Ottawa City Council
The Ottawa City Council (french: Conseil municipal d'Ottawa) is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents war ...
lor who represented the ward of
Barrhaven
Barrhaven is a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located about southwest of the city's downtown core. Prior to amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean. Its population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 10 ...
. She was the appointed chair of the
Ottawa Public Library
The Ottawa Public Library (OPL; french: Bibliothèque publique d'Ottawa) is the library system of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The library was founded in 1906 with a donation from the Carnegie Foundation.
Services
* Information and reference servi ...
board, which sets policy and has the ultimate say in decisions affecting the library system.
Career
Born at the
Civic Hospital
Civic Hospital (French: ''Hôpital Civic'') is a neighbourhood in Kitchissippi Ward in central Ottawa, Canada. It is named after the Ottawa Civic Hospital, which is located in the neighbourhood.
Civic Hospital is bounded on the west by Island ...
in Ottawa, to parents Philip and Blanche Weatherall (née Culhane) she spent her youth in a number of different Ontario cities. Trained as a radiological technician, she eventually became an executive in the grocery business.
She first entered politics in the 1997 municipal elections when she was elected to
Nepean
Nepean may refer to:
Places Australia
*Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia,
** Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia,
** Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality
*Nepean Highway, Victoria
*Nepean Island (Norfolk Islan ...
city council. Prior to her election, she served for eight years as the President of the
Barrhaven
Barrhaven is a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located about southwest of the city's downtown core. Prior to amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean. Its population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 10 ...
Community Association. She ran on a platform of "fast-tracking urban development" in south Nepean, increasing the number of sports fields and ice rinks and improved commuter roads, transit and the building of a VIA rail station. She was easily elected to council, defeating rivals Mike Kronick and Bill Gordon with 55% of the vote.
With the creation of the new amalgamated city of Ottawa in 2000, Harder ran against regional councillor Molly McGoldrick-Larsen. While the race was expected to be close, Harder ended up winning by several thousand votes.
In 2003, Harder described youth gangs in her ward as "non-whites", which led to calls to her resignations and a hate crime complaint that did not lead to charges.
She was reelected in the 2003 Ottawa election, by defeating newcomer John R. Palmer.
One of her first efforts on city council was the successful campaign to replace the new
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...
with that of the old city of Ottawa. She also led a campaign to have filters installed on computers in the public libraries that would restrict users from accessing
pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
.
In the November 2006 municipal elections, Harder retained her position as councillor with 75% of the vote in Barrhaven Ward.
Harder was accused of conflict of interest in 2008 for allegedly endorsing a waste management company, Plasco, and accepting money in the form of a paid trip.
Harder is heavily active in Conservative politics and in the past mused about running federally in her riding.
Her daughter, Elena ran for the vacant
Orléans Ward
Orléans (;"Orleans" (US) and Jim Watson for mayor of Ottawa in the
2018 Ottawa municipal election
The 2018 Ottawa municipal election was a municipal election that was held on October 22, 2018, to elect the mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and the Ottawa-Carleton Public and Catholic School Boards. The election was held on the same day as ...
.
In 2021, Harder came under controversy due to her connections with lobbyist Jack Stirling and the Stirling Group, as she regularly sought his advice on planning matters while under contracts with the Stirling Group related to her ward and her role as chair of the city's planning committee. In a 101-page report, Ottawa's integrity commissioner Robert Marleau recommended Harder lose her seat on the committee. Harder resigned her seat on the planning committee on June 23.