The Sprung structure debate: What really went on and what's next?

Good day!

Chances are by now you know about the city’s decision to build two Sprung structures, housing for asylum seekers, in Ottawa — one in Kanata and the other in Nepean. If you have been following the Lookout or any other news source for that matter, you most likely know about the division that has caused.

The drama first unfolded this summer when Barrhaven was shortlisted for a site. It is a community I know well and covered for seven years as a reporter with the Barrhaven Independent. Up until recently, I lived only about a kilometre away from the Highbury Park site which was shortlisted but in the end not chosen. I moved because of the lack of resources in the area including transit. Those were key factors demonstrators also used when advocating for the Sprung structures to be built elsewhere.

Over the past few months I have literally spent hundreds of hours on the phone with sources talking about the varying sides to the debate (my patient boyfriend will happily confirm this fact). Who is right and who is wrong is for you to decide, but there is plenty that went on behind the scenes, which the public has not seen. Hopefully, it will provide you with a better understanding of what is going on, answer some key questions people have, and help you form your own opinion.

I also want to take a quick second to thank each and every one of you Insiders for supporting local news. It’s always a challenge transitioning into something new, but we are getting back on our feet and I promise there is plenty of Insider content in the works both from myself and others.

In a week or two, we will have a second part of this story coming out, comparing the current asylum seeker situation to how Ottawa handled the arrival of the Vietnamese Boat People in the 1970s. We also have another exciting story coming on Ottawa’s new, innovative approach to building affordable housing.

As we write more of these long-from stories please drop me an email and tell me what you would like to read about. We are always looking for interesting story ideas other media outlets are not covering.

Let’s get to it!!

— Charlie Senack, managing editor

[email protected]

X: @Charlie_Senack

Consider forwarding this to your friends so they can discover the Lookout. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

CITY HALL

City staff failed at transparency. Should Sprung structures still be the answer?

Two Sprung structures are set to be built in Ottawa over the next year to house asylum seekers who want to call Canada home. But it’s a divided topic because no one can agree on where to put them, or what the best course of action is. 

Funding from the federal government has already been confirmed for a Sprung site on a field next to the former Confederation High School off of Woodroffe Avenue and Hunt Club Road. The second site, which currently has no financial backing, would be built on Hearst Way at the Eagleson Park and Ride in Kanata. 

Residents are not impressed and the issue has become one of the most controversial to hit the council table in recent years. So how did we get here and what’s causing so much division? 

Let’s start at the beginning 

In November 2023 Ottawa city council gave city staff the delegated authority to pursue semi-permanent shelter options to house the homeless and newcomers to Canada. 

Why? An estimated 260 people were expected to sleep out in the cold last winter, and newcomers take up about 60 per cent of the bed space in Ottawa shelters. As a quick fix, the city temporarily converted some community centres into shelters, but the living conditions are less than ideal and take essential programming away from typically low-income neighbourhoods. 

The file stayed relatively silent until this summer when it was announced that Highbury Park in Barrhaven was one of the sites being considered for a Spring structure. A location in Orleans, another in Alta Vista, and one in St. Laurent were also leaked to the public. 

It was a scenario the city was trying to avoid. They asked councillors to keep the information secret as it was constantly changing and locations being considered could change due to varying factors. 

Alta Vista ward Coun Marty Carr was among the representatives who went against the direction of staff.

“It made sense for me to go against staff's advice and be transparent about the fact that a Sprung structure might be in the Alta Vista ward because my community has already been accepting asylum seekers for the past year,” Carr told the Lookout. “I knew my community was lacking a community centre, they were used to asylum seekers being in our community, and that they would be open to the fact that asylum seekers would be getting mixed into the community.

But Carr also criticized Barrhaven councillors Wilson Lo and David Hill for doing the same. 

“I was surprised when the Barrhaven councillors reflected that they could potentially have a site because it was always made clear to us that this was going to be preliminary and that there were going to be many layers to ensure the site would be suitable for use,” she said.

Lo and Hill disagreed. They wanted their residents to know from the beginning that this could happen, especially because it seemed Highbury Park was ranking high on the list. In July, the pair went to council and attempted to take staff’s delegated authority away but failed 21 to three. Orleans South-Navan Coun. Catherine Kitts was the only other who sided with the suburban representatives. 

The debate was heated and urban councillors criticized the suburbs for not doing their fair share to house the homeless. They were called “nimby” – standing for “not in my backyard” and were accused of privilege. 

But Barrhaven residents rallied. A petition was started with over 7,000 signatures. Two demonstrations were held with thousands in attendance. Over 75 per cent of those who gathered were foreigners themselves who rallied against the living conditions and lack of transparency. Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod spoke out against Sprung structures. Nepean MP Chandra Arya did the same. 

The sticking point? No information was forthcoming from the city. The Barrhaven councillors begged for the testing requirements to be released and to have more information about what could be built and who would be staying there. The answer they kept getting was it would be available in a few weeks. 

