Author: Jeff
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CMHC Ottawa housing tracker
Housing starts were down in July this year compared to last (886 units in 2026 versus 1,087 in 2025), and overall year-to-date housing starts continue to lag last year’s numbers. Through July 2025, 5,716 units were started and in the same period this year 5,006 were begun. Of the units started in July this year,…
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Reid Park dog park consultations
Hi Kitchissippi. Last year, partly in response to recent incidents including a bite but also reports of aggressive dogs negatively interacting with children in Reid Park, I became open to modifications to the park that could help minimize some of those interactions. Some residents will recall that one of my first files when I got…
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Road Safety Initiatives Fund: Lanark Ave. Safety Improvements
In October 2025, the Province of Ontario approved Bill 56, Building a More Competitive Economy Act which put a stop to the use of Automated Speed Enforcement cameras in Ontario. As part of this change, the Province allocated 4$ million as an immediate Road Safety Initiatives Fund (RSIF) that can be used by the City…
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Transit announcment questions
This morning, OC Transpo GM Rick Leary spoke with the press (ahead of presenting to Transit Committee) about how he intends to stabilize bus service. It’s a little difficult to parse out the specifics, but I’m looking forward to councillors’ opportunity to get more details in public at Thursday’s meeting. I appreciated hearing that we’re…
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Convent development proposal
After years of neglect, a development proposal has now been put forward by the new owner of Soeurs de la Visitation site that I believe is a pragmatic path forward. A new low-rise development, if approved, would preserve much of the Convent building, add housing at a scale likely welcomed by most residents, and remove…
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2026 Kitchissippi community garage sale June 6
Join us Saturday, June 6 (8 am start) for the Kitchissippi Community Yard Sale! Councillor Jeff Leiper and local community associations are partnering for this fantastic annual event. Participating communities: Champlain Park – Civic Hospital -Hampton Iona – Hintonburg – Island Park – Mechanicsville – Wellington Village – Westboro – Westboro Beach Details: Add your yard…
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Back to the table on Build Canada Homes
Last December, the Prime Minister announced that Ottawa would be the first city to receive federal help through the new Build Canada Homes initiative. Late Thursday night ahead of the long weekend, we learned the details of the proposed deal that Mayor Sutcliffe has struck with the feds. There is less than a week before…
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CLV looking for benefits relief
As many residents will have noted, the request by CLV for additional height at their Gladstone/Loretta development has been bouncing around committee and Council for several weeks. As I noted in a previous newsletter, this is in large part due to assertions by the developer that they should get a break on their community benefits. Yesterday, the City released a report for consideration recommending that of…
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Doug Ford: don’t privatize our water
By Jeff Leiper and Catherine McKenney Ottawa has some of the best tap water in the world. It’s a point of pride for the employees who deliver it, and for city councillors who get to brag about it. Elected officials and other stakeholders worry, though, that Doug Ford’s government is on the path to privatizing…
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Several big developments on the horizon
It doesn’t rain, but it pours. Things have been fairly quiet on the development front in Kitchissippi without big approval battles for several years even as tower approvals march ahead without fanfare along Scott, Carling and elsewhere. Three recent proposals are out-of-the-ordinary, though, and I wanted to describe my approach to those anticipating that they…