Joel Harden MPP / Député, Ottawa Centre

Friend,

This week we released our housing plan. It’s called “Homes You Can Afford”, and it couldn’t arrive at a better time. 

Large landlords have been using various strategies to raise rents, often with the excuse of  “renovation” or “beautification”. In practice, they’ve bought land -- and often let properties fester with disrepair -- only later to push low income tenants out.  

Two years ago, for example, Timbercreek Communities orchestrated the largest mass eviction in recent Canadian history when they pushed out 400 residents in Heron Gate, one of Ottawa’s most racially diverse neighbourhoods. 

More recently, the City of Ottawa has announced the necessity to demolish 120 homes in Manor Village (a working class community in Nepean) to make way for Stage Three of the proposed Light Rail system. Smart Living Properties, an Ottawa-based developer, bought Manor Village in September 2020. It has not discussed its intentions for the property since the acquisition. 

The Herongate and Manor Village situations are eerily similar. They are (or were) pockets of affordable housing in a city that is becoming too expensive for many. And when residents rise up to demand justice, they are dismissed or ignored. 

Meanwhile, the Ottawa officials just leapt to the aid of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) when it insisted on revisions to its partnership deal. With barely a week’s notice, a committee approved a plan to allow OSEG access to a $4.7 million reserve fund, and a 10 year extension on its existing contract. 

Manor Village residents appeared before this committee, asking Councillors to act with a similar degree of urgency for them. They were interrupted and told to “talk about Lansdowne Park”. The double standard was obvious, along with the indifference. 

Larger forces are at play here. Since 2018, over 250 donors connected to the development industry donated over $500,000 to Ottawa municipal candidates. Councillor Jan Harder, the current Chair of Ottawa’s Planning Committee, received 96% of her campaign donations from people affiliated to big developers. Those who pay the piper are calling the tune. 

Earlier this year, Ottawa declared a housing and homelessness emergency. We have upwards of 100 people sleeping outside even now, as temperatures drop, and our shelters are full. We can’t afford to lose any affordable housing in Ottawa, and we need your help.

Check out our “Housing is a Human Right Petition”, and support Ottawa ACORN’s worthy campaign for the residents of Manor Village. Fighting back makes a difference. 

My very best,

Facebook Live Discussion on Housing 

To discuss how our housing plan will benefit families in Ottawa Centre, join me for a Facebook live discussion to talk housing affordability and homelessness with Councillor Catherine McKenney, Ottawa Council’s Housing and Homelessness Liaison, and other guests on Tuesday, November 24th at 7 PM. More details to come. 

New COVID Framework Thresholds 

After a week of record-breaking cases, Premier Ford is reversing on the threshold limits for his COVID-19 framework. As of Monday, any region with more than 40 new cases per 100,000 people and a test positivity rate greater than 2.5 per cent will be put into the red “control” category. He also announced that the regions of Hamilton, Halton, York and Toronto will be moved into the red category. 

As of the week of November 8th, Ottawa sits at 17.3 new cases per 100,000 people and our test positivity rate is at 1.0 per cent. Ottawa will remain in the orange “restrict” stage. Read the full framework here. 

Circuit Break Approach Needed in Ontario

Thanks to investigative reporting by the Toronto Star, it is now clear that Premier Ford and Health Minister Elliott rejected the advice of their own public health officials with their colour-coded COVID-19 framework. 

We need an approach informed by experts that follows the latest science. As a result, official opposition leader Andrea Horwath is calling for a “circuit break” where regions that are COVID-19 hotspots would have modified stage 1 restrictions for two weeks, with financial support provided to businesses required to close. What constitutes a hotspot would be determined by experts including local public health units. 

COVID Modelling Update 

On Thursday, public health offices released updated modelling projections, showing that without immediate action from the government and individuals, Ontario could see up to 6,500 cases daily by mid-December. Read more about the updated data here. 

High Dose Flu Shots

According to a memo, Ottawa Public Health has run out of high-dose flu vaccines for seniors and is not receiving any more. However, your local pharmacy or physician may still have some in stock and it is recommended that you call to check if they have any left. If not, it is recommended that you obtain the regular flu vaccine if you are 65+ and could not access a high-dose immunization. 

As an official opposition, we will continue to hold this government accountable for failing to properly plan for the “twindemic” of COVID-19 and seasonal flu by ordering inadequate quantities of doses. 