But five months later, there were no signs of improvement and Lo had enough. He filed an information request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.  

“If you want to settle conflict with people before they go off and do something on their own, and just go straight to attacking, being transparent is the stuff that keeps people from doing that,” Lo told the Lookout. “It is internal information, not confidential material.”

On Nov. 7, some information came — a 20-page comprehensive report outlining the testing requirements and what sites were shortlisted during multiple processes of elimination. It had a lot of detail and explanations. Ultimately Barrhaven was removed from the list due to other development planned for the site, but the communities of Kanta and Nepean inherited the mess. 

Nepean is ready to help, says the local councillor, but not all residents agree

Knoxdale-Merivale Coun, Sean Devine has said previously that he would welcome a sprung structure in his ward and attacked Barrhaven residents on social media by saying they have many essential services other communities want. 

That technically is not true. Barrhaven is a suburb of 100,000 people. It is about the size of a small city or town. Kingston, Ont. for example, has a population of about 134,000 people. 

When you compare the two differences immediately become noticeable: Barrhaven has two to three police officers on call at any point; Kingston has an entire force of 300. Barrhaven has two community centres; Kingston, by our count, has about a dozen. Barrhaven has less than a handful of bus routes connecting to the core of the city – routes 74 and 75 being the most prominent – Kingston has an entire transit network. 

These are just some of the examples Barrhaven residents used to try and prove their point over why a vulnerable population should not move so far out of the city's core. It is an argument many Nepean residents are now trying to prove as well. 

Devine told the Lookout he had no idea the Woodroffe site near the Nepean Sportsplex was being considered for a Sprung Structure. He criticized city staff for not being more forthcoming with information to him, but said Ward 9 residents are there to help. 

“The City of Ottawa and project staff behind this I think are learning their lesson that a lot of information they are putting out now should have been put before the announcement was made or during,” Devine told the Lookout. “Moving forward the city knows it has to be far more clear and provide information in ways that people can understand.”

One of the sticking points for Nepean residents is the structure would be built on a football field used by the Myers Riders Football team. Devine said he was “angry” city staff did not consider these impacts beforehand. 

“That football field may be used less than other football fields across the city, but to that football field it’s not underutilized. They are there all the time,” said Devine. “I’ve been working closely with the city to ensure some solution is found, that some changes are made, so that Myers Football Club will not be impacted in the way it could be.”

Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod, who represents that area, has now turned her advocacy towards protesting the Woodroffe site and has attended multiple rallies outside the Sportsplex, which have attracted hundreds – mainly from the Chinese community. 

At one of the demonstrations, MacLeod had strong words for the city when it came to transparency, saying they should stick to issues relating to transit and garbage collection. 

“This has become less about tents and more about public accountability that has failed our residents of Nepean. This is less to do about a structure and who might live in a structure than it does about respecting the taxpayers of the city of Ottawa,” MacLeod said to the roaring crowd. “This has less to do about a public policy at city hall than it does about a process gone bad. There is no trust anymore at city hall by the residents of Nepean.”

MacLeod also called on the city to host a public meeting to address residents' concerns; reach out to all residents to ensure they are informed; and organize a webinar with a panel discussion to explore the issue.  

Kanata Councillor says he was blindsided by the Eagleson Park & Ride location 

In an interview with the Lookout, Kanata Coun. Allan Hubley said he had no idea the Eagleson Park & ride was being considered for a Sprung site. Hubley said he found out only hours before and was told by city staff he would have a day to read over the memo before it went public, but instead, it was released a short time later. 

“We gave delegated authority to go away and come back with recommendations. But delegated authority doesn’t mean you don’t talk to the ward councillor after you have a site on the list,” said Hubley. ”You need to have a plan for public consultation. There should have been an FAQ sheet ready that night and a suite of public information so the public would not be caught off guard.”

Other councillors the Lookout spoke with, though, said they were aware of the Kanata site being shortlisted. 

Hubley said he understands the need for places to house the newcomers but feels there are more suitable options. For context, the Eagleson Park & Ride was always full pre-pandemic and is already back to 69 percent capacity, according to OC Transpo. 

“Compare that to other Park & Rides like Innovation, which is at eight per cent,” said Hubley. “One of my issues with this site is what it does to the future of transit. They want to do a zoning change which means it can’t go back to a parking lot for vehicles.”

There are also concerns over the location. It is 10-15 minutes away from the closest grocery store and next to a daycare and women’s shelter.

“I can imagine how noisy it would be to put a Sprung structure in the middle of nowhere. There is really nothing there in case you cross the highway and that can be challenging to do if you are a newcomer,” added Hubley. “There are a few small stores there, a library and a rec centre – all within a 15 to 20-minute walk. Other sites residents have suggested make more sense because they have a grocery store.”

