road, the store was jammed with customers, one day before it will officially close at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, according to a staffer who identifies herself as Tinkerbell.

Will they apply for a licence to operate a legal store?

“Oh we already have,” said Tinkerbell, apparently unaware that the applications for licences aren’t out yet because the regulations still have to be developed.

The confusion over the details of Canada’s legal weed rules extended to some of the dozen customers in the waiting room at mid-day. They were given a ticket with a number on it to wait their turn to be allowed into the “bud room” with the products.

Branzon Paul, 26, said he didn’t realize the government would be operating a legal pot store online starting Wednesday.

“Oh, no way! That is wicked!” He knew legalization was coming, but had not grasped the details. “It’s legal, it’s illegal, up, down, changing all the time. Who can keep track?”

The dispensaries are convenient, Paul said. “If your buddy doesn’t have any weed, you can just run to the store.”

Customer Tyler  Thompson said he was saddened by the closure. “I come here a lot. It’s like a family vibe.” 

He’s unsure about buying his weed from the government-approved store. “Maybe not. They are kind of stealing from the people.”

Weeds at 77 Montreal Rd. was closed Monday evening Oct. 15, 2018, with a sign directing customers to its Bank Street location. Shaamini Yogaretnam/Postmedia Network

Thompson said he would probably buy from an illegal online shop — the staff at Cannada’s Culture was handing out business cards for one called  bcweednow.ca.  “It’s next-day delivery,” said Thompson approvingly.

Lines were steady at The Hemp Shop on Clarence Street at the corner of Cumberland Avenue. A budtender said the shop would be closing at the end of the day Tuesday with the hopes of reopening under the legal retail regime in April.

As a “loss leader” — though no one actually called it that — the shop was offering a free joint to everyone who signed up to an email list, with an eye to providing a delivery and mail-order service soon.

The legislation that goes into effect on Wednesday carries a lot of punch. Landowners are liable for stiff fines for renting to pot shops and the police have the power to close any store where weed is being sold illegally.

With files from Kelly Egan, Shaamini Yogaretnam and Drake Fenton

READ MORE: How to buy pot in Ontario: A consumer’s guide to purchasing and using legal cannabis

The weed at Ontario’s online government store starts at $7.50 a gram.

Ontario began the era of legal recreational weed Wednesday with a web store that offered more than 80 cannabis products from a wide variety of Canadian cannabis producers.

And the lowest prices at the Ontario Cannabis Store are competitive with the dealers and dispensaries that now supply Canada’s huge black market.

Statistics Canada estimates the price of illegal weed in Ontario averaged $7.34 a gram in the first six weeks of 2018. They came up with the estimate by crowd-sourcing and monitoring a website that tracks the price of illegal weed.

A customer inspects the different types of pot on display in Newfoundland.

The federal government has said a major goal of legalization is to take the marijuana trade out of the hands of criminals. Competitive pricing is key.

Prices at the Ontario Cannabis Store cover a wide range, though, topping out at $17.25 a gram. Most of the dried flower products are in the mid-range around $8 to $10.50 a gram.

The store will eventually carry around 150 strains.

It debuted with a selection of dried flower, pre-rolled joints, oils and capsules. The store has supply deals with 32 cannabis growers.

This is a screenshot of the Ontario Cannabis Store website, which sells dried flower for as low as $7.50 a gram.

A wide variety of brands were represented. The names may soon become familiar to cannabis shoppers: They include Solei, Liiv, San Rafael ’71, The Edison Cannabis Company, Cove, Aurora, High Tide, Woodstock, Fireside, AltaVie, Broken Coast, Royal High, Flowr, Canna Flower.

The products appear similar because of the plain packaging required by Health Canada. There are jars, boxes and envelopes in varied colours, all with health warnings and a universal THC symbol in a red stop sign.

Packages of cannabis.

Tweed Marijuana in Smiths Falls has several products for sale, including Highlands for $10.55 a gram.

A brand called LBS is apparently an abbreviation of Tweed’s Leafs by Snoop line from rapper Snoop Dogg.

The LBS box has the same gold leaf and strain name – Sunset – as the Leafs by Snoop that Tweed has sold to medical marijuana patients. The company had said it planned to sell Leafs by Snoop in the recreational market.

This is an image of the “LBS” brand, a strain called Sunset, for sale at the Ontario Cannabis Store. It’s apparently the abbreviated name for the “Leafs by Snoop” line from rapper Snoop Dogg sold by Tweed Marijuana in Smith Falls.

However, Health Canada has said the restrictions on advertising prohibit companies from naming pot after individuals or using lifestyle-type promotions. So it looks like Leafs by Snoop has become LBS.

Several cannabis oils from Gatineau’s Hexo Corp. are on sale at the store, including an oral spray rich in CBD, the chemical component of cannabis that has medicinal benefits, for $140.15.

Hexo also offers a THC-infused intimate oil called Fleur de Lune for $82.95. The terpenes, the components that give cannabis its smell, have been “muted to remove the aroma,” according to the description of the product.

Tweed staff explain the different types of pot to early customers.

The product listings on the store include THC and CBD content, plant type and terpene profile.

The store also has a small selection of vaporizers, grinders, trays, storage containers, tools, cleaning supplies and two types of pipes. No bongs. More accessories will be added later.

The website asks visitors to provide their date of birth and check a box confirming the information is correct.

Only Ontario residents can shop at the store.

It’s the same policy for online stores that opened in other provinces.

Newfoundland, by virtue of its east-coast time zone, kicked off legalization in Canada at midnight Newfoundland Daylight Time, or 10:30 p.m. Ottawa time, when both stores and online shopping opened for business.

The co-holders of first place in line – Nikki Rose and Ian Power – became the first people to legally buy pot in Canada at midnight. Bruce Linton (left), founder, CEO and Chairman of Canopy Growth, travels from Ottawa to St. Johns, Newfoundland on the eve of legalization of pot in Canada to sell the first gram of legal pot from his Tweed store in St. Johns at the stroke of midnight – long before it becomes legal in all the other provinces.

The Cannabis NL online store had a modest offering of 34 types of dried flower. Another 110 products, many of them pre-rolled joints, were billed as “coming soon.”

The lowest price for a gram of weed at the Newfoundland store was $7.99. Prices clustered in the $8-$9 range, with premium brands around $12.

The online store in P.E.I. debuted with around 45 varieties of dried flower, but many were sold in packages larger than one gram. The lowest one-gram on offer was $7.83. Only two types of oil were on sale.

On New Brunswick’s online site, the lowest price was $8.99 a gram.

In Ontario, people can only shop online until April, when privately-operated stores are expected to open.

jmiller@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JacquieAMiller

Executives from a multibillion-dollar cannabis company based in Smiths Falls flew by private jet into a St. John’s windstorm Tuesday, racing to get to their Newfoundland store in a bid to sell Canada’s first gram of legal weed.

Earlier in the day, at a media briefing across from Parliament Hill, bureaucrats from seven federal departments patiently answered questions about the thousands of rules and regulations that will govern the sale of cannabis.

