Check. Check. One, two. Check. Check. One, two, one, two, three, 4. Mic check. 1 2 3 4 5. Mic check. 1 2 3 4 5. Well, good morning everyone. Welcome to everyone who's here in person and online. I'll ask the committee coordinator to do the roll call, please. >> Kitz, sorry. Here. Councelor Lulof. >> Good morning. >> Councelor Skolowski >> here. >> Vice Chair Kelly >> present. >> Chair Brown, you have corner. Mr. Chair, >> thank you very much, Chris. There is no uh planning applications on the agenda today. However, there is an inc camera item on the meeting agenda. It's listed as item 6.1. Although it's listed as 6.1, I'm going to hold that to the very last item. So members of the public and staff don't have to stick around while we consider that matter. Are there any declarations of interest? Seeing none, uh confirmation of minutes from the Thursday, April 2nd, 2026 ARC meeting. Are those meeting minutes confirmed? >> Confirmed. Thank you very much. I think the main item on the agenda today I listed as item 4.1, the economic development uh rural plan. and we do have a staff presentation and we do have members of the public who have uh signed up to delegate on that item. There are also some motions that are going to be tabled today and so I'll ask staff to come up and get ready to present following the staff presentation. Colleagues, I'll have you each read in your motions and that way uh the delegates have an opportunity to address those motions through their delegations. Good morning, chair, members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to return today with an update on the economic development rural plan. My name is Jamie Hurst. I'm the program manager of economic development and I'm joined by my colleague Ian Scott, our lead economic development officer on the rural file. In March, we presented the draft plan and committed to conducting a 30-day public consultation before bringing it back for your consideration. I'm pleased to report that the consultation is now complete. Today, I'll be sharing what we heard, how that feedback has shaped the final plan, and the next steps for implementation. Next slide, please. The consultation ran from March 5th to April 4th on Engage Ottawa, giving rural businesses, community organizations and residents an opportunity to review the draft recommendations and to provide their feedback. The engagement was promoted through engage Ottawa, the rural affairs e newsletter, by rural counselors and through our rural business networks. Next slide, please. The engage Ottawa page for the rural plan received 264 unique visitors and 63 individuals submitted responses to the survey. Of those, 38 confirmed that they had reviewed the plan's recommendations in detail. We also received three written submissions from the Karp Road Corridor BIA, Community Action for Environmental Sustainability, and an individual resident. Participants represented a cross-section of rural Ottawa. The majority were residents of rural postal codes. Approximately half identified as business owners, and we heard from sectors including agriculture, re retail, construction, tourism, and services. This consultation was in addition to the more than 40 one-on-one interviews that were held previously with various interest holders, including rural counselors, business owners, BAS, community organizations, and city departments. Next slide, please. Of the 38 respondents who reviewed the recommendations, 68% expressed support for the plan, while 13% were neutral and 18% disagreed. Importantly, even those who disagreed generally supported the plan's direction, but called for greater ambition in areas such as infrastructure and energy. Respondents were also asked to identify their top priorities. Securing senior government funding ranked first, followed closely by the proposed rural business liaison. Expanding onfarmm diversified uses ranked third, followed by marketing and promoting rural Ottawa fourth and promoting rural Ottawa as a filming destination fifth. Next slide, please. Open-ended feedback highlighted several consistent themes. The proposed rural business liaison was the most frequently mentioned priority with respondents emphasizing the need for a single point of contact to help rural businesses navigate city processes. Infrastructure and planning were also raised repeatedly. Respondents identified issues such as roads, broadband, transit, permitting, and zoning as key economic barriers. While outside the scope, the direct scope of the plan, the rural business liaison will help connect these concerns with our appropriate city departments. Energy also emerged as a theme. Environmental advocates emphasize the importance of the energy sector in rural economic development, particularly as the transition to cleaner and more distributed energy systems accelerates. Emerging areas such as renewable energy generation, energy storage, and onfarmm solutions were identified as opportunities to support economic diversification, and long-term resilience for rural communities and rural businesses. Additional themes included agriculture and food systems, tourism and marketing, and calls for a broader economic vision. Next slide, please. Overall, the consultation confirmed the plan is on the right track. All 12 recommendations are retained in the final plan and the overall direction and re and the vision remain unchanged. However, the feedback was valuable in helping us sharpen how the plan will be delivered. First, the mandate and coordination role of the rural business liaison has been clarified and strengthened. Given the level of support for this position and the clear expectation from respondents that it serve as a genuine single point of contact, we've made this role central to the entire implementation framework of the plan. This is the first dedicated rural economic development staff position at the city of Ottawa and its creation represents a meaningful commitment to rural businesses. Second, the plan now places a stronger emphasis on cross- departmental coordination. While infrastructure and planning fall outside the scope of this plan, the rural business liaison will place an active role in channeling rural business concerns to the right departments in a consistent and structured way. Third, the Karpro corridor BIA's recommendation to explicitly recognize manufacturing is a key rural industry was incorporated. manufacturing joins agriculture, tourism, retail and services and development and construction as the five anchor sectors in the fi in the final plan. And finally, the plan strengthens the emphasis on measurable implementation. Respondents were clear they wanted to see progress and the plan includes an annual reporting commitment to this committee. Next slide, please. The 12 recommendations all aim to foster a strong rural economy that reflects the realities, priorities, and character of rural businesses and communities. The first recommendation is to establish a dedicated rural business liaison officer. Second, strengthen the integration of rural business perspectives and city policies. Third, pilot decentralized business support services across all rural wards. Fourth, strengthen engagement with rural businesses through the establishment of a volunteer rural business advisory group. Fifth, collaborate with local business associations to facilitate networking and mentoring. Sixth, strengthen marketing and promotions of rural Ottawa. Seven, secure provincial and federal funding for projects that support rural business growth. Eight, promote rural Ottawa as a filming destination. Nine, promote rural Ottawa as a destination for corporate and entertainment events, including weddings. 10, commission a baseline evaluation and benchmark study of Ottawa's rural economy. 11, assess competitiveness and capacity of Ottawa's employment lands to support projected economic growth and identify locations for future industrial development. And finally, recommendation 12, explore expanded onf farm diversified uses to simplify ancillary development and strengthen long-term farm viability. Next slide, please. With council approval, staff will begin implementing the plan immediately. The first and most critical action will be advancing the rural business liaison position, a dedicated staff role that will serve as the anchor for all implementation activities. Priority actions will then be sequenced across 2026 and 2027, including the launch of decentralized business support services across all rural wards. Our first pop-up clinic is being planned for June. The development of marketing and promotion materials and the identification of provincial and federal funding opportunities. Progress on rural economic development will be reported annually to this committee aligned with the timing of the broader economic development services update to council. I would like to close by thanking all of the rural residents, business owners, and organizations who took the time to share their perspectives throughout this entire project. Their input has shaped and validated the plan that is before you today. That concludes our presentation and we'd be pleased to take any questions. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Councelor Skolski, I'll ask that you read your motions in first then vice chair, we'll go to you and colleagues online if you have any just uh put your hand up and let me know. and then we'll uh move to public delegations. Uh Rody, you're going to be up first. >> Thank you, chair. So, whereas rural villages across Ottawa have experienced a decline in local services, including banks, retail stores, and other essential commercial uses that support complete and vibrant communities. And whereas rural residents, land owners, and businesses have identified a need for planning policies, zoning standards, and approval processes that better reflect rural realities, including the distinct needs of farms, village main streets, rural businesses, and unserviced properties. And whereas many rural properties on main streets and in commercial corridors consist of unserviced or legaciesized lots that face development constraints that may limit the ability of land owners, entrepreneurs, and businesses to repurpose or reinvest in rural properties for viable commercial uses. And whereas advancements advancements in uh private servicing, site design, and low impact development may provide opportunities to safely and effectively use smaller or unservice lots while supporting rural economic revitalization. And whereas feedback received through the city's 2024 rural summit identified key issues affecting rural economic development, suggesting that current zoning, planning policies, and approval processes should be reviewed to identify whether they unintentionally create barriers to investment, business development, and economic diversification in rural villages, and to support rural growth that is practical, contextsensitive, and respectful of rural character. Therefore, be it resolved that staff within planning, development, and building services report back to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee with recommendations to improve rural zoning planning policy and development processes with a focus on enabling greater flexibility for the development and reuse of unserviced and legacy size lots, including innovative approaches to private servicing and improvements to public realm policies that support economic development in rural villages. And be it further resolved that staff recommend additional improvements, drawing from insights about barriers to rural economic growth from their experience, supporting rural entrepreneurs through the development review process to date, as well as through consultations with rural stakeholders, including business owners, land owners, and agricultural representatives to further identify barriers and opportunities and be further resolved that they provide an update on the progress of this work to the agriculture and rural affairs committee by the end of Q3 2026. And I have a second one here. Um, so whereas on April 2nd, 2026, Rita Carlton Raceway announced the conclusion of its harness racing program beginning with the 2026 season following a decision by Ontario racing and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa. And whereas the raceway has historically paid played a significant role in supporting Eastern Ontario's horse racing community, including horse owners, trainers, borders, and associated agricultural and rural businesses. And whereas the closure of harness racing operations may have economic and social impacts in Ottawa's rural communities, including effects on horseboarding operations, feed suppliers, hay producers, veterinarians, friers, and other ancillary businesses. And whereas transitional supports announced by Ontario Racing are primarily focused on relocation and continued racing opportunities elsewhere in the province, it may not fully address local economic impacts within the city of Ottawa. Whereas the city of Ottawa has an interest in supporting rural economic development, local agriculture, and small businesses that may be affected by this change. Therefore, be it resolved that the city council direct staff to explore the economic impact of the local ecquin sector as part of the baseline evaluation and benchmark study of Ottawa's rural economy. that rural econom the economic development rural plan recommendation 10 and be it further resolved that based on the economic impact staff explore and consider viable opportunities were appropriate to support the e local equin sector through existing programs partnerships and economic development initiatives and be it further resolved that staff report findings back to the agricultural rural affairs committee through the planned rural plan implementation update in Q1 of 2027. Thanks. Thank you very much, vice chair. >> Thank you very much, chair. Whereas the city of Ottawa's rural villages, including the village of Karp, serve as an important economic, cultural, and social hubs that support local businesses, tourism, and community identity. And whereas retail and service businesses form the backbone of rural village economies, and rely on accessible infrastructure, including adequate parking to attract customers, support employment, and sustain local economic activity. And whereas consultation undertaken through the 2024 Ottawa Rural Summit and the Rural Economic Development Plan identified infrastructure, transportation and parking capacity and village cores as key constraints to economic growth and barriers to business viability. And whereas stakeholders specifically identified the need for additional municipal parking and improved visitor infrastructure on rural villages to support tourism, local spending, and business success. And whereas the rural economic development plan emphasizes the importance of integrating rural economic considerations into city decision-making, including infrastructure investments such as transportation and parking that support and strengthen the rural economy. And whereas the plan also identifies the importance of coordinated place-based economic development and investments in the village infrastructure to sustain and grow rural economies. And whereas the city of Ottawa's official plan directs growth to rural villages as focal points for economic activity, service delivery and community life and supports investments in public realm and infrastructure that enhance the viability and attractiveness of these areas. And whereas improving access to businesses in village cores aligns with council's priorities to support a diversified and prosperous economy and to strengthen the rural economic resilience. Therefore, be it resolved the council direct staff and public works with support from economic development and the rural affairs office to undertake an assessment of the current projected parking demand within the village uh within cart village core. Number two, council directs staff and real estate services with support of economic development at the rural affairs office and public works to undertake a review of potential properties within the village of Karp that may be suitable for acquisition, lease, partnership or other municipal use for the purpose of providing additional parking or additional public parking to support local businesses and visitors based on the findings of the above review. And number three, that this review include identification, evaluation of candidate properties, including municipally owned lands and privately held sites. Consideration of opportunities for partnerships with local organiz organizations, business associations, or other levels of government. High level costing, feasibility, and potential funding sources, including alignment with provincial and federal economic development programs. and number four that staff report back to the agriculture and rural affairs committee and council with findings and recommendations including potential next steps and implementation options. Thank you chair. >> Thank you very much. I'll ask uh Rody to come on down to the microphone and no stranger to the committee followed by Rebecca Erit. And I think you've got a nice video for us too, Rody. Staff will get that up for you. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Thanks, Chris, for getting that organized. Appreciate it. Thanks, Mr. Chair and Councelor Kelly. Thank you for your support and thanks to Councelor Gower for this word. He's also one of our um our designated board members. Um the video clearly shows the diversity of the corridor. Uh not only manufacturing, thank you, Jamie. uh light industry in general, but along with our recreational, the cat, the soccer field. So, we're a very diverse area and and we like to promote that diversity and and at the end of my presentation, I'll bring that up. But first and foremost, I want to uh thank Ian and Mike for coming out and uh and meeting with us. And also for uh the name of the plan being the economic development rural plan, not the rural economic development plan. We often focus in the corridor um by saying we're all businesses. Uh the employees are employees. We're not rural employees. We're not rural residents. We're not rural businesses. Business need the same support from the city of Ottawa and economic development with some possible unique features uh in rural villages need the same support uh like parking. Bank Street needs parking. Carp needs parking. So uh thanks for naming the plan that. Thanks for the manufacturing. The one item I want to bring to the attention of the committee. Now uh I have a unique perspective. I was part of the team that did the comm original community design plan for the corridor back in the early 2000s with uh Miles Mahan and Leslie Patterson and Richard Kilstrom. And at the time the vision of the community was a diverse corridor. The corridor zoning was set up to allow a little bit of commercial activity, the light industry. It segregated the heavy industry from a zoning point of view. The idea was it was an introduction to the village to some degree. Um I'd like to bring the committee's attention. I'm sure you're very aware of the provincial policy statement changes to employment areas. Recommendation 11 in the rural plan in the plan for rural area uh is to look at the employment areas and uh recent changes to the PPS and recent advice to uh the city from the province have really narrowed the opportunities for business use >> one minute >> in the car road corridor and so we're trying to put some energy into that uh with our own resources and we'll be looking hopefully for the plan to to look at that what constraint does the new provinial direction on the limited permitted uses in employment areas imposed on all of Ott's employment areas and particularly the corridor being the biggest has real opportunity to have a a complete community diversity to it because of our large land mass. So looking forward to working with your team, our counselors, this committee on economic development in our area. Thank you. >> Thank you very much for being here today, Rodie. And I know we've had many many conversations about uh the the health of the Carp Corridor and then how to how to get more business going through there. Um and I know we've had discussions about the recent provincial changes and and you've highlighted some other municipalities where um they've committed to continuing to look at that and what the effects of those changes are on those employment areas. And uh so I am I am committed to to working with you to to continuing that conversation, keeping an eye on that and and working with staff uh should we start to see some some real negative impacts of it, then we can see what um advocacy we could potentially do there. Um, and I'm assuming that uh our our conversations over the years have u often centered on infrastructure and I know there they touched briefly on it in their report about you know there was wasn't a an infrastructure aspect really to this to this report but I will um be sure to raise uh that and you know official plans and and how we navigate um those key pieces of infrastructure for for the corridor uh when questions for staff come up. So, thank you for being here today and I'll uh see you at your meeting next week. I think