Xavier Commerford
Independent for Ward 15 Councillor
Businesses & Jobs
Artificial Intelligence & Data Centres
Oppose data centers near the city. They drive up utility costs and harm affordability
Business Permitting
Cut patio red tape by streamlining permits for BIAs organizing sidewalk markets and art walks.
Economic Growth
Introduce a commercial vacancy tax to penalize speculative landlords who sit on empty storefronts.
Stabilize commercial rents to stop predatory rent spikes that are killing mom-and-pop shops.
Launch a youth small business incubator offering rent-free popup stalls that exclusively hire Ottawa's youth.
Advocate for provincial collaboration on small business commercial rent controls.
Establish city-led mediation for commercial landlord-tenant lease disputes.
Create standardized, plain-language commercial leases for fair agreements.
Reopen main street retail spaces and generate local jobs.
Tourism
Restore the Tulip Festival funding that City Hall slashed to zero.
Revive mega-event ambition by bringing back world-class events similar to Canada 150.
Recognize flight and VIA Rail tickets as valid one-way OC Transpo fares for seamless arrivals.
Climate Change, Heat, Fires, & the Environment
Artificial Intelligence & Data Centres
Oppose data centers near the city. They drive up utility costs and harm affordability
Energy-Efficient Buildings
Require all new city-owned buildings to meet net-zero energy standards.
Retrofit existing city buildings with heat pumps, insulation, and solar panels to cut emissions and energy costs.
Expand low-interest home energy retrofit loans, repaid through property tax bills, for homeowners and landlords.
Push the province to strengthen the building code toward net-zero-ready construction.
Green Space
Aggressively expand the mature urban tree canopy to lower street temperatures.
Pilot an indoor botanical garden by repurposing defunct commercial real estate into a city greenhouse.
Private Vehicles & Parking
Pilot solar roofs for parking lots.
Urban Heat
Equip community centres as relief hubs with independent solar microgrids and clean air filtration.
Walking & Cycling
Enforce 4-hour snow clearing on active transportation routes.
Zoning
Declare a moratorium on 50+ storey mega-towers and focus on gentle 5-storey density and 3-to-4 bedroom family housing.
Climate Disaster Prevention
Rebuild boulevards with permeable sponge infrastructure to naturally absorb flash floods.
Expand grants for backwater valves to prevent basement sewage backups.
Replace corrosive road salt with traction sand and crushed volcanic material.
Culture & Events
Festivals & Events
Streamline permits for BIAs organizing sidewalk markets and art walks.
Bring in light shows and immersive projection events from companies like MomentFactory, and large-scale spectacles like La Machine and Ottawa 2017.
Public Art
Host pop-up jam sessions for local musicians in train stations.
Source songs from local musicians to be train station jingles, like in Japan.
Tourism
Restore the Tulip Festival funding that City Hall slashed to zero.
Revive mega-event ambition by bringing back world-class events similar to Canada 150.
Recognize flight and VIA Rail tickets as valid one-way OC Transpo fares for seamless arrivals.
Housing & Homelessness
Affordability
Explore a city rental subsidy, like Toronto's, to keep precariously housed residents in their homes.
Building Maintenance & Occupant Health
Protect tenants during severe heat waves with a maximum indoor temperature bylaw guaranteeing a right to air conditioning.
Homelessness
Replace emergency shelters with permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Redesign public infrastructure to provide basic shelter from wind and rain throughout the city.
Housing Accessibility
Work with the province on elevator law reforms to make it cheaper to build accessible housing units.
Indigenous-Led Housing
Partner with Indigenous-led organizations to build culturally safe, Indigenous-governed affordable housing.
Property Taxes
Provide a clear breakdown of what percentage of your taxes go to each service and a comparison to other cities
Public & Assistive Housing
Establish a city-owned housing developer funded by profitable mixed-use commercial/office space.
Expand Rent-Geared-to-Income housing so it is open to residents of any income.
Rent & Rental Stock
Implement strict anti-renoviction bylaws so families aren't displaced by bad-faith renovations.
Zoning
Declare a moratorium on 50+ storey mega-towers and focus on gentle 5-storey density and 3-to-4 bedroom family housing.
Human Rights
Physical Accessibility
Provide audio cues in transit stations so exits can be navigated by the visually impaired.
Improve main street accessibility so every customer can reach local businesses, e.g., adding portable wheelchair ramps.
Trans Rights & Access to Public Services
Support Jeff Leiper's promise of an LGBTQ-specific community health clinic.
Free Speech
Oppose bubble bylaws to protect Charter free speech rights and prevent legal risks for the city.
Local Government, Planning, & Democracy
Artificial Intelligence & Data Centres
Oppose data centers near the city. They drive up utility costs and harm affordability
Budgeting
No bailouts for Lansdowne 2.0: public funds should finance hospitals and roads, not stadiums.
Publish transparent performance metrics for city departments to hold spending accountable.
Introduce an infrastructure levy to fund the repair and replacement of crumbling public infrastructure.
Good Governance
Endorse Jeff Leiper for Mayor to break down roadblocks at City Hall so these policies can be enacted city-wide.
Bring startup rigor to city spending by demanding transparent performance metrics and efficient services.
Long-Term Plan
Usher in an era of financial growth by maximizing tourism revenues and offering NCC-style premium services to generate city revenue.
Public Engagement
Launch a Seoul-style Bylaw Bonus program where residents who report bylaw violations earn raffle entries or prizes.
Youth Engagement
Support the city's Youth Council and give it a real voice in city decisions.
Consult with youth on long-term recreation and sports planning.
Mental Health, Drugs, & Addiction
Mental Health Crisis Response
Deploy civilian mental health crisis teams to appropriate non-violent calls.