And at a scrappy end of Merivale Road, an engaging young man in red running shoes sat in the waiting room of an illegal marijuana dispensary, chatting about the stigma that still surrounds the evil weed.

Recreational cannabis becomes legal in Canada on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018.

Three snapshots from the day before Canada ends nearly a century of pot prohibition.

They illustrate the tentacles of a policy that will change our economy, our laws and our society.

But this is Canada. The change will be orderly.

Marijuana is legal today, but it’s no free-for-all. And probably not that much fun.

Which is perhaps the point of a federal policy whose stated aim is to “strictly regulate” but not “normalize” marijuana, to make it safe but keep it away from Canadian teenagers, who are among the most avid pot smokers in the world. And to stop saddling people with a criminal record for possessing a small amount of the popular drug. And to drive criminals out of the trade.

And so Canada marches ahead as the first G7 country to make recreational marijuana legal.

Sample pot packaging: an odour-proof jar with a child-resistant lid and health warnings.

At 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Canadians were allowed to buy dried marijuana or oil produced by Health-Canada-regulated growers. It’s sold in plain packages with child-resistant containers. The fanciful strain names dreamed up by marketers — Fantasy Island, Free — are dwarfed by large health warnings and a THC symbol in a red stop sign.

A jumble of federal and provincial laws and regulations govern where and how you can buy pot, what amount is permissible to carry around in public and where you will be allowed to smoke it.

Some rules extend into your home, too. Quebec restricts how much marijuana people can keep at home, for example, and New Brunswick requires you to lock up the pot to keep it away from kids.

A strange new mind-altering world? Hardly. A sizable minority of Canadians already smoke pot. If legalization works, it will lure many of them away from dealers and dispensaries and into legal stores.

And as politicians like to repeat, legalization is a process, not an event. There will be lots of hiccups along the way.

Marijuana shortages, for instance, might make for skimpy shelves or sellouts in the first days, weeks or months.

Every province has an online cannabis shop. But only about 100 bricks-and-mortar outlets were expected to open across the country on Day 1. Expect lineups.

In most provinces, the stores will be run by government agencies. The four western provinces have licensed private stores. Folks in Alberta will be shopping on Wednesday at The Daily Blaze and Waldo’s 420 store.

Private stores are coming to Ontario, too, and lots of them, but not until next April. The new Progressive Conservative government turfed the former government’s plan for LCBO-style outlets. It will take a few months to rewrite the rules and issue licenses for private shops.

But it’s Day 1, and many Canadians are in the do-you-believe-it stage. In the words of 20-year-old Ottawa pot smoker Nicholas Stewart: “Honestly, I just find it kind of strange.

“I think it will be awhile before parents will see someone ripping on a bong and say to their kids, ‘Oh, that’s a legal activity.’ ”

The logistics of stores, prices and strains will be sorted out. The more difficult and unpredictable part of legalization will be what happens on the street and between neighbours and friends.

Will more people start smoking pot or ramp up their use? Will it become as socially acceptable as having a glass of wine with dinner? Will teenagers find it easier, or harder, to score weed? What battles will erupt as provinces and municipalities navigate the difficult question of whether people should be allowed to smoke their joints on the sidewalk and in public parks?

Smoking pot.

Stay tuned.

It’s a social experiment with no clear answers, just educated guesses based on the experience of the few American states that have legalized recreational marijuana. Youth use of cannabis has not dramatically increased there.

And some of the problems associated with smoking — the smoke is a nuisance, and the combustion a health risk to the user —  might decline as that method of consumption becomes less popular.

The trend is away from traditional dried marijuana flower, rolled and smoked in a joint. Customers down south are mad for vape pens and other “concentrates” and cannabis you can drink, eat, chew or rub on your skin. Candies, drinks, mints and lotions. They will be coming to Canada too, but not for another year.

The stigma that has surrounded marijuana like Saran wrap, however, won’t disappear overnight.

That will only happen when the middle class embraces weed, in the estimation of Kornelious Morgan, a well-spoken young man at work Tuesday at The Hemp Company, an illegal dispensary on Merivale Road. Customers from lower socio-economic classes are less concerned about what people think of their pot use, he says.

“The shame is just not there, typically,” he says. “It’s like the middle class people are now just going to hop on. They are the ones most concerned about stigma, looking over their shoulders, wondering, ‘Oh, is my neighbour doing it?’ ”

Will you buy legal cannabis?

The Canadian entrepreneurs who have turned weed into billion-dollar businesses have lent a cloak of legitimacy, too.

They’ve make marijuana respectable, led by Canopy Growth, pride of Smiths Falls — the company set up its Tweed marijuana plant in an old Hershey chocolate factory and five years later has become the world’s largest cannabis producer. Not that there is serious competition for that title — yet.

Canada leads the world both in its medical marijuana regime and in developing rules that are ushering this country into legal recreational pot.

Make that cannabis. That’s the new word, although perhaps not on the street.

It’s part of the corporate and marketing transformation that has turned stoners into “experienced users” and smoking pot into “curated sessions.”

And that might be all for the public-health good if people interested in altering their consciousness reach for pot rather than alcohol.

Guide to buying pot in Ontario

Where can you buy cannabis?

Online only, at the Ontario Cannabis Store. The OCS is run by an agency of the provincial government. You have to have an Ontario address to make a purchase. The website: ocs.ca

What will be on sale?

Dried flower, pre-rolled joints, cannabis oil and gel capsules filled with oil.

The cannabis oil is usually mixed with a carrier liquid such as grapeseed oil. It can be eaten on its own — a drop under the tongue is one common method — or put into homemade food or drinks.

Cannabis accessories are on sale, too, including bongs, pipes, vaporizers and grinders.

There will be no seeds or seedlings on sale to start.

Can you order online from other provinces?

No.

What about vape pens and pot brownies?

Not for sale yet. Edible cannabis products and cannabis concentrates, including the substance used in vape pens, are not legal now.  Health Canada is coming up with guidelines for what will be allowed, and those products must be regulated within one year of legalization. The possibilities are endless, from cannabis drinks to mints and topical creams.

However, you can make your own pot brownies, infused salad dressing or anything else using the oil for sale at the Ontario Cannabis Store.

What personal information do I have to reveal to buy pot online?

Some people are worried about a paper trail that connects them to cannabis consumption, especially since U.S. border guards can bar Canadians from entering that country for life if they admit to using pot.

You’ll have to provide a name, address, email and credit card number. Customers won’t have to create an online account; each purchase will be as a “guest.”

And unlike other online stores, the OCS promises to have “the lightest possible touch on consumer data.”

Your purchase information won’t be sold, shared with third parties or used for any other purpose. “It will be kept for the minimum length of time required by law, then deleted as soon as possible.”

Data will be stored in Canada.

How is the pot delivered?

Canada Post will deliver your pot. It will take one to five days, depending on where you live, and there will be a flat $5 fee for shipping.

