On Monday February 23, 2009, business owners, public servants, farmers, and dozens of other residents converged on the Nepean Sportsplex. From the North, South, East and West, they braved the extreme cold and made their way to an Infrastructure Forum to discuss the needs that Nepean-Carleton has for infrastructure. 

In a time when Infrastructure development has taken on added priority as a tool for governments to help address the global economic slowdown, the Nepean-Carleton Federal Liberal Association and Nepean-Carleton Provincial Liberal Association teamed up to sponsor a grassroots discussion to help identify and potentially prioritize any investments in Infrastructure, from roads and bridges to community centers, schools, health care to alternative sources of power. 

Gordon Shields, president of the Nepean-Carleton Federal Liberal Association, introduced the evening and the speakers.  From the rural/urban divide, to linking the federal, provincial and municipal attention to maximizing any local investments of what is needed in this riding. To begin the evening, attendees heard from a guest panel ready to discuss infrastructure needs in our riding.

Jack MacLaren – president of the Provincial Landowners Association, with Tom Black, president of the Carleton Landowners Association spoke of the de-amalgamation the rural area of Ottawa desires, saying that the City of Ottawa is not meeting the needs of the rural community, and there was a real desire for less political intervention in the rural landowners and less taxes. 

Chris MacLeod, president of the Riverside South Community Association, explained that his community was designed to take advantage of the north/south light rail – and that it has never materialized, resulting in more cars in his community and more traffic on the roads.  With 3,000 households and over 9,000 residents, there are not enough schools, recreation and roads, and the infrastructure needs are great in this area, a vital part of the riding of Nepean-Carleton. 

Rod Vanier of the Queensway-Carleton Hospital spoke of his experience in healthcare and as a lawyer, Rod presented the view that the current recession was not made in Canada – it is imported.

Recently, leaders of the federal and provincial Liberal parties spoke of our productivity – it has been falling in relation to our trading partners – we haven’t worked smarter, we’ve worked harder.  Other governments have productivity departments, which help to encourage business to recognize the importance of inventing in innovation, which increases productivity.  The Stephan Harper Conservative government doesn’t even talk about productivity as being a concern. 

A highlight of the evening was the opening of the floor for questions and comments. Discussion was heated and enthusiastic, touching issues such as rapid transit, the RCMP move to the JDS building, the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge (which was delayed by the interference of federal Conservatives), the successes and failures of amalgamation, our food supply, education, accountability and more.

Participation was so high that the event went late, with attendees witnessing healthy debate and a wide range of views on interesting subjects. At the end of the evening, it was clear we had just skimmed the surface of the concerns Nepean-Carleton residents have about infrastructure in our riding.

The event was well-attended and successful – watch for more forums in the future coming from your friends in the Nepean-Carleton federal and provincial Liberal associations!