City of Ottawa, Council, four councillors
The Flag Protocol and the delegated power in Schedule C: reporting, the livery of police vehicles, and Council’s oversight.
The letter ·
Board policy AI-008 and question 3 of 2 September - Danilo Dzyuban
Hello,
On 2 September 2026 six questions went to every certified candidate in Ottawa on identical terms. Question 3 concerns the livery of Ottawa Police Service vehicles. It asks who decides what else may be painted on them. The register carries no answer from Ward 22 (Riverside South-Findlay Creek), and your line stands at http://dzyuban.com/legal/ottawa-2026/#steve-desroches
The Board publishes its own composition. It has 7 members, and 3 of those seats are held by sitting members of City Council. All 3 of those seats belong to candidates in this election. The register carries no answer from any of the 3.
On 20 September 2026 the Board received a letter on its own policy AI-008, Marked General Patrol Vehicles. The policy is published in the Board Policy Manual of April 2026. It carries the date approved of 25 July 2005 and the dates reviewed of 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2017. It carries the date to be reviewed of 2022 and no date amended at all. It carries a reporting requirement of annual compliance reporting. It directs the Chief of Police to "ensure that the police service's marked general patrol vehicles meet required specifications".
A review that fell due in 2022 has not happened. A policy approved in 2005 has never been amended. The specifications the Chief is directed to meet are not published, and neither are the annual compliance reports.
Question 3 of 2 September asks whether you will require the Ottawa Police Service to keep service vehicles in a single approved livery. It asks whether any marking beyond that livery would first require an approved policy, a costing, and a recorded decision of the Ottawa Police Service Board.
Where are the annual compliance reports that AI-008 requires, and what are the required specifications it names?
The Board states that it is accountable to the Ministry of the Solicitor General and to the Inspectorate of Policing. Those are the next doors. Answers received by 25 September 2026 are published before advance voting opens on 1 October 2026. Candidates who do not answer are listed as having received the questions and not answered.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Ottawa, Ontario [postal code]
The letter ·
Ward 23 (Kanata South) and the December 2026 vote on the Delegation of Authority By-law - Danilo Dzyuban
Hello,
On 2 September 2026 six questions went to every certified candidate in Ottawa on identical terms. The register carries no answer from any candidate in Ward 23 (Kanata South). Your line stands at http://dzyuban.com/legal/ottawa-2026/#megan-strazds-esenbergs
Since that date the City has answered the second question itself. On 16 September 2026 the City Clerk wrote that the Flag Protocol Procedures are a corporate administrative policy. She named the source of her power over them, Schedule C, Section 1.3 of the Delegation of Authority By-law, number 2025-69.
"The City Clerk may approve, amend and rescind corporate administrative policies and procedures consistent with the department's mandate."
The same letter records that the Delegation of Authority By-law is reviewed every 2 years. The most recent amendments were approved on 29 January 2025, and the letter states that "it is anticipated that City Council will consider the further By-law amendments in December 2026."
The procedures decide which flags go up on municipal property. They shut out any group whose undertakings or philosophy "are politically or religiously motivated or represent other individual conviction". Under the heading "Legislative and Administrative Authorities" the same published procedures carry one word, "None". No by-law and no recorded vote of Council stands behind them.
Question 2 of 2 September reads: will you require that every municipal policy governing the use of public property be enacted by by-law or by recorded vote of Council, and that no such policy stand on the authority of a single official?
If Ward 23 (Kanata South) returns you to Council on 26 October, which way does that seat vote on Schedule C, Section 1.3 in December 2026?
Answers received by 25 September 2026 are published before advance voting opens on 1 October 2026. Candidates who do not answer are listed as having received the questions and not answered.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Ottawa, Ontario [postal code]
The letter ·
Re: Re: Ward 23 (Kanata South) and the December 2026 vote on the Delegation of Authority By-law - Danilo Dzyuban
Hello,
Your answer of 22 September 2026 is published at http://dzyuban.com/legal/ottawa-2026/#megan-strazds-esenbergs word for word and without editing, on the same terms as every other answer.
You name three things you lack before taking a position, and here they are.
Jurisdiction. Question 2 is the jurisdiction question. The Flag Protocol Procedures decide which flags go up on municipal property, and under the heading "Legislative and Administrative Authorities" those published procedures carry one word, "None". On 16 September 2026 the City Clerk wrote to me that they are a corporate administrative policy and that she may approve, amend and rescind them under Schedule C, Section 1(3) of the Delegation of Authority By-law, number 2025-69. She states that Council is expected to consider amendments to that by-law in December 2026.
