COUNCILLOR’S MESSAGE
Hate crimes in Ottawa
In the days following last Wednesday’s horrific stabbing incident at the Loblaws in College Square, it soon became clear that this disturbing attack was likely a hate-motivated crime, after discovering an extensive history of antisemitic social media posts from the arrested suspect. I was also saddened to learn that the victim – a 71-year-old woman who has been described as “a cherished member of the Jewish community” - is a resident of Ward 9.
While I don’t yet know the identity of the victim, I’ve reached out to the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, as well as to the synagogue that the woman attends, to ask if I can be of any support. I can’t imagine how angry and hurt the Jewish community must be.
In reading some of the attacker’s social media posts, it was heartbreaking to see someone unabashedly rationalize their way to such extreme views. I’m heartbroken to see this happen in Ottawa.
And this horrific incident wasn’t even the only hate crime in Ottawa last week. At the Stittsville Muslim Association, members discovered that someone had spray-painted the N-word on the wall of one of their buildings, leaving the Muslim community reeling from such racism brought to their doorstep. And earlier this month, a young Muslim woman was the victim of a hate-motivated assault on an OC Transpo bus.
In his remarks to the residents of our city, in addressing these recent events, Mayor Sutcliffe said “This isn’t Ottawa.” Of course, I understand the sentiment and intention of that statement. It’s something we frequently hear from leaders when these horrors happen in our own backyard, when they claim that “this isn’t us.”
But sadly, it is. At least, it’s part of us. When two such horrific examples of violent, vile racism happen within days of each other, can we point to other places and claim to be fundamentally better? We cannot suggest that extreme acts like these came out of nowhere and ignore the many lesser crimes, to suggest that racism is simply not a part of our social fabric. Clearly, it is.
Perhaps that’s why I’m not just angry and disturbed by these horrific acts, but heartbroken. I don’t know what to offer other than my support, sorrow, and perhaps even shame, and ask others to join me in recognizing that we can all play a role in spreading tolerance, love, and mutual respect across our wounded city.
The 2026 Budget and Ottawa’s property taxes
A few weeks ago, I got an email from a resident who was responding to something I’d said about needing to invest more in our city’s infrastructure. He agreed with me about the poor state of affairs, but he asked how I was going to do it, since “our taxes are already too high!”
I hear that sentiment from residents often, that our property taxes are “too high”.
This week’s Finance & Corporate Services Committee meeting will see the preliminary debate about the Mayor’s 2026 Budget Directions, which will then get voted on at next week’s Council meeting. In laying out his Budget Direction, Mayor Sutcliffe proudly claimed that his proposed tax increase continues to rank among the lowest among Canadian cities. Frankly, I was glad to hear him say that, since it helps to dispel the myth claimed by some that our taxes are too high. Of course, I have a different perspective than Mayor Sutcliffe when it comes to my position on Ottawa’s historically low taxes.
Over the next several issues of this newsletter, I’m going to spend a lot of time revisiting my concerns about Ottawa’s financial state, in the hopes of getting residents to voice their support for a different way of managing our city’s needs.
Today, we tackle the oft-repeated statement that Ottawa’s taxes are “too high”.
To say that our taxes are too high typically means one of two things. It can be a statement on value, that our taxes are “too high” based on what we get in return. You might think paying $1 for a slice of pizza is “too high” if the ingredients are close to their expiry date and the dough’s undercooked.
These days, considering that many of our municipal services and programs are under-resourced and under-performing, or the poor state of so much of our infrastructure, it’s easy to sympathize with the position that taxes are high, based on value.
Alternately, “too high” can mean that our taxes are disproportionately higher than taxes paid in other cities. Let’s de-bunk that right now, because that theory is flimsier than an undercooked slice of cheap pizza.
To assist with this exercise, I collected data on many of the variables that are relevant to an honest and productive discussion about property tax. I did this analysis by comparing data for the top ten largest municipalities in Ontario, and with the following assumptions in mind:
- When comparing one city’s property tax levy to another city’s, it’s important to compare taxes paid on the average home price, which varies from city to city, as opposed to taxes paid on houses of the same value. A million dollars typically gets you a lot more house and land in Ottawa than it does in Toronto, and so the taxes need to recognize that difference.
- For this exercise, we’re only looking at city-wide tax levy, and not including other levies mandated by the provincial government (e.g. the Education Tax) or other special levies.
- Property taxes are determined by multiplying each city’s tax (or “mill”) rate by your property’s assessed value, which is determined by MPAC. Since there’s not publicly available average MPAC assessed property values by municipality, for this reporting we’re providing “estimated property taxes”, based on each city’s average home price. In doing so, we’re providing a rough estimate of what property taxes might be if the assessed value were close to market value. But as MPAC assessments are currently far lower than market prices, our estimates likely overstate actual property taxes paid by homeowners.
