The great Tewin debate – why building new homes in Ottawa is so complicated...and controversial.

The proposed controversial Tewin housing development project in south east rural Ottawa, that is planning to build over 15 000 homes in Ottawa’s south east rural sector in Carlsbad Springs is facing another hurdle.

Councillor Kavanagh, representing the urban Bay Ward has recently presented a motion to the Planning and Housing Committee that will be debated on October 15.  The main goal of her motion is to remove the Tewin lands as part of Ottawa’s official plan and to ask Council to renounce it as part of a future urban expansion land for Ottawa.

Her arguments are vast and wide, with some of her examples indicating that the City did not consult with all aboriginal communities, such as First Nations of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council with communities in the province of Quebec on its council, with one situated near the small town of Maniwaki in Quebec,  a community that is 120 km north of the proposed Tewin lands that is not in Quebec but based in Ontario.

Algonquin’s do not recognize the two province’s boundaries so the reason some of those communities situated over 100km away say they need to be consulted over what should happens to the Tewin lands.   The traditional territory of the Algonquin people includes the Ottawa River Valley and adjacent lands, which straddle the modern-day border between Ontario and Quebec. From an Algonquin perspective, this provincial border is a colonial construct that divides their traditional territory, rather than a natural or recognized division.

But the question remains, as Councillor Skalski indicated in her comments over Councillor Kavanagh’s motion,  should the City of Ottawa interfere in indigenous politics and should City Councillors cherry-pick descenting voices when it supports their cause?

Tewin has made the headlines numerous times over the years and it continues to make more.  So why building news homes in Ottawa is so complicated...and controversial?

Behind the Tewin project are two main organizations, the Algonquins of Ontario (AoO) and the Taggart corporation.  Over the past 5 years the project leaders have organized a series of community meetings and various consultations with its liaison committee, with members that represents various stakeholders, residents and community groups.    They have been consultations and public meetings on the matter that informed residents on the proposed development and they shared primary design of the new community throughout the last years with local residents in open meetings that were held at the local community centre.

Over the years numerous local residents in the Piperville and Anderson Road area are clearly against this project stating “not in my backyard” comments and wanted to keep their community “rural” has been very important.   Their arguments have always been solid as many moved in the area as they preferred the rural life and were surprise to learn in 2021 that it would eventually be turned into an urban community.  Unfortunately, the acquisition of hundreds of hectares by the AOO and by the Taggart family changed the future of this quiet part of Ottawa.   The outcome of this plan is still unknown.

Back in 2021 the Ontario government reviewed most municipality’s official plans and made some changes to Ottawa’s official plan that was submitted by council.    It approved the Tewin lands as part of a future community in south east Ottawa, adding up to 15 000 homes to the list.   

The City has also committed to some support by providing staff that are working on the Tewin planning.   These employees are working for the City but paid by Tewin.   Additionally Hydro Ottawa has started to implement their expansion to improve and augment its hydroelectric power to Ottawa’s south east rural area just east of the Tewin lands on Piperville road near Farmers way.  Although not necessarily linked to Tewin, this new municipal multimillion interconnection facility with Hydro One will provide the much-needed additional connectivity towards a better hydro network for the Tewin urban development, and to support the required capacity with additional electricity needs for the future.   With the last tornados and the Derecho storm the south-east rural area has been very vulnerable to the impact of large storms and the fragility of the hydro system has caused anxieties and vulnerability with home owners.

Osgoode ward local Councillor Isabelle Skalski, who was just recently elected in June 2025 has shared her concerns via a Facebook post regarding Councillor Kavanaugh’s proposed controversial motion to remove the project as part of Ottawa’s urban expansion plans.   The next phase of this debate should worry rural councillors as she indicated:

“It frames investments in rural infrastructure as a waste of taxpayer dollars – this argument cannot stand as it threatens other rural infrastructure spending, spending which is much needed given 80% of Ottawa is geographically rural.”

