Does Ottawa require another interprovincial bridge crossing?

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Good morning!

I’m still feeling a bit under the weather, so you will have to wait a few more days for our feel-good story about the new butterfly exhibit at the Museum of Nature. I promise it will be worth the wait. 

But today, we’ve got a very important story about the recently tabled Fall Economic Statement, and a commitment for a new interprovincial bridge from Ottawa to Gatineau. Both the community and the mayor are not pleased. 

Plus, an inquest into the death of 38-year-old Abdirahman Abdi who was killed outside his Hilda Street apartment is over. It found the death was a homicide, even though it covers no legal liability. We have the details. 

Let's get to it!

— Charlie Senack, managing editor 

[email protected] 

X: @Charlie_Senack

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WEATHER

Wednesday: 3 🌡️ -4 | ❄️ 

Thursday: -5 🌡️ -14 | ☁️ 

Friday: -9 🌡️ -15 | ❄️ 

CITY

Does Ottawa require another interprovincial bridge?

Building bridges: When the fall economic statement dropped on Monday, there were more surprises than just the shock resignation of Christia Freeland. The federal government said they were committed to building a sixth bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau, a sudden move which was puzzling because there has been little talk of such a development.

Where it would be located: The interprovincial crossing would go from Manor Park in the east end over Kettle Island, and then end in Gatineau. The statement read the government wanted to build ”an additional multimodal bridge over the Ottawa River to further improve transportation connectivity in the National Capital Region."

• “Following Corridor 5, the Eastern Bridge will become an important piece of transportation infrastructure that will optimize public transit networks and eliminate truck traffic in congested downtown cores, in turn, boosting economic growth in downtown Gatineau and Ottawa, accelerating commutes, and making active transportation safer,” the economic statement said, according to the Ottawa Citizen. 

Next steps: An impact assessment, design and a procurement strategy would begin under the next stage. While no cost or timeline estimate was given, prior plans were priced at well over $1 billion.

The old plan: In 2012, the National Capital Commission proposed a similar plan. It was shelved because the provincial government pulled out, politicians raised concerns, and local residents were imposed as well, wrote the Ottawa Citizen. 

The Mayor’s reaction: Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he’s met with the Prime Minister and members of his team many times, but never raised the need for the bridge — at least not now. Sutcliffe noted there are many other projects which need to be funded including local transit. 

• “What I saw in the fall economic statement was focused mostly on priorities for Gatineau and priorities for others. They're not issued that we've raised," Sutcliffe told CTV. “I am getting a little concerned that time is running out because we’ve passed our budget, and we need to see some action soon."

Fairness for Ottawa: You might recall a few months back, Sutcliffe launched the ‘Fairness for Ottawa’ campaign, which called on the federal and provincial governments to give the City of Ottawa more money. Over three years, the city said they needed $140 million from both upper levels of government — particularly to help with transit. OC Transpo currently has a $120 million hole in its budget. 

A few weeks ago, Sutcliffe told the Lookout he thought some provincial funds would be coming, but so far, nothing. He’s also been promised by the feds “that help is on the way,” but meanwhile, no transit funding for Ottawa was included in the fall economic statement. 

If that cash doesn’t flow, Sutcliffe said some tough decisions will need to be made. That could include a reduction in service and higher fare costs for riders. When the city passed its 2025 budget last week, they were able to keep transit fare increases lower than what was initially planned, and not reduce service further. It also includes a $36 million hole if that upper-level funding comes through, something many councillors told the Lookout was “irresponsible.”

The need for a solution: Approximately 3,500 trucks travel through Sandy Hill and Lowertown each day to reach Quebec. It’s caused gridlock downtown, and calls for a solution have been raised many times. A report conducted in 2021 found that an east-end crossing would divert about eight to 15 per cent of truck traffic by 2050. 

Another option: That would be a tunnel under downtown Ottawa. While this might sound like an expensive and complex solution, that same report found that about 33 per cent of heavy truck traffic would be diverted by 2050, reported CTV. 

There is some support: Rideau Vanier Coun. Stephanie Plante said the sixth crossing is needed because it’s “unacceptable to have truck traffic going down one of the most low-income and racialized communities of Ottawa's downtown core.” Even so, she agrees it’s unlikely due to the lack of political will. 

• "We have seen this commitment before, both by Dalton McGuinty when he was premier and by Stephen Harper when he was prime minister. It hasn't seen the light of day with any of those governments,” Plante told CBC. 

Residents opposed to bridge: The Manor Park Community Association feels the money would be better spent on transit or the tunnel idea. Beacon-Hill Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney agrees. The fear the community faces is that it will take an issue from one community and move it to the other.  

What else was included: The only money for Ottawa included in the economic statement was a little more than $30 million to study a possible two-kilometre tramway from Ottawa to Gatineau. It is earmarked for feasibility studies, reported CTV. 

It comes after the federal and Quebec governments reached an agreement in June to provide $163.5 million for the planning stages of the Quebec portion of the tram route. Plans are for a tramway connecting Aylmer to downtown Gatineau and downtown Ottawa. It would cross into Ottawa over the Portage Bridge and then either run along Wellington Street or under Sparks Street in a newly constructed tunnel. The National Capital Commission prefers the Wellington Street option. The project has a targeted completion date of sometime in 2032. 

