COUNCILLOR’S MESSAGE
Recent shooting in Craig Henry
As some residents may have already heard, there was a shooting incident in the Craig Henry neighbourhood on Sunday night. As soon as I received information on this incident I went to the site where it happened, which was on a small street off Craig Henry Drive. As you’ll see in yesterday morning’s CTV News article, they used my photograph for their report.
Many residents of Craig Henry are already aware of a gradual escalation of dangerous activity in this area over the past several months. This includes the fatal shooting from back in April, and the initial information I collected from Ottawa Police Services (OPS) last night shows no link between those two events.
I was going to be providing an update on all of this in the next issue of the Ward 9 newsletter, but this week’s shooting prompted me to want to address it immediately. I’ve been in regular contact with OPS about Craig Henry over the past few months and have already spoken to them about this most recent incident. We are already in discussions about holding a public meeting in the next few weeks. We’ll let residents know as soon as we confirm details.
Are we paying too much in property taxes?
At this week’s Finance & Corporate Services Committee meeting, committee members will receive the consolidated Asset Management Plan (AMP), which provincial legislation requires municipalities to report on asset inventory, condition, service levels, costs, risks, and mitigation strategies. In reviewing the report on the AMP, one sentence that stands out is as follows:
“Over the next 10 years, a $10.8 billion gap is forecasted between projected infrastructure needs and planned funding.”
In other words, the city has identified over $10 billion in asset maintenance and renewal work that we should plan for over the next 10 years if we wish to maintain our public infrastructure in a state of good repair, but that funding has not yet been planned for.
From the quick briefing that we got last week prior to this week’s Committee meeting, some items stood out to me.
From the comprehensive total $10.8 billion gap in infrastructure needs, the current Asset Management Plan identified a ten-year capital requirement of $6.3 billion (in 2024 dollars) for our water, wastewater and stormwater services. But the city’s “priority needs assessment” reduced that amount to $4 billion (in 2024 dollars), or $4.8 billion in inflated dollars. In other words, we’re de-prioritizing some of our asset categories from the ten-year capital plan, and for the areas that we have prioritized, we’re not laying out a plan to meet all those needs.
And as for the city’s plan to finance this work over 10 years, it laid out a threshold of how much of this work was to be paid for from the tax base – as opposed to paying it from new debt, or from growth. But over the 10-year financing plan, they didn’t come close to meeting the threshold for drawing from the tax base.
In other words, it seemed as if we could get more of this asset maintenance work done over 10 years. But, in an effort to advance a plan that staff described as “affordable”, several billions of dollars of necessary work are being put off, which means it will only cost a lot more later.
Now is when I’d like to pause and ask if you think Ottawa’s property taxes are too high? More specifically, I want to ask if you think Ottawa’s property taxes are higher than other cities in Ontario. Because they’re not. In fact, Ottawa’s taxes are near the bottom, comparatively. And this is something that I’ve been saying for almost as long as I’ve been writing this newsletter.
This year, the City of Ottawa’s website includes a page on Tax Policy: How does the city compare with other municipalities? On that page, there’s a table that shows “how Ottawa compares to Ontario’s top largest cities (based on population. The 2023 taxes listed were based on the average residential 2 storey home in each municipality.”
From that list, here’s how much taxes were paid on the average priced home in each of those cities:
[These figures are based on 2023 property taxes, where the average home value in Ottawa based on MPAC assessments was approximately $415,000.]
Several people, including Ottawa City Councillors, have made the mistaken claim that Ottawa’s taxes are higher than Toronto’s, since the taxes paid on a $1 million home in Ottawa are more than the taxes paid on a $1 million home in Toronto. But that’s a false comparison. A $1 million home is very different in each of those two cities.
It’s far more important to compare property taxes based on each city’s average priced home. As of April 2025, the average priced home in Toronto was $1,107,463, compared to $631,200 in Ottawa.
What the table above means is that Ottawa’s average homeowner is paying almost 16% less than the average homeowner in Hamilton, and more than 26% less than the average homeowner in Toronto.
Before you respond with “Wow, we’re getting a great deal!”, take a look around. When the roads are filled with potholes, when there’s too few buses on the road, when we can’t afford to replace community centres that are at end-of-life, when we can’t even afford to put garbage bins in our public parks, at some point we need to ask whether we’re collecting enough revenues to do the work that most of us want to see done.
