COUNCILLOR’S MESSAGE
Transit accountability to prevent frostbite?
Among the wide range of disappointing and frustrating stories coming out of OC Transpo over the past several weeks – or is it months, or more likely years – was a story in the Ottawa Citizen this week about the young woman whose typical 50-minute transit commute recently stretched to three freezing hours, leaving her with frostbite on her feet and fueling even more outrage over OC Transpo reliability.
That story about Jazz Rosenberg is horrifying — and sadly, not shocking. A three‑hour winter commute ending in frostbite isn’t “bad luck.” It’s a system failure.
As extreme as this case may have been, it’s one more example of why I’ll continue pushing for a Transit Reliability & Accountability Framework. Riders deserve clear service standards, real-time transparency when things go wrong, and automatic compensation when the system fails them to this degree. Not just apologies. And certainly not shrugging, or pleas for additional patience. Accountability.
Ottawa winters reach levels of extreme cold. That’s not a surprise. A transit system that leaves people stranded outside for hours on a January night is unsafe by design – and unsafe systems drive people back into cars, clogging our roads, which then makes it harder for transit to keep to their schedules. It’s a perpetuating and compounding cycle of problems.
The fix isn’t complicated: revise our criteria for reliability, publish our reliability targets, measure them honestly, and make OC Transpo answer for missed trips and breakdowns, whether through compensation at the fare box or accountability at the top, where the decisions get made. When accountability comes at a cost to the system, the system will find ways to improve itself.
If you’ve been stuck, stranded, or let down by transit, this Framework will be for you. Keep sharing your stories. Keep demanding better. Keep this as a focus in the upcoming municipal election! And let’s build a system that actually works – every day.
More talk about taxes?
I hadn’t intended to write about taxes or the City’s finances in this issue, but over the weekend, Mayor Sutcliffe posted a message on social media about property taxes, which I felt required a response. The Mayor wrote:
“Many Ottawa residents are struggling to make ends meet. In the face of rising costs for food and housing, we can't add to the financial burden of residents with big increases in taxes and fees. In Ottawa, we've worked hard to keep taxes low. Our citywide property tax rate has increased by an average of less than 2.5% for the past four years, below the average rate of inflation.”
And I don’t write this to be combative with Mayor Sutcliffe. Neither am I doing it to posture during an election year. If I am to be consistent, then I need to remind residents about the long-term risks of Ottawa’s persistent approach to managing our city’s finances.
The Mayor is commending how low our taxes are, even confirming that we’re not keeping up with the rate of inflation. I know that not all municipal expenses are vulnerable to inflation, but many of them are. And it’s a common benchmark in government to match budgetary increases to inflation.
Of course, the obsession with low taxes pre-dates Sutcliffe. This is not a creature of his making, he’s simply letting the long-barking dog continue to bark. Low property tax increases have become an institutional expectation in Ottawa, a city that has one of the highest median household incomes in Ontario.
If the city’s services, programs, and infrastructure were all performing well and in a state of good repair, then I’d applaud our ability to keep tax increases low. That would be the reward for a history of effective fiscal management. But look around and ask yourself: how well are we doing?
Do you know how much we spent on pothole repairs this year? I’ll tell you: we spent twice as much as last year. And next year we’ll probably spend twice as much as this year. It’s a natural consequence of not investing sufficient capital in infrastructure replacement, whether through debt or increased taxation. But taking on historic amounts of potential debt for Lansdowne 2.0? Now that’s a priority!
Did I ever tell you about the senior parks planner who basically said “If any of our aging recreational facilities collapsed, we won’t be replacing it. We don’t have the money.” And don’t get me started on watermains. Decades of austerity will catch up with us.
In the Mayor’s post, he suggests that he’s keeping the increases on taxes AND fees low. That’s not necessarily so. In many ways, increases to fees for services or programs have been disproportionately higher. The significant spike in the solid waste fee is a shell game to keep that increase off of property tax.