- I also compared the median household income of each of the Ontario cities that we reviewed. A city’s relative wealth is a factor to consider when determining how much its residents should be able to pay in terms of maintaining their city.
What I learned is what we already knew: Ottawa’s property owners have been historically paying far less tax compared to the rest of Ontario. Here are the facts, laid out on a table. Where it’s relevant, we’ve ranked each item from 1st to 10th.
Based on these figures, here are some considerations when it comes to Ottawa’s property taxes:
- Ottawa is a relatively wealthy city, where the median household income of $98,000 is tied for 2nd place with Vaughan, and just shy of 1st place Markam at $100,000.
- Despite that wealth, Ottawa paid the second lowest taxes of all ten municipalities in 2024, and the lowest taxes of all ten municipalities in 2025. Interestingly, the cities with the highest median incomes seem to pay among the lowest property taxes.
- For 2025, the difference between the highest average tax paid (Hamilton) and lowest tax paid (Ottawa) is massive. The average taxpayer in Hamilton paid $3,660 more in taxes.
- The city of London has the lowest median household income ($79,500), as well as average home value similar to Ottawa’s, yet London’s average taxes are almost $2,500 more than Ottawa’s, with the lowest median household income (London at $79,500) has their homeowners paying an average tax of $8,640, which is almost $1,800 more than Ottawa.
- When it comes to average annual tax rate increases and cumulative tax rate increases, Ottawa’s rate increases are in the middle of the pack, but less than the average.
Compared to Ontario’s other major municipalities, we’re a relatively wealthy city that has been getting away with paying lower taxes than all other cities. This was the practice throughout Mayor Watson’s time at the helm, and it’s been the same under Mayor Sutcliffe. After fulfilling a campaign promise to keep the tax increase to 2.5% for the first two years of his term, he’s continued that pattern of artificially low tax increases for the remainder of his term, including for this year’s 2026 Budget Direction.
So, what’s been the result of this history? Who benefits, and who loses out? And what could happen if we decided to do it differently?
We’ll talk about that next in the next issue.
Lunch with Prime Minister Carney
It was a big story in local news a few weeks ago, when I joined two of my Council colleagues along with the MPP for Nepean on a lunch meeting with Prime Minister Carney. Regardless of what the perceived reason for this meeting was, this was a rare opportunity, and so each of us seized the opportunity to present issues and opportunities that matter to us.
And it needs to be said: this was a fantastic and productive meeting. We got just under an hour with the Prime Minister. He was open and attentive. He took notes, asked questions, relayed instructions to his staff for follow-ups, spoke about his own priorities. And he was completely accessible: easy to talk to, funny, no attitude.
My strategy for this meeting had two components. First, I wanted to bring ideas that aligned with both of our priorities, which is why I focused on housing and transit infrastructure. And second, what I wanted to throw onto the table were the biggest, boldest ideas possible. After all, this is the PM who included the following as part of his election night victory speech: “Build big, build bold, build now, and build together.” And as a former mentor of mine said: “Don’t think big. Think huge.”
Based on how the conversation went, and the follow-up since then, I’m confident that my ideas resonated with the PM. The same goes for the ideas brought by my colleagues, Councillor Hill and Councillor Lo. Time will tell, but I’m looking forward to seeing some tangible, significant outcomes arising from the chat that took place over chicken curry and kale salads.
CITY WORKS
General Burns Pool update
Our office reached out to city staff to get another update on how things are proceeding with the ongoing repairs at General Burns Pool, and we got some good news. In fact, Councillor Devine went and did an interesting bit of “field reporting” to see how things are going. Briefly, the pool basin’s repairs are complete, and the painting and curing process are done. As of last Saturday, they have started to re-fill the pool, which will be followed by several days to chlorinate, re-balance and heat the water, and to prepare the grounds for re-opening.
General Burns Pool will re-open September 9th. And as mentioned in our last newsletter, General Burns Pool will be one of the pools that will remain open for an extended season, which means that residents will be able to keep on swimming there until October 3rd.
Register for City of Ottawa cultural and recreational programs
Registration is already open for the City of Ottawa’s full schedule of Fall cultural and recreational programs, and you can also start browsing for this year’s Winter activities. Take a browse through the City’s website where you can sign and up register for programs.
