Dillon Anderson says accessibility is about more than fixing sidewalks or ensuring elevators work. For the Somerset Ward city council candidate, it is an issue that touches nearly every part of life downtown — from transit and housing to public safety and supporting local businesses.
Anderson, who moved to Ottawa this spring, said his decision to enter the municipal race came shortly after attending his first city council meeting in April.
“On my way out of city council, I actually fell down a little step coming out of the building in my wheelchair,” he said. “Going around my neighbourhood, there were some issues with sidewalks, and just talking to my neighbours, it seemed to be a bigger issue than just the councillor not responding. It felt like people weren’t getting their voices heard at the city council table.”
Anderson has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting and is currently pursuing his Chartered Professional Accountant designation.
Accessibility is a central theme of Anderson’s campaign, but he views the issue more broadly than accommodations for people living with disabilities.
“I think accessibility connects everything,” Anderson said. “If we have an accessible and inclusive community, it means we have safe streets that we can walk on, we have downtown businesses that we can support. We have infrastructure that people are comfortable biking and cycling around, just being able to move freely in their neighbourhood.”
Anderson said those connections extend to housing, homelessness and public transit. From his experience navigating Somerset Ward, he believes Ottawa still has considerable work to do.
“I think it’s not the greatest,” he said. “There are challenges with LRT elevators. There are challenges with people not getting picked up by Para Transpo or not being able to schedule appointments the day of because we just have a system that isn’t built for today’s world, and I think that’s mostly my focus is to really bring those issues to the forefront.”
Anderson is also a frequent OC Transpo user, saying he rides the O-Train roughly every second day.
“We need the extension as soon as possible, but we also need reliable transit, so I don’t think the system we have right now is working,” he said.
Anderson said he wants to give OC Transpo’s new leadership time to develop and implement improvements, but believes some changes should happen sooner.
Para Transpo is one of his biggest concerns. Anderson said restrictions on booking trips can force people with disabilities to organize their lives around the transit system.
“Right now, I can only book Para Transpo between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Well, that doesn’t work for people. It means we have to schedule our lives,” he said.
He suggested the city could improve how riders connect with the service, including via a mobile app. Anderson also wants councillors to have a stronger role in discussions surrounding Para Transpo, so elected officials can push for measurable improvements.
“I think that’s where my issues come from, a lot of these goals aren’t measurable,” he said. “They’re not, they’re not, you can’t measure their success.”
Anderson said he generally avoids travelling by bus when possible because navigating routes and transfers can be difficult. He has also encountered problems with LRT elevators and accessible buttons.
But he said transportation cannot be separated from other challenges facing downtown Ottawa, including homelessness and public safety concerns.
He pointed to Dundonald Park as one public space he believes needs renewed attention.
“We need to revitalize and, you know, it’s not just about transit. It’s about the homelessness crisis we have going on,” Anderson said. “It’s about, you know, people not feeling comfortable past 8 p.m. to support their local mom and pop coffee shop.”
Anderson said addressing homelessness requires looking beyond any single municipal program and considering issues such as affordability.
“Everybody’s affected by homelessness, so that’s community safety,” he said. “I think it’s important to help people when we can, but to me, my approach might be a little bit different. It means that food’s gotta be more affordable.”
He pointed to Chef Ric’s on O’Connor Street as an example of a local organization that offers lower-cost food. He said that governments need to work more closely with community partners.
Anderson said housing and shelter will require cooperation among different levels of government, but argued that jurisdictional disputes should not be an excuse for inaction at city hall.
“What I find lately in looking at the documents, we’re just blaming the download of the province on our lack of action as a municipal government, and that’s not OK,” he said. “I think, you know, you have agencies, boards, and commissions that we need to work with our partners to make the solutions better instead of talking political talking points, I guess.”
Ultimately, Anderson said he wants Somerset Ward residents to feel they have someone at the council table who will listen to them and respond to their concerns.
“I’m willing to listen to anybody on any issues, and my contact information’s available, and, you know, I’m always going to respond to emails or texts or whatever,” he said. “I think that’s an important job as a councillor to take criticism and respond to everybody.”