REPS & ORGS.................2, 9, 10

Yasir Naqvi

MP Ottawa Centre N 613-946-8682 E yasir.naqvi@parl.gc.ca

It’s been an incredible summer full of community events, festivals, local markets and more. Where did the time go? I hope you all enjoyed spending time with family and friends and got a chance to participate in one of many summer activities offered in our community!

I was thrilled to host my first annual Ottawa Centre Cup event at St. Luke’s Park in Centretown. This community event provided an opportunity to promote sports, youth and inclusion with basketball games and a community barbecue. The event opened with an Indigenous drumming ceremony by Theland Kicknosway, an impressive young man, an educator and a leader, sharing Indigenous history and culture in all that he does. This was followed by two basketball games. First, the Christie Lake Kids Team went headto-head with the St. Luke’s youth team, winning by a final score of 62-41. This was followed by a spectacular game between the St. Luke’s Bulls and the OC Express, with a final score of 72-43, the Bulls winning the cup! A huge thank you to everyone involved. This event means a lot to the St. Luke’s community and to me as well, and it was a huge success. Until next year!

This summer, we also launched the Downtown Ottawa Revitalization Task Force. Following the last two years of pandemic hardship, downtown Ottawa has changed significantly. Downtown office workers from across the region have changed their commuting habits. A business community that once relied on daily foot traffic in the tens of thousands is struggling to get by. Ottawa’s transit system, once envisioned to bring workers from the suburbs to downtown, has yet to regain its pre-pandemic ridership. Recognizing this, it became clear that now is the time to bring together community and business representatives to propose creative ideas for Ottawa’s downtown core, post-pandemic. The Downtown Ottawa Revitalization Task Force includes affordable/

As I took Ottawa Centre’s seat in the Ontario Legislature in August, the scene was intense. Ontario’s 43rd Parliament has no shortage of drama. The social housing advocates, not-forsitting began with the election of the profit and for-profit housing developSpeaker, a process that had already ers, Indigenous leaders, sustainability taken an odd turn. advocates, local business improvement

Paul Calandra, the government’s area representatives and tourism stakeHouse Leader, had declared that Pre- holders. You can read more about this mier Ford preferred MPP Nina Tangri here: yasirnaqvi.libparl.ca/2022/07/29/ to be Speaker. Tangri would be the first news-release. Over the next four months, woman of colour in the role, breaking constructive meetings will take place, new ground. and I look forward to providing you with

But it was not to be. Many on the updates along the way. Please feel free opposition benches felt Tangri had to share your ideas that will help revitalplayed a harsh role in the previous Par- ized our downtown. liament from 2018 to 2022 and that the Summer allowed for more time to get Speaker during that period, Ted Arnott, out and do one of the things I love most, had done a solid job. hearing from residents at their doors.

We were not alone in that assessment. These community check-ins provided an At least 20 Conservative MPPs voted opportunity to get out with my team and with the opposition MPPs to re-elect speak with residents about the issues Arnott as Speaker of the House. I saw that matter most, as well as to let people the shock on the government front know what services they have access to bench as the news broke, and we are through our Community Office (such as hearing reports that reprisals are afoot help on immigration files or any other within the Tory caucus. file with a federal government depart-

As I took all this in, I couldn’t help but ment, and more). feel a bit dismayed. The Throne Speech Alas, the fall is here, kids are back the day after the Speaker’s election in school, and the House of Commons talked about “rejecting partisanship” will be back in session on September 19. and “finding ways to work together for There is much work ahead to continue the good of Ontario.” Not much of that working on local priorities like affordin the first week. able housing projects in our commun-

Even I was provoked when Health ity by developing partnerships with Minister Sylvia Jones replied to my local non-profit housing organizations and leveraging federal funding. Additionally, I look forward to following the progress of the newly introduced Bill C-23, an act respecting places, persons and events of national historic significance or national interest, archeological resources and cultural and natural heritage – which includes the Central Experimental Farm. I remain committed to supporting legislation that will protect the Farm from any further development. As always, you are welcome to stop by my community office, located in Hintonburg, and meet my hard-working team who are here to help. Please do not hesitate to reach out at 613-9468682 or via email at Yasir.Naqvi@parl. gc.ca.

Can we do politics differently? Strengthening our community and question about the Montfort Hospi- revitalizing downtown Ottawa tal. I asked about its emergency room closing for 24 hours the previous weekend and how we can ensure people get access to health care in French during staff shortages. I didn’t like the response and took issue with the fact that it came in English. I said as much in my reply to the Minister, and that evoked howls from the government side. I pressed on, but I knew I’d crossed a line. Ontario has two official languages, and MPPs have the right to choose which one to use in debate. I rose later in the afternoon on a point of order, apologized to the Minister for my comments and pledged to do better. As Michael Brooks (a talented organizer) often said, “be hard on the systems, but soft on the people.” But can we do politics differently? Or will the hothouse of narrow partisanship thwart our best efforts? How do we avoid that? “Stay human” is my reply to that question, inspired by the great Michael Franti, a musician I had the pleasure to see at Ottawa Bluesfest this summer. How we do politics matters – when we dehumanize others, we are lost. I think we can do politics differently and be passionate without belittling others. Let’s set that example now and not settle for anything less.

Caption: Cormorants on the dock in Dow’s Lake PHOTO: LIZ MCKEEN