Ward 10 · Infrastructure & the grid
Protecting Our Grid
Our electricity grid is aging, overstretched, and failing to keep up with demand. Here’s the reality.
54 per cent of Hydro Ottawa’s assets have reached the end of their useful life. By 2030, that number is expected to hit 67 per cent. The utility predicts it will lose another 15 per cent of its assets over the next decade simply due to age.
Meanwhile, demand is skyrocketing. Winter electricity use in Ottawa is projected to jump 166 per cent by 2043. Hydro Ottawa’s CEO says they are being asked to “build in the next two to three years what has taken us the better part of 110 years to build”.
The grid is already struggling. In 2025, 59 per cent of outages were caused by equipment failure. The 2022 derecho knocked out power to over 170,000 customers, exposing just how fragile our infrastructure is. Today, 34 large projects are already in the connection queue with demands equivalent to 86 per cent of Hydro Ottawa’s average load — just over 1,000 megawatts.
Hydro Ottawa is planning a $1 billion investment over five years, but even that may not be enough. The CEO has called for federal and provincial support, saying “the scale of this transformation is simply too large to be borne exclusively by the people of Ottawa”.
We need to protect and strengthen our grid. That means investing in battery storage, modernizing aging infrastructure, and ensuring new developments don’t leave residents footing the bill for upgrades.
Hydro Ottawa recently announced a rate increase — an average hike of $5.87 per month this year, defended as necessary infrastructure investment. Residents are footing that bill. Where upgrades are driven by large new loads, those loads should pay for them.
References
- CBC News — “Ottawa’s electricity use projected to surge, forcing grid expansion”
- CBC News — “Hydro Ottawa says ‘massive’ investment needed to meet electricity demands”
- CTV News — “Hydro Ottawa facing major demands from large-scale requests”
- Hydro Ottawa — “Replacing electrical infrastructure: Hydro Ottawa’s strategy”
- Hydro Ottawa — “Our investment plan for Ottawa’s energy future”
Ward 10 · Housing
Why I’m Running — It’s Personal
I was renovicted.
My family went through the fear and uncertainty of being pushed out of our home. I watched my friends go through the same thing at the Cedarwood apartments near Herongate.
The Herongate neighbourhood has seen some of the largest mass evictions in Canada. Around 800 people — predominantly lower-income, racialized households — have been evicted and displaced from the neighbourhood since 2016. In 2018 alone, a landlord evicted over 500 tenants, many of them Arab and Somali families, to make way for luxury apartments.
City Hall was slow. City Hall was unreceptive.
It took four years of advocacy and pressure to get a renoviction bylaw passed. And even then, Ottawa’s bylaw is weaker than Toronto’s.
Toronto passed its Rental Renovation Licence bylaw in November 2024, with it coming into force in July 2025. Toronto’s bylaw requires landlords to pay a $700 fee and provide compensation to tenants — including rent-gap payments or a comparable place to live at the same rent.
Ottawa’s bylaw? It will not even take effect until January 1, 2027. It requires a licence and a building permit, but it does not go as far as Toronto’s. One councillor who supported it admitted it is a step forward — but only a small one.
We need fresh, active thinking.
No family should go through what my family went through. No tenant should be pushed out of their home so a developer can make more money. And no city council should take four years to pass a weaker version of what other cities have already done.
Sources
- CTV News — “City Council approves renoviction bylaw requiring licences to remove tenants for repairs”
- CBC News — “Committee vote restores hopes for renoviction bylaw in Ottawa”
- Carleton University Institutional Repository — Herongate displacement research
Organizing · Development
Fighting Against Reckless Development
Over the summer, I got involved with the Ontario NDP and helped organize against the Billy Bishop airport expansion.
The proposal would have allowed jets at the island airport — something 87 per cent of respondents in a federal public survey opposed. The NDP opposed it. Toronto’s mayor opposed it. And ultimately, the federal government rejected it.
That fight taught me something: when communities organize, we can win.
It also taught me about overreach and reckless development. The Billy Bishop expansion was pushed by the province, with legislation that tried to usurp the City of Toronto’s role. It was a classic case of developers and politicians putting profit over people.
That is the same instinct we have to guard against here in Ward 10 — big decisions made about us, without us.
I will refuse donations from developers.
I will not be compromised. I will not owe anyone favours. When I make decisions, I will make them for Ward 10 residents — not for the people who wrote me a cheque.
Sources
- The Globe and Mail — “Billy Bishop jet opponents turn planned protest into celebration after Ottawa rejects expansion”
- The Star — “Ottawa, Queen’s Park unite behind Billy Bishop airport’s future despite jet rejection”
City finances · Your taxes
Where the Money Is Going — and Why Your Taxes Are Rising
The city is waiving over $250 million in development charges, fees, and property taxes.
Here is the breakdown:
- Property taxes on affordable units will be waived over 75 years — a projected loss of $135 million to $180 million
- A further $65 million comes from exemptions on development charges, community benefit charges, and waivers on building permit and planning fees
City staff acknowledged that only 300 to 400 of the designated affordable units would actually meet the city’s strict affordability definition. The rest are classified as “market units”.