tomorrow. I'll see you at your meeting tomorrow. >> Well, thank you very much, Vice Chair and Rody. Thanks so much for coming out. You you're a great advocate for rural business and rural industry and you come with such a wealth of knowledge and the next time you come and delegate, I hope you have another video intro. >> Thanks, Ronnie. Thanks so much. Uh, next we have Rebecca, followed by Nikki Trudeell. I believe Rebecca's online. There she is. Hi, Rebecca. Hi, thank you. I really appreciate this opportunity. I want to start by saying that the draft plan skillfully reflects the background work consultations and experience of the staff who prepared it. But I do hope to open the door to a few priorities not currently included. I'm a longtime resident in Ottawa's urban core, but I am passionate and proud about my city's exceptionally large rural area, varied communities, and significant economy. And I think we can counter some of the rural urban friction by focusing more on shared interests, on opportunities that will contribute to a prosperous, resilient, and environmentally sustainable future for rural Ottawa and for the whole of Ottawa. At the same time, even and especially in the face of increasing volunteer volatility on various fronts. A key source of volatility is well described in Ottawa's climate ready strategy. I quote, "Climate related disruptions to global agriculture and supply chains are expected to drive up food prices. Prolonged power outages can also lead to increased food spoilage. The trade war and the blockade in the state of Hormuz are also revealing vulnerabilities. Farmers in Ottawa, as elsewhere, are facing serious increases in the costs of both energy and some fertilizers. Our prime minister as well as many others have noted that things are not going to return to quote normal. It's great that the draft plan includes a study on the existing rural economy since we can't plan well if we don't know the baseline but especially given opportunities associated with our uniquely significant land-based assets. Economic planning should reflect opportunities to work with new realities along with the growing technical and financial support available to do so. So, I'll briefly refer to three areas of opportunity I think deserve consideration. The first has to do with renewable energy and energy storage systems. This is an opportunity apparently still not referenced in the draft draft plan and I'm supportive of it not only personally but as co-chair of the Ottawa Climate Action Fund. I know the EDF cafes will undoubtedly address this opportunity in more detail. So, I'll keep my comments brief. Renewable energy and battery energy storage systems can contribute income for land owners and rural communities. As you're aware, a villagen's best project in South March involves a community development fund of $250,000 a year, amounting to 5 million over 20 years. As al also as importantly, these projects improve rural and regional energy resilience. So, it makes solid economic sense to reduce impediments to the efficient integration of renewable energy and energy storage in rural areas close to the grid. It isn't possible, I know, to avoid controversy around such projects, but one thing that could help is to strengthen community capacity to negotiate solid community benefit agreements. The second area relates to regenerative agriculture. There is strong and growing evidence that regenerative practices improve farm income by reducing input costs and increasing resilience to drought and pests. The initial transition years can see higher costs and lower yields. But within 3 to six years, profitability frequently surpasses conventional farming, often by large margins. Given this, there is growing financial, technical, and peer support to help producers with the transition. One example is the millionacre challenge recently launched by the Canadian Association for Netzero Agriculture. Brief communication with Kansas ED confirmed their willingness to explore partnership possibilities with the city. The federal government is also actively supporting the transition through programs like the sustainable Canadian agricultural partnership. Also relevant to this topic is the presentation to the April meeting of this committee by two key proponents of the use of veloanite as a soil amendment. The third area is about increasing food production for local consumption. Given large-scale economic dynamics, most of the revenue currently earned by Ottawa's farming sector comes from commodities whose markets lie beyond the city. And only a small proportion of what Ottawa residents eat comes from local farms. But especially given the evolving realities previously mentioned, it makes growing sense to shift the balance towards more local food production. To support this, farmers need efficient pathways to get their products to local consumers and extend their earning period. In other words, Ottawa needs more and better integrated food storage, distribution, and processing infrastructure. This need came through in the consultations as noted on page 15 of the draft plan, but it is not reflected in the priorities here. Again, to improve food security and supply chain efficiency, the f federal government is investing in infrastructure such as abbittoars, green houses, and cold rooms. There is a draft plan priority related to securing federal and provincial funding to support rural business projects. And the follow-up feedback just summarized by Jamie reinforces this. The draft plan could equally reflect an intention to assist interested farmers and other entrepreneurs in accessing a growing number of relevant supports available for regenerative agriculture and local food. Thank you, >> Rebecca. Oh, there. Perfect. Thank you very much. >> Are there any questions for my colleagues? I'm not seeing any questions, but I do want to thank you for your delegation. I I think it's important to recognize that rural Ottawa is extremely important to the the financial health of the city of Ottawa and all of the businesses and and residents that are located here. And I think that's something that for the last, you know, 25 years or so of amalgamation have been missing. And as Jamie alluded to, this is the first plan that rural Ottawa will have that's dedicated that sets out those priorities. And I really do appreciate you showing up today to delegate on those. So, thank you very >> Thank you very much, Chair. I appreciate. Yeah, I appreciate the >> Thank you. Okay, Nikki, no stranger to the committee. You're up next. The floor is yours. >> Thank you so much. I'll just wait for my slides. Good morning, uh, Chair Brown, committee uh, members and staff. So, my name is Nikki Trudeell and I am committed to advocating for clean energy uh, generation, energy efficiency, and nature-based solutions. I say this every time. Next slide, please. I'm here today to speak regarding the economic development rural plan and I and to ask that this committee direct staff to strengthen it in these key areas. Energy resiliency, broadband service, and nature-based solutions and ecosystem valuation. Next slide, please. In rural energy resilience, in rural Ottawa, resilience is practical. It is about what happens when the power goes out, when flooding occurs, or when extreme weather events disrupt daily life. Costly disruptions that impact businesses, livelihoods, and insurance premiums. Renewable energy projects are being proposed and built in rural areas just at a time when adaptation and security of supply are of increasing importance. Next slide, please. help generate excitement for a new energy vision in our rural communities, one that aligns economic development with climate adaptation and energy security. The proposed actions that I would ask to be included within the rural e within the economic development rural plan are create a resiliency fund, reserve community benefit dollars from renewable projects to fund local resilience projects in energy and adaptation. Prioritize investment in local energy systems to improve resilience to outages. Establish micro grids. uh set up resiliency hubs at community centers, libraries, schools, fireh halls, and support farms, homes, and businesses to maintain operations during outages. Thirdly, leverage additional funds from other levels of government to increase impact, thereby creating jobs in the rural area, increasing food security, preparing for greater EV penetration in mobility and providing households using delivered fuels with a viable option. Next slide, please. Broadband. The CRTC 2024 communications monitoring report shows that while 95% of urban households need a minimum broadband standard, only 50% of of rural ones do. And I happen to be one of them. This structural issue impacts remote work, education, small business, agri business, farm operations, farm innovations and security. Next slide, please. Let's also consider the cost disparity. I would encourage you to direct staff to assess the state of broadband connectivity in rural Ottawa and as a foundational input to the rural economic development strategy and to identifi identify how the city can use its advocacy role to accelerate access to reliable affordable broadband for rural residents, students, and businesses. Next slide, please. Nature-based solutions and ecosystem valuation a missing component in the rural economic development plan. Unfortunately, the plan does not attach a tangible value to our natural infrastructure as an economic asset. Next slide, please. The city is incurring tens of millions of dollar in extreme weather costs that healthy rural natural systems help mitigate. Between 2017 and 2023, this cost Ottawa more than 35 million. Ottawa has 51,000 acres of wetland, 18% of its total land area concentrated almost entirely in the rural areas. The the city has recognized that the ecosystem does have tangible and intangible value. A mayor a recent mayor endorsed wetland conservation project in rural Ottawa was framed explicitly as an economic investment. Next slide, please. Provincial and conservation authority tools to value these assets as economic infrastructure already exist. The GTA has used these tools to attach a value to their forests and the climate change master plan is preparing to conduct an ecosystem services valuation targeted for 2026 pending budget approval. The work with conservation authorities to update wetland mappings and the evaluation of ecosystem services may drive a host of additional rural economic opportunities. Last slide, please. My final ask is to direct staff to ensure the economic development rural plan incorporates natural heritage, wetlands, woodlands, and carbage carbon storing landscapes as rural economic assets and that the upcoming ecosystem services valuation informs a future update to this plan. Thank you for the opportunity to delegate. >> Thank you very much, Nikki. I'm not seeing any questions from my colleague, but there are a few components to your uh presentation that I have some questions on for city staff mostly around how we can leverage some of our resources as you were requesting with upper levels of government because oftent times there are many items that we would like to do but we rely on our other government partners to be able to carry out and deliver. But thank you very much for coming today. I appreciate it. