Newsletter March 5, 2025

COUNCILLOR’S MESSAGE

Elbows up, Canada

While we all may have differing opinions on many things, it seems that the vast majority, if not every single one of us, is clear on one thing: that Canada needs to show resolve and firmness in the face of the existential threat our country is facing at the hands of the U.S. government. And so, from a great Canadian in Mike Myers, who got it from a great Canadian in Gordie Howe, it’s time to get our elbows up, folks.

State of the city’s finances

We are still in the first days of U.S. President Trump imposing 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods. Canada has retaliated with our own historic tariffs, embroiling us in a global trade war that is certainly not of our own choosing. When considering the state of the City of Ottawa’s finances, we must assume that our municipality will be adversely impacted by these tariffs, as will local businesses, as will local families.

Regular readers of this newsletter are aware that I have ongoing concerns about the city’s financial state. I’ve written about it on multiple occasions. My concerns have covered the following areas:

Large, costly municipal projects that don’t accurately reflect our actual priorities

Property tax increases that don’t keep up with the city’s rising costs or with average taxation rates in cities across the province

Passing municipal budgets that rely on unconfirmed funding from upper levels of government

At a time of extreme economic precarity, I cannot see the rationale for supporting the Lansdowne 2.0 project. Of course, I’ve already been on the record of being doubtful of the project’s projected costs, and those concerns have only increased with the imposition of tariffs. A few weeks ago, I got a briefing from Lansdowne 2.0 project staff on the design of the event centre. My interest, however, was in getting an update on the project’s finances. I found it very surprising that city staff stated that their 2024 cost estimate of $419 million – which the Auditor General has suggested is likely closer to $475 million – is still being seen by project staff as a reliable cost estimate. When the price of everything has spiked over the last year, including construction costs, I don’t have confidence that the costs for Lansdowne 2.0 haven’t also spiked, unless significant elements of the project have been altered. And so, as City Council moves towards our final “off-ramp” on Lansdowne 2.0 in October 2025, I will continue to push for a more accurate assessment of the project’s costs, and I’ll ask my Council colleagues and residents to consider whether this project and its potential half-billion-dollar price tag is the right thing to do at this historic and challenging moment.

On the issue of tax increases, I hadn’t planned on raising this issue so early in the year, since it’s only been a few months since we passed our 2025 budget. I’ve stated multiple times my concern that City Council is continuing a long-standing practice of passing arbitrarily low property tax increases, to the detriment of both our immediate and long-term needs.

But over the last few weeks, Mayor Sutcliffe has posted items on social media speaking to his commitment to “keeping taxes as low as possible” as compared to other Canadian cities, and that we’ll “continue to find savings and efficiencies” to do so. It’s not clear why the mayor is raising this issue publicly at this time, when we are so many months away from debating the 2026 budget, and when there has been no formal process that engaged Council in any kind of discussion about the 2026 budget.

In passing the 2025 budget, Mayor Sutcliffe stated that we had found $153 million in savings over the past two years, and how these savings helped justify another low tax increase. If there are additional savings and efficiencies to be found to support further low tax increases, wouldn’t we have found them by now? And how many of those “savings and efficiencies” are just deferrals of critical costs? I could just imagine how my wife would respond if I told her that I found $3,000 in monthly savings by deferring payments of our mortgage!

Many cities across Canada have seen property tax increases over the past few years that significantly exceed Ottawa’s. Each of those cities are looking at their own long-term infrastructure and asset management costs, and they are establishing new baselines for property tax revenues so that they can better meet those rising costs. If this Council continues to pass tax increases that don’t meet our spending needs, then we’re just handing the problem off to the next Council.

Finally, I need to address the issue of how we pass budgets that rely on unconfirmed contributions from upper levels of government. Last month, the City of Ottawa was notified that we were not successful in our Federal Court of Canada case to have the federal government pay us $34.5 million in additional PILTs (payments-in-lieu-of-taxes). So, we’re not getting that money from the feds, which had been meant to cover alleged discrepancies in PILT revenues for 2021, 2022, and 2023. Thankfully, we were awarded $35 million from the provincial government to make us whole on that loss. But we’re still exposed for 2024 and beyond, as we’ve budgeted for PILT revenues exceeding what the federal government will pay.