One way to keep property taxes low, especially when inflation causes the City’s expenses to rise, is to make up for the lost tax revenue through higher increases to fees for services and programs. But guess who that impacts the most?
I’d love to see what proportion of households who swim in City pools, or rent City community rooms, or register for City summer camps - are those with household incomes lower than the average household income. I’ll bet they skew lower. The same goes for increases in transit fares. Do you think Ottawa’s most affluent residents depend on transit every day? Take 100 adult customers who use transit daily and check their annual income. What salary range do you think it’d be?
Keeping property taxes low is probably one of the least effective ways to make life more affordable for those who are most impacted by the high cost of living. The folks who benefit the most from low property tax increases are those with the most valuable properties.
On proper oversight for Ottawa’s population growth
In the last issue of this newsletter, I wrote about my concerns with the Hemson Report on Ottawa’s future population growth projections. Briefly, my concern had been that, while there’s no disputing that Ottawa’s population will grow more than expected, the Hemson Report’s projections offered very little range of variability, whether in terms of total growth numbers, or its projections on household formation figures, or even on the types of housing demand anticipated. My concern is that an over-reliance on those projections can have a significant impact on the decisions that Council makes in terms of our infrastructure planning, our transportation planning, and our housing policy. There are significant risks to planning for too much, or too little growth. And so, when the Hemson Report projected a single path forward, rather than projections within a range of variability, it created risk, in my opinion.
During the Joint Committee meeting where we received the Hemson Report, I was pleased to see that several other councillors shared my concerns.
But some positive developments happened between the Committee meeting and last week’s Council meeting. In the final days leading up to the Council meeting, I was having back-and-forth discussions with our Planning staff about how we could ensure that these risks could be addressed in the next step in this three-step Growth Management Strategy process. Apparently, I was not the only councillor having these discussions. In the end, I was joined by Councillor Shawn Menard and Councillor Glen Gower, as all three of us brought Motions to Council to address our shared concerns. All three motions passed unanimously. Here are the “Be It Resolved” actions of each of the three Motions:
Councillor Devine motion:
“BE IT RESOLVED that Planning staff be directed, as part of Step 2 of the growth management process strategy update, to include reasonable variations to growth management criteria in relation to land needs for the accommodation of growth.”
Councillor Menard motion:
“BE IT RESOLVED that staff be directed to review the implications on household projections as part of the proposed growth management strategy and the assumptions regarding intensification targets.”
Councillor Gower motion:
“BE IT RESOLVED that during the consideration of the Official Plan Amendment in 2027, staff include an analysis of no settlement area expansion that outlines impacts and trade-offs on considerations such as servicing, transportation, financial, environmental, and compliance with Provincial policy.”
Committee discussion on Right Turn on Red restrictions
At last week’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee (PWIC), we had a very intense – and somewhat contentions – discussion on traffic safety and the concept of restricting “right turn on red” (RTOR). The reason that this item was discussed at Committee was because a few months ago, Somerset Councillor Ariel Troster submitted an Inquiry of the City’s policy on RTOR, and City Staff followed up by providing the official Response to Inquiry, which is the process for Inquiries. Typically, Responses to Inquiries are simply “received as information”, but once in a while a councillor will “lift” the Response to a committee meeting’s agenda for further discussion. That’s what happened at last week’s meeting.
I am fully aware that RTOR is a controversial topic, and that people have very strong feelings on this issue. The issue I had is that the official Response to Inquiry – which is where Ottawa’s professional staff are expected to provide objective, evidence-based answers to questions – revealed what appeared to me as positions based more on a prioritization of values.
For context, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve requested a traffic safety improvement to have the request denied on the grounds that the measure would impede traffic flow. While I understand that the effective movement of vehicle traffic is important, when the choice comes down to safety measures versus traffic flow, the way in which that trade-off is measured can be concerning. Here’s an example. After a student sustained life-sustaining injuries in October 23 at the intersection of Merivale and Viewmount – where the student was struck by a right-turning vehicle – I requested RTOR restrictions at that intersection, which has an extensive history of collisions. My request was denied on the grounds that it would cause too much traffic delay on Merivale Road, which is a key arterial corridor. However, a June 2025 nation-wide CAA study of dangerous intersections – which included Merivale / Viewmount – revealed such frightening conclusions about the high-risk of RTOR that City staff finally implemented the RTOR restrictions at that intersection.
