December 2, 2025, Newsletter

COUNCILLOR’S MESSAGE 

When ideology affects snow removal; or the mirage of fiscal prudence 

There was an interesting column in The Ottawa Citizen last week on the politics of snow removal. The columnist wrote that Ottawa residents essentially expect two things from their local politicians: don’t increase property taxes and clear the snow quickly and reliably.  

It reminds me of that meme frequently posted on social media. It shows a Venn diagram illustrating the conflicting and overlapping desires of municipal taxpayers, i.e. a city with stable municipal services, low density, and low property taxes. The Venn diagram suggests that such a city doesn’t exist.  

Regarding the City’s handling of snow removal, Council has been waiting since 2019 for an update to our Winter Maintenance Quality Standards. This is the policy that sets the guidelines for snow removal, laying out the conditions and prioritization for the order of what gets plowed, how soon after a snowfall do operations begin, what level of snow clearing is expected, etc. The Winter Maintenance Quality Standards that we use today are from 2003, but residents’ expectations have changed since then, e.g. higher expectations for winter maintenance of sidewalks, or bus shelters.  

After several years of being told that the Winter Maintenance Quality Standards were being reviewed, Council got a memo last week from the General Manager of Public Works stating that “staff are not proposing changes to the Winter Maintenance Quality Standards at this time and will instead focus on delivering operational excellence.” 

In other words, we’re not going to be changing the Standards, but we’ll do our best to find improvements and efficiencies within the existing standards.  

In his memo, the General Manager makes it clear that Ottawa’s standards exceed provincial regulations but then goes on to indicate that Ontario’s regulations “are primarily intended to provide legal protections rather than address infrastructure preservation, quality of life, or local climate conditions.” Good enough to prevent a lawsuit, but perhaps not good enough to help you climb over the 4-foot snow mountain blocking your bus shelter.  

The memo also states one of the reasons why the Standards are not being reviewed: money. It’s referenced in one key paragraph:  

“It is also recognized that any increase to service standards would add sustained financial pressures and have operational implications for Public Works. As outlined in the City’s 2026 Budget Directions, the focus of all departments is on prudent financial management and focusing on delivering service improvements while reducing growth pressures.” 

There’s a lot to unpack here. First, it’s not up to City staff to decide whether to review and update a policy because of cost concerns. It’s up to Council to decide whether we want to accept or amend a proposal for new guidelines based on cost. But it seems that City staff have grown accustomed to the prevailing culture of austerity at City Hall. 

But it’s the concept of “prudent financial management” that I want to dive into. Specifically, I’m pushing back on the claim being made by City staff and the Mayor’s Office that they are being fiscally prudent. Rather, it’s my belief that the 2026 Budget is placing excessive fiscal prudence ahead of the current and future needs of Ottawa residents. 

Strap in, reader, because I’m about to throw a lot of numbers around.  I’ve broken this down into four segments.  

Part 1 - What to do with such a surplus? 

Over the last 5 years, Ottawa has accumulated a combined operating surplus of almost $85 million. In 2024, we ended the year with an operating surplus of almost $44.5 million. It’s quite common for Canadian municipalities to generate surpluses. By law, Canadian municipalities are required to produce balanced budgets – we can’t budget for a deficit – and so municipalities tend to budget conservatively by underestimating revenues and overestimating expenses.  

While it’s certainly good to end the year with a surplus, there are some downsides to this as well:  

• Overly conservative budgeting can lead to significant cuts to services or deferrals on capital spending, even when funds are available. 
• Funds sitting in reserves could have been used for Term of Council priorities like affordable housing, transit service improvements, increasing operating funding to service organizations, climate resilient infrastructure, etc.  

Part 2 - The state of Ottawa’s debt 

The City of Ottawa currently has a debt-to-asset ratio that is far lower than most cities, and that comes with a significant opportunity cost.  

A municipal debt-to-asset ratio shows the ratio between a city’s current total debt and the total value of a city’s current assets. Generally, any debt-to-asset ratio below 50% is considered healthy for cities. The chart below shows Ottawa’s debt-to-asset ratio over the past 10 years, where you’ll see that it grew from 8.9% in 2014 to 10.8% in 2024. What this means in real dollars is that in 2024, Ottawa had an accumulated long-term debt of $3.4 billion, and total capital assets of $31.25 billion.  