As a municipality, Ottawa is governed by the Municipal Act. Sections 289 and 290 of the Municipal Act require that cities plan balanced operating budgets. This means that when we pass budgets, the projected expenses must equal the projected revenues. One would argue that, in the spirit of that Act, the revenues that underly the budget’s assumptions should be based on realistic projections.

This is not the first time that we have passed budgets that rely on projections of unconfirmed revenues based on optimistic expectations. It’s a practice that needs to stop, as it only imperils Ottawa’s future, and our future residents.

Provincial election results

With last week’s snap election, I wanted to extend my congratulations to all Ottawa-area MPPs, as well as to thank all the candidates for running. Here in Ward 9, I look forward to continuing my work with re-elected Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Chandra Pasma. I also look forward to beginning a collaboration with newly elected Nepean MPP Tyler Watt. During the campaign I had the opportunity to meet with Pasma and Watt to discuss some provincial issues that are of relevance to Ward 9 residents (e.g. funding for public transit, stricter penalties for stunt racing, and funding the expansion of the Queensway Carleton Hospital), and I was pleased to see that there was a lot of common ground between us.

I also wish to extend my congratulations to George Darouze, the new MPP for Carleton. Darouze has been the Ottawa City Councillor for Osgoode Ward for many years, and I’m sure he’s excited to make the leap to provincial politics. Since Darouze has now been elected as one of only two Progressive Conservative MPPs for Ottawa, we’re all hoping that MPP Darouze might be an effective champion for Ottawa in Premier Ford’s government.

There will now be a vacancy at City Council for Osgoode Ward, and Council convened a Special Council Meeting on March 5th to address the pending vacancy, which included requesting that staff report back on March 26th with information about a by-election to be held for Osgoode Ward. I will certainly be supportive of a by-election model, as opposed to selecting a new councillor through appointment. Based on the likely process that Council will follow, such a by-election would take place in early June.

OCDSB Elementary Program Review

My office has begun to receive emails from parents concerned over the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board’s (OCDSB) recently announced Elementary Program Review. While I appreciate that this change is bringing frustration and anxiety to many families, this matter is outside of municipal jurisdiction. I want to be of assistance if and where I can, but Ottawa City Council doesn’t have a formal role in this process.

I will certainly be paying close attention to how this program rolls out (I’m also a parent with kids in the OCDSB system). The OCDSB is holding a wide array of consultations and community meetings over the next several weeks, and members of my team and I will be attending some of these meetings. For more information on these sessions, please select the “Consultations” tab at the Elementary Program Review website.

Newcomer Reception Centre update

Those who are closely following ongoing developments with the Newcomer Reception Centre will recall that one of my ongoing concerns was over the procurement process that city staff had selected, which was an Advanced Contract Award Notice (ACAN), where BLT Construction, a Toronto-based contractor, had been “pre-identified” to get the $15 million contract to build the Newcomer Reception Centre. The ACAN resulted from the assessment of an independent contractor who provided city staff with a report stating that BLT Construction was “the only available and qualified vendor to perform the scope of work required for this project”.

Even though the ACAN process allowed for other parties to submit their qualifications for the project, members of the local construction industry expressed their frustrations over what they perceived to be a sole-source contract. I addressed my own concerns over the procurement in the Inquiry I submitted on January 22nd, for which I am still awaiting official responses. Possibly through the concerns raised by local industry and my office, city staff extended the ACAN deadline from January 28 to January 31.

On February 24, city staff reported the results of the ACAN. Briefly, the city received three submissions. From those, at least one other vendor met the criteria required by the project’s scope of work, and so a full, open, competitive procurement process will now be launched.

My office continues to have many questions about this project, and those questions are currently focused on the procurement process and the project’s financing. I have a meeting with project staff this week to address these questions, as well as the questions in my original Inquiry. I intend to report publicly on these meetings in the next issue of this newsletter.

Council motion on local roads

As part of my ongoing pursuit of improving the state of local infrastructure, at last week’s Public Work & Infrastructure Commitee (formerly known as Transportation Committee), I successfully passed a motion that I hope will be of benefit to wards like ours.

