Maria McRae

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Maria McRae (born in Sudbury, Ontario) is an Ottawa City Councillor. She represents the River ward covering some of the cities southern suburbs. Born in Sudbury, Ontario McRae has an undergraduate degree in biology and a law degree from the University of Western Ontario. She moved to Ottawa only in 2001 working as a legal consultant and teaching at Algonquin College. She quickly became known in the community and in the 2003 Ottawa election ran to replace the departing Wendy Stewart. McRae, who was endorsed by Stewart, won a large victory against two opponents in the November 10 election.

She ran on a fiscally conservative platform opposing tax hikes, but faced with the significant budget shortfall she was forced to abandon this pledge. She also was criticized for paying Stewart $4000 dollars in consulting fees.[1]

On November 9 2005, McRae did not vote in favor of a pesticide bylaw that was promoted by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

During the November 2005 pesticide bylaw vote, McRae was implicated in email incident whereby she impersonated Councillor Alex Cullen by placing his name on a pro-pesticide e-mail petition conducted by a pro-pesticide website, propertyrights.ca. Alex Cullen, who in fact supports a strong pesticide bylaw, replied to McRae stating: "I must tell you that I am doubly disappointed to learn that you, a council colleague, used my name to author a message you knew did not represent my position and then, when the matter became public more than three weeks ago, you did not acknowledge your role in this matter, neither to me nor to the public."

The City of Ottawa's investigation into propertyrights.ca that implicated McRae reportedly cost the city about $1,500 in overtime. The investigation cleared McRae of any intentional wrongdoing with Chief Corporate Services Officer Greg Geddes stating that McRae's actions were nothing more than an "innocent mistake."

McRae subsequently apologized to City Council stating "I'm very sorry." Alex Cullen accepted McRae's apology and said he would now put the issue behind him.[2]

In addition to sitting on Ottawa City Council, Maria is Vice-Chair of the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee.

She is the Chair of Ottawa Community Housing Corporation – the province of Ontario’s second largest landlord with 50,000 tenants living in more than 15,000 units of housing stock worth more than $2B.

Maria is a member of the following standing committees of Ottawa City Council:

  • Emergency and Protective Services Committee
  • License Committee (quasi-judicial, administrative tribunal)
  • Long Range Financial Plan Committee
  • Transportation Committee
  • Member Services Committee

She also represents Ottawa City Council as a member of the following board of directors and committees:

  • Commonwealth Games 2014 Bid Committee
  • Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee
  • Ottawa Public Library Board
  • Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority
  • Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
  • Rural Summit Steering Committee
  • Rural Summit Task Force

McRae is a champion for the cause of firefighters that have contracted cancer in the line of duty. Her motion was passed unanimously by Ottawa City Council. As a result, the Ontario Premier is now considering amending Ontario law to provide firefighters and their families with enhanced benefits.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ↑  "Councillor Hires Predecessor for Advice: McRae pays Stewart $4,000 to Consult." The Ottawa Citizen. February 26, 2004.
  2. ↑  "SHE'S SORRY: The kerfuffle over River Coun. Maria McRae using Bay Coun. Alex Cullen's e-mail address has been put to rest." The Ottawa Sun. December 1, 2005.
Preceded by
Wendy Stewart		 City councillors from River Ward
2003-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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