The experience will be similar to buying alcohol online from the LCBO. No packages will be left at your door. Someone who is 19 will have to show ID and sign to collect the package, although the delivery agent won’t take a copy of the identification. If you aren’t home, a notice will direct you to the nearest postal outlet to pick up the parcel.

Will the package have any markings to indicate it contains cannabis?

No.

How old do I have to be to buy pot?

Age 19.

When will stores open?

April 2019.

Can I grow my own cannabis?

Yes. As many as four plants per residence. They must be grown in the residence. And you must buy the seeds or clones from a legal source such as the Ontario Cannabis Store. However, the seeds won’t be on sale on Day 1.

How much marijuana can I possess in public?

30 grams of dried flower, or the equivalent in oil. A typical joint contains about 0.5 to one gram of cannabis.

ALSO: How much does legal weed cost in Ontario? As little as $7.50 a gram

The country’s first day of legal weed arrived with lineups at stores and feverish sales online as Canadians embraced the world after prohibition.

The public buzz was muted in Ontario, however, where cannabis customers were limited to tapping out their orders for grams of Tangerine Dream and Ghost Train Haze at the online government store. Bricks-and-mortar retailers won’t open in the province until next April.

So for many in Ottawa, it was just another day.

“I’m glad it’s legalized so I don’t have to feel like a criminal to get what I want to get,” said a 42-year-old public servant waiting for a bus on Laurier Avenue. 

He smokes marijuana a few times a week, but wouldn’t dream of doing it in public, he said.

“I think people should smoke pot like they smoke cigarettes. If it were a winter day and it were just me and the seagulls, I might do it. But people are walking past, and I find it disrespectful. And I don’t think adults should be demonstrating this behaviour to children.”

Online shops across the country opened at midnight and sales built steadily. By noon Wednesday they had received “millions of visitors,” according to Loren Padelford, a vice-president at Shopify Inc., the Ottawa firm that provides the e-commerce software for many of them. He said that Shopify’s platform was taking more than 100 orders a minute.

“It’s not as big as Black Friday, but it’s definitely a big day,” said Padelford. Shopify did not see any technical issues or problems, he said.

This is a screenshot of the Ontario Cannabis Store website, which sells dried flower for as low as $7.50 a gram.

The Ontario Cannabis Store debuted online with about 70 cannabis products. Prices for dried flower started at $7.50 a gram for Strawberry Ice and ranged up to $17.25 for Royal High’s Super Skunk. Most of the dried flower products were $8 to $10.50 a gram.

Product lists fluctuated throughout the day, as some brands apparently sold out and new ones were added.

The lowest prices are competitive with the dealers and dispensaries that now supply Canada’s huge black market. Statistics Canada estimates the price of illegal weed in Ontario averaged $7.34 a gram in the first six weeks of 2018.

People wait in line to purchase legal cannabis products outside a government cannabis store in Montreal, Wednesday, October 17, 2018.

The federal government has said a major goal of legalization is to take the marijuana trade out of the hands of criminals. Competitive pricing is key.

Across the country, only dried flower, pre-rolled joints, oils and capsules were for sale. Edible cannabis products and concentrates like the oil used in vape pens will be regulated sometime in the next year.

But the selection seemed to satisfy customers who lined up by the hundreds at stores from St. John’s to Kamloops. Some waited hours for the novel experience of shopping at a legal pot shop.

“It’s like Christmas for every pot smoker in Canada,” said a 30-something man waiting with 250 others at a cannabis store in Mirabel run by a branch of the Quebec liquor agency.

In Winnipeg, activists pitched a tent outside a store for the bragging rights of making the first purchase.

Bruce Linton, chief executive of Canopy Growth Corp. in Smiths Falls, sold Canada’s first legal gram of weed at one of his company’s stores in Newfoundland.

The rollout in Ontario was complicated by the fact that the province’s proposal to relax the rules on public consumption of cannabis weren’t in effect when legalization dawned.

Tweed store in downtown St. John’s where a lineup formed in front and down around the corner for over a block Tuesday evening.

The Conservative government’s cannabis bill makes it legal to smoke pot wherever tobacco smoking is allowed, including on sidewalks. But the bill wasn’t passed until Wednesday afternoon.

So it was illegal to stroll down Bank Street smoking a joint for most of the day because the former Liberal government’s law banning consumption in any public place was in still effect.

The federal government marked the end of the war on pot by announcing it will be easier and faster for Canadians to obtain criminal pardons for  possession charges.

However, criminal records won’t be destroyed, said Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. He said legislation is coming this fall to waive the fee and waiting period for Canadians seeking a pardon for possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana — the same amount that it’s now legal to carry around in public.

Legalization also brought a quick end to the vast majority of the illegal marijuana dispensaries in Ottawa.

Most of the 25 stores in town are now closed, although there were a couple of holdouts on Wednesday. The provincial government has warned that anyone involved with a dispensary on Oct. 17 will be disqualified from applying for a licence to run a legal store next spring.

The provincial law also imposes heavy fines on operators of stores that illegally sell marijuana and the landlords who rent to them.

____

Voices around town:

“People think we’re outlaws,” said a man smoking pot on Rideau Street on Wednesday with his son. “I guess we aren’t anymore.”

The man, who didn’t want to give his name, said he’s known as the “weed fairy” because he shares with those in need. And he employs common courtesy. “We don’t smoke where kids are. We stop if we see a woman coming with a baby carriage.”

Marco Antoine Barbery, 42, said he’s glad marijuana is now legal, then played Bob Marley’s Redemption Day, a song he dedicated to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Blair Crawford/Postmedia

Musician Marco Antoine Barbery was hanging out with friends in the underpass near the Rideau Centre. The smell of pot hung in the air.

“I’m very happy that Justin Trudeau has legalized marijuana,” Barbery said. “It was unacceptable. It should have been legal a long time ago.”

“I think Trudeau did the right decision and I’m going to play a song just for Justin Trudeau,” Barbery said, before launching into an enthusiastic rendition of Bob Marley’s Redemption Day.

A 25-year-old mechanic who has been smoking marijuana since he was 14 said he marked the day by smoking a joint while walking down the sidewalk. 

“An old lady did a double take,” he said. “Other than that, no one took notice.”

With files from The Canadian Press, Joanne Laucius and Blair Crawford

Joel Garrow lights up outside a ByWard Market café on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, the first day of legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada.

Adam Brett says he plans to try Ontario’s online cannabis store, but not until the kinks are worked out.

The 23-year-old said his roommate had ordered from the online Ontario Cannabis Store in the wee hours of weed legalization on Wednesday, but as of Saturday was still waiting for his order to arrive.

“Overall, I think (legalization) is a good idea, but maybe they didn’t think the whole thing through,” said Brett, who was in a long lineup at an illegal dispensary on Rideau Street.

Four days into legalization, customers complained about slow delivery and glitches at the Ontario Cannabis Store. In its first 24 hours, the store website received more than 1.3 million unique visits and handled 100,000 orders. Officials called the response “remarkable” and a notice on the website warned that, because of high demand, delivery would take as long as five days.

