City councillors out of touch with free weekend transit | Letters to the Editor

I was agog when reading about the tree damage to houses in Copeland Park and the lack of response from the City, or maybe I wasn’t. It seems, when convenient, the City ‘saves’ trees at the expense of people. The city seems to have no problem allowing small houses like these to be torn down (along with every tree on the lot) to accommodate mega-homes. One need only look around the city’s older neighbourhoods to see the ground scoured of trees, and smaller older homes crowded by the concrete monoliths. In Ward 12, every time a smaller sized house goes up for sale, we gulp, knowing that it is likely to be torn down along with the glorious tree canopy that is supposed to be such a priority. Where is the city in these circumstances? There is an affordable housing shortage here. If we don’t help people stay in these smaller, apparently expendable, houses, we are just spinning our wheels and paying lip service on both the tree and housing strategies in this city. Ottawa you can do better for your residents! Read MoreOttawa Citizen Letters to the Editor, Thursday, June 18, 2026  Opinion, Letters I was agog when reading about the tree damage to houses in Copeland Park and the lack of response from the City, or maybe I wasn’t. It seems, when convenient, the City ‘saves’ trees at the expense of people. The city seems to have no problem allowing small houses like these to be torn down (along with every tree on the lot) to accommodate mega-homes. One need only look around the city’s older neighbourhoods to see the ground scoured of trees, and smaller older homes crowded by the concrete monoliths. In Ward 12, every time a smaller sized house goes up for sale, we gulp, knowing that it is likely to be torn down along with the glorious tree canopy that is supposed to be such a priority. Where is the city in these circumstances? There is an affordable housing shortage here. If we don’t help people stay in these smaller, apparently expendable, houses, we are just spinning our wheels and paying lip service on both the tree and housing strategies in this city. Ottawa you can do better for your residents! Read More