April 28, 2023 Newsletter

A Message from Councillor King

City staff told Council this week that the provincial government has not been transparent in explaining its changes to homelessness funding after Ottawa was allocated less than $1 million more in new additional money this year. In response to this situation Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has written to Ontario Premier Doug Ford asking him to revisit the amount of funding Ottawa is receiving through provincial homelessness programs.

The City is asking for homelessness funding that is similar to Toronto's on a per capita basis so that Ottawa can continue to address its housing and homelessness emergency. The City should be receiving in excess of $60 million per year, instead of the $43 million it is receiving from the Province to date.

Mayor Sutcliffe wrote: "We have recently learned that Ottawa will receive $845,100 of this funding, while Toronto will receive $48 million. That's almost 60 times as much, despite Toronto's population being approximately three times larger than Ottawa. Based on Toronto's allocation, Ottawa's share should be in the range of at least $16 to $18 million."

Due to this $18 million funding gap from the provincial government for homeless supports, I encourage you to become involved in the #OttawaNeedsMore campaign being organized by the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa. The organization has launched a letter writing campaign which you can participate in: www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/ottawaneedsmore_campaign

Because the homeless crisis is taking a devastating toll on families and communities, undermining a healthy and prosperous city and province, I seconded the legislation in the last term that declared a housing and homelessness emergency.  

Your Councillor in the Community

I attended the Vanier BIA's board meeting on April 28 where the conversation was focused on identifying solutions for our local Mainstreets with regards to safety, security, housing and economic development. I participated in this important opportunity along with BIA board members, community organization representatives, community members, City staff, Ottawa-Vanier MP Mona Fortier, Ottawa-Vanier MPP Lucille Collard and developers.

Thank you to the Overbrook Community Association for inviting me to say a few words during your annual general meeting the evening of April 27. Congratulations to the new and returning directors. Thank you to the departing directors for their tireless dedication in support of the Overbrook community. 

Happy to celebrate the completion of the Federal Economic Development Agency's My Main Street Local Business Accelerator Program with the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas on April 27. Fifty small businesses in Ottawa received investments to a total of $500,000 through the My Main Street program.

I was pleased to attend the City's first household hazardous waste drop-off event at RCGT Stadium on April 23. For the complete schedule of upcoming drop-off events, please click here.

Rideau-Rockcliffe News, Events and Engagement Opportunities

Sip & Shop Monthly Market in Manor Park - April 29

Manor Park Community Council and Ottawa Street Markets Present their monthly Sip & Shop Market where you can experience a fully licensed, local shopping experience right here in Manor Park. Sip on local craft beers and Ontario VQA wine while shopping a selection of curated local goods & products from local vendors each month.

From eco-friendly products, handmade jewelry, wool socks, art prints, wooden products, to farm fresh produce and baked goods. Fresh doughnuts and perogies - plus delicious soft pretzels and more! Prepared food available on site for an easy late lunch or dinner! Craft beer from Dominion City, Bicycle Craft Brewery and Shillow Beer Co. Happening: Saturday, April 29, from 3 to 7 pm at 1805 Gaspe Ave. Free parking on site. Full Details Here

Overbrook’s Rideau River centennial kiosk project 

City of Ottawa News, Events, Meetings and Engagement Opportunities

Wellington Street Reopens April 28

The City announces Wellington Street, between Elgin and Bank streets, will reopen again to traffic, starting the afternoon of Friday, April 28. Since Council’s decision earlier this year to re-open the street, the City has installed a new temporary bike lane with flex posts to separate the bike lane. Single traffic lane will be in place in each direction at that time. Work will continue in the following weeks. The City will complete the installation of green thermoplastic material in certain areas along Wellington Street to demarcate bus stops, loading zones and accesses.  As well, green supersharrows will be installed on the approach and egress of the bike lane. 

Ice Storm Cleanup Operations Continue

The City is still hard at work with the clean up from the April 6 ice storm – which damaged many trees across the area. This cleanup is a multiweek response and the patience and cooperation of residents is greatly appreciated. Residents can help support our clean-up efforts by ensuring only storm debris or regular leaf-and-yard waste are left on the curb. Our storm recovery operations have experienced some delays due to many residents leaving other spring clean-up brush at the curb – mixed in with the larger storm debris. Residents are reminded that other brush, leaves and other yard waste should be placed in brown yard bags and left on the curb for the weekly leaf-and-yard waste collection. It’s also important to remember that the leaf-and-yard collection trucks do not pick up the larger storm-related debris – including branches, logs and brush. When they go by your home, don’t call 3-1-1. The storm-related debris are handled by City’s wood-chipping operators.

