The man tasked with kickstarting Ottawa’s nighttime economy says he plans to announce the members of his advisory council in the next few weeks and hopes to start tackling issues such as cutting red tape in the city’s music industry in 2025.
Mathieu Grondin, who was hired by the City of Ottawa in June to fill the new role of nightlife commissioner, told OBJ he received more than 500 applications by the Oct. 11 deadline for what’s expected to be about a dozen positions on a volunteer council aimed at helping improve the city’s post-6 p.m. economy.
The council, which will meet at least four times a year, will offer advice and provide feedback on issues such as how to make local entertainment districts safer at night and how to better promote local nightlife attractions.
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Members won’t be paid and will serve two-year terms.
Last month, Grondin put out a call for members of the public, nightlife participants, business owners, event promoters and others to apply to join the advisory council.
Six seats are reserved for economic development and cultural organizations such as the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition and Ottawa Tourism. Grondin originally said between six and 12 additional members would be chosen from the general public, and Thursday he said he was so impressed with the calibre of the applicants that the council will likely include a full dozen at-large members.
“With the amount of great candidacies we have received, I think we’re going to top it to the max,” Grondin said during an interview after the mayor’s breakfast event at City Hall.
It’s all part of an action plan approved by city council last year designed to promote a “more vibrant, diverse, inclusive, viable, safe, and well-managed nightlife” across the city from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Grondin said his goals include eliminating municipal regulations that make it harder for restaurants, bars, nightclubs and other entertainment organizations to do business. He said he’s already sat down with the team that’s reviewing the city’s bylaws and hopes to have some recommendations for cutting red tape by 2025.
“We’re going to try to see what we can do to remove some of the pain points that some business owners feel,” explained Grondin, who previously worked with MTL 24/24, a non-profit organization that supports Montreal’s nightlife. “Hopefully, we’ll come up with something next year as part of the bylaw review process.”
Grondin said a priority will be looking at ways to make neighbourhoods safer for bar and restaurant patrons and employees.
Another issue he said he’s been hearing about since taking on his new job is the lack of promotion for Ottawa’s nightlife. Grondin said he’s looking at solutions like an online resource where residents can find out what’s happening in the city after 6 p.m.
“One thing that came up a lot was the fact that there’s a lot of stuff going on in Ottawa, but sometimes the word doesn’t get out, and people learn about it on a Monday when it was on the weekend before,” he said. “So how can we help amplify the message around nightlife activities?”
According to the city, about $1.5 billion is spent on nightlife activities every year in Ottawa. The sector includes nearly 40,000 workers.