To be clear, I’m not advocating for a 26% tax hike, but I want residents to understand just how much we’ve lost over several years of minimal tax rate increases. Just for the sake of argument, what if our tax rate was equivalent to the average of the top four cities on the table above. That average tax would be $6,312, which is basically equivalent to the tax paid by the average homeowner in Mississauga. That’s $1,102 more in taxes paid per year than Ottawa’s average homeowner. City-wide, that would translate into $363 million dollars more in taxes collected per year. That’s a lot more roads repaired, streetlights installed, bus drivers hired, and swim classes not cancelled.
We will always look to find savings and efficiencies on the expense side of the ledger, because that’s the responsible thing to do. But fiscal responsibility – and responsible leadership - also means ensuring that the residents of a city contribute what is necessary and fair for the city to run properly and provide the services that its residents expect. Over a decade’s worth of austerity budgets – including those approved by the current Council - where the tax rate increase doesn’t even cover the rate of inflation have put us in the position where we’re rationalizing our way towards shortchanging billions of dollars of necessary maintenance and upgrades to public assets. When we have the potential to do so much more, it’s a miserly approach that will only cost us more in the long run. But hey, that’ll be another Council’s problem, right?
My vote on the “Bubble By-law"
At the May 28th City Council meeting, I was one of only three councillors who voted against directing staff to develop a “Bubble By-law" for Ottawa. My vote was based on principle, as I believe that it is very risky and potentially wasteful for us to do this. Since I know that there is a lot of interest in this controversial issue, and to provide as much transparency as I can, I wanted to post the content of my spoken remarks from that meeting below.
“Two days ago, the Toronto Star ran a headline: “The confidential legal advice that Toronto City Council was given about limiting protest.” It referred to the Bubble By-law recently passed in Toronto.
Toronto’s city solicitor advised that their by-law might survive a Charter challenge if it was narrowly tailored—meaning it should not go further than necessary to achieve its goals. To meet that standard, city staff proposed several safeguards: a 20-metre limit on the bubble zone, a time restriction, and most importantly, an application-based system. Applicants would need to show that protests had actually occurred, and that access to vulnerable infrastructure had been impeded.
These features were meant to strike a careful balance—protecting access while minimizing Charter violations.
Toronto City Council, however, ignored that advice. They passed a version of the by-law that stripped away those safeguards. Starting July 2, up to 3,000 institutions in Toronto can request a bubble zone simply if they “reasonably believe” a protest might occur where someone might “perform or attempt to perform an act of discouragement.”
This language is dangerously vague. The by-law doesn’t require evidence of actual harm or even a protest—it’s based on speculation. What’s being restricted isn’t just physical interference, but potentially the act of expressing unpopular opinions.
As was made clear during committee delegations, this isn’t just about protecting people from threats or violence. It’s about shielding them from hearing things they don’t like. It’s about putting in place the 100 metre thick door that Michael Polowin was calling for. One constitutional expert put it bluntly: “If we start referring to ‘victims’ as people who are hearing things they don’t like, outside of an authoritarian society there is no way to deal with that. That’s the price of democracy.”
Professor Jamie Cameron, one of Canada’s top constitutional scholars, described these by-laws as a form of “prior restraint”—a legal term for censorship that prevents people from speaking based on the assumption they might break the law. It’s a preemptive restriction on expression, not a response to actual misconduct.
And yet, here in Ottawa, we are moving forward with the drafting of our own Bubble By-law, without taking the time to study how Calgary’s version, or Vaughan’s version, or even Toronto’s version might fare in court. We are directing staff to draft legislation that, by expert accounts, is likely to be seen as government-imposed censorship—based not on proven harm, but on subjective and speculative fears.
We owe it to our residents—and to our democracy—to get this right.”
On the day before our Council meeting, I spoke on the phone with Professor Cameron, the expert reference in my speech, and who was also quoted in the Toronto Star article I mentioned above. Professor Cameron not only re-affirmed her concern with cities drafting these by-laws that she believes will subject us to expensive legal challenges, but she also said that she was more than willing to provide her legal opinion to city staff as they embark on this progress. All city staff need to do is ask.
On the morning of our Council meeting, I had a private chat with our City Solicitor Stuart Huxley, asking if he’d be willing to support a Direction to Staff that experts like Professor Cameron be consulted during this process. He said that such an action was not necessary.
