Ottawa 2026 — candidate register

No to question 1 as written. Supports the principle in questions 2 and 3 subject to delegated authority and to the Police Service Board. Yes to publication in question 4 and to performance measures in question 5 where reasonably measurable. Question 6 marked outside a mayor's jurisdiction. Asked on 1 October 2026 whether, as Mayor, he will put the flag procedures to a recorded vote of Council in his first term, he answered the same night, in full: “Yes, I would have no problem bringing the City’s flag rules before Council for discussion and a recorded vote. Personally, I do not see anything wrong with displaying different flags, as long as they are not hateful, discriminatory, or otherwise inappropriate. Canada is made up of people from many different backgrounds, cultures, and communities, and I believe there is nothing wrong with respectfully celebrating those backgrounds. What matters to me is that the rules are clear, fair, and applied consistently to everyone.” The answer names no term.

Answered 25 September 2026, the closing day, in his own words and on all 6 questions. Question 1: no commitment. In full: “I can see how it might be useful to stick to those 3 flags, so that no group feels left out. On the other hand, flying certain flags for celebrations might be nice for the community. So I’d want to consult with council and the public to figure out what is best.” Question 2: “I do support the City being transparent, so that residents feel they know what’s going on. I’d just want to explore the pros and cons of this question.” Question 3: “I’d want to look into the reasons for and against this proposal, and consult with council, experts, the Ottawa Police Service Board and the public.” Question 4: “I don’t know if I have the power to find that information at this point, but as a general rule, I believe that residents should know what their tax dollars are being spent on, and should be involved in the decision-making.” Question 5, the only question on which he undertakes anything: “I support publishing meaningful performance indicators, targets and results so residents can see whether public money is achieving its goals. New programs would need clear objectives and a plan for evaluation, and a plan to publish measured results once results are available.” Question 6 marked not applicable as a candidate for Mayor.

Answered 20 September 2026, after the second letter. On question 1 she declines the change and states that she has “no issue with the city’s current flag protocols”. On question 2 she states that she does “believe delegated authority requires ongoing scrutiny”, without undertaking to require a by-law or a recorded vote. Questions 3, 4 and 5 not addressed.

Yes to questions 1, 2 and 3. On question 1: a public building flies officially adopted flags and nothing else, the test being adoption and not sympathy, applied to causes he personally supports as well. On question 3 he states he is unlikely to sit on the Police Service Board and will read the current OPS vehicle marking policy before describing it. No to question 4: states that no candidate can produce a four-year cost breakdown before 26 October, and undertakes to request it in writing if elected and to publish whatever comes back. Yes to question 5, tied to a city-wide programme review. Records that the flag protocol is not a by-law and that Council never voted on it, dating the staff approval to 2004; the procedures published by the City give 22 June 2006.

Answered 20 September 2026, after the second letter, and the only candidate to date who read the provisions and addressed them. He records that he “reviewed the specific provisions you identified in the Delegation of Authority By-law and the City’s published Flag Protocol Procedures”. Question 1: declines to commit in advance to limiting municipal flagpoles to the flags of Canada, Ontario and the City. Question 2: declines to require every administrative policy to be enacted by by-law, and holds that the Clerk’s authority comes from Council through Schedule C, Section 1(3). He then states: “There is a meaningful difference between an administrative procedure dealing with the operational management of City property and a policy that establishes substantive criteria governing who may use prominent public property for expressive or commemorative purposes. The City’s Flag Protocol currently makes those kinds of eligibility determinations while listing no specific legislative or administrative authority within the procedure itself.” On the December 2026 review he undertakes: “When the Delegation of Authority By-law returns to Council for review, I would support examining whether the present delegation is sufficiently bounded and whether policies involving substantive public-access, expressive or similar criteria should require Council-approved governing principles, additional reporting, or Council ratification rather than being established exclusively through administrative policy.” Question 3: a matter for the Police Service Board and the Chief, no commitment without examining operational requirements. Question 4: cannot verify a 2023-2026 figure as a candidate, undertakes to support more granular expenditure reporting if elected. Question 5: supports defined purposes, indicators and reporting, declines a rigid numerical target in every case.

Answered 10 September 2026. Question 1, yes with a qualification, in his own words: “The policy should be approved by City Council and provide delegated authority to the City Manager or City Clerk to make amendments that align with the spirit of the policy, as needed.” Question 2, no. Returned to Council without a contest in Ward 16.

Questions 1 to 5 marked not applicable as a school board candidate. Answered question 6 in French: parents should be able to know what is taught and which resources are used in the school and then decide for their family, framed as a principle of access to information in education going beyond sex, gender identity and family structure. Notes that cataloguing every book, document and teaching resource is a logistical challenge and that a realistic way of making the information available to parents would have to be found. Did not undertake to grant a parent's written request to withdraw a child from that instruction.