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Our next delegate is James Scott McCelip followed by Angela Keller Herszok. So James, I'll ask you to come on down to the microphone. >> No, the the button at the bottom there, the base. There you go. >> Okay, there we go. Good morning. Um, smart farming at Area X in the Ottawa Smart City. Our Ottawa residents properly informed. Slide two, please. NATO can improve Canadian food security. Successfully addressing the challenges in a strategic and systematic way will require a shift towards precision farming combined with adoption of digital tech across farms. Slide three. By adopting uh nano particles together with nano sensors and current farming practices, farmers can improve nitrogen efficiency. Slide four. Another potential application in nanotech to generate agriculture efficiencies exist with nanogenetics. This involves controlling plant genes to affect growth season yield and even color of plants. Slide five. Canada's line with NATO's resilience framework is now shaping both national strategy and how agri food sector is perceived abroad through departments like agri food Canada public safety Canada coordinates with provinces and industries to integrate risk management and emergencies planning into the oversight of the food supply chain. This aligns with the North Atlantic treaty. Slide six. Area X selected as NATO defense innovation accelerator for the North Atlantic test center. Area X by Invest Ottawa accelerates the development, testing, adoption of next generation smart mobility, autonomy and connectivity tech with NATO. Slide seven. FCC and Area X accelerate agrich innovation, adoption, impact. Area X is home of the Ottawa smart farm powered by egg expert together with Farm Credit Canada partner partners to um accelerate agrich innovation adoption impact on farms. Slide eight. Ottawa Innovation Farm at Area X is an agrich innovation playground that develops, tests, and commercialize smart agriculture solutions. Slide nine. Bringing together autonomous systems, sensors, IoT, telecommunications, and big data analytics, robots, and drones on 100 acres of farmland equipped with GPS, CV2X, Wi-Fi, 5G, MM wave telecommunications, and networking infrastructure. Slide 10. Smart farming includes a system of interconnected sensors, including ground sampling sensors, optical sensors, and more to access soil properties and crop health. Slide 11. Meet Jordan J. Wallace, um, smart farmer at Area X. Slide 12. Jordan is owner of GPS, Ontario, where he precisely gathers maps and monitors data to evaluate yield using intelligent spray control systems. Jordan helps smart farmers plant wood precision. Slide 13. Meet Crystal Vanderell, director of general policy horizons and former head of strategic foresight at the WF. Slide 14. Agriculture and nano natural manufacturing tech. Precision agriculture is based on observing interfield variations with satellite imagery and advanced sensors. Farmers can optimize returns on input allowing improved automated decision-making and planting techniques. Slide 15. Air and soil sensors are fundamental additions to the automated smart farm. Slide 16. Livestock biometrics. Callers with GPS RFID biometrics identify and relate info about livestock in real time. Crop sensors inform application equipment of correct amounts needed. Optical sensors or drones identify crop health across fields. Slide 17. Infrastructure. Infrastructural health sensors are used for monitoring vibrations and material conditions on smart farms. Slide 18. Biodigital today and tomorrow. Precision smart farming use a combination of tech to influence and not alter how agriculture industries f function from robots to inspecting plants identifying pests and diseases are hurting farm animals to data optimizing fertilizer inputs to blockchain origin tracing and more. Slide 19. Meet Dr. Francois Kol uh SEC governing council member member of the IEC and ISO. He's responsible for international standards surrounding IoT and digital twins and biodigital convergence. Slide 20. This includes smart farming initi smart. Slide 21. Smart farming overlaps with genomics, breeding, crop production, biotech, remote sensing and data analysis. Uh supply chain management more. Who needs slide 22 who needs standardization genetic engineering and breeding of plants and animals? Remote sensing and integration of enormous data sets for optimization of precision agriculture supply chains and more. Slide 23. Relevant standards includes ISO and biotech, ISO molecular biomarkers, ISO smart farming, ISO agriculture electronics, ISO and unmanned aircraft. Slide 24. Data communication includes agriculture electronics, tractors, machinery for agriculture, unmanned systems, and more. Um, let's go to slide 26. Scope of working group five uh biodigital standardization opportunities include bioengineering systems and systems um this includes IoT applications for precision farming slide 27. This is all part of the convergence of biodigital tech agriculture. >> Sorry James that was your time. Thank you very much for coming and delegating today. Provides further advant Thank you very much, Angela. You're here to round us out. No stranger to the committee. Thanks for coming out today. All right. Good morning. Nice to see you all. Uh voila. There is my presentation. So, next slide, please. Um I think you know cafes a network for nature environment and climate and you know that our representation includes rural suburban and urban Ottawa. Uh next slide please. So cafes was very happy to see this rural economic development paper. I have a background as an economist so that was kind of nice to see too for me. Um, we're here today to speak to one specific gap energy which the plan's own consultation summary actually identifies as an emerging opportunity for the rural economy but which the recommendations do not act on yet. Um so the key rationale here is that energy is both a major cost for farms, businesses and households and the incoming investment is also an opportunity for the rural economy. So these two big drivers. Next slide please. So to unpack this picture a little bit more, we know that the rural households, the rural economy pays a premium of about $1,200 per household per year, where the the rural households pay more. Um, and across the almost 200,000 residents of rural Ottawa, that obviously amounts to millions of dollars leaving the rural economy because these dollars are not local services that are being consumed, but they're like imports, right? So at least half the natural gas that is consumed by um Ontario is actually frack gas from the the United States from Pennsylvania, Ohio. Um and this is the frack shale gas. Um and most of the electricity we know is generated pretty far far away in in the other part of Ontario imported to our region. On top of that, we know that energy prices are volatile and rural businesses are price takers. Um the small business advocacy committee uh community has has pointed this out a lot. So the bottom line then is to the extent that we can move away from these energy imports and volatile costs and have renewable locally generated energy and energy storage. This is obviously of great benefit um to the rural economy. Next slide, please. Um so, in terms of trying to get some of the the dollars involved, um this committee is very familiar with the $1 billion um coming in for the two large best projects. Um we also have um tracked $1.2 $2 billion in um future Hydro Ottawa grid investments and then there would be money from Hydro 1 on top of that in terms of modernizing their infrastructure. And then we also have tracked a pipeline um of mostly solar LT2 projects that are again about 250 megawws. Again, these are just large conspicuous um projects, but um benchmarking the rural economy should definitely include this um several billion dollar um incoming capital. Next slide, please. Um so we have two questions um for the committee then. Um, one, would the rural business liaison conduct proactive outreach to the energy development sector? And here we're looking again at the future procurement under LT2 from the ISO and also the ISO local generation program which should launch in 2027. That would be for smaller community scale projects. >> One minute. >> Um, yeah, great. Um and the second question is whether under recommendation 10 which is for the baseline study of Ottawa's rural economy whether that would include the energy sector and here um we're thinking of getting intel not just on the bid the big grid connected projects but also the behind the meter um investments in deers the um distributed energy resources and that could be some of the um farm diversified um investments as well. Um last slide. So thank you very much. Um I think all of you received also the input paper that cafes did and it was an opportunity for us to learn quite a lot and we definitely appreciate um this initiative by uh by staff. Thank you. >> 5 seconds to spare. Thank you very much Angela. We do appreciate when you come out. It is important again to recognize that rural Ottawa, you know, 80% of the the city's land mass, more than 100,000 residents and having this plan, I think, is going to make a material difference for residents in the rural area and it it's great that your organization recognizes that. But thank you very much for coming out. Thank you. Okay, let's go. Uh questions to staff. Uh, councelor Skolski. >> All right. Thank you, chair. So, I did want to speak a little bit to the motions that I table. I do have a couple of questions to staff. So, I think that the economic opportunity in rural Ottawa has been overlooked for too long. People expect us to create the conditions for businesses to thrive. And this means that we're working to attract small and essential businesses to main streets. That we're being thoughtful about the role that planning and zoning has in enabling investment. That we're staying on top of the latest innovations and