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Getting to Know Michael Oshry | Yeg Mayoral Candidate

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LCCMedia sent questions to Michael Oshry Campaign and his team kindly sent the answers back. LCCMedia are grateful to the Oshry campaign for attending our forum and for engaging with us in this way.

Please tell us a little about you. 

My family moved to Canada from South Africa and settled in Edmonton when I was seven. This city has been home for me ever since, and I’ve always wanted to give back to a community that has given me so much. Along with Alissia, my partner of over 25 years, I have two children, Jacob and Isabel who are both currently students in university, and two adorable dogs. 

After more than 20 years building and leading enterprises, I know what it takes to run an organization, drive an economy, and rally a team towards big goals. I know the importance of building genuine, respectful relationships, setting priorities, and being accountable. 

I know City Hall from the inside, after four years as a Councillor, and the outside, as a business leader and member of the community.

Why are you running to be the Mayor of Edmonton? 

For the first time in a generation, there is real anxiety about where our future economic and social success will come from. Yet we have so much to be optimistic about. 

We are at a critical juncture for setting up the future success of our city, this moment demands strong leadership. With my diverse experience and deep understanding of City Hall, the business community, and social issues, I believe that I am uniquely suited to the job 

Edmontonians have the energy and the ideas to solve our problems and set a new course, and Edmonton’s municipal government needs to serve the people to help them build whatever it is they are passionate about. We can’t do everything though. We need to stay focused and commit to pragmatic action to move our city forward. I will steer the city with focus and with confidence.

Can you describe your top priorities for Edmonton? Homelessness is a big problem in Edmonton. What are your plans to tackle it? 

My top four priorities are: 

  1. Economic Recovery, Technology, and Jobs: We can have the most diversified and innovative economy in the country, but we need to be focused on winning, on investment attraction, and on helping our entrepreneurs get to yes. 
  2. Edmonton for Everyone: Local government needs to focus on practical solutions that address poverty, homelessness, and contribute to ensuring Edmonton is an inclusive city for everyone. All Edmontonians are better off when no one gets left behind. 
  3. Focused Leadership and Stronger Management: City Council needs to offer focused leadership and clear direction so that our people can do their best. We need to stop spending money on everything, so we can invest in the right things without raising property taxes. 
  4. Supporting Communities: For 20 years we’ve focused on critical infrastructure projects like LRT and large recreation centres. Meanwhile, neighbourhood projects have been squeezed out. A community-building plan focusing on neighbourhood amenities is one of my top priorities.

Homelessness is a huge problem in Edmonton and ending it will be a top priority for me. Here are the main points of my plan for doing it: 

  • 200 new supportive housing units per year for the next 5 years. 
  • NET and HELP link police officers and social agencies directly with community groups and businesses to provide more on street presence and a straighter line to support for vulnerable people. I will work to turbocharge these highly effective homegrown strategies. 
  • I will create more public washrooms in high-need areas, where they are currently lacking. I will require employers bidding on City contracts to hire a certain proportion of people with barriers to employment. Hiring people with barriers to employment will also help boost our available workforce. 
  • My Free Play for All plan will provide free after-school care/programming that takes strain off families with limited income and allows parents to work full-time.

 

What are the strengths you bring to the office? 

My experience first in small business, and then founding a big business, coupled with my experience on Council, gives me a great perspective on how to nurture without stifling, and ultimately how to unleash the potential for the people here to build prosperity and a future that all our kids will want to stay for. 

I have a unique perspective and deep understanding of the needs of our business community as well as what it takes to get things done at City Hall. As a Councillor I spearheaded various initiatives, including Edmonton Made, an initiative to encourage Edmontonians to shop local, the OpenWindow program to streamline customer service for small businesses, and the Program and Service Review, a focused effort to find savings and efficiencies across all areas of city government, among others. 

I have also been able to work well with a variety of people and groups which is a must for any mayor. One of the most important parts of the job is being able to unite council and establish a positive relationship with other governments, most importantly the provincial government, regardless of who’s in power.

How do you intend to ensure that you are inclusive? 

The City needs to focus on practical solutions that address poverty, homelessness, discrimination, and contribute to ensuring Edmonton is an inclusive city for everyone. All Edmontonians are better off when no one gets left behind. Below are some of the inclusive actions I will take: 

  • I commit to building 1000 supporting housing units over the next 5 years alongside immediate investments in public washrooms and shower facilities, and significantly expanding our existing assertive outreach teams. 
  • Developed with and endorsed by Tim Adams of Free Play, my recreation plan will provide free access to recreation for everyone aged 18 and below with free after-school transportation from the 100 highest need schools. 
  • As Mayor I commit to establishing an annual Truth and Reconciliation Accountability week until we can say, without hesitation, that the City has fulfilled all its Calls to Action.
  • I will introduce a robust social procurement policy and jobs strategy for marginalized Edmontonians. My social procurement policy is supported by major companies such as End Poverty Edmonton, as well as Chandos, EllisDon, Clark Builders, and PCL. 
  • I will work with other Canadian Mayors, the Federal & Provincial Government and the Edmonton Police Service along with their national police organizations to create and enforce much more serious hate crime legislation.

Can you describe your plan for women and children? 

My entire platform is built with every Edmontonian in mind, women and children firmly included. In addition to the platform points listed above, I will partner with the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce to promote women’s equity in the workforce by supporting advocacy efforts on increasing early learning and childcare spaces in Edmonton. This will benefit all working parents but particularly women, who consistently have more childcare responsibilities than men. 

My Free Play for All plan, mentioned above, will provide everyone aged 18 and below with free access to recreation at City facilities and free after-school transportation from the 100 highest need schools. This will not only significantly help children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access this vital programming. It will also help parents, who won’t have to pay for expensive childcare after-school and will then have the option of working if they choose.

How important is climate change and what will you do to make sure climate justice is at the forefront of your agenda? 

Acting on climate change is very important, for all orders of government and the private sector alike. I will lead a substantial community and business response to Climate Change. We know what the City needs to do to meet our climate commitments, we need more action. We also must acknowledge that climate change is already here and adaptation measures are needed now. As Mayor I commit to expanding the Community Energy Investment Program, a financing tool for improving a building’s energy performance and adding renewable sources, investing in the continuing electrification of our bus fleet, developing a robust green energy retrofit program, and establishing a Clean Technology Investors Alliance to bolster the clean tech sector in the Edmonton-area

What books inform your knowledge? 

Recent Books: 

Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga 

Banker to the Pool by Muhammad Yunus 

The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey 

The Wisdon of Teams by J. Katzenbach/D. Smith

Share a quote or a poem that means something to you. 

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”

Where can we learn more about you and your campaign? To learn more about me and my campaign, you can visit www.michaeloshry.ca

You should also visit my following social media accounts 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MichaelOshryForMayor 

Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaeloshry 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/MichaelOshryforMayor 

Linkedin: www.linkedincom/in/michaeloshry

If you haven’t seen Michael in the candidate forum, have a look here:

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