Councillor Skalski has brought forward her own arguments, insight and perspective indicating that there would be enormous legal cost to terminate the Tewin project and remove it from Ottawa’s official plan.   She also indicates that municipal government should not get involved in aboriginal affairs at their level.

Another argument she stated is the fact that decisions made by former Ottawa Councils should not be reversed or challenged as this creates business uncertainty and instability in the future and it may set back the City by many years as it scramble to find alternatives to home building requirements set by the province.

If the motion is accepted by the planning committee the motion will then be presented to Council at its next monthly meeting.

Below is the link to the proposed motion and the full response by the Osgoode ward Councillor.

It will be an interesting discussion at the planning committee on October 15 and eventually at Council,  if the motion passes its first round.

CJRO Radio will continue to monitor the process and we will report back when a decision on the motion is announced.   

How to participate at Committee:

The next Planning and Housing Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 @ 9:30 AM in the Champlain Room, 110 Laurier Avenue West, and by electronic participation.

You may participate in the following ways:

·         Written comments:

Submit by email to the Committee Coordinator (Kelly Crozier, 613-580-2424 ext. 16875, Kelly.Crozier@ottawa.ca). Written comments should be submitted no later than 4:00 PM on the business day before the meeting, unless otherwise noted on the agenda. Comments received after this deadline will still be circulated to Council but may not reach Committee members prior to their deliberations.

·         Oral comments (delegations):

You may register to speak during the meeting (in person or online via Zoom) by contacting the Committee Coordinator by phone before 4:00 PM on the business day before the meeting, or by email no later than one hour before the scheduled start time. Please provide your name, telephone number, and email address (if available). Delegations may speak for up to five minutes.

If you wish to provide a visual presentation (such as PowerPoint slides), you must register and provide your materials to the Coordinator by 4:00 PM on the last business day before the meeting.

·         Meeting information:

Upcoming agendas, dates, times, and locations are posted at ottawa.ca, advertised in the City Page of Friday’s daily newspapers, and circulated through the City’s weekly e-subscription service.

Please note that any written or verbal submissions (including your name, but excluding personal contact details) will form part of the public record.

Should you wish to submit comments or participate as a delegate, I encourage you to contact the Committee Coordinator directly at 613-580-2424 ext. 16875 or Kelly.Crozier@ottawa.ca.

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Below are the full comments provided by the Osgoode Ward Councillor Skalski,

Hello Osgoode Ward Residents,

I wish to bring to your attention a motion that was brought forward today by the Bay Ward Councillor at Planning and Housing Committee to remove the Tewin development from the official plan, relitigating a decision from 2021.

Procedurally, delegations can present at the next Planning and Housing Committee where this motion will be voted upon. Should the motion pass, it will rise to Council for consideration.  While the fate of this motion is unclear at this time. It is important that you know where I stand.

Throughout my campaign I was clear that I will not support any motion brought forward by urban councillors that aim to interfere with developments in Osgoode Ward 20. Also, I do not believe the motion is written in a way that reflects our interests for the following key reasons:

•It frames investments in rural infrastructure as a waste of taxpayer dollars – this argument cannot stand as it threatens other rural infrastructure spending, spending which is much needed given 80% of Ottawa is geographically rural.

•I think it is inappropriate for municipalities to interfere in indigenous politics and for City Councillors to cherry-pick descenting voices when it supports their cause.

•I fundamentally disagree with relitigating past decisions made by Council – I do not believe people elect officials to continue to re-vote on the same issues when they are not happy with the result. This creates an unpredictable environment for businesses that rely on these approvals to operate and makes Ottawa a more expensive and less desirable place to do business.

•The motion opens the door for land-use and planning to be influenced by non-local stakeholders outside Ontario. This doesn’t align with the interests of local residents and landowners.

•The total removal of this project at this stage would cost the City millions of dollars in legal costs, bring us back 4 years in housing development planning and put pressure on the City to find development lands for 15,000 new homes to make-up its obligations to the province.

•The motion mis-characterizes the public costs of the project. The costs for the development itself are borne by Tewin, as was promised when the development was added to the official plan. Public costs to support this project are estimates only and they have not yet been voted upon.