And here’s the thing: our debt-to-asset ratio is much lower than most major Canadian cities:  

• Toronto: estimated at 15% - 20% 
• Vancouver: in the 20% - 25% range, reflecting aggressive investment in housing and transit infrastructure 
• Calgary: 15% - 18%, reflecting major investments in transit and water infrastructure 
• Montreal: 20% - 25%, due to their infrastructure renewal program 

Taking on new debt for capital investment is “good debt” when that debt pays for vital infrastructure needs. Taking on a massive new debt for Lansdowne 2.0 is not an example of “good debt”, in my opinion. When Ottawa has a massive $10 billion infrastructure gap, driven by aging assets, climate adaptation needs, and rising construction costs—issues that will only worsen if investment is delayed, increasing our debt load to accelerate closing that infrastructure gap would be a responsible display of fiscal prudence. 

Part 3 - When “efficiencies” should really be called cost avoidance – or just good luck 

There’s been a lot of talk of the more than $252 million in “efficiencies” achieved since 2023-2026 through the work of the Mayor’s Service Review Group. This claim needs to be scrutinized. In my opinion, it is misleading and overstates performance.  

When you hear Mayor Sutcliffe talking about how we found over a quarter of a billion dollars in “efficiencies”, that gives the impression that the City pulled off Herculean feats, whether through  streamlining our processes, or identifying waste, or consolidating operations, or leveraging technology to reduce overhead. In some cases, I’m sure that we did this, which is commendable.  

But a lot of the City’s “efficiencies” are not the result of the City’s efforts. Many of them aren’t efficiencies at all.   

This year’s Transit budget has over $14 million in operating “efficiencies”. And $9 million of that are fuel cost savings as a result of the Carbon Tax elimination. That’s not efficiency; it’s a decrease in projected costs resulting from external policy. It’s blind luck. And the “efficiency” of lowered fuel costs is found across the 2026 Budget.   

Speaking of Transit, the 2025 Transit budget had $21.3 million in “capital efficiencies”, which were primarily deferred capital projects. That’s not efficiency; that’s cost avoidance. And those costs can’t be avoided forever. And the 2026 budget has $0 in deferred capital expenses, perhaps because we’ve got nothing left to defer.  

As respectful as I can be, for the Mayor to claim having found $252 million in “efficiencies” is simply not true. It distorts the public’s perception by making residents think that the same level of services are being delivered more responsibly.  

And as for that $9 million that we’re projecting to save on fuel costs? What if we’d chosen to re-allocate that cost by improving the bus service, so that more of our bus routes could run on time?  

Part 4 – Weaponizing the threat of a 12% tax increase 

Mayor Sutcliffe boasts that Ottawa’s tax increases remain among the lowest of major Canadian cities. And he’s correct. Compared to Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, or Halifax, Ottawa’s average annual tax increase is far lower than those other municipalities.  

If the City were functioning well and in a state of good repair, this would be worth applauding. But this is not the case. You should see how long it takes to get a streetlight repaired due to budget constraints, let alone trying to get a new streetlight installed.  

Referring to the City’s “efforts” in achieving $252 million in “efficiencies”, the Mayor has claimed that this has helped the City “avoid passing on a 12% increase in property taxes to residents.” For several reasons which I’ve explained below, this is a false claim. Worse, it’s a false claim that is being heavily weaponized.   

Here’s why it’s problematic. First, even the figure of 12% is misleading. Typically, every additional 1% increase in property tax generates approximately $20 million in new revenue. And so, if we did need to pay for $252 million in expenses all at once, and if paying for it with property tax was your only option, then sure, a 12% tax increase would cover that. But that’s misleading because these $252 million in cost savings are spread over 4 years. By portraying it the way the Mayor has, it creates a false sense of crisis.  

Second, these so-called “efficiencies” are not paid for by property taxes alone. Only 48% of the City’s revenues come from taxes. 24% of our revenues come from provincial and federal funding. The other 28% of our revenues come from user fees and other sources, not all of which are paid for by the taxpayer. These “blended revenues” are what pay for our budget. Since the $252 million in savings weren’t only from costs covered by taxes, it’s disingenuous for the Mayor to promote a fictional scenario as if they ever would be.  

Third, the actual increase to our blended revenues to cover these $252M in efficiencies is nowhere close to 12%. Here’s what our calculations revealed:  

• For 2023 we listed savings & efficiencies of $53.9M, representing 1.21% in blended savings across that year’s blended revenues.  
• For 2024 we listed savings & efficiencies of $99.6M, representing 2.17% in blended savings across that year’s blended revenues.  
• For 2025 we listed savings & efficiencies of $54.2M, representing 1.09% in blended savings across that year’s blended revenues.  
• For 2026 we have projected savings & efficiencies of $44.9M, representing 0.86% in blended savings across this year’s blended revenues. 

