News

Motion on reconstruction fee relief

Today, I seconded a motion by Mayor Sutcliffe to provide residents who are rebuilding after the July 1, 2026 flooding with relief from fees associated with construction.

Read the full motion

WHEREAS the extreme weather events of July 1, August 10 and August 12, 2026, 
caused significant disruption, property damage, and financial hardship for 
residents across the city, impacting more than 6,500 properties; and

WHEREAS the City’s Revenue Services team has implemented temporary 
administrative measures to support affected residents, including the suspension 
of collection activities, a pause on interest accumulation and related late fees, 
enhanced customer service accommodations, and account-level notifications for 
impacted properties; and

Inquiry about ICDs and catch basins

Today, I tabled an Inquiry to ask for details about Inlet Control Devices, why they were installed in west end catch basins, how they're maintained, and whether they may have contributed to the July 1 flooding.

Read the full Inquiry

 

Inquiry:
Following the July 1, 2026 flooding of thousands of west end Ottawa homes, 
businesses, and public facilities, and again after the flooding on August 10, 2026, 
many residents noted that stormwater drainage through municipal catch basins 
was inhibited by Inlet Control Devices (ICDs) which had been installed by the 
City.
Several also noted that the ICDs were plugged with dirt and debris, completely 
blocking the catch basin from draining storm water.
The apparent result of the ICDs, whether blocked or not, was to cause overland 
flooding that entered homes.

Motion to examine extreme weather patterns in Nepean/West Ottawa

Today, I moved a motion, seconded by Mayor Sutcliffe, to consult with weather experts to determine how College Ward and environs are being impacted by extreme weather so we can plan to improve our infrastructure and maintenance routines.

See the full motion.

WHEREAS over the past several years, Nepean has suffered several extreme 
weather events including the 2018 tornados; 2022 derecho; the 2023 ice storm; 
the July 1, 2026 rainstorm and floods; and the August 12, 2026 windstorm; and

WHEREAS the City of Ottawa’s Climate Projections for the National Capital 
Region (2020) indicate that Ottawa is projected to see rising temperatures, more 
rainfall and more extreme weather events; and

WHEREAS recent and historical weather patterns suggest that the affected areas 
of Nepean may experience localized weather and climatic conditions that differ 
from other parts of the city;

WHEREAS the City of Ottawa uses climate and weather reports when designing 
its infrastructure standards, infrastructure maintenance routines and resident 
support programs; and

August 14 2026 Extreme Weather Operations

The transition to monitoring operations does not signal the end of the City’s recovery efforts. The ECC has established an integrated task force to maintain situational awareness and coordinate access to recovery programs and services. The task force will support consistent, accessible, and equitable personalized support for affected residents throughout the recovery period.

READ THE FULL UPDATE

 

Election Blackout Period

The City’s Election-Related Resources Policy (ERRP) and its procedures prohibit Members of Council who are seeking re-election in a municipal election from using City resources such as office budgets and staff for newsletters and general communications from August 27, 2026, up to and including October 26, 2026 (known as the “blackout period”). As a sitting Member of Council, I must adhere to the City’s ERRP, meaning that this website will not be updated during the blackout period. My office remains open to deal with day-to-day constituency matters.

What’s next with sewer and stormwater facilities?

I’m hearing from a lot of residents who want answers about why flooding happened, and how we can prevent it from happening again. I certainly want those answers as well.

 

There won’t be a simple fix. 25 neighbourhoods have been dramatically affected and each had their own particular contexts. The City needs to examine the different local factors that may have contributed to flooding.

July 11, 2026 memo on the Canada Day Floods

The General Manager of Infrastructure and Water Services has issued a detailed memo today about the floods. She details some of the causes, the impacts ward by ward, and how the City has responded.

She also talks about the investigation and analysis that are being done over the next months, and a commitment to action. It's worth reading!

READ THE MEMO

Motion to improve road safety

Today, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee unanimously approved my motion to improve road safety across Ottawa. Here's my motion:

WHEREAS speeding continues to be one of the most significant road‑safety concerns raised by residents across the City of Ottawa, particularly in residential neighbourhoods and school zones where vulnerable road users, including children, are at heightened risk; and

WHEREAS recent City data has shown a substantial increase in speeding in school zones, with compliance dropping from 87 percent to 41 percent within a 12‑week period following the removal of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras, and high‑end speeding increasing from 0.3 percent to over 4 percent during the same period; and

Whereas speed data is an important input in understanding risk related to more serious collisions; and

WHEREAS the city’s current approach to collecting speed data is limited and does not provide a full picture of speeds across the roadway network, and

WHEREAS other jurisdictions across Canada and internationally are increasingly incorporating innovative, technology‑enabled, and data‑driven approaches—including, predictive analytics, and AI‑supported monitoring systems—to inform their road safety programs; and

WHEREAS the City of Ottawa is currently undertaking work to update the Road Safety Action Plan, which will guide the road safety priorities for the next term of Council; and

WHEREAS this work presents an opportunity to modernize and strengthen the inputs used to make informed data-driven decisions about road safety;

THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT staff, through the update to the City’s Road Safety Action Plan, leverage advanced data analytics, predictive modelling, and AI‑supported technologies, where appropriate, to enhance the City’s ability to identify, monitor, and respond to speeding trends and inform road safety priorities

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT staff consider speed management as a focus area when developing the Road Safety Action Plan that will be presented to Council in 2027. 