Among the other concerning elements in the Staff Response:
- While right-turn collisions account for 9% of Fatalities-and-Major-Injuries (FMIs), the CAA study demonstrated that right-turns account for 55% of “near-miss conflicts” between vehicles and pedestrians, and 50% of “near-miss conflicts” between vehicles and cyclists. But while Staff’s response references the low prevalence of right-turns in FMIs, it makes no reference at all to the concern over near-miss conflicts.
- One factor reference as a concern for RTOR restrictions is that that any resulting delays to vehicles “often leads to aggressive driver behaviour such as speeding or reduced attention to vulnerable road users, raising the risk of collisions at the other crosswalk.” It’s quite an egregious statement to suggest we should avoid using effective safety measures out of concern for making drivers angry.
- Another of Staff’s concerns against RTOR restrictions is over low compliance, where drivers “might choose to ignore RTOR restrictions”, which may cause increased risk to pedestrians and cyclists who assume drivers would comply. Should we therefore get rid of stop signs, or even speed limits, since they also face issues when it comes to compliance?
There were several emotional exchanges during the PWIC debate, especially from one delegate who lost a family member to a traffic accident at a location that had been denied a traffic safety improvement. Having been through a challenging process myself getting the Automated Speed Enforcement camera installed on Merivale Road because it didn’t meet the criteria for “risk” – I had a very personal exchange with her.
In the end, the debate at Committee produced nothing more than the debate itself. But sometimes that’s what’s needed. Personally, I was frustrated that my colleague Councillor Tierney – who is also the Chair of PWIC – characterized Councillor Troster’s efforts to hold this discussion as “a waste of time”, which I firmly disagree with. Tierney even made references to the debate over this issue being done with. I disagree with that, too. Very soon the City of Ottawa is going to hold a review of our Road Safety Action Plan. When that discussion begins, expect to see demands for change.
And in my other life...
Not many readers of this newsletter will be aware of my work before politics. For almost 30 years, I worked in various capacities in the performing arts: managing several non-profit arts organizations and festivals, as an arts funding grant officer, and acting in movies and television series. But my main artistic passion was in theatre: as a producer, a playwright, and actor. It’s where I spent almost half of my life.
That’s why I’m happy to announce that I’ve recently been handed two opportunities to get back into the theatre again: the first as an actor, and the second as a playwright. And, rest assured, neither will have any impact on my work as your city councillor.
As an actor, I’ll be back on stage for one night only, and (thankfully) with a minimum of preparation time required. In fact, no preparation at all!
On March 27th, at Ottawa’s Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC), I’ll be the “special guest performer” in that night’s performance of BL_NK, written by Iranian dissident playwright Nassim Soleimanpour.
Unable to leave his country, Soleimanpour developed a stagecraft that allowed his plays to travel without him. Each night a new performer walks onto the stage and opens a large manila envelope, inside of which is a script they’ve never seen before, a script filled with blanks.
“In a joint effort between audience and performer, the gaps in the script are filled in to reveal a story that celebrates the human imagination. This collaboration transforms the script into a story machine to share the life of the playwright, the performer, and an audience member who sees their future determined by the imagination of others.”
No rehearsal. No director. Just an actor, the audience, and a script sealed in an envelope. I’m as nervous as I am excited. I hope that some Ward 9 residents come and check it out.
In the next issue of this newsletter, I’ll tell you some news about one of my plays, Re:Union.
CITY WORKS
Be a Hydrant Hero
In an emergency every second counts – and when a fire hydrant is covered in snow, crews lose precious time trying to dig it out. If a fire hydrant is located on your property, you are responsible for ensuring nothing obstructs access to the hydrant, as per Ottawa’s Water By-law. But I frequently get emails from residents – older adults, or residents with mobility issues – who aren’t able to clear their own hydrants. If you are unable to clear the hydrant on your property, please call 3-1-1.