Councillor Jeff Leiper warned that eliminating development charges “will result in a $50-million shortfall at the City” — money that is intended to build infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the city is also looking to cut development charges by 54 per cent to access federal-provincial infrastructure funding. Under that plan, the fee on a new home could fall by as much as $33,787.
The city would rather waive hundreds of millions in revenue for developers — and then raise your taxes to make up the difference.
That is backwards.
I will fight to ensure that tax waivers and development charge exemptions go only to units that are truly affordable — not to market-rate housing disguised as affordable. And I will fight to ensure that growth pays for itself, instead of leaving existing residents to foot the bill.
Sources
- MPA Magazine — “City of Ottawa to waive $250m in development charges, fees and taxes for housing deal”
- CBC News — “Fee on new homes could fall by as much as $33,787 under new city plan”
Affordability · Consumer protection
Surveillance Pricing: What It Is and Why It Matters to You
When you walk into a grocery store, you expect the price on the shelf to be the same for everyone. But that might not be the case for much longer.
What is surveillance pricing?
Surveillance pricing (also called algorithmic or personalized pricing) is when companies use your personal data — your search history, location, what you have bought before, even your payday — to figure out the maximum price you are willing to pay for the same product.
If you have ever noticed different prices on a flight depending on when you book, that is similar. But groceries are different: you need food to survive. Charging different people different prices for the same loaf of bread based on who they are is price gouging, plain and simple.
What companies are involved?
The big grocery chains — Loblaw, Metro, Sobeys, and Walmart — are all investing in the infrastructure that makes surveillance pricing possible. They are rolling out electronic shelf labels that can change prices instantly.
A 2025 report found that more than 60 companies in Canada already offer services that use algorithms to optimize pricing across retail. Loblaw claims they “will never use this type of pricing,” but the technology is in place.
How does this impact Ward 10 residents?
In a word: cost. If surveillance pricing becomes normal, your grocery bill could depend on your search history, your address, or even when you get paid.
Food insecurity is already a reality for too many families. We do not need a system that charges struggling families more simply because an algorithm thinks they can pay it.
As one expert put it, the lack of transparency means “beleaguered consumers who are already dealing with economic challenges… tend to think the worst”.
What is being done about it?
Toronto is taking action. Mayor Olivia Chow introduced a motion to ban surveillance pricing for groceries, calling it “unfair price gouging”. Her motion passed city council on July 29–30, 2026, directing staff to report back on options to ban or regulate the practice.
Manitoba has already passed a law banning it. But Ontario Premier Doug Ford rejected a provincial ban, saying it would interfere with the free market.
I will fight to bring this conversation to Ottawa. While Toronto takes action and Manitoba leads the way, Ottawa is not even talking about it. Ward 10 families deserve to know they are paying a fair price — not whatever an algorithm decides they can afford.
Sources
- CTV News — “Surveillance pricing could be banned at Toronto grocery stores”
- CBC News — “Toronto’s mayor says surveillance pricing gouges customers”
- The Star — “Can Toronto ban ‘surveillance pricing’ in city grocery stores?”
- CHCH — “Ford nixes idea of ban on ‘surveillance pricing’”
- Policy Options — “Canada can stop surveillance pricing before it reaches the checkout”
Policy · What already works
Proven Solutions — Already Working in Other Municipalities
We do not need to reinvent the wheel. Other Ontario municipalities have already solved many of the problems Ottawa is struggling with. Here are just a few examples.
Utility relief
- Greenstone offers a 25 per cent credit on standard residential water and sewer rates for eligible low-income persons
- Barrie offers a Household Water/Wastewater Assistance Program providing a credit of up to 40 per cent of the total bill, to a maximum of $60 per billing cycle
Ottawa’s current policy: Deferrals only. You still owe the money.
Small business tax relief
- Toronto increased its Small Business Property Tax Subclass from 15 per cent to 20 per cent in 2026
- The province automatically matches this through Business Education Tax reductions
Ottawa’s current policy: Stuck at 15 per cent.
Tenant protection
- Toronto passed a Rental Renovation Licence bylaw in November 2024, requiring landlords to pay a $700 fee and provide compensation to displaced tenants
- Hamilton enacted a renoviction licensing bylaw in 2025
Ottawa’s current policy: A weaker bylaw that will not even take effect until January 1, 2027.
We are falling behind.
While other cities are acting, Ottawa is stalling. While other cities are protecting tenants, Ottawa is passing weaker laws. While other cities are supporting small businesses, Ottawa is stuck at the minimum.
I will fight to bring these proven solutions to Ward 10.
Sources
- Municipality of Greenstone — Water and Sewer Rate Relief Program
- City of Barrie — Low-Income Household Water/Wastewater Relief Application
- City of Toronto — “City of Toronto lowers Small Business Property Taxes through 2026 Budget”
- CFIB — “CFIB Applauds Toronto for Increasing Small Business Tax Savings”