Council greenlights Algonquins of Ontario land for future suburb – CBC

Feb 11, 2021

City staff recommended more time to analyze poor-scoring land, but council voted that down

City council has voted to let Ottawa grow by way of a whole new suburb in the rural south-east, and shot down a motion to give city staff more time to analyze the proposal and consult with all Indigenous groups.

The Tewin project proposed by the Algonquins of Ontario and Taggart Group infuriated chiefs of Quebec First Nations in the past week, after a joint committee backed by Mayor Jim Watson pointed to reconciliation as a reason to allow 445 hectares of land near Carlsbad Springs to be urbanized.

“Some [councillors] will say we have to wait another four or five years of study to make a decision. I think that’s a shocking abdication of leadership,” said Watson. He said that extra work staff would do between now and when a final official plan comes before politicians in September would provide the due diligence.