On-street chipping and debris collection

This week our Forestry crews joined Roads crews in our on-street wood chipping and debris collection operations. Solid Waste is also offering trucks when they can. Crews will be doing one pass. As of yesterday, Alta Vista has been completed. Over the next two weeks crews will be working from the Ottawa River to Baseline and St. Laurent to Moodie. They will start on these borders and work their way in. On-street chipping is set to begin on Monday in the Rockcliffe and Beacon Hill areas.

Some of the debris that’s been collected as part of recent recovery efforts has been turned into woodchips and is available to residents – free of charge – at the following locations:

• Navan Memorial Centre, 1295 Colonial Road
• Nepean Sportsplex, 1701 Woodroffe Avenue (Minto sports field parking lot, between Minto field and Hamilton baseball diamond)
• Sandy Hill Arena, 60 Mann Avenue (southwest corner, on the fenced-in side of the property)
• Kanata Recreation Complex, 100 Charlie Rogers Place
• Jim Durrell Recreation Centre, 1265 Walkley Road
• Stuart Holmes Arena, 5660 Osgoode Main Street
• Larry Robinson Arena, 2785 8^th Line Road, Metcalfe Yards
• 2145 Roger Stevens Drive
• 4244 Rideau Valley Drive

Visit ottawa.ca for the updated list of locations. You need to bring your own shovel and containers.  And to ensure your safety, wear the appropriate footwear and gloves.

Learning Opportunity - Navigating Our City: A Civic Education from Synapcity - April 30

Sunday, April 30, 12 to 5 pm
Ben Franklin Place

Join Synapcity as they explore Civic Education in Navigating Our City, an interactive event dedicated to helping citizens learn how to navigate our civic infrastructure, understand organizations working in the city, and ultimately create positive change in their communities. The event will include several panel discussions, breakout workshops, Q&A sessions and more. Click here to register.

OC Transpo News

• Part of O-Train Line 1 tunnel to close for maintenance assessment
• OC Transpo makes it easier to pay your fare on Para Transpo
• OC Transpo spring service schedule now in effect
• Customer satisfaction surveys - share your feedback by April 30

Ottawa Public Health - Respiratory Virus Dashboard - Updated Weekly

Visit OPH's Respiratory Virus Dashboard for the latest local data on COVID-19, flu and RSV activity in Ottawa. The dashboard is updated every Wednesday afternoon: OttawaPublicHealth.ca/VirusReport


Ottawa Public Health launches Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Community dashboard

On April 18, OPH launched the new Mental Health, Addictions and Substance Use Health Community dashboard. This dashboard is the result of a multi-year collaboration, with the goal of improving the health status of the people of Ottawa in relation to mental health, addictions, and substance use health. This tool can be used to identify needs, inform systems and service planning, and contribute to building long-term promotion and prevention strategies in the community. To see the dashboard and learn more, please visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca/WellnessDashboard

Idling Control By-law education campaign launches

The City has launched a new campaign to remind drivers about the idling control by-law. The idling of diesel and gas-powered vehicles emits pollutants into the air we breathe, causes odours, generates noise and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The City’s idling control by-law prohibits most drivers from idling their vehicles for more than three minutes in a 60-minute period when the temperature is between 5°C and 27°C. Idling is allowed below 5°C and above 27°C to ensure that an occupied vehicle’s interior can be heated or cooled. Some vehicles are permitted to idle longer under some circumstances, such as emergency vehicles, transit buses, transit support vehicles, farm vehicles and vehicles required to remain motionless because of an emergency, traffic, weather condition or mechanical problem. Learn more at ottawa.ca/spareourair.

Wildlife Speaker Series - Tick Talk - May 2

The City will be hosting an online Wildlife Speaker Series event Tuesday, May 2 at 7 pm. Learn about ticks, Lyme disease and how to protect yourself. For details and to register for the meeting link, please click here.

Solid Waste Master Plan Update

The City of Ottawa is exploring ways to increase participation in recycling and organics programs, and reduce the amount of waste going to the Trail Road Landfill. The Solid Waste team has been working to preserve the life of the Trail Road Landfill by optimizing its current footprint and encouraging diversion of recyclable or organic waste to ensure only appropriate items are being disposed of in the landfill. Extensive consultation with the public took place in 2021 on the various options staff are considering. Members of Council, the media and City residents will have an opportunity to hear staff’s recommended curbside waste diversion policy through ongoing briefings which began last week and will continue into next week. Furthermore, next week a Technical Briefing will be hosted for members of Council and the media, followed by tabling of the recommendation at Committee and Council meetings in the weeks to come. At this time, no decision has been made on the policy. The Trail Road Landfill is a key City asset. The available air space is being consumed daily. If no changes are made to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, the City will be required to advance alternative options for residential waste disposal.