Frustrated customers vented on social media. “Are you kidding?” one man wrote on Twitter. “Definitely going to use my dealer from now on, his business is going way up because of your crappy service.”

Others fretted they wouldn’t have their weed for the weekend. “It’s a crapshow! Been waiting 2 days hasn’t even been sent yet,” another angry tweeter wrote. “Imagine beer drinkers being treated like this.”

Both online and brick-and-mortar marijuana stores faced heavy demand and product shortages across Canada.

Related

• 'A huge economic opportunity:' Akwesasne embracing legal pot
• Growing pains: Tale of a Smiths Falls marijuana startup
• The day Smiths Falls' luck finally turned: The story of a marijuana boom town

There may be more headaches to come on Monday, when a union representing Canada Post workers says it may start rotating strikes. Canada Post delivers recreational marijuana in Ontario and several other provinces.

Ontario is developing a licensing scheme for privately-run stores, which are supposed to open in April. In the meantime, the only legal way to buy recreational pot is online from the Ontario Cannabis Store.

The online store is “a disaster,” said one man in line at the Ottawa Compassion Club dispensary on Rideau Street on Saturday. The shop was charging $12.50 for a gram for weed, which was higher than the cost of many strains at the government store; its prices on Saturday started as low as $8.40 per gram.

The man said he didn’t mind paying extra. “They are going rogue and staying open, so they’ll need the money for legal fees if they get busted.”

The man, who didn’t want to give his name, said he tried to order from the Ontario Cannabis Store on Wednesday, but the site crashed. “It’s all a little bit odd. It’s harder now to get cannabis than before, and it’s more expensive.

“It’s a bizarro situation at this point in time.”

Most of Ottawa’s two dozen illegal dispensaries have closed. The provincial government warned that anyone still working at an illegal dispensary after Oct. 17 would not be allowed to apply for a licence to run a legal shop. The new law also has heavy fines for shops illegally selling marijuana and the landlords who rent space to them, and it allows police to close shops.

Another Ottawa dispensary that remained open, Capital Buds on Churchill Avenue, also had a steady stream of customers on Saturday. It closed for a few hours on Wednesday morning, then reopened.

A manager there said he hoped the provincial government could be convinced to allow them to apply for a licence even though they continued to operate illegally. “We are doing a public service,” said the man, who said his first name was Adam.

Some customers are older and don’t understand how to order online, while others don’t have computers or credit cards, which are all needed to buy at the government store, he said.

He plans a meeting with operators of other dispensaries that have closed down. “I know for sure some of them will be popping back up.”

A clerk inside Capital Buds said customers wanted to see the product and talk to staff who could explain the effects of various strains.

The clerk also said he was suspicious about marijuana sold at the government’s online store, where products are from growers licensed by Health Canada.

Another clerk on duty said he used a prepaid credit card to order from the government store on Wednesday. “I haven’t even gotten my email saying it’s been shipped.”

Five dispensaries were raided and closed in Toronto on Friday, but neither of the Capital Buds clerks was concerned about the possibility of a raid at their location.

“We’re not doing anything wrong,” one said with a shrug, plopping dried buds on a scale to measure them before putting them in a plastic baggie. “We’re good!”

Firefighters put out a fire in a sales office at a condo project on Champlain Street in Gatineau early Sunday morning.

No one was injured in the blaze, which was quickly extinguished by 2:20 a.m., according to the Gatineau fire department.

When firefighters arrived, flames and smoke were visible.

The building was a sales centre for the Viu, a luxury condominium highrise project on Laurier Street near the Macdonald Cartier bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau.

Related

• Two injured in fiery crash near Gatineau Park
• One dead in multi-vehicle crash near l'Orignal
• Motorcyclist killed in accident on Highway 105 at La Pêche

The city will soon announce a program to replace some of the trees that were lost when a tornado ripped through Arlington Woods, residents were told during a solemn ceremony at the edge of a devastated forest on Sunday.

About 130 neighbours stood at a clearing at the edge of Bruce Pit in what was once a forest of 150-year-old pines, listening to speeches, music and poetry.

The tornado that touched down a month ago destroyed many of the trees that were a beloved part of the neighbourhood in the west end of Ottawa off Greenbank Road.

A city program will allow residents to choose trees that will be planted in rights-of-ways in the neighbourhood, said Robert Onley, a vice-president of the Trend-Arlington Community Association.

Another initiative between the city and Tree Canada, a tree-planing charity, is being developed to help homeowners replace trees on their land, said Onley.

The Arlington Community Association held a special ceremony, procession and community gathering on the edge of Bruce Pit Sunday October 21, 2018, a month after the tornado tore through the area. 

And fortunately, some members of the community had collected seeds from local pine cones in the neighbourhood as part of a Canada 150 project so trees could be replaced if they died or came down. There are now 2,200 Arlington Woods saplings growing in a Kemptville nursery.

They should be ready to replant this spring, said Onley.

It was a touch of good news for a community that was hit hard by one of the six tornadoes that touched down in Ottawa and Gatineau on Sept. 21.

The Arlington Community Association held a special ceremony, procession and community gathering on the edge of Bruce Pit on Sunday, exactly a month after a tornado tore through the area.

Sunday’s ceremony was held to mourn the trees, but also to celebrate the community spirit that has neighbours working together to rebuild.

“We’re here to be with our community, and to remember the trees,” said Lisa Wright, with son Charlie, 4, and daughter Elsie, 6. The forest was “our escape,” she said. She loved roaming there. “It felt like we were away from the city. It was were we went to be with nature. To be silent. To be surrounded by wildlife and trees.

“And it’s gone.”

Neighbours mourn the loss of the trees, said Trend-Arlington Community Association spokesperson Sean Devine. But the disaster also revealed how fortunate residents are to live in such as “amazing community,” he told the gathering. Neighbours pitched in to help each other out, and the work will continue for months and probably years.

The ceremony included speeches from two ministers, poetry and live music — including a performance from a duo dubbed the Trend-Arlington Tornadoes who sang Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds (“Don’t worry about a thing/’cause every little thing gonna be alright”).

Bagpipers then led the group on a procession through the neighbourhood to a get-together at the community building.

About 50 homes in the neighbourhood were damaged, said Onley. Twenty-one will have to be torn down.

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“Hard work pays off,” a jubilant Theresa Kavanagh told supporters after she leapfrogged from school board trustee to city councillor with her win in Bay ward on Monday night.

About 65 supporters gathered at Buster’s Bar & Grill at Lincoln Fields shopping centre cheered as Kavanagh took an early lead. By 8:30 p.m., it was clear she had pulled ahead of Don Dransfield for good.

Kavanagh’s husband, Alex Cullen, led the cheers as she earned the right to step into the position that he held as city councillor for a decade. 

In her speech, Kavanagh promised to work for more affordable housing, protection of green space and ensuring seniors had the support and services they needed.

”From streetlights to bus routes … I will be there for you.”

”I was pretty sure we were going to win, but it was a landslide,” campaign worker Bruce Simpson said after Kavanagh finished the night with about an unofficial total of about 55 per cent of ballots cast in the ward.

