Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Public members of Transit Commission appointed

On Wednesday afternoon, the City of Ottawa Transit Commission appointed the four public citizens set to join eight councillors to form the full committee. The public members, along with biographies from the city's press release and links to profiles from around the web, are:
Blair Crew: Long-time resident of River Ward, Mr. Crew holds a bachelor degree in Environment and Resource Management, and a Bachelor and Master of Laws (LL.B and LL.M). He is currently employed by the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic where he delivers front-line legal services to economically disadvantaged citizens of the City. Mr. Crew has one daughter, enjoys Canadian history and is an avid outdoor education enthusiast.

Justin Ferrabee: Mr. Ferrabee has deep community ties through his professional and volunteer activities. He is a board member of the Strategic Planning Forum, a not-for-profit strategic planning association, a fundraiser for the United Way, and a founding member of the Carleton University Charity Ball fundraising committee. Mr. Ferrabee is currently the President of Totem Hill Management Consulting where he specializes in corporate transformation and change management for both public and private sector organizations. Mr. Ferrabee is a resident of West Carleton March Ward, he holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Business Administration. Mr. Ferrabee has travelled extensively and brings with him considerable knowledge of some of the best transit systems in the world.

Emily Rahn: Ms. Rahn is a resident of Ottawa’s Capital Ward. She is a volunteer in a wide range of community-based groups from coaching a Glebe Little League Baseball team and Women’s Ringette team to volunteering for the Easter Seals Regatta which allows disabled children to go out for a day of sailing on the Ottawa River. Ms. Rahn is fluently bilingual and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws with a specialty in civil litigation. Ms. Rahn currently works for the Ottawa-based law firm Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall.

Cyrus Reporter: Mr. Reporter is a community leader and resident of Somerset Ward. He has extensive experience in government and complex public policy issues. Mr. Reporter places great importance on his volunteer work with the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the Ottawa Community Immigration Services Organization, the National Arts Centre’s Gala Sponsorship Committee, and as a past member of the Board of Governors for Carleton University. As the national lead of the Public Policy Practice Group for the Ottawa Law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain, Mr. Reporter has demonstrated his ability to solve complex problems and contribute to the creative development of public policy. Mr. Reporter is a first generation Canadian with a strong ethic towards the betterment of the community.
Crew, Ferrabee, Rahn, and Reporter join councillors Daine Deans (chair), Keith Egli (vice chair), Stephen Blais, Rainer Bloess, Steve Desroches, Shad Qadri, Tim Tierney, and Marianne Wilkinson to form the full 12-person committee.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm somewhat disappointed with the choices of the transit commission. I really don't feel as though these "public citizens" represent me or the rest of the transit-using community. It would be interesting to know whether or not these three lawyers and a management consultant regularly use Ottawa's transit system.
It seems to me that, rather than selecting community representatives, the transit commission opted to try and get the services of four highly professional consultants for free... Which, while smart, is not really the point.

SEA said...

I have to agree with the previous poster. While I'm sure these people are all fine citizens, I can't help but notice that the selection is completely free of representatives from some of the groups that use public transit on a regular basis, namely: students, the elderly, and the poor.

WJM said...

How long have these four had OC Transpo passes?

Anonymous said...

Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal Riding Association 2006 Annual Return
http://www2.elections.on.ca/stats/06files/annual/ar1/06lib066ar1.htm
REPORTER CYRUS $409.50

Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal Candidate 2007: Jim Watson
http://www2.elections.on.ca/stats/07files/election/cr1/07lib066cr1.htm
REPORTER CYRUS $300

Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal Riding Association 2007 Annual Return
http://www2.elections.on.ca/stats/07files/annual/ar1/07lib066ar1.htm
REPORTER CYRUS $450

Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal Riding Association 2007 Campaign Return
http://www2.elections.on.ca/stats/07files/election/cr3/07lib066cr3.htm
REPORTER CYRUS $210

Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal Riding Association 2009 Annual Return
http://www2.elections.on.ca/stats/09files/annual/ar1/09lib066ar1.htm
REPORTER CYRUS $150

Ontario Liberal Party annual contributions
http://rtd.elections.on.ca/rtd/jsp/en/RTDParty.jsp
Reporter, Cyrus 10/01/2007 10/16/2007 500.00
Reporter, Cyrus 06/22/2007 06/27/2007 300.00
Reporter, Cyrus 11/04/2008 11/06/2008 350.00
Reporter, Cyrus 05/02/2008 05/09/2008 250.00
Reporter, Cyrus 12/15/2010 12/15/2010 20.00
Reporter, Cyrus 11/15/2010 11/22/2010 20.00
Reporter, Cyrus 10/15/2010 10/18/2010 20.00
Reporter, Cyrus 10/08/2010 10/18/2010 295.00
Reporter, Cyrus 09/15/2010 09/16/2010 20.00
Reporter, Cyrus 08/15/2010 08/17/2010 20.00
Reporter, Cyrus 07/15/2010 07/23/2010 20.00
Reporter, Cyrus 06/15/2010 06/18/2010 20.00

Anonymous said...

This is total BS. 200 people applied, how many people who actually use the buses did they turn down for these people?

Loretta Fleming said...

My own interest as a rider and citizen is to galvanize the growing and encouraging outrage by riders, community associations, business associations, retirees, and shift workers to the cuts to OC Transpo.
(OC Transpo 2011 Optimization Plan.)

What can you do?

One: Contact members of OC Transit Commission to voice your concerns around this latest cuts to an already compromised system; the largest cuts in recent history: http://www.octranspo1.com/about-octranspo/transit_commission

Two: Appear before the OC Transit Commission on April 20, 2011, to voice your concerns and add your suggestions for improvements.

Call OC Transit at 613-580-2424 ext. 21624, to book a 5-minute spot on the agenda.

Three: Spread the word with colleagues, family and friends about the impact of these latest and greatest cuts on the quality of life of many Ottawa citizens who are dependent on the system for their means of transportation. Not to mention the impact on our beleaguered environment.

Best,

Loretta Fleming