Even with winter slowly melting away, the City encourages residents to consider becoming a Hydrant Hero this winter and keep your neighbourhood’s hydrants clear of snow. This could be for your own property, or for hydrants belonging to a neighbour-in-need.
Students can earn their community involvement hours by logging dates and time spent clearing hydrants, recording hydrant location, and taking before and after photos. And if you know someone who’s already doing this service for their community, email the city to nominate them. All Hydrant Heroes will get a certificate of appreciation.
Melting snow and clearing your catch basins
Later this week, temperatures are expected to rise well above the freezing mark, which means that we can anticipate a lot of thawing of so much accumulated snow, especially with a few periods of rain anticipated. Depending on how quickly the snow melts, and if catch basins and sewers are blocked by hardpacked snow, this could result in a lot of water accumulating. While it’s unlikely that we’ll see freezing temperatures turn that water back into a sea of ice, there’s still concern about the potential volume of water.
The best way that residents can assist is to try and clear your street’s catch basins. And so, our office is asking residents to try and clear a path to your street’s catch basins for all of the expected water runoff. You’ll be doing yourself and your neighbours a huge favor.
For anyone not familiar, you’ll find your street’s catch basins on the side of the road, at the curb. There are different styles of catch basin across Ottawa, but the image below should give you a good idea of what they look like.
When catch basins get blocked, whether by leaves and pine needles in the Fall, or by snow and ice in the Winter, they can’t perform their function, which is to collect stormwater runoff, either during heavy rain...or when the snow melts. When that water can’t get to the catch basin, that’s when we get overland flooding.
In the Fall, it’s easy enough to find your catch basins. But in the winter, not only is it hard to clear away the snow and ice, it’s also hard to find your street’s catch basins!
Luckily, the City of Ottawa has a Catch Basin Locator Map, which should give residents a good head start. To use the tool, simply enter your address in the search bar, and it will show you the location of all catch basins in proximity to that address, marked by the green-and-white checkerboard icon. We’ve provided an example below of catch basins near the intersection of Rockfield Crescent and Lynhaven Crescent, just to select one location at random. And if you happen to find that any catch basin is severely blocked and causing significant water pooling, you can click on the icon and it will provide the Catch Basin ID Number, which you can report to 311.
For those able to do so, we hope that Ward 9 residents can get out this week and weekend to clear away some catch basins on your street. If you do, feel free to email our office photos and videos and we’ll be sure to talk about some local Catch Basin Heroes in a future newsletter.
Bateman Drive parking
Two Sundays ago, our office received concerning reports from residents on Bateman Drive about recurring parking issues associated with nearby church services. Due to several factors, including illegally parked vehicles and limited on-site parking capacity, a Para Transpo bus was forced to carefully navigate through cars parked too close together, creating clear safety and accessibility concerns.
Residents have also reported vehicles ignoring posted signage as well as parking in front of driveways blocking access for local residents. While communication with traffic services and requests for By-law enforcement have been made, response times have not always resolved the issue in real time. We are urging all visitors to respect posted signs, avoid blocking driveways, and park responsibly to help maintain safety and accessibility of the neighborhood.
Thankfully, this past Sunday, we saw efforts from Arlington Woods Pentecostal Church to address the situation of churchgoers parking illegally and blocking driveways. Volunteers from the church laid out a series of pylons along the residential side of Bateman Drive, to deter illegal parking. We appreciate the church’s effort, just as we encourage the church and its members to continue seeking alternatives, whether by parking off-site, or taking transit to church service.
Vacant Unit Tax deadline
March 19 is the deadline for residential property owners to declare their property status as part of the requirements of the Vacant Unit Tax program. Residential properties that are vacant for more than 6 months may be subject to the tax. Completing your declaration can take less than a minute using your MyServiceOttawa account, or on the City of Ottawa website. You can also submit your declaration by phone or in-person at a City of Ottawa service desk. All that’s required is your property tax roll number and access code, which you’ll find on the property tax bill that you should have received in February.