Dransfield, who received 18 per cent of the votes, struggled to hold back tears as he spoke to about 60 supporters at The Colonnade pizza restaurant on Carling Avenue.

His wife, Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld, hugged him.

“I want to thank everyone who voted for me,” Dransfield said. “I want all of you, especially young people, to know that this is just one campaign and there will be other campaigns, probably not me, but there is so much you can do by working in politics. Keep it on.”

The ward election was expected to be one of the most hotly-contested in Ottawa. Its previous councillor, Mark Taylor, did not run again after serving two terms.

Dransfield and Kavanagh both have ties to political parties at senior levels of government, and politics is a family affair for both.

Kavanagh has run for the NDP federally. However, she said during this campaign that, after two terms as a trustee at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, she considered herself an independent.

She was endorsed by former Ottawa mayor Jackie Holzman and former Liberal MP Marlene Catterall.

Both share her goal of more women in politics, Kavanagh said during her speech.

Kavanagh’s husband ran for the NDP in the 2014 provincial election. Cullen was also a former Liberal MPP, and Bay ward councillor until he lost to Taylor in 2010.

Dransfield ran for the Liberals provincially in Nepean-Carleton in 2011.

Ward 7-Bay

Vandenbeld strongly supported his campaign. She was criticized for sending Robocalls to riding residents, identifying herself as an MP and urging them to vote for her husband.

Erica Dath placed third in the balloting with about 15 per cent in unofficially tallies. Marc Lugert placed fourth at seven per cent, and Trevor Robinson was fifth with five per cent.

During the campaign Kavanagh said a top priority would be saving greenspace around the LRT and ensuring good pedestrian and cyclist access to LRT stations. A portion of new housing built along the route, such as a planned development at Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre, should be affordable, she said.

Dransfield said his top priorities were creating opportunities for children and youth — he suggested more lighting at sports fields at night to give youth someplace to go, for instance — and the development of community hubs such as those as Lincoln Fields, Carlingwood and the Ron Kolbus Centre in an “integrated way that involves the community.”

Broadcaster Carol Anne Meehan hung on to an early lead, then knocked off incumbent councillor Michael Qaqish in Gloucester-South Nepean.

Supporters at the Broadway Bar and Grill in Riverside South chanted and clapped as a beaming Meehan, flanked by son Evan and daughter Elena, watched the final numbers roll in.

“The level of trust that people have given me. There’s such a level of responsibility,” she said. “It’s really humbling.”

Meehan, who was laid off from her job as an anchor with CTV Ottawa almost three years ago, said, “I need a purpose. And the community has always been there for me. I was lucky to find this path.”

Meanwhile, in another Broadway pub across the Vimy Bridge, a group of supporters of incumbent Qaqish watched apprehensively as Meehan’s numbers piled up.

“A lot of people told me I would be fine, that I would win. But I felt it would be a close race,” said Qaqish.

Meehan’s name recognition carried weight, he said. “I expected some vote-splitting and they chipped away at my base by picking apart my campaign finances, which is nonsense.”

Candidates for Ward 22, Gloucester-South Nepean, were (left to right): Zaff Ansari, Carol Anne Meehan, Irene Mei, Michael Qaqish and Harpreet Singh.

The first order of business for Meehan: pressing the province to put a new public high school for Riverside South on the top of its priority list. Teens in the ward are being bused to Merivale and South Carleton high schools. “This is an essential issue,” she said.

Then she wants to tackle the traffic congestion that she says is choking the rapidly growing ward. “We can’t wait for the LRT. It will help us, but it won’t be the solution to all our woes. Everyone here has two cars. People are getting up earlier and earlier to get to work.”

Among the solutions she is touting: a satellite office for federal civil servant, express buses and bus-only lanes.

As well, Meehan says she has had some conversations with former Ottawa police chief Vern White about introducing “traffic constables.”

These would be officers whose only duties are around delivering tickets for speeding and inattentive driving, freeing uniformed officers to tackle crime. While that isn’t permitted under the Highway Traffic Act, she believes it could help to solve the “speedway” problem in the ward’s major arteries.

Meehan describes herself as a fiscal conservative. Her campaign got a boost from several well-known Conservatives, including Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod, who in a Tweet called Meehan a “really good friend” and “an incredible talent.” Meehan was the master of ceremonies at MacLeod’s campaign kickoff for the provincial election.

Qaqish, a former assistant to the previous councillor for Gloucester-South Nepean, Steve Desroches, had held the ward since 2014, when Desroches stepped down after two terms. Qaqish faced six other contenders in the ward in 2014, and with over 38 per cent of the vote.

Ward 22-Gloucester-South Nepean

Qaqish said he had been working during his term to expand bus service and improve roads. He also said he worked to make sure the city’s new light rail system would be built to Leitrim Station by 2021, with an extension into Riverside South and funding for an environmental assessment to bring the train to Barrhaven in phase 3 of the construction project.

He also cited as an accomplishment securing funding for a new community centre and library in Riverside South and a new police station for Barrhaven. Qaqish was endorsed by several community association presidents and past presidents in the ward.

Qaqish won’t rule out running again. “Politics is in my blood,” he said.

An Ottawa surgeon is under investigation by The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa after making an allegedly inappropriate joke.

Dr. Farid Mohammedali Shamji’s academic appointment as a professor at the University of Ottawa has been temporarily suspended while the institution investigates the allegation.

Shamji will have no direct contact with students and staff until the investigation is complete, a spokesperson for the university said in a statement.

UOttawa is assisting The Ottawa Hospital in investigating the incident, said the statement. “The alleged incident is contrary to the values that uOttawa and the Faculty of Medicine promote which are based on respect. We hold our professors and teaching staff to a high degree of professionalism.”

A spokesperson for The Ottawa Hospital said the investigation is about an “alleged joke” made by Shamji.

“An incident has been brought to our attention and we have begun an investigation,” said a statement from the hospital. “While we cannot publicly comment on individual cases, our values do not condone sexist or any other behaviours or actions that make staff, physicians, patients or visitors feel less safe. We are committed to fostering a respectful and professional workplace.

“The Ottawa Hospital expects all staff to act in accordance with our Respectful Behavior in the Workplace policy which includes standards of behavior and values.”

Shamji responded by email to a request for comment.

The Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons gave Shamji a lifetime achievement award in September.

Shamji’s wife, Ismet Nathoo-Shamji, is a psychiatrist, and the couple have two sons, Mohammed and Alykhan.

Mohammed Shamji, the son, a Toronto neurosurgeon, has been charged with first-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains in the death of his wife.

Elana Fric-Shamji, a family doctor and associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, was strangled and beaten, according to Toronto police. Her body was found in a suitcase by the side of a road north of Toronto in 2016.

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Two years after the English public school board backed away from the hot-button issue of how best to educate gifted children, the issue is back before trustees with a vengeance.

After hearing from parents describe earlier this month how important separate classrooms are for the academic and mental health of their gifted children, trustees at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board are set to vote Tuesday on a proposal that would give parents more control.

