A home within reach.
Amjad proposes that the City build homes on City-owned land and offer them to Ottawa families at a purchase price of $250,000.
The proposal puts the City in the role of developer. Using public land and developing without a profit margin is intended to bring the purchase price within reach of more families.
How the proposal would work
- Use City-owned land for a City-led affordable homeownership program.
- Have the City develop the homes directly, without a developer’s profit margin.
- Set a proposed purchase price of $250,000 for homes in the program.
- Hold a draw open to Ottawa families for the opportunity to purchase a home.
The goal is to give more families a path to ownership in the city they call home.
What still needs to be set out?
The campaign has not yet specified the sites, number or type of homes, construction funding, delivery schedule, or detailed draw and eligibility rules. Financing arrangements, ownership terms and resale conditions also remain to be outlined. The $250,000 price is a campaign proposal, not a current housing offer.
More room for local business.
Amjad wants Ottawa to be an easier place to start, operate and grow a business.
Drawing on his experience operating and turning around businesses, he proposes reducing unnecessary administrative barriers so local entrepreneurs can spend more time serving customers and creating jobs.
- Make local permits and approvals easier to navigate.
- Cut unnecessary paperwork and delays.
- Create a dedicated small-business division to help owners access permits, support and available funding.
- Make support easier to reach for neighbourhood shops, family businesses and new entrepreneurs.
His goal is a stronger local economy, with opportunities to build a livelihood open to more people.
Less pressure on everyday bills.
When the basics take everything, it becomes harder to plan for the future.
Amjad’s everyday affordability proposals focus on recurring costs that households feel directly.
- Lower-cost groceries: introduce Sunday markets and government-supported warehouses intended to make food more affordable.
- City-provided insurance: develop a city-run model intended to offer fairer prices for car and home insurance.
- Free hospital parking: pursue free parking for families visiting patients, working with the institutions responsible.
Any surplus from the proposed insurance program would be directed toward Ottawa’s development and financial relief for residents.
How would these proposals be delivered?
The operating model, costs and necessary agreements remain to be detailed. Proposed savings depend on how each program is designed and implemented.
Public control.
Clear accountability.
Amjad proposes a public-private partnership for OC Transpo, with the City retaining the majority stake and control.
The aim is to improve punctuality, schedules and service quality while keeping transit affordable.
- Keep majority ownership and decision-making with the City.
- Bring in a minority private partner with a financial stake in performance.
- Set measurable standards for reliability, scheduling and service quality.
- Work with OC Transpo staff on operational improvements.
The proposed partnership would tie the private partner’s performance to results for riders. The specific contract, funding arrangements and service standards remain to be developed.
New investment
in public infrastructure.
Amjad proposes attracting private investment and exploring naming rights as additional sources of infrastructure funding.
His goal is to give Ottawa more ways to fund growth and reduce reliance on transfers from other levels of government.
- Explore business investment in public infrastructure, including potential healthcare infrastructure projects with the relevant partners.
- Consider naming-rights agreements as a source of revenue.
- Use additional revenue to support city development and ease pressure on taxpayers.
Projects, participating organizations, agreements and revenue estimates would need to be set out before implementation.
A way out of
high-cost debt.
Amjad proposes using potential surpluses from city-provided insurance to help residents struggling with payday loans and credit card debt.
The aim is to ease financial pressure so people can regain stability and plan ahead.
- Direct a portion of any available insurance surplus toward financial relief.
- Focus assistance on residents struggling with high-cost debt.
- Connect the proposed insurance model to benefits that stay in Ottawa.
This proposal depends on the insurance program generating a surplus. The form of assistance, eligibility, funding allocation and delivery arrangements remain to be defined.
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into action.
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