Ottawa’s general manager of emergency and protective services will call it a career on Oct. 29 after orchestrating the largest mass vaccination campaign in the city’s history.
City manager Steve Kanellakos announced in a memo Thursday that Anthony Di Monte will retire next month, marking more than 20 years working in the City of Ottawa’s emergency services department.
Di Monte was the first chief of paramedic services for the newly amalgamated City of Ottawa in 2000, uniting six disparate services under the city’s single banner.
He has shepherded the response to a series of emergencies in Ottawa since his tenure as general manager began in 2015, including tornadoes, flood responses and sinkholes.
Di Monte’s latest efforts as GM have been managing the city’s COVID-19 response, including bylaw and enforcement regimes in the early months of the pandemic and, more recently, as the head of Ottawa’s COVID-19 vaccination task force.
Di Monte was the face of the local immunization strategy for much of 2021, liaising with councillors and media about the pace of vaccinations, clinic operations and supply updates from the province.
His role has since diminished as the reins of the vaccine rollout were shifted to Ottawa Public Health’s hands last month and the campaign morphed from a mass vaccination approach to a more targeted strategy.
“Tony’s impact on our city is immeasurable and his departure will leave a big void at the senior leadership team table,” said Kanellakos in the memo.
Di Monte is not the only one leaving a seat at the senior leadership table: Ottawa transit boss John Manconi is also set to retire on Sept. 30.
The city will start its search for a new general manager of emergency and protective services in the coming days.