Weekly newsletter: July 29, 2025
Hi everyone!
We’re staring down the end of July already! In the photo above, you can see me napping with my sister’s dog, Timbit.
Police
Good progress on community safety, but even more is needed going forward.
Last week, I had two informative meetings with the Ottawa Police Service (OPS): one with our neighbourhood resource/community policing teams, and the other with Chief Stubbs.
Staffing is still the force’s biggest challenge. In our policing district (South District), staffing is at just under half of where the OPS would like it to be, which affects response times and their capacity for lower priority calls and proactive enforcement.
Some residents may recall the two-hour response time to a citizen’s arrest at the Pet Valu in Riverside South earlier in the month, while many others have raised the overall poor police visibility and lack of traffic enforcement in the community.
Although service has been okay with available resources, the OPS recognises the steep hill they must climb.
They are in the second year of a multi-year staffing stabilisation, which includes hiring many new officers to fill vacancies, prepare for pending retirements, and eventually grow the force. Ottawa has the lowest police-to-population ratio among major Canadian cities.
So far this year, two classes of about 35 officers each have been sworn-in, with another two larger classes expected by year’s end. Chief Stubbs has also found success in advocating for more spaces for Ottawa at the Ontario Police College.
By the end of the summer, the South District will have a dedicated traffic enforcement unit. The new unit will start small and grow as frontline staffing grows, but the overall goal is to improve proactive enforcement of things like speeding, stop signs, and other Highway Traffic Act regulations.
A traffic enforcement push in and around school zones in September is in the first stages of planning in partnership with by-law and the school boards.
Street racing, though more under control than it was in 2023 and early-2024, continues to be an ongoing issue, including an increase in Barrhaven last week. Through the “Residents Matter” initiative, targeted enforcement continues across the city leveraging gathered data from police sources as well as police reports submitted by residents.
As staffing continues to grow and stabilise, there are preliminary plans to reintroduce a community policing office at the Walter Baker Sports Centre.
Community concern around youth crime has also increased in the last few years, from mischief to thefts, and incidents of swarming. Back in June, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board voted to reassess its relationship with the OPS, four years after the school board voted to end the school resource officer programme.
It’s unclear how the province’s investigation and supervision of the OCDSB will affect the overall effort, but the OPS says discussions are ongoing and mostly happening at the bureaucratic level. However, the provincial government also introduced legislation in May requiring school boards to participate in police partnerships if available.
On vehicle thefts, there has been a minor decrease in numbers in Ottawa and across Canada. Barrhaven is no longer the hotspot (not even in the top half in Ottawa so far this year) for reported vehicle thefts, but it does continue to happen.
There are two layers to addressing vehicle thefts; Policing is more direct and relates to the OPS’ ability to respond or work with other law enforcement agencies to recover stolen vehicles (plus the general capacity and staffing mentioned earlier).
At a more systemic level, the OPS (with other law enforcement agencies across the country) is advocating to provincial and federal governments for reforms and improvements to the criminal justice system and other laws that have allowed organised vehicle thefts to become so commonplace.
Last year, the federal government began allocating $10 million per year for five years to the OPS to build up a dedicated team for near Parliament Hill and related policing needs. The true impact of that funding is yet to be known in detail, but South District resources have been pulled downtown less often this year.
Construction continues to progress well on the new police station at Prince of Wales/Strandherd, despite delays during the foundation piling phase. The facility is expected to be operational by mid-2027.
When complete, it will serve as our local police detachment and South District headquarters. It will also contain the new 9-1-1 call centre and be an operational base for many other OPS teams.
Overall, good progress on community safety is happening, but even more needs to continue happening. Frontline staffing continues to be the crux of much of the OPS’s challenges, but the Chief’s focus and advocacy have guided the force in a positive direction.
The provincial government has also recognised system-wide challenges in frontline staffing and have funded more spaces at the police college and a recruitment drive.
But policing alone won’t solve our issues. It must be supported by criminal justice system reforms and improvements to alternate response options.
Last year, the City launched a three-year pilot project known as ANCHOR (Alternative Neighbourhood Crisis Response) to divert mental health and drug crisis calls in Centretown from police to a mobile health team.
Funded by the provincial government, ANCHOR dispatches mobile health teams to help people in a mental health or drug crisis, also offering referrals to other resources, including follow-up support.
