Statement from the Ottawa Board of Trade on the City of Ottawa’ Housing Action Plan
The Ottawa Board of Trade is the voice of business for the Nation’s capital. Our members have told us that affordable housing is not only an important social issue but also a critical lever for attracting and retaining talent. For this reason, we welcome the findings of the Housing Innovation Task Force and the City’s Housing Action Plan. We are proud that our Board Chair Brendan McGuinty, alongside OBOT member organizations including BOMA Ottawa, Claridge Homes and Ottawa Community Housing, contributed their valuable expertise to shaping this ambitious package of reforms. The Action Plan represents a vital first step toward making Ottawa the most housing-friendly city in Canada, and we urge Council to adopt it.
We commend the plan’s focus on regulatory incentives and financial changes to support downtown transformation, which is urgently needed as remote work and sprawl continue to challenge the core of our city. The commitment to waiving fees for affordable housing projects will also help address Ottawa’s homelessness crisis. And the emphasis on transit-oriented development will reduce traffic congestion, encourage ridership, and advance our climate goals.
The top priority, however, must be addressing the persistent legal bottlenecks that continue to hold projects back long after they are approved. The Auditor General found that Site Plan applications take an average of 649 days to reach legal registration, and Subdivision agreements over 1,300 days, compared to legislated timelines of 90 to 120 days. Addressing these delays is the single greatest opportunity to build new homes faster.
We call on the City to conduct an urgent analysis to determine the root causes of these legal delays so they can be eliminated, restoring confidence in Ottawa’s approvals system.
The Ottawa Board of Trade stands ready to work with the City, industry partners, and community stakeholders to ensure these measures deliver the results our local economy needs: more housing, built faster, in the right places.