We all want a city that works. A bus that comes on time. Smooth roads and ample protected bike lanes. Parks with amenities that are both fun and available when you need them.
Plenty of trees and community gardens. Affordable housing and frontline services for people in need. Lively music festivals and public art.
But we also know that city budgets are about choices and that what we fund tells us a lot about who we are. Still, it doesn’t always tell the full story.
You may have heard that this month, city council unanimously adopted the mayor’s Fairness for Ottawa campaign. Our city is getting the short shrift from both the federal and provincial governments, specifically when it comes to Payment in Lieu of Taxes for federal buildings and provincial funding for public transit. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars that our city is not being compensated for – money that would need to be funded by a large property tax increase to be recovered. This has an impact on all of the core services that we rely on every day.
Before being elected to represent Somerset Ward, I worked at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, representing thousands of cities and towns across the country. What continues to be abundantly clear is that the funding formula for municipalities is stuck in the 19th century. Cities like ours are being forced to contend with major issues that were never originally intended to be the municipal domain. That includes the housing crisis, homelessness and the overdose emergency. Property taxes alone will barely make a dent. We need help.
That is why I was also glad to see the Ontario’s Big City Mayors launch the Solve the Crisis campaign, aimed at getting the province to take homelessness and addiction crises seriously. Some of the demands include enough funding for supportive housing to help eliminate encampments, and investment in community hubs/crisis centres to relieve pressure on emergency services and first responders.
Last month, I joined harm reduction workers and community health providers from all over the city to commemorate Overdose Awareness Day. While there, I spoke out against the Ford government’s decision to close 10 out of 17 supervised consumption sites, including the one at the Somerset West Community Health Centre.
While we certainly need a massive scale-up of treatment and supportive housing, this cannot come at the expense of the interventions that prevent people from dying before they are even given a chance to recover. Wrong-headed decisions from other levels of government have a deleterious effect on local communities, including Centretown.
That said, there is a lot more we can do at the city level. A culture of austerity and tax increases that have been far below the rate of inflation have cut many local services to the bone. This has led to higher user fees for absolutely everything from bus fares to rental rates in recreation centres. It means that the city pools close during fall heat waves and that many libraries are not open on Sundays. And it also makes it very hard to try and build new facilities that are desperately needed downtown, including public bathrooms.
Stay tuned for more information from my office on how you can plug into the city’s budget consultation process for 2025. I want to hear what services are important to you and whether you would be willing to pay a little more for a city that works better for all of us.
Councillor Troster speaks at the vigil for Overdose Remembrance Day. Photo credit: Alex Fizzard.
Councillor Troster on CBC podcast about reviving Ottawa’s nightlife
Robyn Bresnahan recently interviewed Councillor Troster, Mathieu Grondin (Ottawa’s Nightlife Commissioner), Ivan Gedz (owner of the restaurant Union Local 613) and Rachel Weldon (producer of Debaser) about how to renew nightlife in downtown Ottawa. You can listen to the podcast on the This Is Ottawa page.
Dealing with a mental health or substance use crisis in the neighbourhood?
The Alternate Neighbourhood Crisis Response (ANCHOR) program is a mobile crisis service, intended to approach mental health and substance use crises from a trauma-informed and culturally relevant care perspective.
Our dedicated Crisis Response Team (CRT) will support individuals experiencing a variety of complex health needs, where emergency responder interventions may not be appropriate or beneficial.
Learn more about ANCHOR and understand when to call online here.
Name the plow!
Each winter, City of Ottawa snowplows and their operators clear and treat over 13,000 lane kilometres of roadway, which includes Highway 174 and the Transitway, to help keep Ottawa moving during the winter season. Clearing that distance of snow is equivalent to driving from Halifax to Vancouver (and back) in a snowstorm! We believe our hardworking snowplows deserve names, so we are asking children and teens 16 and under in Ottawa to help name them.
Submit your name ideas online here between September 9 and September 30. Voting will take place between October 14 and October 21. Winning names will be announced at Transportation Committee on October 24 in time for the winter season!
Kent Street community clean up
The Centretown Community Association is hosting a clean up of Kent Street on Saturday October 5 at 11AM, meeting at Dundonald Park. Gloves and garbage bags will be provided. RSVPing is appreciated but not required: https://forms.gle/44h27mf4SxhKiHPy5
Share your feedback on municipal elections in Ottawa
The City of Ottawa’s Elections Office wants your feedback on a number of topics including your experience participating in the 2022 Municipal Elections (if applicable), election-related communications, accessibility, and voting methods for future elections. The information you provide will help us plan future municipal elections in our city.
Survey results will be summarized in a report to the Finance and Corporate Services Committee and City Council in advance of the 2026 Municipal Elections.
Share your thoughts online here.
123 Metcalfe receives heritage designation
This week, Built Heritage Committee voted to designate 123 Metcalfe as a heritage building, under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act. 123 Metcalfe is currently home to the Metcalfe Hotel, but was first built in 1911 as Ottawa's first YMCA. The building is a great example of Renaissance revival and Edwardian classical architectural elements. For more on the building, click here. For more on heritage designations, click here.
Albert and Slater Street improvement project open house
Date: Thursday, September 26th
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: 440 Albert Street
Residents can drop in during the hours noted above and review the preliminary design drawings. Representatives from the City, the design consultant and the Ward Councillor’s office will be present to discuss the project, answer any questions and receive comments. There will not be a formal presentation at this open house. Please attend at your leisure.
More info is available online here.
Bike parking lockers
As part of the Public Bike Parking Strategy, the City of Ottawa is now offering secured bike lockers as a safe way for cyclists to store their bike in strategic downtown Ottawa neighbourhoods.
Secure Bike Parking Lockers are available at the following locations:
Learn more about how to use the bike parking lockers online here.
Centretown Community Association Fall Fair
The CCA annual fall festival returns to Dundonald Park on Saturday, September 21st from 10am – 2pm!
Join us for live entertainment, a variety of booths from local organizations and activities for the whole family! You can find more info online here.
Kidical Mass Bike Ride
Join Bike Ottawa, For Our Kids Ottawa-Gatineau and School Streets Ottawa for a kid-friendly slow bike ride. Everyone is welcome! Kidical Mass is an international movement inspired by "critical mass" events held to emphasize the number of people who want to ride bikes and call for infrastructure improvements. Kidical Mass expands on this idea with a focus on children and families. These events celebrate the joy of biking and asking cities to make safe streets for everyone. With climate change already impacting the lives of children, safe streets for kids also means we can seriously address the climate crisis. Some Kidical Mass Ottawa rides have had over 200 people join. Throughout the summer we have been hosting them at various locations across the city.
Details: Saturday, September 28. Meeting at Laroche Park (52 Bayview Station Rd) at 9:30am to decorate bikes, dance, chalk and make new friends. The bike ride begins at 10:05 and returns to Laroche Park by 11. See the event Facebook page here. Registration is encouraged here.
Operation Come Home basic needs drive
Operation Come Home is having a basic needs drive on Wednesday, September 25 from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. You can drop any items off at 150 Gloucester St. Below is a list of priority items.
When citizens organize, we all win. That’s the message I am holding close to my heart during a dark time for so many of us.
In an ideal world, we would not need charities. If people had a basic minimum income and affordable housing, then the Ottawa Food Bank would not be reporting a 90% increase in usage since 2019.
In Ottawa, we are currently losing 31 affordable apartments for every one that we build.