Evidence. Schedule C, Section 1 carries 5 subsections. The word "report" does not appear in it. Sections 2, 3, 10, 11 and 12 of the same Schedule each carry this line: "The exercise of delegated authority pursuant to subsection (1) shall be reported to the appropriate Standing Committee at least once in each calendar year." That line appears 145 times in the by-law. Council wrote a yearly reporting requirement for the deposit of archival material. For the power that produced the flag policy, Council wrote none.
Costs. Question 4 does not ask you for a figure. It asks whether the City will publish one. Those figures are held by the City and not by candidates, which is why the question is put as publication.
On residents: Council takes up that by-law in December whether or not the subject has come up at a door in Kanata South. The seat votes either way, and a vote is a position.
One question, yes or no, by 25 September 2026. Question 2 reads: will you require that every municipal policy governing the use of public property be enacted by by-law or by recorded vote of Council, and that no such policy stand on the authority of a single official?
The register is published before advance voting opens on 1 October 2026.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Ottawa, Ontario [postal code]
The letter ·
Ward 14 (Somerset) and the December 2026 vote on the Delegation of Authority By-law - Danilo Dzyuban
Hello,
On 2 September 2026 six questions went to every certified candidate in Ottawa on identical terms. The register carries no answer from any candidate in Ward 14 (Somerset). Your line stands at http://dzyuban.com/legal/ottawa-2026/#nicholas-golle
Since that date the City has answered the second question itself. On 16 September 2026 the City Clerk wrote that the Flag Protocol Procedures are a corporate administrative policy. She named the source of her power over them, Schedule C, Section 1.3 of the Delegation of Authority By-law, number 2025-69.
"The City Clerk may approve, amend and rescind corporate administrative policies and procedures consistent with the department's mandate."
The same letter records that the Delegation of Authority By-law is reviewed every 2 years. The most recent amendments were approved on 29 January 2025, and the letter states that "it is anticipated that City Council will consider the further By-law amendments in December 2026."
The procedures decide which flags go up on municipal property. They shut out any group whose undertakings or philosophy "are politically or religiously motivated or represent other individual conviction". Under the heading "Legislative and Administrative Authorities" the same published procedures carry one word, "None". No by-law and no recorded vote of Council stands behind them.
Question 2 of 2 September reads: will you require that every municipal policy governing the use of public property be enacted by by-law or by recorded vote of Council, and that no such policy stand on the authority of a single official?
If Ward 14 (Somerset) returns you to Council on 26 October, which way does that seat vote on Schedule C, Section 1.3 in December 2026?
Answers received by 25 September 2026 are published before advance voting opens on 1 October 2026. Candidates who do not answer are listed as having received the questions and not answered.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Ottawa, Ontario [postal code]
The letter ·
Re: Re: Ward 14 (Somerset) and the December 2026 vote on the Delegation of Authority By-law - Danilo Dzyuban
Hello,
Your answer of 20 September 2026 is published in full at http://dzyuban.com/legal/ottawa-2026/#nicholas-golle Yours is the only answer of the 155 that cites the provisions themselves.
You hold that the authority of the City Clerk comes from Council through Schedule C, Section 1(3). That is correct. The rest of Schedule C is where the December review has its opening.
Section 1 carries 5 subsections. The word "report" does not appear in it.
Five other sections of the same Schedule carry this line:
"The exercise of delegated authority pursuant to subsection (1) shall be reported to the appropriate Standing Committee at least once in each calendar year."
They are Sections 2, 3, 10, 11 and 12. Their subjects are agreements with other governments, grant agreements, the deposit of library and archival materials, archives facilities, and the powers of the head of the municipality under the Ombudsman Act. The same line appears 145 times in the by-law as a whole.
A deed of gift for archival material reaches a Standing Committee once a year. The rule that decides whose flag flies on a municipal flagpole reaches no one.
You wrote that the Flag Protocol "currently makes those kinds of eligibility determinations while listing no specific legislative or administrative authority within the procedure itself". The record shows where that wording came from. On 5 October 2017 the City Clerk and Solicitor sent a memorandum to the Mayor and Members of Council. He wrote, in the first person, "I have implemented a revised Flag Protocol Procedure". He wrote that he had added wording "derived from the City's existing Proclamations Procedures, so that it is applicable to flag raisings as well and to provide consistency between the two procedures". The wording he added is the sentence shutting out any group whose undertakings or philosophy "are politically or religiously motivated or represent other individual conviction". It took effect on 9 October 2017, 4 days later.