Just like Toronto’s City Council ignored advice from the city lawyers, we shall see whether Ottawa’s lawyers make a similar mistake by ignoring advice from a small minority of Ottawa’s councillors.
FEATURE: NEW WAYS TO BUS
As mentioned in the last issue of this newsletter, our office remains concerned about the potential negative impacts of the New Ways to Bus system that was rolled out on April 27th. We continue to track complaints from Ward 9 transit riders, and we expect that this topic will be addressed at next week’s Transit Committee meeting.
While analyzing the various concerns and complaints from residents, we’ve also received a few emails that speak of larger, perhaps unanticipated negative impacts from New Ways to Bus. We wanted to share one such response from a resident, who described the impact that the new bus system was having on capacity and productivity at The Ottawa Hospital.
“As a member of the leadership team at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), a trend we are now seeing is that patients and their families are REFUSING transfers to facilities outside of TOH due to transit difficulties. Some patients’ family members who rely on public transit are now facing up to 1-1.5hrs one-way of bussing, and multiple transfers to be able to visit loved ones. I have been involved in a case in which a patient's wife would need to spend 3hrs and 6 busses (round trip) to visit her husband if he were transferred to a care facility outside of TOH, leading to her refusal to transfer her husband, and resulting in an inappropriately lengthened hospital stay and even more strain on our healthcare system. As we cannot transfer patients to outside facilities without consent, this is a serious concern for our acute-care hospitals and the residents of our city.
Also, my staff (nurses and personal support workers) who rely on public transit are notifying me that they will be late on a nearly daily basis. This was a rare occurrence prior to the bussing changes. The alternative is for them to arrive 40+ minutes early for their 12hr shifts in some cases. They commute, often can't even get to work on time, work their shift, commute home and often have less than 10hrs to eat, shower, relax and sleep before doing it all again the following day.
The changes that have been implemented in OC Transpo's New Ways to Bus are absurd, cruel, and downright degrading to public transit users. The changes are forcing Ottawa residents to choose between spending their time vs. their money, neither of which are appropriate for a city of this size.”
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And while we’re on the subject of pushing for better bus service in Ottawa, we were glad to see the exciting public relations campaign arising from Strong Towns Ottawa, a local organization focused on promoting a better form of urbanism. Recently, this organization made a splash by getting the Mayfair Theatre involved in helping to promote better bus service along Bank Street. Read the CTV News article to see what happened.
CITY WORKS
Big Wheel Expo
On Sunday, June 8, the City of Ottawa’s Public Works Department is hosting the Big Wheels Expo — a free, family-friendly event where residents, visitors, and especially kids can get an up-close look at the large vehicles and equipment used to keep our city running smoothly. This free event takes place from 9:30am – 1:30pm at Ottawa Stadium, located at 300 Coventry Road. Residents can get an up-close view of our city’s garbage trucks, snowplows, road painting equipment, sidewalk sweepers, and much more! And as a bonus, the Ottawa Titans baseball team is also playing that afternoon. The city will be giving away 100 free tickets starting at noon for the 1:00 pm game — why not make a day of it?
Traffic Services Spring operations
Now that the snow has melted, City crews are hard at work refreshing road markings, reinstalling temporary traffic calming measures like flex stakes and speed display boards, and maintaining over 1,200 traffic signals across Ottawa. Before new markings and stakes can go in, street sweeping must be completed to ensure clean, safe roads — and that work is progressing across the city. So far in 2024, we’ve added 168 new flex stake locations, 99 speed display boards, and 79 new pavement markings to improve safety in our neighbourhoods.
You may also see our teams out at night refreshing lane markings, painting bike lanes and crosswalks, or doing traffic signal maintenance at intersections. Crews work all summer and into the fall to keep roads clear, visible, and safe. Residents can help by reporting damaged flex stakes, faded markings, or signal issues at ottawa.ca/311, and by driving carefully — especially near cyclists and pedestrians.
Argue Drive road closure
Please be advised that Argue Drive, between Phillip Street and Goodwin Avenue, will be closed to all through traffic from Wednesday, June 18 to Friday, June 20, daily between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm, to allow for construction.
Local traffic will still be permitted, but there will be no through access during working hours. Signage will be in place to guide drivers, and pedestrian access will be maintained. Please follow all posted detours and be cautious around the work zone. If the closure is postponed or cancelled, affected residents and businesses will be notified in advance.