New COVID Testing Sites 

OPH is opening two new downtown COVID assessment centres, at the National Arts Centre parking lot and McNabb Community Centre (180 Percy street). This adds to the additional testing available at three downtown Community Health Centres. More information on the new locations here. 

For the full list of where to get tested for COVID-19, visit the OPH site here.  

Potential COVID-19 Vaccine

Recently, there has been some encouraging news about a COVID-19 vaccine. According to the company developing it, tests are showing that the immunization may be 90% effective. It is important to note that trials are still ongoing and the vaccine has not yet been approved. The Prime Minister has said that a vaccine could come “early next year” and the city of Ottawa is planning for a rollout. 

ACORN Tenant Info Sessions 

Ottawa ACORN is hosting bi-weekly tenant info sessions, to answer questions from the public on what their rights are as tenants during the pandemic, in regards to rent relief, maintenance, repairs, evictions, Bill 184 and much more. Their next upcoming session is on Monday, November 23rd at 6 PM. RSVP here. 

Happy Diwali 

I want to wish all those who are celebrating a very happy Diwali, Deepavali and Bandi Chhor Divas. While festivities will look different this year, I hope they bring you and your family joy, prosperity and light.

Cher Ami,

Cette semaine, nous avons publié notre plan sur le logement. Il s'appelle "Un logement à votre portée", et il ne pouvait pas arriver à un meilleur moment. 

Les grands propriétaires ont utilisé diverses stratégies pour augmenter les loyers, souvent sous prétexte de "rénovation" ou “d'embellissement". Dans la pratique, ils ont acheté des terrains - et souvent laissé les propriétés se détériorer - pour ensuite pousser les locataires à faibles revenus à partir.  

Il y a deux ans, par exemple, Timbercreek Communities a orchestré la plus grande expulsion massive de l'histoire récente du Canada en expulsant 400 résidents de Herongate, l'un des quartiers les plus diversifiés d'Ottawa. 

Plus récemment, la ville d'Ottawa a annoncé la nécessité de démolir 120 maisons à Manor Village (une communauté ouvrière de Nepean) pour faire place à la troisième étape du projet de O-Train. Smart Living Properties, un promoteur d'Ottawa, a acheté Manor Village en septembre 2020. Il n'a pas discuté de ses intentions pour la propriété depuis l'acquisition. 

Les situations de Herongate et de Manor Village sont étrangement similaires. Ce sont (ou étaient) des logements abordables dans une ville qui devient trop chère pour beaucoup entre nous. Et lorsque les résidents se lèvent pour demander justice, ils sont rejetés ou ignorés. 

Pendant ce temps, les fonctionnaires d'Ottawa viennent de se mettre au service de l'Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) qui insiste pour que son accord de partenariat soit révisé. Avec un préavis d'à peine une semaine, un comité a approuvé un plan visant à permettre à l'OSEG d'accéder à un fonds de réserve de 4,7 millions de dollars, et à prolonger de 10 ans son contrat existant. 

Les habitants de Manor Village ont parlé devant ce comité, demandant aux conseillers d'agir avec un degré d'urgence similaire pour eux. Ils ont été interrompus et on leur a dit de "parler du Parc Lansdowne". Le double standard était évident, ainsi que l'indifférence.  

Des forces plus importantes sont en jeu ici. Depuis 2018, plus de 250 donateurs liés à l'industrie du développement ont donné plus de 500 000 dollars aux candidats à la municipalité d'Ottawa. La conseillère Jan Harder, actuelle présidente du comité de planification d'Ottawa, a reçu 96 % des dons de sa campagne de la part de personnes affiliées à de grands promoteurs. Ils achètent leur influence. 

Au début de l'année, Ottawa a déclaré un état urgence en matière de logement et de sans-abrisme. Nous avons plus de 100 personnes qui dorment dehors en ce moment même, alors que la température baisse et que nos refuges sont pleins. Nous ne pouvons nous permettre de perdre aucun logement abordable à Ottawa, et nous avons besoin de votre aide.

Consultez notre Pétition pour le droit au logement et soutenez la campagne d'Ottawa ACORN pour les résidents de Manor Village. La lutte contre la pauvreté fait la différence.

Mes meilleures salutations,