The City of Ottawa is known as Silicon Valley North but there is no denying that City Council’s lack of vision is contributing to our city lagging behind so many others when it comes to the use of technology. Cumberland Candidate Stephen Blais has proposed the City of Ottawa embrace technologies, currently in use by others cities, to save taxpayers millions.

“It’s time council moves forward by adopting new technology to make city government more efficient,” says Blais. “There are simple and proven technologies available for use that have saved other North American cities millions, while at the same time, improving services to their residents.”

Several U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Orlando and Washington D.C., have moved to Google to handle their email and business applications. Los Angeles will save almost $6 million a year and Orlando has realized a 66% budget savings.

“The Ottawa Catholic School Board recently adopted Google Apps when computers are replaced which will save $80,000 this year,” adds Blais. “Ottawa should be taking advantage of these kinds of costs savings.”

Stephen Blais is currently the Catholic School Trustee for Orléans and Cumberland.

The City currently spends nearly $1 million reimbursing employees for mileage and parking as a result of attending meetings at various City facilities. The solution is simple - Google Apps also allows for video conferencing.

“By employing web cams for employees, City Hall will realize enormous savings and better productivity as staff will no longer spend their valuable time sitting in traffic,” adds Blais. “Our residents can also benefit from the use of this technology by having the option of presenting to city hall committees from the comfort of their home or a city facility closer to their home.”

Blais has also proposed the City of Ottawa partner with local companies to generate new revenue streams by leasing City-owned rooftops for the production of renewable energy using solar panels. Under Ontario's Feed-in Tarrif (FIT) program, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) will pay independent solar electricity producers up to $0.80 per kilowatt for power delivered back to the grid.

“The development of solar electricity generation projects will enable small, local, renewable energy producers to get into the energy market and make Ottawa a leader in the generation of green energy,” says Blais.

Finally, Blais has proposed the development of a smartphone application to complement Ottawa’s 311 system. A Citizen’s Connect App, modeled after that in Boston, would enlist Ottawa residents and visitors to gather information about the physical state of the city.

Users would take a photo of a pothole, graffiti, missing street sign etc…and electronically submit the information to 311 along with geo-tagging from the smartphone. Users would be provided a confirmation number. Once the repairs were made, the user could be notified by the city and a photo of the completed work provided.

“If we can make dealing with the City easier and more convenient we will be able to engage more residents,” continues Blais.