John Fraser has been newly elected as  the Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Ottawa-South on August 1st 2013.

Muslim Link's Chelby Marie Daigle had an opportunity to interview John during his campaign by phone on July 19th. For a biography of John visit his website.

Muslim Link: Muslim Canadians own many small businesses in Ottawa- South, particularly restaurants, and are facing difficulties with their rising hydro costs. How do you plan to control rising hydro rates?

Here's the perspective we need on the hydro situation, about 10 years ago this time of year we had a black out in Ontario. It's a black out we had because our electricity system hadn't been invested in by the previous government and governments previous to that. So we found ourselves in a situation where families, small businesses and large businesses couldn't count on the stability of hydroelectricity and we ended up having diesel generators outside of office buildings. So, over the last ten years, I think we have invested about $13 million and we invested in renewing our nuclear and hydro systems, replacing transmission lines, replacing telephone polls because they don't last forever. And we have invested in Green Energy. So where we are in 2013 is we have a stable and reliable supply of energy, electricity, which is something that families can rely on but it is also something in the larger context of the global economy something that every state is striving for. So, the reality is we are paying the true cost of energy. And we have to work with our partners in business and families so that we can do our best to conserve.

We did introduce the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit, which is 10% off hydro bills. So that's something that is happening right now.  There's also the Ontario Property and Energy Tax Credit which is something that is targeted to low and middle income families. So those are two ways that we have tried to mitigate those costs to those people where it may be disproportionately harder.

Matt Young is the Progressive Conservative (PC) provincial candidate running in Ottawa-South. Muslim Link's Chelby Marie Daigle had an opportunity to interview Matt in his campaign office on July 19th. For a biography of Matt visit his website.

Muslim Link: Muslim Canadians own many small businesses in Ottawa- South, particularly restaurants, and are facing difficulties with their rising hydro costs. How do you plan to control rising hydro rates?

Matt Young: The first thing we do is we end installations of subsidized windmills and solar panels. We are all for windmills and solar panels; they have to stand on their own two feet and compete with other sources of energy. What people don't know about Ontario Hydro is that last year we had about three hundred dollars' worth of energy unused at our dams-so that's Niagara Falls or the Madawaska River System where they actually shut off the dams because they didn't need the power. And yet we are spending hundreds of millions every year to generate wind and solar power. So if we could just eliminate any new wind and solar installations, we can't get rid of the ones we have because we've signed contracts, but we can stop the bleeding and stop the growth. So that will at least flat line hydro prices whereas if we continue on the path we are on they are going to double over the next ten years.

For the second year in a row, a Muslim woman has been awarded a special scholarship from the Ottawa Police Service in order to pursue a career in policing.

Urge Ibrahim was presented with the Thomas G. Flanagan S.C. Scholarship by Chief Charles Bordeleau at the Ottawa Police Service's annual Community/Police Awards on June 18.

The Multifaith Housing Initiative's Annual Tulipathon raised $32,000 to support the building of more affordable housing in Ottawa. Several Muslim organizations participated in the fundraiser including the Ottawa Muslim Women's Organization (OMWO), the South Nepean Muslim Community (SNMC), Masjid Bilal, Cordova Academy, and the Ottawa Muslim Association (OMA).

Residents of a West-end neighbourhood gathered in late May to discuss the impact of the recent murder of 24-year-old Malik Adjokatcher, an alleged gang member, in the Britannia Woods neighbourhood.

The community forum was held at the Michele Heights Community Centre on May 27 and hosted by Bay Ward City Councillor Mark Taylor who moderated a panel consisting of representatives from the Ottawa Police Service, Crime Prevention Ottawa, Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre, and a tenant of the Michele Heights neighbourhood.

On Friday, May 10th, members of the Carleton University  Afghan Students' Association (ASA) organized a Mother's Day celebration to recognize the efforts of Afghan Canadian female educators who are actively involved within Ottawa's schools, from language school teachers to daycare workers. They also raised over $1000 in proceeds for Mirman Baheer, an Afghan organization that supports women writers and poets.

“Does anyone know why the eagle is so important in Aboriginal culture?” Jason Mullins, dressed in full Cherokee regalia, asked a riveted audience of mostly Muslim community members at Knox Presbyterian Church on April 13.

Mullins, an American-born First Nations cultural interpreter who works with the Ottawa organization Aboriginal Experiences, was one of many Aboriginal artists to offer his time and talent to support the Islam Care Centre's fundraising efforts.

It was an evening of firsts as the Ottawa Main Mosque welcomed US Ambassador David Jacobson on his first official visit on April 8.

Almost 100 people attended the event titled “Strengthening Bridges & Working Together for a Better Future”.  Security was discreet and the question period was uncensored which was unusual for a high-profile guest like the ambassador. But a unique set of circumstances had created the space for this gathering.  As Ambassador Jacobson explained at the beginning of his speech:

As the new coordinator of the Muslim Link, one of the tasks I assigned myself was figuring out the history of the paper that has become an important institution in Ottawa's Muslim community.

Muslim Link was founded in 2002 by Ali Bokhari and his wife Tahira Ismail.  Ali was inspired to create the paper after seeing the success of The Muslim Link in the US. Founded in 1998, the American paper connects Muslims across the Virginia, Maryland, and Metropolitan Washington D.C area.

Ali's other motivation came from the fallout of 9/11 when stereotypes and misinformation about Muslims in Canada became rampant and it was clear that a forum was needed for Muslim Canadians to connect, share information, discuss their common concerns, and see their lives reflected in a positive light.

“Strengthening Relationships with the Muslim Community” is a series of sessions organized by several Muslim organizations in partnership with the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) and the Community Police Action Committee (COMPAC).

The first session took place on Thursday, January 24th 2013 at Masjid Assunnah. Chief of Police Charles Bordeleau summed up the purpose of the series as follows: “It's about us as police officers and members of the police service learning more about the Muslim community but it's also about the Muslim community knowing who we are as police officers and what we do, and what the police service is capable of doing to help you.”