On 4 September 2026 I asked the City Clerk under Section 253 of the Municipal Act, 2001 for every by-law or resolution of Council adopting, approving, amending or ratifying those procedures. Her answer of 16 September 2026 produced none.
December 2026 therefore needs no new instrument. The line already exists in this by-law 5 times over. Carried into Section 1, it puts the exercise of that power in front of elected members once a year. Ratification by Council for policies setting criteria of public access to municipal property is the second step, and it is the one voted on out loud.
Will you name Schedule C, Section 1 at the December review, and move both?
Questions 1, 3 and 4 of 2 September stand unanswered on your line in the register. Answers received by 25 September 2026 are published before advance voting opens on 1 October 2026.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Ottawa, Ontario [postal code]
The letter ·
Ward 6 (Stittsville) and the December 2026 vote on the Delegation of Authority By-law - Danilo Dzyuban
Hello,
On 2 September 2026 six questions went to every certified candidate in Ottawa on identical terms. The register carries no answer from you. Your line stands at http://dzyuban.com/legal/ottawa-2026/#tanya-hein
Since that date the City has answered the second question itself. On 16 September 2026 the City Clerk wrote that the Flag Protocol Procedures are a corporate administrative policy. She named the source of her power over them, Schedule C, Section 1.3 of the Delegation of Authority By-law, number 2025-69.
"The City Clerk may approve, amend and rescind corporate administrative policies and procedures consistent with the department's mandate."
The same letter records that the Delegation of Authority By-law is reviewed every 2 years. The most recent amendments were approved on 29 January 2025, and the letter states that "it is anticipated that City Council will consider the further By-law amendments in December 2026."
The procedures decide which flags go up on municipal property. They shut out any group whose undertakings or philosophy "are politically or religiously motivated or represent other individual conviction". Under the heading "Legislative and Administrative Authorities" the same published procedures carry one word, "None". No by-law and no recorded vote of Council stands behind them.
Question 2 of 2 September reads: will you require that every municipal policy governing the use of public property be enacted by by-law or by recorded vote of Council, and that no such policy stand on the authority of a single official?
If Ward 6 (Stittsville) returns you to Council on 26 October, which way does that seat vote on Schedule C, Section 1.3 in December 2026?
Answers received by 25 September 2026 are published before advance voting opens on 1 October 2026. Candidates who do not answer are listed as having received the questions and not answered.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Ottawa, Ontario [postal code]
The letter ·
Re: Re: Ward 6 (Stittsville) and the December 2026 vote on the Delegation of Authority By-law - Danilo Dzyuban
Hello,
Your answer of 20 September 2026 is published in full at http://dzyuban.com/legal/ottawa-2026/#tanya-hein
You wrote that "delegated authority requires ongoing scrutiny". On the flag protocols you wrote that you have "no issue with the city's current flag protocols".
Those protocols stand on one delegated authority and on nothing else. It is Schedule C, Section 1(3) of the Delegation of Authority By-law, number 2025-69, under which the City Clerk may approve, amend and rescind corporate administrative policies. The City Clerk confirmed that to me in writing on 16 September 2026.
Schedule C, Section 1 carries 5 subsections. The word "report" does not appear in it.
Five other sections of the same Schedule carry this line:
"The exercise of delegated authority pursuant to subsection (1) shall be reported to the appropriate Standing Committee at least once in each calendar year."
They are Sections 2, 3, 10, 11 and 12. That same line appears 145 times across the by-law. Council wrote a yearly scrutiny requirement for the deposit of archival material. For the power under which the flag protocols were written, Council wrote none.
On 4 September 2026 I asked the City Clerk for every by-law or resolution of Council adopting, approving, amending or ratifying those procedures, under Section 253 of the Municipal Act, 2001. Her answer of 16 September 2026 produced none.
Council considers amendments to that by-law in December 2026.
One question: will you move that Schedule C, Section 1 be made reportable to a Standing Committee at least once in each calendar year, on the same terms as Sections 2, 3, 10, 11 and 12?