The cumulative total of these savings would be 5.33% (over four years) across all revenues, not all of which fall to the taxpayer. It’s nowhere close to the Mayor’s claim of avoiding a 12% property tax increase.  

Fourth and finally, and as mentioned above, many of these “efficiencies” are simply cost avoidance to be paid at a future date, or the result of changes being made by other governments. If you want to thank someone for decreasing your tax bill, consider thanking Prime Minister Carney. Better yet, thank your kids who’ll be paying for the eventual costs that Mayor Sutcliffe has saved you from.    

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So, what’s it all mean? You can look at our surpluses and our lower-than-average debt-to-asset ratio and suggest that we’re in a healthy enough state to invest more for the sake of upgrading and replacing our crumbling infrastructure or improving our services. We could do this through taking on more “good debt”, especially the kind of debt that will prevent increased infrastructure costs in the future. Alternately, rather than scare residents with the prospect of dangerously high tax increases, we could have a mature conversation about how a modest and reasonable increase could prevent us deferring capital projects or re-allocating those funds to other priorities when we do find cost savings. 

Look across the country. Their debt-to-asset ratios are higher than ours, but still within recommended guidelines. And they have new infrastructure to show for it. Their average annual tax increases are above ours, even just modestly in most cases, which helps them avoid finding efficiencies where they don’t exist. Rather than boasting about small tax increases, the mayors of those cities told their residents what needed to be done, and what they’d get out of it.    

In short, Ottawa is managing its budget at the extremes of fiscal prudence, and the price for such a dogmatic approach is crumbling infrastructure, declining service levels, and a city that becomes more divided between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.  

We can and should strike a balance. Instead, as we approach the Christmas season and its many tales of redemption, we remain captive not to fiscal prudence, but to Scrooge-o-nomics—as we nickel-and-dime our way to a New Year of mediocrity.   

Let’s just hope that we don’t get snowed in.  

FEATURE

Bill 60 and how it affects everything 

Ontario has passed Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act. It’s a controversial law that, according to the government, is meant to accelerate housing, transit, and infrastructure development by removing regulatory barriers and centralizing decision-making. While the Ontario government says this will help tackle housing shortages, the legislation introduces significant changes that could disrupt municipal planning and in-progress projects. 

Here are the key changes you should be aware of: 

• Centralization of Planning Power: The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing now has expanded authority to make planning decisions that do not need to conform to provincial policy statements, except for Greenbelt lands. This reduces municipal autonomy and bypasses established local planning frameworks.  
• Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZOs): MZOs (where a Minister of Housing orders a zoning change without local input) will shift from regulatory instruments to non-regulatory orders, making them easier to issue and harder for municipalities to challenge. 
• Development Charges Overhaul: New regulations standardize how municipalities calculate development charges, aiming to reduce disputes but potentially limiting flexibility for local cost recovery. 
• Transit and Infrastructure Coordination: The Act shortens notice periods for municipal service relocations and broadens provincial authority over local infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and utilities.  
• Restrictions on Road Reallocation: Municipalities will be prohibited from reducing motor vehicle lanes for bike lanes or other purposes unless permitted by provincial regulation. 
• Water and Wastewater Governance: A new public corporation model will begin in Peel Region, transferring service delivery from regional government to a provincially mandated entity. 

Here is why this matters to us in Ottawa: 

• Disruption to local projects: Municipalities with long-term plans for transit corridors, bike lane expansions, or environmental protections may need to revisit or halt projects that conflict with provincial priorities. 
• Uncertainty for in-progress developments: Projects currently under review could face delays or redesigns if ministerial decisions override local zoning or infrastructure agreements. 
• Transportation planning challenges: This is a big one. Bill 60 is built on outdated ideas that ignore the basic question every growing city must ask: “How many citizens do we need to move, and how best can we move them?" As the population increases, space becomes a problem. This is why Ottawa has started building complete-street, "multimodal" designs — to move more people by giving every mode—walking, cycling, transit, and driving—its own space. Bill 60 blocks this progress by preventing the city from reallocating road space to more efficient modes, effectively freezing streets in outdated designs and pushing us toward even more gridlock. 
• Reduced local input: Community voices and municipal councils will have less influence over land-use decisions, raising concerns about sustainability and neighborhood character. 