The City is holding a public technical briefing on proposed changes to its curbside garbage collection program on Thursday, May 4 at 1 pm, in person at City Hall. A period for questions from Councillors and media will follow. Click here for details.


Learning Opportunity - Synapcity Sessions Spotlights Ottawa's Tree Canopy - May 11

Thursday, May 11, 5:30 – 8:30 pm at Just Food Farm, 2391 Pépin Court, Ottawa
Synapcity Sessions is back, this time spotlighting Ottawa’s Tree Canopy. Joined by CAFES Ottawa, Forêt Capital Forest, Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital and Treefest Ottawa, this session will feature the work that is being done to preserve and ultimately grow Ottawa’s Tree Canopy. Hear about neighborhood campaigns, awareness raising initiatives, tree planting initiatives, forestation issues, greenspace campaigns and more. The event will feature presentations, break out sessions and a panel discussion. Click here to reserve your spot.

Canadian Tulip Festival - May 12 to 22

The Canadian Tulip Legacy is a nationally registered charity that commemorates the sacrifice of more than 7,500 Canadian soldiers in the liberation of the Netherlands while celebrating the only royal personage ever born on Canadian soil, Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet, and the resulting gift of tulips from the grateful Dutch to all Canadians. More than one million tulips in Canada’s national capital region are planted and cared for by the National Capital Commission, Canada’s official gardener. This tulip tradition has lasted since the end of the Second World War and has grown into the largest public tulip display on the planet. The Canadian Tulip Festival presents this stunning floral showcase to the world, inviting guests from across the globe to experience Canada’s Capital every spring. Click here for details.

City of Ottawa budget survey - open until May 24 

Do you get involved in the City’s budget process? If not, why? Is there a better way to help you understand the budget? Are we offering appropriate opportunities to get involved? We want to hear from you! These are all questions to consider when completing the following survey; it’s open until Wednesday, May 24 and won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Visit engage.ottawa.ca/city-budget-process for more information.

 

Share your ideas on how we can all build our resilience to the impacts of climate change

Ottawa is expected to get much warmer and wetter over the coming decades, with more very hot days, intense rainfall and extreme weather events. Preparing for climate change will require everyone to take action to protect ourselves and our environment.

Ottawa's Climate Change and Resiliency Team is looking for your feedback on how we can all prepare for some of the key climate impacts:

• Extreme heat
• Changing seasons
• Intense rainfall
• Extreme weather

Your ideas will be used to inform the City’s Climate Resiliency Strategy. To share your ideas visit the Climate Resiliency Strategy page on Engage Ottawa.

 

Get Involved! New Zoning By-law Discussion Papers and Survey 

Consultation on developing a new Zoning By-law is now open with the release of seven Discussion Papers and corresponding surveys on the project’s engagement page. These papers address key issues relating to the implementation of the new Official Plan. The release of these discussion papers is the first chance for the public to consult on the implementation of the recently approved new Official plan through the development of a new Ottawa Zoning By-law. The City welcomes feedback and input from members of the public and will summarize the received responses in an "As We Heard It" report later this year. Consultations on the discussion papers will inform the development of the first draft of the new Zoning By-law. We encourage members of the public to review the discussion papers and share their thoughts and ideas, as their input will play a critical role in shaping the future of our city. The surveys close Friday, July 28.

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Emergency Services News

➤ Dr. Gail Beck appointed to the Ottawa Police Services Board; elected as Chair

At a special meeting of the Ottawa Police Services Board on April 28, 2023, Board member Dr. Gail Beck was elected as Chair for the remainder of 2023. Chair Beck was appointed to the Board in the role of Public Member at City Council’s April 26 meeting.

“I look forward to the opportunity to serve this community as Chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board. My focus will be to facilitate the discussions necessary to improve policing in the city and to ensure that the work of the Board is completed impartially,” stated Chair Beck. “In my experience, a Chair’s leadership is best accomplished when they are a servant of the Board and its stakeholders.”

For more information, please click here.

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City Council and Committee News

For meeting agendas, please visit ottawa.ca/agendas or call 3-1-1.

For information on how to participate in individual meetings, please consult the specific meeting’s agenda at ottawa.ca/agendas.

To watch the meetings on Youtube, please click here.

• Finance and Corporate Services Committee - May 2 at 9:30 am
• Planning and Housing Committee - May 3 at 9:30 am
• Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee - May 4 at 10 am
• The City is holding a public technical briefing on proposed changes to its curbside garbage collection program on Thursday, May 4 at 1 pm, in person at City Hall. A period for questions from Councillors and media will follow. Click here for details.
• Built Heritage Committee - May 9 at 9:30 am