Separate crisis numbers like in Japan to allow people to call for ambulances or wellness checks without risk of police showing up.
Overdoses & the Contaminated Drug Supply
Push province to restore safe consumption sites and/or safe supply
Treatment for Addiction
Expand ANCHOR to proactively address addiction with specialized civilian outreach rather than police.
Public Safety & Policing
Non-Police-Based Public Safety
Expand ANCHOR to address addiction challenges with specialized civilian outreach rather than police.
Police Funding
Refocus police funding on organized crime, femicide, and hate crimes over petty infractions.
Redirect shoplifting enforcement to protect vulnerable mom-and-pop shops.
Fix 911 service response times that are missing targets.
Police Wrongdoing & Accountability
Push for stronger independent civilian oversight of police and transparent public data on use of force and complaints.
Push for a ban on racial profiling and police street checks, and for real accountability for officers who commit misconduct.
Push for zero tolerance for officers who misuse police surveillance software and databases to look up partners and other personal contacts.
Push for publicly posted warning lists of officers still on the force who have been found guilty of serious crimes.
Upstream Causes of Crime
Invest in root causes of crime by funding affordable housing, youth programs, mental health care, and food security.
Neighbourhood Street Safety
Reject proposals that turn neighbourhood streets like Scott St into high-speed highway bypasses.
Deploy curb bumpouts near all ward schools and daycares for safer school zones.
Public Spaces & Services
Fitness & Sports Facilities
Build an indoor skatepark and promote skateboarding and active mobility.
Pledge to repair or replace all crumbling sporting facilities.
Green Space
Aggressively expand the mature urban tree canopy to lower street temperatures.
Pilot an indoor botanical garden by repurposing defunct commercial real estate into a city greenhouse.
Health Infrastructure
Build neighbourhood-level community urgent care clinics to relieve hospital ER overflow.
Fully fund paramedics and aggressively expand hiring to end Code Zero ambulance shortages.
Public Washrooms
Install self-cleaning, year-round public washrooms at all terminal stations and high-volume Park & Ride lots, which currently have none.
Adopt a binding standard that every major park, sports field, playground, and splash pad has an accessible toilet within a 3 to 5 minute walk.
Replace the $4,500 per ward toilet allocation with a $10 million multi-year city-wide public sanitation budget for permanent, four-season facilities.
Create an Ottawa Open Washrooms Partnership that pays businesses $1,500 to $3,000 a year to offer free, accessible washrooms to the public.
Make all new washrooms heated, four-season, all-gender, and fitted with adult changing tables, free period products, sharps disposal, and Naloxone kits.
Guarantee accessible washrooms and seating within a 5 minute walk of senior housing, transit stations, and main streets under an Age-Friendly Ottawa standard.
Sidewalks & Bike Paths
Mandate universal accessibility audits for all sidewalks, curbs, and crosswalks.
Upgrade the Commanda Bridge for active use year-round.
Zoning
Declare a moratorium on 50+ storey mega-towers and focus on gentle 5-storey density and 3-to-4 bedroom family housing.
Infrastructure & Services
Establish a municipal ISP to provide free city-wide WiFi and make Ottawa a premier tech city.
Fund immediate lead pipe replacement across all local elementary schools to eradicate lead from tap water.
Reconciliation & Indigenous Nations
Indigenous Languages
Fund Indigenous language revitalization, including signage and programming in city facilities.
Indigenous-Led Housing
Partner with Indigenous-led organizations to build culturally safe, Indigenous-governed affordable housing.
Land Title & Governance
Formally acknowledge that Ottawa sits on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory and include the Algonquin Nation in decisions about land use and city governance.
Place Names & Commemorations
Work with Algonquin Anishinaabe communities to restore Indigenous place names and commemorate Indigenous history in public spaces.
Residential Schools
Support the search for unmarked graves and survivor-led commemoration, and implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action at the municipal level.
Transit & Getting Around
Private Vehicles & Parking
Pilot solar roofs for parking lots.
Sidewalks & Bike Paths
Mandate universal accessibility audits for all sidewalks, curbs, and crosswalks.
Upgrade the Commanda Bridge for active use year-round.
Transit Projects
Build a municipal PRESTO bike share rental system at major stations.
Reverse the transit cuts made in New Ways to Bus by restoring lost routes and frequency.
Walking & Cycling
Enforce 4-hour snow clearing on active transportation routes.
Free Transit & Service Restoration
Phase in free transit with a fare-free O-Train, free fare zones in central hubs, and zero fares for minimum wage workers, OW, and ODSP recipients.
Make Route 11 fare-free through Wellington West and Hintonburg to boost business and free up parking.
Reverse transit cuts by restoring lost routes and publishing truthful, transparent schedules.
Everything else
Food Security
Declare a municipal food emergency and release contingency funds to address the hunger crisis.
Implement 1:1 city dollar-matching for OW and ODSP funds spent at local farmers' markets.
Pilot a municipal non-profit grocery store to combat corporate price gouging.
Work with the school board to implement a city-wide school lunch program to end child hunger.
Return-to-Office
Firmly oppose blanket mandatory federal return-to-office orders.
Biography
submitted by the candidate or their team
For over 27 years, Xavier has lived, worked, and organized in Hintonburg and Westboro. From fighting against the end of our airport bus route, to leading climate action rallies, Xavier believes City Hall must answer directly to neighbors, not developer lobbyists.
Promises
See all 95 promises
Food Security
Declare a municipal food emergency and release contingency funds to address the hunger crisis.
Free Transit & Service Restoration
Phase in free transit with a fare-free O-Train, free fare zones in central hubs, and zero fares for minimum wage workers, OW, and ODSP recipients.
Health Infrastructure
Fully fund paramedics and aggressively expand hiring to end Code Zero ambulance shortages.
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