Night work on Baseline Road
From September 5th to 12th, overnight construction will take place on Baseline Road between Zena Street and Farlane Blvd, from 10:00pm to 7:00am. Residents should expect some overnight noise during this period. This work is required to adjusting low gas valves and repair catch basins and access holes. Once this is complete, the road will be repaved. While this is certainly an unexpected inconvenience, it’s important to note that the city will not be incurring these additional costs, but rather the original contractor.
Conover Road traffic calming project
Over the last year and a bit, Conover Road between the Craig Henry and Manordale neighbourhoods has been undergoing different phases of a Neighborhood Traffic Calming project. The final phase is currently underway, which is the construction of a raised pedestrian crossing that connects the two segments of the Hydro Corridor multi-use pathway that intersects Conover. Once complete, this raised pedestrian crosswalk will provide more protection to pedestrians and cyclists crossing this busy road, while also serving as another vertical deflection measure to slow down passing vehicles. Councillor Devine went and recorded this short video of the work-in-progress.
Hazardous waste drop-off schedule
The City of Ottawa is hosting a Household Hazardous Waste drop-off event on Sunday, September 7, at Tunney’s Pasture (residents can follow the signage at Tunney’s Pasture for the specific location of the event). Residents are welcome to bring their materials to the event between 8 am and 4 pm.
Of course, you don't have to wait for a special event! Residents are always welcome to use the City’s Waste Explorer to find retailers nearby where they can return many items, any day of the week.
Please also note that electronic waste is not accepted at Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events hosted by the City of Ottawa. Residents can bring electronic waste to any of the retailers listed on Ottawa.ca/WasteExplorer. They can also attend electronic waste drop-off events hosted by Junk That Funk or bring electronic waste to the Trail Road Landfill Facility at no cost.
For information on household hazardous waste, visit ottawa.ca/HHW.
Fall Drop & Swap Pop-Up
The City of Ottawa and Ottawa South Eco-Action Network (OSEAN) have joined forces to organize a Free Drop & Swap: Fall Pop-Up on Saturday, September 13th at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre, Ellwood Hall, 1265 Walkley Road. Residents are welcome to drop off items starting at 9:00am, with the event running from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
This is a great opportunity to turn “too much stuff” into “just what someone needed.” Bring your gently used fall and winter items, such as sports gear, Halloween costumes, or holiday decorations, and swap them for something new-to-you. It’s a fun, landfill-friendly way to declutter, connect with neighbours, and give pre-loved items a second life. Residents are encouraged to visit Ottawa's waste reduction site for more information and additional waste reduction tips.
Upcoming construction on Greenbank Road
Over the next few years there is going to be a lot of construction impacting users of Greenbank Road, and so we want to pay close attention to the impact that this is going to have on Ward 9 residents, so that we can address issues and concerns as they arise, and keep residents informed about what’s happening.
The first project, which is the Baseline/Greenbank transit priority intersection improvement, is already underway. Construction is scheduled to start in September 2025 and carry through until Fall 2026. This project will see lengthy periods of lane closures and will certainly have a significant impact on traffic flow during construction. While this project isn’t in Ward 9, it certainly will affect Ward 9 residents.
The second project includes intersection modifications to West Hunt Club/Greenbank and West Hunt Club/Knoxdale. These two intersections are getting modifications to improve through-traffic for vehicles, but also to add safety conditions for cyclists and pedestrians. The dates for this project are still not finalized, but it is tentatively scheduled to take place between Summer 2026 and Summer 2027, which means there could be some overlap with the construction happening at Baseline/Greenbank. However, as there are relatively few residents in proximity to these intersections, city staff are hoping to do a lot of night work to get the project done quicker.
There will be a public info session in October for residents to learn more about the West Hunt Club/Greenbank and West Hunt Club/Knoxdale projects. We hope to have more details on this in our next newsletter.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Deputy Mayor events
From July 1 until September 30, Councillor Devine is one of three current Deputy Mayors for Ottawa, as our city uses a rotating system for deputy mayors. Basically, deputy mayors perform duties in the mayor’s absence, whether it’s for the signing of official documents, or attending events and ceremonies.