Questions 3, 4 and 5 of 2 September stand unanswered on your line in the register. Answers received by 25 September 2026 are published before advance voting opens on 1 October 2026.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Ottawa, Ontario [postal code]
The answer ·
Hi Danilo,
Thank you for reaching out. These issues have not arisen in my
conversations with Kanata South residents to date, and several require
additional context regarding jurisdiction, costs, and potential impacts. My
approach is to listen first, consider the ward-specific implications, and
review the relevant evidence before taking a position. I am therefore not
able to provide informed yes-or-no responses at this time.Best,
The answer ·
Good afternoon Danilo,
My apologies for the late reply. My campaign team is me, my cat, and my dog. And we started the campaign on Sept 7th, so it's taken some time.
I appreciate the opportunity to respond. There are several principles underlying your questions that I strongly agree are important, particularly consistent rules, transparency, clear accountability, and measurement of whether public spending is achieving its intended purpose.
I do want to distinguish, however, between those principles and the governance mechanisms proposed in some of the questions. Hence...no explicit yes/no.
1. Municipal flagpoles
I support having a clear, publicly available flag protocol with defined criteria that are applied consistently.
Ottawa already has a published Flag Protocol governing both permanent flags and temporary flag raisings. I would not commit in advance to replacing that framework with a rule limiting municipal flagpoles exclusively to the flags of Canada, Ontario and the City of Ottawa. I would assess any proposed change based on whether it improves consistency, transparency, equal treatment and the legitimate public purposes served by municipal property.
2. Policies governing public property
Thank you for your follow-up of September 20. I reviewed the specific provisions you identified in the Delegation of Authority By-law and the City's published Flag Protocol Procedures.
I think the example usefully sharpens the distinction I would make in answering your original question.
I would not require every administrative policy concerning municipal property to be individually enacted by by-law or approved through a recorded vote of Council. A municipality the size of Ottawa requires delegated administrative authority in order to function effectively.
I also would not characterize the City Clerk's authority in this case as authority resting solely on a single official. Schedule C, Section 1(3) of the Delegation of Authority By-law expressly delegates to the City Clerk the authority to approve, amend and rescind corporate administrative policies and procedures consistent with the department's mandate. That delegated authority ultimately comes from Council.
Your example does, however, raise a legitimate question about the scope of that delegation.
There is a meaningful difference between an administrative procedure dealing with the operational management of City property and a policy that establishes substantive criteria governing who may use prominent public property for expressive or commemorative purposes. The City's Flag Protocol currently makes those kinds of eligibility determinations while listing no specific legislative or administrative authority within the procedure itself.
Accordingly, I would not commit to eliminating Schedule C, Section 1(3) in its entirety. When the Delegation of Authority By-law returns to Council for review, I would support examining whether the present delegation is sufficiently bounded and whether policies involving substantive public-access, expressive or similar criteria should require Council-approved governing principles, additional reporting, or Council ratification rather than being established exclusively through administrative policy.
My objective would be to preserve the administrative delegation necessary for the City to operate while ensuring that decisions involving substantive public policy remain appropriately accountable to elected Council.
3. Ottawa Police Service vehicles
This is principally a matter for the Ottawa Police Service Board and the Chief of Police rather than something an individual councillor can directly require.
I support clear standards, appropriate costing and accountable decision-making concerning significant expenditures and changes to publicly funded assets. I would not, however, commit to a specific vehicle-livery policy without first examining the operational requirements, existing Police Service Board policies and the respective responsibilities of the Board and Chief.
4. Costs of flags, banners, decals, painted surfaces, crosswalk markings and associated events
I support making public spending easier to trace and understand.
As a candidate, I do not have access to the City's internal financial systems and therefore cannot responsibly promise to produce a complete and verified 2023-2026 accounting of those items before election day. Those expenditures may also be distributed across several departments, programs and existing budget lines rather than recorded as one category.
If elected, I would support improving the City's ability to provide residents with sufficiently granular expenditure information and would support reasonable requests to identify the costs of specific municipal initiatives. I would rather be precise about what information can actually be produced than promise a figure whose completeness I cannot verify.
5. Performance measurement
I strongly support tying municipal programs to clearly defined purposes and measuring whether they are producing their intended results.
My approach would be that programs should identify the problem or need they are intended to address, the outcome being sought, appropriate performance indicators, and a process for reporting results and revising the program where outcomes do not match expectations.I would not make funding legally conditional on a rigid requirement that every program have a numerical target in every circumstance. Some municipal responsibilities involve statutory obligations, emergency response, preventative work or outcomes that are difficult to reduce to a single metric. Poorly designed indicators can also incentivize achieving the number rather than achieving the underlying objective.
The goal should therefore be meaningful accountability and continuous evaluation, rather than measurement for its own sake.Thank you again for taking the time to put your questions together.
Sincerely,