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Ecology Ottawa recently joined other Ottawa organizations to express our opposition to the provincial government's Bill 60, and omnibus bill that—among other things—would prohibit installing bike lanes in Ontario municipalities if this involved removing car lanes. This sort of reconfiguration is essential for us to meet our goals of shifting from car-oriented travel patterns to sustainable, person-oriented travel.
Please read our remarks below. Please also contact your Member of Provincial Parliament to ask them to oppose this problematic legislation.
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As I considered what I’d say this morning, I started having déjà vu. Weren’t we just here, protesting Ford’s attempt to force cyclists off the road? And it wasn’t just me: last year, almost to the day, we were in front of the Château Laurier, protesting Bill 212. And now we’re back, protesting Ford’s latest attack on biking.
But here’s the thing: in the meantime, the Premier’s been taken to court over Bill 212—and for good reason: that legislation would endanger people biking and not even ease congestion, as Ford claims. And this isn’t me saying this; here’s the judge on the case:
- "Removal of the target bike lanes will put people at increased risk of harm and death."
- It "will create greater risk to cyclists and to other users of the roads."
- It will also have "a serious and disproportionate impact on children and on low-income individuals."
I guess Ford knew he wouldn’t succeed with Bill 212. It’s tough to fight against facts and reason—but Ford isn’t giving up. He can’t stand people getting around efficiently, freely, joyfully. So here we are, fighting his ideology.
But why? Why are we here protesting? Some of us just want to get safely to work, or school, or the grocery store or doctor, on the travel mode we like, or we can afford, or that fits in our home. Others of us just want our city to work. There’s room for only so many cars, but tonnes of space for people walking, biking, or rolling. Some folks need to drive; the best way to make space for them is by letting others take efficient modes.
Still others just want clean air to breath, want to end the ravages of fossil fuel extraction, want peace and sanity in our neighbourhoods.
Not Premier Ford, though. For years now, he’s been attempting to build a highway through some of the province’s richest agricultural land—Highway 413. More recently, he’s begun to talk about a tunnel under Highway 401. He also ended license-plate renewal fees, draining $1.1 billion from provincial coffers and effectively subsidizing car driving. All of these decisions will only make congestion worse, pollute our air, and make our streets more dangerous.
This while in Ottawa, emissions from transportation just overtook buildings as our main source of emissions. In fact, far from reducing transportation emissions, we’ve increased these every year since 2019. There’s no way we’ll meet our 2025 targets. And earlier this summer, City staff project we’ll also miss the modal shift targets that Council committee to—and now this legislation. While the City of Ottawa hasn’t exactly been a leader in building out our cycling network, this legislation will definitely kill good plans that we had. And for what? This legislation will benefit no one.
We at Ecology Ottawa call on Premier Ford to repeal this legislation, to respect municipality’s jurisdiction, and commit to evidence-based, people-first decisions.
Our Executive Director William van Geest addressing the crowd at a rally against Bill 60 on November 13, 2025.