What happens now: Probably not a whole lot. Missing from the fall economic statement was any funding for this project. Beyond that, there could be a change in government. It’s no secret the Liberals have been falling in the polls, and now with many calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign, the political landscape looks uncertain. Many councillors the Lookout spoke to said they felt it was highly unlikely a Conservative government would ever follow through with such a plan. 

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NUMBERS

🥶 -20: The low temperature it could reach in Ottawa later this week. That will be a first for this season. [CTV]

🏡 5,900: The number of new apartments added to Ottawa’s purpose-built rental supply between October 2023 and October 2024. [Ottawa Business Journal]

🚗 35%: The percentage of Civic Hospital workers the city hopes will take their vehicles to work by 2048. The current number is 85 per cent. [Kitchissippi Times]

CITY

Jury inquest calls Abdirahman Abdi death a homicide

The jury is in: It was the words many advocates wanted to hear. After a weeks-long inquest into the 2016 death of 38-year-old Abdirahman Abdi, the jury of a coroner's inquest deemed it a homicide. They also gave more than 50 recommendations on how such a situation could be avoided in the future. 

What this means: The inquest was mandatory by law because Abdi was critically injured while in police custody. Its mission was to look at the circumstances around his death, but not to assign blame to anyone, reported CTV. The conclusion holds no legal liability. 

What was recommended: Most of the solutions fall on the Ottawa Police Service and how it responds to mental health calls. One of the main recommendations was for OPS to form a new advisory board that integrates the lived experiences of people dealing with mental health issues and develops a "coordinated and cohesive OPS-wide mental health strategy,” wrote CBC. 

• Recommendations also included reviewing and improving police use-of-force training and de-escalation strategies, as well as addressing anti-Black racism and biases toward people with mental health issues.

That work is underway: Ottawa police Deputy Chief Steve Bell told the inquest much of that work has already begun in the eight years since the incident. Even so, he admitted there is “much more work to do.”

A reminder of what happened: Abdi, a Black Somali-Canadian, dealt with mental health challenges, and was reported to police in July 2016 after allegedly groping a woman outside a Wellington West Bridgehead coffee shop. The victims were not made to testify at the inquest. He ran back to his Hilda Street apartment nearby and that’s where he suffered serious blows to his head by police, reported the Kitchissippi Times. 

Debate: During the inquiry, the jury of five did not include Abdi’s mental health struggles as the cause for his death, which caused some controversy. It was instead labelled as: “Post cardiac arrest encephalopathy following blunt trauma in a man with exertion, struggle and [underlying] atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.”

THE AGENDA

⚠️ If you visited a drank a product between Nov. 15 and Dec. 8 at the Tim Hortons at 372 Hunt Club Rd., you may want to monitor for symptoms of hepatitis A. An employee was confirmed to have it, but Ottawa Public Health says the risk is very low. Anyone who visited should still monitor for symptoms for 50 days, including fever, loss of appetit and nausea. Tim Hortons says they believe their employee contracted it outside Canada. [CTV]

👮 A man was rescued by firefighters from Mayor’s Hill Park washroom on Tuesday morning, after smoke and flames were reported coming from the building. The man was taken to hospital in serious condition. [CTV] 

🏢 A building at 230 Queen St. that was vacant for five years is set to be the first office-to-housing conversion and will open early next year. The building will hold 143 people, and is designed for mostly new Canadians before they find housing, with sleeping pods, open-concept space, a shared cafeteria and washrooms. [CBC]

🛑 There will likely be increased congestion around Bank Street this winter due to construction between Riverside Drive to Ledbury Avenue, which is replacing sewers and water mains. [CityNews]

🚌 Some school buses were cancelled Tuesday morning in Ottawa Vallery due to icy road conditions, but busses in Ottawa continued as normal. [CTV]

MUSIC GIG LISTINGS

Peter Woods |  Bar Robo, Queen St. Fare | Dec. 18 | Renowned saxophonist brings warm and soulful renditions of holiday favourites and jazz standards.  Free Show.

Baby Richman | Avant Garde Bar, 135 Besserer St | Dec, 20 | Indie rock party night headlined by the psychedelic rockers with influences from classic and alternative rock. Tickets $15/PWYC

Casual Tragedies | House of Targ, 1077 Bank St | Dec. 20 | Five-piece who fuse alt-rock, punk, metal, and everything in between. Tickets $15.

Ky Anto | Art House Cafe, 555 Somerset St W | Dec. 20 | Singer-songwriter with an original blend of folk, country and blues inspired by the sounds of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Tickets $13. 

Chris Zimmerman | Live! On Elgin, 220 Elgin St | Dec. 21| Energetic americana and folk-rock from the Ottawa band. Tickets $15.

Listings for music shows are provided by OttawaGigs.ca, the best place to discover live music in Ottawa. Check out Ottawagigs.ca for full listings across the city.

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OTTAWA GUESSER

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• These were the most requested books at the Ottawa Public Library. [CityNews]

• Our food editor Ralf has released his entire gift guide, with 10+ places to check out for last minute local gift shopping. 

• Speaking of Ottawa food, make sure to subscribe to our free Ottawa restaurant review newsletter in one click. 

• Apt613 is seeking new volunteer board members.

• If you’re interested in the debate around car-dependent cities, this debate over at the Ottawa subreddit should interest you.

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