Among these duties include speaking at international flag-raising ceremonies at City Hall. So far, Councillor Devine has spoken at ceremonies for Ecuador and Malaysia, recognizing each country’s national day. At these events, dozens of Ambassadors and High Commissioners gather to share in the celebration with their diplomatic colleagues. One thing that’s made an impression on the councillor is the sense of fraternity among nations, with each ambassador or high commissioner addressing each other as “Brother” or “Sister”. And of course, at each of these events, the Ambassador’s remarks provide an insightful snapshot of that country’s current state. At the flag-raising for Malaysia, Malaysia’s High Commissioner Dr. Shazelina Abidin spoke about her country’s progressive government, led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose book “SCRIPT: An Empowering Vision and Policy Framework for Action” set out the vision for a government led by values attached to the book’s title:
“Our goal is to build a Sustainable, Caring and Compassionate, Respectful, Innovative, and Prosperous Malaysia based on mutual Trust. The key words of our vision spell SCRIPT, which is about shared trust between the government and the citizens based on transparency and cooperation. It recognizes the right of every Malaysian citizen, whatever his or her background, to live in sustainable communities and environments. It highlights care and compassion in all segments of society to promote equality and equal opportunity. It encourages mutual respect as a social and cultural norm to enhance inclusiveness. It seeks to make innovation prevalent in all aspects of national life. And SCRIPT is about pursuing prosperity within a sustainable and future-oriented framework.”
Not only does our office find this to be an inspiring guiding statement for a nation, but it reminds us of our own office’s mission statement. Councillor Devine and Malaysia’s High Commissioner will remain in contact, if only to expand on the opportunity for a local politician in Ottawa to continue learning from the insights of others.
Update on Play, Grow, Lead
Several months ago, our office worked with local non-profit Active Newcomer Youth (ANYO) to start a soccer-and-mentorship program for prioritized youth in Craig Henry. Last week Councillor Devine joined ANYO for a special ceremony to celebrate the end of Phase 1 of the Play, Grow, Lead program, and announce the launch of Phase 2. During this next phase, this group of approximately 40 youth (ages 8 – 15) will now move from the soccer field to their indoor programming, which will include support with homework, learning to play chess, digital literacy, training on new media, and more. The point of Play, Grow, Lead is to provide role modeling, guidance and skills development, to help get these youth to better invest in themselves, and in their community. Since he was involved in initiating this program, Councillor Devine will continue to be involved throughout this next phase, including bringing in specialists and community leaders for further workshops and discussions with the youth participants.
Charing Park rink is looking for support
Craig Henry Community Association is looking for a Rink Operator (paid position) and Rink Attendants (volunteer position) for the Charing Park Rink. The Rink Operator is responsible for maintaining the ice for the season, with a wide range of maintenance and supervisory duties. They are also looking for students aged 14-18 who can supervise the rink and provide basic rink maintenance. Students will receive volunteer hours. If interested, please reach out to [email protected].
Parkways for People Bike Night
Join NCC for a special nighttime bike ride along Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Colonel By Drive, inspired by Montréal’s popular Tour La Nuit.
- When: Saturday, September 13 / Event: 6:00pm – 10:00pm / Ride: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
- Where: The event will start and finish at Confederation Park, or you can join directly on the Bike Night circuit
- Why: Because it’s cool
Bring your bike, a fun outfit, and light it up! Cyclists of all ages and skill levels are welcome. For more details: www.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/open-ncc-bikenight
EcoYouth Council
Ecology Ottawa is thrilled to accept applications for the second year of its EcoYouth Council. The EcoYouth program responds to growing eco-anxiety among young people and highlights the power of local environmental action. Through the Council, school presentations, and the Youth Summit, youth participate in practical environmental solutions, deepen their knowledge, and develop leadership skills. This is a fantastic opportunity for youth aged 16–23 to make a real impact in their community.
Ecology Ottawa invites interested youth to access their website for more information and to apply. Applications are open until September 5th, 2025
Congratulations to Ward 9’s Sophia Audet
Our office wishes to extend a hearty congratulations to Ward 9's own Sophia Audet, part of Team Ontario, who can now call herself a champion of the first Canada Games women's baseball competition! Way to go, Sophia!
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY
Respiratory Disease Update
The trend continues in Ottawa: it’s been a quiet summer for respiratory disease with transmission of all three major, monitored disease remaining low within the community. That’s great news headed into the fall. But, with the return to school and more and more people returning to office environments, it remains important to ensure precautions are being taken to control any significant resurgence. As always, the keys to success are: stay home when you feel unwell, open windows when you can, use good air filtration in shared spaces, and wear a good quality mask for extra protection.
OPH Mental Health Program
Big improvements in ambulance offload times at QCH
When it comes to the state of emergency health care, it was great to get some good news for a change last week, when we learned that Queensway Carleton Hospital has cut ambulance offload times at the ER by a staggering 90 minutes between July 2024 and March 2025. If you read the article, you’ll see that QCH achieved this improvement through a relatively minor investment from the City of Ottawa, which enabled QCH staff to be much more effective in their triage system.
Our office has extended our congratulations both to the QCH and to Ottawa Paramedic Services on this accomplishment, and on their ingenuity in achieving significant improvements through targeted investment.