It is important to note that the residents of the Sprung facilities would be fed three meals a day. 

A growing petition has been started with over 10,000 signatures. Kanata Liberal MP Jenna Sudds has also spoken out, saying she feels the city should explore a better option than Sprung structures.

So where should it go instead? Hubley says perhaps the former Zellers location in Bell’s Corners is an ideal option. He said it's a permanent structure over what many call a tent, can house more people, and is in a ward where the representative has encouraged a Sprung facility. 

That councillor is College Ward’s Laine Johnson. In a statement to the Lookout she said residents frequently ask for housing, parkland, or amenity space to happen at the former Zellers location, but it is owned by a REIT. 

“I have connected with the property owner to encourage them to consider redevelopment in Bells Corners as the community would like to see this property enlivened, but they also have current commitments through leases with tenants they would need to consider,” said Johnson. 

Johnson went on to say that she has been “very disappointed with the false statements about what these structures would be in the short term and the medium term.”

Refugees are working-class people with hopes and dreams, says advocacy group

Those comments were echoed by Louisa Taylor, the co-founder and director of Refugee613, a grassroots project which supports Ottawa’s response to the global refugee crisis. 

Taylor said what the city is doing is “commendable” by giving the refugees a safe place to sleep, access social services, and begin their new life in Ottawa. For the first time ever, Taylor said the city is working with organizations like hers to ensure the proper wrap-around services are in place. 

“I don’t know another municipality in Canada who’s engaging so positively with the social service experts to try to make a better system,” Taylor told the Lookout. 

She also wanted to tell residents that communities, where these newcomers are currently living, aren’t reporting any uptick in issues or crime. 

“What’s been most upsetting for us who work in the sector is that because you are a refugee claimant, you are seen as having an undesirable background or have issues with the law,” said Taylor. “Refugee claimants are lawyers, judges, restaurant workers, teachers, and bank tellers. The label of refugee claimant has nothing to do with the content of their character or their legal history. It’s only a statement on their immigration status.”

When the Barrhaven councillors tried to take away staff's delegated authority, they also spoke out against using Sprung structures to begin with and instead recommended investing in programs like Mathew House, a non-profit organization that provides shelter, furnishings and community to refugees and those transitioning to permanent housing.

Hill told the Lookout at the time that about one tenth of that kind of programming was located in Barrhaven already and was working well under the radar, integrated into the suburban community.

Taylor said the current demand is too high for that model and said organizations like Mathew House play a bigger role with transitional housing which comes about 90 days (but typically longer) after the newcomer arrives in Canada. 

The city has also recently purchased two former convents, which will soon be converted into transitional housing. The former Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, convent in Orleans, will have about 150 beds and is expected to open in 2025. A former seminary in Alta Vista has room for about 90 beds, but the project has been delayed as the city decides whether or not to keep the existing structure or tear it down and start fresh. The Lookout wrote about the topic in late October. 

What does the mayor think?

When the Barrhaven community first rallied to not have a Sprung structure in their backyard, they asked to meet with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, but their calls and emails went unanswered. Various elected officials also told the Lookout that Sutcliffe stopped communicating with them over the divided issue. The Barrhaven Business Improvement Association (BIA), which has 500 members, tried four times to have a face-to-face meeting, but they had no luck. 

The Mayor broke his silence the day after the two sites were selected. He accused Barrhaven residents of spreading misinformation and called Ottawa a welcoming city that was ready to step up to the game. 

“I want to remind everybody this is not a political process. This is not a political decision. Everything we are talking about are decisions made by city staff,” Sutcliffe said in a response to the Lookout.  

“This should not be a process where city councillors get around the table and decide ‘ok where are we going to put a welcoming centre? Do you want it in your ward? Well, no there are a bunch of people in my ward who don't want it here so it should go in your ward.’ The whole reason we take politics out of it is to avoid exactly that,” Sutcliffe explained. 

Sutcliffe also shared his family's story of being immigrants to Canada. His mother immigrated to Canada to escape communist China, his father is from England. 

“We have always been very welcoming. I remember when I was a child, Marion Dewar, the mayor at the time, welcomed the Vietnamese Boat People to our city," he said. "This is one of those times. This is a time when we need to extend a hand to people who are escaping very, very difficult circumstances in their home communities and moving to Canada and seeking asylum and seeking refuge. So, we must put our arms around these people and welcome them. This should not become a political fight. This should become an opportunity to share generously with people who need help." 

Sutcliffe joined over half of council and hundreds of others at a rally held outside of the Ben Franklin Plaza on Nov. 17. The event organized by  Refugee613 was aimed at spreading hope and kindness for newcomers.

But the divide has only deepened

Those who have protested the sites say it has nothing to do with not being welcoming of refugees but fully to do with the lack of transparency, no thought for residents' concerns, and the tent-like model as a whole.

Subscribe to unlock the rest. And get 25% off the first year of your membership.