I have been interested in politics, practically for my whole life. I remember as a kid thinking I could deal with situations better than the politicians of the day. Being a bright child I realized I had next to zero chance of actually becoming a politician as a young person. So I resolved to revisit this dream once I got a few grey hairs on my head. My daughters recently found a few grey hairs on my head and had a lot of fun pointing out how old I was. That's ok, I remember doing that as a child too. As a kid I decided that it really didn't matter what I did between then and the time I decided to enter politics. I had no interest in following the paths of the politicians I saw on television because I didn't want to be like them. 

I have lived in many cities in Canada and the United States. I was born in Toronto and have had the opportunity to live in Fort Erie, Montreal, Ste Agathe, Saint-Jean, Minnesota and Virginia. Of all the places I have lived I can honestly say that I like Ottawa the best. It has all the amenities of a large metropolitan area without many of the negative attributes, or with negatives that are far and away less severe than some places I have lived. In some cities people have a default hostile response to strangers, not here. In Ottawa I have found people to be friendly while still respecting personal boundaries; purchasing a pregnancy test in on overly friendly Virginia was a slightly traumatizing experience. Ottawa has a wide range of family oriented services which helps to keep our kids busy and hopefully out of trouble.

I have a lovely wife who is incredibly supportive and two amazing daughters. "Family values" is a cliche term many people try to use, but I actually live it. My mother in law has lived with us for years. Having  three generations living in the same household is so beneficial. It helps the parents and grandparents financially. The grand children get to know their grandparents in a far more meaningful way. This kind of living arrangement may not be for everyone, but I love it. As a city councilor I can actually help develop strong families by encouraging innovations in housing. When a new house is being constructed it's beneficial to include a plan of building subdivision so that it can be made into a couple of apartments by putting in a couple pieces of drywall and then filling in the bathroom and kitchen rough ins. Buying such a house means that you can rent out part of it to help you pay the mortgage or if your lucky, having a family member share in the household with their own self contained apartment. 

There are a few innovations in housing that I think can really help us all. Including increased usage of closed loop geothermal heat pumps to provide all HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) for the building. The reports I've seen of closed loop geothermal systems is that they require next to no maintenance and they last for decades. A glycol mix is used in buried PVC pipes with no sediment or particulate matter so the machinery just lasts and lasts. Open loop (connected to a well for water) do not last very long, calcification from the water and particulate matter eventually break the machinery. Ideally the electrical charge required to run the heat pump 24 hours a day is met by locally generated renewable power. When we build buildings let's encourage people to do it right. There is a problem in the city bylaws. In order to use a wind turbine effectively it needs to be high up in the air and this currently breaks the bylaws. The reason why you want that turbine way up there? Because as the wind sweeps across your neighborhood it gets broken up and loses energy by hitting buildings and trees.  To produce it's true potential the wind turbine needs to be up high. Putting these machines up high can also help with the noise factor. The noise factor of this needs to be addressed because a neighbor with a loud windmill can be really annoying and is not fair. 

This is supposed to be a bio page for me and I'm off talking about how we can tweak the system to make it a bit better. This is descriptive of me, because I do come up with really creative solutions to all kinds of problems. A few years ago I got the opportunity to write a patent. I don't get anything from it and I knew I wouldn't. That didn't matter I just really wanted to see that idea happen and I wanted to experience the process of doing a patent. Financial gain and recognition are not primary drivers for me. It's seeing how I can help make the world a bit better a place for having applied my time and energy that really feeds my soul. 

In my early twenties I got a C.E.C. as a programmer analyst. After a while I got my first job as a network administrator and have been building and maintaining computer systems ever since. At first my challenges were all technical in nature. After a few years the technical issues became easy, I knew my craft. In the next level of I.T. it's the people and relationships that need to be addressed, not the technical issues. The technical issues are easy, it is getting inter-departmental agreements in place that can make or break large I.T. programs. How do we encourage cooperation? How do we structure change so that it is truly beneficial and not just change for the sake of change? These are the types of issues I enjoy working on now.  

If you need a small snippet of information to introduce me, these three paragraphs are here to help.   

O’Neil Brooke candidate for Ottawa City Council, ward 11 has been working in information technology since the early 1990’s. While acquiring a real estate license, Mr. Brooke found that our politicians do not "represent" people, instead politicians use the concept of "governance" to override dissent and impose their will.

O'Neil Brooke has served on parent council’s for Bayshore Catholic, Assumption and John Paul II schools. During this time Mr. Brooke also attended many of the meetings for parents held at the Ottawa Carelton Catholic School Board.

O’Neil Brooke was president of the Ottawa-Vanier Electoral District Association for the Canadian Action Party and has been an active member of our community advocating for the preservation of our national sovereignty and individual rights.

 

Here is a photo of me that can be used.

In web quality and print quality.