Here is the bottom Line: Bill 60 promises speed, but at the cost of municipal autonomy and predictability. What appears to be, on the surface, an exercise in streamlining and simplifying may actually throw municipal projects into disarray, worsen gridlock, and potentially delay much-needed development as municipalities change course to stay in line with the constantly changing menu of provincial mandates. 

CITY WORKS 

Meadowlands Drive – Safety & Active Transportation 

Over the past year, our office has been developing a project to improve safety conditions and active transportation on Meadowlands Drive. That project has advanced to the design and consultation phase, and there’s an opportunity for residents to share their comments in an online survey that closes December 19th.  

This project was initiated in response to the many complaints we heard from residents about speeding and safety on Meadowlands Drive. One reason that speeding was such a concern on this road is because the vehicle lanes are much wider than they need to be. Overly wide lanes not only encourage speeding, but they also encourage some drivers to use the extra space as a passing lane, which is very dangerous. 

As our office began to work with City staff on a plan to reduce lane widths, we also noticed how most of the parking space on Meadowlands Drive (between Fisher and Chesterton) was underused. We got City staff to do a local area parking study of Meadowlands Drive, which concluded that there was sufficient parking capacity in the apartment building parking lots and side streets. We then worked with City staff to include new painted bike lanes on both sides of Meadowlands Drive, since there was no active transportation corridor connecting the Nepean Trail to the west, and the existing bike lanes along Meadowlands east of Fisher.  

We do recognize that this project may lead to some increased wait times at Deer Park Road and Inverness Drive due to the loss of the left-hand turning lanes, but our primary goal is to lower speeds on Meadowlands Drive, and to create an important east-west active transportation corridor. This project will be very affordable compared to most traffic calming / active transportation projects. 

We invite residents to participate in the online survey which closes December 19th.   

What comes after Automated Speed Enforcement Cameras? 

As of November 14th, Ontario’s Bill 56 has revoked municipal authority to use Automated Speed Enforcement cameras in community safety zones, including school zones. All of Ottawa’s 60 cameras have been turned off, and their related signage has been removed. It’s important to note that all tickes issued before November 14th remain valid and must be paid.  

The City is working with the Province to install new oversized school zone signs as required under Bill 56. The Province has also created a $210M Road Safety Initiative Fund (RSIF) to support municipalities previously operating ASE cameras. Ottawa will receive $4M in interim funding to implement road safety measures at former ASE sites, including: 

• Temporary targeted enforcement 
• Traffic calming (e.g., speed humps, raised crosswalks, roundabouts) 
• Signage improvements and speed display boards 

City staff are developing site specific traffic calming plans and will provide updates through the Road Safety Action Plan Annual Report in the first quarter of 2026. 

Road Safety Action Plan - Aggressive Driving 

Aggressive driving remains a leading cause of serious collisions in Ottawa—61% of fatal and major injury crashes (2019–2023) were due to high-risk driving. The City is reminding drivers that saving a few seconds by speeding can have tragic consequences.  

Speeding increases crash risk: according to the World Health Organization and Australia’s National Road Safety Partnership Program, a 1% increase in average speed results in approximately a 2% increase in injury crash frequency, a 3% increase in severe crash frequency, and a 4% increase in fatal crash frequency. 

Here in Ottawa, speed-related traffic fines escalate quickly:  

• 60 km/h in a 40 zone: $150 + 3 demerit points 
• 100 km/h in a 60 zone: $480 + 4 demerit points 

If the offence happens in a school zone or construction area, the penalties rise sharply. 

If stunt driving is involved, drivers face an immediate 30-day license suspension, 14-day vehicle seizure, fines up to $10,000, six demerit points, mandatory driver improvement course, and up to a three-year license suspension. 

For more details, visit: Ottawa’s Road Safety website.  

Merivale Road new pavement inspection 

Even though Merivale Road was re-paved last year (between Viewmount and Meadowlands), we’ve noticed that the ride isn’t as smooth as you’d expect with a recent re-paving. One local resident who has experience in the paving industry brought this to our attention, suggesting that we investigate. And so, we did!  

Last month Councillor Devine drove up and down this section of Merivale Road and noticed that several of the sewer manhole covers and catch basins were “below grade”, which means they were embedded lower than the flat level of the pavement. This creates a divot in the road, which is why you get that “bump” as you drive over them.  

