FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2026
Take Action
We, the undersigned, demand that the Mayor, City Council, and OC Transpo commit to growing our bus fleet to a level where it can provide adequate and reliable service across the city.
This means:
- Procuring 100-150 buses in addition to what is currently on order
- Procuring additional buses as needed to maintain a ratio of one bus for every thousand residents and keep enough in reserve for R1 service during LRT shutdowns
- Commit to providing transit service levels based on population and potential ridership growth rather than current ridership numbers.
Nous, soussigné·e·s, demandons au maire, au Conseil municipal et à OC Transpo de s’engager à augmenter notre parc d’autobus afin qu’il puisse offrir un service adéquat et fiable dans toute la ville.
Cela signifie :
- Acheter 100 à 150 autobus en plus de ceux déjà commandés.
- Acheter des autobus supplémentaires si nécessaire afin de maintenir un ratio d’un autobus pour mille habitant·e·s et de conserver une réserve suffisante pour assurer le service R1 lorsque le service de train est interrompu.
- S’engager à fournir des niveaux de service de transport en commun basés sur la population et la hausse potentielle de l’achalandage plutôt que sur les chiffres actuels
We, the undersigned, call on Mayor Sutcliffe and Ottawa City Council to listen to residents' concerns and to support Councillor Kavanagh's motion to remove the Tewin development from the City's Official Plan when it returns to Committee.
Updates - April 2026
The bubble by-law will be going to a vote at committee on Friday, April 17th.
Register to delegate by sending an email to [email protected] at least an hour before the meeting (8:00AM Friday morning), and ask to speak on item 3.1 - Safe Access to Social Infrastructure By-law
You can read the documentation provided by staff here:
Background on the Defend Dissent Coalition
In 2024, community members supporting a broad range of concerns, including Palestinian solidarity actions, were fined under Noise By-law 2017-255. This contradicted Special Events By-law 2001-260, which permits megaphone use. This misuse of the by-law led to escalating state oppression, including surveillance, harassment, ticketing, and arrests of Palestine solidarity protesters starting December 23rd, 2023. Ottawa Police and By-law officers were interpreting the law broadly, affecting various forms of collective action, including 2SLGBTQ+ defenders, labour leaders and workers on strike. For a brief period, it seemed like OPS and By-law officers had stopped misusing this policy, but since then they have increasingly been using aggressive enforcement tactics on protestors including arrests.
The Defend the Right to Dissent Coalition has been organizing opposition to a proposed “bubble by-law” in Ottawa. City staff are currently studying options for banning protests within a certain distance of “vulnerable social infrastructure” like schools, healthcare facilities, and religious buildings using a similar by-law recently passed in Vaughan as a model.
Organizations and individuals within our Coalition are very concerned about the implications of a “bubble by-law” for Ottawa:
• Under the provisions of Vaughan’s by-law, much of downtown Ottawa would be in the range where law enforcement could award fines up to $100,000 for protesting.
• Legitimate and important protests take place near these locations, such as student walkouts, strikes, and protests over harmful events being held in religious buildings.
• Ottawa Police and By-law Services have displayed bias in enforcement many times over the past few years, including but not limited to:
• Allowing “Freedom Convoy” protests to proceed and cooperating with organizers
• Ticketing and arresting residents for normal protest activities like using a megaphone.
Get updates
Relevant Links
- Bursting the Bubble By-law Panel VOD
- Bubble By-law City Survey Analysis
- Review of Special Events Bylaw
- City Council Passes Bubble bylaw study
- David Hill op-ed on Bubble Bylaw
- Horizon Ottawa op-ed on Bubble By-law
- Horizon Ottawa rundown of council meeting re: bubble bylaw
- Bylaw that was passed by Vaughan on "protecting vulnerable social infrastructure"
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association: Anti-Protest By-laws
What we've accomplished
March 26, 2024 – Press Conference
March 28th, 2024 – Email zap
1127 supporters signed!
May 22, 2024 - Rally
Promo: Facebook
Defend Dissent Signatories 2023-2024
Acorn Ottawa • Anakbayan Ottawa • Anti-Imperialist Alliance Assembly Of Seven Generations • The Autistic And Neurodivergent Liberation Front Of Ottawa (ANLFO) • Avant Law Pc • Cap City Cyphers • Cape • Capital Pride | Fierté Dans La Capitale • City For All Women Initiative (CAWI) • Climate Justice Ottawa • Coalition Against More Surveillance (CAMS) • Community Solidarity Ottawa Cupe 4600 • Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP) • De-Colonial Solidarity • Ecology Ottawa • Free Transit Ottawa • Fridays For Future Ottawa • Gongfu Street Food Inc. • Horizon Ottawa • Independent Jewish Voices Carleton • Independent Jewish Voices Ottawa • Justiceworkers Ottawa • King Kimbit Labour For Palestine Ottawa • Migrante Ottawa • Moonfruits Naturopathic Doctors For Environmental And Social Trust • OCTEVAW Ontario • Committee For Human Rights In The Philippines (OCHRP) • OPSEU/SEFPO • OPSEU/SEFPO Local 708 • Ottawa Dyke March | La Marche Dyke D'ottawa • Ottawa Parents, Caregivers, Supporters Of Trans And Gender Non-Conforming • Ottawa Peace Council • Ottawa Run For Palestine • Oléans Eco Action Network • Palestinian Youth Movement - Ottawa Chapter • Planned Parenthood Ottawa Project Of Heart • Public Service Alliance Of Canada - National Capital Region | Alliance De La Fonction Publique Du Canada - Région De La Capitale Nationale (PSAC-NCR | AFPC-RCN) • Safety Ottawa The Shift • Students For Justice In Palestine Carleton • Queers4PalestineOtt • Young Communist League
If you’re ready for change in Orléans, sign here and join the movement fighting to make our city work for everyone!
To register as a delegate, you'll need to send an email to the committee coordinator ([email protected]) with the following information:
- Your name
- Meeting you want to speak at: March 30th Public Works and Infrastructure Committee
- Item you want to speak to: 5.2 – Bank Street Active Transportation and Transit Priority Feasibility Study
Read more information on Bank St. bus lanes from Strong Towns Ottawa.