Progress Report: Year Three

Read the Year Three Progress Report

Dear Neighbours,

I am pleased to provide you with the College Ward Annual
Progress Report, showing the work that we did in 2025. I work hard every day to represent you on the
issues that are important to our neighbourhoods.

I hope this Progress Report is informative of the projects we
took on last year, and that it demonstrates my continuing
transparency and accountability to you. There is still more
always to do, and I list some future areas of interest.

Warm regards,
Laine

Out of Service: Ottawa’s Transit Problem

The news this week wasn’t good. Thousands of bus trips cancelled again in February. LRT down to one train for the foreseeable future. When it comes to Ottawa’s public transit, it seems there’s never good news.

Even the announcement of progress on the LRT East project was met with cynicism, given that the trains that Line 1 uses continue to have “spalling” issues with the wheel assembly.

When will it end? And what am I – one of the members of OC Transpo’s governance body – going to do about it?

Since 2022, I’ve been wrestling with myself over a feeling of powerlessness about OC Transpo, in conflict with my ability as a decision maker to affect change.

I have residents who are suffering immeasurably from a lack of service. Algonquin College students have the biggest uptake of the U-pass of all of Ottawa’s post-secondary institutions, but they can’t get to and from classes reliably. Bells Corners’ routes were cut during the pandemic, and the subsequent elimination of the 200 series through the New Ways to Bus changes have completely isolated that community from transit.

Working to save Algonquin College programs

Algonquin College has been hard hit financially on two fronts: an 11 year tuition freeze and a sharp reduction in the number of foreign student visas. Both of these factors have made Algonquin's finances untenable, and the college's response has been to cut some of their most successful programs:

List of Recommended Suspended Programs by School

Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE) 

Sustainable Architectural Design  

Horticultural Industries  

Horticulture Techniques – Apprenticeship  

Pembroke Campus (Pemb) 

Business (Program still offered at the Ottawa Campus and AC Online) 

Business Fundamentals (Program still offered at the Ottawa Campus and AC Online) 

Computer Programming (Program still offered at the Ottawa Campus and AC Online) 

Environmental Management and Assessment (Program still offered at the Ottawa Campus) 

School of Advanced Technology (SAT) 
Manufacturing Engineering Technician  

Faculty of Arts and Media Design (FAMD) 
Pathways to Indigenous Empowerment (New Indigenous Studies programs offered)  

Applied Museum Studies 

Design Foundations 

General Arts and Science – Aboriginal (New Indigenous Studies programs offered) 

Journalism 

Music, Media and Film Foundations  

General Arts and Science (except English for Academic Purposes)  

Music Industry Arts  

Illustration and Concept Art 

School of Business and Hospitality (SOBH) 

Bachelor of Culinary Arts & Food Science (Honours) 

Bartending  

Business Development and Sales  

Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Operations Management  

Tourism – Travel  

Law Clerk  

Event Management  

Financial Services  

Paralegal  

School of Health Studies (SOHS) 

Pre-Health Pathway to Certificates and Diplomas  

Pre-Health Pathway to Advanced Diplomas and Degrees (Program still offered at our Pembroke Campus)  

School of Wellness, Public Safety & Community Studies (SWPSCS) 

Recreation and Leisure Services  

Fitness and Health Promotion (Program still offered through AC Online) 

Hydro Ottawa: adapting to change

Hydro Ottawa: After the derecho, adapting to change. A report for College Ward 8

A year before I was elected, the derecho changed everything. Thousands of trees downed, telephone poles and wires destroyed, and days without electricity for many residents. And then, after I was elected, we had an ice storm that again took down branches and took out hydro.

For a while, it seemed like we couldn't go a month without brown-outs and black-outs. And I raised questions to Ottawa Hydro. Why hasn't tree trimming been done? Why isn't the Bells Corners Substation complete and online? What can we do to make our electricity supply more reliable?

Hydro Ottawa answered. The Bells Corners substation was completed and is now online, helping with reliability for thousands of homes. Tree trimming has become a regular activity. And the number of blackouts in College Ward has been sharply reduced. Hydro Ottawa recently provided me with a slide deck to show what's changed. I hope you'll take a look.