A $250 late fee will be applied to declarations submitted after the March 19 deadline.
Ward 9 Residents: Get a Free Tree Through Plant Your Place
Even though Ward 9 isn’t designated as a priority tree‑planting area, residents here can still take part in the City of Ottawa’s expanded Plant Your Place! program in 2026. This city‑wide initiative helps homeowners add trees to their properties at no cost, strengthening Ottawa’s urban forest one yard at a time.
Through the City‑Wide Tree Distribution stream, eligible households can apply for one free tree per address to plant on private property. Residents can choose from a variety of tree species selected to thrive in Ottawa’s climate, typically standing 1.5 to 2.5 metres tall. Trees are distributed at organized pickup events across the city in late spring, and participants receive clear guidance on planting and long‑term care.
Residents of Ward 9 are eligible to register for the City-Wide Tree Distribution, which opens March 9th at 9:00AM. Trees are available on a first‑come, first‑served basis, so early sign‑up is encouraged.
Planting a tree is a practical way to improve your property, cool your street, manage stormwater, and contribute to a healthier city. If you have the space, this is a great opportunity to put down roots — literally — in Ward 9.
Garbage bins in parks
Starting this year, the City of Ottawa began augmenting its three-stream waste collection and diversion strategy in public parks. This initiative will see the deployment of three-stream bins (garbage, recycling and organics) in 48 parks across all 24 wards. The program aims to improve waste diversion and align with the provincial recycling transition.
Each ward councillor was allowed to recommend two parks in 2026, with more parks to be selected in subsequent years. As Ward 9 already had three-stream collection in Ben Franklin Park, which is the ward’s most heavily used park, our office recommended two other parks that have high-traffic, and where we frequently get complaints about insufficient garbage bins.
We’re happy to announce that Craig Henry Park and Steve MacLean Park will see these three-stream bins installed this Spring. Steve MacLean Park will have 4 separate three-stream units set up across the park, and Craig Henry Park will have 7 units set up.
We look forward to seeing these improvements having a marked impact on waste management in our parks, and we’re eager to make further park recommendations in the future.
Waste Collection Update
Starting Monday, March 30, the City’s new curbside collection contract will come into effect. While all waste streams will still be collected on the same day each week, about half of Ottawa households will have a new collection day.
Ottawa alternates weekly between:
- Garbage, organics, blue bin
- Organics, black bin
To manage this, the city is divided into Calendar A and Calendar B zones. According to the updated maps, all of Ward 9 will switch from Calendar A to Calendar B on March 30.
As many of you noticed when this was first announced, the change in schedule will lead to some households having a one-time, three-week gap between pick-ups. To help with that transition, residents may place up to six garbage items at the curb on their scheduled garbage day between March 30 and April 24 (rather than the usual three item limit).
Some Ward 9 neighbourhoods will also see a change in which day of the week their waste and recycling is collected. Examples:
- Trend-Arlington: Thursday → Monday
- Manordale & Tanglewood: Wednesday → Monday
- Country Place: Monday → Tuesday
- General Burns & Fisher Heights: No change
To see how your property is affected, view the updated maps or check your personalized calendar online or download the Ottawa Collection Calendar app to your smartphone.
One more scheduling change to make note of: there will be no collection on Good Friday (April 3) or Easter Monday (April 6). Collection will be delayed by one day during those weeks. So, please be aware that your pickup on the week following Easter Monday may differ from your new regular schedule.
Funding program for waste reduction initiatives
The City of Ottawa has created a new funding stream within the Community Environmental Projects Grant Program (CEPGP) to support community‑led waste avoidance, reduction and reuse projects. Starting this year, the new stream would provide up to $102,000 each year, doubling the total annual funding available to community environmental initiatives across Ottawa.
