Our village of Manotick celebrates its 150^th anniversary this year.  But right now many residents aren’t in a celebratory mood.

That’s because one unelected bureaucrat at the OMB overturned a decision by our democratically elected City Council which would have prevented doubling our village by adding 1400 new homes.

Hundreds of my constituents have emailed or called me in protest of the OMB’s unilateral decision for a variety of reasons. 

To begin with it contradicts the secondary plan of our village. 

Another major concern is the unsustainable traffic levels in the village, especially without Liberal support for building the Strandherd Armstrong Bridge.

I will be meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs along with Councillor Glenn Brooks this week to discuss all legislative options this Chamber has to overturn either the whole OMB decision or elements of it. 

The Minister has the tools- under the previous Conservative administration both the current MPP for Carleton Mississippi Mills and our current Leader of the Opposition as cabinet ministers, successfully overturned or varied OMB directives. 

There is cabinet prerogative.  So there is precedence.

We will also be urging this Liberal government to finally fund the Strandherd Armstrong bridge.  With or without the 1400 new homes this bridge is critical infrastructure for Manotick, Barrhaven and Riverside South.