septic servicing so that we can support growth without compromising the environment. It means that we're working as hard at reimagining and improving the public realm on a rural rain street uh to attract tourists as we are for the byward market. So when I read this initial plan, I felt that it really lacked the ambition that's needed in this moment. We can't even pretend to be serious about rural economic development if we don't have staff whose jobs it is to do outreach and foster partnerships with rural businesses or if we don't have data that tells us what the rural economy even looks like. So, I've heard from rural businesses that they won't invest in Ottawa. It's too expensive and they get more support from our neighboring rural municipalities. So, the plan before us today, I think, puts the pieces in place that are essential to building anything more ambitious going forward. It recognizes that there are gaps and it works to fill them. So, I do want to thank the staff uh for ensuring this revised version goes a step further from the earlier draft uh to incorporate onfarmm diversified uses and more active outreach and engagement. This is all good stuff. So, however, in my view, there remains a gap between what we heard and what we have in front of us today. Uh and it relates to the role that zoning, permitting, and planning plays in enabling investment. So, the motion that I put forward does aim to fill that gap. Um, in addition to all the feedback that we heard during the rural summit from farmers that are looking to innovate with new agri tourism models to the business owners that can't rebuild after a fire because of more stringent rules around legacy size lots. So, I'm of the view that the planning and development team here has a wealth of observations to draw from. Uh the way I described it is that every time that team sits in a pre-conultation with a business that's looking to expand or looking to establish in rural Ottawa, they see firsthand which policies have become barriers to moving forward and where there's an opportunity to make the lift lighter for those looking to invest. So I think we need to lean in on what we already have here in rural Ottawa. Um on the farm tour that we took recently, we saw firsthand how farmers are investing in cutting edge technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. There is untapped potential for partnership for tourism for investment all across rural Ottawa. Um we can have a strong agree and ecoourism sector. We can have dedicated industrial corridors and thriving rural villages. I think we just all need to roll up our sleeves and start doing doing what we've been talking about and putting in reports and ideas for the past 25 years. So, um I'm asking my colleagues for support of this motion. It will result in a complimentary suite of recommendations coming from the planning and development side of the city. I think that we all know that there's no magic bullets here when it comes to improving economic development. There are layers of policies and processes and years of other priorities that have led us to the situation that we have today in rural Ottawa and it's essential that we tackle this issue from all angles and not just from the business promotion side but I think that side is still equally really important. So I'm glad to see the the moment that we have today. Um I did have two kind of questions related to this. Um so you did speak to it in your presentation but just to highlight again um when the plan is improved what does implementation look like um where will you begin when it what what can community associations and BAS expect differently in the next year as this plan actually gets implemented. chair. The biggest difference is going to be they are going to have a single point of contact at the city of Ottawa for all their rural business needs. And you're going to see that individual out in the rural communities meeting directly with those community associations with those business organizations and with rural businesses. When we were conducting our initial outreach at the beginning of the development of this project, it was amazing the number of rural businesses that said to Ian how surprised they were that Ian was at their place of business in our rural community. So, you're going to see that person out there uh listening and we're aiming to be more proactive in our engagement in understanding what those challenges are that rural businesses are experiencing and then actively working with our colleagues across city departments on on solutions. >> That's great. But I agree that I think a real measure of success will be if the rural businesses themselves know who Ian is or who who this liaison is and is able to say yeah you know we feel like we have that support and when we have questions or or barriers that we're facing that we have someone we can come and talk to. Um so I think that's that's wonderful. Um my question my other question is more around the servicing side. Um so servicing sites is such a big part of development in rural Ottawa. Um the need to establish private well and septic systems instantly adds costs and uncertainty to a project. Um have we ever done any analysis to see what other rural municipalities are doing to attract investment specifically around minimizing the burden and costs of the uncertainty of servicing lots? Maybe >> chair through the building through the redevelopment of sites the requirements for sanitary servicing are outlined in the Ontario building code um provided they're a small system as we get into larger systems are regulated by the ministry of environment. So we we are open and permissive of any type of alternative servicing provided it's recognized by the by the ministry and um you know the regulations around that are outlined in the code and those are the same across the province. >> Okay. I think I think my question is more, you know, that we recognize that that it's not so much the type of service, but that that adds a cost to anybody who's approaching a lot in rural Ottawa and that I think in what we've I've seen in other rural municipalities is that they recognize that all that initial infrastructure buildup is just an instant barrier for investment. Um, do you know whether we've looked at what other municipalities are doing from a business attraction side to deal with those costs? And and it's possible that we haven't done that, >> chair, from an economic development perspective. No, we have not done that type of study. >> Thank you. Okay, those were my two questions. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, Councelor Kitz. >> Thank you, Chair. Uh, good morning everyone. Apologies for not being uh able to join you in person. Um I wanted to pick up on on something Jamie just mentioned actually. Um because when we asked staff what the key takeaway was from the businesses that they spoke to in Ward 19, it was that they were pleasantly surprised and appreciative um that to have city staff take an interest in them. Um, and I wanted to emphasize that because I think it says a lot. Um, it shows that rural Ottawa has felt overlooked and um, really like an afterthought in conversations at city hall and that is disappointing. Um, I think it naturally makes people ask how did we get to that point? Um, but I also think that there's something encouraging in it because the fact that they are pleasantly surprised and appreciative just because city staff took the time to speak with them um, shows how meaningful simple engagement can be. Um, and you know, it tells us that people just want to be listened to and included and recognized. And I think it also shows that we as as rural counselors, as this committee, as staff are starting to change that we are making a deliberate effort to reach out, to listen um and to make sure rural businesses uh and communities are feeling feeling seen and feeling included. Um so if people are noticing the difference, I think that that means we're moving in the right direction. Uh, I did want to ask staff about what the reporting back on these initiatives is going to look like. How how will will council and the public be updated on progress and timelines and outcomes uh as this work moves forward? >> Chair, we're committing to coming back on an annual basis with an update um on the outputs of this rural plan. So, I see that as being a staff report that would outline all of the specific actions and then provide you a very specific um overview of where we're at with each of those actions. And we'll bring that that update back to you and to this committee at the same time or around the same time as we bring our a our broader economic development update to the finance and corporate services committee and council. It's generally in the first quarter of each year. >> Okay, that's great. Um I think it's I think it's wonderful that they're going to be coming forward at the same time on an annual basis and I know that certainly um the members of this committee will will look forward to that with interest. Um I'll say I think I mean this might be a really small thing but um in some ways it feels like part of the opportunity here is is simply doing a better job of promoting some of the initiatives that already exist. Um, for example, we recently sort of stumbled across these self-guided bicycle tours in rural Ottawa um that not even members of our rural cycling community, including the board of the Prescott Russell Trail, for example, seem to know um anything about. Um, and I don't know if any of my colleagues were aware that these existed. I'm looking for head nods. No. Okay. Exactly. Um, so do staff know when those were last updated? They're they're they're cool and they're they're quite comprehensive, but um do we know when those were created and and then perhaps last updated? >> Yeah. So, chair, those were created um during COVID actually as a way to get residents and you know, out of their houses um and into the rural areas and they were actually created at the same time that we created um rural itineraries for each ward. So like day like tourism itineraries where you could either drive around, go to different businesses. Um and they were complemented by those cycling routes. I at the time they were very well received um and they are certainly you know we can promote them um the cycle routes more largely and also look at um doing those itineraries as well. We did ones for the summer and the winter um again well received and they highlight attractions and businesses. So that is certainly a takeaway that we can take. >> Yeah. I mean, one of the one of the action points is to do those itineraries. And so I