Joel Harden MPP / Député, Ottawa Centre

Thanks to everyone who responded to my column last week. On August 8, we held an intense community forum on poverty, homelessness, and addictions, and it’s clear that you care. You offered plenty o... More

Frustration with poverty, homelessness, and addictions came to a head in our city this week. As promoted in this newsletter, Councillor Ariel Troster and I hosted a meeting on community safety at J... More

Like many people, I recently watched the film Barbie. It was a feast for the eyes and ears. By the end of this weekend, Barbie is likely to exceed $1 billion USD at the box office, by far the bigge... More

Guess who found his way to Ottawa this week? Premier Doug Ford! He was in town for a health care announcement at CHEO, just a week away from a provincial by-election in Kanata-Carleton. I’m sure th... More

Have you ever been let down by someone who once called you a friend?  That’s how Hydro Ottawa workers, members of IBEW Local 636, feel right now.  In May 2022, we heaped praise on these folks, and ... More

Summer is a time to pause, and reconnect to yourself and others.  That age-old tradition took me to Wolfe Island for a few days this week, a lovely place across the water from Kingston.  I spent fo... More

On Monday, I had the privilege of being in Toronto to witness Olivia Chow’s victory in the mayoral by-election. I bundled the visit with Toronto Pride events the day before (which were massive, liv... More

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of the war on the car. And the bicycle. And pedestrians. And road workers. And transit workers or riders. I’m tired of war metaphors altogether when it comes to... More

Not my monkeys, not my circus I believe that you Oh well you deserve,  An open heart   All the words that we tried to write down Did not have the fight, in our hearts I did not believe them   And I... More

Seventeen months ago, a man traveled from British Columbia to display homophobic and transphobic placards outside public schools in Toronto and Ottawa. At first, he took Toronto schools by surprise... More