Roads are classified in three categories: arterial roads (e.g. Merivale, Greenbank, Woodroffe), collector roads (e.g. Meadowlands, Viewmount, Knoxdale), and local roads (i.e. most residential streets). Ever since 2012, our asset management strategy has prioritized investment in arterial and collector roads. While that’s certainly important, it’s led to a disproportionate amount of investment in our rural wards, where most rural roads – very long loads, which cost a lot to repair - are categorized as arterials. In heavily residential wards like Knoxdale-Merivale, most of us live on local roads.

During 2025 we’re going to be updating our Asset Master Plan, as well as the Long-Range Financial Plan to support it. This is a rare opportunity to re-prioritize our investments, and my motion seeks to address this by reporting back “as part of the 2025 Asset Management Plan update report on the feasibility of allocating the road renewal budget across the road classes to ensure a more responsive level of investment in local roads.”

Hopefully, this will result in a more equitable distribution of our infrastructure budgets.

FEATURE

Housing: Infill development on Fair Oaks

As part of our ongoing focus on the status of housing in our city, we wanted to use this issue of our newsletter to talk about a small but innovative project taking place in the neighbourhood of Craig Henry.

In Craig Henry there’s a road called Fair Oaks Crescent, which is a street filled with two-storey single-family homes. One of those homes is at 25 Fair Oaks, which is an irregularly shaped, large corner lot. This lot was sold to a local developer called RATI Group, where the developer’s intention was to convert this into a 6-unit townhome complex. Even though I wasn’t on City Council at the time, I participated in the community meeting where this project was discussed. I remember how strong the local opposition to this project was, even though this was a relatively small project, all things considered.

The proposed development passed at City Council back in early 2022, before I was the Councillor for Ward 9. It then faced numerous delays, but that’s a subject for another issue of this newsletter. But construction began on the project last year, and the new tenants are expected to take occupancy this summer.

I’m excited by this project, because it’s a fine example of the kind of infill development that we should be supporting. What had been a parcel of land occupied by one family, will now hold six units (three main 3BR units, and three 1BR secondary dwelling units. The building has three driveways already built into the project, and the developer is working with my office to explore on-street residential parking options for the three units that don’t come with off-street parking.

A few weeks ago, I got a tour of this new development, along with RATI Group CEO Rizak Abdullahi and the project’s architect Toon Dreessen. I’ve known Toon for a few years now, and it was exciting for me to see a physical manifestation of Toon’s passion for design and innovative land usage. These six units were anything but “cookie cutter”, and it was easy to imagine small families settling into these units that had tons of natural light and flow.

In speaking with the developer, it was clear that Mr. Abdullahi had no doubt that he’d find renters for these properties, since there’s such a growing need for more rental stock in our city, especially when it comes to 3BR units in family-oriented neighborhoods.

If the City of Ottawa is ever going to meet our housing needs, if we’re ever going to be able to make a dent in the housing affordability crisis, and if we’re ever going to reverse the trend of forcing our growing population further and further away through costly, urban sprawl, then we need to get on board with these kinds of gentle intensification projects.

Welcome to the neighbourhood!

CITY WORKS

Property Tax and Vacant Unit Tax deadline

Residents are reminded interim property tax payments and Vacant Unit Tax (VUT) declarations share the same deadline – Thursday, March 20. So don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Be a Hydrant Hero

Receive your Hydrant Hero certificate!

The City of Ottawa encourages residents to be a Hydrant Hero this winter and keep your local fire hydrant clear of snow. Clearing 0.5 meters around a hydrant maintains access for our firefighters and helps them keep you, your family and your community safe. If you are unable to clear the hydrant on your property, please call 3-1-1. To request your electronic Hydrant Hero certificate, please complete the form. Here’s a short video of Councillor Devine discovering evidence of a Hydrant Hero out in Fisher Heights.

Clear your catch basins

This week’s mild temperatures and heavy rain will lead to a lot of rapid snow melt. Given the limited ability of the frozen ground to absorb water, this may lead to localized flooding in low lying areas and water pooling on roads. City staff will be monitoring areas that are prone to localized flooding and address any water pooling by ensuring catch basins and ditches are open and able to take in water.

We are asking for anyone who can to please ensure their local catch basins are clear and able to take in water. With over 100,000 catch basins in the City, we appreciate any support you can offer. You can find your nearest catch basin using our catch basin locator map. You can also report a blocked catch basin.