The new funding stream will help local organizations launch projects that reduce waste at the source and promote repair and reuse. Examples of eligible community‑led projects include:
- Textile repair and mending workshops that keep clothing out of landfills
- Surplus food rescue programs that redirect unused food to people who need it
- Community composting setups
- Reusable product pilots, such as take‑back container programs or neighbourhood tool‑sharing initiatives
The application process is now open. Projects have one year to be completed and must be completed by June 30, 2027.
Help Reduce Fraud and Waste
The City’s Auditor General is working to raise awareness on the City’s Fraud and Waste Hotline. The Hotline empowers all City of Ottawa employees and members of the public to confidentially and anonymously report any suspected instances of fraud, waste or serious wrongdoing involving City personnel, resources, operations or vendors in a confidential and anonymous manner. The Hotline conveniently operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you’d like to make a report, you can do that at:
- The online fraud and waste portal
- 1-866-959-9309
Further details on the Hotline are available on the Auditor’s website.
City of Ottawa named top diversity employer
The City of Ottawa has once again been named one of Canada’s best diversity employers for our ongoing commitment to creating a culture of respect, inclusivity and belonging. The City is committed to remaining an employer of choice by attracting and retaining talented individuals with diverse lived experience who reflect the communities we serve. This diversity strengthens our ability to deliver Service Excellence every day. Together, we’re building an environment where people feel like they belong and can be their authentic selves, while contributing skills and perspectives essential to our collective success.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Councillor Devine at Trend Arlington Winter Carnival
Over the past few weeks, Councillor Devine was able to attend several of the Ward 9 Winter Carnivals, several of which our office supported. Last week, not only was Councillor Devine able to enjoy the mild weather at the Trend Arlington Winter Carnival, but he was also invited to judge the Trend Arlington Cookie Contest. Here’s a cute video of the contest.
Public Info Session: 40 Beechcliffe
On Thursday March 12th from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, there will be a Public Information Session for the upcoming housing development project at 40 Beechcliffe Street in Craig Henry. The event will be held in the Richmond Room at the Nepean Sportsplex.
Beechcliffe Homes is the latest project from Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa, and it’s also the largest project in their history. This “attainable home ownership” project will consist of 33 units of 3-bedroom or 4-bedroom townhomes, expertly built by CAIVAN. Occupancy is expected to commence in February 2027.
The info session will be hosted by CAIVAN and its main purpose is to help residents learn more about the construction process and timeline.
Ward 9 Open Office Hours
We're re-instating our Open Office Hours, with multiple opportunities per month to meet with Councillor Devine for a one-on-one conversation to discuss local issues, or just to chat. For the month of March, we've got two sessions planned:
- March 20th / 10:00am - 2:00pm / in-person
- March 23rd / 4:00pm - 8:00pm / virtual
The in-person sessions will be held at the Councillor Devine's ward office at Ben Franklin Place (101 Centrepointe). The virtual sessions will be held on Zoom. To book an appointment for any of these three sessions, please visit the Events page on our website.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY
Respiratory disease update
As we head through the late stages of this year’s respiratory virus season, here’s a quick look at what’s showing up in our community. Wastewater monitoring continues to be a useful early indicator, and this week it shows influenza holding steady at high levels, COVID‑19 sitting at moderate levels and continuing to climb, and RSV still very high. Local hospital data is lining up with those trends, with RSV‑related admissions seeing a bit of an uptick.
The graphs give a clearer picture of how these viruses are behaving compared to previous seasons. It’s a helpful snapshot of what’s circulating right now and a reminder to take the usual precautions—like staying home when sick, keeping up with recommended vaccinations, using air filters at work and at home, and wearing a good mask to protect yourself and the ones you love.
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
Official Plan Amendment for 2175 Prince of Wales
An application has been submitted to allow for increased heights at 2175 Prince of Wales Drive, a vacant property at the corner of Prince of Wales and West Hunt Club Road. The site’s zoning is currently limited to 4 storeys, but the applicant is seeking permission for a maximum height of 40 metres (about 12 storeys) to support future commercial or employment uses such as offices, retail, or a hotel. No residential uses are permitted due to airport noise restrictions.