think, you know, shining light on them and updating them so that they're relevant. But, you know, the majority of this this committee didn't even know that they um existed. So, I think we could be doing a better job um on that. Um and lastly, I just wanted to say uh I do appreciate a lot of the actions coming out of this report. One area that I personally continue to hear a lot about is is uh number 12 around expanding on form diversified uses. And I think this is something that can have a real impact on uh rural economic development. We recently helped um a business relocate its processing plant from Cornwall to Starsfield and there was red tape to work through but that move is going to bring 50 full-time jobs to Starsfield. that is significant for a rural community. Um, and I wanted to to also mention that the recent farm tour that C councelor Scholsey organized was fantastic. It was um a really valuable opportunity for urban counselors and staff to see firsthand um the incredible work happening in our rural communities and also some of the we heard about some of the very real challenges that these businesses are dealing with every day. In my opinion, there's no um substitute for getting out on the ground, speaking directly with people um hearing about the barriers that they face and the opportunities they see. I know that that was part of this this work in developing this plan as well. Um but I think those experience experiences really um help connect policy discussions at city hall um to the realities of running a business in rural Ottawa. So um kudos to the team. I think this is a good start. Uh, and I am look looking forward to um seeing where the work goes from here. Um, and I'll be happy to support all the motions. Thank you. >> Thank you, councelor, vice chair. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And thank you very much for for your presentation and the work that you've done on this over the last few months um or longer. At the beginning of your presentation, you had uh highlighted some of the public consultations and meetings that you've had and and areas where people agreed and disagreed. And uh it sounded like the larger number was was the people on the agree of the side or or supportive of the plan. Uh and I don't remember the number of people or the percentage that disagreed, but could you talk to us a little bit about what those disagreements were or what the nature of them are and um if there's um any particular ones that that stand out that we could uh work on next time around. chair. So, um going back to to the presentation slide, um of the 38 respondents who reviewed the recommendations, again, 68% had expressed agreement, 33% were neutral, and 18% or seven individuals expressed either somewhat disagreeing, that was five individuals, or strongly disagreeing, that was two individuals. Importantly, however, um even those that disagreed generally supported the plan's direction and their primary feedback is they wanted the plan to be more ambitious. They wanted it to touch on infrastructure or address infrastructure challenges. They wanted it to address the planning and servicing challenges. And so what we've done is we've strengthened um the the wording within the plan around the role of the rural business liaison officer and specifically provided information on how that rural business liaison officer is going to help to try to address some of those infrastructure and planning related challenges that were cited. I based on your presentation and some of the conversations we've had, I did suspect that was going to be the key uh takeaway from the disagree side of things is that it could have included planning and and infrastructure stuff. And so I'll follow up a little bit uh on uh the conversations that that I've had with the carp road corridor specifically. And you know, I I certainly cannot speak to um the conversations that were had uh leading up to the approval of the last official plan um and this area not being included in that service area. So I I can't answer those questions and um haven't been able to chat with my predecessor about the conversations that were had at that time. But for whatever reason, it was not included in the service area. So that has made it very difficult to uh make advancements on that file with the corridor and uh they see it as a key piece of of their success moving forward and I can certainly understand why. Uh but being not being included in the plan originally also comes with so many other uh challenges and and makes it an uphill battle long-term financial plans and all of that. So and and perhaps there's a a role for strategic initiatives if there's multiple departments that are involved or or other levels of government. So, and then sorry this is a really long question and then the other the other side of that is is what we consider to be a unique opportunity because the city will uh entertain a servicing areas if there's a unique uh economic opportunity which uh seems to be from the city side of things a a large large operation like an Amazon warehouse or something. uh is there a way to calculate or look at what the economic potential of certain areas would be if we were able to service them? Um and then on top of that would to to highlight the opportunity rather than just a unique one. Is there a way to review what what economic output could potentially come to a place like Carpro Corridor with servicing? And then on top of that, understanding the the financial terms and and the difficulty of coming up with that money get not being in the long-term financial plan. Are there grants available, funding available from the province or the federal government to achieve those projects that were not originally put into the service areas? So chair as the member has alluded to there's there's multiple components to uh the infrastructure and what's h what carpro corridor uh we worked very closely with our colleagues in policy planning in the planning building and development services department on recommendation 11. So recommendation 11 is to I think get to your first point. It's assessed the competitiveness and capacity of Ottawa's employment lands to support projected economic growth and identify priority locations for future industrial development. So in speaking with our colleagues in policy planning, we believe that this is the first foundational step that we need to take. Um, of course the plan is designed to be flexible. Um, and so there is opportunity to build on this work as we go forward in the future. So this is what we're proposing as our first step. our team, we have a planner that works specifically in economic development and there's ongoing meetings between that planner, the carproad corridor BIA, and our policy planning team. Um, so we're always very um open to engaging in those discussions with Karp Road around uh their challenges and what some potential solutions might be. I'll shift away from crazy long questions to a quick comment just about and and I think councelor Kits hit the nail on the head when she uh talked about just how happy people are to even be having this conversation and um I think the five of us have have heard that a lot over this term of council. um you know, we haven't solved every issue, but but certainly we're having these types of conversations that have not been had in several terms of council. And so I'm very grateful for that. And I think um just a really u special takeaway here regardless of all the other recommendations. I think it's amazing that uh we do have a dedicated liaison that people can can talk to. Uh because again I will agree with councelor kits that oftentimes it's just that we don't know all of the things that are already available. Uh one person can't necessarily answer all of the complex questions and help people navigate those those complex systems and and application processes. So having uh having someone who's dedicated to doing that is is going to be a huge help I believe and a great step in the right direction. Um I think we've made some great progress here and um I'm proud of proud of the progress. So, thank you very much for your efforts and everyone else on this at this table. >> Thank you very much, Vice Chair Councelor Skolski. >> Thanks, Chair. Sorry, I wanted to come back on the board because I I wanted to speak to the second motion that I had uh that I had also tabled about um the closure of harness racing in Ottawa. Um and just a little bit of context, so my office has received several calls from uh locals who are impacted by these closures. And so this is, you know, folks who have been boarding horses at their homes who um you know uh ancillary businesses, feed suppliers, um hay suppliers, um and uh and these these folks have they employ people. They've made investments in their stables that now they're kind of left with a big question mark on what's next for them. Um and so, you know, in my view, the city has a role to play to support transitions like this when there's, you know, significant closures or shifts in the economy. And I my question really to you is do you can you share from your perspective what what role we play today in these types of closures and whether there's opportunities to you know make connections and support sort of a pivot in the environment >> chair what we can do and what's what's cited it's number six in the in the plan is to strengthen marketing and promotions of rural Ottawa um as we go forward with that marketing and promotions uh activity those activities I believe that there's opportunity to um promote those ecquin businesses that are being affected or that have been affected. Um, I would I would imagine that there are likely equin businesses uh that also support our visitor economy and one of the roles of the rural business liaison will be to help formulate connections between um rural businesses and service providers. And so there might be an opportunity to connect some of those those ecquin businesses with Ottawa tourism to explore potential Ottawa tourism membership. Um it's that that membership is free. there's no cost and there would be all additional opportunities for marketing and promotions through that. Um, so we're very open to having, you know, other ideas brought forward on on what economic development services could could do to support, but I think the marketing and promotions is probably our our first step. >> Great. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Um, just building uh off of one of the uh questions the previous delegate had about rural broadband internet and I know the city several years ago uh worked with upper levels of government to try to deliver some of that service but it's still an issue today and we still hear about it. So is there anything that we can do as the city of Ottawa working with our partners whether that's in the private sector or the public sector to continue with the roll out of uh highspeed internet >> chair. Um so a few years ago, you're right, we did do quite an extensive study of broadband, the state of broadband, and at that time, um economic development worked very closely with the right-of-way group around the implementation of the building better broadband faster fund. Um we haven't done much work since. So, I think we'd have to sort of take it away, reassess and see what those funds are out there and what whether it's an advocacy role or working with other colleagues. Um, but we could certainly take that away and see what the status is right now. Um, and where the city could play a role. >> Thank you very much. And I think there there really is an opportunity here to to continue. lots has changed in with the internet of things and um most often we hear that there's a lot of infrastructure work happening in the rural area as it goes through Ottawa to get to the next municipality and a lot of these smaller tier municipalities can access funding that we cannot because we are a single tier municipality so it's tough to see the pipeline go by the house but you can't connect to it so if there is an opportunity for us to do that I would appreciate it I also want to thank staff this is a a great report you've been nimble. You've incorporated public feedback and counselor feedback. And I think that's important. It's important for us to be able to have the input and the ability to provide that input, but also important for members of the public to see that these things can change if they engage. And I think this is an excellent opportunity that they were afforded and that they took advantage of. And the work that you guys have done and I think really has moved this forward. Uh Ian, Jamie shared with me a story where you were able to connect two rural business owners through your advocacy work that you were doing on behalf of this plan. And I think that was fantastic that you were able to make a connection between two businesses that didn't necessarily need our help, but they were able to able to help each other. And I think that's the the low friction, no bureaucracy support many of our business owners are looking for. And it's uh fantastic that you were able to do that. And as my colleagues have said already, going out to their businesses, I think 90% of the battle is showing up and you have done that. And I I think that's a tremendous benefit to us as counselors and the city of Ottawa and to the the love and passion I think that you have for this project. So, thank you very much. And I wanted to make sure that we we said that out loud because it isn't often that we uh toot our own horn. And I I agree with another comment that my colleague made. We don't do a good job selling the wins that Ottawa has and the benefits that we can deliver to our residents. Most often it's in the negative, but there are things that we do and we do well and I think it's important that we take the opportunity to acknowledge that. I also want to thank the mayor's office. You know, Mayor Sutcliffe has been a great supporter of rural Ottawa. He ensured that the rural summit based on off the vice chair's motion got off the ground. We're starting to see the benefits roll out to rural residents across many different departments. This is the next step in that process. We're not done. We're just getting started and I'm looking forward to seeing those reports come forward in the next term. So, thank you very much to staff and colleagues. I think this is a great win for our residents today and I don't anticipate much friction when we move to pass the item. The report recommendation reads that the agriculture and rural affairs committee recommend council one receive the economic development rural plan attached as document one. Two direct staff to initiate the recommendations described in this report and summarized in document two. And before we move to a vote, um, is councelor Skolski's motion regarding the amendment to the, uh, outline, sorry, outing outline, I should have brought my glasses, planning and development focus recommendations. Is that motion carried? Carried. >> Carried. >> Thank you. And is councelor Skolski's other motion regarding accessing local impacts of the closure of the harness racing uh, industry in Ottawa carried. >> Thank you very much. and the vice chair's motion about uh exploring some opportunities to expand public parking in the village of Karp. Is that carried? >> Carried. >> Thank you very much. Can't wait to drive out to the great village of Carp, Vice Chair. Um so is the report carried as amended? >> Carried. >> Thank you very much. Well done, staff. Thank you very much. That's great. Item 5.1, the rural community building grant program uh grant application review. No presentations. We have received no request to speak. No written correspondence has been received. However, would anyone like to address this item? Where I'll get to you in a moment, uh, councelor. So, the mo recommendation are that the agriculture and rule affairs committee approve the recommendations in the rural community building grant program applications as detailed in document one. Is this item carried? >> Carried. >> Carried. Thank you very much. And with committee's indulgence, councelor Skolski does have a motion that she would like to introduce. It doesn't directly relate to this report, but one that we approved at our April 2nd committee meeting. So, with committee's indulgence, I'm going to ask councelor Skolski to read her motion. >> Thank you, chair. So, be it resolved that this motion with respect to the revised grant submission from the METAF uh farmers market be considered at today's meeting pursuant to subsection 893 of the procedure bylaw so that it may be considered alongside the rural community building grant program report already on the agenda. So whereas the Mecca Farmers Market applied to the city of Ottawa's rural community building grant for a permanent sign to commemorate the 33rd year of the market, a shade tent, and some events uh event signs. And whereas on April 2nd, 2026, agriculture and rural Affairs Committee approved report ACS 2026 PDB PS0030, which included an application for the Mecca Farmers Market under the rural community building grant program. And whereas the farmers the Mecca farmers market has requested to adjust their grant to exchange the permanent sign for a projector to show images and graphics on the back wall of the market allowing more flexibility and the ability to keep updating the imagery. And whereas the META Farmers Market will not exceed uh the already existing and allocated budget. Uh therefore be it resolved that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee approve the request of the Metaf Farmers Market to substitute a projector instead of the permanent commemorative sign that's outlined in report that I provided earlier. >> Thank you councelor. Colleagues, is that motion carried? Carried. Thank you very much. Uh as I said, we're going to hold the in camera item. Uh, I don't believe anyone has signed up for the open mic session. So, we're going to go straight to item 9.1. Motions of which notice has previously been given. Councelor Skolski, you have one on the home rural infrastructure upgrade financing. >> Thank you, chair. Um, I'm just looking for it now quickly. Um, so thanks everyone. I had talked to this motion or I guess I haven't had a chance to speak to this motion but this comes from uh the the reality that we all witnessed during the drought that families uh were faced with financial situ uh strain when they had to make quick decisions about whether they could drill a new well if they experienced drought in their yards. um that sort of brought to light that there really are not uh available tools um or supports for folks to uh be able to quickly adapt um in a situation where they could lose lose servicing in their homes. So, um the the uh rural home infrastructure upgrade program that exists right now doesn't include um the septic systems or uh backup power supply that could uh work in to support resiliency for homes in rural Ottawa. Um and so this motion here is asking um staff to as part of their review of this program to consider ways to better serve uh the rural community. Um I'll just say though I did take note of uh some of the delegates had spoke to opportunities here to uh they've sent letters as well to my office um to make this um uh I'll say technology neutral. So to make sure that we weren't just talking about standalone generators but also looking at wider well I a wide even low emitting um uh units that are available and so um I have made a little adjustment to the motion that I had tabled to incorporate uh so just to be I'd say technology neutral so standby generators and and um Sorry, >> the change is on the screen council. >> Okay, thank you. Um, okay. So, there's there's a change just a little bit above that part right there. Yeah. So, the and backup power system so that we consider the whole spectrum of possible um solutions that exist. And then going back down to the bottom, there's a new paragraph that um asks that so and be it further resolved that the Better Homes Ottawa program review include consideration of opportunities to improve education and outreach for rural homeowners such that they're aware of different options including environmentally friendly technologies that may reduce household energy costs. So, uh, I certainly agreed that there is an opportunity there to get information out to people and when they make wise choices when they're, uh, making decisions about their home. >> Thank you, counselor. We do have one delegate, uh, Aaron Kelly. All right. And in person, too. Welcome. Good morning, counselors. Can you hear me? Well, >> we can. Go ahead. >> I'm Erin Kelly. I'm with Cafes Ottawa. This is actually my first public delegation. Next slide, please. Cafes is known to the counselors by now, I think. So, we can proceed to the next slide. Resilience in the face of extreme weather and other potential disruptions is a real and important concern in all areas of Ottawa. Focusing in on the rural area, we agree that it is crucial to have water during droughts. A number of wells, as the counselor has mentioned, have run dry in recent times. We also agree that it is crucial to have a backup source of power to keep sump pumps going and maintain heat when the power goes out. So, Cafe