Rural Summit 2024

Background

In 2005, the City of Ottawa hosted a Rural Summit to address the results of the City’s Citizen Satisfaction Survey. This summit helped advance several successful initiatives in rural Ottawa. In 2008, another Rural Summit occurred, and this resulted in improved opportunities for rural residents. A Rural Summit has not occurred in over a decade due to the pandemic, a municipal election, and other priority projects. Recently, a new Official Plan was adopted, a Zoning By-law is being prepared, and the Rural Economic Strategy is being updated. In addition, the newly adopted City Strategic Plan supports stimulating growth in economic districts. These plans and regulations clearly impact rural Ottawa, and therefore it is an opportune time to consult with rural residents.

At the City Council Meeting on December 14, 2022, Councillor Kelly brought forward a motion regarding the City of Ottawa hosting a Rural Summit. This motion noted that staff should be working to host the summit during the current term of council.

The objective of Rural Summit 2024 is to recommend improvements to the provision of the City of Ottawa services to residents and communities of rural Ottawa.

The rural communities in the city of Ottawa include Ward 1 Orléans East-Cumberland, Ward 5 West Carleton-March, Ward 19 Orléans South-Navan, Ward 20 Osgoode, and Ward 21 Rideau-Jock.

Project Overview

The Rural Summit will address issues that are of specific interest to rural residents, rural businesses, and other stakeholders. Broadly, these issues include current services offered in rural Ottawa, future plans and policies impacting rural areas, and opportunities to build better rural communities. Public consultation and the Resident Working Group will work to identify the specific issues and concerns that will become the focus of the Rural Summit.

Resident Working Group

The Resident Working Group (RWG) was formed in January 2024 with the specific goal of organizing and coordinating the Rural Summit 2024 for the City of Ottawa. The RWG consist of of two members from each rural ward, appointed by the ward councillor. The Resident Working Group is committed to realizing the vision of the Rural Summit 2024 , which is to create an inclusive, engaging, and informative event that addresses the needs and aspirations of our rural communities. These efforts are driven by the principles of equity and inclusion, aiming to ensure that all rural residents have access to the benefits and opportunities the Rural Summit provides.

Public Engagement

We're pleased to inform you about the launch of the Rural Summit 2024 survey, an initiative designed to gather insights from rural communities. Make sure to share your valuable input before the survey closes on June 1st!

The Rural Summit 2024 aims to address the unique challenges and opportunities encountered in our rural areas. To ensure that our discussions and workshops are tailored to your specific needs, we're seeking your input through this survey.

Your participation is crucial as it will help shape the content and focus of ward-specific workshops scheduled for this spring. These workshops will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussions on local issues and brainstorming solutions.

The outcomes of these workshops will be integral in shaping the agenda for the Rural Summit 2024, slated for November. Your input will directly contribute to the development of strategies aimed at enhancing the well-being and prosperity of our rural communities.

Your opinion matters, and we value your insights. Please take a few moments to complete the survey using the link provided below:

https://engage.ottawa.ca/embeds/projects/37643/survey-tools/45541.

In addition to the survey, Rural Workshops will take place in each of the rural wards in the hopes of to gain as much feedback as possible. These workshops will be in-person, are open to all residents of the respective ward, and we encourage all to attend.

Below are the dates and times for all of our upcoming rural workshops.

Ward 19 workshop - Navan Arena on April 10 at 7 pm. https://www.catherinekitts.com/event-details-registration/rural-summit-2024-ward-19-workshop-sommet-rural-2024-atelier-du-quartier-19

Ward 19 French workshop, bilingual with French as the main language - April 19 at 7 pm at the Sarsfield community Centre.

Ward 20 workshop - April 24th at the Greely Community Centre at 7 pm.

Ward 21 workshop - April 29th at Alfred Taylor Center, beginning with a drop-in session from 1 to 4 pm, followed by the workshop starting at 6:30 pm.

Ward 1 workshop - May 27^th at 7 pm at the R.J. Kennedy Community Arena.

Ward 5 workshop - June 1st at the West Carleton Community Complex (5670 Carp Road) at 9 am. For more information on the Ward 5 workshop please visit https://ruralsummit2024ward5.info/

Next Steps

The result of this work will be analyzed and summarized, which will be followed by a staff report to be tabled at the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. The report will address the themes arising from the Rural Summit and offer recommendations on how to better support our rural residents.

Additional Information

If you have any questions about this project, please contact ruralsummit@ottawa.ca

As questions are collected, please review the FAQ tab for further information.