WHEREAS the Mid-2023 Greenfield Residential Land Survey, received at the Planning and Housing Committee on February 5th, 2025, states: “Staff estimate that this provides for a 24-year supply, exceeding the 15-year supply requirement of the PPS, and is more than sufficient to meet any potential increases in greenfield demand until the next Official Plan update, particularly when less greenfield development occurred than projected in the past 5-years”, and;
WHEREAS according to the same report: “The intensification rate for this 5-year period represents 59 per cent whereas the Official Plan targeted a minimum of 42 per cent”, and;
WHEREAS the city has acknowledged that it is in a financial crisis, and;
WHEREAS the city has raised taxes and introduced service efficiencies as a result of this crisis, and;
WHEREAS the City currently has a $3.8 billion deficit in maintenance and replacement of recreational and other buildings, and;
WHEREAS in September 2024, city council unanimously endorsed the “Fairness for Ottawa” campaign started by the mayor, aimed at getting more provincial and federal help to cope with financial pressures, and;
WHEREAS the Infrastructure Master Plan estimates the cost of providing water and wastewater services to the Tewin Community at approximately $591 million, and;
WHEREAS these costs do not include other necessary capital expenditures, such as transportation infrastructure and other city services, and;
WHEREAS these costs also do not include associated maintenance, operational, and lifecycle costs that will be incurred over the lifetime of this infrastructure, and;
WHEREAS the Province unilaterally expanded Ottawa’s urban boundary in 2022, overriding the City’s Official Plan, and;
WHEREAS the Auditor General of Ontario and Integrity Commissioner raised concerns about improper developer influence in provincial land-use decisions, and;
WHEREAS public opposition and environmental concerns prompted the Province to reverse these expansions in 2023, restoring municipal planning authority, and;
WHEREAS staff noted in the New Official Plan – Growth Management Strategy Report (Document 3) that: "This vast area [the Tewin Community] is not contiguous to existing economic clusters, so it would not have immediate synergistic relationships with the existing economic base of the City", and;
WHEREAS staff advised in the same report that due to the presence of sensitive marine clays, the Tewin Community will likely face grade-raising restrictions, meaning that all housing would rely permanently on sump pumps for foundation drainage, and;
WHEREAS during the urban boundary expansion discussions, staff did not previously consider the Tewin lands due to their distance from existing and planned rapid transit lines, and therefore never evaluated the Tewin area using the criteria adopted by Council, including the "Five Big Moves", and;
WHEREAS the decision to add the Tewin Lands to Ottawa’s urban boundary was a decision made by council via amending motion at committee, and;
WHEREAS this precluded a public consultation process, including consultation with relevant Indigenous groups, and;
WHEREAS the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) 2020 provides guidelines for municipalities and planning authorities to consult all relevant Indigenous communities whose rights, interests, or territories might be affected by planning and development decisions, and;
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa requires consultation with Indigenous groups during the policy planning and development approval processes, and;
WHEREAS the Official Plan, Reconciliation Action Plan, and other municipal policies mandate that consultation is required when policies, plans, or developments may affect Indigenous rights, interests, or lands, and this applies to all relevant Indigenous communities, and;
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa did not appear to satisfy its duty to consult and accommodate under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, with the First Nations of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council regarding the urban boundary expansion, and;
WHEREAS the City’s partner in Tewin, the Algonquins of Ontario, is not a First Nation recognized by the Federal Government under the Indian Act, but to quote the Ontario Superior Court “is an unincorporated entity which was created to negotiate with the governments of Ontario and Canada in the Algonquin-Ontario negotiations”, and;
WHEREAS the City faces the serious risk of litigation and liability from the First Nations of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council if it proceeds with the Tewin development, given that the City should be aware that it mistakenly consulted and accommodated the unincorporated association of the Algonquins of Ontario rather than the rights-holding First Nations of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council;
WHEREAS Grand Chief Savanna McGregor of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council has expressed opposition to the Tewin development, stating: "We want to make it abundantly clear that just because a landowner whose realty corporation is partly owned by one Algonquin First Nation and self-identified Algonquin people, does not qualify it as an act of reconciliation with the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation";
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that staff in the Policy Planning Branch of the Planning, Development and Building Department be directed to initiate an Official Plan Amendment to delete the Category 2 - Future Neighbourhood Overlay - New Tewin Community lands from Schedule C17 to the Official Plan of the City of Ottawa, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Official Plan Amendment also contain the necessary provisions to delete provisions elsewhere in the Official Plan that reference the Tewin Community as Category 2 lands, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Official Plan Amendment process initiated as a result of this motion include all the necessary process and public consultation to permit the amendment to be adopted by City Council, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Planning staff provide their recommendation through the amendment and accompanying report as to how the residential and non-residential development that will no longer be in the proposed Tewin development can be provided for in the Official Plan, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public meeting for the consideration of the Official Plan Amendment be scheduled no later than the first quarter of 2026, and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Planning staff be directed to explore how land use planning could contribute to meaningful reconciliation in consultation with the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council.