In the pilot’s first 11 weeks, the median response time was under 10 minutes, and they were able to provide necessary support in over 85 per cent of cases. Over 90 per cent of calls to ANCHOR did not require police support.
I’m looking forward to seeing more representative data after the pilot’s first year is complete. Some of the positive data may be skewed by the small geographic area of Centretown and the fact it’s closely monitored, but it’s encouraging, nonetheless!
Budget season is approaching and the Chief is aware that requests for more funding must be reflected in the results seen and felt by the community.
The Ottawa Police Service Board, the body that governs the OPS, have also launched a survey↗ as part of their 2026 budget public engagement. The survey closes Tuesday, August 5, 2025.
Information provided by residents through police reports continues to be valuable source of data, information, and guidance. Residents are encouraged to continue filing reports using the webform↗ when needed, but please call 9-1-1 in an emergency.
Emancipation Day
The gradual end to slavery in the British Empire.
August 1 marks the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, an act of the British government which abolished slavery throughout the British Empire.
Full emancipation would not be achieved until 1838, as the 1833 Act freed slaves below the age of six only, while those older than six were required to work 40 hours per week without pay as “apprentices” as compensation to their former owners.
Upper Canada (Ontario today) was the first colony in the British Empire to pass anti-slavery legislation, with the 1793 Act Against Slavery. It banned slave import and mandated children born to enslaved women would be enslaved until they were 25 years old instead of in perpetuity. The 1793 Act was superseded by the Slavery Abolition Act.
August 1 was designated as Emancipation Day↗ by the Ontario government in 2008, followed by the federal government in 2021.
Bite-sized updates
Ironman road closures – Several road closures will happen all day Sunday August 3 to facilitate the Ironman race course. The closures are centred along the Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal, Dow’s Lake, and the Experimental Farm, and will mostly be in effect from 6 am Sunday morning to 1:00 am Monday morning (Sunday night). Details↗.
Leikin Drive closure – Leikin Drive between Merivale and Beckstead remains closed until August 11 for an Amazon-related sewer relocation. The street was supposed to reopen at the end of June but, this was delayed due to City permitting issues.
Longfields/Bill Leathem road cut – Despite multiple reminders that there are two road cuts at separate locations, Hydro Ottawa have repaired just the one on Bill Leathem south of the roundabout. I have asked again for repairs as soon as possible, as well as signage at the bump in the interim.
Mayor’s summer barbecue – Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is hosting a free community barbecue↗ at the Minto Recreation Complex (3500 Cambrian Road) on August 16 from 11 am to 3 pm. Join him, Councillor Hill, and me for food, inflatables, and recreation activities!
O-Train Line 2 – Train frequency will be reduced to every 24 minutes from 8 pm to end of day every day this week until Saturday August 2. The reductions allow for the installation of axle bearing monitoring devices, as recommended by the LRT public inquiry and later made mandatory by Transport Canada. Details↗.
Pop-up office hours – Over the summer, I will be at the Ottawa Farmers’ Market (Barrhaven) every other Sunday for pop-up office hours. I’ll be there next on Sunday, August 3 from 10 am to 2 pm at the Nepean Woods Park and Ride.
Presto fare capping – OC Transpo is introducing Presto e-purse fare capping effective August 1. There will no longer be charging of an e-purse for the rest of the month once a customer has taken enough trips to reach the price of a monthly pass in the card’s fare category (e.g. $135 for adults). Monthly passes will continue to be sold for now.
Recreation registration – Autumn recreation activities will be available to browse today, Tuesday, July 29, starting at 9 pm at register.ottawa.ca↗.
Aquatics registration opens Tuesday, August 12 at 9 pm, while registration for all other activities opens on Thursday, August 14 at 9 pm.
Walter Baker Sports Centre – The pools have reopened following emergency repairs, but the hot tub and steam room remain closed until further notice. Additionally, both ice pads are closed until further notice. No further information was provided as of this newsletter’s publishing, but it will be shared once available.
Waste collection – Next week’s waste collection (garbage, blue bin, green bin, yard waste) will be delayed to Wednesday in Barrhaven East, as Monday is the Civic Holiday.
That’s all for this week! The heat should subside a bit after today, but please stay hydrated and safe if you’re outdoors.
-Wilson