The proposal recommended by a committee of trustees would allow gifted children to skip the steps for children with academic “exceptionalities” who start in a regular classroom first. Instead, parents could request their gifted children be placed directly in a congregated classroom.

Board staff oppose the idea, saying one group of children with special educational needs should not be given privileges not available to others. Other exceptionalities include learning disabilities, language and speech impairments, intellectual and physical disabilities, developmental delays, autism, behaviour problems, deafness/hard of hearing and blindness/low vision.

The proposal for gifted children may also put board psychologists who assess children “in conflict with the professional obligations” of their college, warned Jennifer Adams, director of education, in a memo.

Professional standards require psychologists to consider multiple factors, not just cognitive scores, when recommending what class placement is best for students, a board spokesperson said.

In addition, the board would have to cut other programs if it spent more on busing gifted students to congregated classes, said the memo.

Trustee Donna Blackburn says it’s unfair that gifted children be given special treatment because trustees are afraid of the fierce lobby campaign mounted by parents.

Trustee Christine Boothby, who proposed the motion, said urgent action is needed because the number of congregated classes for the gifted has dwindled dramatically over the last few years even though parents support the classes and trustees have not made a decision to eliminate them.

The board has a policy of “tiered intervention.” Students are given extra help and support in the regular classroom before being placed in a congregated class, which is smaller and has specialized teachers.

Boothby’s motion says the policy would be suspended for gifted children while trustees review how tiering works for all students.

The number of gifted children in congregated elementary classed fell from 692 in 2013-14 to 416 in 2017-18, according to the memo from Adams.

This year there are no congregated gifted classes for children in Grades 1 and 2, and only one school has a Grade 3-4 class. Some of the congregated classes in Grades 5 to 8 are tiny — two classes have only five children in them, and another has seven students, according to board statistics.

It’s not clear why. Some parents chose to put their gifted children in the neighbourhood school instead of busing them to a congregated class. Having students with exceptionalities start out in a regular classroom also results in fewer congregated classes.

Parents of gifted children accuse board staff of making it difficult for their kids to get into congregated classes.

Two years ago, staff suggested ending congregated gifted classes in younger grades and reducing congregation in older grades, with enrichment programming available to a wider group of students. The Ottawa board bucks an education trend to integrate gifted children into regular classrooms, a report said at the time.

The report also said the board’s classes for the gifted were not equitable because girls and students from varied ethnic groups and lower socio-economic classes were under-represented. Many of the children in the congregated classes relied on psycho-educational reports paid for by their parents.

The report was controversial — dozens of parents showed up to protest. Trustees sent the issue to a newly created gifted advisory committee to study.

Parent Dana Somayaji, who was on the advisory committee, called the experience “extremely frustrating.”

After 18 months of diligent work and proposals for pilot projects, she said, members of the group “were extremely concerned that our input has been ignored.”

Somayaji has two children in congregated gifted classes.

“We have a program that is working, as far as parental satisfaction. Kids’ academic needs are being met, their social needs are being met, but instead of expanding this program to allow other children into this successful program, they have pulled back.”

It’s unfair to say the congregated gifted classes only benefit rich white kids and Asian kids, she says. If some kids are being excluded, “let’s figure out a way to include them, and have the service for all.”

Parents who appeared at a board committee this month pleaded with trustees to maintain the specialized classes that help gifted kids who were bored at school, were turned off learning, were being bullied or were at risk of mental illness.

Father Ben Librande said his gifted son began kindergarten as a “capable, engaged and social student” but the regular classroom was “unable to meet his social and emotional needs.” The boy began experiencing anxiety and “challenging behaviours” that in Grade 1 earned him 10 exclusions and two suspensions from school.

A Grade 8 gifted student told trustees that he was bullied in the regular classroom by both fellow students and teachers who told him to stop reading and make friends with the students who hated him. He’s happy now in a congregated class where the teacher understands his educational needs, he said.

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Michael Sims and his wife preside over a boisterous household of four children under age 10 who love to hike, ride bikes and swing on the zip line in their yard in Ottawa’s Alta Vista neighbourhood.

It might not be obvious at first glance, but all four children have multiple “exceptionalities” that mean they need extra help at school. They include learning disabilities, developmental delays, mental health issues and sensory problems.

With special-education dollars always stretched thin, Sims says he is upset about a recommendation by trustees at the Ottawa public school board to give different treatment to students with one exceptionality: gifted.

The board votes Tuesday evening on a proposal to allow gifted students to skip the usual step of starting in a regular classroom and instead be placed directly into a congregated class with specialized teachers.

A committee of trustees recommended the change after hearing from parents of gifted students who were concerned that the number of congregated classes was dwindling. They accuse board staff of trying to eliminate the gifted classes by stealth.

The number of gifted elementary students in congregated classes has fallen from 692 in 2013-14 to 416 in 2017-18, according to the board.

Trustees were not given information about enrolment trends in congregated classes for students with other exceptionalities such as learning disabilities, autism, developmental delays and behaviour problems.

A motion by trustee Christine Boothby proposes suspending the “tier” system for gifted children pending a review.

Tiering means students with exceptionalities start in a regular classroom with increasing levels of support before they are placed in a congregated class. Board staff oppose that idea, saying it’s unfair to treat gifted children differently than other special-ed students.

They also warn that money spent transporting more gifted students to congregated classes would have to be cut from other programs. For example, if the number of gifted students in congregated gifted classes climbed back up to 700, it would cost the board an extra $800,000 a year in transportation.

The debate pits parents against each other in a zero-sum game: money given to one group is taken away from another.

“I’m furious that the gifted parents are attempting to divert funds away from the rest of the school population at a time when the system is starved for funds,” says Sims. “It’s incredibly inequitable, not just for the children with high needs, but for the entire student body.”

More educational assistants are needed in regular classrooms, where teachers are expected to help students with a great variety of learning challenges, he said. He gives the example of one of his children, who in kindergarten was so disruptive that the rest of the children had to regularly evacuate the classroom while his child stood on a desk and threw things. There was not enough money for a full-time educational assistant in the classroom to help her.

Eventually, with the help of a terrific classroom teacher and periodic breaks to calm down, his child was less disruptive. (All his children were adopted and experienced early trauma.)

Parents of gifted children have their own stories about how important congregated classrooms are.

The educational trend has been to integrate more children with special needs into regular classrooms, but some parents find there isn’t enough support to help them thrive there.

The board’s program for gifted children has been under review for three years. A staff report two years ago suggested cutting congregated classes in early elementary grades.

Staff also said Ottawa’s gifted program is inequitable because it has more boys and children from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Many of the children in the gifted program had psycho-educational assessments paid for by their parents.

However, after hearings from parents of gifted children upset about the changes, trustees sent the issue back to be studied again rather than having a public consultation.

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As the Ontario government’s online cannabis store struggles to meet demand and deliver weed on time, illegal operators in town are stepping up.

Five dispensaries were back in business on Wednesday. How long they will remain open is another question. Ottawa police warn they plan to close them.