Preventative maintenance at Graham Creek

After last year’s exceedingly high water levels through Graham Creek, and in anticipation of this Spring’s thaw, Councillor Devine reached out to city staff to ensure that they proactively monitor the culvert inlets along Graham Creek to avoid a repeat of last year’s event. Staff have since informed our office that crews will be performing daily inspections to ensure the inlets remain clear of debris. The photos below show the before-and-after state of the inlet grate after maintenance on March 4.

Traffic safety updates

We would like to thank residents, schools, and community associations who have shared their suggestions for improving traffic safety in our neighborhoods. Your ongoing input helps us identify key areas that need attention. Based on this feedback, our office has submitted our annual Temporary Traffic Calming (TTC) measures to city staff for review. These measures play an important role in improving road and pedestrian safety, and we look forward to their implementation over the coming months.

Our office has also been working closely with city staff, Manordale Public School, and residents to address ongoing traffic concerns at that school. Through multiple site visits and discussions, we are pleased to see significant improvements in pedestrian safety and compliance during drop-off and pick-up times. We will continue to monitor the situation over the Spring in case we wish to consider additional measures, but for now we encourage all parents who drive their kids to Manordale PS to obey signage on Carola, and to follow the recommended route: drive up Newhaven Street and down Carola Street when dropping off or picking up children. This helps reduce congestion and ensures a safer experience for students and pedestrians.

In addition, we are actively monitoring traffic safety concerns at St. John XXIII. Our office recently met with the principal of St. John XXIII to gain deeper insight into the challenges faced by students, parents, and staff. As many residents are aware, Knoxdale Road has been selected for a Neighbourhood Traffic Calming (NTC) study—a crucial step in enhancing road safety in the area. By thoroughly understanding existing concerns, we can help ensure the study is focused on targeted, effective measures that will make a real difference for the school community and all road users. We expect to have more information made available to the public in the coming months.

Knoxdale Public School pathways

After several years of advocacy and lobbying from many groups and individuals, our office was very happy to finally see some positive results after Councillor Devine intervened to get the City of Ottawa start to clear snow on two of the pathways that lead to Knoxdale Public School in the Trend-Arlington neighbourhood. While it’s not an ideal solution – there's still another major pathway to the school that does not get snow clearing – this at least provides a much each walking path for families accessing the school from the south and the east. Here’s a short video of Councillor Devine showing the pathway clearing in action.

NROCRC Income Tax Clinic

The Nepean Rideau Osgoode Community Resource Centr (NROCRC) offers a free Income Tax Clinic until April 30, to help eligible individuals and families with modest incomes prepare and submit their 2024 personal income taxes. This is an extremely valuable service that our office is very supportive of. Find out if you qualify and book your session through their online registration service.

New property standards tool

The City of Ottawa has launched a new Property Standards Search Tool, which allows residents to check if a residential address in Ottawa has had property standards violations in the past five years. This could help residents in several ways, including helping renters make informed decisions. Developed through the Rental Accommodations Study and approved in August 2020, the tool was created with input from ACORN Ottawa, landlord associations, and City partners. It excludes commercial and institutional properties and complies with privacy laws.

Ottawa Islamic School expansion update

We wanted residents in Fisher Heights to know that we’re still in regular communication with the Ottawa Islamic School about their ongoing expansion project. After several years of delays where project construction wasn’t advancing, we were happy to help spur the project forward and re-establish better relations between the School and local community. The School reached out to our office to let us know that, in addition to the exterior work of the expansion being completed last October, planning for the interior work is currently underway, and the School’s Board of Directors has begun planning for the fundraising campaign that will sustain this next phase.

Carleton Heights infrastructure investigation

During last year’s budget meetings, Councillor Devine got a commitment from the Infrastructure & Water Services Department (IWSD) that would begin an investigation and assessment of the systemic issues contributing to drainage and flooding issues in the Carleton Heights neighborhood, which is an area in Ward 9 that has historically experienced greater impacts from stormwater management.