supports the motion and we would like to make um a specific suggestion to help improve it specifically. Next slide, please. I want to raise a concern regarding the motion's proposal to include permanent standby generators powered by fossil fuels in the Better Homes Ottawa program. Generators are not a great approach to achieving resilience. They exacerbate climate change and increase the risk of extreme weather. and they are at direct odds with a purpose of the better homes Ottawa program which includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They are at direct odds with a climate change master plan and also with the current strategic plan. The key point that I want to make is that there are better options for achieving resilience that are both effective and green. Next slide please. specifically because battery prices have come down so much in recent years and the same is true of solar panels prices. Um, home batteries are proving to be a very good backup option. This is a picture of a home battery installed in METAF recently. Some advantages of batteries include that batteries can save their homeowners money as on their electric bills and the savings add up on a daily basis. Um, a standby generator by contrast does not have any savings over time. It actually costs the owner initially and over time as maintenance is needed and fuel is consumed. Batteries offer instantaneous power rather than having to wait for a generator to start. And batteries can be paired with solar panels and electric vehicles to enhance resilience further. Next slide, please. Here's a more detailed comparison of generators and batteries. Of note, generators in Ottawa rely on fossil fuels largely sourced from the United States, which is a dependency. By contrast, residential batteries do not rely on fuel, have no emissions, and make no noise. Also, take note of the costs. The upfront cost of a residential battery is now in the same ballpark as a fossil fuel standby generator before considering any available incentives and the savings that they acrew over time. Whereas standby generators do not provide any electric bill savings only costs for their entire lifespan. Batteries reduce costs. Next slide please. Here's the proposed amendment cafes is suggesting. Next slide. um delete permanently installed standby generators and replace with non-emitting backup power systems. Um so no emissions. These technologies, batteries and solar, help address climate change while providing resilience in the process. This is a big contrast to the downward self-reinforcing spiral that standby generators represent where increased fossil fuel use drives further extreme weather. There is also a great need to raise awareness of the benefits of batteries and solar which is what the purpose of the second part of the proposed language is. This is because generators are too often considered the default when the the new technology hasn't been um recognized yet as being an excellent alternative by people in general. >> So next slide please. Um that this this slide actually in short um the recommendation slide please. Um in short being resilient and being green need not be at odds with each other. Both can be accomplished using batteries and solar panels. So cafe suggests amending the language of the motion as suggested and supporting it. Thank you. >> Thank you very much councelor Skolski. Yeah, thanks for being here and thanks to cafes for offering a lot of views on that particular motion. I think um I the adjustments that I made here I felt really comfortable with. This is sort of at a stage where it's um really to scope as part of a review that's that's happening. Um and so I wanted to keep it as technology neutral as possible. But I appreciate you raising that the way that I had originally framed it really limited it to just um um standby generators which uh I think are sort of I think people often think of as the default. And so I I appreciate you kind of opening the world of other options that should be part of this uh part of what's being considered here. Um and uh I also just wanted to appreciate the the feedback about the opportunity to do outreach to to communities as well. So, thanks for thanks for being here and for offering your views. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, counselor. I'm not seeing any other questions, Aaron, but thank you very much for coming out and it's great to see somebody we haven't seen before. Colleagues, is this motion carried? >> Carried. >> Thank you. Uh item 9.2, motion from councelor kits regarding improving road safety at 10th line and wall road. Councelor. Yeah, thanks very much, Chair, and thanks to councelor Skolski for uh reading this in for me last meeting. Um I've had a chance to speak to all of you, but just a a quick context. Um this intersection, 10th line and wall, is sort of right at the edge of Orleans where um it becomes more rural again. Um it's very dark. Um and we've had some significant collisions here. Um, so what's also exacerbating the situation is that with the the municipalities next to us growing um so quickly with Brian Coburn being so congested, more and more people are choosing to take Wall Road um as a way to bypass the congestion um and go through Orleans from um east to west, west to south. So there's a lot of traffic um and as I said some some uh pretty serious collisions here. So, it has now met warrants to be signalized, I'm hopeful that um we may get money for a design of that intersection in the next budget. Um but given given the rate of collisions, um I don't think we can wait until that solution is in place. So, um I'll read out the the recommendations here direct or that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommend council one, direct staff to install mounted flashing warning beacons on signs at the intersection of 10th line road and wall road as an interim safety measure. Two, approve that funding for this work be allocated from the existing general traffic services operations budget. And three, direct that staff continue to monitor collision data at the intersection and report back as part of future budget considerations for a permanent intersection control solution in consultation with the word counselor. >> Thank you, councelor. I'm not seeing any questions uh from our colleagues. So, is this item carried? >> Carried. Thank you very much. I'll just note uh on the agenda, it was listed as item 7.1. It was the housing acceleration plan item 11, terms of reference update number two. I just wanted to uh make sure I stated that uh publicly. Are there any notices of motion for our next meeting? No. Any inquiries? All right. Now, other business. We do have a few uh motions that I'm hopefully hoping the committee will uh wave the rules and procedure so we can uh get them on now. Councelor, I've got one. Uh I'll go and then you've got one as well. Perfect. So colleagues, if there are no objections, I have a motion uh that city staff have um have brought forward to me to move as the item is in my ward. This is for 1229 Dwire Hill Road, also known as Ashton Pines Municipal Responsibility Agreement for Private Communal Water System and Private Communal Wastewater System. The motion is that the rules of procedure be suspended to consider the following motion at today's meeting as the matter is time-sensitive as the owner is looking to complete development in the current construction season. Whereas, it is a condition of site plan approval for this development that the owner enter into a municipal responsibility agreement with the city with respect to the private communal water system and the private communal wastewater system servicing the subject property. And whereas the said municipal responsibility agreement requires a reserve fund for the operation and maintenance of said private systems. And whereas it is a condition of the owner's financing that such reserve fund be established through an escrow agreement. And whereas the escrow agreement protects the city's interests with respect to the establishment of the reserve fund. Therefore, be it resolved that the general manager of infrastructure services be delegated the authority to enter into an escrow agreement with respect to the reserve fund associated with this development the terms and conditions of same to be to the satisfaction of the city solicitor and be it further resolved that this motion rise for consideration to council uh on the meeting of May 13, 2026. Are there any questions, concerns? No. Thank you. Is this motion carried? Thank you, councelor Skolski. >> Okay. So, um that the rules of procedure be suspended to consider the following motion at today's meeting as a matter as the matter is time-sensitive as the septic system infrastructure at 27618 Line Road is in distress and requires replacement. So whereas the Stanley apartments at 2761 8th Line Road in the village of Metcap are operated by a not for-profit corporation and whereas the apartment complex needs a new septic system to be installed which due to its size requires environmental compliance approval from the province. And whereas there is a sign off on the application form that's required from the city to establish the municipal the municipality's general concurrence with the proposal and to ensure that the proposed works would not contravene any municipal bylaws or other requirements. And whereas the project does not require any type of planning approvals by the city uh meaning that that planning development and building services staff do not have delegated authority to sign off on the ECA uh application to the ministry. Therefore, be it resolved that once planning services staff have been provided with the full application package and deemed it to be satisfactory, that council delegate authority to the director of infrastructure and water services to sign off on the ECA application form required to be submitted to the ministry. >> Any questions, colleagues? No. Is that item carried? Thank you very much. We're going to go back to item six. Now colleagues, my understanding is we've all had an opportunity to familiarize oursel with the in camera item and I believe there might not be a requirement to go in camera. So if committee is willing um there is a report recommendation and I'll read it out here. It is that the agriculture and rural affairs committee refer the report recommendations to council. Is that item carried? carried >> carried. Thank you very much colleagues. Thank you for coming out today and I appreciate the uh flexibility you've shown. Our next meeting is going to be on June 4th. So with that, we stand adjourned. Thank you. >> Thanks everyone.