Ottawa Mayor Addresses Budget that Includes Proposed 3.9% Property Tax Hike

 Draft budget day at Ottawa City Council is considered one of the most important meetings of the year. The departments of the municipal government present their projected operating and capital budgets, which city staff and committees have developed over the preceding months. Mayor Mark Suttcliffe began the Council session by

Councillor Calls for “Sensible Approach to Enforcement” for New Idling Rules

 Ottawa City Council met on Wednesday for a very brief meeting. Councillor Steve Desroches brought forward the first motion of the significant debate, which was seconded by Councillor Laine Johnson. It amends a previous staff recommendation asking that the city update the current idling By-law for vehicles. The Desroches motion

Katasa Group Donation Dominates City Council Debate 

 Ottawa City Council held its first meeting of 2024. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe briefly addressed the chamber and stated that a great deal was accomplished in 2023, including the passing of two city budgets, the hiring of a new city manager, setting the council priorities for the 2022-2026 term, creating the

Outgoing Hydro Ottawa Chair Casts Doubt on City Net Zero Plan

 As Mayor Mark Sutcliffe marks the anniversary of his election to office this week, one theme has emerged: short Ottawa City Council meetings, with much of the time allotted to approving reports put forward by sub-committees. However, this was not the case today. The Ottawa City Council meeting began with

City Council Imposes Garbage limit but no cash for trash

 At the previous May 24th sitting of Ottawa City Council, Councillors David Brown and Alan Hubley had a motion successfully passed asking the City of Ottawa to explore other methods of garbage disposal to offset the use of the city’s landfill that is set to run out of space within

Hydro executives debrief City Council on last months’ outages

 The presence of Jim Durrell, the chair of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc., and Bryce Conrad, the company’s president and chief executive officer, was the most anticipated part of Wednesday’s Ottawa City Council meeting. During his review of the 2021 fiscal year, Durrell said Hydro Ottawa was best in class for the

A month of free transit isn’t enough

 Everyone will be travelling fare-free on OC Transpo during the month of December. The action may appear like a well-deserved break for citizens’ pocketbooks but it is only a band-aid solution that scratches the surface of measures that city council should take to fix Ottawa’s broken transit system. The city’s transparency regarding their

Menard lane closure moving ahead despite business concerns

 Councillor Shawn Menard says that after consulting with businesses along Bank Street he will continue his push towards closing a lane in the Glebe to allow pedestrians to physically distance while accessing essential services. Menard’s proposal is to close the southbound curb lane from Glebe Avenue to Third Avenue to

Councillor Shawn Menard launches COVID-19 financial guide

 Link to user guide of financial support and other programs being offered by all levels of government. Shawn Menard, Ottawa city councillor for Capital Ward has launched a helpful user guide to support and other programs being made available to citizens as a result of the COVID-19 calamity. In a

Councillor Shawn Menard releases “four point immediate action plan” to deal with LRT woes

 Capital Ward Councillor Shawn Menard is demanding action  from Mayor Jim Watson  and OC Transpo and released a statement on Friday detailing the continuing LRT problems and what he sees as a lack of  city leadership in dealing with those issues. Below is Menard’s statement on the matter. We are

Editorial: Changing votes on the planning commitee don’t get my vote

 Photo via flickr Did Stephen Maher start it, with his condescending piece in Macleans when he blamed people like me living in suburban Ottawa for the fiasco that allowed the Chateau reno to proceed as is? Maybe. Four days later, Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard launched the idea that Ottawa’s