Councillor Devine brought this to the attention of the City’s project managers, who did their own inspection, and then invited Councillor Devine for a ride-along this past week. Sure enough, there were several project deficiencies that will now require repairs by the contractor, at the contractor’s expense. And while we did note that several of the catch basins were also low, this is required to make them more effective at capturing water runoff.  

Some of this repair work has already happened, with most of it to take place in the Spring. Rest assured that this work will happen, as the contractor doesn’t get their full payment until the repairs are complete.  

Changes to recycling pickup starting in the New Year 

Beginning on January 1, 2026, the City of Ottawa will no longer be responsible for collecting your blue and black bin. Under new provincial regulations, the producers of paper and packaging will be responsible for collecting and processing blue and black bin materials. A company called Circular Materials will be administrating the new recycling system on behalf of the Government of Ontario.   

What this means for Ottawa curbside residents:  

• Continue to put your bins out by 7:00 AM on your collection day. They will be collected by a different truck and collection may occur at a different time of day than usual.  
• There will be changes in what can go in your blue and black bin as of January 1, 2026. A full list of items that can be recycled is available at online.  
• Please note: Circular Materials will not be collecting alcoholic beverage containers in the recycling. All beer, wine and spirit bottles and cans must be returned to a The Beer Store location.  
• You can continue to use your existing standard sized blue and black bins.    
• Beginning on January 1, you will no longer contact the City of Ottawa for any recycling-related services such as a broken bin or a missed collection.   

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT  

Public information session (virtual) for dry and low-water well owners 

The City of Ottawa will host a virtual information session on Monday, December 8 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM for anyone seeking information about the on-going low water conditions affecting some areas of Ottawa. Residents and organizations can join using the Zoom meeting link. 

The session will include an update from the conservation authorities on current conditions. The City will also provide information on operational considerations. 

Representatives from the following groups will be in attendance: 

• Conservation authorities 
• Several City departments 
• Ottawa Public Health 
• Councillors' offices

A question-and-answer period will take place near the end of the session. For the latest information, visit the City’s Dry and low-water wells page and your local conservation authority’s website. 

Public engagement: Medhurst Park Splashpad 

One of the community projects that our office has been involved in is the development of a new splashpad for Medhurst Park in Tanglewood, which is slated for construction in 2026. The City of Ottawa just launched the public consultation survey for the Medhurst Park Splashpad, so that residents across the city can weigh in on their preferred choice of two design options for this new amenity.   

The location of the splash pad was based on public consultation with residents and the THCA, and took into account the surrounding amenities, infrastructure, and public safety.   

Two designs have been created – the “Whimsy” concept and the “Seuss” concept. We’d like your feedback on these two designs, and please note that while feedback is welcome from residents across the City of Ottawa, feedback from Tanglewood area residents will be more heavily weighted.  

The Medhurst Splashpad survey is open now on Engage Ottawa and will run until December 5th.      

Please note: the photo below is of a splashpad in Alta Vista’s Sharel Park, which was designed by the same firm that will be designing the Medhurst Park Splashpad. The Medhurst Park Splashpad will be an original design. 

Running On Empties Fundraiser for The Christmas Exchange Program  

The Christmas Exchange Program helps provide gift vouchers and food hampers to families in need. On Saturday, December 20, 2025, Beer Store employees across Ottawa will collect donations from empty bottle returns during the Running on Empties fundraiser. All proceeds go directly toward supporting those in need during the holiday season. Join us by visiting a Beer Store location or sharing our event on social media. 

• When: December 20th from 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM 
• Where: All Ottawa Beer Stores 

Join Councillor Devine at the 41st OC Transpo/ Loblaw Annual Holiday Food Drive 

On Saturday, December 13th, join Councillor Devine and OC Transpo at the 41st Annual Holiday Food Drive from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at participating Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer, and No-Frills locations across Ottawa. With food bank demand at an all-time high, and with 37% of clients being children, your donations matter more than ever. Add a few extra items to your cart or make a monetary donation online to help provide fresh, nutritious food for families in need.  

Ward 9 residents who wish to contribute to this worthy cause on December 13th are encouraged to come to the Loblaws at 1460 Merivale Road between 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM. Check online for more store locations and details.

PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY  

Respiratory Disease Update 

Respiratory viruses are making the rounds in Ottawa, and influenza is leading the charge. Over the past two weeks, flu activity has jumped significantly, and more people are ending up in hospital because of it. A look at the weekly wastewater levels gives us a good snapshot of what’s circulating in the community: 

• Flu: High and rising. 
• RSV: Very high and still increasing. 
• COVID-19: Low and holding steady. 

