Rebecca Bromwich, 45, chose to run for Ward 17 (Capital Ward) after witnessing what she described as dysfunction and unproductivity during Ottawa’s occupation by the Freedom Convoy. With protestors’ trucks parked right outside her home and work, she decided her mediation training could come in handy.
She said police deserve more credit for their handling of the occupation and Ottawans must support services like OPS that they want and rely on, rather than defund them. However, she wants OPS to work more quickly to discipline and deal with officers who commit dereliction of duty, giving Ottawans more faith in their police force and disincentivizing vigilantism.
“I’m not trying to vilify anyone for being a vigilante, but the thing is it puts people in danger,” she said.
Bromwich resided in Ward 17 for part of her childhood and has lived there the last 12 years. An adjunct Carleton University professor, she holds a master of law, MBA, graduate certificate in gender and sexuality studies, mediation certificate from Harvard Law School and Carleton’s first PhD in law and legal studies.
She’s worked in equity, diversity and inclusion at law firm Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office, taught OPS recruits and chaired the board and council at her childrens’ preschool.
“[Capital Ward] needs someone who’s able to build consensus around the council table and to get our fair share,” she said, calling for better communication with municipal, provincial and federal jurisdictions.
Deeming Carleton to be Ward 17’s biggest project developer, Bromwich will work to keep graduates around.
“We want Ottawa to be a city where students, who are bright and capable, want to stay and where there’s places for them to go and fulfill their potential,” she said. “We want to retain that intellectual expertise, all that training, here.”
“We want Ottawa to be a city where students, who are bright and capable, want to stay and where there’s places for them to go and fulfill their potential.”
She’d like to see a train running to Ottawa International Airport and buses that arrive on schedule.
“We don’t have a transit system in Ottawa that’s appropriate to our size of city or our status as a G7 capital,” she said.
Bromwich described a need for well-planned bike lanes, citing the Laurier Avenue West “bike lane of death” and the challenge for cyclists who use the Bank Street Canal Bridge. She wants better enforcement of 30-km/h speed limits, noting that police issued just one speeding ticket on Capital Ward’s residential streets between January and June.
With Bromwich observing more homeless people in the Glebe, she wants better integration of police and social services for Ward 17. She called for an OPS that sees more racial and gender diversity and doesn’t disproportionately lay off younger officers.
“Bringing in new recruits to dilute the older police population is a crucial part of the solution to evolve the police services.”
She said the city should consult the Algonquin Anishinaabe peoples about what they want for their communities and leave them to exercise their own leadership.
“I have my heart in supporting the heart of the city and I believe in what we can do together.”
To learn more about Bromwich, visit her campaign website.
Featured image provided by Rebecca Bromwich.