Officers have visited dispensaries to give operators “one last chance to close down,” according to a statement from Ottawa Police Service Const. Amy Gagnon.

“In the coming weeks, they will be receiving another visit in order to close them down.”

Most of the city’s two dozen dispensaries closed shortly before Canada legalized recreational pot on Oct. 17. Stiff new fines for illegal sellers and landlords who rent to them came into effect that day. The province also warned that anyone still involved in the black market after legalization would not be eligible to apply for a licence to run a legal store.

Ontario plans to license privately-run cannabis stores, but the regulations are still being written. The stores are expected to open in April 2019.

In the meantime, the only legal supply is online from the Ontario Cannabis Store — and it has been deluged with complaints.

The store has struggled to meet what officials call the “unbelievably high” demand for legal pot just as postal workers stage rotating strikes.

Some customers are waiting a week or more for deliveries that were supposed to arrive in one to five days, customer service phone lines have been jammed and customers report glitches in credit-card payments.

Since the government store has “crashed,” dispensaries are needed, said James Stanley, spokesperson for The Hemp Company, which reopened its dispensaries on Merivale Road and Clarence Street in the ByWard Market earlier this week.

Both Hemp Company stores stopped selling pot on Oct. 17, but were flooded with requests from customers to reopen, he said. “Literally they were just begging us.” The Hemp Company owner wants to remain anonymous.

It’s better for shoppers to buy the newly legal product in a safe, clean store than a dark alley, said Stanley.

He says The Hemp Company is making a public appeal for permission to operate temporarily.

He’s not clear about which authorities might grant such permission — “maybe the mayor will step up?” — but says store officials are eager to follow whatever rules might be imposed.

“We are ready to comply with you guys, whatever you guys want. Give us a temporary licence or something. Whatever it can be, we are willing to do that.

“We are open to help people out. We don’t want to do it against the government. We want to do it with them, not against them. At the end of the day we’re just trying to make the people happy.”

The City of Vancouver, Stanley noted, issued licences to illegal dispensaries for several years in order to control them.

Federal and provincial authorities as well as Ottawa police have said repeatedly that dispensaries are illegal and sell unregulated products that may not be safe.

Ottawa police have conducted sporadic raids on dispensaries for the past two years and charged people working inside them with drug trafficking. But many of the stores reopened, and most of the clerks were given discharges by the courts.

Will it be any different now that pot is legal and dispensaries are competing with the government store? One big difference is that the new provincial cannabis law gives police the power to simply close the shops.

A clerk on duty at the Ottawa Compassion Clinic on Rideau Street Wednesday said a police raid is something that worries him.

The man pleaded guilty earlier this week to drug trafficking charges laid while he was working at another dispensary that was raided.

“It goes with the territory,” he shrugged. “I have bills to pay.”

Customers interviewed at the five dispensaries now open say they like the convenience of shopping in a store, where they can see the product and chat with staff.

Noah Fleming, who was shopping at the Compassion Clinic, said he checked out the Ontario Cannabis Store but was turned off by the delivery times. “I find it easier to go to a bricks-and-mortar store. When you are looking for weed it’s best to get it right away, rather than wait five days. That’s my belief, anyway.”

Dried bud was on sale there for $12.50 a gram, which is comparable to or higher than most prices at the government store. Dispensaries also stock cannabis edibles and concentrates, which are still illegal and not sold at the government store.

At Green Life, a dispensary in the bottom floor of a house on Athlone Avenue in Westboro, dried bud ranged from $4 a gram for Lemon G to $8 for Girl Scout Cookies. Cannabis-laced gummy bears, cookies and barbecued peanuts were also on the menu.

At The Hemp Company on Merivale Road, customer Joseph Tremblay, 58, said it’s a “huge pain in the ass to get any kind of weed” in Ottawa compared with his hometown of Vancouver. Tremblay was visiting town when he suffered a series of heart attacks, and now he’s stuck here for another month.

He’s not eligible to order from the government store because it’s only open to residents of Ontario. So he took a cab from the Civic hospital to buy weed at the dispensary.

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Theresa Kavanagh was working at home raising two young boys when she dove into politics, running for the NDP in the federal riding of Ottawa West in 1988.

There was a buzz around the party, she recalls. Leader Ed Broadbent was popular. “It was an exciting time.”

Kavanagh lost that race to veteran city councillor Marlene Catterall, a Liberal.

No hard feelings, though. Thirty years later, Catterall endorsed Kavanagh in her successful bid for a city council seat representing Bay Ward.

“I was running against another woman candidate who now has become my friend,” says Kavanagh with a little laugh. “Isn’t it ironic?”

It’s not so surprising, really. Kavanagh may be a longtime NDPer but she’s not fiercely partisan. She takes pride in her ability to work with others.

Asked about her goals as city councillor, Kavanagh’s answers are littered with words such as collaboration and consultation.

She mentions the OC Transpo bus stop at Lincoln Fields, which will be transformed into a hub for the light-rail transit line that will cut through the ward.

Bus riders have made their own “goat path” to get from the stop to nearby homes, she says. It’s slippery in winter and hard for seniors.

When the LRT station is built, Kavanagh wants to make sure there is good pedestrian and bike access.

Transforming the goat path won’t be that simple because it’s partly on NCC land. “We need some co-operation working with (the NCC),” she explains. “These are the kinds of things where you need partnerships, you need to work together.”

Jonathan McLeod, a columnist for the Ottawa Sun who also writes a blog on city politics, says he endorsed Kavanagh because she has the temperament city hall needs.

“Where other politicians (or just jerks like me on Twitter) might get testy or might try to jump on some perceived error by an opponent, she’s gracious and she’s thoughtful,” he wrote on his Steps from the Canal blog.

“Now, don’t get me wrong. This isn’t her playing into a stereotypical female role that some chauvinist would have her adopt. She’s not a pushover, and she’s not timid. She’s an activist and she seems willing to fight for her community and her city … she’s just not going to lose sight of her or an opponent’s humanity.”

In conversation Kavanagh is friendly, but cautious. She is disciplined. She took a learn-to-run course at the Running Room when her boys were in high school. Now she’s a triathlete. Kavanagh, 61, also mentions that she has run the Boston Marathon three times.

When campaigning this summer, Kavanagh eased off running — she was already walking four or five hours a day knocking on doors — and only did “one wee short” triathlon.

She did swimming races instead.

A couple of mornings a week she’d leave her home on a quiet street bordering the Ottawa River and head to Britannia Beach to “do a few long laps.”

Did Kavanagh ever worry about the nasty pollution that sometimes closes the beach?

She looks mildly surprised. “Well, I was training for 3K and 4K races, so I would have had to swim those days regardless of what the (pollution) posting was.” Missing her laps was not an option.

Kavanagh is the daughter of an Irish father and a British mother who immigrated here with three children and had another three in Canada.

She grew up in Hamilton, where her father was a steelworker at Stelco. “I grew up in a union household,” Kavanagh says, explaining her attraction to the NDP, a party she associates with equality.