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
780 Baseline
The redevelopment of the Lone Star Plaza at 780 Baseline is moving ahead, as planned, and there are some significant updates on the project.
First, excavation of the site is beginning. This will be a four-month, intensive effort to clear out the soil and create room for the foundations of the new south tower. That process will mean that there will be significant truck traffic in and out of the site to remove soil and debris. The developer, Theberge Homes, has been working closely with city officials to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
The site will operate during normal construction hours, from 7:00am until 4:00pm or 5:00pm. The company and the City have agreed on a route for trucks in and out of the area. All trucks will approach along Baseline from the west and return that way, once loaded. The routes in and out of the site are shown on the map below.
Also, our office was involved in helping to facilitate Theberge Homes securing the parking lot of the Pavillon Sainte-Genevieve on Dynes Road for crew parking. This will be sufficient parking for the entire crew, even at peak work periods. This is good for everyone—the crew and the neighbourhood—and will reduce the parking pressure on local streets.
40 Beechcliffe
This project will see the construction of 33 affordable townhomes built on city-owned land, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and to be built by CAIVAN. Our office has been told that construction work is scheduled to begin in early 2026. This is just a brief update to let area residents know that CAIVAN and Habitat for Humanity have promised to host a public information session prior to construction, once they have confirmed the project’s schedule. We are in contact with the project leaders and aim to have an update whenever the dates solidify.
1405 Baseline
While it is not situated in Ward 9, we periodically get calls about this incomplete project at the corner of Baseline and Clyde Ave. The original owners of the complex ran into financial issues with the project and it was sold to a new developer. That developer is still planning to complete the project and expects to begin work there soon. We will provide an update as soon as we hear definitive plans to get that work underway.
1500 Merivale
This project, from Claridge, has also been stalled for the last few years. Claridge had an original plan for the site but decided to shift gears and significantly upsize their ambitions for the triangle. There is currently an application to the city’s planning department to rezone the land to allow towers of up to 40 storeys on the site. You can view the application on the city’s development applications website and provide comments, if you wish. This application is scheduled to go to the October 1st meeting of the Planning & Housing Committee, and then on to Council for final consideration.
COMMUNITY NEWS & EVENTS
Community Association Corn Roasts & Events
Get ready to celebrate the harvest season with neighbours and friends! A number of community corn roasts are popping up across the ward this September, offering a fun and tasty way to connect and soak up the last of the summer sun!
- Tanglewood-Hillsdale Community Association Labour Day Community Corn Roast: September 3rd / 5:00pm – 7:00pm / Tanglewood Park Community Centre
- The Glens Community Assocation Annual Community Picnic: September 6th / 10:30am – 2:00pm / Grenfell Park
- Merivale Gardens Community Association Family Day & Picnic: September 6th / 4:00pm – 8:00pm / Merivale Gardens Park
- Manordale-Woodvale Community Association Community Corn Roast: September 6th / 4:00pm – 10:00pm / Margaret Rywak Community Building
- Fisher Heights & Area Community Association Corn Boil: September 13th / 11:00am – 2:00pm / Fisher Heights Park
Trend Arlington Community Day
There’s lots going on September 27th in Trend Arlington, as the Trend Arlington Community Association (TACA) hosts Community Day. This annual celebration started seven years ago after the 2018 tornado and serves as a yearly opportunity for Trend Arlington residents to celebrate their community spirit. Here’s what TACA has planned for this fun-filled day:
- Starting off at 10:00am, take a family-friendly bike ride with Pedal & Play. Participants will father at the Community Centre, then set out together on a route designed for young families. Bring your bike, scooter, stroller, whatever works on wheels!
- Then at 1:30pm, anyone interested in taking care of our environment can participate in the Climate Fresk, where TACA’s brand-new Green Team invites you to join your neighbours in a collaborative workshop to help you understand the relationship between nature, climate and human activities.
- At 2:00pm, it’s the first-ever Trend Arlington Car Meet, where car enthusiasts can show off their vintage, exotic, rare cars, motorcycles, convertibles, whatever! Check out the amazing vehicles from the neighborhood.
- At 6:00pm, Ward 9 Councillor Devine will host Mayor Sutcliffe and other special guests for the official opening of the Trend Arlington Community Pavilion, as well as the official launch of Rewilding, the public art project hanging from the Pavilion’s rafters.
- Finally, at 7:00pm it’s time for Outdoor Movie Night, where they’ll be playing The Minecraft Movie.
NROCRC / Manordale Woodvale Community Association After School Program
Manordale Capture the Flag
