Peter E. Hume is a city councillor in the city of Ottawa representing Alta Vista Ward which has one of the largest ethnic Somalis in the city of Ottawa. During his re-election campaign he promised to improve the lives of the Somalis living in his riding.
Ahmed E. Gure, Editor of Hiiraan Online, visited Councillor's office in the City Hall and discussed how he can deliver his campaign promises to the Somali Community .
Hiiraan Online: Congratulations on your re-election
Councillor Peter Hume: Thank you,
Hiiraan Online: One of the largest groups in this ward is the Somali Community, and as you know the need of the community is huge in terms of the services that the City provides particularly issues related to employment, housing and other social services. What are your priorities for the next four years as the Councillor for Ward 18 - Alta Vista?
Councillor Peter Hume: W need to find continuous source of opportunity for the youth, as well as the mothers, the fathers and the children, and we need to find these opportunities in the communities by working with others. We also need to find the areas of success, for example, in the youth employment issues.
Hiiraan Online: Speaking of the Youth employment issues, is there any plan or strategy from the city or from your office to deal with this issue?
Councillor Peter Hume: That is very good question. When I was growing up in this area there were many opportunities for the youth, and we can create those opportunities for them although it is not the easiest job to do. The only way we can do this is by working together so we can bring potential employers to the area, organize career fairs, job force etc, there are many youths in this area that can be in the workforce and that is very uplifting. Those are the things we have got to do and we have to do this from now through the four years.
Hiiraan Online: Let’s talk about the programs related to the Sports and the Recreation. Do you have any plans related to these programs for the youth in this ward?
Councillor Peter Hume: The recreation department wants to see how we can better our recreation activities across the city. There is good momentum in which we can help youth and specially create more opportunities for the Somali youth. We have to ensure that we create recreation programs comprised of different activities such as swimming, baseball, football, basketball etc. We need to be organized so we can coordinate the implementation of these activities and programs, and I am prepared to put more time and personal efforts into these programs to make them success.
Hiiraan Online: There is a huge need in the city especially in this ward for some sort of space and facility for the Somali seniors to seek assistance and to socialize with each other and exchange information. Could you help find the space and support services to address this issue?
Councillor Peter Hume: Definitely, we can create opportunities for them and I will look into this immediately; I believe we can bring support services such as computers, tables, chairs, etc.
Hiiraan Online: As you may have seen in this ward, the Somalis constitute the largest tenant group of the Ottawa Housing, and some of the statistics say that the Somalis occupy more than 50% of the units but there is no one single Somali employed in the entire Ottawa Housing Corporation. Is there something that your office or the city officials can do to change this?
Councillor Peter Hume: I know what you mean. I will look into it and see what we can do, and as soon as I have something I will let you know.
Hiiraan Online: Thank you,
Councillor Peter Hume: You are very welcome