Let me be very clear on this - residents in Carlsbad Springs have real concerns about this development and I am committed to ensuring their views are heard throughout the development process. This is a complex 25 year+ development project that requires time and consultation with the community to get it right. Should this project prove unviable or put at risk the interests of residents, I will be first in-line to put forward a motion to address the issue.

Feel free to email me with your views atisabelle.skalski@ottawa.caor to delegate directly at the upcoming Committee Meeting.

See item 6.1 on page 5 for the motion tabled by T. Kavanagh  https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=263388

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Bonjour résidents du quartier Osgoode,

Je souhaite porter à votre attention une motion présentée aujourd’hui par la conseillère du quartier Bay au Comité de la planification et du logement. Cette motion vise à retirer le projet d’aménagement de Tewin du Plan officiel, rouvrant ainsi un débat tranché en 2021.

Sur le plan procédural, les délégations pourront se présenter au prochain Comité de la planification et du logement, où cette motion sera mise aux vote. Si elle est adoptée, elle sera ensuite soumise au Conseil municipal pour considération. Bien que l’issue de cette motion demeure incertaine pour l’instant, il est important que vous connaissiez ma position.

Tout au long de ma campagne, j’ai été claire : je ne soutiendrai aucune motion présentée par des conseillers urbains qui vise à interférer dans les projets de développement du quartier Osgoode (quartier 20). De plus, je ne crois pas que la motion soit rédigée de manière à refléter nos intérêts, et ce pour les raisons principales suivantes :

• Elle présente les investissements dans les infrastructures rurales comme un gaspillage des fonds publics – un argument inacceptable qui menace les autres dépenses essentielles en infrastructures rurales, particulièrement lorsque 80 % du territoire de la Ville d’Ottawa est de nature rurale.

•Je crois qu’il est inapproprié que les municipalités s’ingèrent dans la politique autochtone et que des conseillers municipaux sélectionnent de façon opportuniste certaines voix dissidentes lorsqu’elles appuient leur cause.

• Je suis fondamentalement contre la remise en question de décisions déjà prises par le Conseil. Les citoyens n’élisent pas leurs représentants pour qu’ils revotent sans cesse sur les mêmes dossiers lorsqu’ils ne sont pas satisfaits du résultat. Cela crée un environnement imprévisible pour les entreprises qui comptent sur ces approbations et rend Ottawa plus coûteuse et moins attrayante pour les affaires.

• La motion ouvre la porte à ce que l’aménagement du territoire et la planification soient influencés par des intervenants non locaux provenant de l’extérieur de l’Ontario, ce qui ne correspond pas aux intérêts des résidents et propriétaires fonciers locaux.

• L’abandon complet du projet à ce stade coûterait des millions de dollars en frais juridiques à la Ville, nous ramènerait quatre ans en arrière en matière de planification du logement et obligerait la Ville à trouver des terrains pour 15 000 nouvelles habitations afin de respecter ses obligations envers la province.

•La motion déforme la réalité quant aux coûts publics du projet. Les coûts de développement sont assumés par Tewin, comme cela avait été promis lors de son ajout au Plan officiel. Les coûts publics associés ne sont pour l’instant que des estimations et n’ont pas encore été soumis au vote.

Permettez-moi d’être très claire à ce sujet : les résidents de Carlsbad Springs ont des préoccupations bien réelles concernant ce projet, et je m’engage à ce que leurs points de vue soient entendus tout au long du processus de développement. Il s’agit d’un projet d’aménagement complexe, s’échelonnant sur plus de 20 ans, qui exige du temps et une consultation avec la communauté pour être mené correctement. Si ce projet s’avère non viable ou qu’il met en péril les intérêts des résidents, je serai la première à déposer une motion pour régler la situation.

Je vous invite à m’écrire à l’adresseisabelle.skalski@ottawa.capour partager vos points de vue, ou encore à vous inscrire comme délégation au prochain Comité de la planification et du logement. Voir le point 6.1 à la page 5 pour la motion déposée par T. Kavanagh.