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Ottawans Know Why they Showed Up on a Cold Grey Day to Protest Bill 23
By Alice Irene Whittaker
Every single one of us could have chosen not to show up. Yet on a cold, gray December morning, many Ottawa citizens, organizations, and City Councillors showed up outside the Provincial Courthouse on Elgin, joining together from downtown, suburban and rural areas of the city to say no to the province’s Bill 23.
Starting Thursday December 15th @ 6 pm - Give a Bang! Campaign Against Bills 23 and 39
Residents of Ottawa are being asked to bang pots and pans at home, the office and in the streets in a time-honoured tradition of protest, starting on Thursdays at 6:00 pm, beginning December 15. The campaign has been launched by Reimagine Ottawa, and supported by local advocacy groups including Ecology Ottawa, Horizon Ottawa, Greenspace Alliance, and others.
A member of the Peoples Official Plan, Citizen Climate Counsel (C3), has launched a 2022 Climate Progress Account report assessing the City of Ottawa’s progress on implementing its climate priorities and agenda. C3 tracked all of the City of Ottawa’s 159 milestones outlined in their various climate plans: Climate Change Master Plan, Energy Evolution and other city documents. C3 then reviewed city council and committee meeting minutes, staff reports and more to track the city’s progress on these milestones. This evaluation clearly demonstrated that the city of Ottawa is not on track to achieve its climate targets.
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Across Ontario, organizations and individuals committed to affordable housing, environmental protection and democracy have been rallying against Bill 23, now enacted as the More Houses, Built Faster Act. This complex legislation fundamentally undermines our democratic principles. You can read more here.
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In November 2022, we held a workshop with Walkable Ottawa on making successful walkable shopping destinations within 15 minute neighbourhoods.
The City of Ottawa has put 15 minute neighbourhoods at the centre of the plan of how our city will grow and flourish in future. A key component of a 15 minute neighbourhood is a walkable shopping destination. Imagine small shops where you could buy milk and some basic groceries, a small bakery? A café where you could meet your neighbours? An ice cream shop?
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We have just made a written submission on Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, or as it is being labelled here, the Minority Rule Act. Along with many organizations across the province, we protest against the autocratic tendencies of this Progressive Conservative Provincial Government, culminating in Bill 39, which would allow approval of by-laws with just one third of Council votes using so called "strong mayor" powers. Bill 39 is not democratic and must be withdrawn.
It is clear that the complex changes introduced in Bill 23 go far beyond the mandate of increasing affordable housing. Critically, nothing in the Bill ensures that new homes, built with public incentives, are affordable. The attack on Conservation Authorities, wetland protection, urban parkland, green building standards and encouraging even greater urban sprawl, undermines decades of work on environmental protection and must be withdrawn. The public consultation period is woefully inadequate and must be extended to at least three months and must include legislative hearings outside the Greater Toronto Area.
New omnibus housing legislation is a threat to environmental, social, and economic well-being - so it needs to be withdrawn
MEDIA RELEASE
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Here’s why - and how - we should say no to Bill 23 in the next seven days.
Introduced the day after Ontario’s municipal elections, Bill 23, the "More Homes, Built Faster Act", has a laudable aim of increasing gentle density within Ontario’s urban centres. By allowing coach houses and granny suites to be built on existing lots, three units can now be developed where only one single family home once stood, allowing intensification within the urban core beyond the coach house regulations currently in place in Ottawa.
To: The outgoing Council of the City of Ottawa
Cc: The newly-elected Members of Council
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Dear Members of Council,
On November 9 you will be asked to endorse a recommendation from the Planning Committee to adopt Zoning amendments for 1015 Tweddle. These amendments will see four very large towers built on a narrow strip of land between Jeanne d’Arc and the Ottawa River, within 30 meters of the Provincially Significant Wetland at Petrie Island. We strongly urge you to reject this Committee recommendation, on the basis that there has been insufficient community consultation which could erode trust in local government, and significant flooding risk and weakened resilience for citizens and communities in Ottawa.