The charts below show influenza signals are well above what we’ve seen in previous seasons, and RSV is also trending high. COVID-19 remains relatively stable. 

What Can You Do? With flu and RSV on the rise, here are a few simple steps to help protect yourself and others, particularly in a season filled with social events: 

• Stay home if you’re feeling sick. 
• Wash your hands often. 
• Consider wearing a mask in crowded indoor spaces. 
• Get your flu shot and COVID-19 vaccine if you haven’t yet. 

Ottawa Police’s Festive RIDE results 

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) conducted 1,500 driver interactions between Thursday, November 27th and Saturday, November 29th, as part of this season’s first Festive RIDE program. 

Members of the Impaired Countermeasures Unit, MADD and Safer Roads Ottawa were in: 

• Vanier, Beacon Hill, and Alta Vista on Thursday; 
• Kanata, Stittsville and Nepean on Friday; and 
• Old Ottawa South, Westboro, Hintonburg and Carleton Heights on Saturday. 

During this campaign, six drivers had their licenses suspended for three days after getting a “warning level” reading from Alcohol Screening Device; another driver was charged with impaired driving.

Between Thursday and Saturday, 17 drivers were charged with impaired-related offences by frontline officers during the Festive RIDE.  

Visit us online for more information about the OPS’s new approach to the Festive RIDE program.

OPH’s Neighbourhood Health and Wellness Hub 

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT 

Zoning By-Law Meeting Reminder 

On Wednesday, December 17, the Joint Planning and Housing and Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee will review the final draft of Ottawa’s new comprehensive Zoning By-law. This by-law will guide land use and development citywide, aligning with the new Official Plan and supporting goals like modern building standards, 15-minute neighbourhoods, and sustainable growth. 

The update replaces decades-old rules with changes to building heights, land-use permissions, and parking, shaping how communities will look and function for years to come. 

Members of the public can delegate at the meeting or submit written comments. Visit Engage Ottawa to review the draft and interactive zoning map. 

COMMUNITY CALENDAR 

OPS partnership with Capital Prosperity Foundation 

The Ottawa Police Service has partnered with the Capital Prosperity Foundation (CPF) to assist local families with children. CPF offers programs such as Walmart gift cards, furniture and appliances, emergency hotel stays, summer camp fees, car seats for newcomers, and bike helmets. If you know a family who could benefit, contact your CPO or email the OPS. Learn more at Ottawa Children’s Charity – CPF. 

The 6th Musicians for Odenak – Gifts Concert 

Join us for the 6th Musicians for Odenak concert on Friday, December 12, at Barrhaven United Church (3013 Jockvale Rd). Doors open at 6:30 PM, music begins at 7:00 PM. The evening features Brother Heinrich’s Christmas by John Rutter, performances by choirs from Barrhaven, Knox, Manotick, and Woodroffe United Churches, plus festive sing-alongs. Admission is by free-will offering; tax receipts for donations of $25 or more. Payments accepted by cash, debit, Visa, and Mastercard. Come share the joy of the season! 

Support Ottawa Fundraiser for Canadian Cancer Society 

Celebrate the season at DQ Ballroom and Fitness’ Winter Wonderland Christmas Gala. Enjoy dazzling ballroom performances, a silent auction, and help raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society.  

Tickets are $30 advance or $35 at the door. Donations are welcome via the fundraiser page. Don’t miss the inspiring showcase by Virginie Primeau and Nikita Druzhynin for a celebration of resilience and hope! 

• When: Friday, December 12th from 6:30 PM - 11:00 PM 
• Where: DQ Ballroom and Fitness – 1160 Maitland Avenue 

Cookie & Connect Decorating Night 

THCA Christmas Party 

Bring watershed beauty home with a 2026 calendar!  

In honour of the RVCA’s upcoming 60th anniversary, the conservation authority has created a stunning 2026 wall calendar featuring 12 inspiring photos from across the watershed. These community-submitted images offer a window into the Rideau Valley’s natural beauty, diversity and resilience all year long! Calendars are $20 each or 3 for $50 including taxes and shipping, with proceeds supporting local conservation and stewardship programs. They make great gifts! Calendars ordered by December 8 should arrive before Christmas. Contact the RCVA for assistance or more information.   

Knoxdale United Church Christmas Poster 

Barrhaven Lions Club Flyer