Because the property is beside the Rideau River and located within the Airport Operating Influence Zone, any proposal must respect airport height limits, protect river views, and provide a buffer from nearby homes to the south.
The City will review the proposal through public consultation, a zoning amendment, and a later site plan process to ensure design, traffic, landscaping, and environmental requirements are addressed. You can send feedback on the proposal through the city’s development application website.
COMMUNITY NEWS & EVENTS
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Ottawa’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is officially back! After a five‑year pause, the city will once again come alive with Irish pride, colour, music, and community spirit.
This year’s parade will take place on Saturday March 7th, and will run from 12:00pm – 1:30pm. The parade will feature 52 floats, a giant 25‑by‑50‑foot Irish flag, marching bands and performers, and a brand‑new one‑mile route through the downtown core
Parade Route: The parade departs from the Supreme Court of Canada (301 Wellington Street) at 12:00 PM, travels east along Wellington Street past Parliament Hill, crosses the Rideau Canal, and continues to Sussex Drive. It then turns north on Sussex to York Street before heading east into the ByWard Market.
Residents are encouraged to come out, dress warmly, and help welcome back this iconic Ottawa celebration.
Ward 9 T-Ball & Softball
With Spring just around the corner, residents can expect to soon hear the crack of the bat at our ward’s ball diamonds. Two of our Ward 9 communities will once again be running T-Ball and Softball leagues, for programs running through May and June.
The Trend Arlington Community Association (TACA) will be running its T-Ball & Softball program from May 4th – June 25th at Space Park in Trend Arlington. TACA will officially open registration in mid-March, and the link will be posted in this newsletter, as well as through TACA’s Facebook page and newsletter. The T-Ball program will be for kids aged 5 – 7, and the Softball program will be for kids aged 8 – 12. Registration fee is $60 per child. Be sure to check our next newsletter and TACA’s communications for the registration launch.
The Manordale Woodvale Community Association (MWCA) will be running its Manordale Sluggers T-Ball & Softball Program through May & June, with games Tuesdays and/or Thursdays at Manordale Park. Their registration form is now open, and will close on March 28th. The T-Ball program will be for kids aged 5 – 7, and the Softball program will be for kids aged 8 – 12. Registration fee is $50 for one child, $80 for two children, and $100 for three children. The MWCA is always looking for coaches and other program volunteers. If you're registering your child(ren) and are interested in helping, please mention it in the registration form.
As space is limited in both programs, each community association will give priority registration to participants from the host communities.
Trend Arlington Pedal & Play Program
The Trend Arlington Community Association (TACA) is exploring a Pedal & Play Program for young families in Trend Arlington — and they’re looking to see how much community interest there is for the program. The program would consist of cyclists of all ages meeting at the community centre, then enjoying an easy-paced neighbourhood ride, finishing back at Trend Arlington Park for post-ride activities. If this sounds interesting to you, and to help TACA gauge interest, let them know by filling out their form.
Supporting Thrive, a social enterprise
Thrive Select Thrift is a social enterprise of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa, with all proceeds directly supporting local youth mentorship programs. Beyond generating funding for mentorship, Thrive creates meaningful opportunities for youth to build confidence and employment skills through hands-on experience in the store. Through co-op placements and volunteerism, youth gain practical workplace skills, exposure to retail operations, and supportive mentorship in a real-world environment. Every purchase at Thrive Select Thrift helps strengthen youth outcomes while investing back into the community.
Support Our Local Air Cadets!
Join the members of the 742 National Capital Air Cadets Squadron – which includes several members from Ward 9 - for a fun Family Trivia Night on March 28th at 7:00pm at the Broadway Bar and Grill on Earl Armstrong Road. Our office is glad to support this event by contributing a gift certificate to Fitz’s BBQ on Greenbank Road.
Food Insecurity Panel
