Rural Summit Update: What We Achieved and What’s Next

Last Thursday, February 5, I delivered an update to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee on where we stand after the 2024 Rural Summit. This is about progress and momentum, not a finish line. Rural Councillors hosted the Rural Summit after a 15 year gap because rural residents deserved a direct forum again, and because rural Ottawa needs solutions built for rural realities.

First, I want to recognize the residents who helped make the Summit possible. Ten Rural Summit champions stepped up, volunteered their time, and helped ensure people could engage directly with councillors and City staff. That community leadership is exactly how we turn rural feedback into practical action.

Since the Summit, we have delivered tangible results across several major commitments.

We have made real headway on drainage and ditching. Council approved a new direction for stormwater funding that moves rural properties away from the urban style stormwater charge, toward a lower cost rural drainage maintenance levy for 2027. At the same time, cross culvert maintenance will be funded through the general tax levy so the cost is shared citywide. We also increased investment in ditching and drainage, building toward a budget that reaches $5.6 million by 2027 to support predictable maintenance across roughly 5,400 kilometres of rural roadside ditches. That is the kind of practical investment rural residents have been asking for, and it is an important shift toward fairness and reliability.

We strengthened rural governance, and that matters just as much as funding. Council approved changes that strengthen ARAC’s mandate and formalize its oversight role for rural ditching, including the new levy. We also enhanced the Rural Affairs Office with added resources, including a dedicated program manager and nine Rural Leads, one in each department. For years, a consistent rural frustration has been the lack of clear points of contact inside the City. This work is already improving coordination and helping rural issues get faster, more consistent attention.

We have also improved rural emergency response. Ottawa Paramedic Service added 83 paramedics, bringing the total workforce to more than 450. The Service implemented the Medical Priority Dispatch System triage software and expanded rural coverage through satellite posts in communities like Richmond, Manotick, Osgoode, Navan, and Cumberland. These are the kinds of service improvements that make a difference when distance and response time matter.

We are reducing red tape and applying a rural lens to how the City does its work. Dedicated rural focused planning staff are in place, delegated authority is improving timelines for minor rezonings, and we have backed common sense operational improvements that will benefit agricultural producers. The City is moving away from one size fits all infrastructure design by applying a rural lens so projects reflect real rural operating conditions and the needs of farm equipment and rural vehicles.

Just as important, I was clear about what comes next.

We still have active priorities that require follow through. We need dedicated rural programs and a rural specific priority list for intersection signals so rural safety projects are assessed on their own merits. We need to keep pushing a balanced rural growth strategy that supports village vitality while protecting farmland and rural character. We also need to keep advocating with the Province of Ontario, especially now that Ottawa’s predominantly rural land base has been recognized again in a way that can improve access to rural focused supports and grants.

Finally, accountability matters. That is why we have committed to holding the next Rural Summit in the next term of Council. Rural residents should never have to wait for more than a decade for a dedicated forum.

I am proud of what we have accomplished, however, there is more to be done. Over the near term, my focus is on keeping this work moving through ARAC, turning the remaining commitments into deliverables, and making sure rural Ottawa continues to see practical improvements in the services people rely on every day.