Hydro Ottawa and a Canada Post strike
In anticipation of a potential strike or labour disruption at Canada Post, Hydro Ottawa wishes to remind customers of options for preventing any impact on receiving and paying their monthly bills, to avoid any interruption of service. This labour disruption could impact Hydro Ottawa customers who receive their monthly bills by mail or pay via cheque sent through the mail.
Since customers are still responsible for keeping their accounts up to date, Hydro Ottawa has several options in place:
- switching to online billing - recently enhanced so customers now have direct access to a PDF version of their bill delivered straight to their inbox, no login needed;
- arranging to make payments at financial institutions;
- registering for our self-serve online customer portal MyAccount
- downloading the Hydro Ottawa mobile app.
Customers can learn more about these options at hydroottawa.com/canadapost.
Planned power outage on Craig Henry Drive
On June 3, 2025, Hydro Ottawa will be replacing electrical equipment that will impact residents on Craig Henry Drive. For Hydro Ottawa to perform this work safely, a power outage is required. All impacted customers are contacted by phone, text or email - depending on the communication preferences indicated on their account - and informed by written notice delivered to their door, if applicable. In the case of circumstances beyond our control, the outage may be rescheduled.
- Impacted street: Craig Henry Drive
- Date: June 3, 2025
- In case of postponement: June 4, 2025
- Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Total customers impacted: 17
Administrative Penalty System
Starting June 2025, Ottawa will transition to the Administrative Penalty System (APS) to manage parking ticket infractions, replacing the current Provincial Offences Act (POA) court process. Soon, APS will also apply to red light camera and automated speed enforcement infractions.
The shift comes after Ontario amended key legislation, allowing municipalities to handle these penalties outside of the POA court system—an effort to reduce court backlogs and provide a more efficient, streamlined resolution process.
Here is how it works:
- If you receive a parking ticket under APS, you have two options:
- Pay the ticket online, by mail, or in person at a City Client Service Centre or the POA and APS Service Centre.
- Request a review within 15 days by submitting a form online or in person. Screening Officers will assess whether to uphold, reduce, or cancel the penalty based on provided documentation.
If you disagree with the decision, you may request a final review with a Hearing Officer, whose ruling is binding. To ensure you receive timely updates, keep your mailing address current with the Province: Change my address for Ontario services.
For more details, visit ottawa.ca/APS.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Public Survey: Ottawa Budget 2026
The City of Ottawa wants to hear from you on Budget 2026. Share your budget priorities by completing the Engage Ottawa Draft 2026 Budget Questionnaire by June 26. Your feedback is integral to the development of the City’s budget. It’s your city and your budget, so have your say. Watch this informative video on how the city’s budget works.
Have Your Say on Climate Ready Ottawa!
The City of Ottawa is launching the next round of public engagement on Climate Ready Ottawa – the city’s draft climate resiliency strategy – and the city want to hear from you!
Climate Ready Ottawa is a long-term strategy designed to guide action and investment that will help our city become more resilient to climate change.
Developing a climate resiliency strategy is a key project of the Climate Change Master Plan and Council’s Strategic Plan.
Addressing climate change requires collective action. Visit Engage Ottawa to learn more about how climate change could affect you, your family or business, and steps you can take to be prepared.
Thank you to everyone who provided comments through the 2024 survey or in past engagement sessions! We are integrating those ideas and welcome your additional feedback as we finalize the strategy and plan.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Attend one of the Public Open Houses: Register here
- Thursday, June 12 – Nepean Sportsplex, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- Saturday, June 14 – City Hall, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Monday, June 16 – Ray Friel, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- Thursday, June 19 – Virtual Session, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
- Visit: engage.ottawa.ca/climate-resiliency to read the background information and provide feedback (deadline June 30th, 2025)
- Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about this project and others that build a green and resilient Ottawa
- Learn how you can prepare for a changing climate
Public Survey: Auditor General Workplan
The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) undertakes a risk-based assessment to identify audit priorities that form the basis of the annual workplan. The OAG is currently seeking public input into the areas that Ottawa residents and business owners believe could benefit from an independent audit. To accomplish this, the OAG is conducting a survey until June 30, 2025. The survey is accessible on Engage Ottawa and takes approximately 3 to 5 minutes to complete. Survey results will be presented to the Audit Committee in November 2025. Public feedback will be one of many elements of consideration in the OAG’s determination of its recommended areas for audit.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY
Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus
Ticks and mosquitoes are more than just summer nuisances—they can carry infections that affect Ottawa residents. Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, is spread by blacklegged ticks, which are present in Ottawa. Early symptoms include a circular rash, fever, and muscle aches. Prompt removal of ticks reduces risk, and if a tick has been attached for over 24 hours, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) advises speaking with a healthcare provider.