Kavanagh did a fine arts degree at the University of Guelph. She enjoyed painting, sculpture and drawing, but realized it wasn’t her lifelong passion. “I moved on.”

She worked on Parliament Hill for a couple of NDP MPs then spent 21 years in the NDP Whip’s office as logistics officer. That involves scheduling and international travel and administration of rules for finances and codes of conduct. Kavanagh says she became friends with staffers who did the same job for other political parties. “It’s fairly collaborative, actually. We all have MPS, we all have to run offices, we want it to be consistent and have the same rules.”

Bay Ward was an open race after two-term councillor Mark Taylor decided not to run. It was expected to be close but Kavanagh beat her main opponent, Don Dransfield, handily.

Dransfield is a Liberal who is married to the Liberal MP for Ottawa West-Nepean, Anita Vandenbeld.

There was a kerfuffle during the campaign when Vandenbeld sent robocalls to Bay Ward constituents, identifying herself as an MP and urging them to vote for her husband. Vandenbeld says she did nothing wrong and didn’t pay for the calls with parliamentary funds. The federal ethics commissioner is investigating complaints about it.

Kavanagh has her own family political connections. Her partner is Alex Cullen, who was the city councillor for Bay Ward for a decade. Cullen was also briefly a Liberal MPP then switched to the NDP.

He is a critic of Mayor Jim Watson and needles him on Twitter.

Kavanagh does not expect her husband’s antagonism toward Watson to sour her own relationship with the mayor. Nor should it, necessarily — after all, she is the councillor, not her husband.

“I hope (the mayor) has an open mind,” says Kavanagh. “A number of people have told him that I am collaborative, I am somebody who wants to work together.”

Kavanagh served two terms as a trustee at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

She is hard-working and open-minded, said fellow trustee Lynn Scott. “She was pretty well respected around the table. She wasn’t a grand speech maker, but when she did speak, usually she asked good questions and made sense when she had something to tell us.”

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Tired of waiting for your weed to arrive from the Ontario government’s online store? You’re not alone.

Three weeks after Canada legalized recreational marijuana, the country’s largest province is still struggling to fill orders and deliver them. The Ontario Cannabis Store has been flooded with complaints about slow delivery and poor customer service.

The problems might drive customers back to the illegal market — and it might be hard to win them back, warn some cannabis experts.

Others say a few kinks are to be expected as the province establishes the country’s largest legal pot retailer.

The Ontario Cannabis Store says it has hired more staff to answer the jammed phone lines and respond to emails. Officials promise they are working to improve the operation of the distribution facility.

Be patient, they plead.

Many questions remain, though. The Ontario Cannabis Store declined to say how many staff it employs now and how many it has added, how it predicts how much cannabis is needed; and who’s running the distribution facility.

Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli added a layer of mystery to the saga with his suggestion that lying criminals can take the blame because they gave the government bad advice on how many Ontarians would buy pot.

Here’s what is known:

It’s not a problem with supply

Elsewhere in Canada, some stores and online portals run by both government agencies and private businesses have reported shortages of cannabis. Quebec’s government stores have closed from Monday to Wednesday because there isn’t enough stock. Some stores in western provinces closed temporarily or have limited supply.

The Ontario Cannabis Store has had a steady if limited stock. Eventually the store plans to sell about 150 strains of cannabis.

“OCS has adequate product supply to fulfil orders and continues to receive new supply on a regular basis from our licensed producers and to make that available on OCS.ca,” said the store in a statement.

On the other hand, perhaps the supply is adequate because processing the orders and delivering them have been problematic.

“I think there would be a shortage of supply if they were actually fulfilling orders,” said Deepak Anand, a vice-president at Cannabis Compliance Inc., a firm that advises the industry. Anand keeps a close watch on how legalization is unfolding in all the provinces.

“It seems to be very much an order fulfilment issue. The call centre has been bombarded. We’ve heard stories of people being hung up on and not taking calls. It seems to be a very operational issue, unlike we are seeing in the rest of the country, which is a stock issue.

“I don’t know if it’s staffing or just not enough thought being paid to the operational process and order fulfilment, that’s where the big breakdown seems to be.”

Postal strikes threw a wrench into the works

The Ontario Cannabis Store says rotating strikes by postal workers have caused complications and resulted in longer-than-expected delivery times for some  More than 9,000 Canada Post workers were off the job in the Greater Toronto Area in the first week of legalization and the backlog at Canada Post “continues to pile up,” says the OCS.

Faulty labels

Some of the Health-Canada licensed cannabis growers mislabelled some products, says OCS. “Unfortunately this delayed our ability to ship those items to consumers.”

Logjams at the secret distribution facility

The cannabis is packed and shipped from a warehouse at a secret location in the Toronto area.

The location is secret for security reasons.

OCS says it has taken steps to “add additional capacity” to the processing facility and to make “efficiencies.” What has been done and how will it help the backlog? No answer was provided to that question.

The OCS has declined to name the private company that operates the facility.

Toronto cannabis lawyer Matt Maurer says it’s difficult to assess the problem. “We don’t really know because they won’t say how many people are working there and who is running the warehouse … at a higher level, part of this could have been avoided if they had a reasonable amount of people working there.”

How did the government predict how many people in Ontario would buy pot?

The Ontario Cannabis Store says it received more than 150,000 orders in the first week of legalization. Store officials called the demand “unbelievably high,” “remarkable” and “unprecedented.”

It’s certainly unprecedented, since cannabis had been illegal for the past century.

But unbelievable? That depends on how many people the Ontario government store assumed would want to buy pot. That is not known. The OCS says it doesn’t share “market forecast methodology.”

Finance Minister Vic Fedeli suggested research was conducted by surveying criminals who now dominate the billion-dollar black market.

“All of the cannabis store assumptions were made … based on illegal data, illegal information from illegal sales …” Fedeli told reporters at Queen’s Park, according to citynews.  “And guess what? The criminals lied to us. They did not properly report their sales, if you can imagine that happening, so our assumptions of course were based on all illegal sales.”

His office did not respond to a request to clarify which criminals were consulted.

There have been numerous studies conducted to estimate demand, though.

One commissioned by Health Canada found that 18.8 per cent of Ontario residents over age 18 said they used cannabis in 2017.

Since the population of Ontario is about 14.2 million, that represents 2.7 million potential customers. No one would expect every single one of them to shop at the Ontario Cannabis Store.

But 150,000 orders represents only a tiny fraction — 5.6 per cent — of that estimate of how many people in Ontario use cannabis.

“Most people in the industry could have told them the demand is going to be exceptionally high,” said Maurer. “To start you should have a lot of (staff) lined up ready to go.”

Maurer said the store appears to be set up to fail because “the powers that be didn’t assign the proper number of people.”

It’s difficult for any company to recover from bad customer service, he said.

If the government didn’t have a monopoly on cannabis sales, people wouldn’t tolerate it.

“If any other business operated that way people would say, ‘Forget it. I’m never going to order from this  person again.’

“The government might just have lost a whole bunch of customers because of this debacle.”

“How long will people’s memories be, and can they fix these things?”

jmiller@postmedia.com

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