This week Councillor Devine attended a public information session for the upcoming City View Ditch Rehabilitation project, which is a multi-year, phased project that commenced several years ago, and which will look at addressing drainage and flooding issues in a Ward 8 neighborhood that has similarities to Carleton Heights. Councillor Devine will be meeting with IWSD staff soon to get the Carleton Heights project started as soon as possible.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Public meetings on OC Transpo’s New Ways to Bus

Starting on Sunday, April 27, bus routes across the City of Ottawa will change as part of OC Transpo's New Ways to Bus, the revised bus network that will focus on frequency, local service in your neighbourhood, and connections to key destinations. We wanted to let residents know about two upcoming public meetings in Ward 9 that will provide information to residents about the changes that are coming with New Ways to Bus.

When it comes to the changes coming with New Ways to Bus, we completely understand that many residents will be frustrated and inconvenienced by these changes. It’s important for residents to understand that OC Transpo’s decision-making powers lie outside of City Council. While Councillor Devine was successful in fighting against some of the originally proposed changes, we were not able to prevent all of the revisions affecting Ward 9 residents.

Here are the two upcoming meetings:

On Friday March 7 at 7:00pm, the Manordale-Woodvale Community Association is hosting an OC Transpo Town Hall to discuss the specific changes to bus routes 82 and 173, as they affect Manordale and surrounding areas. This meeting takes place at the Margaret Rywak Centre at 68 Knoxdale Road.

On Friday April 4 at 6:00pm, OC Transpo will be hosting a New Ways to Bus Information Session to address all of the changes affecting Ward 9 residents. This meeting takes place in the Richmond Room at the Nepean Sportsplex.

Ward 9 Pop-Up Office Hours

Our team is hosting Pop-Up Office Hours on Friday, March 14th from 2:30pm - 4:30pm. For this event we'll be in the General Burns / Fisher Glen neighbourhoods at Second Cup, located at 1715 Merivale. This is an opportunity for residents to have a one-on-one chat with Councillor Devine to discuss municipal issues, or to address local concerns. To RSVP, please complete our booking form.

Elder Abuse Awareness & Prevention Seminar

Last week, we saw a news article about a case of elder abuse happening at a local retirement home, where a personal support worker was charged with two counts of assault and one charge of assault with a weapon in connection to a resident at that facility. It was a very disturbing and sad reminder of how elder abuse is a growing concern among Ottawa's older adult community.

To help address this concern, Councillor Devine will be hosting an online Elder Abuse Awareness & Prevention Seminar on Monday, March 24, from 1:00pm - 3:00pm. This will be a free online event open to the entire community, but we are working closely with partners across Ward 9 to address the needs of older adults in Knoxdale-Merivale Ward.

Those who wish to attend this online event can RSVP here, and we will send you a link for this online Zoom meeting in the week before the event.

PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY

Respiratory Disease Watch

It has been a difficult few weeks for the spread of flu in particular. While levels of COVID in the community remain relatively low compared to previous years, the rates of flu are dramatically up. We have included the wastewater chart for flu in addition to COVID this week, to make sure you are aware of just how elevated flu cases are. So, continue to exercise caution when you are out in the community. Ventilate areas well, use air filters, wash your hands regularly, and wear a mask when you are sharing the air with a lot of people in a confined space.

Health and Wellness Hubs

Once again, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is offering dental and vaccination services this month at the Emerald Plaza Library. If you have questions about vaccinations or records you can give OPH a call at 613-580-6744, Monday to Friday between 9:00am and noon and again from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

Parenting Drop-ins

Ottawa Public Health is once again offering its parenting drop-ins throughout March. The free, in-person support from a public health nurse, focuses on infant feeding, growth and development, prenatal mental health, and many more. No appointments are needed. You can check the schedule below and scan the QR code for more details.

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

Reminder: 780 Baseline Public Meeting

The first phase of the Lone Star Plaza redevelopment at 780 Baseline Road is expected to get underway this June. If you are wondering what to expect in terms of construction, or how the site will be managed when this major project gets going, this is a good opportunity to get the information you need. Councillor Devine is hosting a public Information Session with the developer, Theberge Homes, tomorrow night, March 6th, at 7:30pm, at the Fisher Heights Community Centre. The session will focus on what work is expected this year, how the site will be managed, impacts on the neighbouring roads and infrastructure, and the expected timing for various phases of the project. We hope to see you there!