West Nile virus (WNV) is transmitted by infected mosquitoes, particularly the Culex species. While most people show no symptoms, some experience fever, headaches, and body aches. Severe cases, though rare, can lead to neurological illness. The highest risk of WNV transmission occurs in late summer.
OPH helps protect the public through surveillance, mosquito control, and education. They monitor tick populations with University of Ottawa researchers and manage mosquitoes using larvicides in standing water. Residents can take precautions by using insect repellent, wearing protective clothing, staying on trails, and removing standing water around their homes.
Respiratory Disease Update
Ottawa Public Health has issued a reminder to those who are vulnerable and their caregivers that now is a good time to get your spring COVID vaccine boost. The boost will help better protect vulnerable populations and reduce the possibility of severe effects from the disease. An updated vaccine will be available for everyone sometime this fall. Stay tuned.
The weather has been slow to climb out of the grey cool and rainy spring mode, which may be part of the reason we continue to have significant levels of flu circulating in the city. But as the sunshine comes on stronger and windows get opened to let in spring and summer breezes, and we all spend more time outside, the levels should begin to drop steadily. But, for now, be aware that flu remains at high levels in the city, with COVID and RSV remaining at relatively lower levels. As always, you can wear a good mask to protect yourself and others, open windows, and make good use of indoor air filters to reduce the chance of passing along a nasty bug.
COMMUNITY NEWS & EVENTS
The Big Give at Woodvale Pentecostal
Craig Henry Community Garage Sale
Tanglewood Young at Heart: Mind your Brain Health
Tanglewood Hillsdale Community Garage Sale
Canada Day in Trend Arlington
If you live in the western part of Ward 9, then come celebrate Canada Day in Trend Arlington, one of the best celebrations of our national birthday in all of Ward 9. hosted by the Trend Arlington Community Association (TACA). On July 1 from 5:00pm – 10:00pm, it’s an evening of community fun, live entertainment – including Councillor Devine’s cover band The Suburban Legends – and of course, an awesome fireworks show!
This year TACA is riding the wave of Canadian patriotism that’s taking our country by storm, and so they’re making the event bigger than ever. To do that, they’re fundraising to make sure they can buy enough fireworks to make a big splash across the Trend Arlington sky – with a permit, of course.
Our office is already a sponsor of this event, and so we invite residents from across Trend Arlington and the surrounding areas to chip in a little, especially if you plan to attend this awesome event. You can make a contribution at TACA’s fundraiser site.
Curiosity Cafe
Come to the Nepean Museum (16 Rowley Ave) to connect with neighbours, enjoy a heritage-inspired craft, and to take a closer look at our artefact collection. Each session we’ll be exploring new topics! Relax with a cup of coffee or tea and light snack and play a retro boardgame or card game with new friends. We want to hear from you – the Curiosity Café is an opportunity to help shape the future of older adult programming at Nepean Museum. You’re welcome to drop-in to the museum at any time during the advertised hours. If applicable, the schedule for specific workshops or lectures will be noted below. Please note that workshops and lectures are delivered in English.
- When: Thursdays from 10 am to 3 pm
- June 5: from 1 pm to 2 pm workshop on healing herbs - Discuss the history of using herbs for healing then create your own potpourri herb sachet.
- June 19: from 1 pm to 2 pm lecture on Ottawa neighbourhoods - Learn more about the history of our surrounding community (topics: Nepean bell and Nepean coat of arms; police villages; churches; factories; the Bell family and Brittania-on-the-Bay)
- June 26: from 1 pm to 2 pm workshop on Painting pottery - Paint and decorate a salad plate (from Colour Me Mine on Merivale Road). Supplies are provided. Maximum of 20 participants (first come, first served). Pieces will be fired and ready for pick-up two weeks after the workshop.
- Ages: Older adults (50+); family members and caregivers are also welcome.
- Cost: Pay-what-you-can
Barrhaven Lions Club - Electronics Recycling Day
