Neil Saravanamuttoo is promising to replace aging sewers, improve nature-based solutions for absorbing rainwater, reduce the city’s use of road salt during the winter and plant more trees if elected mayor of Ottawa. Saravanamuttoo released his plan for environmental protection on Tuesday morning at Maki Park in Bay Ward, one of the wards hit by flooding following heavy rain on Canada Day. “Many people are deeply concerned about the effects of climate change and environmental degradation. And in Ottawa, there is a heightened awareness of the damage extreme weather events can cause to our property and safety,” Saravanamuttoo said in a statement. “At the same time, people see the challenges of any one city trying to act alone to reduce emissions. As mayor, I will focus our efforts on environmental protection against severe weather events and actions that save us all money.” Saravanamuttoo’s six-point environmental protection plan includes moving faster to replace aging sewers that “failed to manage the heavy rainfall patterns we experienced this summer.” “I will also improve nature-based solutions for absorbing rainwater. More trees, plants and stormwater ponds could have absorbed much of the severe weather events that Ottawa experienced,” he said. The other five points are: Fourteen candidates are running to be mayor of Ottawa. In alphabetical order, they are: Queen Divine Priya Amber Bakshi, Zed Chebib, Bernard Couchman, Suraj Harish, Alex Lawson, Jeff Leiper, Geoff Nicholas, Josh Rachlis, Neil Saravanamuttoo, Ali Shayvard, Jacob Solomon, Mark Sutcliffe (incumbent), Amjad Ali Syed, and Peter Westaway.
